warning: violence mentions | the rivalry au based off kick it mv
the head of the diamond dragons, as the only child of the prestigious and almost obnoxiously rich jung household it was only right that he take over as the new and young leader
he grew up with most things being handed to him on a silver platter - but spoiling him didn’t make him less calculating or smart
he likes consistency and is fiercely rigid about social order - that being said, if someone who doesn’t even have the status to be able to look in jaehyun’s eyes as much as raises their voice or hand against him
with a snap of his wrist, he’ll crush their entire existence
so you can see, not many people choose to test their limits
he becomes known as a silent and cutthroat businessman, his family’s ties and his ability in finding only the best, most qualified people to work for him has allowed him to build a gambling empire
sitting on the boards of famous hotels and casinos
and when things don’t go exactly his way - well he has other members of the diamond dragons take care of that for him
he just blinks or tilts his head and that’s enough for his men to know their job
quite frankly, you don’t know how you ended up in a position like this - you had just finished your shift as the nightly poker dealer and were going to head home
when a sleek, long black car had pulled its way directly in front of you
you brace yourself, digging around in your purse for your keys because you’ve seen this in movies - you need to at least defend yourself
but then to your shock, the keys falling from your hand - the window rolls down and you see
“you’re the dealer from table 127, right?”
unable to speak - seeing someone so glamorous, so rich up close - you nod
the driver suddenly hurries around from his seat and opens the door of the car
jaehyun steps out, tall and glorious, the suit he’s wearing is made of silk and the cut between the lapels is deep - showing the beautiful and clean skin underneath it
you also make out the peek of something dark on the dip of his left collarbone
it’s the dragon tattoo everyone in seoul knows he has
“i’d like you to quit your job and work for me.”
he leans down a little - your eyes suddenly drawn to his own
a smile unfurls on his lips when he sees the shock of his proposition seep into your expression
“let’s just say i have a soft spot for dealers, it’s the uniform. it turns me on.”
he chuckles, the sound low in the back of his throat as he toys with a strand of your hair and lets his hand settle on the bright red vest you wear for work
with that he turns and disappears into the shadow of his car, the driver rushes to close it and then turns to you with his hand extended
in it is a playing card, you see a “J” and think it’s the joker, but it’s actually not a card at all.
in the center where there should be an ace or a spade, is a curled dragon and the contact number jung jaehyun
you want to ask - exactly what does this job entail? but the car curves left and out of sight
the spot on you where jaehyun had touched sears a little
something tells you he’s had his eye on you for a while.
a martial arts specialist, trained since before he could fully walk a straight line
he has two major interests: perfecting his technique and lace
he is a very very very big fan of lace
for someone who knows over three hundred ways to break bones - he craves and adores soft, beautiful things
people assume it’s because he himself is basically ethereal - that he wants to emulate it in his lifestyle
but really he just thinks there’s power in in it - no one ever said you had to knock someone out in bloody, dirty clothes
he agreed to be a part of diamond dragons partially because he respects jaehyun’s meticulous commitment to fine aestheticism
but also because beautiful things aren’t cheap
now he’s jaehyun’s main source of protection - quietly appearing in the shadows when jaehyun is threatened and taking care of “problems” without leaving a mess
he’s always dressed in white silks, lace collars and even lace ribbons on his arms and fingers and even in his hair
some members nicknamed him an angel of death because to be hurt by something so beautiful,,,,,,can’t be all that bad
you know taeyong, not as a member of the diamond dragons, but because he’s a customer of yours
you work with all the fabrics he adores, so when he needs tailoring he comes to you - always wearing something gorgeous and insanely expensive
long fingers adorned in jewels, yellow-brown eyes hidden behind blonde strands of hair
he claims no one else can tailor like you do - you treat the fabric with such care
it flusters you to be complimented by someone like him, but you never think twice about a man so polite and gentle
not until taeyong happens upon your shop in the middle of a robbery
and you frighteningly back up into a corner as a figure looms over you - money clutched in hand and wicked eyes
you think something bad is bound to happen until suddenly - the figures head is gone
you look up to see taeyong
his leg outstretched in a perfect high-kick, one angry flash of silver in his eyes
it takes you a moment to put things together - to understand what kind of force it takes for someone to do that
taeyong calmly straightens back out and steps over the slumped body
he takes your hand in his, still as gentle as ever and smiles
“i’ll make sure this goes away, now tell me - did you finish that order of mine?”
