Taeyang winced as he hauled another broken table upright.
His entire body fucking hurt. Every muscle screamed, every joint burned, and every single bruise on his body felt like it was trying to claw its way deeper into his bones.
But whatever.
The karaoke bar was a goddamn wreck. Smoke still lingered in the air, the neon lights flickered weakly, and the floors were coated in blood, dust, and splinters. The place was barely standing.
But it was still standing.
And that meant they'd won.
Taeyang exhaled, straightening up. Across the room, Daehyun was checking on some of Kangjun's men, making sure none of them were dead-dead. Most were banged up, some barely conscious, but the ones still able to stand were already working on fixing the place up.
Somewhere outside, the sound of motorbikes revving echoed through the street. The air was cool, crisp. A sharp contrast to the blood-soaked warzone they'd left behind.
Taeyang rolled his shoulders.
He was so fucking tired. But there was still work to do.
"Oi," Daehyun called from across the room. "Didn't I tell you to go rest you fucker?"
Taeyang scoffed, flipping him off before grabbing a broken chair and tossing it into a pile of wreckage. "I'm doing just fine, dumbass."
Daehyun raised an eyebrow. "You collapsed three times and you… you're still bleeding out."
"My blood regenerates."
"Yeah? Didn't know you were that special."
Taeyang sighed. "More special than you. I don't have bricks for brains."
Daehyun rolled his eyes but didn't argue. Instead, he nudged one of the barely-conscious guys slumped against the bar. "Oi. You breathing?"
A low groan was his only answer.
Daehyun nodded. "Good enough."
Taeyang snorted before turning toward Kangjun. The guy looked like shit—his face was a mess of blood and bruises, his clothes torn up, and he was leaning against the cracked bar counter like it was the only thing holding him up.
But despite all that, he was smirking, and all that with two cigarettes behind his ears. Like pencils.
What a weirdo.
"I still can't believe you two took them both out," Kangjun said, rolling his shoulders. "Fucking monsters."
"'Monsters'?" Taeyang scoffed. "They weren't that strong."
Daehyun immediately rebuked him. "Bullshit. You'd be dead if I hadn't been there the first time. You're still bleeding."
Kangjun chuckled. "I was talking about both of you."
Taeyang rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Daehyun stepped forward, arms crossed. "Your boys are gonna be alright?"
Kangjun glanced around the room, taking in the state of his men. They were battered, exhausted, some barely standing—but they were alive.
"They'll live."
Daehyun nodded. "Good."
A brief silence settled between them.
Then Kangjun sighed, pushing himself off the counter. "Well, I ain't about to get all sentimental, but I owe you two one." He met their gazes, serious for once.
"They won't be crawling back anytime soon. And anytime y'all want a break from Minho's warehouse, feel free to come down here."
Taeyang grinned. "Damn right they won't."
Daehyun just gave a small nod. "We'll hold you to that."
Kangjun smiled. "I'd expect nothing less."
With that, Taeyang and Daehyun both turned towards the door.
Their bikes were waiting outside, engines humming in the night air.
Stolen bikes yes, but Taeyang had ridden it once and he'd already decided… he liked it. Daehyun flipped open the compartment at the back of his bike pulling out a box of fried chicken.
"You have even more?! How much do you eat?"
Daehyun laughed. "This is the same chicken I bought back when Giseok's lot first attacked. We went to train right after that, remember? Never got the chance to finish eating it."
"You chicken obsessed shit."
Taeyang swung a leg over his bike, adjusting his jacket. Daehyun did the same beside him, cracking his neck before gripping the handlebars with a bundle of golden brown but now dry chicken stuffed into his mouth.
Kangjun stepped out of the bar, watching them and Daehyun chucked a glazed chicken wing into his general direction.
Taeyang laughed as Kangjun jumped to the side, catching it with his mouth.
"Try not to die on the way back," he called, voice slightly muffled through the chicken.
Taeyang raised an eyebrow, revving the engine. "No promises."
Daehyun rolled his eyes, chewing and then swallowing in one huge gulp.
"Later, Kangjun."
Kangjun just chuckled, raising a hand in farewell.
Then, with a final roar of engines, Taeyang and Daehyun peeled out onto the streets, speeding off into the night back to Anyang.
.
***
.
The low hum of their motorcycles faded as Taeyang and Daehyun pulled up to the warehouse, the tires grinding softly against the pavement.
The place looked the same as ever… dimly lit, the scent of smoke and oil lingering in the cool night air.
Taeyang barely had time to kill the engine before Daehyun was already off his bike, rolling his shoulders with a tired exhale.
"Fucking finally," he muttered. "I need food. And a bed. In that order."
Taeyang scoffed. "I need a whole new body."
"Can't fix ugly."
"You're hilarious."
