GANGBUSTER CHAPTER FIVE (INTERLUDE): THE PENGUIN

One Week Later..

Park/De La Cruz House.

Rafiel stood in his room, diligently punching a makeshift punching bag crafted from pillows and duct tape.

(Not gonna lie…) He dropped one of his wristbands and landed another punch on the bag. (But my punches actually feel weaker without the weights.)

(I wonder what that could mean…)

As he began getting ready to head to the gym, he slipped on a pair of dark blue sweatpants and a light blue long-sleeve shirt. He added weighted bands on his wrists and ankles, all weighing eight kilograms.

(Maybe it's time to up the weight.) He headed to the door, ready to leave the house.

Suddenly, Hana grabbed the back of his collar. "Hold it, mister! No sneaking off today!"

Rafiel turned, annoyance creeping into his voice. "Huh? What the hell are you do—?"

"Shut it!" she snapped, fixing him with a stern look. "You've done nothing except work out for the past eight days! By daytime, you're already out the door. By the time I'm back from school, I just end up making dinner for myself because of your dumb cutoff time! And by night, all I hear is you working out—grunting and making the floor squeak! Which has given me very uncomfortable dreams!"

Rafiel blinked, confusion evident on his face. "Wha—?"

"Point is!" Hana interjected, unwavering. "You are taking a break!"

"Hana, I take intermediate breaks throughout the day."

"Nope. Not enough. I already called Lee Jae-Sun and told him that you aren't showing up."

Rafiel remained unfazed. "Well, you're gonna look pretty stupid when I do show up."

Hana held up two tickets in front of Rafiel's face. "Lotto Land."

Rafiel looked at the tickets, recognizing them immediately. "Huh? Oh."

(Saddened) "We haven't been there since I came to live with you guys."

"Ten years to the month."

She was stern yet blushing. "I wanna go." She handed him one of the tickets. "With you. You're going to go with me."

"Is this a kidnapping?" Rafiel asked, half-joking.

"More of a hostage negotiation," Hana replied with a smirk.

"Can we negotiate?"

"No."

One Hour Later…

Lotto Land Interior

Now dressed in casual attire, Rafiel found himself in Lotto Land, one of South Korea's biggest outdoor theme parks.

(Lots of food, lots of games, lots of fun at Lotto Land.)

Hana jumped onto Rafiel's back, her legs dangling as she squealed with excitement. "What should we do first?!"

(This is such a waste of time.) Rafiel thought, feeling a twinge of irritation. (She knows how much I hate theme parks. It's just loud noise and annoying people.)

Hana knocked on the back of Rafiel's head playfully. "Hello?~"

"Maybe the Ferris wheel?" he suggested, trying to sound indifferent.

"This early? No way! The line is long as hell! Ooh! Ooh! Arcade!" she exclaimed.

Rafiel frowned, crossing his arms. "You brought me all the way out here to just play video games?"

"Cheerful public humiliation! I get to kick your ass in Mario Kart in open view of society!" she declared, poking his cheek with a mocking tone. "How embarrassing.~"

"Fine. Whatever." He began walking toward the arcade, still carrying Hana on his back.

"Hold it!" Hana yanked back on his shoulders, stopping him abruptly and almost making him stumble.

"GAHH! What?! What is it?!"

Still holding onto him, she reached her arm over his shoulder and curved her hand in front of him to form the left half of a heart.

Rafiel looked disappointed, fully aware of what this was. "Hana, are you serious?"

"Do it."

He glanced around, embarrassed, as he saw no one paying attention. Using his right hand, he formed the other half of the heart.

Hana beamed, a smile spreading across her face. "Now say the battle cry!"

"Hana, c'mon! We don't need to do this—"

"Say it!"

With a sigh, he relented. "Super… this is so stupid… Super Siblings… activate."

"Hell yeah!" Hana cheered, her excitement palpable as she pointed toward the arcade. "Onward!"

Rafiel carried Hana toward the arcade, shaking his head in disbelief. "You are a literal child."

