Chapter Text
The morning light shone through Eunjung's smudged windows, cutting into Gray’s stabbing headache.
His cold hand only offered a fleeting solace before it flushed warm. The other remained buried in his trouser pocket, clenched into a tight fist.
Gray heaved out a sigh, breath shaking as his head rocked down.
His teeth grinded together in a twisted sense of vertigo as a shuddering crack echoed from a cluster of boys just inches away.
A cold prickle crept across his neck. slipping through the frantic crowd, his eyes caught the trembling child's with a stream of heavy, copper blood dripping off his chin.
He turned his head away.
The deafening roar of the anarchy grew smaller as he descended down the unstable stairwell to the Annex. His footsteps slapped against the concrete.
When he stepped into the room, like a ghost, he stilled.
Huddled in a tight, fretful group, his friends crowded around the blue glare of a phone, their faces contorted.
“What–” Gray choked up. “What are you looking at?”
Rowen's head snapped up like he didn't realise Gray was there, eyes blown wide.
He didn't say a word, just thrusted the phone into his limp grip. The device felt heavy in his trembling hand.
His eyes stung upon the heavy glare of the phone, his pulse banging harder against his skull.
He skimmed the words, stilling when the weight of the headline finally seeped in.
YEO-LI STUDENT, DO SEONGMOK CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER BEATING HIS PEER BAEK DONGHA TO DEATH.
“Gray… did you know about this?” Rowen leaned in softly. “You were looking for him, right? You didn't run into them did you?” His face pinched like the idea was painful.
Gray didn't answer. He swallowed, his throat went dry.
“Rowen seriously?” Teddy interrupted, lunging to take the phone back. “Even if he did know something, what makes you think he wants to talk about it?”
His gaze lingered on the headline a second longer before snapping the phone off with a sharp, final click.
Teddy opened his mouth again, Gray could not make out what he was saying.
A piercing ring screamed, blocking the twos’ bickering out. The faded, grimy walls blurred together, losing their shape.
Gray only managed to make out Rowen casting a concerned glance before his shoulder hit the ground in a final…
THWACK!
THWACK! THWACK!
Gray's blood coated knuckles pulped the base of Dongha skull, a wet, sickening squelch echoed from each hit.
THWACK! THWACK!
When his head lolled back, neck giving way in a sharp, final snap, Gray wrenched his jaw back up. Mouth slung open in the shape of a scream Dongha could no longer sustain.
THWACK! THWACK!
Splashes of blood, spit and tears hit the concrete in viscous trickles, skewing in wide arcs. Granules of dirt mixing with each droplet, swirling erratically from the momentum.
THWACK! THWACK!
Gray did not falter, rhythm did not break, each blow landing with a flat, wet thud. Only that final hit could snap him out of it.
THWACK!
That one was different, heavy. His own knuckles let out a jarring crack. The white-hot flash of pain tore him out of the haze and back into the grimy, squalid alley. The running adrenaline, replaced with an agonising throbbing in his hand.
His fists didn't bounce back, only hung in the air like a marionette's limbs when the strings go slack.
His gaze fixated on the mangled figure.
With a shaken breath, he tentatively recoiled from the macabre. His legs untangled from the man's waist while his arms dragged the rest of himself off the body.
His head jerked, eyes flickering to each shadow of the room, only stilling when he noticed the figure looming behind him.
“Is he dead?” Wolf's voice was steady despite the carnage. His heel grounded harder into Seongmok's bleeding temple when he leaned in, palms braced by his knees.
Gray blinked once, twice and refocused on the wreck that was Dongha. Well, he's definitely seen better days.
Shuffling back to his side, blood seeped into his trousers, he felt no pity for him, only dull, bitter contempt. He had it coming.
He reached out with a reluctant hand to find a pulse. His fingers fluttered across his neck with clinical precision, applying a little more force when met with nothing.
His finger tips turned cold on the clotted, raw meat of his throat where a thrum should be. He shivered slightly, pulling his hand away, staring at the dark, opaque stains marring his skin.
He leaned over and wiped the remnants on the dry patch of Dongha's shirt. Gray craned his neck back to Wolf’s with detached disdain and shook his head.
“No pulse.”
He stole another glance at Dongha's pathetic, butchered corpse. If he were anyone else, he would have felt bad. Albeit, to die in such a cruel, violent way was the only way a mutt like him should be put down.
“Shit…” Wolf spit out his burning cigarette, “what do we do now?” Shoe grinding the floor harder than necessary.
Weirdly enough, the word ‘we’ gave comfort, a silent promise he wouldn't have to carry this alone.
Well… whatever the closest to comfort one could feel from the tyrant of Gangnak.
His gaze shifted from the clammy carcass to the man under Wolf's boot.
Seongmok looked significantly better than Dongha. A few bruises and cuts here and there but overall unaffected.
Wolf followed his gaze, “do we kill him too?” The only answer he got to that was Grey's leveled glare. He shook his head like a disappointed parent and muttered something to himself. But his gaze lingered.
Gray sucked in a breath. Eyes closed, head tilted to the sky like he was praying. A pitiful expression made its way to his face. Wolf didn't interrupt.
“...We can't move him or just run.” His voice had become dulcet and dream-like. “There's too many people outside the alley.”
He sighed and tipped his head back down. “But we have to figure this out fast. Seongmok could wake up any second.”
Wolf flinched.
Methodically, his gaze turned to the unconscious figure, heel lifting just enough to keep him from waking.
His gaze flickered from Seongmok, to Gray, then Seongmok again. “You know, I don't think we'll need to change anything.”
Grays's gaze snapped up, “sorry?”
“I think I just figured out how to get out of this.”