"This lecture should count as torture." Kangwoo mumbled as he slumped forward, head in his hands, unsure what they were getting at. "This stuff is just -- I don't know, I don't care. He told me what it's about and I told him not to bug me with it. I said we didn't deal in it. It's like a hobby, it's not a business thing. I'm not linked to it."
He wasn't really into kinky sex that much. He did like hurting people but it seemed weird to bring that into the bedroom. "Besides, most of Cheon's guys are those thai boys and you know what they're like."
"I know what they are like. Human, for one thing. Not all of them are Thai, but even if they were..." Hobi fell silent when Sian came back in to hand him his drink, bowing in front of all of them and, yes, smiling at little at Kangwoo. He had enjoyed their little Star Wars talk.
Evidently the two Min brothers were not enjoying the current talk. Sian wanted to leave again, but Hobi stopped him. "Sian-ssi, you worked for the Dark Dragons, didn't you?"
Sian blinked, then nodded. "For a bit."
"Why did you stop?"
By now, Sian was blushing. He wasn't sure what to say. The leader of the Min clan was right there! "....I-- I don't know. It's dangerous. Sad."
How very eloquent. What did he say? "I was scared."
"Then he left and came here. Look how happy he is, his hair is a rainbow." Kangwoo pointed out, gesturing at his hair. If ever there had been happier hair, he hadn't seen it. "It's smarter to leave, you know? If you're in a bad situation, you walk away from it. Like Sian did. He's smart."
He gave the Star Wars fan a thumbs up because he appreciated his common sense too.
"Cheon doesn't force people to work for him, they have the choice to leave."
"...I didn't have the choice. Hoseok-nim helped me. I was trapped. But I was lucky, I knew Korean. It's harder for some of the others." And a lot of them he still worried over, quite a lot. "If Cheon-nim finds out you're thinking about leaving, you get whipped."
At the very least. Hobi reached out to take Sian's hand, pulling him closer and then gesturing for him to sit down, which he did. Even if he was clearly still feeling very unsure.
"Yeah, he likes his whips." Kangwoo didn't know what else to day cause he didn't know it that well but he did know that Cheon kept whips on some of his walls. He told Kangwoo not to worry about it and he tried not to. It made life easier. "I mean, he's a jerk. I'm not defending. I think he's a dick but --"
But he was Kangwoo's social life and he kind of wanted to keep that.
"He and Jaebum are bad, I get it, I'll nab some cash from them and make it all square." He was sure some money would smooth stuff over. It usually did.
"I think they are like the Emperor. Or worse." Sian muttered it and Hobi was confused. He had no idea what he was even talking about.
"Sian speaks three different languages or more, sometimes I can't follow him." He shrugged and Yoongi shook his head.
"That wasn't a different language, that was nerd talk. Don't mind him." Might actually get through to Kangwoo. "What's the deal with the cash, Kang-ah?"
"The emperor? I guess... he kind of is. Not as old but just as ugly." He shrugged his shoulders and then looked at his brother, briefly giving Sian a look before turning back to Yoongi. "Everyone likes cash. He gives people cash to overlook stuff all the time. And it works. Even in the Kim Family and the Min Clan, he told me some of the guys he'd paid to walk away."
Which was dodgy, he knew, but he also knew what money meant. Cheon had showed him. "I mean... I wouldn't have friends if I didn't have money. Money is a language. No one comes near me but I buy a few drinks and they all want to be pals."
It was sad but to Kangwoo, very true. "So if Cheon offers some cash, I bet we can just-- move on from this."
"...you can't pay off Min Yoongi." Hobi was pretty much just fake whispering, but he felt as if someone had to tell Kangwoo. He knew that Kangwoo had a different approach to life a lot of the time, but it was interesting to see how the roles they had been raised for had shaped them as well. "And if there's clan members taking money from the Dark Dragons, you should tell."
Yoongi gave a nod, a bit taken aback. Damn, there were a lot of holes in Kangwoo's education. And, perhaps even more importantly, his socialising. "You can have friends without money, Kang-ah..." Damn it.
