[1/?] absolute and zero
[1/?] absolute and zero
daehyun/youngjae, slight yongguk/himchan
pg-13 | 2124 w
summary: assassins from two of seoul's most prestigious clans find themselves caught between loyalty and love
It's the year of 2013, the year where modern technology has reached its peak and everyone is busy living in the midst of consumerism. A child tugs on his mother's skirt, hoping for a small sign of attention, but she's distracted by the flashing lights of sales and discounts. A couple passes by the many shops while holding hands, but the man slyly glances at another woman's legs before facing his lover with a mask. A young, aspiring girl leaves her night job with a small wad of cash and another scar on her dreams. Among these people lurk members from two of Seoul's most prestigious clans, Zero and Absolute. Hiding away their actions from the public's eye, they commit crimes and magically erase any trace that would give any leads on them.
Despite practicing the same types of crimes, Zero and Absolute were rival gangs. Each member served towards the ultimate goal which was complete annihilation of the opposite clan. Members of the Zero clan hailed from a long line of snipers and close target shooters, while Absolute members chose to use more terrorist-like approaches such as arson attacks. If any members were caught betraying their family clan, severe consequences would take place. It was a labyrinth where as long as you start it, you won't be able escape till the game is finished.
You only have one chance.
A knock resonated through the small office, causing Yongguk to stir from his sleep. Sighing at the constant disturbance, Yongguk stood up and fixed his tie.
"Come on in," he ordered. The stiff frown on Yongguk's face relaxed into a smile once he saw the familiar tuft of black hair. "You're here early. Thought you would still be sleeping," Yongguk joked, grinning at the pout on Himchan's face.
"Well, seeing your face this early wasn't exactly in my plans as well. But I have a job too, you know," Himchan retorted as he slid onto the couch. "Anyways, I got a call from The Central this morning. Chairman wants to see you," he added. The light smile on Yongguk's face gradually turned into a strict line, creasing his forehead. Himchan stood up from his seat and walked towards Yongguk. Reaching out one of his hands, he pressed against Yongguk's forehead and straightened the wrinkle. "Hey, don't let it get to you. You and I both know that the Itaewon incident wasn't your fault," he softly murmured.
"What does knowing anything prove? It doesn't work like that around here, and you know that," Yongguk snapped back, only to regret it once he saw the visible disappointment on Himchan's face. "I didn't mean that. It's just... The stress is ridiculous lately. I don't think I can take over Absolute," Yongguk admitted, placing his face into his hands. He continued, "I feel like there's always going to be something for everyone to be disappointed in me for."
"Even when the world decides to turn their back on you, I won't. So stop worrying and just do your best for now," Himchan promised as he slid an arm around Yongguk's shoulders. Yongguk turned to face Himchan with a relieved grin as a token of gratitude before he placed a hand onto the other's cheek, closing in for a kiss. Although he was taken by surprise, Himchan smiled into the kiss and fluttered his eyes shut.
Even if the world turns away from you, protect yourself.
"Sir, I brought the documents you asked for," Yongguk stated, sliding the manila folder across the desk. "All outlines and data charts of the recent arson attack are in there as well," he added with a monotone voice. Taking two steps back, Yongguk slid into one of the office chairs and waited for the president's approval.
"What about the Itaewon incident? You already have men placed on that assignment, I assume?" the man questioned, back still turned against Yongguk. The condescending tone made the insides of Yongguk boil up, but he calmly answered back with a short grunt.
"Good. It would just be a terrible shame if my own son wasn't even capable of doing that," he replied while swiveling his chair to face Yongguk. "You've already embarrassed me enough with failing the hit-and-run at Cheongju," the president continued on, enjoying the constricted expression on his son's face. "Dismiss yourself then, and remember, I expect only the best from you."
Yongguk stopped midway to the door and felt himself shake in anger. The patronizing tone used by his father had the quality of twisting words to make them sound belittling. Without another reply, Yongguk pushed through the glass doors and exited the conference room. Gripping his fists together, he trudged through the halls, anger fuming from his body. Every single aspect of his father disgusted him, but Yongguk could only stay silent for now. As long as he was the chairman, his father was left invincible to Yongguk's offenses. And no one took better advantage of that than the chairman himself.
"My only off day and they decide to put me on surveillance," Youngjae complained, pushing through the glass doors of the bar. He walked towards the counter and slid up onto one of the chairs before pulling out his wallet.
"A glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, please," Youngjae ordered, passing his credit card towards the bartender. The live jazzy melody complimented the calming features of the bar, allowing Youngjae to relax and lean back into his chair. Closing his eyelids, Youngjae tapped to the beat of the melody and sipped his wine. He began to scan the room in search of his target; definite that this would be the moment that he would catch the ace assassin of Absolute.
"The usual for me, Jinyoung," a voice stated, taking up the empty seat next to Youngjae. The bartender nodded as he pulled out a bottle of 2005 Chateau and poured it into a glistening glass. Youngjae, with his eyes now opened, watched the red liquid swish around as he rotated his glass in a circular motion.
"One Chateau," the bartender spoke as he placed the glass onto a beverage coaster. Thanking the man with a generous tip, Daehyun took a sip from his glass. The smooth yet sharp flavor of the wine played along well with the soft yet striking tones of the live jazz music.
"Do you come here often?" Daehyun asked, turning Youngjae's attention towards him.
"Excuse me?" he replied with an expression of confusion and shock. "Was that towards me?" Youngjae questioned, searching around to see if there was another person near.
