O B S E S S I O N

[kvroshiro]

Perhaps it was the information bombarding Shiro all at once that caused the throbbing pain on the side of his head. He should've known all of this, if this was true, he thought to himself, keeping his eyes on the man who spoke passionately of his own experiences, his family, the days before he was Enzo Drago...

He became more confused after hearing about the kidnapping when the man was a university student. His mouth parted to speak but where to begin? Certainly, Enzo was fabricating all these lies, right? There was no way their lives were that entangled. The information he received and learned through and through about Enzo Drago and his family lacked all the details the man before him was spouting out.

It was true, he came to this estate to meet Enzo Drago in secret, to find answers to the questions he had since that night the same man visited him at the safe house. This was not the answer he was expecting.

Someone was lying to him, hiding the truth. "Impossible," he muttered, lowering his gaze, left hand withdrew from his pocket and brought to rub the side of his skull. He wasn't sure to whom or to what he was pertaining the comment but he felt his head was spinning.

Was Ji-hoon hiding things from him? Malchin? How about Mi-reu? After the incident at the safe house that one night, he remembered his security was tightered. His mother ordered for his relocation that took a lot of work and effort. He didn't think much about the lack of further explanation why he was receiving a visit from Enzo in the first place? His questions about Enzo and his family were entertained but were not encouraged...

His eyes snapped back on Enzo as the man continued to reveal who was behind his attacks -

"My grandfather is the reason you were attacked both times. The alliance he made with the Russians, took priority of the one he fabricated with your mother. Then there's the matter of Orion Leos."

His eyes squinted at the mention of his mother... His mother hadn't been entirely truthful to him, he decided, missing on the particular detail that the family had been connected to the Dragos all this time. He thought of his men, the small group of people he trusted during the time he was in recovery and their assistance to make this meeting happen. Surely, they were aware of all this history with the Dragos but why did they fail to tell him?

He was finding more and more questions adding on top of the ones he had now instead of answers. The one about him leaving Enzo to die after the first attack stuck. He stepped forward, frown deepening as he reached for the same spot in Enzo's head where the other's hand had been moments ago.

"My grandfather was killed for his betrayal. For the sins against me, my father, my mother, but most importantly because he was determined to take you from me."

"You're not supposed to be near me," his voice was only meant for his ears, understanding some of the past situations without remembering...

"This alliance is not new for me. Perhaps for you. What's mine...is yours. But I don't believe the loyalty is reciprocated."

He felt a tug in the pit of his stomach, aware of the accusation in Enzo's voice. Where did he stand on all this? He thought of his mother who was kept in the dark about this meeting. His men whom he trusted had the family's best interest would advice him on the steps he'd make as the family's leader encouraged that his mother not be notified...

"Did you agree to this meeting carrying your grudge against me?" His hand caressed the side of the man's head. His mother - His mother purposely hid information about the Dragos from him perhaps in hopes he never remember a thing about Enzo Drago. "It's clear we have an unfinished business to settle," he echoed the man's words earlier. "Are you here to finish your grandfather's job?"

[obsvssxn]

Shiro's reaction to his words were both expected and unexpected. He knew he should refrain but Enzo couldn't stop himself, "Did I say something you didn't like?" He could only imagine what scenarios were playing in the other's mind. What pieces of the fractured puzzle were easily coming together the more information he shared. He felt it was important to say one thing. Ease the anxiety he could see creeping across Shiro's face and darkening the man's features. "If you're questioning your circle, don't. Jihoon, Malchin, and Mireu are all trustworthy and would give their lives for you. There's no question of their loyalty."

Enzo didn't immediately know how to answer Shiro's question. It was complicated and if predicated on his own pain and misinterpretations, yes would have quickly slipped from his lips. Again, it was complicated. "A year, maybe two years ago, yes I would be here to finish what my grandfather was incapable of completing. I believed that you were behind my attack. That your concern for me was non-existent." His hand covered the one that continued to touch the side of head intermittently. A current of electricity ran through his body. Indicative of the attraction that had and continued to exist between him and Im Shiro.

