[text] Look, just because you have my number, it doesn’t mean you can keep messaging me.
★ texts memes
outgoing → general waste of space #4( ✉ ) um… no? that’s… exactly what it means. ( ✉ ) how else am I supposed to keep myself entertained this boring afternoon?( ✉ ) nothing makes me feel busier than causing suffering and pain.( ✉ ) especially to those so deserving :) ( ✉ ) (: ( ✉ ) :)( ✉ ) (:
[ ✉ ⇢ Sugar Daddy ♡ ] Oh don’t be such a prude.[ ✉ ⇢ Sugar Daddy ♡ ] Was just saying[ ✉ ⇢ Sugar Daddy ♡ ] Like. I wouldn’t mind being sugar baby to you.[ ✉ ⇢ Sugar Daddy ♡ ] Sure beats some old rich dude.[ ✉ ⇢ Sugar Daddy ♡ ] At least you’re rich, young, and decent looking.[ ✉ ⇢ Sugar Daddy ♡ ] I’d call you daddy anytime.[ ✉ ⇢ Sugar Daddy ♡ ] Just fund my gaming rig plz daddy.
"Okay. Remember to brush him daily, else his hairballs will be ridiculous. Also, send photos and keep me updated on Felix okay? Thanks! I've already transferred the amount. I just paid for one month in advance because I'm not sure when I'll be back from my trip— okay, thanks!"
He ends the call with a smile and chirpy 'goodbye' that fades as soon as he hits the 'end call' button. That has Felix taken care of.
Tossing the mobile device onto the passenger seat, he twists his body around, stretching an arm around the driver's seat to retrieve the stuffed duffel bag and backpack resting in the back seats. Unzipping the duffel bag, he does a check of its contents, mentally checking off the supplies off his list as he accounts for each item – clothes, toiletries, electronics, batteries, cash. Check. Once he's done, he tosses the bag back to the backseats.
From his backpack, he pulls out a laptop, opening it to be greeted with a new message from the chat room:
[ 莲花 ] I've told you already right?
[ 莲花 ] They're moving tonight. Leaving Seoul.
[ 莲花 ] If you're planning on doing anything. It's now.
[ nameless ] I know.
[ 莲花 ] So? Are you doing anything.
[ nameless ] Would I have bothered contacting you if I weren't?
[ nameless ] Don't worry. I'll get your son.
[ nameless ] I can play dirty.
[ 莲花 ] They are dangerous people boy.
[ nameless ] Hence the dirty.
[ nameless ] If I can't bring them down, then I'll just drag them down with me.
[ nameless ] Simple.
[ 莲花 ] Sicheng.
[ nameless ] Chill woman. Did I say I'd bring Sicheng down with me?
[ 莲花 ] Like I said. They're dangerous.
[ 莲花 ] So be careful.
[ nameless ] Aww, is that concern I hear?
[ nameless ] How touching.
[ 莲花 ] Child, you are too young to lose your life over something like this.
[ 莲花 ] Too young to be meddling in such affairs even.
[ 莲花 ] This isn't the world for youth like you.
[ nameless ] We could go on about how I'm not supposed to be fucking around with the bad guys and the criminal.
[ nameless ] But here we are.
[ nameless ] And so is Sicheng. So save the nagging for another time.
[ 莲花 ] Always so stubborn, Watchman.
[ 莲花 ] Anyways. They should be leaving soon.
[ nameless ] Hacked their vehicle before hand.
[ nameless ] Got GPS tracking on them. Don't worry. I know where they will be.
[ nameless ] g2g
[ 莲花 ] Watchman.
[ 莲花 ] Remember our promise.
[ 莲花 ] Sicheng will not know.
[ 莲花 ] You promised.
Doyoung doesn't bother granting the woman a reply, switching windows to a map with a illuminated moving blue arrow on the screen. They were still a few blocks away. He's got time.
Scoffing, the slams the laptop close and carelessly tosses it towards the backseat, along with the backpack. Leaning back into the driver's seat, he sighs, closing his eyes for a moment as he empties his mind. Or at least, that's what he attempts to do, without much success. As if Kim Doyoung could ever empty his mind; His mind never stopped.
So today was the day huh?
He's waited so long. Bide his time. Plotted. Schemed. It's a bit of a letdown, to him mostly, how crude the plan seemed; But he supposes that's just a reflection of him as a person. He's not one for complicated mind games of logic and reason. He's one for complicated mind games of reckless unpredictability and bold chaos. It's just unfortunate that Gray wouldn't be in the picture. And that revenge was off the table for the time being.
But it's fine. Sicheng came first anyways. He always did.
He slips on his gloves and face mask, pulling out the steel baseball bat from the side as he stepped out of the black Audi ( he thinks; he doesn't know, he stole it ).
The streets are abnormally quiet tonight, though it's unsurprising since it's New Year's Eve. And pretty much everyone was out being all festive at Yongsan. Good for them, and good for him too. It's a blessing in disguise that they decided to transport Sicheng tonight of all nights. Now everyone would be too preoccupied with the festivities to bother with the chaos he has planned. And even better, the SPD would all be concentrated in that area. Who's going to care what happened at the outskirts of the city?