Sian wasn't sure what to do, so he shuffled his feet a little. He kind of liked Kangwoo. He'd rather be talking about Star Wars.
"No, I can't. Don't be stupid, hyung. Name one time I made friends before I started having cash? ... Can't think of any. Yeah, thought so." Kangwoo moved from school to school until he was privately tutored to avoid embarrassment. He never did click with anyone. He talked to people his age and he hung out in extra classes sometimes but he never had a social life until he got money.
Then he knew exactly how to reel people in. All he needed was cash. "The man with the most money is the most popular man in the room. I learned that watching you and appa. You had cash and power - then people liked you. Or pretended to like you. I don't think it matters."
Kangwoo didn't need to be liked, he just liked the feeling of thinking he was liked.
"I don't know much about friendship. But I can tell you that I don't have any friends." Yoongi shrugged. He knew enough to be aware of that. Friendship wasn't an option, at least he couldn't figure out how it could be. During the trial, that had been different, but he couldn't get into that right now. Too many people in the room.
"I liked talking about Star Wars," Sian offered, "I don't need money or power to like someone."
"Aw." Hobi laughed, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Cute, isn't he? No wonder he was Cheon's type. To get back on topic. Trust me, Cheon doesn't even want to have anything consensual."
"You never spend money, hyung. If you spent it more, you'd have more friends." Kangwoo helpfully explained. As cute as Sian was, he didn't know if Star Wars was enough to maintain any real friendship. Though he didn't much care for Sian being Cheon's type... Cheon didn't get nice boys, he got hookers and scumbags to fuck.
Huh. That sucked. "Okay, Cheon is terrible. Whatever. I get it. What do you want me to do?" He looked at Yoongi and waited for his answers. "If I terminate friendship, they'll be pissed and then I got heat on me."
"Heat on you? Like what. The Dark Dragons want to threaten us?" Yoongi raised his eyebrows and leaned his head to the side. "They can't. They don't have the power. What kind of heat would they put on you? They have to know who you are. They need to respect that."
"I can help you make much better friends, Kangwoo," Hobi offered generously, "I have plenty of friends."
"They'll be pissed. They don't like when someone walks away from them and they play dirty. Also, in case you hadn't grasped, they don't really care about respect." If they saw a chance for revenge, they'd take it. Cause they were dumb. Hence the Sangwoo mess.
Kangwoo slid his chair back and gave Hobi a look. "No, I don't want to meet your friends. I'll go out drinking and make some new ones. Just-- whatever, I'm fine." He could start alllll over again.
Yoongi couldn't help but feel that this hadn't gone well. He wasn't even sure they had really made their point about consent. Honestly, what could he do about this? He doubted Kangwoo would give him another chance. "Wait, Kangwoo. I think, maybe... Maybe we do some roleplay?"
It was true, even as a child he got too in his head over it and questioned all of the games they played too much. Also he didn't want to act out stuff in front of Sian. Or his brother and his weird friend. "You're my brother... do you really have to make me do this? Can't I just download an ebook on the subject?"
Did they have books about rape? Probably. He'd google later.
"No, not you pretending. Just... You watching. Hobi and Sian can play it out." Yoongi just had to make sure he really got this and he couldn't really think of another way to do it.
At least Hobi had caught on, smiling brightly, one arm around Sian to encourage him. "That's a good idea! We can do that. All right, situation one... Sian, can you pretend to be scared of me?"
Honestly, Sian thought this was a dumb idea. But he also happened to be an aspiring actor, so there he was, suddenly looking terrified.
"Hey! Leave him alone, don't make him do this." He thought it was actual fear so hey, good acting. Kangwoo was very easily fooled. "I get it, it's bad. Keep your hands off him! He's your employee, he could go to HR." They didn't have a HR but he was still making his point - this was very wrong.
And yes, he knew, it was also wrong for Cheon to do but that didn't bother him as much.
"I am just pretending!" Sian quickly smiled at Kangwoo, so endeared by his honest concern. He had to bow to him. "You are so considerate. Thank you very much."
Well. Yoongi wasn't sure whether this would work, but he did think it was funny.