He wanted to say it. Repeat the words he'd spoken months before but he knew that would only add depth to a situation where they were already drifting ten thousand leagues under the sea. "The only grudge I'm holding against you is that I was little more than a distraction or a play thing to you. Somehow I ended up as the one with feelings. While you just broke the limbs and threatened the lives of anyone who dared to interfere with your access to me. No commitment. No relationship. But no community property with other lovers. At least not on my side. How have your other distractions survived the loss of their favorite sexual deviant?"

He needed to walk away. Clear his head. Jealousy was creeping into his tone along with the fear and compassion he held for Shiro. With his back to the other, Enzo took a series of deep breaths. Counting to ten and calming both his mind and heart before returning his attention to his host.

"Did I adequately fill in the gaps? Or should I share more?" There were flashes of images that filled his mind. Nights they spent together and even his warnings and demands that Shiro protect himself and those around him more than he did. They'd never get those moments back. He was little more than a stranger and that was a fact that Enzo would have to accept.

"Why don't you tell me what you really want. What you need from me and the families who sit at my table."

[babyface13]

Timeline: 2024 November 4th, Monday, around noon. Location: Haneda Airport to Im Ancestral Estate, Tokyo. Attire: See above. Mood: Quiet. Nervous. Worried. With: @assassinus; a body guard. Music: Take A Bite by beabadoobee

Eon with his twin sister, Eun-bin arrive at Haneda and will be directly taken to the family's estate. Mi-reu-ssi picked up the siblings from Seoul under Shiro's instruction.

Eon and Eun-bin are to continue their studies and training in Tokyo.

During the trip, Mi-reu-ssi disclosed that there will be a family meeting when they arrive at the estate and an important news will be announced.

[kvroshiro]

"I placed little effort in finding your location that is why the driver was hired."

The cold tone did not escape Shiro. It wasn't familiar to him whether this was usual, the man's normal demeanor. It seemed different from the first time they met after his attack...

He ordered Ji-hoon to arranged a meeting with the Drago heir, masking his real motive with the necessity to know other families well, to make connections. Only him truly knew what this meeting was all about...

It took a lot of therapy both physically and mentally to get him to where he was now. He was committed to the physical part of his recovery; he needed to be in top health for his return. The family's specialists including neurologists and psychotherapists pushed him to get better and remember crucial parts of his past that were necessary in leading the family. Once a week, his psychotherapy sessions put stress on him. It drove him to work harder, think harder. Once memories were coming through in patches, he was able to stitch them together. It was going great until one particular memory - or so he thought it was - came to him of this same man now standing before him.

It might've been a mistake, a glitch in his brain. How was it possible he shared his bed with Enzo Drago? The memory wasn't just a regular one; in it, he clearly heard the younger man confessed to him while he held him tight...

He couldn't remember anything else after that one specific moment. He stopped the sessions after that. He was making progress, so his order to halt the therapy did not make sense especially to his Eomma. He didn't give any explanations. He wasn't going to share what he thought he remembered of Enzo Drago. He could've continued with the sessions without bringing up the memory but he worried, perhaps he was even afraid of what he might discover. He asked himself if he was embarassed? No, there was no shame in what he thought was a memory. There was however, a sense of ownership that made him want to keep the so called memory all to himself.

It took months before he was strong enoguh to come out of his hiding. He had to wait for months to get to this point where he was determined to ask Enzo Drago himself what was planted in his head. But as he watched the man who stared at him with ice cold eyes, he began doubting that the memory was even real. It was just a product of that one suspenseful night that the man came to the safe house. Some imagination his brain had concocted to confuse him...

"Right," he said, finding himself lost, and was it disappointment that he tasted in his mouth? Everything that he learned about Enzo, from what Ji-hoon had reported to him and what Mal-chin and Mi-rue had shared, flew out of his head. And it was as if his guest read his mind, the other spoke and asked -

"Unfinished busines would be an interesting way to describe it. Before I answer that question, I need background from you. How much have you been told about me, my family, our past -- interactions? I need to where to begin and if I should correct any the mistakes in interpretation of our story."

Whatever therapy had regained back for him wokred to make him appear like how he was before the incident that almost took his life. Inside, he was a bubbling mess. Did he expect to get all his answers tonight from one man?