you cant breath for a second
his beauty had turned ravenous for a second - and yet, you aren’t horrified by it
instead the impact has somewhat enchanted you
you simply nod, leading him over to your work desk
the two of you ignoring the rolls of money that have fanned out on the floor
when you tilt your head to look over, taeyong pulls your chin toward him and he says it again
“ill make sure this goes away.”
some people have perfect pitch, he has perfect aim
any weapon, any size, any power - drop it into his hands and he’ll know what to do with it
and how to do it perfectly
yuta used to enjoy traveling alone, a sort of transit lifestyle that let him do and see whatever he wanted
much to the shock of many of jaehyun’s companions, hiring yuta was kind of out there
he was closer to a street banger than the refined masters jaehyun had a preference for
but yuta didn’t care about the stuck-up opinions some people had about him
it had been simple, jaehyun had bumped into him at a gala where he was attending as a guest and yuta had been hired to take care of a festering problem known as a corrupt governor who was also in attendance
jaehyun had sat back with his glass of wine, watching yuta do his work
even in a packed ballroom of people - he had got his mark - and then had calmly turned on his heel and disappeared
jaehyun had found him, of course, and had offered a position with the golden dragons
yuta had laughed at it, he wasn’t going to be a second hand call dog to some rich boy with a taste for refinement
but the money and the possibilities jaehyun spoke of had turned his tide
even though doyoung would scrunch his nose up when yuta strolled into meetings in less than appropriate attire or playfully twirled explosives in his hand
he was a true golden dragon now, he even had a small symbol tattooed behind his ear to show solidarity
you are the child of an extremely powerful casino owner, and therefore jaehyun knows and is acquainted with your family
the problem is - your father refuses to work with jaehyun on a certain amount of issues
yuta doesn’t think much when the order comes down and he gets himself ready for the job
your family is going out to dinner as usual, and yuta strolls through the restaurant and your table where you and your father are laughing
he sees the target - but something causes him to stop
your smile is so vibrant, shimmering with a kind of light he’s never seen before
you briefly glance up at the awkward, but handsome man but then refocus on your father
yuta takes his seat and stares down into the perfectly white plate - what he has hidden in the pocket of his jacket now feels heavy and unfamiliar
a sensation so new and obtuse to him that when he fishes it out
taking a second to line up his shot - the trigger feels wrong
the room disappears and like tunnel vision he sees you
usually he looks at people through crosshairs - yet something soft glows around you
once again you turn your head a little and catch his eye
a pretty smile accompanies it and yuta grinds his teeth
when he lines up the shot again - something happens that’s never happened before
the bullet ricochets to the left, hitting the wall to the kitchen
a flurry of panic breaks out and you get up, hand on your fathers back
yuta sees you one last time before he’s getting up too
a small voice reminds him that jaehyun will not be pleased
fuck jaehyun. i need to go toward them, i need to go toward that light.
the famous lightening thief, whose reputation comes from being able to steal anything from anyone
and not petty grabs like cars or wallets or whatever
his repertoire includes everything from art museums to royal family homes to top corporations
if you want it - and you can pay the price for it - kim doyoung can get it
the police have made disgruntled points about his hands being kissed by midas or something, considering he’s never left fingerprints anywhere so they can’t tie him to the crimes
but it’s public knowledge that paintings and sculptures hanging in the homes of the affluent got there somehow
and that folders upon folders of incriminating evidence against powerful and corrupt ceos had to come from somewhere
his broad web of connections and perfect organization has made him a vital part of many rich families business
but he particularly enjoys working for the diamond dragons because the commission fee he gets is triple what he usually sees
and jaehyun’s missions for him always test his mathematical brain
he does, in fact, have one thing he can’t steal
and it’s tortured him for years
watching you work for jaehyun’s most despised rivals - the ragtag group that calls themselves the golden tigers
you’re the close confident of their leader, mark lee, and although doyoung has figured out enough to understand that you are nothing more to mark lee than a friend
there’s something about that closeness that doyoung craves
and so whenever jaehyun comes in contact with them, doyoung makes himself there
he watches you, wearing the thick leather jacket with the prowling golden tigers climbing up both sleeves
your eyes are always on mark or jaehyun, and doyoung looks at you past the frames of his glasses
no one has ever been more beautiful and more unattainable ,,,,,,,, he’s thought of multiple ways to get you to be his
but all of them are dark and horrible - unacceptable
doyoung swallows when he sees you approach at mark’s side, your hand settles on his hand and mark whispers something to you
doyoung doesn’t understand - why doesn’t jaehyun just take care of this group of children, he could spare you and let doyoung-
suddenly something turns the blood in doyoung’s blood freeze over
your eyes, linger on him, they start from his face and travel downward
you’re scoping him out - you’ve never done that
doyoung’s shoulders tighten, his lips thin and he can’t help but feel the heat of your stare
he’d dream of the day you noticed him, but he could have never imagined it would feel like this
he meets your gaze and the side of your mouth twitches into a small smile - a secret smile - it causes him to step back
a couple of the members throw glances at him, but doyoung’s mind nearly breaks
what did that mean? why are you finally look back at him?