He casually saunters over to the conspicuous red Ferrari – also stolen; from one of those sleazy old men patronising Gray's shit business – parked further down the street, bat in hand. Sliding into the driver's seat, he turns on the engine. And waits.
Sparing a brief glance at his watch, he dully notes that it's 11:51PM, and wonders if the fireworks haven't started yet. And as though on cue, his ears pick up the vague sounds of explosions going off in the distance coming from the heart of the city. He almost misses the distinct sound of a roaring engine just up the street over the sounds of the distant fireworks and his own vehicles engine.
It's here. Here.
He straps himself in, eyes glued to the mobile GPS on his lap as he revs the engine, foot pressed down lightly on the accelerator and right hand resting on the handbrakes.
His eyes follow the little blue arrow... and just as they're about to reach the junction...
Now.
He simultaneously slams down on the accelerator and releases the hand break, sending the car lurching forward as his body is pulled backwards and into the seat by means of physics. The last thought in his head before the airbag explodes in his face is something along the lines of, "Fuck, I'm going to regret this aren't I?"
And surprisingly, he doesn't regret it as much as he though he would. Also, it the crash, surprisingly too, does not hurt as much as he though it would've. When he looks up – after stabbing/deflating the air bag with his knife – he realises why. The van had taken the brunt of the impact. Swerving off the road and onto the pavement and colliding with the opposite building.
So the whole: It's better to hit a moving object, over a stationary one. Is true. There must be some physics mumbo jumbo explanation behind that, but he'd got no time to dwell on that.
Not when he might have whiplash, and not when he's got a boy to rescue. He ought to get some action done before he knocks out from fuck knows what internal injuries he might or might not have sustained thanks to this stupidly effective plan of his.
Coughing, he drags himself out of the wrecked car, baseball bat in hand.
Walking up to the driver's seat the wordlessly smashes the window in, ignoring the groaning driver as he reaches his arm in to grope around for buttons – of which he presses all of them, indiscriminately. One of them ought to open the back door.
Heading over to the back of the van, he pulls the doors open – evidently his 'press all the buttons' idea had worked – swinging the bat over his shoulder.
"Okay. Hear, hear. I'm looking for a Dong Sicheng. You little shits might know him as Kiddo."
“Count the candles on your birthday cake,
and know that you are brighter and more full of light
than every single one of them.”
Happy Birthday, @sichengxmi.
From: Kim Doyoung
He cruises through the day with poised indifference; As though it were any other ordinary day. Or at least, as ordinary as things can get with him as a flatmate. But he supposes his unpredictability is to his advantage, since people can never really tell if he's up to something or if he's just being... well, him.
It's the usual routine:
Wake at 8AM, despite it being a weekend. Clean up. Feed the cat. Fixing breakfast – today's menu is simple – of ground meat patties with scrambled eggs and toasted buttered buns with a side of fruits; His excuse is that he's got to rush off for a last minute meeting with an editor. The morning routine is rounded off by him basically throwing Sicheng off the bed since the man is particularly lazy during weekends.
They sit and eat breakfast, and by 9AM, Doyoung's out of the door with his messenger bag and stack of folders in hand. It's so very obvious that Doyoung has somewhere to be and work to be done. Except, he doesn't and it's all just for show. He rounds back to the outdoor emergency stairwell at the back of the building where he makes the long trek back up the building.
There's a little bit of ledge he has to traverse to make it to his bedroom's widow ( which he'd left unlocked and open ). And it's a lack of foresight on his part, to have decided to carry out with him as many folders as he did, but he overcomes that minor hurdle by tucking them under his shirt. He makes quick work of it – having travelled this route over a dozen times by now – shimmering along the sliver of ledge to his widow and hopping into his room.
And now, he waits.
By now, he knows Sicheng's schedule by heart; And he knows that every Saturday, just before noon, Sicheng goes out – study/consultation sessions, he says. So Doyoung's just waiting for him to leave.
He's in no rush, and he merely bides his time, fiddling with his phone till he hears the front door click and beep shut in its telling way, and it's his cue to come out and play.
❈
Cooking was a skill he'd painstakingly honed over the years since he'd gone solo; So it honestly doesn't take him as long as one would think it would to prepare and lay out an extravagant birthday feast. But he belatedly realises he'd miscalculated, and he's left with an excess of time with nothing much to do except wait for Sicheng's return.
Idling around is not something that Doyoung's particularly fond of though, and eventually he finds something supposedly productive for himself to do while waiting for his flatmate's return.
That being... writing a letter? Of cheery, sentimental birthday wishes? Perhaps?
❈
It's odd, that Doyoung – who had the emotional intelligence of a 5 year old – would go out of his way to so meticulously plan a conspicuous, and hopefully, somewhat meaningful birthday celebration for a friend. It's something he has never done before in his life. Even he himself thinks this is odd behaviour on his part.
He's not really the sentimental type. His friends know. His family knows.
