Wretches & Kings

Weeks passed, blending into months. Hyun Ae recovered physically, turning from the pale, scarred skeleton to a beautiful young woman. She left her obsidian hair cropped short, as it stayed out of her way and was what she was used to. The mentality of the woman was on the mend as well. She finally smiled without feeling guarded and could actually form relationships with individuals. Trust was still hard to gain, but she had become well known amongst BigBang as a tender soul who was more than willing to help someone who needed it.

Which led to Daesung offering her a spot alongside him in medical area. Hyun Ae happily agreed. She was his first assistant, soaking in everything he spoke and taught, never questioning, and always ready to take part in a procedure. Blood did not scare her in the slightest; she'd seen plenty of grotesque events in the past. When Daesung called for her aid, she was determined and set in her actions without hesitation.

Her eyes followed Daesung's skillful fingers, studying his every dexterous movement as he sewed up the child's arm which had been sliced open in an accident involving the kitchen. Hyun Ae gave a kind smile to the frightened boy sitting beside her.

“It doesn't hurt as much now, does it?” she asked and the boy shook his head. Hyun Ae leaned down closer to the boys ear. “That's why Daesung's so good at his job. He always makes the pain go away,” she whispered.

Daesung glanced up, lips upturning slightly. He cut the thread, wrapped the suture, and dismissed the boy. After the young patient had left the makeshift infirmary, Daesung came to stand by Hyun Ae as she cleaned the tools.

“You're really good at something too,” he said.

Hyun Ae looked over at him, a quizzical smile playing at her lips. “Like what?”

“You make their fear go away.”

“I just say what they want to hear,” admitted Hyun Ae. “Its nothing special.”

“But they trust you,” Daesung said. “That takes serious skill in our world.”

Hyun Ae shrugged, trying to hide the pleased expression from her face.

“Daesung!” Min Yu, one of the medics on staff, called, throwing back the curtain. “A group of watchmen just got back. They're in bad shape.”

Daesung hurried out with Hyun Ae on his heels. Her heart clenched at the sight in front of her. A small assemblage of bloodied and beaten men were gathered, some unable to even stay on their feet. Daesung went to his duty, leaving Hyun Ae to ponder over the wounded and ready to assist when the moment came.

“They were waiting for us,” one was saying. “We didn't stand a chance...”

Hyun Ae's eyes traveled across the demolished faces, catching movement to her left. A figure was limping down the narrow walkway, clad in the black of one of the watchmen. She followed after him—for sure it was male—and called, “Yah, stop right there.”

The man spun around, faster than expected and Hyun Ae hesitated at his expression. It was cold, calculating. Seeming to sum her up if she was worth killing. She continued her approach, despite the negative aura from him. A shiny blotch at his side was the first thing noticeable. Cuts were strewn across his face and bare hands.

Hyun Ae looked pointedly at the dark blood stain. “You need to have that looked at.”

The man's eyes narrowed. “I'm fine.” He turned to go again, but she grabbed his arm. She felt the muscles tense, becoming rock solid.

“You want to bleed to death?” she demanded. His head turned, eyes boring into hers. If looks could kill, she would have been a pile of ash on the floor. Hyun Ae set her jaw and nodded her head. “Come on. I'll look at it.”

The man followed grudgingly, shaking her hand from his arm. Hyun Ae pulled a curtain aside, allowing him to enter the small room first. He sat down at the table, eyes still burning. She ignored the look and went to the small cart that was awaiting with the appropriate tools.

“Take off your shirt.”

“I'm fine.”

Hyun Ae shot him a glare. “If you're going to be uncooperative, fine. You can go die in a corner somewhere.”

The man's glare turned more lethal—if that was possible—and he slid the shirt over his head. Hyun Ae froze in her actions, eyes glued to the mess of the man's side, his whole body. His skin was a canvas of scar tissue, worse than her own. The fresh wound at his side was burned and tattered flesh covered in blood that still steadily flowed from the open wound. Hyun Ae bit her lip, continuing to survey the damage from afar as she wheeled the cart over to the unknown man.

“What happened?” she asked, pulling a chair in front of him and sitting down. The man did not answer.

Hyun Ae rolled her eyes at his stubbornness and prodded the wound lightly. The man's face twitched ever-so-slightly, earning a pleased smirk from the young woman. It was a fairly deep wound with second degree burns. There was no loose skin to sew together. It was a unique injury and Hyun Ae wondered why the man seemed to not be in too much pain. A second degree burn was extremely painful—she'd had a few of her own—and the laceration almost looked like a failed attempt at slicing the man's side completely open.

“Could you work a little faster?” the man growled. “I don't have time for this.”

Hyun Ae looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “Fine,” she answered shortly and got up from her seat.

She gathered cold water from the sink and poured it down the man's side. He showed a slight sign of discomfort, but nothing more. Hyun Ae went about cleaning and packing the wound and, finally, wrapping the man's torso in gauze. She quickly surveyed the cuts on his face and hands, but there was nothing serious. “That's best I could do for going 'a little faster',” she said, standing. “If the pain or bleeding continues, come back here.” The watchman put his shirt back on, and without another word, left. Hyun Ae looked at the opening in the curtain and huffed. “You're welcome, asshole.”

A head suddenly popped in. “Hyun Ae, was that...” Seungri trailed off, looking down the walkway before stepping into the room. “Do you know who that was?” he whispered, staring at her as she began to disinfect everything.

