One
“This is fucking insane,” Johnny muttered, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall. “Suho never had us do shit like this.”
“Relax,” Jaehyun told him, looking up as a Silver Chevy Camaro ZL1 drove by.
Not them.
“Suho didn’t exactly pay out, either.” He kicked out one foot, crossing it over the other. “No risk, no reward.”
“I’m not going to fucking relax," Johnny countered roughly, raking a hand through his hair.
The dragon tattoo on his wrist was stark against his pale skin. “This is bullshit, Jaehyun. Who the fuck are we meeting?”
“Johnny,” Jaehyun warned, giving him a cautionary glance. It went unnoticed.
“Taeyong is a fucking lunatic,” Johnny continued, scowling.
“Fucking guns and shit - this is not our game,” he growled, slamming his hand on the trunk of a Black Chevy Corvette they rarely used.
“I didn’t fucking sign up to die today.”
After a week, it was becoming a tired argument.
“Johnny,” Jaehyun repeated coolly, shading his eyes from the afternoon sun, “Shut the fuck up.”
Johnny grunted his opposition to this idea, but as expected, he did as he was bade. Hierarchy demanded it.
Besides, Jaehyun was fucking right.
“There,” Jaehyun said, jutting his chin out to reference the approaching car; it was a Red BMW Z4 that looked more than a little out of place pulling behind a warehouse. “Fuckers,” he added under his breath, shaking his head. “Incognito apparently doesn’t mean what it used to.”
Johnny said nothing, swallowing uneasily as the front passenger got out of the car, taking a wary look around before strutting towards them. The man, large-set and tall, was fully overdressed, clad in a dark suit and even darker sunglasses. He offered them both a stiff nod, his black hair slicked back from his face.
“Jung?” he called gruffly, glancing between Jaehyun and Johnny.
“Me,” Jaehyun replied, stepping forward. “Choi?”
“Call me Siwon,” the other man confirmed, bearing his teeth as he smiled. “My associates,” he added, gesturing to the two heavily muscled men behind him. “Eunhyuk,” he said, nodding to the larger of the two, “and Shindong.”
“Pleasure,” Jaehyun offered smoothly, then tilted his head, nodding to Johnny. “This is Seo.”
“Seo,” Siwon repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion. He glanced questioningly at Eunhyuk, who shrugged, flashing his employer a look of open skepticism. “Thought he was older.”
“Seo Junior,” Johnny clarified stiffly. The muscle twitched uneasily around his jaw.
Siwon raised an eyebrow, turning back to Jaehyun. “I take it you are Jung Junior, then,” he said, and Jaehyun detected something leery in his tone; insult, he suspected.
“We’re better company than our father’s,” Jaehyun offered, unfazed. “Taeyong did you a favor.”
Siwon considered him a moment, eyes narrowed; Jaehyun refused to back down, staring back until the other man suddenly laughed, clapping his hands together in a bewildering, wholly incongruous expression of delight.
“Too true,” Siwon determined gravely. “So.” He raised a hand, beckoning with one hand. “Show me what Taeyong has for me.”
Jaehyun nodded expectantly at Johnny, who popped open the trunk.
“Take a look,” Jaehyun invited, stepping aside. “Sample only. Full shipment in a week, if you’re interested.”
“Naturally,” Siwon agreed, grinning wolfishly again. He sifted through the trunk’s contents and picked up the M16, peering over the barrel.
“Hey, man,” Johnny muttered uneasily, garnering a disapproving glance from Eunhyuk and Shindong. “Maybe don’t fucking wave that shit around.”
Siwon glanced up, eyeing him. “This shit hot?” he asked suspiciously, turning to Jaehyun. “This one looks scared,” he added mockingly, using the rifle to gesture to Johnny’s stiff-shouldered form.
“That’s just his face,” Jaehyun supplied, glaring at Johnny the instant Siwon turned back to the trunk. It was harder now to keep his cool; it hadn’t occurred to him to ask Taeyong if the guns they were selling happened to be stolen.
Johnny was right. Suho never had us do shit like this.
He should’ve asked.
Siwon looked up, gesturing for his two companions. They crowded around him on either side, and Johnny slowly inched towards Jaehyun.
“This doesn’t look good,” Johnny whispered.
“I fucking know that,” Jaehyun hissed. “Fucking calm down.”
Johnny’s frown deepened. “Maybe we should get them to move,” he suggested, gesturing to where Eunhyuk and Shindong were flanking Siwon, blocking his motions from sight. “I don’t like this.”
