AFFILIATION: Pride..┊..OCCUPATION: Fighter..┊..LOCATION: Host Club & Apartment..┊..INTERACTIONS: @BAO..┊..MENTIONED: @CrystalTears
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Mako was never really the type to believe in baby-steps. His life was hard, fast, done with little to no hesitation or even question. He jumped into the cold water head first because he could handle that a lot better than easing in inch by inch and feeling the shock filter through his veins more than once. Hosting though, did not fall into this unusual philosophy of the fast lane. Hosting was the lifestyle you had to take at a leisurely pace or it would come back and bite you in the ass later. It happened once before, certainly, Mako was positive it wasn't going to happen again in this moment of time. Too much money, too much power, drugs, or even girls or men for that matter; too much of anything fills your lungs and dreams to the point you see nothingness and cough up blood. The men he dealt with, the deals he muddled in, the mistakes he made, it was all regret and no remorse but that was then and this is now. He had to stick it out for him, his one and only. The only soul that stuck around and mended his wounds when no one else would. But life is full of coincidences though, is it not?
The room was at it's all time high, filled with the laughter of young women and cigarette smoke, causing an almost illuminating fog to sweep across the demanding souls with various other hosts. Mako was seated up in reluctance next to a regular of his that buzzed in a familiar waters run far too deep, going off the edge about how awful her mediocre lifestyle of daddy problems and heartache happened to be. While the male didn't give her a whole lot of visual regard in such matters, he still managed to smile of the usual and cast a hand across her bare freckled shoulder underneath his gaunt fingertips. She wore a tiny cocktail dress quite snug to her petite body, making every curve, line and bone known to the outside world with but a mere handful of red, obnoxious fabric. Most clients typically sported this color in attempts to catch his eye, but like always, a job was a job and he did what he had to do, no more no less. "Sounds like a tough life for such a sweet little thing." He commented along the lines, half-lidding his eyes and cocking a dark brow to look the least bit interested in her "troubling" narrative. This usually would result in a smile in return, nice and bright with the chance to bring her tiny little frame closer against his own. Many were typically comfortable in having such a large body to come in contact with, especially that of his, but he had to play it off regardless of his revulsion. The hosting life certainly wasn't an easy one, nor one he particularly desired, though when you're brought into the world at the feet of a popular host club owner, you really have no say on something that puts food on the table and luxuries in your pocket. The male would very much prefer working alongside Ji-Yeon and Ethan in the flower shop, despite the clumsy presence the tall blonde would have to offer, but it beats having to act affectionate to complete and utter strangers, let alone broken ones. His heart belonged to his jagiya, and only his jagiya.
"Mako?" The woman spoke up with a low whine, breaking the brief daze Mako had been drifting in and catching his attention with a sparkle in her eyes. He cocked his head off to the side and pulled a gentle smile at the corners of his lips, acting as if he had been paying attention to her the entirety of the time. His eyes wandered across the smoothness of her face, looking for a particular cue that would give him leverage in what she would ask next. "Yes?" The male answered, reaching over to tuck a strand of blonde hair obscuring her blue peepers behind her ear, and looking directly into whatever fragments of soul she had remaining. Her lips parted, just a tad, and the big question seemed to fly out and smack him right in the face. "Are you seeing anyone?"
Mako was positive he was asked that on the regular, catering to the lonely souls of both men and women at the weird hours of the day. His chest began to rumble with low laughter, taking his arm from around her to carefully sit himself up and reach for the glass of bourbon on the table in front of him. "I might be, what of it?" He smiled before taking a brief swig, tightening his jaw to swallow it with ease. It burned, scraping the wall of his throat as the cool liquid slithered down, causing him to clear it roughly before speaking once more. "If I were to tell you yes, and she was the most beautiful sight I had ever set my eyes on, would you believe me?" The emotions on her face rippled from one to the other, confused and almost enraged that such a good looking man had his heart taken by someone else, especially another woman. She let out a huffed shot of air between her teeth, playing with the black button adorning his suit jacket with a pout dusting her delicate features. "I would, and it would hurt me so." She nearly whimpered, refusing to look at him at this point. "I wish I was her."
The blonde haired male tried his hardest not to break into a fit of laughter, leaning over to take her chin with his fingers and bring it up slowly. He held it with utmost grace, acknowledging her charming features with a lift of his eyebrow, resulting in her cheeks warming to a rosy pink. "You're pretty close I'd say, blonde hair, cute face.. but, there is one other thing." Her eyes suddenly lit up, bringing her knees up onto the leather couch to match the height of the giant next to her. Almost like a child on Christmas morning, she gripped the end of her glittery attire and held it tightly, wanting to know more of this "one other thing" he spoke of. Was it her personality? Her clothing? "What? What is it?" She pressed on, staring daggers into his tan skin that peaked out from beneath his white button up. Mako shook his head and clicked his tongue, dusting off his sleek suit and standing to his two feet, almost sounding sad with himself. "I'm afraid your time is up, perhaps I will tell you our next session." The male bowed his head and shoved his hands into his pockets, smiling lightly before he turned to finally head home after a long day of work. He could see the dim sun filtering through the curtains on the windows, giving him a strong indication that night would soon be approaching. "It's been a pleasure."
