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Chapter Text

He was awakened by a loud noise in the bathroom.

It was only 2:30 in the morning, and he couldn't fathom why there would be such a noise. His alarm heightened when he didn't feel Jeonghan beside him in bed. Where was he? He called out, but received no response. Gathering courage, he got out of bed. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, he headed towards the bathroom. The scene before his eyes seemed normal until he focused on the love of his life. At first glance, Jeonghan seemed to be asleep, but it wasn't until Seungcheol approached and noticed the abnormal position he was in the middle of the floor.

A scream escaped him, and he knelt beside Yoon. He hugged him, feeling with desperation as his touch grew colder. "Don't leave me, don't leave me," he murmured, touching his beloved's face with trembling hands. "Jeonghan... please."

He was a living dead in the waiting room.

His eyes only stared at the wall in front of him, tears streaming down continuously. "Are you going to be okay?" His eyes began to close from fatigue. The emergency room clock displayed five twenty-six in the morning. "Darling... you won't leave me, will you?"

Someone cleared their throat, startling Seungcheol. He adjusted in his seat, listening attentively to the words of the young man dressed as a nurse. Seungcheol didn't understand what he meant. Crossing his arms, he raised his voice to the man. But he didn't realize he was shouting and crying, he simply thought he was asking a question like any other slightly angry person.

"What do you mean by brain death, you son of a bitch!?"

He was behind glass.

He saw Jeonghan connected to a machine, lying on a stretcher. There were so many tubes, cables, IVs... he looked like a sad angel. He wasn't smiling at him, he wasn't arguing with him, he wasn't kissing him. "Why aren't you reacting?" he wondered, resting his forehead on the glass. He kept crying. "Do you feel pain, angel?" A tear slid down his cheek. "Do you feel my pain, angel?"

He cried when he saw himself in a black suit.

Jeonghan's parents knew their son's wish and informed Seungcheol, who was not at all in agreement. "Will you leave this world empty, love?" he thought as he signed some papers. "Will you save many people after leaving this world, love? Was this your dream? Was it so necessary to fulfill this dream? Why? Why so soon? Why, darling?" He had a cloth in his hands and used it to wipe away his tears, which had no beginning or end. "Don't go," he sobbed, taking Jeonghan's hand for the last time.

"Don't leave me... I beg you."

He felt cold lying in his empty bed.

He felt sadness entering his bathroom.

He felt pain living in that house. So, he sold it. He moved to a tiny place, where he barely fit well. It didn't feel warm like a true home should, but it was enough. After all, his life without Jeonghan had become a simple routine. A boring and sad routine.

Boring and sad like Seungcheol.

Days passed, months passed, a year passed, and then another. Finally, he opened his computer. He contacted the people who now lived thanks to Jeonghan. Thanks to his beautiful, dear, and angelic Yoon Jeonghan.

"Bae Joohyun... so you received a kidney."

The woman's profile was charming. Most of her photos featured her with a girl who seemed to be no older than eight. At first glance, she was an excellent mother accompanying her daughter at every moment of her life. But a few years ago, Joohyun fell ill. She lingered for a long time on the thin line between life and death, waiting on that terrifying list of people who needed a transplant, just like her. Her family turned their backs on her, leaving her alone, accompanied only by her daughter who understood nothing.

And suddenly one day, she received the best news of her life: there was someone compatible with her. Well, someone's organs were compatible with her. When she recovered and tried to contact that person, she found out that her donor was dead. So, when she received a message from the fiancé of that young man she had always wanted to meet, her heart skipped a beat.

They planned to have lunch together, which later became a habit.

"Jeonghan is... was truly amazing," he responded with a sad smile to the woman's question. "He always wanted to help others; it was something that fulfilled him."

"I'm glad my donor was such a pure person," Joohyun took a sip of her water. Beside her, her daughter ate chicken nuggets, absent from the conversation. "I was told that you were the one who wanted his organs to be donated, so I appreciate that a lot too."

«Who told you that crap?» he thought, squeezing the fork tightly in his hand. Thinking that stabbing it into the woman in front of him wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Yes... you're welcome," he said, trying not to make his discomfort obvious. "Thank you very much for joining me for lunch today as well, Joohyun... and you too, Yerim," he smiled at the little girl, who only looked at him with curiosity. "I have to go, but it's been a pleasure, as always."

"I understand," she stood up from her chair, immediately intertwining her hand with her daughter's. "See you tomorrow, Seungcheol."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."

He left the restaurant and returned home by taxi. He turned on the local news upon arrival and smiled with satisfaction at the image filling the screen.

"A woman of approximately 30 years old, and her daughter die after being hit by a truck."

If Jeonghan couldn't live, no one else would at the expense of what heo nce was. No one. Seungcheol was going to take care of that.

Chapter Text

Mingyu dragged his feet into the hospital's small cafeteria, where a man dressed in shades of brown stood out amid all that pastel blue and white. The young man fixed his gaze on him and beckoned, waving his hand.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, snatching the coffee cup from the other's hands in a second to take a sip.

"That's why I ordered two... I know you very well," Minghao took the other coffee cup from the table and began to drink it slowly. "I came because we need your help."

"Hmm? Why would you need a nurse's help?" he questioned, setting the cup aside.

"Ugh... this is a secret, okay?" Minghao leaned closer to Mingyu to whisper, "We're conducting an investigation undercover from our bosses and... everyone else. Don't tell anyone."

"Are you all out of your minds!? Do you realize how dangerous that is?"

"Shhh! That's why we need your help!" Minghao leaned back again. "Well... we also need Kwon Soonyoung's help," he scratched his eyebrow with his thumb, "so we need you to help us get him involved."

"Oh God, you're the most useless agents I've ever met in my life," Mingyu crossed his arms. "I hope Wonwoo isn't involved in this stupidity." The look his friend gave him said it all. Mingyu cursed and sighed. "Damn... what's the investigation about?"

Minghao smiled, pleased.

"There's a guy killing people," before Mingyu could say anything, he continued, "He's targeting people who received organs from his deceased fiancé."

"How do you know?"

"Jun and a colleague received organ transplants a few years ago. And a few months ago, we discovered that the donor for both of them was the same person. But we noticed something, three other people who also received transplants from him have either disappeared or died under strange circumstances."

"And hasn't it crossed your mind that coincidences exist?" Mingyu asked, ironically, thinking it was ridiculous.

"That's why we contacted Boo Seungkwan. He received a heart transplant before Junhui received the liver transplant. We asked him if he had received messages from someone named Choi Seungcheol who wanted to be his friend, and he said yes... doesn't that seem strange? Because under those same circumstances, the others disappeared; months before their deaths, Seungcheol became friends with them. The first victim was Bae Joohyun, who was hit by a cargo truck while crossing the street with her daughter. Both died," Minghao cleared his throat, "but the curious thing is that two years earlier, Joohyun had a kidney transplant. That kidney belonged to none other than Seungcheol's deceased fiancé."

"Okay, I get that there's a connection, but don't you think there's little evidence? It could just be a sad man trying to make friends with those people who were, you know, 'helped' by the one he loved. Minghao, you've been a detective for years, you know you won't get anywhere without evidence..."

"We have evidence!"

"So why is the investigation a secret? Why haven't you told anything to your bosses?"

"You know what they'll say, Mingyu. They always come up with excuses to cool down cases or simply avoid opening them. They'll say there's not enough evidence, that it's all just coincidences... basically what you've been saying so far," he sighed.

"Why do you guys want to conduct the investigation? Is it because you want to protect the poor people being pursued by that man?" Minghao looked at him directly, annoyed. Mingyu smiled. "Isn't it because your husband and partner are in danger? I'm sure you wouldn't give a fuck about opening an investigation if those two people weren't involved." He stood up, still talking to Minghao. "I won't make Dr. Kwon waste his time on a case that won't lead anywhere," he turned around, ready to leave and leave his best friend sitting alone again.

"Mingyu," he called, the taller one stopped. "Do you know whose idea it was to start an investigation on this?" He also stood up from the table and walked up to stand beside Mingyu. He put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer to his body so that only Mingyu could hear him. "It was Jeon Wonwoo's idea," Mingyu tensed. "He's the one who wants to solve this the most."

"Do you think that tactic will work on me?" Mingyu pulled away. "If that were true, don't you think he would have mentioned it to me already?"

"What part of it being a secret investigation don't you understand?" Minghao asked, tired. "Well, I see you don't want to cooperate with me. I'll leave everything in Wonwoo's hands now... it was nice seeing you," he bid farewell, sounding anything but friendly.

Mingyu watched his friend's figure disappear through the door, feeling the urge to follow him. And when he was about to do so, an annoying sound from his wristwatch interrupted him: it was time to go back to work.

Minghao returned to his office, angry. Locked in his small room, he began to curse everything that existed in the world. He was frustrated, had been for months, and he hoped that his best friend would help him, or at least, support him, and knowing that he couldn't even count on him angered him even more. He threw the stack of papers on his desk to the floor and threw himself carelessly into his chair, loosening his tie at the same time.

The door opened, revealing Joshua, who looked surprised at the mess that was now the office.

"Eh?"

"Eh!?" Minghao grunted in response. "God, everything goes wrong for me." He grabbed strands of his brown hair and began to kick like a small child having a tantrum.

"I've never seen you so... be so..." Joshua searched for words, moving his hand in circles as if this would help him remember what he wanted to say.

"So depressing?"

"No... so immature," he finally sat next to Minghao on the couch where barely both fit. "From your reaction, I guess Mingyu..."

"That idiot! Oh, let him dare to call me 'best friend' again... I swear that-"

"Hey, calm down," he patted his shoulder. "I'm sure if Wonwoo talks to him..."

"Sure!?" he interrupted. "Wonwoo is easily influenced by that idiot! I assure you he'll want to abandon the investigation with just a few words from Mingyu: 'because it's too dangerous, Wonu, don't do it,'" he tried to imitate his best friend's voice by pursing his lips. "Ugh, I hate it!"

"Do you think that of me?" the recognizable voice of the uniformed one sounded in the office. Joshua smiled, and Minghao just rolled his eyes, huffing. "I'll convince him, I promise."

"I don't trust your promises!" Minghao complained, looking at any point in the room that wasn't Wonwoo's face.

"Hey, I understand more than anyone your concern. I'm also Junhui's friend, or don't you remember who introduced you to him, ungrateful kid?" he asked, smiling. The younger one in the office huffed again, but this time, he looked at Wonwoo. "And Chan worries you too, all of us, in fact. So, I'll do my best to have Mingyu and Kwon on our side, okay?"

"I don't trust..."

"That's it! Thank you very much, Wonwoo!" Joshua jumped up from the sofa and shook hands with Wonwoo. "Someone of your level of maturity was needed in this place. Hey, Minghao, get up. You have to go home."

With heaviness, he stood up from the sofa, combing his hair a bit with his hands. He moistened his lips with a quick pass of his tongue and lowered his head.

"We have to solve this, with the help of that doctor or not."

"Yeah... but it would be much better if we had his help, you know," Joshua told him. "Much easier," he said now looking at Wonwoo, who just nodded in defeat. "Well, let's go home, Hao... Well, take me home, I don't have transportation."

Chapter Text

Boo Seungkwan glanced at Seungcheol as he turned away, his nerves chilled with fear, yet he had to conceal it. He nervously smiled when Seungcheol's gaze returned to him.

"Thanks for coming with me," the older one said. "I hope we can be good friends."

"Y-yes... me too," he murmured. "Uh... this food is really good."

"It's the best restaurant in the city," Seungcheol smiled. Seungkwan reconsidered his decision. Was it strictly necessary for him to be the bait? Because he didn't want to be anymore; he was too scared. To calm himself, he searched for his husband across the restaurant until he found him two tables away, sitting with one of the detectives they had been in contact with three months ago. Vernon noticed and gave him a reassuring smile.

"If I remember correctly, you had a heart transplant, right?" Seungcheol asked, so Seungkwan nodded in response. Seungcheol sighed, and Seungkwan began fidgeting with his fingers under the table, needing Vernon by his side. "So, Han's heart is beating inside you," Seungcheol said, looking directly at Seungkwan's chest. Uncomfortable, he smiled and considered hugging himself, but it would be too obvious. He waited for Seungcheol to look away. "Are you married? Do you have kids?"

Before he could answer, a voice came through the tiny earpiece he had, Joshua, if he recalled the name correctly: "Don't lie; he might investigate you anyway."

"Yes, I'm married," he replied, "but we don't plan on having kids, at least not for now."

"He probably has an accomplice," he recalled the detective's words on their way to the restaurant. "Try to dig into his life, but don't be too obvious, okay?"

"Sure," Seungkwan had said with all the confidence in the world. Confidence that now hung by a thread because chatting face-to-face with a suspected murderer was frightening. And Seungkwan was easily scared; he didn't hide that from anyone.

"You remind me a lot of Jeonghan," Seungcheol began. Immediately, Seungkwan raised an eyebrow, confused. "He... he was very smiley like you. Although, well, Hannie had something, and that was getting tired quickly," he chuckled. "He hated working too much, and whenever he got tired of a place, he'd just say, 'Cheollie, I want to go home.'" Seungkwan tried not to feel sad for the guy when he grabbed a napkin to dry his tears, but damn, it was hard. This Choi was an expert at wrapping people around his finger. "It's been so many years, and I still... still haven't gotten over it."

"You don't need to get over anyone, Seungcheol," he smiled, and Seungcheol returned the smile in gratitude or something. "And do you have anyone close? A family member or a friend, perhaps?"

"Hmm... my family is far away," he said, "although not long ago, I reconnected with a good friend." Seungkwan nodded, interested. He heard Joseph or Joshua (or whatever the detective's name was) murmur something like "excellent," and Vernon added, "You're doing well." "He's been a great support for me."

"That's great," he said, sounding perhaps a bit more excited than he should. The look Seungcheol gave him was strange, but since it lasted no more than a second, he couldn't make it out well. "And have you been friends since childhood?"

"Actually..." Before he could continue, a call on Seungcheol's phone interrupted them. He frowned but relaxed upon seeing who it was. He apologized to Seungkwan and stood up to take the call. Seungkwan took advantage of the distraction to turn to the table where Vernon was and whispered into the hidden microphone on his chest: "I want to get out of here; that guy is scary." Both the detective and Vernon looked at him cautiously and showed their fists: "Fighting!" Seungcheol returned to the table, seeming happier than before. "I'm sorry; something urgent came up," he apologized again, not taking a seat. Seungkwan nodded and stood up as well. "I hope we can meet again soon." He extended his hand, which Seungkwan received and shook. Seungcheol circled the table to stand directly in front of Seungkwan and smiled, showing his dimples. "Maybe next time we meet, Seungkwan..." he ran his hand over Seungkwan's chest as if his shirt were dirty; Seungkwan paled, feeling something being pulled from there. "Be more cautious, okay?" He showed the microphone still smiling, shaking it as if he had found a treasure. Seungkwan couldn't say anything; he just looked at the floor, trembling when Seungcheol patted his shoulder and with all the hypocrisy in the world said, "Goodbye!"

"Seungkwan, what are you doing standing there? He's gone," he heard the detective say, but he was frozen, unable to react. "Hey, are you—"

Someone took him by the arm and hugged him. Seungkwan didn't have to look up to know it was Vernon. He hugged him with such warmth while stroking his hair that he felt free to start sobbing right there.

"Shh, it's over, it's over," Vernon whispered, and that was enough for Seungkwan to start crying even more. "Breathe with me, okay?"

Joshua watched the sweet scene from his chair. Very romantic, he thought. He also wanted someone in his life to create cute and dramatic scenes in the middle of a restaurant at three in the afternoon, but sadly, he was stuck with his poorly paid job. He sighed, not quite understanding why Choi had been caressing Boo's chest or why... oh shit. Luckily, he hadn't removed the earpiece, so he closed his eyes, trying to focus. If Seungcheol had really taken the microphone, he probably started talking and giving away information without realizing he was still being listened to by someone.

"Oh... this will be fun," Joshua clicked his tongue upon hearing Seungcheol's mocking voice through the earpiece. After that, all sound was canceled.

Well, Joshua wanted to kick that idiot in the face. He looked back at the couple and started doing mental calculations. His team consisted of two officers and two detectives, including himself, and well, those two witnesses who now seemed trapped in a teenage romantic movie. He removed the earpiece and put it in his pocket, still thinking. That team lacked something... oh yes, the presence of a key witness: Kwon Soonyoung. The one Wonwoo was taking too long to get. What the hell did he need to do to convince Mingyu? He knew approaching Dr. Kwon was almost impossible; it wasn't a secret to anyone related to the authorities the tense relationship that man had with them. Joshua huffed; it wasn't his or his team's fault that Soonyoung had had bad experiences with cops in the past. But also, they needed a backup in case everything went wrong and they needed to defend themselves against some higher force.