“Sure, Johnny, just fucking ask nicely,” Jaehyun muttered sarcastically, imitating him. ”Please be so kind as to show us your goddamn hands - ”
“Hey,” Siwon grunted brusquely, turning. He now held a pistol and was eyeing it closely; too closely, Jaehyun thought, hearing the telling clicks from either side of him as Eunhyuk and Shindong drew their weapons. “You got rules on sampling the merchandise?”
Jaehyun swallowed, trying to remain calm. “Could grab some targets,” he offered, feigning ignorance. “Nothing if not hospitable,” he added, reaching slowly for his gun tucked into his waistband.
“Don’t fucking move,” Eunhyuk muttered ominously, his eyes flicking to Jaehyun’s hand. “We already know these guns work.”
“Love a knowledgeable customer,” Johnny offered weakly; Jaehyun shot him a silencing glare. Not helpful.
“Ask us how we know,” Siwon suggested, beckoning to them with an unsettlingly assured condescension.
“Go on,” he taunted. ”Ask.”
Fuck, Jaehyun thought, searching for a way out of what was a rapidly deteriorating situation and coming up thoroughly empty-handed. Fuck, fuck, fuck -
“How do you know?” he finally gritted out, bereft of options and struggling to breathe.
Siwon aimed the Beretta at him, shifting slightly to accommodate a crooked smile. “These guns are fucking stolen,” he remarked flatly, and Jaehyun’s stomach lurched. “Tell Taeyong I want his head,” Siwon added with a laugh, right before he pulled the trigger.
One Week Earlier
Jung Jaehyun woke up slowly, the haze of the previous night’s foray into misbehavior gradually clearing as he lifted his head, squinting at the head of black hair beside him.
“Joy,” he muttered, nudging her. “Get up.”
She groaned, rubbing sleep and several layers of smeared mascara from her eyes. “Come on, Jaehyun - ”
“You know the deal,” he said, kicking the bedding away from him and standing to pull on a shirt. “You weren’t supposed to stay here last night. Or any night,” he added, giving her a look.
She made a face. “That’s bullshit, Jaehyun,” she said, emitting a loud squeak of protest as he reached over, tossing the comforter away from her and into a pile of tangled sheets at the foot of the bed. “You don’t have to be such a fucking dick - "
“Last night was a mistake,” he interrupted, and she smirked.
“All three times?” she asked, reaching for him. She, he was not overly pleased to note, was still naked from the night before. “Come on, babe - ”
“Don’t ‘babe’ me,” he said gruffly, shoving her hands away as she reached for the band of his boxer briefs. “This is exactly what I said can’t fucking happen again, Joy.”
“What’s the big deal?” she protested, tugging him by the collar. “Come on,” she purred, sliding her hands under his shirt to run them over the Dragon tattooed on his chest. “We could be good together, Jaehyun - you know we could - ”
“We already fucking tried this,” he reminded her with a sigh, fighting to ignore the twitch of his cock as she let her fingers trace the crevices of his abs. “It didn’t work.”
“Mmm, are you sure?” she asked, lifting his shirt and tearing it over his head, peeling it from the tattooed slopes of his arms as he sighed. “I’m not just free pussy, Jaehyun - ”
“And this is your way of proving it?” he countered, closing his eyes as she kissed his neck, dipping her hand into his underwear and giving his cock a languid stroke. “Not totally convincing, Joy.”
“I’m just saying,” she said, bringing herself to the edge of the bed so that she was nearly at eye level with his cock, “that I think you might find I’m worth more than the occasional lay.”
“Bold,” he murmured, his breath escaping in a low hiss as she leaned in, letting her tongue drift over his tip. “Let me guess,” he ventured, tangling his fingers in her dark hair as she glanced up, making a show of trailing her tongue along his shaft. “You need money?”
She drew back, huffing in insult. “I’m not a fucking prostitute, Jaehyun - ”
“What, then?” he asked, raising a single brow as she scowled at him. “Pretty sure you know I’m not settling down with you anytime soon.”
She sighed, licking her lips before letting her eyes settle again on his cock. “Would it really be so bad,” she offered softly, dipping to circle his tip with her tongue before glancing up at him, “having me around all the time?”
“It’s” - he broke off, swallowing as she took his full length in her mouth - “more complicated than that.”
“Is it?” she prompted, her eyes wide as she reached down, wrapping her fist around his shaft and slowly letting her hand slide along his length. “Seems pretty simple to me,” she remarked, taking him in her mouth again.