jaehyun moves taeyong and yuta in front of him and mark calls upon on haechan and jungwoo
you lurk back into the shadows and doyoung knows its against his better judgement but he does too
while everything breaks out into hell - he watches you slip away and this time he doesn’t want you to go
he chases after you and falls right into your trap - he feels your hand against his back
“have you always had a soft spot for me? sorry it took me so long to notice”
you say, your voice like a goddesses hymn.
doyoung wants to say something, but everything suddenly dims.
break it till you make it kind of mentality, from a hard working family that lost it all because of evil people in power (most likely because of something jaehyun’s family did - but that’s too deep in the lore for now)
he’s been making his own money and helping out friends since he can remember
and even though he looks like the most gentle, kind boy and he is - when you’ve been training to protect those you love your whole life
you can grow a tougher skin
and at some point it clicks for mark that he doesn’t have to sit around and do nothing - he can actively stop the people who hurt others for their own gain
and that’s kind of the whole reason behind the golden tigers
that and mark’s always felt an affinity for the animal, his mom used to call him little cub
and when he wants to be - mark can be ferocious, especially when it comes to jung jaehyun
who resembles everything mark hates, and jaehyun doesn’t fancy mark either - seeing him as one of those people whose social status just doesn’t match up
you’re mark’s childhood bestfriend whose seen firsthand how hard mark has fought for everything
how he’s taken the things the rich have done to the people of his community and reversed it
a lot of people owe debts to the jungs in your neighborhood, your older brother being one of them and on numerous occasions mark and the golden tigers have saved his and your life
you hate to fall into the cliche, but you think you’ve been in love with him for as long as you can remember
so watching him wear himself out - worrying about everyone else but himself - it’s made you anxious
you find him slumped over in an alley one night, dropping your bags of groceries to run over to him
a small drip of blood streamlines down his lip and he explains that he’s fine
but you can tell he’s been jumped - probably by one of those underlings for the diamond dragons
you help him back to your home and mark starts insisting that he go, that he leave
and for once you stop him - hand on his, still bandaged from when he broke it the week before
“mark lee, you can be a fierce tiger and fighter and protector - but have you ever thought about protecting yourself?”
he falters at your sudden straightforwardness
“well! that’s not good enough. from now on, im your protector.”
you lean up to wipe the blood away with your sleeve and drag him with any force needed into your home so you can make sure he’s really alright
but thankfully mark kind of falls into step behind you easily
this side of you new, but inviting in some kind of mysterious way
“do-do you want to be a part of the golden tigers?”
he asks when you’re standing in front of him with wads of cotton, and hot tea on the counter
“i thought i already was - mark lee, you’ve bleed on my carpet like a billion times.”
mark laughs a little and his hand comes shyly to rest on your waist
he admits it now. you’ve always been there for him too.
but right now you just look so much more beautiful than all those times before,,,,,,,,,,,,,he can’t really explain why.
particularly skilled interrogator - he has a keen sense of reading people and fishing out their weaknesses
its not to say that he enjoys psychological games as much as he’s natured to be insanely good at them
he says he’s not a golden tiger, but he is - probably more than anyone else
because he understands mark and when he isn’t pretending like he’s not interested in this whole vigilantism
he too doesn’t particularly have a good history with the powerful
which is why maybe,,,,,,,,,it is sometimes to watch them squirm
he does adore the other members as well, especially taeil who haechan thinks is just the most entertaining person in the world
he describes him as a matrix - his personality and his skill set just do. not. make. sense.
