Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first thing he registered was blinding pain coursing through his entire body and a killer headache, yet he couldn’t possibly understand why. One moment he had been in the car with his parents, driving home from school and he must’ve taken a short nap because he couldn’t remember what had happened next. 

He could faintly hear the sound of his heart beating steadily in his ears, a lot louder than normal and could feel something sharp piercing his skin in multiple places, crunching slightly when he shifted. He attempted to force his eyes open to figure out what was underneath him but his eyelids felt so heavy. Vaguely, he registered a voice speaking from above him (?) before it faded away as high pitched ringing filled his ears instead. 

There was silence after the ringing subsided, the only sound he heard being the beating of his heart and laboured breathing from his chest, making a ragged wheezy sound as he exhaled. Was he getting sick? 

Riki didn’t know how long he’d be here, the car wasn’t moving so were they stuck in traffic? Why couldn’t hear the voice of his parents? Why was there an alarm going off from inside the car?

He had yet to open his eyes properly, maybe if he opened his eyes it would all make sense? But it seemed like so much effort and he felt so tired. But he needed to see. So he hesitantly and weakly cracked one eye open only to meet with the world on a tilt, his parents bodies hanging lifelessly from their seats, held up only by their seatbelts. He could see the unmistakable colour of blood dripping from their bodies, staining the car interior that deep crimson colour. 

Once he saw his parents bodies, it was like reality had finally kicked in. he was still in the car yes, but the car had been flipped onto its side, the opposite door dented in and the side closest to him had been shattered beyond repair, the glass he realised what was crunched underneath his head. 

Riki knew he was dead if he stayed where he was and desperately tried to move but his body remained unresponsive, he could only let out a wounded grunt from his throat, every inch of his body felt like it was on fire in the worst way possible.

‘.....alive…..should….finish…off?’

‘No….won’t…..much longer…..’

Broken sentences filled his ears as he struggled to comprehend what the voices were saying. He so desperately wanted to cry out for help but some small part of him knew that they would never help. 

‘......leave……mafia……on their…..as…speak.’

‘Don’t want…..with that……let’s go.’

Just as his hearing was returning to normal the voices quickly faded, boot padding against the ground as they fled the scene and Riki was both glad and scared that they were gone. He’d been left alone with unconscious parents somewhere off a road in the middle of somewhere. His body was so weak that he couldn’t even move. The most he could do was open his eyes and even so, his view of the world was incredibly blurry. 

Riki was unsure for how much longer he laid there before he heard a cacophony of thuds and thumps, vibrating through the ground, as well as panicked yells and the screech of tires. He faintly heard ambulance sirens in the distance growing closer with each second. 

‘Riki-san! Daisuke-sama! Aiko-sama! Hang in there, we’ll get you out soon!.’

‘Please hold on!’

‘An ambulance is on the way!’

‘Please tell me they’re still alive.’

Riki recognised many of the voices, members of their family “business” and subordinates. He wanted to let them know that he was alive at the very least, as through his blurry vision, he could tell his parents probably were not. 

Lifting his head slightly, moving incredibly slowly so as to not injure himself further, he opened his mouth and attempted to call out to those outside the car. The noise he made was soft but immediately all chatter stopped and he heard people rushing towards the car.

‘Riki-san?! Can you hear us?’ Riki tried to make a grunt of affirmation, hoping that the sound that came out of his mouth portrayed as much and thankfully it must’ve as there were more yells.

‘Hang on, don't move the car, you could injure them further.’

‘Wait for the ambulance to arrive before we remove them.’

Voices began to overlap with one another and Riki found it increasingly hard to focus on one alone, his head beginning to throb even more with the volume of the voices.

‘Riki-san? Can you hear me? It's K.’ instantly, he found himself relaxing as he focused on K’s voice, one of his oldest and closest friends, one who had been with him almost since the very beginning. Despite being eight years his senior, K and Riki had a very close bond, K resembling that of an older brother in Riki’s eyes and there was nothing better than being able to hear his voice at this very point in time. 

‘....K…’ Riki called out weakly, hoping that K would be able to hear him despite his little volume and uncomfortable position.

‘That’s right Riki, I’m K. Are you alright?’ Riki could hear hints of concern in K’s voice, clearly trying to stay calm for Riki’s sake.

‘....no…..hurts…’ 

‘I know Ki, but we’ll get you out of there soon I promise.’ Riki could only hum weakly in response, fatigue overcoming him at rapid speeds.

‘.....tired….’

‘NO! Riki you cannot fall asleep okay? You need to stay awake for me, can you do that please?’ There was thinly veiled desperation in K’s voice now, Riki could hear how stressed he was, bleeding through with every word. 

‘....mkay….’ he heard a bang sound and he guessed it was K resting his head against the car in relief from his easy acceptance.

‘The ambulance is almost here Ki, then we’ll be able to get you out and take you to the hospital okay?’ no sooner had K said that did the ambulance sirens grow louder as it presumably pulled up beside the overturned car, ‘there it is now, it won’t be much longer Ki. Just stay awake for me please.’ 

The next thing Riki registered was the slow and agonising pain as the car was slowly pulled rightside up, no longer overturned and it only took mere milliseconds before his door was ripped open with inhuman strength and he was carefully lifted out and placed in the ambulance gurney. He felt K’s hands on his face wiping away the tears that Riki didn’t even realise he had shed and brushing bits of broken glass from his hair.

‘Let’s get you to the hospital, Riki, okay?’

‘.....sleep…?’ he saw K turn to the paramedics briefly before returning his attention to Riki

‘You can sleep now. I’ll be here when you wake up.’ and Riki drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

---()---

When Riki awoke again he was surrounded by the beeping of multiple machines in a white hospital room and true to his word, K sat there beside him. Without saying a word, he watched as K stared, constantly observing Riki’s condition. A full three minutes went past before K sighed and returned his attention to Riki who was watching him.

‘Riki! You’re awake? How do you feel? Hang on, I'll go get the doctor. Don’t go anywhere.’ Riki watched as K leapt from his seat at the speed of light and rushed out the door, leaving Riki alone to ponder what little he remembered from before he woke in the hospital. He didn’t get very far before the door burst open and in came an entire team of doctors and nurses who began bustling around the room, checking machines and giving blankets and what not.

‘Nishimura-sama, I am pleased to see you awake,’ immediately alarms went off in his head, he was not called sama, that was reserved for the heir to the family, which was his father, ‘how do you feel?’

Like shit, Riki wanted to say, but controlled his urges and responded with a ‘fine’ instead.

‘Not to worry Nishimura-sama, you’ll begin to feel better soon. However I do have some bad news I must deliver to you. It’s about your parents.’ immediately all the other doctors and nurses filed out of the room, leaving just Niki, the main doctor and K inside.

‘Go on.’

‘I’m very sorry to say that neither of your parents survived. There was evidence to say they survived the initial crash however were shot to ensure their death. I am truly sorry for your loss.’ The doctor left the room as well, sensing that Riki would need a moment alone, K reached over and grabbed Riki’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

Riki felt numb. Numb to pain, numb to feelings. He had already suspected that he was the only survivor once he saw their lifeless bodies but to have his suspicions confirmed was the worst thing that could’ve ever possibly happened. There was a void in his heart now, the place where his parents had once been was empty, as cold and lifeless as their bodies in that car. He hadn’t noticed, caught up in his head that tears had begun streaming down his face in waterfalls, hiccuping as he was on the verge of breaking down in sobs.