But the moment they stepped off their bikes, heads started turning.
Some of the guys were outside, lingering near the entrance, smoking or just killing time. Conversations quieted as they noticed Taeyang and Daehyun approaching, their bruises and torn clothes making it obvious they'd been through some shit.
A few of them pushed off the walls, stepping closer.
"Yo," one of the younger guys—Hyunwoo—called out. "How'd it go in Ansan?"
Daehyun exhaled sharply, rolling out his shoulders. "We beat them up, obviously."
A murmur spread through the group. Someone let out a low whistle.
"No shit?" Hyunwoo grinned. "I figured you'd handle it, but damn... looks like it got rough." His eyes flickered over their injuries. "That your blood or theirs?"
Taeyang grinned. "Both."
Another guy, Jinho, leaned in, grinning. "Heard Ansan had some monsters. That true?"
Daehyun scoffed. "Yeah. And now they're all on the fucking ground."
A few guys chuckled at that, nodding in approval.
Taeyang stretched, letting out a slow breath. "Minho inside?"
Jinho nodded, jabbing a thumb toward the warehouse doors. "Yeah, him and Jeongdu are in the back. Probably waiting to hear how everything went."
Daehyun clapped Jinho on the shoulder as he passed. "Good. I wanna eat first, but I guess that can wait."
More murmurs followed them as they stepped inside, the chatter fading into the background.
The warehouse still had the faint scent of cigarettes and old machinery. The sounds of their boots echoed off the concrete floors as they made their way past stacks of crates and scattered chairs.
They didn't need to look for Minho and Jeongdu. They knew exactly where they'd be.
In the back, past the main floor, in a space that had become the unofficial meeting area.
And sure enough, as they pushed through the doorway—
There they were.
Jeongdu stood, a towering mountain as always. Daehyun immediately leapt forward, grabbing head and pulling it down into a small headlock.
Taeyang tensed, about to intervene until he noticed they were both laughing.
Jeongdu smiling… truly the world had a lot more left for him to see.
"Jeongdu my man! I missed you!" Daehyun laughed whilst gripping his neck tightly.
The man in question merely smiled and stood straight, lifting Daehyun into the air. "Haven't seen you in a bit either."
Minho's eyes flickered over them both, taking in the torn clothes, the bruises, the blood. His expression barely shifted, but Taeyang could tell he was already piecing things together.
"You're late," He said.
"Had to clean up a karaoke bar first," Taeyang shot back. "Not exactly a quick job."
Minho exhaled, his hands tucked into his pockets. "So. How bad was it?"
Daehyun dropped from Jeongdu's shoulder and crossed his arms. "Bad for them. But we won."
Jeongdu nodded. "Details."
Daehyun ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Giseok and Jinhwan lead the charge. His guys hit Kangjun's turf hard, but we managed to hold the line. Took out most of them. The rest ran after I wrecked their strongest guy."
Minho raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"The guy who only uses his right fist," Daehyun said. "Ever heard of him?"
Minho's expression didn't change, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes. Recognition. "Vaguely."
"His name's Taesoo Ma," Daehyun admitted. "Strong as hell. But I put him down."
Taeyang's eyes widened. Taesoo Ma? Daehyun had fought Taesoo Ma… and won?
What the fuck?
How had Daehyun not been in the original story?
He narrowed his eyes again as his thoughts ran amok but still… one thought amongst them overshadowed the rest.
"If he even gave you trouble… I guess Ansan has a new monster." Minho nodded, then glanced at Taeyang. "And Giseok?"
Taeyang rolled his shoulders. "He's not getting up anytime soon."
Jeongdu hummed. "So he's still alive?"
"Yeah." Taeyang wiped some dried blood from his cheek. "But I doubt he'll be moving for a while."
Minho nodded slowly, processing.
"Ansan won't try this shit again anytime soon," Daehyun added. "Not after the beating we gave them."
For a moment, there was silence. Then Minho exhaled. "Good work. Ansan shouldn't come in from the south again anytime soon."
It was the closest thing to praise they were gonna get.
Daehyun smirked. "Obviously."
Taeyang wasn't listening anymore.
Because now that all the bullshit was out of the way, there was only one thing on his mind.
And he didn't give a shit about formalities.
He stepped forward, his voice cutting through the air.
"Minho," he said, sharp and direct. "Did you kill Giseok's little brother?"
.
.
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.
.
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Well, Taeyang is rather forward.
Anyways, on a completely unrelated note. I went back through the old things that I wrote last year and I found an old Naruto fanfiction.
I only wrote one chapter so I'm going to post that (you can read it through my account).
The premise is a little funny so I genuinely might go through with that fic when I feel bored.
Hope y'all enjoyed.
No update tomorrow btw. Gotta wait till Monday I'm afraid