you’re actually a student at the university haechan attends, because as much as he is a golden tiger - he still wants to do something outside of the group for himself
you, of course have no idea about his affiliations, but boy do you and haechan get into it
he nitpicks at things and you argue that that’s not the right way to get to someone
he always points out it is the right way to get on your last nerve though
everyone in the room can feel the tension between you two, the whole will they won’t they
and haechan’ wont lie - it’s nice to tease someone not because you need their information to help save others or to destroy the plans of someone evil
but simply because you like their reaction
but one day, haechan realizes hes let you in too close
because as you’re walking with him to the bus stop - a group of figures spots him and spots you
they don’t approach, but haechan can tell they’ve taken note of you and it makes his blood cold
“hey, can i make sure you get home today?”
“oh - are you being nice to me now for some sort of reverse psycholog-”
haechan sees the dragon tattoo on one of the men’s necks, he swallows and steers you in the opposite direction
“no im not playing, just let me make sure you get home.”
“haechan c’mon im not gonna-”
you start, but something in haechan’s eyes dims and you look around and see that there are other people staring
“haechan,,,,,,what is going on?”
you whisper and he thinks quickly, reading their body language and nodding at you
haechan and you end up sprinting through the winding streets, you’re too scared to look back and see who is following you, but when you finally do
haechan just grabs your hand and tugs you after him
once he thinks you’re somewhere safe, he doesn’t let your hand go
you look at him - eyes wide - he thinks, oh fuck i can’t let those guys get to them now
“i know. i’ll explain everything.”
model turned casual member of golden tigers
he used to be straight onto a path of stardom and money, his pretty face and long lithe figure had made him quite popular for magazines and runway
but that kind of life came with so much loneliness and sadness that one day he just up and quit
he had met mark only a week later, after spectacularly failing an interview at a local coffee shop whilst also dodging unwanted attention from several of the patrons
mark had thought it was odd, the way someone could be so easygoing and still ward off the bad things around them
jungwoo had asked to sit at mark’s table and the two had talked, by the end of it mark had said if jungwoo needed anything he could come to him
and jungwoo didn’t need anything per say
but he did have something to offer
“im agile, im tall, and i can pretty much perfectly blend in with the kind of people you’re fighting. don’t you think i’d be useful?”
now he sports the golden tigers jacket, spends days flimsying around taeil’s makeshift basement lab
and hovering over haechan’s shoulder when he’s doing schoolwork
but it’s true - he’s on several occasions been able to get into the hotels the jungs have a hand in and has picked up anyone of interest to be interviewed and taken care of, if need be, by the other members
you’re supposed to be charmed by jungwoo because it seems like you have information on jaehyun
but instead of you being too charmed by anyone - you just seem just as obliviously beautiful as jungwoo
when he starts talking to you, you stare long and hard and then pick an eyelash from his cheek
“you should make a wish.”
jungwoo hasn’t heard that in years
when he asks you about jaehyun again you sort of deflate a little, the whimsical sparkle of your eyes dims
“i don’t know much about him, i don’t quite think i really ever want to know much about him.”
something clicks in jungwoo’s head and he asks you if you want to ditch the event you’re both at
you agree, wholeheartedly - thinking you two might run off for a midnight stroll or a stop to eat
instead you find yourself in front of mark lee and other golden tigers, but not for the interrogation they thought would happen
“i think you should let them join.”
jungwoo insists and haechan mutters that you can’t just let everyone jungwoo has a crush on join to mark
but mark sees something in you that he sees in jungwoo
when you ask if this is a gang, mark laughs and shakes his head
“no, that jung family is gang. we’re just trying to help.”
jungwoo gives you an enthusiastic nod - you don’t really know why but there’s a sense of trust you feel with these people
none of them are wearing those masks you’re so used to on the faces of the elite
you agree to see if you can be of any help and jungwoo shrugs off the jacket he’s wearing
the one with tigers on the sleeve
“it’s getting cold, plus you’ll have one just like it soon.”
you accept with a blush and haechan groans about how flirting isn’t supposed to be allowed!