He mirrored the man's behaviour, slipping his hands inside his pockets to keep them busy. "Everything about your family. How you started. How you came about to power," he pushed his agenda to the side and thought of what he'd been working on for months and focused. "With you in your new position, I look to make connections, to strengthen my family's position. It's not a secret that we have a lot of enemies and from what I gathered, we have many in common. After my accident, my family suffered. We were open to be attacked in all sides... We still are. Despite maintaining control, I have to admit, with the amount of hold we lost, we are doomed to suffer even more. I'd like to discuss the benefits you'll gain if the Dragos become the Im family's ally."

[obsvssxn]

It was laughter that bubbled to the surface initially. Was Im Shiro this clueless about the inception of their relationship or worse, his now deceased grandfather's part in the harm that came to Shiro, nearly taking the man's life. The laughter didn't remain. Instead anxiety crept in. The helplessness that Enzo initially felt when he believed Shiro to be dead. The relief that came when his father delivered the news that it was all just a ploy to allow the Im family time to regroup. He should have turned. Giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts and even hide the myriad of thoughts and emotions that played out on his face.

"It sounds like I need to start at the beginning."

He could hear the crack in his voice. The same falter in tone when he thought about the other before him.

"You kidnapped me. Before I even knew who I was or what my family was." It all sounded like lies or worse the ill formed plot of a streaming giant's newest drama. "When we first met, I was Enzo Jansen. College student traveling and studying abroad. I thought my father just owned a deep sea fishing business and my mother was an average house wife. I had no idea who the Dragos were. I think you knew."

There were pieces that were gaps. As much due to his own injury and his suppression of thoughts and emotions. "The first attack on your life happened a few years ago. Your men saved you and I was left to die. Or at least that's how I interpret the situation. I was still Enzo Jansen then, until my grandfather came to play hero. He bartered a deal with your mother and took me somewhere safe to recover."

With those words, Enzo knocked on the side of his head. A thick scar hidden beneath the thick dark hair covering his head. What he detailed next was his recovery. The therapy. Learning to walk again. The mini strokes that plagued him in the first few months, the weakness in his right side that he masked through strength training but the same weakness that necessitated the need for Gio's and Marisol's presence around him to aid him when he couldn't protect himself.

He covered the introduction to his family history and even the sordid tale of his parents love affair and his father's former role as a government operative.

"My grandfather is the reason you were attacked both times. The alliance he made with the Russians, took priority of the one he fabricated with your mother. Then there's the matter of Orion Leos."

Enzo paused capturing his breath and pushing his emotions down, once more, "My grandfather was killed for his betrayal. For the sins against me, my father, my mother, but most importantly because he was determined to take you from me."

It was the first raw and honest emotion he allowed himself to speak.

"This alliance is not new for me. Perhaps for you. What's mine...is yours. But I don't believe the loyalty is reciprocated."

[kvroshiro]

the meeting

Timeline: 2024 November 2nd, Saturday, nearly midnight. Location: Secret safe house outside Tokyo... Attire: Black suit. Mood: Focused. Pensieve... Anxious. With: @obsvssxn; a few bodyguards, @assassinus

The meeting set by Ji-hoon with the Drago leader was set. The location was specifically picked, a heavily guarded estate where both leaders of the two families could meet in private.

Shiro was anxious and arrived early, holding a stress ball he squeezed in his left hand, preventing him from mindlessly pacing. He sat facing the entrance to the room, wanting to be the first person to know that the guest arrived and setting foot on the estate.

WIth Shiro's racing mind that still struggle to remember some parts of his past, the wait felt like forever. When the time finally came, he heard footsteps echoed in the hallway; his ears perked and eyes sharp, fixed on the door that swung open as Enzo Drago entered.

With his silent instructions, the bodyguards left the room to give them privacy...

WIthout speaking a word, Shiro remained seated, watching the man before him while his back turned to the wall. He felt safer that way. The man, this same man that came to visit him that one night months ago said things that he didn't understand. He didn't trust him but decided to have a meeting officially to hear what the other had to say.

"You didn't have a hard time finding the place, I hope" he then said, standing from his seat to step forward until he was facing an unfamiliar gaze. "You must be wondering why I requested this meeting with you," he paused as if to think then proceeded, "I'm going to be direct and ask you why you came to me that night a few months back. Is there any unfinished business we need to settle... Something that involves my family or yours?"