"Wait!" She begged, reaching down to fetch her purse from the floor to scrape up a few more bills and pay forward for the paramount information. "I'll pay you for a little longer, just tell me please.." Removing both of her heels, she hobbled up to Mako and began holding it out in front of her, desperate almost. Mako placed his weight on his right leg and pulled up his left sleeve, looking at the analog watch on his wrist for an estimated time of arrival to get home. It was quite the walk to get back to the apartment, but he didn't want to worry his jagiya for his weird hours did so already. "I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to bleed into other host time. Until next time." The woman made her way in front of him before he could hobble off and shoved the money into his hands, nearly on the verge of bursting into tears. "You don't have to stay, just tell me. I want to be like her." Her eyes were already red, bottom lip curled downward and eyebrows raised high. Mako was used to these sort of clients, the obsessive sort as he called them, but typically they were the ones to give him the most money since he was the owner as well. It was better to deal with a horrible piece of work then go home empty-handed and upholding a bad review. He sighed, and pocketed the cash, turning to finally make his way out. Raising his hand for a casual wave, he glanced behind his shoulder to give one last, passionate smile. "The one other thing? She is actually a he."
Mako could feel the knives burning right into the skin on his back, almost listening to her inner dialogue of curse words and sad coos that would fill his ears their next few sessions. It happened every time. They would want to know the sticky details and press just enough with the mouth of money to only find out that their favorite host was taken, but taken by a guy. It wasn't correct for someone with his job to reveal real-life relationship information to clients, especially regulars, but in most cases, the money would keep coming and the annoying question would be replaced by variations of "Can I turn you straight?" or "Can he come in so I can watch you both kiss?"
Hosting was like one big game , and in this case, Mako always ended up being the winner.
The walk home was as normal as it usually could get on a dawning Saturday night. The apartment wasn't particularly far from his workplace, ten minutes at most, and many people didn't bother trying to jump a guy of his stature at this time of the day. While a cab home would suffice, Mako made this his usual time to reflect on certain things and mentally rejuvenate himself before returning to his lovely jagiya. Working with clingy and often times, annoying customers, drained him to the point of complete and utter aggravation. That side of Mako wasn't something he particularly wanted Ji-Yeon to see, especially if he had no control over it whatsoever, so the male made sure to dump the excess anger on the walk home, rather than at home. Clear the mind, heave in some hefty amounts of warm, evening air, and remove the filth and regret from his conscience. "For Ji-Yeon" it would come down to, a constant reminder he would tell himself from that day to the next. "For Pride." Those two things were the only thing that mattered to him in this life over anything else.
It hadn't been long at all before Mako found himself at the front steps of the entry-way, shuffling off his shoes and tossing the apartment keys onto a table close to him to remove his suit jacket. He didn't even have to say a single word before Ji-Yeon was charging at him, apron and all, to greet him excitedly like usual. Holding onto him tightly so he wouldn't fall, Mako just wanted to kiss those lips ten times over and hold him close, listening to all sorts of stories his jagiya had from work today before the two disappeared into the confines of their humble abode. Tonight was their date night, and the each of them had no plans for things such as partying or "going out" with the rest of the group, for it was just as good spending it together on the couch with a movie on and skin touching skin. Mako and Ji-Yeon were as perfect as a couple associated with a street gang could get, married almost, unofficially. Strong and gentle, hard and soft, passionate and determined, together wrapped up into one. The two were undeniably inseparable.
Dinner was a thing of the past and comfy clothes with warm blankets were now in the present, adorning the couple as they lounged cozily on the wide couch of the living room. The two of them had saw this movie a thousand times over and more so even, but it never seemed to get old. For the majority of it they were taking glances at one another and giggling softly at certain parts, cuddling like it was their last day on Earth. Some rude compliments and playful teases would be thrown about, but the two would always settle back down against one another to stare at the changing television screen, enjoying the silence that would arise every so often. But time caught up, and eventually those soft touches and gentle smiles evolved into something more, resulting in Ji-Yeon sitting snugly in Mako's lap with his hands cupping his hips, replacing gentle coos with intense kisses. The movie was nearing the end when it got too silent to the point the two of them couldn't help themselves, spicing things up just as the credits began rolling. Mako tightened his grip around his lover just a bit more, until the sound of a cellphone began to ring and soothed the hot tension between the two. The blonde was tempted to the tell the other to ignore it and continue on, but didn't want to sound too selfish in this moment of time and eventually eased his strong grip.
Mako let out a long huff of air to ease his frantic heart and tossed the blanket covering his lower half off to the side, watching his jagiya speak on the phone. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he spoke, easing the other person on the line with his comforting voice. Eventually he laid back and stared at the cieling, resting his arms around the back of his head to imagine the scenarios of the problem this caller had brought up. The room grew silent again, barely hearing the muffled gabble from the other side phone until Ji-Yeon came back to reality, making Mako look at him once more. His features were something he hadn't seen in a very long time, and that's when he sat back up and watched him closely, making sure to be the comfort for whatever it was.
Andrew is dead, he said, stuttering over his gentle words.
Murdered.
The blonde's heart flopped from his chest to the very tips of his toes, staring in utter silence at his perplexed lover for hearing such news. "...Murdered?" He repeated, suddenly standing to his feet and letting that word marinate on the tip of his tongue. No other sounds could form as the two of them stared at each other, up until Mako hobbled over and took his lover into a warm and protective embrace. "We have to go, now." He said, releasing his arms and holding his hands to his shoulders. His facial features were no longer the look of distraught, but the look of assurance. "If anything happens, I will keep you safe. I promise."
