writing / damiel. [02]

Scene 1: the Bar

 "Hyung." Hyun-woo turned around from where he was wiping a few glasses to spot none other than Heo Jung-moon himself, walking towards the island as conspicuously as possible.

  "You look like either a flasher or someone that's gonna pull a knife out of your pocket and stab someone to death with it. Chill out Moonie, don't look like you're gonna murder every single person within your line of sight." Hyun-woo chuckled nonchalantly, well-aware that the knife stabbing part wasn't very far from the truth. Then he realised something odd with how Jung-moon had greeted him.
  Hyun-woo leaned over the bar counter under the guise of wiping the table in front of Jung-moon. "You're not Jung-moon, are you?" He asked in a low whisper. The young man seated on the bar stool in front of him gave him a wry smile. "No. I'm Sung-Joon. If you have a job for Jung-moon hyung, leave it for later." Hyun-woo let out his usual long sigh, well-aware that it was impossible to ever make Lee Sung-joon take up a job unless it only involved information extraction or torture. Sung-Joon's moral compass was as odd as Jung-moon's mental illness, but Hyun-woo knew better than to fight him.

  "When it's Jung-moon's turn to have control, let me know. I've got something important to tell him." Hyun-woo turned away as casually as he could, picking up a glass cube the size of his face and beginning to shave off the edges with a small knife. Jung-moon, as Sung-Joon, watched Hyun-woo shape the ice cube into a perfect sphere and place it in a glass. The bartender filled the cup with some golden liquor and handed it to the contract killer wordlessly. It was silent yet meaningful exchanges like these that made their relationship so profound.

  "So I've been told," Jung-moon's low voice caught Hyun-woo's attention, and the bartender turned around to face him. A thin eyebrow arched in question. "That there's this gang that's going around doing all sorts of illegal stuff. Heard they into heists these days....and all the members are female..." Jung-moon's voice trailed off half-way as his eyes fluttered close, a sign Hyun-woo recognised as Sung-Joon handing control over to another personality. His eyes jerked open less than a minute later, the thoroughly dead look in his eyes indicated the presence of the main personality himself--Heo Jung-moon. the real Jung-moon lifted the glass as he swirled the contents around listlessly. He observed the ice sphere whirl around in circles before taking a tentative sip of the contents. "I heard that they're named after some flower or whatever....Black Dahlia, was it?"

  "Indeed." Hyun-woo confirmed as he sauntered over to Jung-moon's side of the bar counter, which was isolated and far away from the other customers. He bent over the marble table, elbows propping up his chin which rested at eye level with Jung-moon. The latter couldn't help but note that the position would've appeared exceedingly scandalous if Hyun-woo had been a woman wearing whatever low-cut mini dress the ladies several stools away were wearing. Thankfully, the bartender was wholly male, and wearing a neat dress shirt and waistcoat. "I haven't received much intel on that group. Neither have I heard anything major about King Cobra. Both gangs seem to be laying low for the time being, but I'd suggest you stay on your toes Jung-moon. You never know when someone is gonna stab you from behind without you knowing. Gangs are dangerous." For the first time that night, Hyun-woo allowed for his expression to show something other than that patronising grin on his handsome face--genuine concern. Jung-moon would never be able to understand concern or compassion, but he respected and appreciated Hyun-woo's sincere efforts.

   "I'll be fine. I just wanted to check up on you, just in case you had any new jobs or information for me. If there's nothing, I'll just head back to my place." Jung-moon was about to hop off from the bar stool when Hyun-woo's hand suddenly grasped his arm. "What's the rush, Psycho?" Hyun-woo's voice was honey sweet and borderline seductive, but that tone was code for serious business. The intense look burning in the other's eyes was enough evidence of that. Jung-moon returned back to his seat, casting wary glances towards the drunk patrons on the other side of the counter who'd just left. He noticed that Hyun-woo had been previously watching them intently too, which obviously meant something was amiss. The bartender's expression cleared once the group of males had left before redirecting his attention back to Jung-moon, who'd already figured it out.

  "From King cobra?" Jung-moon caught Hyun-woo's minuscule nod and returned the gesture. "I do know a few things about the gang. Mainly that they're considered rivals in the gang underground, and that both sides are gonna rob a single bank. On the same night, at the same time." There was unhindered mirth in Hyun-woo's eyes, but the amusement was not conveyed to Jung-moon, as always.

  "So what do you want me to do then?" He asked plainly. Hyun-woo sighed deeply and went back to wiping the glass that he'd forgotten about when Jung-moon had entered the bar as Sung-Joon. "Nothing. Don't touch them. I don't know how this'll play out. But if a turf war ever happens, both of us will have to take cover." Jung-moon waved Hyun-woo off. "As if I'm not aware of that. Gangs have never spelled anything good out for me. That's why i refrain from taking out mob bosses as much as possible. It's such messy business. But I suppose messy business is right up Sung-hoon and Ji-ahn's alleys. I can only hope that those two won't cause any trouble." Hyun-woo didn't comment anything further after that.