‘You don’t need to pretend to be strong with me Ki.’ K whispered softly from next to him, squeezing his hand once again as Riki turned his tear-filled gaze towards him. A beat passed, then two, before Riki completely broke down, the beeping of machines in the hospital room drowned out by the sound of his anguished sobs as he mourned the loss of the only thing that had ever mattered to him. 

Minutes turned into hours and Riki had finally calmed down enough to stop crying completely, a few tears here and there as well as sniffling every second breath and K stayed beside him during all of it. 

‘Your grandparents have been informed. They’ll be here shortly.’ Riki nodded soundlessly, turning away from K to stare out the window blankly.

‘I want them found. I want them dead.’ K’s head snapped up towards Riki, his voice taking on a darker tone and a menacing aura arose from him. K shivered ever so slightly at the sudden change in Riki, from the boy who was crying mere moments ago to this new persona K had not seen before. One thing was certain though, this version of Riki meant business.

‘I’ll organise the scouts to start searching.’ Riki turned back around to face K.

‘Thank you K. I’ll leave this matter in your hands.’ K nodded solemnly and silence befell the room, accompanied only by the rhythmic beeping of various machines. 

---()---

Riki had been in the hospital for two days when his grandparents arrived. No words were spoken as the three embraced each other and weeped for those they had lost, basking in the comfort of having someone who understands the kind of pain they were in. They informed him that the funeral service would be held once Riki was discharged from the hospital and his parents were to be buried in the family site. 

‘Riki, we think it would be best if you stayed in Korea for a while.’ Riki paused in his eating. Glancing up at his grandmother with a perplexed expression.

‘Why do you say that?’ his grandparents shared a look, before his grandmother continued speaking.

‘It’s not the safest for you here at the moment and we think a change of scenery could be good for you.’ 

‘What else. I know there’s more to this.’ his grandfather sighed and shook his head solemnly

‘Riki, as you know, only the firstborn son inherits the mantle of heir and becomes Boss one day. Now that Daisuke is no longer of this world, the mantle of heir falls to his first son.’ Riki blinked

‘Shouldn’t it fall to Ojisan then?’ his grandmother smiled softly as his grandfather spoke

‘Kento is the second son and as per our tradition is not eligible, besides, your father wanted you to inherit his title one day.’

‘We know how sudden this is and how far too soon this has come about, but we are aging sweetheart, and cannot be leaders of this life for much longer. We are not asking you to take over immediately, but we hope that you will sometime in the near future.’ Riki paused. It was like his body had shut down on him at this new revelation. He’d always known the Nishimura family was the most powerful Mafia family in Japan and that he would someday take over from his father, hence his accelerated studies and his father’s efforts to teach him as much as possible about the duties of the heir. But he had never expected to take over so soon. Riki was seventeen, nearly eighteen and by tradition needed to be twenty-one to inherit the title and begin to lead the family. He had little more than 3 years. 

‘Riki? Are you still with us?’

‘What does that have to do with me going to Korea?’ Riki questioned. He was perfectly fine with the nature of his family’s business and had no problems with inheriting the title so soon. He was simply curious about why he needed to go to Korea.

‘We recently set up a new branch in South Korea, hence our delayed return, and we would like you to begin to manage that branch. To begin to get some experience. Furthermore, you have only just cheated death, we received word that someone had tried to put poison in your iv bag yesterday and since your attackers have yet to have been caught, we worry.’ his grandmother spoke softly, carefully explaining their reasons so Riki could understand. 

‘We don’t want to lose you too. Just until you turn twenty-one, it's safer if you stay out of Japan. Once they’ve been dealt with and you’ve officially inherited the title, we’d like you to stay in South Korea.’ 

‘We’ve got some connections and friends over there who can help to set you up and assist you in managing the branch in the beginning, but it is expected that you will primarily manage it yourself.’ Riki was silent until he felt his grandparents' hands encompass his own.

‘You can back out any time but know that will be here for you.’

‘No. I plan to do this. I won’t back down. I’ll make you proud.’ I’ll make them proud, went unsaid in that sentence but it was conveyed nonetheless.

---()---

Two weeks later, Riki was standing at the airport in front of the Nishimura private plane. His grandparents fussing over him incessantly, reminding him what to do and to call them if he ever needed anything or wanted to come back home, to which Riki had to consistently insist that he was fine. 

His parent’s funeral was held a little over a week ago, it was a small yet beautiful service and now his parents could rest easy knowing that Riki had it handled. A day or so after the funeral service, Riki had woken up looking at himself in the mirror, unhappy with his current appearance, switching up his hair, turning the dark brown into blonde with black tips, hoping to visually signal the start of a new era for him, which seemed to have been working so far.

Since his discharge from the hospital, any wounds that he bore had healed nicely, leaving nothing more than a faint scar in some places, the most noticeable of which was a slit in his right eyebrow, where the first piece of glass had sliced him when the windows shattered on that fateful day. Yet despite the healing of his physical wounds, he was plagued by nightmares each night, almost all containing the image of his parent’s lifeless bodies suspended in the car, a memory which would likely never leave him and would haunt him forever. He’d gone to see a therapist about it and she had encouraged him to start journaling, creating art or whatever he felt could take his mind off the pain and prevent him from spiralling. And it had been in this pursuit of a distraction that he had reawakened his passion for dance, moving just as fluidly as he had when he was younger, twisting and turning, balancing on newly healed limbs with practised grace and flair. His grandparents had been over the moon once he demonstrated a new move he had learnt after his discharge, amusement replacing the grief that had been present in their eyes since they first visited him in the hospital.

And here he was now in the present, watching as their eyes were filled with fond amusement, fussing over him. He tracked their eyes, watched their movements closely, reading between the lines, a skill he had discovered after the accident, fueled by the desire to be more aware. 

He watched as the two bickered over meaningless topics yet succeeded only in slowly filling the void in his heart. A void that would never be gone but would hopefully grow smaller, bit by bit as he grew and matured, as grief no longer had such a strong hold on him and to the day when he finally found solace in what he had lost. 

That day hadn’t come yet, but it was coming. 

Chapter Text

Safe to say Riki was a bundle of nerves. He’d been watching the plane’s course for the hour and a half flight time, watching as South Korea grew closer with every minute. In all honesty Riki was freaking the fuck out and he did not feel nearly emotional stable to deal with a whole new country, he was lucky he already somewhat knew the language but he was not quite fluent.

Riki knew that once the plane landed he would be in a completely different world, at least he would have his uncle and cousins right? Hopefully they would be supportive as from what he could remember his older cousin Hyunjin had always been really nice although the last time they would've interacted would've been a couple years ago when Riki was fourteen, a grand three or so years ago, four when he turns eighteen later this year. 

Before he could stew in such thoughts for much longer, the pilot's voice came over the intercom, alerting him to their arrival at the Korean international airport in Seoul, and he quickly buckled his seatbelt to prepare for the impending landing.

The plane landed without any complications and Riki moved to exit the plane and was quite shocked to see his uncle and cousin waiting on the runway, both waving as he descended the stairs, coming to a halt at the bottom unsure of what to say to family he hadn't seen in years, all his previous planning went out the window and he just stood awkwardly at a distance. Neither side moved for a minute until Hyunjin surged forward and grabbed Riki, pulling him into a tight hug, Riki relishing in the warmth of Hyunjin's hug, relaxing slightly as the tension eased from his shoulders.

