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Rule number 1:
Do NOT harass employees – the consequences will be left in the hands of everyone in Diamond Heart.
Diamond Heart had about two dozen official rules, and almost as many unofficial ones. Some of them were a bit weird at first (like don’t go into recording studio if Jihoon’s in it), and some were prime cases of implied TMI (like when Wonwoo puts out ‘Do Not Enter’ sign on the door, DO NOT ENTER, you hear me Seungkwan??). Then there were the rules that were an explanation unto themselves.“Mingyu-ya,” Seungcheol pinched the bridge of his nose. “We have more than enough people to wait the tables – you can take bartending tonight.”“But Seungcheol hyung…” Mingyu sagged at the expected rebuff. “I want to help during day too. I’m the only person who only works night shifts!”“And Chan is the only person who works day shifts,” Seungcheol opened his arms to embrace the taller boy. “MIngyu-ya, we need you for bartending all the time – our patrons love when you’re on shift, and you never let anything break when you’re mixing drinks. What’s with suddenly waiting to wait tables?”“Nothing,” Mingyu bit his lip and let his hyung hold him for a bit longer. He didn’t want to bother anyone with his problems. “I just want to feel more useful.”“Don’t you worry about that, pup,” Seungcheol carded his fingers through Mingyu’s dark hair. “You’re perfect just the way you are now. Just relax and smile, and you’ll be perfect.”After that, Mingyu trudged back to the backstage, where Seokmin and Seungkwan were warming up their vocals with Jihoon and Dongho on the grand piano. Surprisingly enough, Minki was also there, occupying his and Jeonghan’s special vanity table and humming along as he put on makeup.“Minki hyung? Are you hosting tonight?” Mingyu wanted to know, shuffling to the older man.“M-hmm,” Minki nodded, carefully extending the wing of his eyeliner until it became razor-sharp. “Sungsoo abeoji is bringing in couple of big people in idol industry to show them around, and there’s no way I’m letting you guys deal with those pricks.”“Yikes!” Mingyu winced in sympathy. “Is that why Seokkie and Kwannie are teaming up?”“Yu-up,” Minki nodded, looking at his reflection critically before smiling. “We’re doing all out – Jihoonie and Jisoo playing, Dongho, Seokkie and Kwannie singing, and dancing line funking it up all the way.”“And rappers?” Mingyu asked hopefully.“Huh… I actually don’t know. Ask Jeonghan, he’s the one who’s planning tonight,” Minki motioned to the offices in the back. “He should be free now.”“Thanks,” Mingyu grinned and skipped over to Jeonghan’s office, ignoring the fact he had interrupted Jisoo hyung and Jeonghan in their make-out session.“Oh, Mingyu-ya!” Jisoo greeted him breathlessly, fixing his white button-down shirt. “What brings you here?”“What am I doing tonight?” Mingyu leaned on the table, projecting every scrap of what Wonwoo once called ‘puppy complex’ in exasperation. “And can I help more?”“Oh, puppy,” Jeonghan chuckled and invited the younger to come closer, hugging him and dragging him down to his eye level. “Always so happy to help us all. Well, you, Wonu and Hansolie are bartending and closing the club tonight. That okay with you?”“Perfectly!” Mingyu grinned. Maybe Jeonghan was his lucky person today? Should he ask him…Well, there was nothing to lose.“Jeonghan hyung, could I get a day shift?”Jeonghan and Jisoo blinked at the same time, looking freakishly like twins. Jisoo tilted his head, while Jeonghan lightly pinched Mingyu’s cheek.“Mingyu-ya, what happened last time when you had day shift?”“I broke three cups and mixed seven orders,” Mingyu whispered, feeling heat raise to his cheeks and heart drop to the ground.“Mingyu-ya,” Jisoo got off Jeonghan’s lap and sat on the ground, his legs crossed. “What’s wrong?”Mingyu dropped his gaze. Of course one of his hyungs would sense something being off. However, Mingyu wasn’t about to bother people with his problems, particularly since they could not help him in any way.“I just feel so useless,” he offered as an excuse. “I’m the only one besides Chan that doesn’t work both day and night shifts, and Channie is a baby.”Jisoo, like Seungcheol, took the explanation at the face value and let it go, murmuring soft words of comfort, but Jeonghan gave him a side-eye that told Mingyu he failed to fool his hyung. Mingyu wanted to groan: the saying of like calls to like just had to kick in right now!Defeated, Mingyu went out and walked over to the closet with the clothes bartenders and performers used, carefully picking between the assorted combinations and accessories. He needed something that would help him forget the scene he had arrived to after last night’s shift, and putting his usual mask of adorable bartender oppa/hyung looked like a good alternative to a stoning trip.That, however, could not help with the hollow feeling growing his chest.