Yes, it was time to get a lawyer.

Chapter Text

Seokmin, a lawyer with an impeccable career, didn't know why he was handed a nearly boiling cup of coffee, but he tried to smile at the friendly officer and took a sip, spitting it back into the cup immediately. Of course, whoever could handle that scalding stuff wasn't even human.

Well, it seemed Detective Hong wasn't human either, as he downed the coffee Officer Chan handed him in one go. Although he then went into a coughing fit that had everyone in the office laughing except for the poor detective. Seokmin didn't laugh at him either (well, maybe a little); he was concerned about how red the older one's face turned.

That group of agents was somewhat troublesome. And Seokmin happened to be friends with one of them for years: Xu Minghao. So, every time he and his colleagues were on the verge of losing their jobs, they whined to Seokmin for help. And he, a busy lawyer, always came to the rescue. He had a good relationship with most of the officers; they were kind, fun, upright, and they did their job well. However, they all had a superhero complex, and Seokmin was tired of reminding them that they were in the real world, not a fantasy tale. Someday, they would get into big trouble, but Seokmin would be there to help, right? There was just one of those four agents who didn't quite sit well with him: Jeon Wonwoo. He saw him interacting with his colleagues, acting just like them, light-hearted and affectionate; but when talking to Seokmin, he became... weird.

"It's not my fault that your boyfriend spent his adolescence crushing on me, alright?" he recalled the beginning of his little feud with Jeon. Well, Seokmin hadn't been the best human being when he was younger, but he didn't expect that even six years later, and with Mingyu married to Wonwoo, the latter still held a grudge from that small "argument." Even now that Seokmin was friends with Mingyu as if nothing had happened, why did Wonwoo still harbor resentment?

His coffee was now at a more acceptable temperature, so he started drinking it, spitting it out again because it was too watery and lacked sugar. "I should give Chan some lessons on how to make coffee," he thought.

"Seokmin, I'm really thrilled that you're helping us again," Wonwoo said with an expression and tone that made it hard to believe. "And since you're an expert at getting information from culprits, why don't you become the bait?" Seokmin restrained himself from lunging at Wonwoo. "I mean... Choi is definitely your type, right?"

"Are you suggesting I sleep with him to get information?" he asked, immediately regretting it because he had played into Wonwoo's hands: he had reacted to his provocation.

"Isn't that what you normally do?" he tilted his head as if genuinely confused. "Everyone says the same thing: 'Lee Seokmin is a—"

"Enough! Why do you always act like a jerk towards Seok... I mean, towards Lawyer Lee?" Joshua intervened in the 'conversation'. "Instead of picking fights, you should convince your husband to bring us Dr. Kwon, you know..."

Seokmin smiled; Detective Hong was defending him.

"It's complicated," Wonwoo looked away. "I don't want Mingyu to get mad at me for being so insistent on the matter."

"Yes, and in that time you're waiting, Choi is going to kill Seungkwan, Junhui, me, and by the way, he's going to kill all of you too because he already realized we're watching him. Yay!" Chan said with fake enthusiasm. "Hao, what should we do?"

"What if we kidnap him?" he asked genuinely.

"Uh... let's pretend we didn't hear that. What do you suggest, Joshua?" Chan turned to the oldest with an expectant smile.

"That Wonwoo brings Kwon Soonyoung to this room before midnight tonight."

Wonwoo looked at the detective with a mix of anger and fear, but he nodded. He would manage to bring Kwon Soonyoung to them even before midnight. He took his phone out of his pocket and sent a message to the only contact he had with a sugary nickname:

"Love, when are you free?"

"You never call me love."

"What do you want?"

"I want to see you."

"I miss you."

"Suspicious."

"I'm being honest."

"In an hour and a half."

He smiled pleased at Joshua, putting his phone away.

"We'll have Kwon Soonyoung by ten o'clock, wait for him."

"That's our Wonwoo!" Joshua jumped on him and hugged him. But then he remembered that Wonwoo had spoken rudely to Seokmin, so he let go and gave him a dirty look. "Now apologize to the lawyer."

"And what does that have to do with anything!?"

"Just do it... rude."

Chapter Text

He woke up irritated that morning. 

Suddenly, a team of police, detectives, or whatever those people were swarmed him. He was screwed. He had maintained a good image all these years, but Boo Seungkwan appeared with people who could lock him up for life. But that wouldn't be now; he doubted they had enough evidence, and anyway, who wouldn't sympathize with a poor man who lost the love of his life? Well, he wasn't that screwed.

He lazily walked to the bathroom, the only place in the house with a mirror, and examined his reflection. It was pitiful. If Jeonghan had been there, he would say... what would he say? In a normal situation, he would never let himself look like that in front of Jeonghan. Yes, it was because of Jeonghan's death that Seungcheol had become a little crazy. He didn't believe he was doing anything wrong; it was the fault of Jeonghan's parents. If those people hadn't donated his organs, Seungcheol could have closed his chapter peacefully. But knowing those people were fine, alive, and his Jeonghan wasn't... it was horrible.

Now, he moved on to think about his new headache: Boo Seungkwan. His strategy that had worked three times before was failing. Why did Boo Seungkwan decide to contact the authorities? Was it the other way around? Did he look suspicious? He tilted his head, looking directly into his eyes in the mirror. He didn't look suspicious; on the contrary, he looked innocent. He had cute curls, and his black hair complemented his dark gaze. So why?

All he knew was that, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't end with Seungkwan now, because that would be suspicious. Just weeks ago, he had started his approach, and he never ended people so quickly. Should he move on to the next targets? Seungkwan was the person he hated the most over the years; after all, he had a heart that belonged to Seungcheol and no one else. Jeonghan had given him his heart, and he had done the same; no one else had a right to it.

Jeonghan was probably proud from heaven, watching Seungcheol enact justice for him, right? It was the purest act of love that could exist. An act that only someone who truly loved like Seungcheol could commit.

But he was tired of waiting. For some reason, he remembered Bae Joohyun, and his spirits lifted. It was definitely "the perfect crime" just like the others. He remembered how the woman never doubted him for a second, always treated him kindly, and looked forward to meeting him the next day. What was the problem with Boo Seungkwan? Was Boo even the problem? After rinsing his face, he silently returned to his room and opened his laptop. He entered the organized document with information about all the people he hoped to kill one day; from their birthdates to their addresses, Seungcheol had it all there. What bothered him were the last two people on the list; the information about them was almost non-existent compared to the others. Wen Junhui and Lee Chan had something strange. No matter how much Seungcheol tried to investigate them, all the information cut off at the same point. Were they agents of some organization or something?

A light bulb lit up in his head.

Of course, that was the only answer. Both Wen and Lee could be somehow related to Boo Seungkwan. And although it seemed strange to Seungcheol, it was still a possibility. After all, the city wasn't as big as it seemed.

He had to get to work, so he called the only person he could trust in this situation. The only person who supported him no matter what. The one who was willing to kill for him: his best friend.

"I need you to investigate the last two on the list," he would save the greetings for later; he just wanted information to act. But instead of receiving the usual affirmative response that would keep him relieved, what he got was the opposite.

"Well, something bad happened."

"And what's that?" he asked, surprised by his friend's tone.

"Soonyoung disappeared around ten o'clock last night, and... I haven't seen him since. According to his phone's location, he's been at the police station since he left."

"The police station?"

That was interesting.

Chapter Text

Chan was at his desk, hating morning shifts with all his life. Minghao was locked in his small office as usual, probably sleeping on the couch with Joshua doing the same on top of him. He sighed; Joshua had his own desk to the right of Chan, but he preferred Minghao's office. He glanced at Wonwoo's desk in front of his, the tables stuck together, grumbling as he saw it empty; cursed his partner, he got night shifts, huh?

The polarized glass door of the office opened, and Chan shifted his gaze there. Joshua emerged with messy hair and a sleepy expression; Chan was right, the detective had been sleeping. He had a ringing phone in his left hand and approached Chan, leaving the device on his small table.

"It seems the doctor left this here last night," he yawned, covering his mouth with a fist. "Damn, I'm sleepy."

"Yeah, me too," said Chan, then pointed to Joshua's spot. "I left a cup of coffee for you... although it's probably cold by now."

"Cold coffee tastes like shit," Joshua replied, looking at the cup. "Anyway, thanks." He ruffled Chan's hair with his hand, instantly pushed away by the younger one.

"Ugh! Do you want me to look as bad as you?" Chan muttered, looking at his reflection in the dark computer screen to fix his hair. After looking decent again, he picked up the phone Joshua had left there. As he took it in his hands, it started ringing again. "'Jihoonie' and a heart?" he read the name of the person calling the doctor. "Hey, is Dr. Kwon dating someone-"

Joshua had fallen asleep again on his desk. Chan sighed again.

He decided to let go of the phone. "Jihoonie" would get tired of calling, or so he thought; he didn't care. The doctor would have to retrieve his phone from the police station because Chan had no way of contacting him, and he didn't feel like going to the hospital to give it to Mingyu and have him hand it over to the man. Damn it, Chan didn't feel like doing anything that day. He turned on his computer, thinking he could at least work a bit; he had too much accumulated work from focusing entirely on his beloved secret investigation. He looked up when he felt a calm presence entering the room: it was Seokmin.

"Hello!" he smiled brightly at Chan, who mimicked the action. "Oh, Detective Hong is exhausted," he pouted at seeing the older one snoring on his computer keyboard. The keys would probably leave marks on his face. "I came because I want to talk to you guys."

"At eight in the morning?" Minghao came out of his office, doing almost the same things Joshua had done when he left. He looked tired, disheveled, and yawned every two words. "Don't you have a home to go to, Seokmin?"

"It's also beautiful to see you again, Hao," he smiled, and Minghao finally gave in, approaching to give him a small hug. "Well, since we're all here, except for the piece of shit called Wonwoo," he smiled even more. Chan wondered how "a ray of light" could say such things with that face. It wasn't surprising from Wonwoo because he... was Wonwoo. But with Seokmin, it was different; hearing him say those things made him laugh. "I think it's time for us to start meeting in another place. It will be suspicious if we gather every night in your office, Hao, and there are more people involved in the investigation each time, so..." he stopped, knowing it was unnecessary to keep talking. They all nodded, except Joshua, who still had his face stuck to his keyboard.

"I know a good place," everyone turned surprised when they heard Wonwoo's voice. Even Joshua woke up and looked confused at the younger one. "Although... I don't know if I want this guy there after calling me a 'piece of shit,'" he pointed to Seokmin with his thumb, to which he could only smile as he always did.

"It's not that bad, you call me 'bitch' all the time."

"That's because I speak the truth," he returned the smile. "Anyway, the basement of my house is spacious and empty."

Joshua raised his thumbs and was about to let himself fall back onto his desk again, but he looked at Seokmin and decided to look presentable for him. Although with his red face marked with small squares and lines, there wasn't much he could do.

"And why did you come early? Why not take advantage of your privileges?" Chan asked Wonwoo. "If I could spend the whole morning sleeping..."

"It's not the same when you have an overly affectionate husband on top of you," Wonwoo took a seat in his place. "After last night..." he sighed. "He doesn't want to let go of me. What I have to do for you guys."

"Disgusting" Minghao murmured, frowning.

"You started the investigation, genius," Joshua reminded Wonwoo with a raspy voice. "Seducing your husband to get us a witness is the least you can do."

"Ugh, why do you talk about your disgusting stuff in front of us?" Chan looked away and then re-engaged with the monitor in front of him.

"Whether you fuck or not is your problem," Wonwoo shrugged. Chan was offended and was about to shout: "I do fuck!" but that would be weird, and all his other colleagues would mock him, so he stayed silent. "Learn from Joshua," he continued. "He doesn't fuck either, but he's understanding with me, right, Josh?"

The older one shrugged and took his cold coffee cup in his hands.

"God, I can't believe they consider you the 'mature' one among us," Chan said. "Oh, and take the doctor's phone; he left it here last night." Wonwoo took the phone in his hands and then put it in his pocket. "Don't forget to give it to Mingyu," he nodded, and Chan was sure he would forget. "... Does this guy really say you're more mature and intelligent than us?" and by this guy he meant Joshua.

"Wonwoo has his moments, but still, he's better than you or Minghao," Joshua said before taking a sip of his coffee. Both Chan and Minghao turned to look at him, indignant, and he just looked at them as if he didn't understand why. "What?"

"Ah... you're an idiot," Minghao exhaled a laugh and shook his head, turning to see Seokmin again. "So are you going to stay here? Do you really have no work?"

Seokmin looked at Wonwoo, waiting for some stupid comment from him, but there was nothing, so he smiled and shook his head.

"I have no work," he replied.

"Isn't fucking clients one?" there came Wonwoo's comment, and Seokmin just laughed, crossing his arms.

"You seem interested in being one of those clients, Jeon," Seokmin retorted.

"Thanks for the offer, but I already have my partner," he showed his hand with his wedding ring, as if Seokmin didn't know it was there. "And it's unfortunate for you; the one you truly want can't be with you," Wonwoo feigned a sad expression, and Seokmin burst into laughter.

"I don't want him anymore, thanks. I enjoyed him a lot when we were younger," Wonwoo looked at him, this time quite serious, not with his usual playful gaze. "Little joke?" After a few seconds, Wonwoo's gaze softened, and he smiled a little. "Oh, dumbass, now you act offended." Seokmin smiled again, lightly hitting Wonwoo on the head.

"I'll never understand the relationship between you two," Minghao pointed at them. "You hate each other, love each other, want to kill each other, but you treat each other well and joke sometimes... you're very weird."

"I think Wonwoo should apologize to lawyer Lee," the mentioned ones chuckled quietly upon hearing Joshua. "He's unnecessarily rude."

"Seokmin is rude too, and you don't say anything!" Wonwoo complained like a little child, this being even more amusing due to his deep voice. "Do you favor him, idiot?"

None of them expected Joshua to blush and abruptly stand up, escaping from them.

Chapter Text

After an exhausting day of work, Soonyoung returned home. He was still thinking about the conversation with the police the night before, but what occupied his mind at the moment was his boyfriend's annoyed expression.

"Are you ignoring me?" he asked with a pout, chasing the younger one around the living room, while the latter seemed to be avoiding him without saying anything. "Jihoon..." he whined, wanting to grab the shorter one's arm but being instantly pushed away.

"I was worried about you!" Jihoon shouted at him. "You left, and... and you weren't answering me."

"Forgive me, sweetheart," Jihoon rolled his eyes at the nickname and distanced himself from the older one. "It's just that... when I left work, I went somewhere and ended up falling asleep there—"

"So, you slept outside!?" he complained, finally looking Soonyoung in the eyes.

"N-no, it's not what you think... ugh," he ran his hand over his face, frustrated. "I can't tell you right now, wait a little longer, okay?"

"Are you hiding something from me?" he asked, squinting his eyes.

"No! I don't want to hide it from you, but I can't tell you anything! At least not for now," he made a grimace when he heard Jihoon sigh. "Please..."

"At least tell me why you didn't answer me... I called you sixty times, Soonyoung," he crossed his arms, waiting for an answer. "I hope you have a good reason for that."

"I do! I would never lie to you," he tried to grab Jihoon again, but he moved away again. "As I told you, I had to leave because something came up," he started to explain. "The... the meeting took longer, and I ended up sleeping there, and when I opened my eyes, I had to go back to work. Without realizing it, I left my phone there, and I only recovered it a few hours ago."

Jihoon remained silent for a few seconds that Soonyoung felt eternal, until he nodded and released his arms. Soonyoung smiled sweetly and extended his arms toward him. Seeing that Jihoon had no reaction, he approached him himself to wrap him in a hug.

"Please, don't do that again," Jihoon's voice trembled. "Please..." he buried his face in Soonyoung's chest.

"I... I'm actually involved in a police investigation," he admitted, Jihoon separated from him and looked at him in surprise. "It's not because I'm in trouble or anything like that, I'm just a key witness for a case or something," he placed his hands on Jihoon's shoulders. "But it's confidential, sorry for not telling you more, darling."

"Ah..." Jihoon said, thoughtful. Then he shook his head, as if diverting his thoughts, and smiled at him. "Don't do anything that puts you in danger, okay?"