‘Riki! It's so good to see you again. Holy crap, you've grown so much since I last saw you.’ Hyunjin had changed quite a bit as well, standing a good 6 cm shorter than him in stark comparison to when he towered over Riki as a child. His hair was darker too, made him look kinda menacing but his overall demeanor demonstrated the exact opposite. He still gave too tight hugs where you could feel your ribs getting crushed but in this moment, Riki found that it was both oddly nostalgic and comforting. 

‘It’s nice to see you too Hyunjin, it’s been too long since we last saw each other.’ Hyunjin smiled softly, releasing Riki from the bonecrushing hug, looping an arm around his shoulders instead.

‘I just wish it was under better circumstances.’ Hyunjin muttered under his breath, but Riki still heard and involuntarily tensed, mind flashing back to that fateful day.

‘Me too,’ Hyunjin recoiled a bit when he realised Riki had heard what he said, offering a quiet apology for his words, ‘let’s not keep Uncle Kento waiting any longer right?’ 

‘Always so responsible aren’t you? Lameeeee.’ Hyunjin drawled on, knocking into Riki teasingly as they made their way over to where his uncle remained standing. It hurt just the slightest bit to see Kento standing there, looking so much like his dad yet at the same time, so utterly different, he blinked and it was his father standing before him instead. Riki froze in his steps, trying to clear the image of his dad from his mind before he inevitably burst into tears. Through hazy eyes he noticed that Kento had a similar expression on his face, Riki had been told he looked almost identical to his father when he was Riki’s age and there was no doubt that Kento was seeing his father in him. Riki’s feet moved on autopilot and very quickly closed the distance between him and Kento, near throwing himself into Kento’s open arms, the two embracing tightly, both caught in the memories of the person they had lost, seen once again in each other.

Riki was resisting the urge to burst into tears, desperate to hold onto some semblance of control, though it was quickly slipping away, it felt like every emotion he had tried to push down since leaving Japan was suddenly returning full force and he hated it. He hated the fact that he could feel his heart breaking all over again. Yet he clung onto his uncle like a ship seeking a lighthouse during a storm. When he eventually composed himself, he didn't say anything else, just waited for the remainder of his belongings to be collected before quietly following his uncle and cousin out of the airport.

Wordlessly, still embarrassed by his emotional breakdown, he placed his bags in the boot and if his hands trembled slightly when he grabbed onto the car door to pull himself into the car, no one commented on such a thing. The ride to the house was largely quiet, a comfortable yet heavy silence as Riki was coming to the steady realisation that he was incredibly underprepared for Korea. He didn't know any places, he didn't even know the house was nor where the branch was supposed to be, he was so out of his comfort zone it hurt.

He barely registered the car pulling into the driveway of his cousin's house and faintly remembered exiting the car, shuffling his feet as he followed Hyunjin into the house. He was greeted by the sight of Hyunjin's mother, Hwang Min-ah, anxiously waiting by the doorway. The moment she saw Riki she rushed forward and scooped him up in a hug, patting his hair, running her fingers as Riki finally and completely broke down in tears.

---()---

Hyunjin had been watching Riki closely, ever since he'd disembarked from the plane, he had been watching the way Riki's nonchalant facade flickered and poorly concealed sorrow and anxiety simmered beneath the surface. He watched as Riki faltered when his dad approached and his attempt to prevent his emotions from spilling over.

It had reached a fever point by the time they were in the car, Hyunjin watching as Riki's expression shifted with unease and growing anxiety. He noticed that Riki seemed really detached as if his mind had gone elsewhere. He noticed that Riki was moving on autopilot, not necessarily conscious of the fact he was moving or where he was going and this scared Hyunjin. 

He kept glancing over his shoulder at Riki, waiting for the moment where he might collapse, he needed to preempt such. Yet Riki held on, it wasn’t until his mother had captured Riki in a hug did he see Riki completely lose whatever semblance of control he had left, bursting into sobs the moment he was being hugged. His heart ached in his chest, he could tell that Riki was not fine, despite how he presented himself, and his emotions, his sorrow was bubbling under the surface, but he couldn’t say anything as Riki would just deny it. 

He had known that this would be a massive change for Riki, especially after his world had fallen apart a little over three weeks ago, but he had convinced himself that Riki would be fine. He didn’t know for whose sake he was pretending that everything was fine, but it clearly wasn’t the correct course of action. 

As he watched Riki continue to sob in Min-ah’s arms, he came to the conclusion that he must protect Riki at all costs. He knew that with Riki’s elevation of status as well as him being foreign to Korea, Hyunjin would have to step up and protect him, he’d promised his uncle that if the circumstance ever arose that Riki would have to move to Korea, Hyunjin would look out for and protect since his uncle couldn’t, not anymore. 

His mum had since whisked Riki away from the hall, taking refuge in the comfort of Riki’s new largely empty bedroom and Hyunjin didn’t expect to see the two of them for a few hours. Oh well, he thought, might as well let the other know about their new objective and he sent a quick message to the group chat, organising a time before it started.

---()---

It’d been some time since he’d broken down in his aunt’s arms and since doing so, he felt oddly at peace, much calmer and less tightly strung. Obviously his emotions were a complete mess and his mental state was suffering greatly but aside from that, he felt the most normal he’d been in a while, before the accident his mind supplied unhelpfully.

About an hour ago, when he had finally stopped crying his aunt had left him alone so he could sort out and move into what would be his room for the next three years or so until he turned 21. The room had gotten more lively since Riki had started moving shit around attempting in whatever way possible to make this room feel like home. He'd already laid down a mix-mash of tatami mats he had taken from Japan, laying them down over the floorboards. He'd pretty much unpacked all his clothes into the closet, marvelling at how we grossly underestimated how big it was, at least now he had an excuse to go shopping for clothes.

Hyunjin had come to check on his progress a couple times, bringing snacks and water as offerings each time, including dinner, as Riki had politely declined, opting to continue setting up his room rather than eat with them. But there was another reason Riki was hiding in his room, he'd overheard parts of a conversation Kento had on the phone, presumably with his grandparents, about him and "something he needed to know“ and deep in his gut, Riki could feel that it wasn't something he was going to like.

So here he was, sprawled out on his tatami mat floor, avoiding social interaction as though it were the plague, yet he knew we wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer as he desperately wanted to shower yet had forgotten to bring towels, his ensuite bathroom embarrassingly bare without them. Riki knew that there were spares somewhere in the house, but going to ask meant subjecting himself to whatever his grandparents had in store for him.

After laying there for a few more minutes, Riki had decided to forgo his apprehension in the pursuit of towels. He left the newfound comfort of his room and journeyed to the living room, where Kento and Min-ah were watching some korean rom-com.

‘Hey I-uh forgot to pack some towels, do you have any spares I could use?’ he heard Min-ah coo at him, but still quickly stood from her seat on the couch and disappeared into the hallway, leaving Riki alone with Kento and a growing feeling of dread.