but like he has no funds or an actual laboratory so he makes experiments in his basement
and almost blew up the apartment building down the street because of it - but like seriously it wasn’t on purpose he just spilled some stuff into some other stuff and it was weird
mark knows him because he actually used to work for jaehyun, the moon family is pretty infamous for being doctors and phd researchers
and taeil’s happened to be in chemistry - which is always a fun thing to have if you want to run a deadly operation
he left for unknown reasons - he left way before mark’s name had ever been uttered to jaehyun
and even though doyoung, jaehyun’s own private information thief, had been trying to find him for a while now
taeil had the help of the golden tigers to keep him on the fringes
which is why, from time to time, he likes to help them out as well
jungwoo and haechan both really have come to like him - mark likes him too and all, but those three somehow know how to have fun together
taeil’s favorite thing to experiment with is acidity, he likes making poisons and acids that can destroy things
and sometimes his own clothes (and even skin) pay the price - but that mans pain tolerance is so high he could probably be shocked by lightening twice and be standing
you’re one of the people who lives in the building beside taeil’s and you always hang around the back lot where the stray cats are
one is your ultimate favorite - a chubby black cat with one eye who you’ve named bruce - one day you see bruce pawing at the basement window of the other building so you go to see whats up and almost jump back when you see a person
his eyes shift from you to the cat and the window suddnly opens
he pushes forward a can of cat food - but you stare at it questioningly
“,,,,,,,,,,who are you?”
“do you live down there?”
you watch as bruce shuffles toward the food and meows gleefully
“is he yours? i thought he was a stray?”
the voice asks and you shake your head
“he is. ive also been feeding him,,,,,,,,,,hey - whats that smell coming down from there?”
the man smiles and you think it’s a little suspicious - but people are weird - and if he’s been helping the cat he can’t be all that bad
you notice a mark on his hand when he reaches out to move the can, it looks like the end of a dragons tail but you don’t say anything
he meets your gaze and waves a small tiny goodbye
before he closes the window for good he says something weird
“i could make a poison out of that.”
the window shuts and you sort of stay crouched, confused
bruce looks fine though and you follow him back out onto the street
when you return, there’s a curtain in the window
huh, maybe ill see him again. but what’s all that about poison?
taeil hums to himself as he continues working and then stops
“ah, i shouldn’t have said that to them. probably not cute to flirt with my knowledge of deadly chemicals.”
he was supposed to grow up in a monastery and be a man of belief ,,,,,,,,,,, but things happened
and now he’s extremely good at just about everything both the golden tigers and the diamond dragons would want in a member
problem is - he doesn’t feel solidarity toward either of them
because he doesn’t know the answer
is life about money or is it about helping others instead of yourself?
that’s a little to ethically on the nose for him
instead he likes to play both sides
jaehyun’s all about the gambling business - mark’s all about bringing those debt collectors down
so every now and then johnny shows up at a poker game or at the doorstep of someone whose running away from the jungs
he dangles his loyalty and then pulls it away, the thrill junkie in him expressed by the loud yellow motorcycle he zips through around town
he knows playing both sides of a card is risky
but he likes it - the adrenaline rush isn’t matched
you figure out what he’s doing pretty quickly, as you are the only person who does have his commitment
and when he does come home and you splay a hand over the toned plane of his chest
you ask him to stop, just so he’ll be safe
“i will, soon. they’ll both be destroyed.”
johnny shrugs, leaning in to brush his lips against yours - he never lets this conversation get too far
but the day comes when both sides figure it out
and jaehyun doesn’t like wild card and mark doesn’t like playing the game all together
so johnny tells you to grab and go to run away with him and from this place
he’ll take you somewhere better and new
you stand on the corner of the street, 3 am and in the dim light
“how will i know you won’t run away from me, how you’re running away from the problems that have caught up to you?”
he steps closer to you - craddling your face in his large hands
“because i would die for you.”
he pulls something from the back of his pocket and places it in your hand
“you don’t have to answer me now, but when you’re ready - i do want to know. will you die for me too?”
johnny turns out to be right, the golden tigers and the diamond dragons will come to destroy each other
you don’t know if the evidence he collected and left at the doorstep of a local precinct helps with that
well anyway, it isn’t your problem anymore - you and johnny have moved on to bigger and better things
at least the rings you wear prove as much
dededos
andulkaphoto
origamiaround
germansingergirl
theartofmadeline
areudirty