"Okay" he replied, feeling more relieved. "By the way, these days, I'll be going out a lot at night, but don't worry about me; I'll just be with the investigators."

"At the police station?"

"Hmm, I think they changed the meeting point, I don't know yet. But don't worry."

Jihoon nodded.

"If you say so."

Soonyoung was much more relieved after clearing everything up with his boyfriend, and he hugged him again with all the love in the world. Jihoon responded to the hug and wrapped his arms around Soonyoung's waist, both feeling at peace, or so the older one thought. Nothing could be further from the truth because Jihoon had a much heavier and more serious secret than Soonyoung's. A secret that, if revealed, would bring disaster to him and his most precious person: his best friend. He felt guilty because Soonyoung told him everything he could, and even more, but he pretended to be an innocent young man when he was anything but that.

But he couldn't help it; this was the perfect opportunity to gather information for Seungcheol, and he was going to take advantage of it.

"In fact, the agents are very kind. They're not like the ones who made my life impossible years ago," Soonyoung told Jihoon when they sat at the dinner table. "Oh, and there's also a lawyer... he's like a sun with legs," he laughed.

"So, he's like you," Jihoon said, and Soonyoung couldn't help but blush. "Will Mingyu also get involved?"

"His husband is part of the investigation, so I don't doubt it. Although he always denies it, he still feels the urge to protect him," he shrugged. "I tell him that Officer Jeon is an adult man who can clearly defend himself, but he doesn't listen to me," he looked with some pity at his empty plate; he had eaten too much and still felt hungry. Jihoon noticed his gaze and left part of his own dinner on his plate. "Aw, thanks, you didn't have to do this," he murmured, so excited that Jihoon smiled with tenderness. "Oh! There are two detectives; one seems to be serious and also seems to hate me, and the other is easygoing, I like them both. Oh, but I think among all of them, my favorite is Officer Chan."

"Why is that?"

"He's very funny... he has something that makes everyone like him," he smiled, remembering how the officer gave him sweets as a thank you for participating in the investigation. "He's directly involved in the case, and I met him a few years ago, so I think that's why it's even easier for me to relate to him."

"Wait... what did you say the officer's name was? Chan?"

"Yes, Lee Chan."

What was the probability that this "Lee Chan" was the same as Seungcheol's list? Jihoon didn't know; he was bad at math. But if Soonyoung knew him from before... well, that could also mean nothing because many people have known Dr. Kwon throughout all his working years. Although it made sense to Jihoon that if it wasn't so easy to find information about Lee Chan, it was because he was a police officer.

"How did you meet him?" Soonyoung tried to overlook Jihoon's great interest in the young officer, but it still seemed a bit strange to him.

"Do you know him too, or why do you ask so much?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

"Uh... it's nothing, just..." he thought of some excuse. "Yeah... I just wanted to extend the conversation with you," he joined his boyfriend's nervous laughter, but surprisingly, Soonyoung believed his cheap excuse.

"That's why I love you, Jihoonie!" he exclaimed. "I was involved in a surgery he had some time ago. I didn't remember it until he talked to me about it... he changed a lot! Now he looks more mature," he smiled. "I want to get along very well with everyone."

Now Jihoon was almost sure it was the same person. He needed to warn Seungcheol now, but at the same time, it didn't contribute anything whether he knew the true identity of Lee Chan or not, as he had no way to gather more information apart from him being a police officer. That wasn't enough; he needed to get closer, he...

"Did you say Mingyu will also participate?"

"Probably..."

"Then can I?" This was his opportunity.

Chapter Text

With labored breath, he abruptly woke up, completely disoriented. He had just had a nightmare. His heart pounded fiercely in his chest, so much so that it hurt, and he could hear it echoing in his ears. Fear gripped him. He sat up in bed, bringing his hand to his chest, trying to calm himself a bit, and looked to his left side, finding only crumpled sheets. Panic set in again, and he jumped out of bed, stumbling in the darkness. Where was Junhui?

He rushed to the door of his room and opened it, momentarily blinded by the yellowish light from the living room. Junhui was seated on the couch, tossing some candy into his mouth while holding his phone in his other hand, watching seemingly funny videos as he chuckled softly. Junhui heard his steps and turned his gaze towards him, smiling sweetly. Minghao felt relief seeing him and returned the smile.

"Couldn't sleep either?" he asked, but Minghao didn't respond. He simply threw himself onto Junhui on the couch, hugging him as if Junhui would vanish in his hands. "Oh, craving some affection?"

Minghao remained silent, burying his face in the taller one's neck, breathing in his scent. He closed his eyes and calmed down, even more so when Junhui reciprocated the embrace, gently stroking his head.

"You shouldn't eat sweets," Minghao said after a few minutes, still keeping his eyes closed. "And you need proper sleep..." He felt Junhui nod. "And... if you can't sleep, wake me up so I can keep you company."

"I won't do that; you deserve to rest."

"The worst thing that can happen to me is waking up and not feeling you by my side," he regretted saying that immediately, his cheeks warming. "I mean..."

"Okay," Junhui said, moving Minghao a bit to look at him with a smile. "You had another nightmare, didn't you?" Minghao nodded, trying to hide his face again, but Jun prevented it. "Don't want to talk about it?"

"I just want to be with you. Nothing else," he whispered with flushed cheeks. "Alright, stop looking at me like that; it makes me nervous." Junhui leaned in, kissing the tip of his nose and then his lips.

"I love you, Haohao," he kissed him again. "I won't leave your side if that's what you want."

"Don't say such things," Minghao said, finally freeing himself from Jun's grasp and laying against his chest. The older one's arms wrapped around his waist. "Let's go to sleep."

Minghao felt complete peace listening to Junhui's heartbeat beneath his ear. That awful nightmare was just that, a nightmare. Jun was fine, and he would continue to be, because Minghao wouldn't allow Seungcheol to get close. Everything would be fine. Minghao tried to convince himself of that... everything would be fine.

He drifted back to sleep, feeling secure in Junhui's arms. He hated appearing so weak in front of his husband when he was supposed to be the one in greater danger, but he couldn't help it when he was sad. Yes, he could be a strong detective with good combat skills, but at home, he needed to be pampered by Jun. And although most of the time Junhui acted like a giant baby, he knew how to comfort Minghao when he needed it, always there for him. Minghao tried to clear the nightmare from his mind, but inevitably, the memories of it came back, as vivid as if it were something he had truly experienced.

"Jun!" he shouted, so loudly that he felt his throat tearing. "Jun!"

Seungcheol stood in front of him, expressionless, his clothes stained with blood making him look even more disturbing. Minghao was on the floor, looking up at him, feeling completely inferior to that man, and he couldn't move. He tried to reach Jun, who was on the other side of the room on the floor, forming a pool of blood around him. And he cried, cried so much that he thought his body would simply drain, and more than crying from pain, he cried from the helplessness of having this "barrier" in front of him that wouldn't let him through.

"Tell me, do you want me to do the same to you?" Minghao had never actually heard Seungcheol's voice, but he imagined it to be terrifying, much like his appearance in all recent photographs.

"Please..." he begged. "Just give me Jun..."

Seungcheol then grabbed him by his shirt and dragged him across the floor, tossing him to the side of Jun as if he were a garbage bag. Minghao screamed at the sight of his beloved. He had a cut from end to end on his neck; his eyes remained open, and he seemed shocked. Minghao touched him with trembling hands, regardless of all the blood on them. His chest hurt, breathing became difficult, and he just wanted to disappear. He wanted Jun back.

The world began to spin around him, Junhui's cut haunting him. He couldn't lose Jun; he simply couldn't bear it. He hated seeing the blood pouring endlessly, hated seeing it on his hands and feeling it, hated being in that scenario.

"Jun..." he sobbed, slowly opening his eyes.

"Yes?" he was about to jump for joy at the sound of Jun's voice, but he couldn't jump since he was lying on top of him... well. "Why are you crying?" Junhui looked so concerned that Minghao felt truly awful. He cradled his cheek in his hand and tried to wipe away the tears with his thumbs, but it was futile because Minghao's eyes seemed to be a lock that couldn't close.

"I can't sleep, not after that nightmare," he finally admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," he said with a voice filled with affection. "You know what? Let's go for a walk."

"But it's like three in the morning," Minghao replied, still sounding hoarse from crying.

"Who cares? Let's buy ice cream and walk around," Minghao got up from on top of Junhui and sat next to him. He sighed as he watched Jun enter the room and come out a minute later with warm clothes in his hands. "Take this," he showed him a coat, Minghao's favorite. Seeing that Minghao wouldn't put it on himself, Jun left the other clothes there and helped Minghao put on his coat. The younger one smiled; he loved being pampered. "Hey, stop acting like a child."

"You're the one who wants to go out in the middle of the night... you'll have to take care of everything."

Junhui shook his head, smiling, and put on his clothes. Then he extended his hand to Minghao, and when he got up from the couch, he held onto his arm.

"Alright, let's go."

They left the house still holding onto each other. Finally, they couldn't have ice cream because Jun forgot his wallet, so they simply walked through the quiet streets without saying anything, just enjoying each other's company. Minghao dropped his head on Jun's shoulder and breathed.

Everything would be fine.

Chapter Text

The basement of Mingyu and Wonwoo's house was... cozy. Well, not really. It was a dull place; the walls were plain and ugly, lacking even the simplest decoration. The only things in there besides them were a long rectangular table where Soonyoung laid out all the evidence he had gathered in a yellow envelope. He nervously glanced at the others, who were all focused on the envelope, and retreated until he found Jihoon's hand.

"And what's that?" Chan broke the silence. Soonyoung sighed; did he really have to explain?

"It's what I could investigate at the hospital and with the other implicated doctors," he replied. Chan nodded and took the envelope in his hands, but Minghao snatched it away immediately. "There's also more information about Yoon, just in case," Soonyoung added.

Minghao examined the contents of the envelope, looking focused. Soonyoung swallowed nervously; that detective was a bit intimidating, but for some reason, he also liked him too much. He just hoped he had done a good job collecting information—both Mingyu and Jihoon had helped him for days. He compared his nervousness to those times he had stage fright and had to present anything at school. Damn, he was an adult now; he shouldn't be afraid of anything, especially when he was older than almost everyone in the room.

"Oh, Dr. Kwon!" Seokmin's voice made him look up. The young lawyer was sticking close to Minghao to see what he was taking out of the envelope. "How did you manage to get so much? You've done an excellent job."

"Yeah, well, I was helpful too, you know," Mingyu crossed his arms. He looked too big to be in the basement, really standing out. Seokmin stuck out his tongue, and Mingyu muttered some words under his breath. "And also the doctor's boyfriend helped a lot... he's the one who got all the information about Seungcheol!"

All eyes turned to Jihoon, who was still holding onto Soonyoung's hand. He hid a bit behind the taller man as all attention focused on him, but when he saw Soonyoung smiling at him, he looked at the others and nodded shyly.

"I'm a private investigator, so..." he mumbled, hating how small his voice sounded.

"A private investigator!?" Seokmin squealed, and Minghao slapped him lightly. Seokmin didn't complain and walked over to Jihoon, holding the hand that wasn't intertwined with Soonyoung's. "Wouldn't you like to work with me? We could make an excellent team! Look..."

"Oh, here comes the Lee lawyer we all know," Wonwoo said sarcastically. "Please, be decent, Minnie, that guy's not single; he's even holding hands with his boyfriend. I know you're desperate for some di—"

Joshua stepped on him and looked at him really annoyed. Wonwoo put a hand over his chest, overacting his displeasure a bit.

"Not even because we have guests, you behave..." Joshua shook his head, stepping on him again.

"Oh, and he's better than me..." Chan and Minghao muttered simultaneously, looking at the floor. When they heard themselves, they burst into laughter, pointing at each other with their index fingers.

"Mingyu... these three dumbasses are making fun of me" Wonwoo pouted and approached his husband. Mingyu gave him a tired look and hugged him.

Joshua sighed with exhaustion, looking at everyone; Chan and Minghao laughed like madmen, Wonwoo hugged Mingyu, and he patted him as if he were a baby seeking comfort... please, how ridiculous. Meanwhile, poor Dr. Kwon and his boyfriend watched everyone from a corner, looking genuinely surprised by the behavior of that group of adults. Joshua felt a bit embarrassed... that was his team, unfortunately. Oh, and Seokmin still hadn't let go of Jihoon's hand. Well, Joshua had to do something about it as the oldest in all that commotion.

He cleared his throat, and little by little, there was order again. Everyone looked at him, and he celebrated internally. Even Seokmin let go of the investigator's hand, directing all his attention to the detective. Joshua felt victorious; for the first time in his life, they had listened to him.

"Kids... I mean, uh... you," someone let out a deflating balloon-like laugh. It was Dr. Kwon, and Joshua couldn't believe it... really, even him? He shook his head, clearing that from his mind, and sighed again. "Now that we have enough information, we can start—"

"Hey, we've always had 'enough information,'" Chan said. Joshua really wanted to... well, he took a deep breath and ignored the younger one.

"...To tail Choi Seungcheol. We had Boo Seungkwan as bait, but Seungcheol noticed, and we can't put that young man in danger again. Let's not even think about Junhui because if we do, Minghao will kill us," the young man in question gave Joshua a bright smile, and the older one could only resist the urge to show him his middle finger. "So... Chan, you'll be the new bait!"

The room fell silent. Although it had been that way ever since Joshua started talking.

"What?"

Chan's question was enough to make everyone, except Joshua and Jihoon, burst into laughter. Joshua was genuinely surprised at how well the doctor blended in with all those idiots. To think that all that time, he and the others believed that Dr. Kwon was a grump who hated authorities. Even Minghao and Wonwoo surprised him; those two always acted like little idiots, but when there were new people, they behaved like decent human beings. But no, this time, they left Joshua embarrassed in front of... well, in front of Jihoon, because the doctor acted just as bad or even worse than them. He looked curiously at the young man, who even after all these minutes, didn't let go of his boyfriend's hand, and an idea began to form in his mind.

"But... if Seungcheol knows Chan... wouldn't it be better if someone unknown were the bait?" he asked, and everyone fell silent again. "If Jihoon were the bait..."

Jihoon paled. Or at least Joshua thought so, because the guy was already too pale.

"Uh, I... " Jihoon stammered, "I don't think it's a good idea..."

"Sweetheart, it's a great idea!" Soonyoung exclaimed. "Think about it: you're very likable, and no one knows you're part of this investigation. You can befriend Seungcheol and be our informant. If you're close to him, you might get more information than the agents or I can get from afar."

"That's..." Jihoon squirmed uncomfortably, letting go of Soonyoung. "It makes me... afraid?"

Huh? Was that a question? Joshua curiously observed the suddenly uncomfortable young man. Well, that was weird.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, there's nothing we can do. It's also quite dangerous, so I understand," Joshua said. "Well, let's stick to the original plan. Chan, you'll be the bait—"

"Why me!?" complained the younger one. "It should be you; after all, he doesn't know you."

"Of course not! He probably saw my face when I was at the restaurant," he touched his own cheek. He heard Seokmin chuckle softly and removed his hand, feeling his cheeks gradually heating up.

"Ah, coward!" Chan retorted.

"I still propose Seokmin as bait," said Wonwoo, raising his hand and then pointing his finger at Seokmin.

"Oh, yeah? Why don't you become the bait?" Seokmin turned to face him, emphasizing the "you." "After all, Choi doesn't know of your existence either, Wonwoo."

"Ugh, but remember, I'm Mingyu's husband, and he knows him," he pointed to Mingyu, who continued to hug him, now from behind. "You know? That guy almost hit my Mingyu when he informed him that his fiancé was dead."

"What? Is that true, Gyu?" The taller one nodded, and Seokmin sighed. Well, if there was no other choice, he would become the new bait. All for the investigation and, of course, to put that guy behind bars. If he managed to be the one who sent him to jail, everyone would praise him, call him a hero, and...

"Alright, I'll be the bait," Jihoon said, surprising everyone.

Chapter Text

"The new meeting place is Mingyu's basement."

"Lee Chan (police officer) is the Lee Chan from the list."

"The detective Minghao seems to be related to someone named Junhui... there's a good chance it's the same Junhui from the list. Friends? Lovers? Brothers? Cousins? I don't know."

"The lawyer wants to work with me... I don't want to work with him, he's weird."

"Officer Jeon and Lawyer Lee seem to have issues... or something like that, I didn't understand."

"Detective Hong seems to be the only sane one among all... at times. Other times he seems to be the biggest idiot of all."

"Soonyoung is too good at gathering information. Mingyu too. I don't know how they do it; I should be more attentive."