“Hey, Mingyu,” Wonwoo appeared at his side, also browsing through the selection of sheer shirts in all colors and patterns. “Need some help with clothes? I can call Myungho -”“NO, I don’t need help hyung!” Mingyu snapped, suddenly having had enough of everyone and everything. After everything he had seen this morning, and being summarily rejected three times by three different hyungs, he did not need to be babied!Snatching indigo-blue shirt, makeup and accessories box neatly labeled with his name and the only tight jeans that fit him, Mingyu stormed off into the changing room, not noticing worried looks of his dongsaengs and hyungs. “Something’s wrong,” Wonwoo said the moment the doors closed behind Mingyu. “Seokkie, Kwannie?”“No idea,” Seungkwan shook his head.“He went to talk with Jeonghan about the schedule tonight,” Minki bit his lip, and Seokmin nodded.“I’ll talk with Jeonghan hyung.”After seeing no one stopping him, one of the main vocalists walked over to Jeonghan’s office and knocked on the door. Jisoo hyung came by an hour ago, and Seokmin had no intention in getting an eyeful of his hyungs having sex.“Yes?” Jisoo opened the door, perfectly put together. “Oh, Seokkie, can I help you?”“Yeah – what did you or Jeonghan hyung say to Mingyu?” Seokmin crossed his arms and looked Jisoo dead in the eye. “He just snapped at Wonwoo over nothing and stormed out to the private dressing rooms.”“N-nothing!” Jisoo took a physical step back, eyes wild. “I promise! Mingyu only asked about tonight’s schedule and if he could have a day shift, there was nothing else!”“Day shift?” Alarm bells rang in Seokmin’s head. Mingyu had sometimes spoken of wanting to get one day shift, but it was mostly in context of being jealous how other boys could handle everything while he was a walking disaster with breakable objects. Why would he suddenly ask about it?“Yeah, Jeonghan and I were also surprised – I thought he decided he didn’t want to do it again after the last time.”“We all thought that,” Seokmin muttered, mind whirling. What had changed so abruptly? “I’ll try and catch him before he goes to bartending.”Jisoo nodded and closed the door again. Seokmin turned to the rest of the room, where his hyungs watched him carefully.“I’ll go and deal with it.”“Deal with what?” Seungcheol entered the backstage, looking a little unbalanced. “Minki, they’re here – please, I beg you, go and entertain them. Sungsoo abeoji looks ready to punt them over the moon, and Aron was that close to cursing them out in English.”“No problem!” Minki chirped and went outside, leaving Seokmin to deal with the stressed co-leader of Diamond Heart.“Ah, Mingyu was just being snappy, and I wanted to talk to him, to clear things out,” Seokmin explained, feeling slightly uneasy under Seungcheol’s gaze.“Oh? So it wasn’t just me…” Seungcheol muttered. “He asked me about day shifts, and I tried to let him down easy. You know he means well, but he’s so clumsy I can’t let him wait tables. But he looked a bit… distressed.”“I know…” Seokmin had a nagging feeling this wasn’t an isolated incident. Something had triggered their overgrown puppy, and he now had to find out what happened. “I’ll talk to him.”“Please, please do,” Seungcheol begged him. “I can’t watch him like this.”“Sure!”And with those words, Seokmin went to the private changing rooms. They had been installed in the beginning, when it was only Jonghyun, Dongho, Minki, Minhyun, Seungcheol, Aron, Jihoon, and currently working idol-slash-actor Doyoon. They all had baggage and secrets they didn’t want to share, and the rooms were made for them to dress and talk without having to reveal anything. Later, as everyone got comfortable with one another, the rooms were only used when a newbie came along or when the stage costume were very complicated and required the person to stand in front of full-length mirror to avoid damaging it.“Mingyu-ya? Can I come in?” Seokmin rapped his fist on the door.“Sure,” the muffled voice came from inside, and Seokmin found Mingyu sitting in front of the vanity table, looking despondently at the light foundation specifically bought to hide his tanned skin.That in on itself was enough to set bells ringing in Seokmin’s head – nothing good came out of his friend’s pensieveness over his looks. To add on the horror that was slowly creeping up his spine, the older boy spotted a brown-red mark peeking from underneath Mingyu’s collar that looked suspiciously like a cut made by a sharp object.