'Riki, while I have you it might be a good time to inform you of a decision mum and dad made for you,’ the dread started growing even stronger, settling on his chest heavily, ‘they have decided that it would be a good idea to enrol you in a school here in Korea.’ aaand there it was, he just knew something like this was going to happen, he knew it! At Riki's palpable angst and clear frustration, Kento had the audacity to laugh at Riki's predicament.

'You've got to be kidding me.’ Riki groaned

‘It could be a lot worse. At least you'll be at the same school as Jinnie, so he'll take care of you.’ 

‘I mean I figured but still.’

'Would now be a good time to mention that they've gotta dance club plus offer dance as an official class?’ And suddenly maybe it wasn't so bad that Riki had to attend school in Korea, afterall, dance had always been an integral part of Riki and to some extent the most important thing, his driving force, his passion. To him, dance had only ever meant one thing: it was him. Wholly and unrefined, dance meant Riki and to think he'd be able to dance at school filled him with a warmth that he had sorely missed since the accident.

'I will only attend if I get to do those dance classes.’ Kento chuckled, dearly amused by Riki's antics

'Not to worry, your grandparents already thought ahead and enrolled you in those classes. You'll start next week on Monday.’ Riki sent a mental thank you to his grandparents for enrolling him in dance subjects but outwardly shuddered when he realised he had less than a week before he'd start school and that it would be in his best interest to research said school, whatever it was called. Maybe he'd interrogate Hyunjin about it later.

Min-ah returned moments later with towels in her arms, gracing Riki with a small smile as she handed them to him before promptly shooing him from the room so le could have a shower and they could watch their cringey show in peace.

The bathroom felt less empty with the inclusion of towels and Riki eagerly jumped in the shower, feeling warm water stream down his back, dissolving the tension in his shoulders that we didn't even know he had. It was refreshing and it felt normal and that was all Riki craved, but living in this life of his, normalcy was a near foreign concept. With his head unburdened for the first time in weeks and his heart strangely lighter, Riki crawled into bed, letting the warmth lull him into a peaceful slumber.

---()---

When Riki awoke the next morning he was half expecting for the house to be empty, just how it was back in Japan, but was both pleasantly surprised and happy to see a zombie Hyunjin sitting at the kitchen counter, waiting dazedly as Min-ah made coffee. As he entered the kitchen Min-ah looked over and smiled brightly.

‘Good morning Riki, nice of you to join us. I was expecting that you'd stay in bed till late, much like Kento but I suppose not. This one is still half-asleep though.‘ Min-ah gestured to where Hyunjin was seated, head moving listlessly in an attempt to keep himself awake. Riki smiled slightly, rubbing his eye and scratching the back of his head as he yawned, faintly registering Min-ah cooing at his apparent early morning cuteness. As he went to walk past where Hyunjin was sitting to get to the fridge, he was stopped as Hyunjin wrapped his arms around Riki, pulling him into a hug.

‘...morning Ki….’ Hyunjin grumbled, burying his face in Riki's side like the world had personally offended him in the few minutes he'd be awake. Riki resisted the urge to burst into laughter at this side of Hyunjin.

‘Morning to you too Jinnie, does someone need their coffee to act like a functioning human being?’ He teased, laughing when Hyunjin responded with a grumble.

'Do you have any plans for today?’ Min-ah asked him, drawing his attention away from the clingy Hyunjin before him, attempting to free himself from Hyunjin's iron grip. For someone barely lucid he was unfairly strong.

'Not particularly, I did want to do some research into the school that I'll be attending next week. Is there anything you can tell me about it, Oba-chan?’ 

‘Of course, you know I went to Chunso International when I was your age, I met Kento there funnily enough and your father by extension.’

'Hang on, dad went to Chunso International? I never knew.’ Just how much had his dad been keeping from him?

‘That he did. Chunso International is a lovely school, though be warned, pretty much every kid there is someone important. And even though it's an International school, 90% of students are primarily Korean, obviously that includes mixed Korean's as well, just like Jinnie.’

‘It sounds like an interesting place. I hope it's as good as you're making it out to be Oba-chan.’ 

'I reckon that it was the best school I ever had and you'll definitely meet some interesting people there as well, maybe even someone special.’ Min-ah said, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner

'Well if you say so, but I sincerely doubt it, Oba-chan. Their dance classes better be good as that's the only reason I'm going.’ Min-ah chuckled at Riki’s response

'You say that now Kiki, but I can assure you that you'll come across someone or someone's and they'll turn your whole life around. Just trust your Oba-chan on this one.’ 

---()---

‘Did you hear? Apparently the Nishimura heir is in Korea now.’

‘Wait what? What’s he doing in Korea?’

‘Talk is that he’s gonna be managing a new branch off the main branch.’

‘Oo-kay and why is he here personally?’

‘Cause of what happened in Japan dummy.’

‘Wait what happened in Japan?’

‘God you are so behind the times, get with the news already.’

‘Ayye, don’t speak to your Sunghoon-Hyung that way.’

‘Please never refer to yourself in the third person again Hyung.’

‘Well the original heir and his wife died in a car “accident” a couple weeks ago, their kid, the current heir, was the only one that survived.’

‘Wait kid? How old is he?’

‘Accident? So assassination you mean.’

‘Hellooooo, how old is the kid?’

‘Yeah, def not an accident, not in this kind of business anyway.’

‘Can someone answer Jake-Hyung already? He’s whining that no one listens to him.’

‘Hush Sunno, I am not whining.’

‘Oh you totally are.’

‘We are getting off track guys. This is serious.’

‘Jungwon’s right, this kid spells trouble and this is our turf.’

‘Wait, are we going to go to war with a kid?’

‘We aren’t going to war Jake.’

‘Jay-ah is just saying that we need to be careful.’

‘The Nishimura Mafia is the most powerful mafia in Japan, we do not want them on our bad side, especially not with how tense it is likely to be at the moment.’

‘So then what, Heeseung-Hyung?’ Heeseung paused, red hair falling over his eyes as he lowered his head in thought, glancing over at where Jungwon was seated, waiting expectantly.

‘We keep our distance at first, get on his good side, maybe become “friends” but ultimately we need to use him. We do not want a war but we need to protect ourselves, understood?’ 

‘Sir, yes sir.’ 

‘Hush Sunghoon.’

‘Is anyone going to tell me how old he is or?’

‘Oh my god.’

‘Look it up yourself Hyung.’

Chapter Text

Riki was not pleased. This was the last thing he expected and instantly hated it. When his grandparents said he’d be going to Korea to manage the new branch that was what he was expecting, not attending a school for fucks sake much less this famous Chunso International or whatnot. 

But yet here he was, standing in school uniform, grumbling over ties and how miserable life was, while Hyunjin was rushing around trying to get ready.

‘How is it that I not only wake up before you but get ready before you as well? You know damn well how much I hate school.’ Riki complained as Hyunjin bustled around him

‘I had alarms, just none of the ten went off I guess.’ Riki pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance

‘Well hurry up, I might hate school but I don’t want to be late on my first day.’

‘I’m sorry, I’m going I’m going.’ With that Hyunjin yoinked his car keys from the counter and sprinted to the garage, Riki trailing behind him leisurely, following like a little duckling. Hyunjin's car was nice and pretty fancy, likely a gift on one of his birthday's and if Riki had been younger he would've been envious, but after the accident he didn't know if he could stomach driving anytime soon.