Especially since Hobi didn't break character, instead grabbing Sian's face and making him look at him again, waiting for him to look properly scared. "Are you going to complain to anyone about me?"
Sian shook his head, trying not to look at Kangwoo again. He didn't want to upset him. "No..."
Kangwoo got up and pulled Hoseok off Sian and then quite literally stood between them, arms crossed, looking down at Hobi with a less than impressed expression. "I get it. Stop punishing Sian because I fucked up. It's weird. Also this would never happen. Cause I wouldn't let it." So there. Wait. "We protect our clan members."
Yeah, that was it.
He turned his head and looked at Sian. "You okay?"
Sian looked at Kangwoo, his heart beating too fast and maybe he had gotten a little too into acting this out. He smiled at Kangwoo now, nodding his head a little, unable to stop feeling like this. "Thank you for saving me." Obviously he was saving him from a pretend situation, but still. He felt daring, so he added, "It has to be an honour, sir. For anyone lucky enough to be your friend."
"I'm the one who actually saved him," Hobi muttered to Yoongi, who just shushed him. This was more interesting.
"If you say so. You have work, leave before he tries to make you do anything dumb again. And be careful with boys, yeah? You seem to have bad luck." Kangwoo actually helped him up from his seat and then walked him along a few paces, gestured back towards the bar area. "Thank you for your service tonight, Sian-ssi."
Yeah, this sure was interesting. "Don't worry about Cheon or anything like that. You're safe."
"If you say so, I'll believe it." And, yeah, Sian was flirting now, but they weren't that close to Yoongi and Hobi any more and he didn't think that Kangwoo even realised. He just smiled at Kangwoo, who did somehow make him feel safe. "I'm glad I get to work for great men like you."
It was a vast improvement over working for Cheon, that much was for sure. "I hope I get to see you again."
"I might come back. I have a lot of free time now, my friends sucked." Oh well. Kangwoo shrugged and then bowed a little because he didn't mind bowing to lessers. He thought it made him look more humble and Yoongi always did it so he kinda did it too. "You make a good scotch, might tempt me to return."
And with that, he walked away from rainbow boy and sat down next to his brother again. "So... we done here?"
"Did you get all the points I was trying to make?" What even had been the points? Honestly, right now Yoongi didn't even know any more. "Whatever. Just don't think all Thai people are whores."
"Thai people aren't whores, you gotta ask for consent and Hoseok scares boys into sleeping with him. I learnt it all." Kangwoo bluffed with a playful smile. "Also I learned that I have to make new friends now. Which sucks but I guess I can just suck it up and do it." He finished off his drink and then nodded to what Hobi said.
"He's nice, I like him. You should promote him. He needs more money, his clothes are faded. He needs a raise."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
He wasn't really into kinky sex that much. He did like hurting people but it seemed weird to bring that into the bedroom. "Besides, most of Cheon's guys are those thai boys and you know what they're like."
no subject
Evidently the two Min brothers were not enjoying the current talk. Sian wanted to leave again, but Hobi stopped him. "Sian-ssi, you worked for the Dark Dragons, didn't you?"
Sian blinked, then nodded. "For a bit."
"Why did you stop?"
By now, Sian was blushing. He wasn't sure what to say. The leader of the Min clan was right there! "....I-- I don't know. It's dangerous. Sad."
How very eloquent. What did he say? "I was scared."
no subject
He gave the Star Wars fan a thumbs up because he appreciated his common sense too.
"Cheon doesn't force people to work for him, they have the choice to leave."
no subject
At the very least. Hobi reached out to take Sian's hand, pulling him closer and then gesturing for him to sit down, which he did. Even if he was clearly still feeling very unsure.
"He took my passport and driver's license."
no subject
But he was Kangwoo's social life and he kind of wanted to keep that.
"He and Jaebum are bad, I get it, I'll nab some cash from them and make it all square." He was sure some money would smooth stuff over. It usually did.
no subject
"Sian speaks three different languages or more, sometimes I can't follow him." He shrugged and Yoongi shook his head.