"I'm the new bait."

Seungcheol read all the notes in Jihoon's notebook and then looked up to see his friend lounging on the chair nonchalantly.

"Are you the new bait?"

"Yeah... don't kill me," Jihoon joked, but Seungcheol's look was far from amused. Definitely not. "It's just easier this way... after all, they don't know I know you."

"Don't you think that complicates things a bit?"

"Does it?" Jihoon tilted his head, looking at Seungcheol confused. If he was the bait, he just had to provide false information about Seungcheol; it shouldn't be that difficult. Although there was the possibility that the police would be with him at all times to "protect" him. As if Seungcheol would harm his best friend. "I just have to pretend to be your friend."

"The problem is that you already are," Seungcheol sighed. "And you're an accomplice to murder. I don't want to put you in danger, Jihoon."

"Oh, but they don't know anything about that."

"You wrote that Soonyoung and Mingyu are good at investigating... and among all of the people involved in the investigation, you're close to them. What if they figure it out?"

"There's something that sets us apart; I'm an investigator, and they just work in a hospital," Jihoon shrugged. He knew everything would be fine. He could handle it. "I'll just... act like I want to get closer to you from now on."

"They don't have a plan? They're just throwing you in like that?"

"I don't know..." Jihoon shrugged again, pouting a bit. "They haven't told me an-"

His phone started ringing. Both he and Seungcheol exchanged glances. It was too much of a coincidence that Soonyoung called him right at that moment. Weird.

"Answer it," Seungcheol said, and Jihoon nodded.

"Yeah?" he answered the call, his voice a bit higher-pitched. Seungcheol rolled his eyes and chuckled while Jihoon threatened him with his fist.

"Can you come with us to Mingyu's house today?"

"Today? For what? I'm... working."

"Detective Hong has a plan. At least that's what he told me," Soonyoung's voice sounded concerned on the other side of the line. "He'll explain all the details there."

"Uh... okay, I'll be there in a few minutes then," he waited for a few seconds for a response from Soonyoung, but nothing came. Everything was getting stranger. "Sweetheart," he hated himself for using that nickname; Seungcheol teased him, and Jihoon just wanted to disappear. He closed his eyes to focus on the call. "Are you okay?"

"See you at Mingyu's house," and he ended the call.

Jihoon blinked, genuinely confused. It took him a few seconds to move the phone away from his ear, and then he turned his gaze to Seungcheol. The older one was looking at him with raised eyebrows, maybe asking for an explanation for his shocked expression. However, Jihoon just got up and walked to the door, hearing his friend follow him.

"You won't tell me what just happened?" he complained.

"I don't know either," Jihoon replied, still a bit dazed and with too many thoughts swirling in his mind. The nerves were getting to him. When had this become so overwhelming? He hated to admit it, but he was nervous. What the hell just happened? Did Soonyoung know something? Did he know that he and Seungcheol were related? Or was Soonyoung just acting strange, as usual? Did he know that he was an accomplice to murder? Did he want to leave him? He shook his head at that last thought. Did he care if Soonyoung wanted to leave him?

Yes.

He tried to push that thought away again. He had approached Soonyoung solely to protect Seungcheol and have easier access to information about the patients; the easiest way to do this was by becoming his partner, so he did it without complaints. And even though they had only been together for a year and a few months, Soonyoung seemed willing to spend a lifetime with him. Jihoon was not in love with him, and he wouldn't be, he was just too accustomed to the doctor's presence. Yeah, that was it. He didn't care about anything that happened to that man, nor did he care what he might think of him if he found out that Jihoon was actually as heartless as Seungcheol. He might even kill Soonyoung if necessary... would he? Would he be capable? He angrily wiped away the tears that left traces on his cheeks. When had he started crying? His own thoughts were overwhelming him, and that was ridiculous.

Suddenly, he was in his car, hitting his head on the steering wheel while trying to calm down. Maybe Seungcheol's idea wasn't as good as he thought. Perhaps being an "infiltrator" was taking its toll on him. Seungcheol was the most important person in his life, his best friend, practically his brother. But also... Soonyoung was important. Jihoon loved him, and he didn't want to lose him.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry..." he kept apologizing to whom? He didn't know.

He didn't want to ruin everything he had achieved with Seungcheol, and he didn't want to ruin the investigation that Soonyoung was now involved in. He just wanted... to be someone normal.

He took another breath, keeping his emotions in check, and started to drive. Everything was fine. He arrived at Mingyu's house, parked his car, and approached the door, knocking on it with little insistence, doing the same with the doorbell. He was greeted by the pleasant smile of Officer Wonwoo. That helped him calm down a bit, at least Wonwoo wasn't acting strangely. He went down with him to the basement, where they had added a whiteboard. Seokmin was sticking some pictures to the board, being helped by Chan; Mingyu was reviewing some sheets, and Jihoon could guess they were medical records. Minghao was standing in front of the table, and Wonwoo approached him, taking some photos from the table to discuss them with the young man. Photos that Seokmin and Chan snatched from their hands to stick them on the board and write things around them that Jihoon couldn't understand from his position.

Jihoon looked for Soonyoung with his gaze, finding him chatting with Detective Joshua. And he seemed fine. He smiled at the detective as if nothing was happening, as if he hadn't made the weirdest call to Jihoon and as if he hadn't made his boyfriend cry. Oh, what a bad boyfriend Soonyoung was. Jihoon crossed his arms and greeted everyone else kindly, finally addressing Soonyoung and Joshua.

"Ah, hello!" the detective greeted him with his typical relaxed and friendly attitude. "We were just waiting for you since we could put together a strat-"

"What the hell was that call?" he asked Soonyoung, completely ignoring Joshua. "You worried me, you know?"

"A-ah... what are you talking about? It was just a normal call!"

"Normal? I was almost scared to death!" Jihoon blushed at almost screaming that. Ugh, he really wanted to disappear. Joshua distanced himself slowly from them, giving them privacy, and the others seemed so absorbed in their own worlds that they didn't pay attention to them. "You sounded worried and even cold..."

"It's just that... Detective Hong talked to me about the strategy, and I got really nervous! Besides, if I sounded worried, you would leave all your work just to see me... right, sweetie?"

Well, Soonyoung was right, but Jihoon wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that, so he stayed silent.

The detective returned to his side after being called by Soonyoung through signals and smiled at them calmly.

"The strategy may sound strange, but it was the best we could come up with... or the best I could come up with because the others didn't help too much," Joshua began. "You'll pretend to be Seungcheol's private investigator."

What?

"So, this is how you plan to get close to him?" he asked. "Can you explain it better?"

"You're a private investigator," Joshua started by stating the obvious, "and Seungcheol is just a 'normal' man with a possible accomplice. That accomplice is someone close to him, and it's probably the one who gets their hands dirty for Choi." Jihoon tried to control his nervousness. The police were drawing very good conclusions; or had Seungcheol and he been too careless? "But wanting to investigate on your own can be difficult for both, even incriminating. Even more so with Seungcheol knowing that the police are after him. If you approach offering your services as an investigator, we can have more knowledge about him and what he really knows. Also, we can distract him from his next targets. Considering that you've already investigated him before..."

Soonyoung smiled at the detective, but then looked at Jihoon with some concern. So that's why the doctor had been anxious, he simply cared about his boyfriend's well-being as bait.

"Ah... this will be fun," Jihoon murmured before nodding and looking at Joshua. "Okay, detective, I'll do my best."

Detective Hong smiled at him again, didn't he get tired of smiling? And then he walked away from him, leaving him alone with Soonyoung again.

Joshua went to Wonwoo and Minghao, who were now arguing with Seokmin and Chan because they wouldn't let them see the photos before taking them off.

"At least let us see the photos, idiot!" Wonwoo told Seokmin, who tried to snatch a photo he had in his hands. Minghao, on the other hand, pushed Chan away with one hand while holding the photograph that the younger one wanted to grab to add it to the board.

"Oh... so this is our villain's little house?" Minghao asked, stopping Chan. The two looked at the photo with curiosity until Joshua took them by surprise and took the photo in his hands. He observed the old and ugly building in the picture, finding it strange that someone like Seungcheol could live there. Yes, the guy was despicable, but he was also from an affluent family, and he also had money on his own. It was strange that someone as elegant as him lived in a bad neighborhood and in such a building. They had gotten his address because Soonyoung found it in his record, and the afternoon before, Wonwoo had gone to the place to take pictures.

Joshua didn't think that was really the guy's home. It was impossible. He put the photo back in the hands of the younger ones, who started fighting over it; Minghao saying he should look at it better, and Chan complaining that he could see it from the board.

He let out a laugh. Yes... this was going to be fun.

"Joshua has gone crazy," Wonwoo whispered, totally audible. Seokmin nodded beside him.

Okay, now Joshua wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

Chapter Text

He was tired of everything and everyone. He couldn't go anywhere without at least one person saying, 'you're so pretty, you look like a doll.' For many, it might be a dream to have so much attention, but not for Jeonghan. People only treated him as a pretty face, ignoring his feelings and desires. He felt lonely, missed living with his grandparents, and hated that city, which only had one good thing – his favorite cousin lived there. However, he couldn't do much about it since his parents didn't allow him to visit. He detested his classmates, his school; Jeonghan hated everything.

He even hated the school uniform; he looked terrible in it.

He sighed, bringing his hands to his face. After all, no one really wanted to be his friend. Some said unpleasant things about him, others claimed to feel intimidated by his beauty... really? And most people who talked to him did it just to show off. He really didn't want to be there. He walked reluctantly to his classroom, remembering the friends he had to leave abruptly a few months ago. His parents severed ties with everyone in the old city, including his grandparents; they wanted a fresh start, and Jeonghan didn't care, his only problem was that they wanted to start over with him, and he didn't want to do that.

He opened the classroom door forcefully, thinking it would be empty, and was somewhat surprised to see those two figures sitting at the back of the room. Of course, the otaku and his leech were always hiding in the classroom too. Jeonghan tried to ignore them and took a seat in the middle of the room, somewhat uncomfortable with their presence, but he couldn't do anything. After all, those two were the only ones who didn't talk to him out of convenience; in fact, they didn't even talk to him, and he appreciated that. He combed his hair a bit; it had grown back, and the school didn't allow him to have it much longer than that. In his previous school, they didn't bother him about it; he could even dye it, and no one said anything.

He turned a bit to look at the two guys who were still engrossed in their conversation as if Jeonghan wasn't a few seats away from them. Other classmates said that those two guys were weird and bitter, but that didn't cross Jeonghan's mind when he saw the shorter one laugh tenderly while holding onto his friend's hand. 'Oh, they were adorable.' The taller one also smiled, patting the other on the head. And Jeonghan looked away from them... what was that? Since when was that guy so cute? He had strong arms, a nice smile, beautiful eyes, and...

Jeonghan slapped himself... did he just think that Choi Seungcheol was cute? He wasn't, that guy was just... well, Seungcheol was almost like his ideal type. Just a bit. He had the hair, the eyes, the nose, the lips... oh wow, was it just Jeonghan, or did that guy's lips look really enticing? He turned 'discreetly' to look at Seungcheol again, and a shy smile formed on his lips. Oh God, was Yoon Jeonghan blushing? Impossible, people were the ones who blushed because of Yoon Jeonghan. Ah, was that Seungcheol looking directly into his eyes?

He turned back as quickly as possible and let his head fall onto the desk. There was no escape; the guy had noticed. Great. Just fantastic. Jeonghan was contemplating getting up from his chair and running out of the door; would that be too obvious?

"Agh," he squealed. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." He started to kick his feet, still hitting his head on the table. He pulled his black hair and looked really desperate. And how could he not be? That had been the most embarrassing experience in his seventeen years of life. He was going to hit his head again when a hand was placed on his forehead, stopping him.

"You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that," he was told. Jeonghan brought his hand to the one on the young man's forehead and gently pushed it away.

"Th-thanks." Seungcheol smiled at him and returned to his seat, leaving Jeonghan still feeling his hand on his forehead. He continued to gaze at his new crush, thinking that this sudden attraction wasn't normal. No, of course not, it was love at first sight. Just that it wasn't the first time Jeonghan had seen Seungcheol. He had known of his existence for two months, which was when he arrived at that school. He didn't want to let Seungcheol go just like that; he had found the love of his life! Well, maybe it was too early to say that, but... Jeonghan was a very passionate person.

"Wait!"

Seungcheol turned to face Jeonghan. He looked confused. Jeonghan chuckled a bit, stood up from the chair, and walked over to him.

"Yes?"

"I want to be your friend!" he exclaimed, then looked at the guy behind Seungcheol and felt sorry for him, so he changed his statement. "I mean, I want to be friends with both of you... the two of you." And smiled. That charming smile, who could resist? Simply...

"No," Seungcheol and the other said in unison. Did Jeonghan hear that right?

"What?"

"We're fine just the two of us... and trio of friends never work," Seungcheol whispered the last part. Ah, Jeonghan wanted to kiss him... kiss him on those lips, what? He was too focused on the guy's face, so much so that it was too obvious, so he averted his gaze.

"Ah, sorry... it's just that I don't have any friends."

"We can tell" heard Seungcheol's friend's voice. What was that guy's name? Jeonghan couldn't remember, and he wasn't going to make an effort to do so, not after that guy had mocked him to his face. "But I'm sure many other people want to hang out with you, Yoon."

Ah, so the guy did know his name.

"But they're interested in what I can offer them, not who I am," he murmured, pouting, playing with the hem of his shirt.

He heard someone sigh, and he didn't know which of the two it was, but the point is that when he looked up, the two guys were smiling at him with pity. Jeonghan could only cause two reactions in people: envy or pity. Well, that was extreme, but more or less it was something like that.

"If you're so desperate..." said the guy, Jeonghan still didn't know his name.

"Jihoon, don't be mean," so his name was Jihoon. Seungcheol gave him a slight punch, which apparently wasn't so light because Jihoon made a pained face. "I'm sorry, Jeonghan..." hearing his name come out of the lips of his new love was a too pleasant experience “he's like this sometimes, just ignore him” what was he talking about? Oh, he was talking about Jihoon. Jeonghan nodded, hypnotized by the guy in front of him.

The "weirdos duo" became "the trio of the two weirdos and Jeonghan the pretty one," and they loved it. Interested people finally left Jeonghan alone, or at least bothered him to a lesser extent, and he felt happy, almost like when he still lived with his grandparents and spent days with his friends. The guys were kind to Jeonghan, and, in addition to that, they protected him from malicious people. He finally felt like he found his place in the world, and he felt comfortable in that city.

Jeonghan's empty house had become their hangout. The teenagers could spend the whole afternoon and night there, locked in Yoon's room. His parents always arrived late at night and left early in the morning for work. They didn't know how Jeonghan could deal with so much instability, but at least the boy seemed happy when he was with them. At the moment, he listened with a smile to Jihoon talk about a novel or something; he hadn't paid attention. He sat on his bed with his head resting on Seungcheol's shoulder, and Seungcheol played with his fingers, intertwining them with Jeonghan's and then letting them go.

“And out of nowhere, the detective turned out to be...” Jihoon spoke with expectation, standing in front of them.

“Hey! Don't give me spoilers for the ending!” complained Seungcheol, behaving really like a little kid. Jeonghan wanted to pinch his cheeks.

“You'll never read it, idiot!” Jihoon retorted “Hannie, can I tell you the end?”

“Go ahead” Jeonghan made a gesture with his hand and smiled at the excitement on Jihoon's face.

“The detective was—“

“Shut up! Don't say it!” Seungcheol pounced on Jihoon and covered his mouth with his hand “I started reading the novel last night; don't you dare give me more spoilers!” Jihoon replied, his words muffled by his best friend's hand.

Jeonghan burst into laughter, watching Jihoon trying to free himself from Seungcheol by squirming.

“Cheollie, let the kid go” in a second, Jihoon was free. The younger one jumped into his arms, and Jeonghan consoled him with pats on his back and kisses on his short hair “hey, tell me the ending” he whispered, and Jihoon nodded. He had no idea about the novel Jihoon liked so much, but he loved seeing his friend happy talking about things he liked. The guy did what Jeonghan asked him, telling him the whole ending of the novel “Seriously!? I didn't expect that!” he exclaimed, looking at Jihoon with wide eyes.

“That's what I'm trying to say! No one in the fandom expected that! The author smoked something weird” he said. Seungcheol watched them somewhat angrily, narrowing his eyes and shaking his head.

“Don't talk to me about that novel again until I finish reading it, understood?