'Ki? Are you going to get in?’ in his silent musings Riki had failed to notice Hyunjin getting in and starting the car up. He casually walked around to the passenger side and if his hand trembled opening the door and buckling his seatbelt, no one said anything.

The drive to Chunso International was relatively silent, with only the occasional hum of the radio for background noise and Hyunjin flicking between radio stations. Before long Hyunjin had pulled into a fancy carpark of which Riki guessed was Chunso.

‘Ki, before you get out I just wanted to give you a small brief on Chunso. This school is filled with the elite, I'm talking about the children of CEOs, politicians, billionaires etc. Being who you are, you hopefully shouldn't have any problems but remember, you are not a mafia heir here, you are just the heir to the company here.’ Hyunjin rambled on about a number of things Riki had already been subjected to hearing and so, quickly cut him off before he could continue any longer.

‘Jinnie.’ That made Hyunjin pause, turning to look at Riki, ‘I know all of that stuff already, you don't have to worry about it. I think I'll be fine in concealing the whole mafia heir thing, y'know, only becoming one recently. I get that you're concerned for me and I really appreciate it but I'll be fine.’ Riki finished, looking at Hyunjin expectantly to see his reaction. Hyunjin in return, nodding slowly like he was processing Riki's words and absorbing them.

‘If you say so. Is there anything I can tell you that you don't already know then?’ He clearly intended for that to be a sarcastic remark, however Riki did have something he was curious about that his aunt had failed to sufficiently explain.

‘Yeah actually, how does the school actually work? Auntie explained it like University but I'm still confused.‘

'Okay so basically the school is divided into five year groups. The youngest students are eighteen when they enrol, usually fresh from highschool, obviously different in your case, and the oldest students, aka me, are twenty-two going on twenty-three. Some students stay for extra years, which are completely optional, to either further their studies or to help out the younger years. A couple of my friends have taken this path actually, I'll introduce you later.’ Once Hyunjin finished explaining, Riki felt the school's organisation was a lot clearer to him and he understood grade division much better in comparison to when Min-ah had attempted to explain it earlier on.

By this time Hyunjin had finished explaining the school system and the two were standing in front of the main building. Riki stilled, suddenly filled with a growing sense of dread like the school itself bore only bad things. Hyunjin noticed that Riki had stopped in front of the building and quietly slipped his hand into Riki's hand, giving a reassuring squeeze before dragging him inside.

The front office of the school was incredibly impressive and large, almost resembling a 5 star hotel lobby and frankly, Riki was more than overwhelmed, but Hyunjin continued to drag him forward towards the desk where an incredibly snooty looking woman was seated, nails clacking against the keys of the computer. When she noticed Riki and Hyunjin advancing, her expression shifted almost imperceptibly and she paused her typing to address the two.

‘Good morning Hyunjin and this is?’ She said, gesturing to Riki standing awkwardly behind Hyunjin.

‘Morning Mrs Song. This is my cousin Nishimura Riki, he's staying with us.’ Her eyes flickered with recognition at the mention of Riki, eyes raking over his form thoughtfully.

‘I see, you look a lot like your father when he was young. I'm sorry for your loss,’ She addressed Riki with a solemn look in her eyes before clearing her throat and returning to her computer, ‘ I'll get you signed in and get your schedule printed. A student will come by after homeroom to give you a tour.’

'Wait I can give him a tour.’ Hyunjin interrupted

‘That will not be possible Mr Hwang, you have prior arrangements or have the two weeks off made you forget?’ Mrs Song's face with no room for arguments. Sighing, Hyunjin turned to Riki dejectedly

'I'm sorry Ki, but she's right I promise I'll find you at lunch time okay? text me if you need me.' Hyunjin gave Riki a tight squeeze and ran off in one direction, leaving Riki alone with Mrs Song who gestured for him to take a seat while he waited for homeroom to end, having arrived halfway through due to Hyunjin's unpreparedness.

Thankfully he didn't have to wait too long before a student with bright red hair walked into the lobby and holy hell this man was good-looking. Riki watched with poorly concealed awe as this handsome student spoke to Mrs Song, gesturing over at Riki with a hand. The redhead turned his gaze towards Riki, eyes meeting for a split second before Riki quickly looked down at the timetable in his hands, reading and rereading frantically, hoping that he hadn't been caught ogling this guy. When he glanced over at the desk again the handsome redhead was no longer standing there. Breathing a sigh of relief, Riki turned back to his timetable, only to notice a pair of shoes standing in front of him and slowly looking up he saw Mr handsome staring at him with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. Riki resisted the urge to yelp in surprise, finding him right before his eyes, but clearly couldn't contain his reaction as well as he had hoped as Mr handsome broke into a small smirk.

‘Hey, you must be Nishimura Riki right? I'm your guide, Lee Heeseung. Nice to finally meet you.’ He extended his hand out to Riki who very cautiously shook it as he stood up, what did he mean by "finally"?

‘Nice to meet you too.’ he said in response as Heeseung gave him a bright smile, still holding onto Riki's hand, grip slightly becoming tighter especially as Riki tried to pry his hand away. He could've sworn that Heeseung's eyes darkened slightly but it quickly disappeared when he spoke again.

'Well then let's start the tour!’ Heeseung said, finally releasing Riki's hand from his grasp instead, pulling Riki along by the wrist, 'So tell me about yourself!’ He asked enthusiastically as Riki contemplated his response.

‘Like what?’

‘I dunno, like what are you doing in Korea?’ Riki noted that Heeseung's words seemed to take on a heavier and almost accusing undertone, somewhat suffocating.

‘I couldn't stay in Japan after what happened. My grandparents thought it would be better if I wasn't in Japan for the time being.’ This answer didn't seem to completely satisfy Heeseung as he pressed for more information

‘After what happened?’ Riki frowned pulling his wrist from Heeseung's grasp 

'Why the fuck does it matter to you? It's not any of your business. If the entire tour is gonna be like this, forget it, I'll find my way on my own.’ Before Riki could walk away, Heeseung grabbed onto him again

'Shit I didn't mean to-I'm sorry.’ Riki rolled his eyes, 'no seriously, I just wanted to get to know you.’ 

‘And why on earth would you want to do that?’ Riki accused, 'What do you really want?’ 

‘Look this has come off completely the wrong way. I've been told I've come across too strong, I didn't mean to offend you.’ Riki stayed silent, watching as Heeseung rambled on with a bunch of apologies and excuses

'Whatever, just get on with this damn tour already.’ Heeseung swiftly shut up and continued to show Riki around the school in uncomfortable silence. Internally Riki was already so over everything and the school day had barely started, he just needed to make it to lunch when he could see Hyunjin again.

---()---

So far Heeseung's plan was failing miserably. He'd done enough research on the Nishimura heir, he didn't have an idea on what the kid looked like and didn't think that was an obstacle but nothing could've prepared him for just how ethereal the kid actually was. Maybe he made a mistake by being the one to show him around. How on earth was he supposed to collect info on him if Heeseung couldn't stop staring at his face?

But clearly even without being distracted by his face, Heeseung had already spectacularly messed up, Nishimura showing intense dislike over his prying questions. Usually Heeseung was so good at collecting info but here he was failing. How on earth was he supposed to explain this to Jungwon? He needed to fix this quickly.

