Fate , as it seems , is nothing more than a bitch with a sense of twisted humor . For Minjun to have his previous existence wiped off the face of the earth in blood & tears , he sure has a man he never expected to see again bringing back the past he often found himself lingering in . Each visit brings a new memory , a past joke , a sudden sense of distant longing that he yearned for .
( but he can’t , they are both two very , very different people now & this is just all business . )
The music in the club is something akin to a sensual danger ; dancers just in arms reach of their patrons, dancing away each time a hand gets too close , & when Minjun turns towards Hyuksoo ( the man he once knew ) he does not linger as a friend , but as a man that hopes for that VIP pass into nothing but sin & money .
It’s a shame that he doesn’t know much about Hyuksoo anymore . He’d sure like to , more than what he uncovers from their brief visits . He plans to make that a reality today.
The guards that escorted Hyuksoo into his office disappear with a flick of Minjun’s hand , the solid bulletproof doors closing with a resonating ‘ THUD ‘. it’s been nothing but suspension between them both since they both realized the other was…well, still around & kickin’. He smiles when Hyuksoo asks him that question , he doesn’t lift himself off the edge of the office desk to make his way over – he waits to let the other come to him. His body is dolled up in jewels & feathers , tight lace wrap around his legs , and nothing about his appearance screams ‘ weak ‘.
“ Hey ! I was just thinkin’ about you. “ He smiles, his eyes don’t match his enthusiasm. “ Soo… are you still serious about that VIP pass? “ He decides to press forward with the rest of what is nagging him. “ Don’t worry, nothing is illegal here, officer. “ Past him would never joke around like this, hell, past him is well… dead.
What a shocking and bittersweet title to be addressed as— - One he should wear with pride instead of hide. And it’s a little funny —Because if it weren’t funny, it would only be sad— to hear it come from Minjun of all people ; especially in such day where their meetings would stop being so…Friendly.
The simple nickname, too (( ‘Soo’ )), was something “a little funny”.
❛ Actually, Minjun-ssi, I would prefer if you stopped calling me that. ❜ Would he be disappointed like Hyuksoo himself was, watching his old friend in flashy clothes and so far away from the goal they made for themselves when life was cruel but not enough to snatch their hope? Hyuksoo certainly is disappointed in what he became. Curiously so, given he, in some way, achieved that future both dreamed of.
Officer. Truth be told, Minjun wasn’t too far from the truth. But that’s something he had no chance in knowing. Would knowing make it better or worse?
❛ I renounced to that name YEARS AGO, I’m going for a much more familiar one. Or, perhaps not given everything is legal, right? ❜ What a joke. The sly smile came more naturally than practiced. This place was f a r from clean or else he wouldn’t be here, presenting himself with a bunch of men outside and a proposal that didn’t have much chance of being accepted. Normally that wouldn’t upset the agent but with the familiar face of someone that shattered the stupid belief the older man put on their shoulders with their mere presence just a few steps away, what ‘normally’ happened couldn’t be much further away from what he actually felt like doing.
But he hasn’t been playing this game for 7 years only to let an unexpected turn to put him in the losing end.
❛ Please call me Cheolho. Lee Cheolho. And I’m here to discuss the ownership of The Swans Retreat. ❜