"Shut it, old man! You've got games to lose, stay focused!"

Several hours went by as Hana and Rafiel played nearly every game the arcade had to offer.

In the total competitive games played, Rafiel won eight times, whilst Hana won twenty-seven.

"Wait… Raf, you gotta call an ambulance… because I am absolutely murdering you right now!" Hana exclaimed, proceeding to do the arm wave dance move.

"You're annoying," Rafiel replied, rolling his eyes.

"At least I'm not a loser!" she shot back, smiling smugly while dancing.

"Can we go now?" Rafiel asked, clearly over it.

"Yeah, I guess we should get out of here. I'm on fire, and the sign clearly says 'No Smoking,'" Hana declared, beginning to walk away like a big shot.

Rafiel grumbled, embarrassed from losing so many times.

"Ooh! Raf! Look, a game you don't suck at!" Hana pointed to a claw machine.

"I thought we were done playing. You clearly won," Rafiel said, his tone flat.

"Yeah, but don't you think I deserve a prize to celebrate my magnificent victory?" Hana insisted.

"If I say 'no,' would I sound like an asshole?" Rafiel asked.

"Yes."

"Then, hell no."

Hana began pouting. "B-but you're my big bruh-bruh…" She started fake sniffing.

Rafiel sternly folded his arms. "That's not gonna work on me; we aren't kids anymore."

She made her lip quiver, trying to regain his sympathy.

…

A few short minutes later, Rafiel was inserting coins into the claw machine.

"I swear that trick won't work forever," he muttered, hunched over the controls.

"Yes, it will," Hana replied, resting on his back and watching him play.

Rafiel sighed.

"So which one do you want?" he asked.

Hana scanned the items with her eyes. "Hmmm..."

She spotted a stuffed penguin plushie. "Ooo! That one!"

"The penguin?" Rafiel asked.

"Yes! He looks so squishy!" Hana threw her head back, squealing, "AAAHHH!! I need him!!" She started rocking Rafiel's shoulders.

"Y'know, it'd be a lot easier to grab it without you shaking me!" Rafiel complained, getting dizzy.

"Less talkie, more penguin!!!" Hana urged, shaking him harder.

After a few minutes, Rafiel finally won the penguin.

He looked at it, squeezing it and feeling how plush it was. "You're lucky I'm good at these." He handed the penguin to Hana.

"EEEE!!! Gimme!!!" she squealed, grabbing the penguin. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" She hugged the penguin tightly.

"So whatcha gonna name him?" Rafiel asked.

Hana stared at the penguin, contemplating. "Hmmm… Does he look more like a Monty or a Francois to you?"

"While you figure that out, I'm going to go pee. BRB." He walked away toward the restroom.

"Okay!" Hana replied, going back to looking at the penguin. "How do you feel? What kinda name would you like?"

"Hey!" a voice called from behind Hana.

She turned to see two handsome guys standing not far behind her.

"I can tell you what name I'd like to have," one of them said, flashing a charming smile. "Yours."

"Been keeping my eye on you around the arcade," the guy continued, leaning in. "Told my friend I spotted a hottie, and he didn't believe me."

"Whoa, she really is pretty! No cap detected!" the other guy chimed in, walking closer to Hana.

"Chill, bro," the first guy said, casually pushing the second to the side. "You're scaring the lady." He grabbed Hana's hand and shook it gently. "Sorry about my friend. My name's Lee Sang-Do."

"Um… thanks?" Hana stammered, taking her hand back, feeling a bit flustered.

"I'm Hana."

"Hana..." He chuckled. "Now that's a pretty name for a pretty girl," Sang-Do complimented.

"Um…" she replied, feeling awkward.

"So… I gotta ask. What's up with you and that foreign guy? You two 'together'?"

"'Together' as in dating?" Hana looked away bashfully. "Um… no, not exactly."

"So you're single? Right on!" Sang-Do grinned. "Cuz I'm not gonna lie," he continued, staring at Hana's face before his gaze drifted down towards her chest, "you are definitely the hottest girl I've seen in a minute…"

Hana became visibly uncomfortable. "Thanks. I should get going, though. Thanks." She tried to walk past him.