'So what do you like to do for fun?’ He tries, earning an exasperated huff and criminal side-eye

‘Why are you still trying to start a conversation?’ Heeseung winces at Nishimura's harsh reply but stands his ground.

'Because I want to. And because I want to get to know you.’ Nishimura huffs again before to finally replies,

'Dance.’ Finally, Heeseung thinks, an answer

‘Oh really? One of my friends does dance as well.’ Nishimura seems to brighten slightly

'Yeah? That's nice to know I guess.’

'Pretty sure he's in the same year as you.’ 

'What year are you in?’ Heeseung pauses, did the kid finally decide to have a conversation? YES!

'Ah, I'm in fourth year,’ he heard Nishimura mutter a soft damn under his breath, clearly not intending for Heesring to hear, ‘Is that surprising?’

‘I mean kinda, you act a lot younger, like a petulant child.’ Nishimura smirked a bit at the end of his sentence and even though Heeseung should definitely not be thinking such, given that Nishimura was the heir of a powerful rival mafia family, but for a second he forgot who Nishimura was and thought that he seemed like a pretty cute guy. Heeseung's musings were interrupted by the loud jeering taunt of none other than Choi Beomgyu,

‘Hey Nishimura Riki right?’ Heeseung felt Nishimura tense next to him as Beomgyu approached him, flanked by Taehyun and Hueningkai, 'must be nice not having any parents who boss you around anymore right?’ The three dissolved into laughter at Beomgyu's jab and Heeseung watched as Nishimura clenched his fist in anger as his expression hardened.

Taehyun noticed and quickly added, ‘Awh did that strike a nerve pretty boy? Too bad you can't go tell on us to your parents.’ The three continued laughing, although Hueningkai's laughter seemed a little forced.

‘Fuck off Choi-’ 

‘You stay out of this Lee. This is between us and Nishimura.’ Hueningkai cut him off before he could properly interfere. Heeseung glanced to the side to see Nishimura absolutely seething with rage and in that moment, with such a murderous expression on his face, Heeseung was a little afraid of Nishimura and his next actions proved exactly why.

Without warning Nishimura had pulled back his arm and flat out decked Beomgyu in the face, hearing a satisfying crack as Nishimura's knuckle connected with Beomgyu's nose. Taehyun was next with a vicious uppercut and Hueningkai received a harsh kick to the stomach, all three tumbling to the ground with groans of pain. Heeseung was frozen in place, he'd clearly underestimated Nishimura, marveling at the boy's speed and strength and how quickly he took down Beomgyu and the others. Heeseung couldn't believe that he'd forgotten that Nishimura was the heir to one of the most powerful mafia moments after meeting him.

The Nishimura Mafia was the biggest and most powerful mafia in Japan, their strength rivalling any other mafia in Asia. Being from Japan, they had a strong emphasis on martial strength and speedy efficiency, owning a vast number of companies and branches across the world, the most recent established mere months ago in Korea. And obviously being the heir to such a massive mafia, of course Nishimura would be incredibly skilled in fighting. Heeseung facepalmed at his own stupidity, he was way out of his league.

'Hey,’ Heeseung squeaked at Nishimura who suddenly spoke to him, ‘These aren't friends of yours right?’ And when Heeseung shook his head for no, Nishimura let out a big sigh of relief and started walking away from the three still squirming on the floor.

‘Are you coming or not? Tour ain't over yet’ Nishimura called when he noticed Heeseung still standing in the same place. 

‘I'm coming, wait up,’ Nishimura huffed but still waited for Heeseung to catch up before walking off again, 'I've been meaning to ask, do you have a way you want me to call you?’ Nishimura stilled for a second before quietly replying,

'Ni-ki is fine.’ 

'Great, you can call me Heeseung-Hyung if you want.’ He suggested that merely as a joke, he didn't expect for Ni-ki to take him seriously

'Okay then Heeseung-Hyung, what's the next stop on the tour?’ Heeseung was stunned. He needed to stop letting his guard down around this boy. But the way Ni-ki said "Heeseung-Hyung” made his stomach flip weirdly. Focus, he scolded himself, he couldn't go soft on this kid, at the end of the day he was the heir of a rival mafia. He just needed to get Ni-ki to trust him and spill all his secrets before Ni-ki found out Heeseung's true intentions and before Heeseung would betray him. Sounds easy enough. 

Ni-ki just needed to rely on Heeseung and Heeseung alone and when the time was right, he'd have nothing. The others just needed to play their parts incredibly well so Ni-ki wouldn't suspect their collaboration behind his back. Totally doable.

---()---

Heeseung was weird and not in a cute way, there’s something genuinely wrong with that man. After being subjected to the torture known as Heeseung for about an hour Riki felt like he was going to go insane. First this guy pried into his private life, big no no, and then wouldn’t shut up for twenty minutes after Riki got understandably pissed. 

Eventually Riki had given in and once he had, Heeseung stopped being as annoying, still really annoying but not as and Riki was actually beginning to enjoy himself when those three bastards came up to him. He hated the way they joked about his pain and hated the way that they seemed to know so much about him when he knew nothing. So naturally the only course of action to take was to beat them up, he’ll admit he went a little hard on the one called Beomgyu, but he was asking for it making those comments. 

Heeseung looked at him differently after that, not like Riki was a complete monster, but like something had clicked for Heeseung or a piece had slotted into place. Riki didn’t know how he felt about that. Heeseung was weird but also really suspicious, he had noticed the slight changes in his tone and in his expression even when Heeseung thought he wasn’t looking, but his dad had always drilled into him the need to be keenly observant living the life they did. Heeseung was hiding something, something which made Riki’s gut curl in dread, a kind of dread that held a vice grip on your soul. The kind of dread Riki had felt back then, a kind that had been quietly simmering under the surface since the accident.

He’d been so deep in thought that he hadn’t even noticed Heeseung stopping in front of him before Riki ran into his shoulder. 

‘This is perfect timing!’ Heeseung exclaimed running over to some cat-like guy with blonde hair, pulling him over to where Riki was still standing, ‘Ni-ki, this is the friend in your year I was talking about. Jungwon meet Ni-ki, Ni-ki this is Jungwon.’ Heeseung smiled wide and pushed Jungwon forward to shake hands with Riki, who seemed to resist it at every step. When Jungwon was close enough, Riki finally got a good look at him and like Heeseung, this guy was good-looking as well, if not a little cuter than Heeseung.

‘Nice to meet you,’ Riki opted to start the conversation, extending a hand to Jungwon expecting that the boy would return the gesture and shake his hand. Rather Jungwon openly glared at Riki’s hand like it had offended him, ‘orrrrr maybe not.’ Jungwon humphed and briskly walked away. Riki turned to Heeseung who had somewhat of a conflicted expression on his face as if he was torn.

‘What’s his problem?’ Heeseung winced at Riki’s abrupt question and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

‘Jungwonie doesn’t take very well with strangers.’ Heeseung’s excuse was weak at best and Riki knew that there was much more than met the eye, but Riki pretended to accept that as he needed Heeseung to believe that Riki was easygoing. Once Heeseung was fully in Riki’s trap it would only be a matter of time before his ulterior motives were exposed (Riki felt a little bad for manipulating the first possible friend he had, but he needed to make sure he could trust Heeseung and as dad always said, “keep your friends close but your enemies closer” and until Riki could figure it out, he needed to keep Heeseung close).