“No, he didn't give me a name. Except I've concluded that I'll call him an asshole the next time I see him...”

“Shh!” Seungri hissed, placing his finger on his lips. “Do you want to die?” Hyun Ae looked at him dubiously and shook her head. “I'm serious, Hyun Ae. That man is a killer.”

“Well, he is a watchman.”

Watchmen weren't necessarily violent; unless provoked to be. They stayed above ground, surveying the area in case a group of Dakeu Jeon-won stumbled upon BigBang. Watchmen were lethal and skilled the most in fighting, usually they were chosen because such things came natural to them.

“No, no, no,” said Seungri. “You don't understand. That's T.O.P. He's—”

“Top?” Hyun Ae asked and snorted. “Who has a name like that?”

“Listen!” The younger man was becoming impatient. “He's an ex-assassin. The guy's been killing for Doe-Chang since he was a kid.”

The tweezers Ae had been holding slipped from her hands. She stared at Seungri, wide eyed. “He...what?”

Seungri exhaled deeply. “He used to be one of Doe-Chang's most skilled assassins.”

“What's he doing here?” Hyun Ae demanded, her own voice falling to an urgent whisper.

Seungri shrugged. “He wanted to get away so he came here. He now trains the rest of the watchmen for GD. I've seen him at work; he's a killing machine.”

“Why would G-Dragon do that?” the young woman's voice had nearly became a squeak. “He worked for Doe-Chang; he can't be trusted!”

Seungri shrugged again. “G-Dragon seems to trust him so...”

“Yah, Seungri!” Daesung exclaimed, stepping inside. “Quit bothering, Hyun Ae. She has work to do.”

“Did you not see who just patched up?” Seungri asked, eyes wide. “T.O.P.”

Daesung's eyebrows raised. “Impressive.”

“Impressive?” Hyun Ae questioned. “Daesung, do you not know who he is?”

“Yes, I'm completely aware of who he is and what he was. And you're the first person he's ever let touch him. He must like you.” Daesung flashed one of his infamous smiles, earning a glower from his associate.

“This isn't funny, Daesung,” said Hyun Ae. “I wanna know why he's in here when he was on the opposite side. When he was killing for the enemy.”

The head medic sighed and shook his head. “GD's all about second chances. T.O.P. agreed to continue his occupation. Only for us.”

“So he's G-Dragon's number one assassin now?” Hyun Ae questioned. Both men remained silent. “Well, that's comforting,” she grumbled, returning to her work.

“It should be,” said Daesung. “G-Dragon's doing everything in his power to keep us safe. You should be grateful.”

Hyun Ae looked to her superior. “You know I am, Daesung.” She looked to Seungri who seemed to share her expression. “I'm just...I'm scared.” She turned back to the sink shamefully. “I'm still scared.”

“Hyun Ae...”Daesung exhaled her name, sympathy laced in between the breathe. “We're all scared.”

“Well, most of us are,” Seungri intervened.

“You're just as scared as the rest of us,” Daesung argued. “Don't think you've been hiding it. Just because you go into the City, doesn't mean you aren't any more afraid of what lies in there than we are.”

“Yeah,” agreed Hyun Ae. “You should be more careful or else next time you'll come back with more than just this.” She pinched the bridge of the younger man's nose and he yelped and backed away from her.

“Careful,” he whined, rubbing lightly at his nose. “Its still tender.”

“Well, if you wouldn't go get it broken on a fist every week and just let it reset, maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad,” Hyun Ae sniffed.

Street fighting was one of the last things Hyun Ae expected anyone would want as an occupation, but that's exactly what Seungri was—apart from his time as G-Dragon's right hand man. The young man—barely out of his teen years—was deadly with his bare hands, and quick too. A few times a week, he'd sneak into the lower parts of the city and take part in the underground fights that took place there, arriving in the morning with anything from a busted lip to a couple of cracked ribs. However, Hyun Ae had yet to hear that he'd lost a match.

“I'm bringing in money,” Seungri defended. “Not a lot...but some.”

Hyun Ae smiled at him. “I know,” she said. “I'm just saying...”

A silence fell between the three of them until Daesung cleared his throat. “Alright, Seungri. Out. If you're not wounded or on the verge of death, don't come back here.”

“Aish,” the younger man growled as he left. “What makes people want you to fix them up?”

Hyun Ae giggled and set the last set of silver tools in their tray. She looked up at Daesung, who was still standing there, evaluating her like he used to when she was still recovering. “What?” she questioned.

He looked like he wanted to answer, but just put on a smile. “Nothing,” he said. “Join me for lunch?”

“Of course,” Hyun Ae beamed.

Daesung's smile broadened and he disappeared behind the white curtain again. Hyun Ae stood in the small chamber for a few moments, mauling over what Seungri had said about the man she'd patched up.

The guy's been killing for Doe-Chang since he was a kid...

She'd heard about his 'special ops' who more or less brainwashed killers, empty and violent shells of people they once were. Her patient looked the part with his hard, cold gaze and dark presence. She couldn't believe that she'd actually helped one. How long had he been killing for Doe-Chang before he came to BigBang? They were so merciless, high above the Dakeu Jeon-won in skills and prestige.

They had the ferocity of the Jug-eum with the mercilessness and emotions of a robot. Everyone honored them. Because they knew even Doe-Chang feared his most successful work.