[obsvssxn]

Enzo was primarily silent on the ride from the luxury hotel he called home during his visit to Tokyo. He listened as Marisol filled the silence with details that had been shared with her by Mireu and Jihoon. Details that were important for him to know. While Shiro appeared to be himself, strong and capable. There were weaknesses and black holes in the memories he once held. The brain was a mysterious organ and Enzo knew that for himself. Migraines and fog heavy moments as a result of his own injuries years before still plagued him. He'd been hopeful, filled to the brim with positivity that perhaps he'd been important enough for Shiro to remember. An integral piece of the other's world that what they'd experienced together came flooding back as soon as the other man began to heal. What Marisol shared, told him the answer was no. He'd been reduced to homework. A series of facts for Shiro to study and memorize. Enzo would have to settle for what he could get.

When he stepped from the back of the vehicle, Enzo took his time. Shirt tucked, jacket covering broad shoulders, and dark shades to hide his gaze from view. He wanted to mask any visible anger and disappointment. After all, a man in his position would meet death allowing an enemy or someone unaware of the level of their alliance to see his wounds and weaknesses. With Marisol at his left and a small contingent of guards around him, they moved stoicly from the vehicle through the grounds and to the atrium where he could see the seated figure awaiting his arrival. His initial instinct was to protest the dismissal of both sets of guards but he was a guest. There was nothing Shiro could do to him outside of death and given the day Enzo may have even welcomed that as a gift.

Removing the shades and placing them in the inner pocket of his jacket, Enzo stared back at the man before him."I placed little effort in finding your location that is why the driver was hired." He recognized the coldness in his tone. The lack of emotion that he refused to give. This was transactional. Business at best. Nothing more and nothing less.

"Unfinished busines would be an interesting way to describe it." Enzo stopped there, eyes moving from head to toe and back again as he stared at Shiro. "Before I answer that question, I need background from you. How much have you been told about me, my family, our past -- interactions?" Hands now in his pockets, he smirked, "I need to where to begin and if I should correct any the mistakes in interpretation of our story."

[obsvssxn]

Timeline: 2024 November 2nd, Saturday, early afternoon. Location: Private Balcony of Janu Suite, Janu Hotel in Tokyo Attire: See above. Mood: Anxious. Irritated. Moody.

Enzo recently returned to Tokyo at the urging of both his father and Marisol. Marisol was fully aware of Jihoon's assignment to arrange a meeting between the now functional and memory armed Shiro and the heir to the Drago throne and seated head of the five recognized families. Enzo had purposely put distance between himself and Shiro. Fully aware that his desire for the other's memories to return, complicated his ability to lead and also put both he and Shiro at risk. He was a liability. Until he could act separate from his emotions, Enzo moved in silence, fully focused on the business of his family and nothing else. The last months had not been without their challenges. Attacks on his life and livelihood. Threats to his family and inner circle.

While he doesn't intend to decline the meeting request, he's not sure what it will bring and if the results will be positive. He'll await notification of both time and place.

[kvroshiro]

Timeline: 2024 November 1st, Friday, early morning. Location: Im Ancestral Estate, Tokyo. Attire: See above. Mood: Focused. Determined. With: Im Family.

Seven months had passed since that night Shiro had a visit from an Enzo Drago who claimed to know him well. He was alarmed, vulnerable, confused... Despite his instinct to kill to defend himself, the experience caused him to panic, to recoil, forcing himself to remember what he'd forgotten. It took months and a lot of work and therapy to bring about the person appearing in front of the family now, including the elders. He'd regained some of the memories he'd lost, relearned everything about the family and the business which was kept alive and safe by his Eomma with the help of Ji-hoon, Mal-chin, and Mi-reu. The announcement of his return was a shock to all the members of the family as only a handful was aware that he was alive and kept safe until stable. Even with a big part of Shiro still unknown to himself, he stood confidently in front of everyone, reclaiming his position, declaring that their time to punish who dared attack their family has come. No enemy of the Im Clan is safe.

After the family meeting, Shiro arranged that the twins be brought back to Tokyo.

"The meeting I told you to arrange," he turned to Ji-hoon, "With Enzo Drago... I expect it's been set for this weekend?"

[daimiyamoto]

GIUSEPPE MAGGIO

via Instagram Stories (August 2024)