"Go to hell, Cheol," Jeonghan said just to tease him. "I'm just kidding, come with us." Seungcheol threw himself on the bed with them and smiled, looking at the ceiling. Jeonghan stared at him for minutes, feeling like the world was pausing and everything was disappearing, even Jihoon who was already settling in for a nap. It was just him and Seungcheol. Without thinking twice, he leaned over the older one's body and gave his lips a small push. The contact was almost like an illusion, so tiny that both doubted it had happened. "Oh my God, sorry... I-I didn't have to do that... sorry," he whispered, about to pull away.

Seungcheol didn't respond; he grabbed Jeonghan's cheeks and brought him back to his lips, planting a real kiss this time.

The moment wasn't magical, nor as romantic as they said in stupid movies. Jeonghan was giving his first kiss in an uncomfortable position, with a friend lying on his left, and he was on top of his "beloved" one. Seungcheol did seem comfortable and even happy, but Jeonghan wanted to sit down; his back was starting to hurt. A throat clearing made them pull away abruptly. Jihoon watched them with a disgusted expression.

"Find a room... no, forget it, we're already in one. Hmm... if you want to do something, go to the bathroom!" And with that, he turned his back and fell asleep. Literally. He fell asleep.

"Oh..." Jeonghan finished pulling away and looked at Seungcheol with his flushed cheeks. "This..."

After their first kiss, a couple of uncomfortable days followed. "A couple of days" being literally just two days until Jihoon got tired of the tense atmosphere and forced them to go on a date together. They came out of that date already being boyfriends. And every day that followed was an eternal "Honeymoon" stage, until they had a disagreement, and they started shouting at each other. Seungcheol threatened to leave Jeonghan, and vice versa, and Jihoon was always in the middle, yelling at them to either break up if they wanted to or stop bothering with the same thing. Yes, definitely, friend trios were destined to fail.

Then, when they reconciled, the "Honeymoon" stage returned. Jihoon also didn't want to be in the middle of it because his friends became extremely mushy, wanting to kiss each other every five seconds, and for some reason, he always had to witness the unrestrained love they had for each other. As the years passed, the relationship solidified. It was an example of a stable relationship.

Just that, stable. Because the dependency they had on each other was not normal, let alone healthy. They couldn't be apart for too long, and when they were, they were in a bad mood. At first, Jihoon thought it was normal that they wanted to be together for a long time; after all, they loved each other. But seeing them sad and even angry when they couldn't be together for even small amounts of time was worrisome.

"You know you won't die if you leave him for twenty minutes, Jeonghan," he had told the older one once when he went to accompany him shopping. Jeonghan looked really defeated.

"But he's my Cheol..." he looked at the supermarket floor sadly, pushing the shopping cart next to Jihoon. "I don't want to leave him alone."

"He won't even notice, he's asleep," Jihoon reminded him, putting the things he needed from that aisle into the cart. "You're not babies; you have to learn to live apart too."

"You don't understand." Jihoon scoffed; of course, he didn't understand. "When you have a partner, you'll want to be with them all the time."

"I doubt it. I've had a partner before and never—"

"Yes, but you haven't found the love of your life."

"Bullshit."

Jeonghan was only sure of one thing, and that was that Seungcheol equated to his entire life. Even if he lost everything, he would be fine because Seungcheol was by his side. Sometimes he thought that the love they had went beyond and became something harmful for them and others, but they were happy. They really were. Wasn't that strange warmth in his chest when he saw Seungcheol sleeping peacefully happiness? He was sure it was.

"Promise me eternity," he whispered over Seungcheol's lips the day they moved in together.

"I did that since I fell in love with you," he replied.

They were just fortunate to have a pure love; those who said their love wasn't appropriate were just jealous. That was the answer. Others wished for a relationship like theirs, like Jihoon. They were no longer children; they were adults who worked and at the same time planned their wedding, spent most of the day in their boring offices, with their minds focused only on one thing: getting home and cuddling with their fiancé.

And again, at home, everything was perfect. Although occasionally they had ridiculous arguments where one of them would leave the house for hours until they couldn't stand it and returned to the arms of their beloved. In the arms of the love of their life.

Jeonghan always had the fear of what his life would be like if Seungcheol suddenly disappeared. He was sure that everything he had called "life" until then would crumble. Nothing would be the same. He... just didn't want to think about that. Without Seungcheol, his life reduced to nothing. Without him, Jeonghan would cease to exist. But he never thought about what Seungcheol's life would be like if he disappeared. And damn, he must have thought about it at least once because, by losing him, Seungcheol also lost his human nature; he became an evil being, someone who didn't give a damn about hurting others just to "avenge" his partner. Was there even anything to "avenge"? Could he "avenge" a simple accident? For Seungcheol, everyone was to blame; Jeonghan's parents, the people who received his organs, and the relatives of those people. He didn't blame them for Jeonghan's death; he blamed them for not letting him rest in peace. He blamed them for... existing.

Chapter Text

The first time someone told Seungkwan that he would have to be watched by a police officer, he didn't take it well. It would be a lie to say he wasn't scared of what might happen to him or his husband, but he also felt somewhat confident that Seungcheol wouldn't approach so quickly after discovering that microphone on their first meal together. He still shivered when he remembered Seungcheol's hand snatching the microphone, so small that it was impossible for that man to have seen it, impossible.

Returning to the officer, after two weeks of receiving him every other day at his home, he was gradually getting used to his presence, and he loved discussing things about the case with him. Officer Jeon couldn't resist Seungkwan; he always started his sentences with, "I can't tell you much, but..." and ended up telling him almost everything. Wonwoo was very excited about the progress of his investigation, and Seungkwan was a fan of making theories, so they complemented each other well.

"Any new theories, Boo?" Wonwoo asked, comfortably sitting on the living room sofa.

"Yes!" Seungkwan smiled with excitement. Maybe he shouldn't be so thrilled in such a situation, but he really loved expressing his thoughts about the case, and with Hansol, he couldn't discuss it because he worried too much. "That day when I confronted him, something strange happened... just when I asked about his friend, he received a call, and after that, he took away the microphone. Before the call, however, he didn't seem to have noticed that I was carrying something."

"So you're implying that..."

Seungkwan nodded.

"Maybe the accomplice knew and warned him. The accomplice might have been following us from before or simply noticed Joshua and Hansol, I don't know," he mentioned casually, thinking it was another of his many theories without much foundation, but Wonwoo stood up as if he had just found the answer to something and snapped his fingers.

"You're a genius! Now, let me make a call," and he left, leaving Seungkwan feeling somewhat proud of the conclusion he had reached.

Staying within the investigation was an easier process than others might imagine, considering it was something hidden from the police chiefs, and if they found out, their careers and all the work they had fought for would go to hell. But Seungkwan wanted to help, and obviously, he also wanted to protect himself and his husband. When Officer Jeon first contacted him, he thought he would only have to provide information and nothing more, until he had to be Seungcheol's "bait," and then everything went wrong. In the end, he had to stay locked in his house so that Choi wouldn't kidnap him without a trace.

After a few minutes, Wonwoo returned, smiling widely. He told Seungkwan that they would check the restaurant's security cameras soon, but they would have to do it discreetly. Seungkwan felt a little sad and scared when Wonwoo left his house, although he understood that he had more pending matters. He would just have to wait for Hansol to come home, trusting Detective Hong's words: "You're not the target... for now." Minutes felt eternal for Seungkwan, and to pass the time, he stared out the window of his house facing the street. He lived in a small residential area with few houses; everyone knew each other, so that black car of an old model caught his attention. It was parked in front of his house, and he had never seen it there before. Definitely something was not right.

He turned around, closing the curtains that were never really wide open, so he hoped the person in the car hadn't noticed him. He wrote a message on the investigation's group chat, informing them that he was probably being watched at that moment. And he tried to relax; Hansol would be home from work soon, and he wouldn't be alone anymore, but he still felt uneasy about it. After pacing around the living room, he peeked out the window again, and the car was still there. Seungkwan noted the license plate and wondered why that person was so insistent on being in front of his house. Did they want to know his schedule? Were they waiting for nobody to be home to enter and take something? Did they know that Seungkwan was watching them, and were they giving him a warning?

He had to do something... they wouldn't kill him in front of his house, right? He took a deep breath, mustering up courage, and opened the front door of his house. Not even a second passed after Seungkwan stepped outside when the car sped away.

Uh?

Chapter Text

Joshua was tired. Quite tired. He slapped himself to stay awake, struggling to keep his eyes open. The bright glow of the monitor in front of him didn't help; it only made his eyes ache even more. He cursed his boss and also Wonwoo, and whoever gave him the idea to start that investigation. Of course, now he had double the workload and consequently, less time to sleep. Well, he wasn't obligated to collaborate in the investigation, but he felt the need to contribute something... to bring calm and peace; his colleagues wouldn't get far with their personalities and constant fights. But there were even more important reasons not to leave the investigation, one of them being Seokmin. Joshua would never turn down an opportunity to work with that man, even if it meant the constant clashes the lawyer had with Wonwoo.

He thought about Wonwoo and how the damn guy didn't even have to be at the police station so early in the morning. Everyone complained about the same thing, and that was that Wonwoo's hours were the best. He looked at Chan and sighed; the younger one was completely asleep. He felt a little sorry for him, knowing that when he woke up, he would have neck pain, but he didn't wake him up because, again, he felt sorry for him. Joshua had been searching for the owner of the car Seungkwan had reported, providing him with the license plate. However, with all the accumulated fatigue, concentrating was proving difficult. Perhaps he should delegate this 'small' task to Minghao. He seriously considered this option, but then his thoughts shifted to Minghao and his office. And the beautiful, comfortable sofa in his office, now he wanted to go to Minghao's office to sleep for a while, but to his bad luck, he was chatting with Commissioner Im. He slapped himself again; he wasn't going to sleep, he wouldn't, he...

"Very tired, detective?"

That voice... Joshua thought he had fallen asleep and was dreaming. Of course, it had to be that; there was no way Lawyer Lee would be at the station. After changing the meeting place, they practically never saw him around. But the sound he made when placing something on his desk made Joshua react; it was a steaming cup of coffee.

"Oh?" he looked at the cup and then saw above it. Seokmin was smiling at him. Ah, that guy... he was an angel. "Thanks..."

Seokmin didn't take his smile off. Then he took the chair from Wonwoo's desk and dragged it to place it next to Joshua.

"I hope my coffee suits your taste... the one Officer Chan makes..." he shook his head, "honestly, I don't know how you survive drinking that."

"I think we're used to it," he chuckled and took a sip. Wow, that was the best coffee he had ever had. Seokmin was perfect in everything. "Hey... wouldn't you like to switch places with Chan? I think he wouldn't mind." Seokmin laughed. It was a long and melodious laugh that made Joshua feel like a comedian. He had made Seokmin laugh! He blushed a little and looked away, fixing his gaze on the cup.

"You're funny, detective." Joshua smiled fondly and began to drink the coffee to hide his face with the cup. "I came to visit Hao, but it seems he has an important visitor, so I came to talk to you. I hope you don't mind."

"You're not bothering me at all!" he almost squealed, and Chan moved as if he were about to wake up. Joshua felt guilty and adjusted the officer a bit so he could sleep more comfortably, then he looked back at Seokmin. "Uh... actually, I appreciate you coming to talk to me, and of course, the coffee. But why so early? You should rest, you know. It's not good to sleep so little; the meeting ended just a few hours ago."

"Thanks for the concern," Seokmin smiled at him again, much sweeter than before, and Joshua felt nervous. "You guys also deserve to rest... it bothers me that while you three have to work at such early hours, that idiot Wonwoo is at home sleeping... that piece of gar-"

"Oh, you really love me, Minnie," Joshua almost fell out of his chair, startled by Wonwoo's voice. That man always appeared out of nowhere. Seokmin didn't flinch, rolled his eyes, and confronted Wonwoo. "You're in my chair... bitch."

"Stop using derogatory words towards the lawyer, Wonwoo!" Joshua protested, feeling a strong need to defend Seokmin.

"Ah... you always defend him, Shua," Wonwoo pretended to be disappointed. "You don't say anything when he calls me 'piece of garbage' that hurts me." Seokmin was about to defend Joshua, or at least that's what the detective wanted to believe when he saw him open his mouth, but Wonwoo was quicker and spoke. "Wait, so that's it?"

"What thing?" Joshua asked.

"Did Seokmin sleep with you too? Is that why you love him so much? I'm sorry if you got your hopes up, but he-"

"Wonwoo!" Seokmin exclaimed; his face was red. "Ah, don't say those things in front of Detective Hong!"

"Huh!? Only in front of Joshua!?" Wonwoo asked, surprised. Seokmin got up and left the police station without saying anything, followed by the astonished looks of Joshua and Wonwoo. "That guy... is your boyfriend!?"

"No! I wish..." Joshua murmured the last part, blushing when Wonwoo covered his mouth with his hand, more surprised than before. "Ugh, shut up!"

"I'm not saying anything..."

"Damn it!" Joshua also stood up and followed the same path as Seokmin. Wonwoo just watched him, still covering his mouth.

"This soap opera will never end," he shouted when he heard Chan's voice, who seemed perfectly awake.

"Shit! At least warn if you're going to talk, idiot!"

"What are you doing here? Why do you insist on coming so early? I swear if I had your schedule, I..."

"Let's go to the restaurant; we got permission to check the cameras," he interrupted.

"Without a warrant?" Chan asked, opening his eyes in surprise. Wonwoo nodded.

"Let's say I lied a bit, but that's beside the point." He heard Chan sigh, understanding; they were becoming less professional every time. "Let's take Hao too... and let Joshua live his teenage romance at... forty?"

"He's not even thirty, don't exaggerate," Chan laughed and stretched his body in the chair. "Oh, but Minghao is talking to the... lady right now."

"With that witch?" Chan nodded. "How long have they been talking?"

"For about an hour, since we arrived," the younger one replied. Wonwoo cursed and walked to the office, imagining the worst. What if the commissioner found out about the whole investigation and was going to fire them? What if she was dismissing Minghao? What if...

He entered the office and only heard laughter. He looked confused at the source of the sound, and there they were: Minghao showing something from his phone to the woman, who was laughing elegantly.

"Uh... Good morning?" he greeted, not taking a step further.

"Wonwoo, dear," Yoona greeted, and Wonwoo tried to smile. Behind all her beauty and friendly tone of voice, that woman hid a quite strict and, at times, cruel boss. "Is something wrong? Minghao and I were talking about the 'Kang' case."

Who knew which case that was.

"Ah... interesting," he looked at Minghao; the poor guy seemed to be begging for help with his eyes and had a forced smile that screamed: "get me out of here." "Hmm, I... request Minghao for a while."

"For what? A secret investigation?" the woman asked. Wonwoo and Minghao froze in their spots, but suddenly, she started laughing. "Oh, just kidding; I know you're not capable of that." More laughter followed from her, along with their uncomfortable laughter. "Minghao, we'll talk later then..." she bid farewell. "Wonwoo..."

"Ma'am," he bowed, and Yoona smiled, leaving the office. Both felt a wave of relief, and Minghao even collapsed on the sofa. "Ugh, I thought she had found us out."

"I thought so too! And she just wouldn't shut up!" the younger one said. "I even had to show her cat videos that Jun sent me to see if she got tired and left, but no... on the contrary. If you hadn't come... I'd probably be talking to her for another hour about the 'Kang' case... what the hell is that case anyway!? It doesn't even have to do with our department!"

"You're welcome." Wonwoo said. "Oh, and I need to see those cat videos." Minghao just gave him an unfriendly look, and the officer laughed.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Right, came for that. We have access to the restaurant's security cameras." He smiled when Minghao jumped from the chair.

"How did you get it!?"

"Maybe I paid a little and told one or two little lies... but well, the thing is, we can go now to see the recordings."

When they came out of the station, Chan was already waiting for them in Wonwoo's car. No one knew how he got in without the keys, but they let him in, and they headed to the restaurant.

"Why isn't Joshua here?" Minghao asked.

"Or maybe he's with Seokmin or maybe he escaped... we don't know," Chan shrugged. "I say he chased after Seokmin, and right now they're having a romantic chat... or they're fucking... whatever"

"Hmm... both are too stupid for that. I think Joshua ran away, and now he's crying at home," Wonwoo said.

"Ready for bets?" Minghao spoke, and Wonwoo looked at Chan from the rearview mirror, narrowing his eyes.

"A thousand."

"Two thousand."

"One thousand five hundred."

"Deal."

Minghao smiled and then hit Wonwoo to keep driving, looking ahead.

"You have a tendency not to look at the road when you drive, you piece of idiot," the detective complained.