He's not used to birthday celebrations for one, both for others, and for himself. But he supposes people can change, and he has. He use to not care. Perhaps because he was young, and caught up with whatever youthful pursuits a teenager might have; He's still young, and more often than not caught up in other youthful, perhaps more dangerous pursuits he had, but he's also matured a bit. Maybe.
There's quite a bit one can learn from living independently from family, and away from a controlled environment such as High School. Doyoung learns, has learnt, to treasure company his friendships more; Friends are, after all, harder to make and keep once one has entered the working world, he realises. And even the most solitary, and indifferent individual grow lonely over time when starved of human contact that was more than just professional.
Not that he was lonely. Not really.
But he did miss his more social, High School days. And that was saying a lot because he wasn't even that social back then.
❈
Sicheng,
How did you like the birthday feast? I hope you liked it! Today is the peak of my culinary career. You'd probably never taste anything better made by me than today's feast. I know you're rich and loaded, and you can probably afford to get yourself some authentic Zhejiang Cuisine anytime, anywhere. But where would you find such variety and heart, except from moi? ( Or maybe your mother. ) You don't show it, but you probably get homesick every once in awhile right? Most people do you know? Maybe more so during their birthdays, which I suppose is usually spent with family right? I hope the food makes you feel like home isn't that far away. You know you can ask me to cook your hometown's food anytime right?
Anyways, how long has it been since the start of our cohabitation? I can't really remember. it's almost been a year right?
I'm glad to have met you. You're messy. A homewrecker. A kinky pervert. A questionable college student, who I'm certain is going to flunk out if you don't start keeping proper track of your timetable. But you're a nice guy. And a good friend.
Sure, you keep leaving stuff lying around and all, but hey ho! You've started being more conscious about your mess and I'm proud of you hyung! I'm making an impact on your life! Haha ~ You have stolen away half of Felix's love from me, but I guess having a mom and dad is actually better for Felix than just a single parent eh? You're one kinky bastard, but well, everyone has their dirty secrets and you're cute when you get embarrassed ( thanks for amusing me all this time ). And well, I can't speak for your college life but er, at least you know your stuff? You must be smart to study humanities in another language, and not to mention, get into Sungkyunkwan in the first place. So I'll trust in you not to flunk out.
You know, I'm not very close with my family. And I like being independent. And living alone is great. Was great. But it does get a little... stifling at times? And boring. Life feels somewhat monotonous when everyday, you come home to an empty apartment – well, save for Felix. It's pretty quiet, I realise, when you're not around. And before you came, it must've been really, really quiet. And empty.
Your arrival made everything less dull and more lively. And although we haven't known each other that long, I feel like you've become a close friend to me. I know you often give in to me, and let me do as I wish most times. Maybe it's because I'm younger. Maybe not. And although I don't really say anything about it, I notice it and appreciate the silent gesture hyung. Also, I know I treat you really roughly at times, and don't address you formally and all that nonsense but er, I do still respect you. I just do all of it because well, I know you can handle it and because you let me. Heh.
Ew. I'm being so mushy.
Ahem. So erm. Anyways, I just want to say that I'm glad you were born. And that I've met you. And that you're the one who called and decided to rent the room I had on the classifieds. You're great. And I love you.
I hope you like the camera I got you. I know you've been somewhat interested in photography for awhile now, and I'd love to teach you. It's no professional grade DSLR, but everybody has to start from somewhere. Also, I don't want to scare you with all the technical stuff too early on hah! Let's just start off with taking pretty photos together!
Love you!
Doyoung
❈
In the end, Doyoung's feeling sentimental. But not that sentimental.
Glancing down at the meticulously calligraphed letter, he frowns. Grimacing as he roughly scribbles all over the painstakingly inked letter before scrunching up the parchment paper and tossing it aside. He can't bring himself to actually present such a heartfelt letter to Sicheng.
Emotions – being honest about them, made him feel oh so very vulnerable. He didn't like the feeling.
❈
There's the telling click and whirr of the front door unlocking, and Doyoung flies up from his seat.
When Sicheng walks through the door, Doyoung is there to greet him with 10 times the usual intensity and the brightest of all his smiles. He practically throws himself at the man, muttering sweet birthday wishes peppered with giggles as he playfully showers the man with kisses. And when he's done playing clingy puppy, he all but drags Sicheng over to the dining table laden with an assortment of dishes.
And sitting by the corner of the table, is Sicheng's wrapped gift, with a simple card on top with the equally simple message:
"To: Sicheng-hyung
Happy Birthday ~"
In the end, Doyoung really just isn't that honest of a person.
And in the end, he chooses to let words be left unsaid. Because he's not ready to be honest with Sicheng. Or himself. And he's not ready to be expose himself, and let himself be vulnerable. And because he's a man of ACTION, not WORDS.
outgoing → general waste of space #4( ✉ ) honestly, fuck off. I don’t know what you’re trying here but it won’t work. ( ✉ ) if you want something, ask someone who cares. ( ✉ ) if this is a wrong number, put the drink down and go home.
[/text-Hellboy ♡] Who were you again? :P Of course I missed you, dumbass! [/text-Hellboy ♡] let’s meet today? [/text-Hellboy ♡] I’ll buy you some drinks. so hurry up