Sang-Do cut in front of her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… Why so fast? I thought we were having a conversation."

"I'm sorry, I just need to…" Hana looked for an excuse. "I have to put this stuffie away in my car."

"Oh really? That's fine. Where'd you park? I'll walk with you."

"That's not necessary," she insisted.

"Nonsense! In this day and age, it's dangerous for a pretty girl to walk alone in a parking lot."

"No, really, it's fine." She tried walking past him, but he blocked her again.

"Whoa, what's going on? I'm trying to be a gentleman, and you're acting a little rude right now. What's the hurry, huh?"

"Look, I just want to leave with my penguin," Hana said, her voice slightly shaken.

"Oh yeah?" Sang-Do grabbed the penguin and tossed it up towards his friend. "What penguin?"

Kyung-Ho began bouncing the penguin with the side of his foot like a soccer ball. "Hah-hah! Look at me! I'm Son Heung-Min! Ha-ha!"

"Stop! Give him back!" Hana shouted, running towards Kyung-Ho.

"Oh! Oh! Hot potato!" he teased, holding the penguin above her head. He then threw the penguin towards Sang-Do.

Sang-Do caught it. "See, we're having fun! You don't gotta act like a little stuck-up bi—"

Hana had ran and with all her strength kicked Sang-Do square in his crotch.

Sang-Do groaned as his legs bent, but remained standing, "You little bitch." He said, his teeth grinding.

With the Penguin still in his hand, Sang-Do backhanded Hana so hard she fell to the floor.

Kyung-Ho walks over with a disappointed look, "Told ya bro, Seoul girls are all stuck up and bitchy."

Sang-Do throws the penguin plush across the room so hard it bounced off the restroom door.

Sang-Do looks down at Hana in disgust.

"You're right, she's just another stuck up, spoiled, little slut who--"

Suddenly, Sang-Do got hit in the mouth at full force by a ski ball. Everyone was left shocked.

"Jeez. Looks like my aim is rusty. That was nowhere near the hundred hole," Rafiel said, holding the penguin in one hand while tossing a second ball in the air and catching it repeatedly with his other.

Kyung-Ho looked petrified, while Hana looked overjoyed. Sang-Do, however, was knocked out cold, his mouth open and his two front teeth missing.

"Hey, you." Rafiel pointed to Kyung-Ho.

"M-me?" Kyung-Ho nervously pointed up at himself.

"Go stand your friend up. I wanna take my second shot."

"C'mon, man, we was just joking," Kyung-Ho tried to laugh it off.

"Either stand him up, or take his place. You choose."

Kyung-Ho's eyes widened in fear as he walked over and held up the unconscious Sang-Do. "O-okay… Take your shot."

"Good job. Now hold him steady." Rafiel wound up a pitch, throwing the skee ball with all his might.

The ball avoided hitting Sang-Do and instead hit Kyung-Ho dead on, breaking his nose and knocking him out.

"Damn, Hana, no wonder you beat me in skee ball. My aim just isn't anywhere close to yours." He walked over, still holding the penguin, and helped Hana up. "You okay?"

He tried to hand her the penguin.

Hana looked at him wide-eyed and then fell into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you."

Rafiel hesitated but embraced her. "Love you too, sis."

Half an hour passes as Rafiel and Hana are now on the Ferris wheel.

Rafiel had hidden the two boys in a single stall in the men's bathroom, still completely unconscious.

Now on the Ferris wheel, Hana and Rafiel sat adjacent to one another. Rafiel stared out at the sunset, resting his chin on his hand, while Hana sat holding her penguin in a secure hug.

"I'm sorry…" Hana said, breaking the silence.

Rafiel, confused, looked at her. "About what?"

Hana hugged the penguin tighter. "I'm sorry for making you come here… this was a bad idea…"

"Why? 'Cause of those idiots we ran into?" Rafiel replied nonchalantly.