“Joy,” he began, but her name dissolved into a growl; his fingers tightened in her hair as she wrapped her lips around his cock, expertly flicking her tongue beneath the underside of his tip.
There was no going anywhere with this, he knew; but as with the previous night, her determination to suck him off was far more compelling than his desire to kick her out. He adjusted his stance, kicking his legs apart and closing his eyes, and had just reached down to lightly flick her hardened nipple when he heard his front door suddenly burst open, the sound of heavy footsteps falling inside his apartment.
“Jaehyun,” he heard Johnny call, “get your ass out here, you fucker.”
Fuck, Jaehyun thought, nudging Joy’s head away and tucking his dick back into his underwear as Johnny suddenly burst in the doorway, prompting Joy to squeal and duck for the blankets.
“Morning,” Jaehyun said, offering him a lazy salute, and Johnny rolled his eyes.
“Get dressed,” he said, unfazed by Jaehyun’s partial state of dress. “Taeil called. Taeyong’s looking for us.”
“Taeil called you?” Jaehyun repeated, confused. “Why not me?”
Johnny shrugged. “Said he tried reaching you,” he offered, his eyes traveling mockingly to where Joy had pulled the twisted sheet up over her breasts. “I’d guess you were otherwise occupied,” he ventured mockingly, gesturing to the G-string that hung from the corner of Jaehyun’s dresser.
“A bit,” Jaehyun agreed, tugging uncomfortably at his still-stiff cock. “But I can be ready in ten.” He glanced at Joy, whose nipples were evident through the thin white sheet. “Maybe fifteen,” he amended, and Johnny chuckled.
“Have at it,” Johnny said obligingly, backing out of the room and pausing just before shutting the door. “I’ll give a shout in about seven,” he added with a wink, and Jaehyun threw a pillow at him, just missing his head as he pulled the door closed.
“Sorry,” Jaehyun said, returning his attention to Joy and reaching for her. “Where were we?”
She frowned. “Seven minutes?” she repeated skeptically, and he smirked, his eyes sweeping briskly over her as he tugged his underwear off, climbing onto the bed.
He took advantage of her momentary hesitation and deftly flipped her onto her stomach, yanking her hips back and towards him before nudging his cock against her entrance, shifting his hand to slide against her clit.
“Believe me,” he said, giving her hair a firm tug with his free hand, “we’ll be done in five.”
“Thought you were done fucking old ex-girlfriends,” Johnny commented offhandedly, swinging a leg over his Harley and removing his helmet.
“Old habits,” Jaehyun said, shrugging. “She resurfaces every now and then.”
“Suppose it could be worse,” Johnny permitted with a smirk.
"You’ve certainly done worse,” Jaehyun assured him.
Johnny sighed dramatically. “We can’t all be the Dragon prince,” he said mournfully, nudging Jaehyun in the ribs.
“Fuck you,” Jaehyun said instantly, just as Yuta walked by, Winwin and Jungwoo at his side. “Hey, Yuta,” Draco called, raising his chin in greeting, “You’ve seen Taeil?”
“In with Taeyong,” Yuta replied, jerking his head to gesture inside. “Clubhouse.”
“Thanks.” Jaehyun turned to Johnny, raising a brow curiously. “Speaking of - ”
“Still bedridden,” Johnny replied indifferently. “Still sneaking in cigarettes, too, so I have to assume he enjoyed the surgery the first time and is looking for a fucking second go.”
“Old habits,” Jaehyun remarked sagely, and Johnny shook his head, aiming a careless “whatever” into the ground as he spat out his disgust.
They walked inside in silence, nodding casually to Jaemin and Jeno, before striding purposefully through the familiar double doors.
“Jaehyun,” Taeil called, rising as they entered the boardroom.
Jaehyun nodded at him. “Taeil,” he offered, before turning to face Taeyong, who sat, as he always did, at the head of the table. “Taeyong.”
“Jaehyun,” Taeyong said smoothly, nudging his red hair back. “And Johnny, excellent. Sit.”
They did as they were bade, Jaehyun settling himself next to Taeil as Johnny crossed the room, seating himself across the table. They created a stunning contrast in the room, thought, imagining how the four of them might have looked to an outsider. He and Taeil were both pale-skinned and dark-haired; of similar height, and firmer builds. Taeyong, on the other hand, looked slight and oddly elegant in the dim lighting of the room, his dark red hair spiked up. Taeyong Lee was a man with a slight strange appeal, Jaehyun knew, but a powerful one; whether it was looks alone, Jaehyun couldn’t tell, but Taeyong certainly commanded a room and Johnny, equally dark-haired and slim, sat tellingly in Taeyong’s shadow.