‘That’s fine, if someone’s an introvert not much you can do about it right?’ Heeseung visibly relaxed at Riki’s easy acceptance of the weak excuse and quickly moved onto a different topic.

‘Shall we continue with the tour? I think the cafeteria is next on the list.’ Riki nodded, that was where he was supposed to meet Hyunjin later, he needed to know where it was obviously. But before the two could continue onward Riki’s phone buzzed incessantly and he narrowed his eyes when he saw the caller ID flash as K.

‘Give me a sec,’ he said to Heeseung and picked up the phone, ‘K? What’s the matter, why are you calling me?’ 

‘I’ve located those people.’ four words was all it took for Riki to nearly break down.

‘I see. Well done.’ Riki’s voice was clipped, he was hyper aware of Heeseung still next to him, likely trying to hear what K was saying

‘What would you like me to do Ki-sama?’

‘What I told you back then.’ he hoped that was enough for K to understand, he was of course referring to the conversation they had before Riki left for the airport where Riki instructed K to find, interrogate and kill the people who murdered his parents. 

‘It shall be done,’ there was a pause before K spoke again, voice no longer devoid of emotions, but rather a warmth that Riki didn’t know he was missing so much, ‘I hope you’re doing well Ki, I received a call from Hyunjin yesterday.’

‘God, what did he say?’ Riki resisted the urge to facepalm, instead sighing heavily and hanging his head dejectedly

‘He said that he would protect you in my place for the time being.’ that made Riki pause, a strange feeling rising up in his chest that he could only describe as love before he registered the second part of K’s words.

‘Hang on, time being? Are you coming here?’ 

‘After my work is done here I will journey to Korea to continue my duties by your side.’ Riki broke into a wide smile after he heard that and tried really hard not to bounce around excitedly

‘Really? I can’t wait to see you again….I’ve really missed you K.’ If Riki had been paying attention to Heeseung next to him, he would’ve noticed Heeseung’s expression shift with a hint of jealousy but alas Riki was far too caught up in his conversation that he completely missed it.

‘Me too Ki. I’ve got to go now but I’ll see you soon okay? Stay safe.’

‘I will K, but you need to as well, boss’s orders.’ he heard K chuckle on the other side of the phone

‘Yes Boss.’ he said before Riki hung up the phone, smiling wider than he had been in weeks, K just had that effect, even when he was young K would always be able to calm him down and make him smile. Riki finally remembered that Heeseung was still beside him and quickly addressed him

‘Sorry about that, I didn’t mean for it-’

‘Who was that?’ Riki blinked, what was up with Heeseung?

‘Oh that was K, he’s basically my older brother, just not by blood.’ That seemed to placate Heeseung a little, weird.

‘He’s going to be coming here?’

‘Well not to school, he’s way too old for school, K’s 26.’ Heeseung seemed to relax even further with that statement, really weird.

‘Ah okay, that's good,’ Riki frowned in confusion, good? ‘Anyways you wanna continue with the tour right? To the cafeteria.’ Heeseung didn’t give Riki a second to respond before he had his hand around Riki’s wrist pulling him down the hall.

---()---

Heeseung was fuming.

Not only had Jungwon completely ignored Ni-ki, throwing their plan off the tracks, but Ni-ki had also ignored him while on the phone to this K guy.

While Ni-ki was on the phone, Heeseung pulled out his own and sent a message to Jungwon.

[yo wtf was that earlier]
[I thought we agreed on pretending to be nice]

[I was planning to]
[until I saw his face]

[wha why]

[I got cold feet okay]
[I was hoping he’d be ugly or disfigured or smth]
[that was I wouldn’t feel bad later on]
[but he’s got a model face]
[how is that fair Hyung?]

[seriously?]
[I mean I totally agree with you}
[but we need to act like we planned, otherwise this ain’t going to work]

[I know Hyung]
[I’ll try harder]

Heeseung sighed, he totally understood where Jungwon was coming from. It was so hard to see Ni-ki as a mafia heir and even harder to pretend that they themselves weren't for the sake of their plan. This was going to be so difficult. How on earth was Heeseung supposed to pull this off?

He placed his phone in his pocket, irritation building as Ni-ki was still on the phone with this K. He felt a bubble of jealousy rise in his chest as Ni-ki was smiling and laughing in a way Heeseung hadn’t seen before, why was this K able to make him laugh but Heeseung couldn’t. Heeseung thought he had pushed down the jealousy but clearly his comments after Ni-ki had ended the call demonstrated the exact opposite and to save himself some face Heeseung headed for the cafeteria with renewed vigor.

‘Heeseung-Hyung slow down, you’re going too fast.’ Heeseung stopped abruptly, causing Ni-ki to once again bump into him from behind, a flush building in his cheeks.

‘Sorry Ni-ki.’ Heeseung felt like a small child being scolded by their mother for doing something wrong

‘It’s fine Hyung, but why were you rushing so much?’ Heeseung didn’t have an answer for him, not a good one anyways, he really needed a miracle right about now.

And there was a miracle, well more like curse, that came in the form of the two older Choi’s, Yeonjun and Soobin. Clearly they’d heard about Ni-ki’s scuffle with the younger three and must’ve rushed to confront him.

‘Hey, Nishimura Riki,’ Ni-ki turned, clearly irritated, a frown painted on his features, ‘did you hurt Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai?’ Ni-ki huffed

‘And if I did? They were asking for it.’ That was definitely not the right thing to say, Heeseung watched as the veins in Soobin’s hands popped and Yeonjun’s scowl deepened.

‘You don’t get to touch them.’

‘Oh I’m so sorry, but maybe they should’ve thought about that before they started making jokes about my dead parents, who by the way, passed less than two months ago. Do you seriously expect me to stay calm after that?’ Ni-ki spat out, seething with palpable anger, death glaring at the two across from him, almost begging them to say something stupid so he could beat them up as well.

However, what the two did next shocked both Heeseung and Ni-ki. Rather than continuing to provoke Ni-ki, the two fell into stunned silence at Ni-ki’s words.

‘Beomgyu omitted that part.’

‘No shit he did.’ Heeseung elbowed Ni-ki and then instantly cowered under his death glare, turning to watch the expressions of Yeonjun and Soobin carefully. They didn’t seem nearly as mad after knowing the reason for Ni-ki’s outburst and Heeseung hoped that they wouldn’t do anything drastic.

‘I’m sorry, you are completely justified in your anger, we’ll talk to them.’

‘I don’t want your apologies, make sure it doesn’t happen again.’

Heeseung watched as the two exchanged another look before they walked away. Ni-ki’s shoulders sagged almost instantly when they disappeared around the corner, leaning on Heeseung for support.

‘Ni-ki? Are you okay?’ Heeseung said, holding the younger boy by the shoulders, frantically looking around for an empty classroom the two could go into as he figured Ni-ki was on the verge of a breakdown. Thankfully the one behind them was empty and Heeseung quickly pulled Ni-ki inside.

No sooner had Heeseung pulled the door shut did Ni-ki completely collapse on the ground, hands balled into fists and his head hung low, hair covering his tear-filled eyes. Heeseung knelt down beside him and gently placed his hands over the top of Ni-ki’s, not saying anything, just letting Ni-ki compose himself with what Heeseung hoped was the gentle comfort of him being there. 