Hana didn't meet Rafiel's gaze. "I remember when we first came here as kids. Something similar happened when Mom and Dad let us roam around on our own."

Rafiel hesitated to bring it up. "The cotton candy man."

Hana let out a sheepish laugh. "Free lifetime supply of cherry cotton candy. All I had to do was follow him to the back room…"

Rafiel's expression turned serious. "I still think about what could've happened if I hadn't found you. The news said he got two other girls the exact same way. When that came out, the park almost got shut down. Probably should've."

Hana shook her head. "No. This is still a beautiful place. This was where we all became one happy family. I… I don't think I could ever want this place shut down. It's always gonna be my favorite spot, no matter the people we find in it."

Rafiel thought to himself, (Guess that goes to show two people can have similar experiences and take two completely different views from it.)

"I remember you trying to act calm afterwards, but once we got home, you wanted to sleep in my bed all night," he said.

Hana looked down, fiddling with her fingers. "I thought… if the man somehow found where we lived, he'd come after me again. I knew… that you wouldn't let that happen."

Rafiel's eyes widened. "Oh…" He got mildly flustered. "Well… yeah. No way I'd let him come near you."

"I… I don't regret coming here…" he added.

Hana finally met Rafiel's gaze. "What?"

"I'm… happy. I'm happy you brought me here with you. I know I've been hyper-focused on training, but that's just because… I need to protect you."

Hana's heart skipped a beat. "R-really?"

"Of course. Why else would I be pushing myself so hard? I wanna be strong enough to handle any guy who tries to force you into doing something you want no part of."

He folded his arms and spoke sternly, though still calm. "I mean, let's face it, you're practically a magnet for wannabe tough punks. You're short, bubbly, and act way too damn cute for your own good all the damn time. But I won't ever force you to change who you are, so that means I had to change and get stronger so I can protect you."

Hana blushed uncontrollably. "Waaah!? D-don't say that type of stuff!"

Rafiel looked genuinely confused. "What? What did I do? All I said is I don't mind you always being so cute. I'll just beat up the guys who touch you. I wanna be able to protect you at all times, Hana."

Hana covered her blushing face with the penguin. "Stop it! Stop it! I can't handle all this! Shut up!"

"Hey!" Rafiel exclaimed, trying to move the penguin from her face. "Your big brother is spitting a genuinely heartfelt speech, and you tell him to shut up?! What's wrong with you?!" He struggled to remove the penguin from her grasp.

"You're a dummy! I'm not emotionally ready to hear all this!" Hana shot back.

"And now you're calling me a dummy?" Rafiel retorted, still struggling.

"Hey, look at me!" he urged.

"Screw you!" Hana replied, not budging.

A few hours later, close to midnight at the Park/De La Cruz house…

Rafiel was in his room, sound asleep. There was a sudden knock at his door. The knock persisted until Rafiel finally woke up to answer it.

He yawned. "Coming~" he called out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He opened the door to see Hana in her pajamas, holding her penguin. "H-hey! I know it's late, but… do you… do you think I could… sleep in your bed tonight? Like old times?"

(Huh?) Rafiel thought, remembering how it was just like when they were kids. (She must still be shaken up still from those two losers.)

A part of him wanted to tell her no, but he knew she had always been scared of being alone. He had flashbacks of learning how Hana had died alone and scared.

"Yeah, sure." He walked back to bed. "Make sure to lock the door."

"Okay." Hana came in and locked the door behind her.

Rafiel laid on the bed but tried to make room for Hana.

Hana struggled to get comfortable with the limited space on the bed. "Sorry, I guess this isn't as easy as it was back when we were kids. I can sleep on the floor if it's more comfortable?"

"Nonsense," Rafiel said, half asleep. He grabbed Hana and laid her on top of his chest. "There, plenty of room." He pulled the blanket over both of them. "Comfy?"

"Y-yeah," Hana replied, blushing.

Rafiel yawned. "All right then… night-night…" He soon fell asleep.

Hana smiled and rested her head on Rafiel's chest, feeling safe and content.