“So,” Jaehyun ventured, leaning forward. “You needed something?”
“As you know,” Taeil began, glancing between them, “things have been somewhat chaotic since Suho passed.”
Jaehyun nodded, as did Johnny.
“Things are . . . somewhat precarious,” Taeil continued. “Financially. Which,” he added, “has prompted the need for a certain level of creativity on our part.”
“Something other than auto repair and casual anarchy, I’m guessing,” Johnny commented, and Taeil, who had never appreciated Johnny’s particular brand of candidness, scowled.
“A bit more than that,” he sniffed testily in agreement, glancing at Taeyong for reassurance.
“I’ve had to look into other sources of income,” Taeyong supplied, the smooth timbre of his voice resonating within the dark walls of the room. “Luckily, we’re a brotherhood of many talents and capabilities,” he added, giving Jaehyun a tiny nod of approval. “Some of which include the particular . . . persuasiveness that I think will aid us in our business ventures.”
“Persuasiveness,” Jaehyun commented. “Us?”
“You,” Taeyong confirmed briskly. “Unless you have reason to believe I’m mistaken.”
The praise, which was a rarity - and one that had come sparingly from Suho - struck a particularly pleasing chord in Jaehyun. “You’re not,” he said confidently, and Taeil nodded his approval.
“I rarely am,” Taeyong agreed.
Right, Jaehyun thought with a smirk. Of course not.
“I need to set you two up on a project,” Taeyong continued, his rings flashing as he drummed his fingers absentmindedly against the dragon emblem that was carved into the table. “An enticement for a potential future client.”
“Sounds fancy,” Johnny remarked drily, pointedly ignoring the instant blow of Taeil’s impatient glare. “Who is it?”
“Siwon Choi,” Taeyong replied, though he quickly refocused his attention on Jaehyun. “I’ve been working on making a connection with his company. He’s - ” Taeyong paused, dragging his tongue slowly across his lip, “an entrepreneur, one might say.”
Jaehyun stifled a laugh. “Entrepreneur?” he echoed skeptically. “Are we selling him bike and car parts?”
There was a pause. That’s a no, then, Jaehyun gathered, waiting.
“Well,” Taeyong offered silkily, “we all traffic in our particular varieties of commerce.”
“Drugs?” Jaehyun prompted alternatively, lifting one brow. Beside him, Taeil shot him a silencing glance, shaking his head in warning.
“Oh, Jaehyun,” Johnny said with a laugh. “Surely you’d prefer the details be left to me.”
I fucking would not, Jaehyun wanted to say, but the visible tightening of Taeil’s fingers around the arm of his chair served sufficient to stop his tongue.
“I’ll need you to meet him at some point in the future,” Taeyong continued. “I’ve got some things to pull together before then, but I need to make sure you’ll be ready when the time comes.” His dark eyes fixed intently on Jaehyun’s. “Are we clear?”
“Sounds important,” Jaehyun remarked wryly. “Anything more I should know about?”
Taeyong considered him a moment before answering. “Jaehyun,” he finally tsked softly, “do you really think I wouldn’t give you all the information you needed?”
At the telling non-answer, Jaehyun exchanged a glance with Johnny, who shifted uncomfortably.
“Just being clear,” Jaehyun offered smoothly, kicking his legs out under the table and sliding down in his seat. “You want us to meet with Choi,” he clarified, “and then - ?”
“Meet him,” Taeil asserted, “and - ”
“Make a loyal customer of him,” Taeyong finished, rolling a kink out of his neck before refocusing his attention on Jaehyun. “Show him that the future of this gang is something worth investing in,” he added, offering Jaehyun an unsettlingly omniscient smile.
The future of this gang, Jaehyun thought, finding the idea disquieting. “Do you mean us,” he began, looking across the table at Johnny, “or the ‘product’?”
Taeyong shrugged. “One and the same, in the end,” he said opaquely, and across the table, Johnny made a face.
“This seems like an awful lot of fucking pretense for a bunch of bike and car mechanics,” Johnny commented, intently avoiding Taeil’s disapproving glance.
“Yes, this is a slightly different venture,” Taeyong agreed, scarcely sparing him a glance. “Suho’s untimely departure has served unpleasant, though not entirely luckless in timing.” He looked up, giving Jaehyun another distressing look. “We have to explore a variety of means from whatever opportunities arise. For the good of the gang,” he added, as a hazy afterthought.