"I've had epic chases worthy of a movie, of course I can drive without looking ahead." And after that, he almost crashed into the car in front of him. "Well, sometimes."

"I think from now on, I'll start driving," Minghao muttered.

---

A day ago ~

"Hello, I'm Officer Jeon Wonwoo," he showed his identification. "I know this is not very professional of me, especially considering that I'm a police officer, but I can't use my job for personal reasons..." he approached the restaurant manager to whisper: "Can I see the security cameras? I'm sure my partner is cheating on me with someone..."

The woman gasped, surprised.

"Oh no! And do you think he met his lover here?"

"Yes... this is his favorite restaurant," Wonwoo sighed, getting into the role of a deceived man. "I fear that the day he rejected a date with me, he came here for lunch."

"Just tell me the date, and I'll give you the recording!"

"Of course, thank you very much, ma'am. But let's keep this a secret, please."

"Sure, officer, my lips are sealed."

"Can I come tomorrow to see the recording?" the woman nodded. "Can I bring some friends for moral support?"

"Sure!" the manager exclaimed. "But you owe me something..." Wonwoo immediately handed over a wad of bills he had prepared. "Not that! But... I'll accept it," she took the money, looking around even though there was no one but them. "You must tell me if you found your partner cheating in exchange for seeing the cameras, okay?"

What a nosy woman.

"Deal," Wonwoo shook hands with the woman and then left, victorious.

Chapter Text

He glanced at the watch on his wrist and groaned at the time; it was only seven forty in the morning, and he already felt like his day was ruined. In a fit of nervousness, he brought his knuckles to his mouth and bit them. He felt his face burning, and of course it would be, considering the idiot Wonwoo had just subjected him to one of the worst embarrassments of his life. The officer's words never affected him; he knew it wasn't serious, just jokes they both shared mocking that past enmity. However, Wonwoo had never dared to mention Detective Hong. And if the young man had said the same about anyone else, Seokmin wouldn't mind... why was it different when it came to Joshua?

Well, his existential crisis was escalating.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned, seeing the person who filled all his thoughts panting, trying to catch his breath. Seokmin was too embarrassed, so he began planning an escape; he looked around: he had unintentionally arrived at the police station's parking lot. While he could flee in his car... wouldn't it be rude to do this in front of the detective who probably wanted to talk to him? He let go of his hand and wiped it on his pants, while waiting for Joshua to say something.

"Wonwoo is just talking nonsense, don't pay attention to him."

Joshua was the epitome of concern at that moment. He had his eyebrows furrowed and looked at him anxiously, awaiting a response. Seokmin started to chuckle quietly, until it escalated into a loud laugh.

"Ha... don't worry," he tried to speak amid laughter. "Ah... you're too cute, Joshua."

Oh no.

He stopped and straightened up like a tree. Joshua stared at him, surprised by what he had just heard. Seokmin immediately tried to amend what he said, but Joshua interrupted him:

"You... did you just call me cute?" Damn it, why did the detective have to be so damn cute? He looked like the soft male lead of an anime. Too good to be true. But Seokmin was an idiot.

"Uh, yeah... well, just like I shouldn't listen to what Wonwoo says, you shouldn't listen to me... bye!" And he ran to his car. Of course, Joshua chased him and put his hand on the passenger door lever, while Seokmin tried to open the driver's door. "Detective... is there something else you want to talk about?"

"Just... why are you running away?"

"I'm not running away, I'm avoiding humiliating myself more." He opened the door. "Excuse me—"

Oh, Joshua had also entered the car.

"Fuck, I don't know what I'm doing," Joshua muttered, then looked at Seokmin. "Oh, sorry, I'm acting like a teenager... okay, I'll go."

"Wait!" Now Seokmin was the one who didn't know what he was doing. "Uh..." he looked ahead: there were only more cars in the parking lot, no sign telling him exactly what to do, and that's what he needed. The world was useless when he needed help, damn it. He dropped his head back and sighed. "Do you want to have breakfast with me?"

Joshua's eyes lit up, and he smiled.

"Yes! I mean..." he cleared his throat. "Yes, of course," he looked at the time on the car's small screen. "My break is in... three hours, but let's go, I doubt anyone cares, and after all, the guys are there," he pointed to the station.

"Do you know a good restaurant that's nearby and open at this hour?"

"I know one!"

Seokmin smiled at him and waited for Joshua's directions. It was the same restaurant where Seungkwan had worked as "bait," and Joshua had quite liked the food he shared with Vernon that day. While Seokmin drove, Joshua tried to distract himself from the lawyer's hands holding the steering wheel by talking a lot. He talked about work, the case, and how he burned his hand that morning preparing fried eggs that ended up burnt, and he couldn't eat them. For the first time, he felt like having a real conversation with Seokmin outside all the formalities of work. A conversation where he just talked, and Seokmin listened, which was somewhat strange because usually, it was the other way around.

The restaurant had just opened twenty minutes earlier, so they were on time. They ordered a table, and breakfast arrived quickly as they were the only customers there. They ate at the outdoor tables, at Joshua's suggestion, and kept chatting, enjoying the quietness of the street and the restaurant.

Was that a date!?

He dropped the fork on the plate and looked at Seokmin, who had stopped talking to take a sip of his water. Joshua felt stupid for thinking that; they were just two colleagues having breakfast together, what could go wrong?

"They're on a date! I knew they had a thing for each other!" Wonwoo appeared again out of nowhere, pointing at them with a finger that was pushed aside by Minghao.

"I guess it's a tie?" Chan muttered, and Minghao sighed. Joshua just looked at them, wanting to disappear or wanting to disappear them, whichever happened first, and Seokmin... he just smiled kindly at the police officers, even at Wonwoo.

"No, it's not a tie, dumbass, none of you guessed right," Minghao replied.

"Well, why are you here? No... what the hell are you talking about?" Joshua asked, clasping his hands on the table.

"Just a not-so-important bet... anyway, would you like to come inside the restaurant with us, or will you stay out here on your... sort of date?" Minghao looked at them, then noticed the details on the table: a vase, candles... for God's sake, it was eight in the morning, and they were having the simplest breakfast possible, how come the restaurant's waiters put so much delicacy into the decoration? He pushed that thought aside and returned his gaze to the two still seated.

"It's not a date!" they both exclaimed in unison, with red faces. Minghao let out a mocking laugh, and although he tried to look discreet, both Seokmin and Joshua noticed it. "Stop making fun of us!" the lawyer pouted.

"I'm not making fun of you," the guy defended himself. "Okay, okay. Join us inside if you want. Let's see if we can find anything interesting on the security cameras," Minghao suggested and put his hand on Wonwoo's shoulder, pushing him into the restaurant. The guy with glasses still seemed somewhat stunned after that scene. He knew Joshua liked Seokmin; who didn't know that at this point? Surely Seokmin, but that was because he was stupid. But he didn't imagine that they would go on a date so soon.

"Good luck..." Chan said with a smile before entering the restaurant behind Wonwoo and Minghao. "Ah, but I won the bet... Minghao!" they heard him say.

Joshua sighed and hid his face in his hands. Whenever he was near Seokmin and those guys at the same time, something happened that left him in ridicule. Maybe he should forget about his stupid crush on that lawyer to preserve his image, which was already being damaged thanks to the group of savages he had as friends and colleagues. Chan was an idiot, Minghao was another idiot, and Wonwoo was the combination of the idiocy of those two multiplied by a thousand. Damn it, he loved them too much... why did he have to feel so grateful to those guys? Why did he feel obligated to take care of them? If he didn't feel that way, he would just ignore them because they were idiots. His group of idiots.

"What are you thinking about?" Seokmin made him react.

"That I can't hate them, no matter how hard I try," he smiled a bit, unable to help it. "They're so stupid that I have to keep them on the sidelines or they'll end up destroying the world."

"That's... cute," fuck you, Lee Seokmin, you said the word again. "I... won't even apologize again."

It was strange, the extreme feeling of happiness that Joshua felt at that moment. His response was a laugh. He laughed a lot when he was around Seokmin; he felt that stress disappeared, leaving only fulfillment. How could one person bring so much peace by just being there?

"By the way, you said you went to talk to Minghao earlier... is there something going on?"

"Oh, right. I've been investigating a bit more and found something interesting about Yoon Jeonghan's past. I wanted to ask Hao to look into it because you already have too much work, and I didn't want to overload you," Seokmin felt his voice getting smaller with each word, but Joshua's smile only made him feel better. "He met Choi Seungcheol during high school when they were both seventeen. But the curious thing is that... someone else studied there, at the same time and in the same grade as them."

"Who?"

"Lee Jihoon."

Chapter Text

The restaurant manager greeted them with a smile, winking at Wonwoo as he passed by, and he responded by giving her a thumbs up. She led them to where she kept the stored footage from the day Wonwoo had requested, providing instructions on how to review everything, then left to give them privacy. Immediately, Wonwoo took a seat in a small chair in front of the monitor and began examining the cameras, which covered both the exterior and interior of the restaurant, searching for the specific footage. After some effort on his part, as the other two were chatting without contributing much, he found the recording.

The camera was focused precisely on the tables where Seungkwan, Vernon, and Joshua had been that day—tables placed outside the restaurant, not within the small building. Seungkwan was seated with Seungcheol, and near their table, Joshua and Vernon were eating. Wonwoo fast-forwarded the recording a bit, observing how Seungcheol stood up from the table to answer a call. Seungkwan glanced at Vernon and the detective before lowering his head. From the cameras, it wasn't clear what he was doing, but Wonwoo guessed he was approaching the microphone to whisper. After that, Seungcheol returned, Seungkwan stood up, and Choi walked around the table to face Seungkwan, placing a hand on his chest before leaving. Wonwoo switched to another camera to see the path Seungcheol took; the man got into an old black car that immediately started moving. He rewound the footage a bit on that camera and noticed that Seungcheol had arrived at the restaurant in the same car, though the vehicle never left, except at one point where it seemed to lower the driver's side window. Still, Wonwoo couldn't confirm exactly what he saw due to the footage's quality. He grabbed Chan's arm, pulling him closer, the younger one having to bend down a bit to be at eye level with the screen, and asked him:

"Is it just me, or did the window of that car open?" Chan pressed his face against the screen, asking Wonwoo to rewind the recording for a few seconds.

"I think so..." he murmured. "Not sure. Hao, check."

Minghao glanced at the officers, feeling deeply disappointed, and maneuvered between them, simultaneously pushing them aside with his hands.

"Idiots, don't you know you can zoom with two clicks?" He removed Wonwoo's hand from the mouse and performed the two clicks himself, zooming in on the car window. "Yes, it opened. That means someone was in the car waiting for Choi the whole time, probably the accomplice. And it's a model too similar to the one Seungkwan saw in front of his house. In conclusion..."

"The accomplice is keeping an eye on Seungkwan and is Choi Seungcheol's driver," Wonwoo concluded. "But why monitor Seungkwan?"

"Maybe he wants to see if he's being protected by us?" Chan suggested. "Wonwoo, when you go to Seungkwan's house, do you wear your uniform?"

"No, I go in civilian clothes... it's impossible for the accomplice to know who we are, right? And in any case, he'd only recognize Joshua, as he was the one there that day," he pointed at the screen, still showing the recording.

"Yes, but it's very suspicious that Seungkwan gets visits from the same man intermittently when his husband is working. The accomplice might think Seungkwan is cheating on Vernon, and in the worst case, he might know who we are," Minghao said. "I think..."

"Guys!" Joshua entered the small room, breathless. "My suspicions were correct."

"What do you mean? Did you have suspicions?" Wonwoo turned to look at him.

"Yes, well... maybe I suspected Lee Jihoon a bit," he scratched his head.

"That doesn't make sense; he's helped us a lot and is willing to act as bait for Choi," Chan said, crossing his arms, looking annoyed. Investigator Lee was well-liked; he always helped, even when he didn't have many reasons to.

"He studied with Choi Seungcheol and didn't tell us anything!" Joshua exclaimed, frustrated. "Hao, Seokmin will give you some information to investigate... I have to go back to the station now." Without waiting for a response, he left.

The remaining officers looked at each other, wondering what to do. Joshua's words made some sense now; it was suspicious that Jihoon had known Choi Seungcheol before and hadn't mentioned anything. But, they didn't know if they were close friends, acquaintances, or if they didn't even know of each other's existence. If Jihoon was involved, it would make sense for the accomplice to know the faces of all those involved.

"Damn... let's go back," Minghao was the first to leave, followed by Chan. Wonwoo stayed a bit longer, checking some camera details again, and then left.

"Officer!" the woman's voice interrupted him halfway. He turned to see her, smiling shyly. "In the end..."

"He was having lunch with his mom!" Wonwoo replied to quickly get away. The manager smiled, happy for him, and Wonwoo didn't wait for more questions. Outside, there was no trace of Seokmin or Joshua, so he knew they had already returned to the station to continue working. In his car, Minghao was in the driver's seat, and Chan was in the passenger seat, so he got into the back. "Are you really driving now, Hao?"

"As long as we're in the same car... I'm not taking any risks," the younger one responded and started the engine.

Wonwoo's phone screen lit up, announcing a message. It was from Joshua in the investigation chat group:

"Meeting tonight at Wonwoo's house."

Chapter Text

The room was vast, and Soonyoung could barely see. It was dark, with the only source of light being a small window, which wasn't of much use late at night. Soonyoung only knew he was in an uncomfortable position; his mouth was taped shut, his hands tied behind the chair, and his feet in front. Well, it was obvious he had been kidnapped, but when did that happen? And why him? The last thing he remembered was having a conversation with Mingyu in the car. He was on his way to drop the nurse off at his home and then return to his own, but something happened during the journey, and he ended up kidnapped. At least, was Mingyu okay?

He was situated in the middle of the room, and as much as he tried to scan for an exit, the only things there besides the tiny window were a white wooden door. He thought about breaking it down, but... could he really do that? Aside from being tied to a chair, he didn't have much strength, and it was more than obvious he was injured, as his body ached and burned in different places, especially his head. He didn't know what to do, he could only mentally ask for help, even though he knew it wouldn't amount to anything. How was Soonyoung supposed to act in a kidnapping? Should he cry or scream? Beg for help? He couldn't do any of this, so he just waited for the worst. His biggest concern at that moment wasn't even his well-being but Mingyu's and Jihoon's. Mingyu had been with him in the car, but Jihoon... the last time he saw him was that morning. What if his kidnapping wasn't random? What if his kidnapper had also found a way to take Jihoon?

Soonyoung was getting nervous, so much so that he thought it would be a good idea to move on the chair until it fell. Clearly, this only served to spread the pain in his body even more. And he lay on the floor, feeling utterly useless, but crying was just as useless as he was, so he didn't. Or he tried to not to do so, because thinking that Jihoon might be suffering the same fate as him had his heart racing. He cried for his inability to do something, for not being able to free himself from the restraints, for not remembering how he got there, for going to work that morning and leaving his Jihoon alone, in danger...

Suddenly, someone was behind the door; Soonyoung could see them through the small gap. The door opened slowly, allowing a person to enter. A man. Soonyoung saw him from the floor, trying to lift his gaze. As the man came in, he headed towards him, readjusting the chair and then patting the doctor on the shoulder, as if saying, "well done."

"You're awake now, doctor," he said with a smile. Soonyoung wasn't going to be surprised; he expected it. "Look... I really didn't want to do this; I liked you! But you've become a problem lately," Seungcheol continued as he stepped away, placing his hands on his hips. "I won't hold back because I assume you know everything, right? A police investigation on me... I never thought it possible. Anyway, if I were to go after someone, I swear it wouldn't be you! You have nothing to do with it... well, a little. But I've already dealt with one of my biggest problems, Kim Yugyeom, the idiot who coordinated the transplant." Soonyoung's eyes widened, surprised by how casually Seungcheol spoke. He had so many questions to ask. Was that why his colleague disappeared? Was he... dead? Did Seungcheol plan to do the same to him? Well, that was obvious.

Seungcheol regarded him as if he were a piece of insignificant garbage. His tone was cold yet laced with superiority. He was a truly unpleasant person. No, could someone like that be considered a person? Wouldn't it be better to call him a "monster"? Because that man was one.