‘I knew they were dead as soon as I regained consciousness.’ Heeseung stilled, was Ni-ki seriously opening up to him just like that? Why on earth would he do that? 

Heeseung was selfish and a bad person, he didn’t actually care about Ni-ki (right?) he was just manipulating Ni-ki to get his way. He planned to betray Ni-ki, he was hiding so many secrets, so many ulterior motives, so why was Ni-ki telling him this? Heeseung shouldn’t be here, they come from two very different rival mafia’s, there was no way they could possibly coexist. Heeseung needed to stick to the plan, he needed to be distant, he needed to manipulate Ni-ki, make him lose everything so why now (why could he not do it?). Ni-ki had known Heeseung for an hour, not even, and he had clearly noticed that Heeseung was hiding something, yet Ni-ki still trusted Heeseung enough to open up like this. Heeseung didn’t like the feeling growing in his chest. He didn’t like the way his heart felt like it was tearing itself apart. Ni-ki wasn’t anything to him so why?

‘I saw then, when I managed to open my eyes, I could see their bodies lying listlessly and I knew they were dead,’ Ni-ki started crying properly now, tears falling onto Heeseung’s hands, snapping Heeseung out of his moral crisis, ‘I didn’t even get the chance to grieve them properly. I had to come here instead.’ Heeseung’s heart broke just a little, this boy was supposed to be their enemy? This boy crying his eyes out for parents who would never wake up, a boy not even an adult yet, was their rival? The one they were supposed to destroy? How could Heeseung ever…..

‘I come here and I hate it. I hate the way it smells. I hate the way the air feels. I hate being in this school. Not even an hour in and somehow people are already making jokes and I hate it.’ Heeseung was stabbed with guilt, he was the first to push Ni-ki, even though he already knew. He knew and he did it anyway, he shouldn’t feel guilty, so why did he? 

Why couldn’t he seem to see Ni-ki as the mafia heir he was. Because he isn’t, he’s just a kid who was forced into this suddenly and unwillingly. Heeseung hadn’t cared about any of the kids from the past, so why was it so different with Ni-ki? Why was it that with Ni-ki, Heeseung couldn’t hate?

Ni-ki was still sobbing uncontrollably and Heeseung was at a crossroads. He could either continue to keep his distance and not allow himself to get attached to his enemy, follow through with the plan and take everything from Ni-ki. Or he could comfort Ni-ki, he could abandon the plan, could abandon the hatred he felt for a boy he just met, he could be his friend. genuinely. If he betrays the plan he betrays his friends, his mafia, his family but if he betrays Ni-ki, he betrays his heart, his newfound morality. 

What on earth was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to choose? Who was he supposed to pick? Which side? 

More tears hit Heeseung’s hands and he made a choice. Removing his hands from where they covered Ni-ki’s, he pulled Ni-ki forward onto his lap and cradled the younger boy tightly. His own eyes welling up in tears, a drop falling onto Ni-ki’s head.

‘I’m so sorry Ni-ki. I’m sorry that you had to go through that so young. I’m sorry that you couldn’t grieve and most of all I’m sorry for what I’ve done,’ Heeseung rambled, acutely aware that he could expose them at any moment, but at that moment he only cared about apologising to Ni-ki, ‘I’m sorry that I was such an ass and that I planned to be an ass. I seriously don’t know what's wrong with me.’ Heeseung was crying a little now.

‘I’m sorry that you had your life taken away from you and that you had to come here. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.’ Heeseung was rambling apologies mixed with fresh tears. He felt broken in a way that he hadn’t been since before he met the others, was this the result of the collapse of his moral compass or due to the restoration of his moral compass, he didn’t quite know. Heeseung squeezed Ni-ki tighter like he was the only lifeline in a storm he had only just started to brave. 

Eventually after a couple minutes, the two both started calming down, both faces flushed in various shades of embarrassment, yet Ni-ki didn’t leave Heeseung’s lap and Heeseung didn’t let go of Ni-ki. 

‘Heeseung-Hyung, are we friends?’ Heeseung stilled for a second, friends sounded nice, he’d like to be friends with Ni-ki, he’d much prefer that to be enemies.

‘I’d like to think we are. Are we Ni-ki?’ Heeseung prayed that Ni-ki would say yes.

‘I think we are.’ Ni-ki smiled at Heeseung, the real genuine smile that Heeseung had been in awe of earlier, the one that made him jealous, and for the first time in a long time, Heeseung gave a genuine smile back. 

---()---

Ni-ki was supposed to play it safe, not let his guard down, but something about Heeseung encouraged warmth and comfort and Ni-ki might not trust him completely, both were hiding things, but maybe he could give trusting Heeseung a try.

Heeseung wasn’t supposed to be Ni-ki’s friend, not genuinely, but the way Ni-ki smiled at him and the way Ni-ki owned an innocence he’d long lost, drew him in deeper. Heeseung wasn’t supposed to abandon the plan for Ni-ki, but Heeseung wanted to anyway.

---()---

‘Guys we might have a problem.’

‘What Jungwon?’

‘I think Heeseung’s gone rogue.’

‘Gone rogue? Do you hear yourself, Heeseung-Hyung would never.’

‘I agree with Jake, he wouldn’t have betrayed the plan.’

‘That's not the real problem though, is it Jungwon?’

‘How did you….nevermind, but Sunoo-Hyung’s right, there’s a bigger problem.’

‘What kind of bigger problem?’

‘Apparently and these are just the rumours that I overheard, but &Team is coming to Korea.’

‘Wait what. Why?’

‘Don’t they have allegiance to the Nishimura’s? Why are they coming here as well?’

‘I think it's because of the Nishimura heir.’

‘But he’s just a kid.’

‘So you finally looked up his age? Well done Hyung.’

‘Hush Sunno, not now.’

‘&Team is an elite group of assassins, by all means they have every right to come to Korea.’

‘But it is suspicious.’

‘Sunghoon-Hyung is right, only a week or so after Nishimura Riki arrives and &Team follows? This spells trouble.’

‘What if they aren’t here for us?’ Everyone turns to look at Jay, who’s standing by a nearby window, silver hair glinting casting a halo of light on his head.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Say you go and assassinate some very important people, you can’t stay in the same country anymore can you? So naturally you leave and go somewhere different but nearby just for convenience sake. Obviously you’re going to have made enemies and say they were under certain orders to find you, would they not follow you to this different country.’

‘Are you saying that &Team is here tracking down another assassin?’

‘But why would……ohhhhh, Nishimura Riki’s parents.’

‘Bingo.’

‘Maybe we need to rethink our plan.’

‘That’s sudden.’

‘No it isn’t. Jungwon’s been thinking about this since he came into contact with Nishimura earlier today, right?’

‘Why do you have to be so perceptive, Jay-Hyung?’

‘What do you think we should do Jungwon?’

‘Stay low, we don’t want to garner the attention of &Team and as for the plan….I’ll chat with Heeseung about it first. Sounds like a plan?’

‘I’m okay with that.’

‘Me too.’

‘Jungwon.’

‘Part of this plan feels wrong.’ 

‘You’ve never had a problem with it until now, what’s changed Jungwon?’

‘...’

‘Is anything else anyone wants to add? No? Meeting dismissed.’

‘Since when were &Team owned by the Nishimura’s?’

‘Oh my god Jake, do your own research for once.’