“For the good of the gang,” Jaehyun repeated slowly, and beside him, Taeil nodded.
“It’s about creating a sustainable source of income for us into the future,” Taeil said, his tone faintly robotic. “Something to keep us going.”
“Again, this sounds like something beyond the sign on the door that says ’Harley repair,’” Johnny interjected brusquely. “What exactly is this mysterious source of income that’s so sustainable?”
A brief flash of irritation appeared in Taeyong’s eyes, causing Jaehyun a moment of alarm; but just as quickly as it had appeared, it faded, the slow smile creeping back over Taeyong’s face.
“Young-Ho,” he broached slowly, his voice oddly hushed. “Hostile today, are we?”
Jaehyun inhaled sharply, hearing something in Taeyong’s voice that he couldn’t put a finger on; Johnny clearly caught it too, his shoulders stiffening to the slightest possible degree.
“I’d hate to think you’re somehow displeased with my leadership,” Taeyong commented, the honeyed tone of his words dripping leisurely from his tongue. “You are committed to the well being of the Golden Dragons, are you not?”
“I am,” Johnny said loudly, and despite Jaehyun’s silent plea for him to hold his tongue, he continued. “But - ”
“I hardly think that you intend to challenge my authority,” Taeyong prompted with a laugh, and at Johnny’s startled hesitation, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Don’t worry,” Taeyong said reassuringly, and then smiled. “Oh, but by the way,” he began quietly, as though he’d suddenly remembered something, “how’s your father doing? Still breathing, I hope,” he added, eyes flashing, “despite the trouble I know you’ve had with his health insurance.”
There was a silent breath of pause around the table as Taeyong tapped his fingers lightly against the table. “Nearly lapsed, didn’t it?” he asked, as though the conversation topic had not drastically changed.
“Yes,” Johnny managed, swallowing. “He was about to be transferred, but then - ”
“But then he wasn’t,” Taeyong said brightly, snapping his fingers in recollection. “Amazing, isn’t it,” he murmured, “how things just . . . work themselves out?”
“Yes,” Johnny whispered, lowering his head.
“I’d hate for things to become . . . difficult for you,” Taeyong remarked thoughtfully, bringing a hand up to cup his chin. “Truly, I’d hate to see a fellow Golden Dragon in any sort of” - he paused, his eyes flicking first to Jaehyun, and then back to Johnny - “pain.”
This time, Johnny said nothing.
“Well then,” Taeyong erupted suddenly, slapping a palm against the table before turning back to Jaehyun. “I’m sorry, bit of a tangent,” he remarked buoyantly, with a stunning effortlessness, as though no threat had been made. “Did you have any remaining questions?”
Jaehyun, who had been holding his breath, blinked. “I - ”
He glanced at Johnny’s bent head; met Taeil’s warning glare.
“No,” he determined faintly, and Taeyong nodded his approval.
“Wonderful,” Taeyong said, his eyes narrowing to slits as he smiled.
“Fuck,” Johnny said, opening the trunk.
“Guns,” Jaehyun sighed, shaking his head.
“Guns,” Johnny agreed, looking sick. He turned, leaning against the open trunk. “Got to add small-time arms dealer to the resume, I guess.”
“Small-time might be an understatement,” Jaehyun remarked, sifting through the familiar pistols to reveal a series of military grade assault rifles. “This is some fucking heavy artillery.”
“Shit,” Johnny said, nudging Jaehyun aside to look for himself. ”Fuck, Jae - ”
“It’s not that bad,” Jaehyun cut in, nudging Johnny back and slamming the trunk shut. “All we have to do is get that Siwon guy interested. Easy,” he added, with more confidence than he felt. “Just like any other client.”
“This isn’t just some sales pitch, Jaehyun,” Johnny sputtered, staring at him in disbelief. “These are fucking guns - "
“We’re just selling a product to a client,” Jaehyun reminded him. “That’s it.” He gave Johnny a nudge to the ribs, attempting to be soothing. “Just - a transfer of goods, that’s all.”
Johnny sighed, shaking his head. “You were always fucking blessed with compartmentalization,” he commented sulkily, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It’s fine,” Jaehyun assured him again, rolling his sleeves up to the dragon tattoo that wrapped around his forearm. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
He felt a lurch as soon as he said it.
“Famous last words,” Johnny muttered, as they moved to climb into the car.