"You look very surprised, doctor," he mocked. "What? Did you think I would let Yugyeom live his life as if nothing happened? Not after what he did. He deserves everything that happened to him. Back to you, Doctor Kwon, I didn't want to do anything to you, but it's better to eliminate distractions." Soonyoung raised an eyebrow, not understanding much of what the man was saying. "Of course, I won't do anything. I've already done my part," he began to walk towards the door, ready to leave, but Soonyoung couldn't stay quiet. The kidnapping seemed senseless to him. If Seungcheol kept saying he didn't want to harm him, then why tie him to a chair in a room in a place he didn't know? Why reveal so much information? The doctor had a small hope of leaving, but Choi's cold gaze scared him. A cruel, harsh, empty look devoid of any humanity or sparkle; had that man ever been capable of love? Soonyoung swallowed and started to move a bit in the chair, trying to get his kidnapper's attention, and Seungcheol turned to look at him with some curiosity. "What? Are you trying to distract me?" Soonyoung frantically shook his head, and Seungcheol laughed. He was genuinely laughing, enjoying Soonyoung's misfortune. "Then what?"

Just as he was about to try to speak, even with the tape on his mouth, other footsteps outside the room interrupted him. Another approaching voice was enough to keep both him and Seungcheol quiet.

"Cheol? Are you here already?"

Seungcheol smiled without taking his eyes off Soonyoung, who opened his eyes, unable to hide his surprise. The man standing in front of him had his back to the slightly opened door, through which Soonyoung could see the silhouette of someone approaching.

"Yes," he replied. Soonyoung began to move in the chair again, only managing to make Seungcheol come closer to keep him still. "Did you bring everything I asked for, Jihoon?"

"Here it is." Jihoon entered the room. "God, it's so dark; I can't see anything." He groped the wall until he found the switch and turned on the light. A small lamp flickered, but it was enough to see. "Who do you have here?"

Seungcheol moved aside, and Jihoon could see who it was. The bag in his hands fell to the floor, spilling its contents. Soonyoung swore his heart stopped for a moment as he saw all sorts of knives and other weapons scattered on the floor, and Jihoon, his Jihoon, in that place. So, after all this time, what had their relationship been? A sham? A coincidence? Did Jihoon know what Seungcheol was doing? Well, that was more than obvious if he was bringing a bag full of lethal weapons, but Soonyoung was in a state of denial. Why was his beloved boyfriend involved in this?

Jihoon gasped, looking at him but not stepping back; he walked steadily towards him. When he was facing him, Soonyoung noticed his teary eyes. He was holding back tears. But Soonyoung wasn't; he started crying again, not knowing what to feel. He was witnessing a possible betrayal of his trust and that of everyone else. Jihoon removed the tape from his mouth with trembling hands, and Soonyoung didn't say a word; he just sit there, crying inconsolably while Jihoon couldn't look away from his eyes. He looked genuinely distressed, and Seungcheol, off to the side, was smiling as if watching a comedy or something.

"Seungcheol..." Jihoon turned his face towards him. "This wasn't part of the plan," his voice suddenly sounded sad.

"On the contrary, it was always part of the plan," the older one excused himself. "What's wrong? Why do you look like that?"

Jihoon snorted and bent down to untie Soonyoung's feet, but he couldn't do it with just his hands. Frustrated, he stood up abruptly and confronted Seungcheol, his face turning red.

"What do you think you're doing!? He hasn't done anything wrong!" He pushed Seungcheol.

"Why are you defending him?" The man didn't flinch. "He's a distraction for you... I had to do something about it. Besides, it's not like you care. You said it yourself; you'd kill him if he became a problem, and well, now he is. So kill him. There you have him; I kidnapped him for you."

"What?" The doctor shifted his gaze between Jihoon and Seungcheol, hurt. His boyfriend didn't even turn to look at him; he just stood in front of Seungcheol, furious.

"And bullshit! I'm not going to kill him!" He pushed Seungcheol again, making him step back a bit. "Don't you dare touch him, don't cross the line, Seungcheol..."

"You said you'd always be there for me... what? Did you replace me with him? Me, your best friend? You're supposed to be the only person I have left, and I'm yours, what's happening now, Jihoon?"

"You..." Jihoon couldn't say anything else, starting to shake his head. He picked up a knife from the floor to begin removing Soonyoung's restraints. "I'm sorry, it's not what you think," he told Soonyoung, trying to sound convincing.

"Do you think he'll listen to you after seeing all your drama?" Seungcheol said. "Doctor Kwon, this guy is my accomplice, just as much crap as I am. In fact, he's killed even more people than I ever have, so..."

"Soonyoung, don't listen to him, please... please." He cut all the ties, both from his hands and feet, but the doctor didn't move; he remained seated, staring into space. Jihoon took his hands and tried to lift him, but Soonyoung didn't budge. "Let's get out of here."

Soonyoung gradually stopped sobbing and removed his hands quite aggressively from Jihoon's to wipe his face. Noticing his arms, he saw all the wounds and even his face burning, so he guessed he might have a few cuts there too. But that pain didn't compare to what he felt in his chest. At that moment, he would have preferred to be killed than to find out that Jihoon was the accomplice of the man they had been investigating all that time.

"Jihoon, now that he knows everything, we can't let him go-"

"Shut up, Seungcheol! Leave him alone!" Jihoon shouted. Seungcheol pursed his lips and then left the room, just like that, leaving him alone with Soonyoung. "Please..." he tried to touch his face, but Soonyoung pushed him away.

"Choi Seungcheol!" he yelled and tried to get up from the chair, but his legs were very weak. He almost fell to the floor if it weren't for Jihoon holding him. With his remaining strength, Soonyoung pushed him away and limped to leave the room. He heard Jihoon calling him, but he didn't care; he didn't want to see him at that moment. Outside the room, everything else seemed to be a normal house, and Seungcheol was sitting on a sofa as if he didn't have a room a few steps away that looked like it was taken from a horror story and he wasn't threatening to kill him. Soonyoung really hated that man. "Tell me... tell me where Mingyu is."

"Doctor, do you really think I'll let you-"

"Tell me where Mingyu is, damn it! I don't care about anything! Just tell me where he is!" he shouted. He had just yelled at a murderer. Probably, that had been his bravest moment ever. His adrenaline was at its peak, and he wanted to get out of there, but he wouldn't do it without his friend.

"Huh? Do you think you're in a position to demand something from me?" Seungcheol leaned a bit towards him. "Don't play..."

"Soonyoung! Come on, I'll get you out of here." Jihoon appeared behind him, but Soonyoung only saw him with disdain. "Trust me."

"Yes... I don't recommend you do that, doctor. Look how trusting him turned out during all this time," Seungcheol said.

Jihoon diverted his gaze towards his friend, who was sitting, and then returned it to Soonyoung, looking at him expectantly. The doctor gave up and nodded.

"Mingyu must be around here; follow me." And he began to walk towards the rooms. He stopped at a door and opened it. The room was exactly like the one Soonyoung had been in minutes before, and Mingyu was in a similar position, also injured and with dried bloodstains on his body and clothes. Soonyoung ran to him and removed the tape from his mouth, seeing how the nurse looked at him with confusion.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Mingyu asked with a raspy voice.

"We were kidnapped, now we're leaving," he replied, looking at Jihoon to untie Mingyu.

"What do you mean-"

"Mingyu," he interrupted, "let's just go."

When he was finally untied, Mingyu struggled to stand, so Soonyoung helped him, trying not to fall along with the taller man. Jihoon also tried to help but was pushed away by Soonyoung, who seemed to want to protect Mingyu from him. And the poor nurse just wanted context because he didn't understand anything about the situation. Jihoon led them out of the house under Seungcheol's gaze, and something told Soonyoung that this was far from over. The cold night air hit them when they were in the middle of the street in what seemed to be a lonely neighborhood; Mingyu clung to Soonyoung for support, while the doctor looked at his boyfriend with a strange expression.

"Soonyoung, I..."

"And my car? I was in it before appearing here."

"Maybe Cheol... Seungcheol left it around here," he sighed and headed towards some kind of garage. Soonyoung followed him without saying anything, dragging Mingyu along. The place was also completely dark until Jihoon turned on the lamp. There was Soonyoung's car, crashed in the front, the windshield was somewhat broken too. How could Seungcheol have done all that alone? Jihoon searched the entire garage for the car keys, and when he found them, he handed them to Soonyoung. "Hey, please..."

"I don't want to talk to you," he said, trying to sound as tough as possible. He didn't plan on crying for him again. His car opened, and he only hoped it still worked well even with all those visible damages. He managed to get Mingyu into the back seats, and then he sat in the driver's area. He struggled a bit to get his car started, but eventually, it did, and he didn't wait for anything else to drive away, leaving Jihoon stranded in the garage.

Soonyoung heard Mingyu complain about the pain in his body, but he couldn't do anything about it at the moment. Going to the hospital would be suspicious, although it was necessary... what was he supposed to do? The car was being difficult to handle, and he had no idea where they were, and he didn't even have his phone with him to ask for help.

"Doctor, let's go to my house," Mingyu said, sounding weak.

"If only I knew where we are, Mingyu," Soonyoung muttered, still driving.

"My phone must be here in the car; I can use the map," Mingyu started moving, and Soonyoung didn't pay much attention to him. Suddenly, he began to hear a robotic female voice giving directions, and after a while, he could smile a little in relief. "Although... according to this, my house is three and a half hours away... Do we have enough fuel?"

Soonyoung sighed.

"Do you happen to have money here too? I think we need to make a stop at the gas station."

Chapter Text

Chan impatiently leaned back in his chair, listening to Joshua type like a maniac. He leaned in a bit to see the detective's screen and pouted. He didn't understand much, but at least seeing Joshua smile somewhat comforted him; it seemed his partner was close to the answer he sought. Glancing at the time, Chan groaned, wanting to bang his head on the desk, but refrained to avoid looking childish. It was almost ten at night, and the day had passed quickly. What was worse, after leaving the station, he wouldn't go to his apartment to lie on his bed watching silly videos until he got sleepy. No, he had to go to Wonwoo's house to continue the investigation. And worse than that was knowing that now everyone suspected Jihoon.

He didn't want to suspect Lee. He was too kind, tender, and even had a slight "big brother" vibe, at least that's how Chan felt. Initially, he was against involving his colleagues' partners, especially if they had nothing to do with the case, like Mingyu and Jihoon. But after seeing the great effort both put in, he welcomed them to the team with more than joy. And now, knowing that Jihoon might have something to do with Seungcheol made him feel quite uneasy. He just hoped that Joshua's suspicions were a result of pure paranoia—

"I knew it!" the older man's shout startled Chan a bit, but before he could ask anything, Joshua continued talking. "The car belonged to Yoon Jeonghan in his lifetime, but... now it's registered under Lee Jihoon's name."

"How? Did Jeonghan have Jihoon in his will or something? Why?"

"I don't exactly know how that change happened... maybe Jeonghan's family sold the car to Jihoon," he shrugged. "But this gives us the answer we needed."

And what was that answer they needed? That Jihoon was a traitor? Chan shook his head, squinting his eyes.

"Just... why do you suspect Jihoon so much? Did he say or do something that made you doubt him?" he asked, genuinely curious and silently trying to accept that Jihoon wasn't as good or innocent as he seemed. Chan felt somewhat betrayed, honestly, but still chose to trust. He needed to hear Jihoon's side of the story before anything else.

"When I told him about the new plan, he said something..." Joshua tilted his head and squinted.

Ugh, Chan hated it when Joshua went into "mysterious mode."

"Go on, keep talking."

"He said..." Chan raised his hand, threatening the older man with his fist. Joshua smiled and gently moved Chan's hand aside. "'Ah... this will be fun.'"

And he fell silent. Chan blinked several times. Seriously? Joshua had to be kidding him; that couldn't be real. Suspecting Jihoon just for saying a damn sentence?

"Eh?" was his intelligent response. "No, no... there has to be a real reason to suspect him," Joshua returned his gaze to the computer, completely ignoring Chan. "Hey!"

"Well, he said that with a tone too similar to the one Seungcheol used when he told me the same phrase on the day at the restaurant," Joshua justified, and Chan shook his head again. "He also acted weird or nervous every time he talked about Seungcheol... it's true! Always hesitating, seemed unsure of what he was saying."

Chan couldn't confirm or deny the latter because he never saw Jihoon act that way, but he still felt bad for him. He thought Joshua's reasons to distrust weren't enough. Sure, anyone can say, "Ah... this will be fun," and anyone can get nervous talking about a killer, especially if that person is now the bait for that killer! Jihoon hadn't done anything wrong in Chan's eyes; he wouldn't completely distrust him. If everyone was going to be against the investigator, someone should be on his side, and that someone would be Chan. Well, too much support for Jihoon could be misinterpreted, but the officer genuinely trusted him. Just as he was about to threaten Joshua with his fist again, Wonwoo appeared in front of them, breathless.

"Mingyu disappeared!" he started pacing around the office, biting his nails and muttering things. Joshua and Chan watched him, waiting for him to say something more.

"And... how do you know?" Joshua asked when it became clear Wonwoo wasn't going to utter another word.

"He's not answering my calls! He should've been home an hour ago... but he hasn't. He didn't leave a message either," he said, worried.

"He's probably taking a shower," Chan tried to reassure him with his words, but Wonwoo just huffed and sat in his chair.

"No... there are cameras in our house. I just checked, and at no point did I see him enter the house or even arrive in Dr. Kwon's car," he sighed. "Can't we just go check?"

"Wonwoo, you're a police officer, and you have detectives around you," Joshua told him. "We can do something from here."

"Stop flattering yourself, idiot," the fact that Wonwoo was insulting him was a good sign. Or something like that. "Dr. Kwon isn't answering either... did they have an accident!? It can't be..."

Chan looked at Joshua, who seemed to be thinking about many things. He wanted to help Wonwoo in some way, but nothing he said could calm his friend's heart, so he just stayed silent and tried to contact the missing person on his own. Calls were going through, while Soonyoung's calls didn't even connect.

"Joshua, can't you track his phone?" he asked, watching as the older man began jotting down some notes in his notebook, changing the playful and relaxed demeanor he had a moment ago for a completely different one.

"It wouldn't be the best option. I need more people, and the process can take hours or days. I think the ideal thing right now is to wait."

"And what if he's dead!?" Wonwoo shouted. "I... I can't stay like this, I must do something, I-"

"Wonwoo! What do you think you can do in that state?" Chan went over and crouched in front of him, taking Wonwoo's hands in his own. "Breathe, okay? We'll find him safe soon." He wasn't even sure what he was saying, but he couldn't stand to see Wonwoo so stressed. "Mingyu is a bit... you know; he could have lost his phone. Or he simply went out to dinner with the doctor and forgot to tell you. Don't think of bad things."

"This job has taught me to be pessimistic, Chan," Wonwoo said.

"Yeah, well... then learn to be optimistic, I don't know." Yeah... Chan wasn't very good at comforting people. Anyway, he had tried to do his part, and it didn't work. He looked at Joshua for help, but the detective had his head buried in his notebook, fantastic. He turned his gaze to his hands on top of Wonwoo's and sighed. "I thought you were a toxic husband who shared Mingyu's phone location with yours, what happened to that?"

"If we had done that, I would be calm right now if I knew where he is... and I'm not toxic, you piece of idiot," he looked at him with so much sadness that Chan felt worse. Wonwoo would start crying any moment now, and he wouldn't know what to do. In another scenario, he'd tease him a bit, and then Wonwoo would return the joke, or he'd return a punch, it all depended, but now he couldn't. He could only get up from the floor and hug Wonwoo even though he was sitting, silently praying to any deity that Mingyu and the doctor were okay.

And when Chan and Wonwoo were having a precious moment of friendship and camaraderie, Minghao emerged from his office, disheveled, carrying a stack of papers. Why did it always look like the detective had a fight with someone inside his office whenever he came out? Chan gradually let go of Wonwoo as Minghao walked towards them, dropping all the papers on Chan's desk. Of course, half of those papers fell to the floor because Minghao didn't place them delicately, so he had to pick them up himself.

"I think we're screwed," despite saying that rather discouraging sentence, the gentleness in his voice didn't make them uneasy. "You can take a look at this," he pointed with his hand at the sheets threatening to fall off the desk again.

Joshua finally put down his notebook and reached for any random sheet. There were several printed photos, and in all of them, Choi Seungcheol was present. The curious part was that next to him was Lee Jihoon, hugging him, making faces, or simply smiling. He started to go through all the other sheets, which were more of the same: photos and photos of the two of them. Photos of them in their childhood and adolescence, but none from their adulthood. Wonwoo and Chan also approached and began to look at the photos, instantly surprised and exchanging shocked glances.

"No... they are the ones screwed," murmured Joshua, holding a photo in his hand. This one wasn't printed; it was the original. "How did you get this, Hao?"