"That wasn't a different language, that was nerd talk. Don't mind him." Might actually get through to Kangwoo. "What's the deal with the cash, Kang-ah?"
no subject
Which was dodgy, he knew, but he also knew what money meant. Cheon had showed him. "I mean... I wouldn't have friends if I didn't have money. Money is a language. No one comes near me but I buy a few drinks and they all want to be pals."
It was sad but to Kangwoo, very true. "So if Cheon offers some cash, I bet we can just-- move on from this."
no subject
Yoongi gave a nod, a bit taken aback. Damn, there were a lot of holes in Kangwoo's education. And, perhaps even more importantly, his socialising. "You can have friends without money, Kang-ah..." Damn it.
Sian wasn't sure what to do, so he shuffled his feet a little. He kind of liked Kangwoo. He'd rather be talking about Star Wars.
no subject
Then he knew exactly how to reel people in. All he needed was cash. "The man with the most money is the most popular man in the room. I learned that watching you and appa. You had cash and power - then people liked you. Or pretended to like you. I don't think it matters."
Kangwoo didn't need to be liked, he just liked the feeling of thinking he was liked.
no subject
"I liked talking about Star Wars," Sian offered, "I don't need money or power to like someone."
"Aw." Hobi laughed, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Cute, isn't he? No wonder he was Cheon's type. To get back on topic. Trust me, Cheon doesn't even want to have anything consensual."
no subject
Huh. That sucked. "Okay, Cheon is terrible. Whatever. I get it. What do you want me to do?" He looked at Yoongi and waited for his answers. "If I terminate friendship, they'll be pissed and then I got heat on me."
no subject
"I can help you make much better friends, Kangwoo," Hobi offered generously, "I have plenty of friends."
no subject
Kangwoo slid his chair back and gave Hobi a look. "No, I don't want to meet your friends. I'll go out drinking and make some new ones. Just-- whatever, I'm fine." He could start alllll over again.
no subject
Hobi looked at him, blinking. What? "What?"
"Just to go over consent and all..."
no subject
It was true, even as a child he got too in his head over it and questioned all of the games they played too much. Also he didn't want to act out stuff in front of Sian. Or his brother and his weird friend. "You're my brother... do you really have to make me do this? Can't I just download an ebook on the subject?"
Did they have books about rape? Probably. He'd google later.
no subject
At least Hobi had caught on, smiling brightly, one arm around Sian to encourage him. "That's a good idea! We can do that. All right, situation one... Sian, can you pretend to be scared of me?"
Honestly, Sian thought this was a dumb idea. But he also happened to be an aspiring actor, so there he was, suddenly looking terrified.
no subject
And yes, he knew, it was also wrong for Cheon to do but that didn't bother him as much.
no subject
Well. Yoongi wasn't sure whether this would work, but he did think it was funny.
Especially since Hobi didn't break character, instead grabbing Sian's face and making him look at him again, waiting for him to look properly scared. "Are you going to complain to anyone about me?"
Sian shook his head, trying not to look at Kangwoo again. He didn't want to upset him. "No..."
"You should try. See what happens."
no subject
Kangwoo got up and pulled Hoseok off Sian and then quite literally stood between them, arms crossed, looking down at Hobi with a less than impressed expression. "I get it. Stop punishing Sian because I fucked up. It's weird. Also this would never happen. Cause I wouldn't let it." So there. Wait. "We protect our clan members."
Yeah, that was it.
He turned his head and looked at Sian. "You okay?"
no subject
"I'm the one who actually saved him," Hobi muttered to Yoongi, who just shushed him. This was more interesting.
no subject
Yeah, this sure was interesting. "Don't worry about Cheon or anything like that. You're safe."
no subject
It was a vast improvement over working for Cheon, that much was for sure. "I hope I get to see you again."
no subject
And with that, he walked away from rainbow boy and sat down next to his brother again. "So... we done here?"
no subject
There, that was a good lesson.
Hobi smiled at Kangwoo. "Sian is cute, isn't he?"
no subject
"He's nice, I like him. You should promote him. He needs more money, his clothes are faded. He needs a raise."
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)