“Mingyu-ya! What the blazes -”Seokmin teleported to his side, gently sliding the collar of the shirt to reveal ugly red scab slashed diagonally across Mingyu’s shoulder blades.“Don’t!”Mingyu swatted Seokmin’s arm away, but it was too late: the other boy had spotted the patchwork of smaller and bigger cuts, as well as a bandage wrapped sloppily around Mingyu’s middle. Seokmin couldn’t believe it. Why did his friend hide this? Anger boiled his blood, creating a feeling of acid in his veins.“Who did this to you?” He was trying really hard to be patient, understanding and everything, but the long-buried part of Seokmin yearned to teach this person a lesson.“No one!” Mingyu crossed his arms and pushed himself away.“Bullshit. Was it one of the guys here?”“I said, no one!”“Home?”Mingyu twitched before denying it again, and Seokmin instantly pinpointed the culprit – Mingyu’s mother’s sister who he lived with. She had already killed once before – Mingyu’s mother, in fact – but was acquitted due to lack of evidence.“Fine,” Seokmin turned on his heel. “You don’t have to tell me.”“Minnie, please,” Mingyu whispered. “I – it was my fault, I woke her up when I came back from the shift.”“I don’t give a damn, Gyu,” Seokmin tossed him a look over his shoulder. “She hurt you, and you know our policy on anyone hurting our people.”“Minnie -”But Seokmin already left the room, going straight for Jeonghan’s office. He’ll request the night off and make a house call.It was past time Diamond Heart’s Dokyeom made an appearance in the neighborhood. Song Chaeyin was sharpening her knife when she heard a polite knock on the door.11 PM? Who would be knocking at that time?She slithered to the door and looked through the peephole. A young boy, around her bastard sister’s brat’s age, stood in front of the door, dressed in thin leather jacket and carrying a small backpack. His hair and eyes were covered by the beanie, so she couldn’t say what kind of mood he was in.“Who are you?” Chaeyin asked as she cracked the door open.“I’m your nephew’s friend,” the boy smiled, and Chaeyin was left gaping at the gorgeousness of the smile. “Uh, he spilled something on his shirt – I’ve zero idea what – and he asked me to fetch him a spare one.” “I guess,” Chaeyin opened the door and quickly ushered the boy in. “Just be quick. And tell the brat not to wake me up next time when he comes home! I need sleep – someone has to pay for all the messes he makes with his klutz.”“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” the boy’s smile suddenly warped into something more sinister, and Chaeyin took a step back, reaching for her knife. Who was this boy?“What did the brat get into? If he owes someone money, I don’t give a damn, I’m innocent – ”“Like fuck you are,” the boy drawled, taking off his backpack and setting it down on the couch. “I hear you like using knives. Well… so do I.” A butterfly knife appeared in his hand. “They’re just so… intimate, you know? You have to know a person, or get them to invite you closer.” He casually turned his wrist to inspect the knife’s blade, and Chaeyin caught the letters stitched into the gloves the boy was wearing.
DK <3 U.
Dokyeom loves you.Chaeyin cursed and grabbed the nearest steak knife, but Dokyeom – and how the fuck did the brat manage to call one of most notorious torturers in Seoul his friend? – was faster: the butterfly knife buried itself in his dominant left hand, and Chaeyin howled with pain, forced to drop her knife.“Now, I suppose Mingyu wouldn’t want me to kill you…” Dokyeom drawled, still smirking devilishly. “And I for one, like to indulge my friends. So I’m just going to settle for taping your confession to you murdering your sister fifteen years ago and dropping you off at police station after I vent a little.” He whipped out a small recorder, and Chaeyin gulped. “But I will kill you if you don’t cooperate. Your choice.”The choice was obvious. Kim Heechul yawned, trying not to fall asleep as he went to open the police station, and stopped dead in his tracks, chills running up his spine. A human corpse was laying down in front of the doors, with an envelope, open wallet and a post-it note on it. The wallet belonged to Song Chaeyin, the envelope held a tape recorder, and the body was mercilessly mutilated – but that wasn’t what made idol so scared.It was the post-it.
I’m sorry officer Kim, I got carried away a bit. Guess the tape will have to suffice for solving the death of Kim Minju. Good luck on your next comeback, I’m a real big fan of you!
-DK <3 U
“Fuck!” And he stepped back to call the Homicide squad. “Dokyeom killed again!”