"Isn't that what people say to get others into their bed?" he replied, silently chuckling as he caught Youngjae's expression become stiff. "Lighten up, I was just joking," Daehyun added. He placed the empty wine glass onto the counter and leaned his chin into his hand.
"I'm Daehyun, nice to meet you," Daehyun stated as he offered out one of his hands for a shake. Youngjae stared at the hand wearily before shaking it back.
"Great, well, I'm a bit busy tonight. Let's chat another time," Youngjae replied, lifting himself off the stool. Daehyun lifted one of his eyebrows up before holding the other back.
"Busy? You were just sipping a glass of wine to yourself. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a flashing advertisement for some company," Daehyun noted. Youngjae narrowed his eyes towards the other and pulled his wrist out of Daehyun's hold.
"Look, I'm not really up for games, alright? Find someone else, I'm busy," he replied. As he was about to leave, Youngjae's phone began to vibrate. Slipping a hand into his pocket, he pulled out the phone and stared at the glowing text. "Fucking hell," he muttered, ignoring the curious looks from Daehyun.
"Did your girlfriend cancel your date?" Daehyun grinned.
"No, but apparently the person I was waiting for decided to be a no-show today," Youngjae angrily replied, thrusting the phone back into his pocket. "How peachy perfect," he muttered.
"Do you know what the best remedy to anger is?" Daehyun asked, receiving a questioning look from the other. "Getting drunk and forgetting about everything for that night," he replied. Youngjae gave a disgusted look almost instantly before contemplating the idea.
"Alright, but you're buying."
Pushing the other onto the bed, Daehyun roughly tugged the buttons off of Youngjae's dress shirt. He moved his gaze downwards to see flushed cheeks and delicate lashes staring back at him. Gently stroking the boy's face with one hand, Daehyun used his other hand to unbuckle Youngjae's belt.
"Louis Vuitton? Pricey," Daehyun smirked, sliding Youngjae's slacks off. The cocky aura emitting from the other shot straight down to Youngjae's groin, causing him to fidget uncomfortably. Feeling fingertips trace around the hem of his underwear, Youngjae slowly arched his back, and tried to bite back moans.
"Don't bite back your sounds. I should be able to enjoy this too," Daehyun added, making the other's cheeks flush a deeper shade of red. Gently caressing Youngjae's thighs, Daehyun began to unbutton his own dress shirt. Youngjae felt the heat rush to his face once he saw Daehyun's hands unzip his own jeans.
Sliding his pants off, Daehyun cradled Youngjae's face in his hands and crashed his lips onto the other's. He slipped his tongue in, entangling his against Youngjae's tongue. As he pulled back, a thin strand of saliva followed.
"By the way, you didn't mention your name before," Daehyun panted, still trying to regain his breath.
"Youngjae. Yoo Youngjae."
"Fuck, how much did I drink last night," Youngjae griped, holding onto the nightstand to balance himself. Feeling a strange breeze strike his body, Youngjae looked down and immediately wrapped the bed sheets around him. Once he noticed Daehyun on the bed, recaps of the night before registered into his mind, causing his face to flush a deep crimson. Not wanting to wake the other up and create an awkward situation, Youngjae quickly pulled on his clothes and headed out the door.
"Get a grip, Yoo Youngjae. He only knows your name, nothing else," he muttered in an attempt to reassure himself that Daehyun wouldn't be able to track him down. Only complications would arise if someone from the Zero society found out that he had sex with a stranger instead of executing his mission. Pulling up the zipper on his pants, Youngjae went in the elevator and pressed the button for the bottom floor. Today would simply be marked down as one of his leisure days. Nothing more, nothing less.
Wincing at the light shining on his eyes, Daehyun pulled the sheet covers of his body and lifted his torso off of the bed. He scanned around the room for any signs that would help he recall last night's events. Once he spotted the Louis Vuitton belt sprawled along the couch, Daehyun gave a slight smirk and walked towards it. Picking up the belt, Daehyun carefully inspected it out of curiosity, noting a strange slit on the buckle. Daehyun raised one of his eyebrows and used one of his nails to pry open the slit. With a short click, the back of the buckle fell off and revealed a minuscule compartment.
"What the hell is this?" he questioned, pulling out a chip from the compartment. Daehyun's eyes grew wide as he realized the crest embedded into the chip, promptly moving towards the nightstand to get his phone. After pressing a few buttons, he placed the cellphone next to his ear and listened to the call tone till someone picked up.
"Hey Jongup, can you look something up for me?" Daehyun asked, ripping a piece of paper out of the hotel's notepad. "Actually two things. Send me an image file of the crest for Zero, and look up the name of their main assassin," he added.
"Sent over the file for Zero. And let me check through our database for the name. Don't get your hopes up though, Zero's pretty secure about these things," Jongup warned as he began typing in codes. Although the other couldn't see it, Daehyun nodded in agreement and waited impatiently for the results. "Well what do you know, I'm actually in. Guess all the firewalls in the world can't go up against the tech genius, Jongup," he beamed. Daehyun rolled his eyes, mentally noting to send a slap towards Jongup's way next time.
"So what is it?" Daehyun urgently pressed. Still proud at his achievement, Jongup chuckled before giving the information to Daehyun. Upon hearing the name, Daehyun quickly gave his thanks to the other before hanging up and dropping onto the bed. Daehyun felt it harder to breathe the more he repeated Jongup's words in his head.
"The kid's name is Yoo Youngjae."