"With Seokmin's help," he replied. "Almost all the photos I printed were posted on a school forum that closed years ago. The one you have there was put on a mural that their class made when they graduated. The mural is still in the school, so I just had to sneak in and take the photo stealthily; no one noticed." Joshua nodded at Minghao's words. The photo was adorable; if only two of the people in it weren't criminals. His gaze softened when he saw the third person, a young man of approximately the same height as Seungcheol, with long black hair clinging to Jihoon's arm and smiling tenderly. Yoon Jeonghan.

He turned the photo, reading a small inscription it had: "My two boys -YJ."

"This is a big blow for them and an advantage for us," said Chan. He felt... horrible. The last hope he had left had gone to hell. He looked at a photo where Seungcheol and Jihoon looked really young, hugging each other and smiling at the camera. He sighed and let go of the sheet. "This is... incredible. How did we let ourselves be deceived?"

"We had no way of knowing, Chan," said Wonwoo, speaking in a calmer tone than he had used before when he was in the middle of his crisis; apparently, he had been a bit distracted from the topic of his missing husband. "Did Dr. Kwon know about it?"

"I doubt it," Minghao replied. "They started dating a year ago, the same time Seungcheol has been inactive. My theory is that Jihoon approached him to get more information about the remaining people, namely Jun and Chan. Perhaps he was starting to pursue Seungkwan by then, and he had no records of Jun or Chan because we've kept almost all available information hidden."

"It's strange that he didn't get much information about Junhui because precisely a year ago, he left his position," Wonwoo commented. "Or did you take care of that, Hao?"

"Obviously! Since you told me about the possibility of a man being after my Jun to kill him, I tried to hide everything publicly known about him," Minghao ran his hands through his hair. "Anyway, we practically have confirmation that Jihoon is Seungcheol's accomplice, so what do we do now?"

Joshua was about to answer, but he was interrupted by Chan's phone. The annoying and irritating ringtone that the younger had for his calls was impossible to ignore. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Chan answered without checking who it was.

"I swear if it's not important, I'm going to smash that phone," Wonwoo threatened.

"Mingyu?" Well, now Wonwoo wanted to snatch the phone away. "I can't hear you well, what's going on?" Everyone crowded around Chan, trying to listen to the other person, but not even Chan could do that. The officer looked at everyone with a tired expression, and they moved away from him, leaving him clear, but still, they were too close. After a few minutes of Chan furrowing his brow, trying to decipher what Mingyu was saying, his expression changed to one of pure surprise. He said some things to the nurse that the others didn't understand, and then he fell silent, listening to Mingyu's response. "Alright... I'll tell everyone now... take care," he pocketed his phone and turned his gaze back to the older ones, who looked at him curiously. "Uh, someone kidnapped Mingyu and Dr. Soonyoung."

"What!?" Wonwoo exclaimed and almost fell, but Minghao held onto his arm. "Where are they!? Are they okay!? What happened!?"

"They're okay!" Chan shouted, exasperated by Wonwoo's questions. He understood his concern and distress, but with that attitude, he wouldn't finish hearing what he had to say. "He told me they're somewhat injured, but it's not anything very serious. Right now, they're quite far away; I told him it was a better idea for us to go look for them, but both he and the doctor refused, so we'll have to wait. They'll go straight to your house, Wonwoo. Let's all wait there together."

"Alright, alright..." Wonwoo sighed, still holding onto Minghao's arm.

"Oh! You're really hard workers," Chan let out a little scream at the sight of Commissioner Im, who appeared out of nowhere. "It's a surprise to see you here."

"We were... you know, reinforcing camaraderie," Wonwoo earned himself a discreet hit on the head from Minghao for his comment. But apparently, what he said worked because Yoona nodded and smiled at them.

"I'm glad to see you so dedicated," she glanced at the office, seeing the chalkboard on one side full of things from another case. "Wasn't that case already solved?"

"Oh... yes," Joshua also briefly looked at the board before returning his gaze to the photos on the desk. They had decided to leave the board like that instead of filling it with things from their secret investigation for obvious reasons. Anyway, they had a board for their case in Wonwoo's basement. "I guess we forgot to clean it up."

"I understand," Yoona said. "Well, I must go. Keep it up!"

"We were already leaving," murmured Wonwoo, but he wasn't sure if anyone heard him. Everyone bowed to the woman as she left. "Seriously, why does she come here? She has nothing to do with this!"

"I think she suspects us a bit," said Minghao. Chan looked at them, and he wasn't sure if Minghao was clinging to Wonwoo's arm or vice versa; the point is, they were holding onto each other like two little kids. Wonwoo clicked his tongue and hummed.

"To hell with her," Chan let out a discreet chuckle and shook his head. "Let's go home; I won't be at ease until I have my husband in my arms."

"We have to inform Seokmin," Minghao mentioned, starting to walk, holding Wonwoo's hand with one hand while using his phone with the other to contact the lawyer.

"Oh, Joshua," Chan called him; the detective packed all the photos and sheets into his briefcase and looked at him. "Are you okay? I've noticed you've been a bit distracted since-"

"I'm fine," he assured, smiling. "Let's go."

Chapter Text

They waited for hours until Soonyoung and Mingyu finally returned. And their condition was worse than they had imagined. Everyone had felt somewhat relieved when Mingyu assured Chan that their injuries were not serious at all, but that turned out to be a lie. They had somewhat deep cuts on their arms and legs, and some lighter cuts on their faces, along with bruises scattered all over their bodies. Wonwoo didn't wait a second to cling to Mingyu and not let him go, even when Minghao was trying to treat his wounds. Seokmin was cleaning Soonyoung's wounds when he began crying silently, and he preferred not to ask questions and let him vent, thinking that the doctor must have felt overwhelmed all that time. Chan and Joshua were in the basement, putting on the board the new photos and some important information, like the fact that the car watching Boo Seungkwan was registered under the name of Lee Jihoon.

Before hearing what happened to Mingyu and Soonyoung, the agents let them rest and prepared dinner for them while they discussed other things. And well, Wonwoo gave Mingyu a ten-minute lecture because he had decided to call Chan instead of calling him. Mingyu looked totally defenseless with a blanket around his shoulders and a cup of tea in his hands, very different from how he looked when he limped out of the car, resembling the protagonist of some action movie. The Hello Kitty band-aids on his facial cuts added a comical touch, but those were the only band-aids they had at home. Soonyoung didn't have the same luck of looking "cute" like Mingyu; the doctor looked shattered, and not even the Hello Kitty band-aids helped him. He had a lost look, sometimes he started crying, and then he would fall asleep on the living room sofa. The rope marks on his hands looked painful, much more than the ones Mingyu had, and that made them realize that the main target of the kidnapping had been him, not Mingyu. It was sad for everyone to see him like that, as he always seemed to be in a good mood, smiling until his eyes formed two lines.

Everyone agreed to wait until he was ready to talk. They didn't want to force him because they knew it was a delicate issue, and they totally understood if Soonyoung simply didn't want to share anything about what had happened that day. The priority at that moment was his well-being; they could listen to everything else later. But at one point, Soonyoung looked up from the floor and sighed, making everyone pay attention.

"As you must have already imagined, Choi Seungcheol kidnapped me," he said. And...

He bit his lower lip. Why was it so hard to say it? Not only that, why was it so hard to accept it? Seungcheol kidnapped him, and Jihoon had brought a bag full of weapons as if they were toys. He was sure that, if it had been someone else, or if he had had no relationship with Jihoon, he would have died that night. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought. Could Jihoon really kill a person? Was he capable of helping, supporting, and protecting a murderer? Soonyoung could never do that... damn, that was exactly what he was thinking of doing in front of the police. He was thinking of protecting Jihoon. He hit his forehead with his hand and closed his eyes. No, he couldn't stay silent, no matter how much he loved Jihoon, he...

Mingyu left a cloth in his hands, and Soonyoung realized that he had started crying for the umpteenth time that night. Everything had been complete crap. He trusted Jihoon so much that he allowed him to attend the meetings they had for the investigation. Such an important investigation in which Soonyoung had been involved, only for it to end like this... to end like what? Jihoon had just used him. All his love had been a game. So why did Jihoon look so worried about him? Why did he help them escape? Why did he cry when he saw him tied up, and why did he fight with Seungcheol? He was too confused. He shouldn't trust Jihoon, of course not, but at the same time... he couldn't despise him. Did Jihoon really love him? He wiped his tears with the cloth, and his throat burned. He felt a pressure in his chest that didn't let him speak, but the understanding looks from the others were enough to calm him a bit. To hell with it, he didn't want to say it. He wouldn't say it. He couldn't say it; he preferred to hear it from someone else before accepting it and saying it out loud.

"Jihoon is sort of Seungcheol's accomplice," well, that was quick. Soonyoung looked at Mingyu, who, after saying that, took a sip of his tea as if nothing had happened. "I didn't quite understand, everything happened very quickly. I just remember that we had a crash, I passed out, and when I woke up, I was tied up and locked in a room."

Wonwoo approached from behind and stroked his shoulders, trying to comfort him. Mingyu looked at him and smiled lovingly. Soonyoung also watched them and had a strange feeling. Was it jealousy? Probably. If Jihoon wasn't... a murderer? Yeah, that, would he also comfort him like Wonwoo did with Mingyu? Thinking about that made him cry more, and he felt ridiculous. He was an adult, and there he was crying like a teenager because his "sweetheart" betrayed him. But he didn't betray him directly; he just lied to him. Ah, was he really trying to justify it? And it's not like he should trust Choi's words, but could he really trust Jihoon's words then?

"I'm sorry, it's not what you think."

He felt a hand squeezing his shoulder. It was Seokmin, who smiled kindly at him. He looked so warm and understanding that Soonyoung just... stood up abruptly and hugged the lawyer, catching him by surprise, but he didn't mind. Feeling Seokmin's arms around him made him enter a brief state of peace, although the thought that he looked somewhat strange hugging a man he barely knew made him separate abruptly. And Seokmin, instead of accepting that, murmured, "It's okay," and pulled him back into his arms. It was like hugging a giant teddy bear, so cuddly, warm, and comfortable.

Oh, but it was wrong for him to hug Seokmin in that way knowing that Detective Hong was watching. And it was obvious that Joshua liked Seokmin; he looked at the lawyer just like the doctor looked at Jihoon. Soonyoung knew that look well.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling away from Seokmin and looking at him gratefully. "Really... I didn't know that Jihoon... that he was capable of something like this. I never thought that he... that he would lie to me. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize; it's not your fault," Seokmin told him kindly, stroking his back. Oh... he was so gentle; he understood why Joshua seemed to be so infatuated with him.

"We just found out today about the relationship between Seungcheol and Jihoon, it also took us by surprise," Minghao said. "The problem is... now we don't know what their next plan is. What is..."

"Discouraging, undoubtedly, but we must take advantage of the fact that the advantage is on our side," Joshua continued. "Dr. Kwon, we appreciate your help, really, but I think it would be better if you take a break from the investigation for now. So you can heal your wounds and—"

"No," Soonyoung hurriedly denied. "I can't leave the investigation. I'm a key witness... I have to help you." And I have to understand Jihoon's reasons better.

"Oh... I understand," Joshua nodded. "It would be better if you stay in a new place for now. Going back to your house could be dangerous, knowing that Jihoon lives with you."

"Stay with us, doctor!" Mingyu said, Wonwoo nodded behind him. Soonyoung shook his head, embarrassed. "There's a spare room," the doctor shook his head again, not wanting to bother a married couple.

"Then you can stay with me," Seokmin offered, as if he could read Soonyoung's thoughts. He was about to accept but thought of Joshua. It was pathetic to think about that in that situation, but thinking about it... he wouldn't stand seeing Jihoon accepting someone else at home. Well, there were abysmal differences between what he had with Jihoon and what Joshua had with Seokmin, the main one being that while he and Jihoon were a couple, Joshua and Seokmin were... nothing. Anyway, he wouldn't like the detective to feel jealous, so he shook his head again.

"Thank you all, but I could get a hotel..."

"Stay with me, doctor," Chan shrugged. "My apartment is very small, but I think we can both fit in there. It's in the city center, so it will also be close to your work." Soonyoung contemplated that option. The hospital was in the city center, and his apartment he shared with Jihoon was somewhat far away, not to mention Mingyu's house. But, if Chan lived in the center and stayed with him, he would be close to his work and safe.

"Oh... thank you very much, officer," he finally nodded with a smile that Chan returned. What a kind young man. Why did Chan suddenly remind him of Jihoon? They looked absolutely nothing alike, what the hell. At that point, everything reminded him of Jihoon; he had to do something about it. "So... I'll pick up my things at home."

"I can accompany you!" Chan jumped to his side.

Joshua looked at him and shook his head, letting out a low laugh. He knew Chan too well; yes, he was friendly, but he really just wanted to get away from work for a bit. Clever little guy.

"Then I guess you'll leave now. It's late, isn't it, Chan?" the younger one rolled his eyes. "Well, see you later. Rest well!" Joshua smiled at both of them, squinting his eyes when Chan crossed by his side to head to the door. "I hope you sleep well and arrive with energy at the station tomorrow... don't stay up late watching a cheap reality show."

"I don't watch realities," Chan showed his tongue childishly and left, helping the doctor to walk.

"We need a new plan," Minghao said when the other two left the house. "We're really screwed, Joshua. Even if you think we have the advantage, it's not so much. Just like we know everything about them, now they know everything about us. In fact, they've known since the beginning."

"They still don't know absolutely everything about us," Wonwoo added, leaving Mingyu with Seokmin for a while to go to where his companions were. "They still don't know about Jun; at most, they know that you and he have some relationship. We should keep an eye on Chan... Jihoon and Seungcheol must already know about him."

"It's true. And Chan still trusts Jihoon too much; it scares me to think that something might happen to him," Joshua sighed, thinking about Chan's expression when he talked to him about his suspicions about the investigator. "Although... with what just happened, I hope he changes his perspective."

"He won't do it soon, believe me. I'm sure he's willing to give Jihoon another chance," Minghao lowered his gaze. "Just like Dr. Kwon. We must catch Seungcheol in a way that takes him by surprise, different from everything we've done so far. The strategy didn't work with Seungkwan, and look how it turned out with Jihoon..." he sighed. "Speaking of which, we didn't even get to do anything with him in the first place. That kidnapping was definitely something impulsive, I mean... why out of nowhere?"

"You're right, Hao," Wonwoo tilted his head. "It's as if they just decided to screw everything up. It was a very bad decision, really."

"What if we give Seungcheol what he wants?" Joshua asked. Wonwoo and Minghao looked at him with curiosity, waiting for him to elaborate more. "One of us can pretend to side with him."

"It would be very risky, and that guy won't trust us," Minghao denied. "I think it's better to create a strategy that doesn't involve us directly with him."

"He might end up trusting me," Joshua said. "I have something that might interest him."

"Do you intend to throw yourself into the lion's den?" Wonwoo questioned. "As Hao said, it's not a good idea. Anyway, what do you have that could be of interest to Seungcheol?"

"My past," he replied. "Either everything goes very well, or everything goes very wrong... we can try it."

Both Minghao and Wonwoo sighed. They didn't agree, but they knew Joshua would insist. Maybe it was better to let him do what he wanted, but...

"I can help you," Seokmin appeared among them. "After all, I have a reputation for being a traitor who does anything for money," he shrugged. Joshua smiled shyly, and Wonwoo wanted to hit him; did he really become shy all of a sudden? For God's sake.

"Oh, really?" Minghao shook his head and looked at Wonwoo, who made a face. "We'll think about it, but... you have to tell us everything you're planning."

Joshua simply nodded.

Chapter Text

Seungcheol watched Jihoon with a mocking smile. His eyes were fixed on the younger one, who had just stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door and cursing under his breath. Seungcheol wanted to taunt him out loud until Jihoon got angry enough to hit him. But suddenly, a twinge of guilt washed over him. "If the situation were reversed... you would have done the same for Jeonghan." Damn, that was true. Although he didn't believe Jihoon would go around killing people for Soonyoung if the situation were reversed. Seungcheol believed he would defend Jeonghan against anything; damn, of course he would, Jeonghan was his reason for being, and he would do the unimaginable for him...

Ah, was he really thinking of Jeonghan as if he were alive? And he was already doing the unimaginable for him. "This isn't you, Cheol," a vague memory of Jeonghan's voice echoed in his mind. Why had Jeonghan said that? What had he done?

Jihoon looked at him with nothing but anger, probably using all his strength not to lunge at him and strangle him. Seungcheol wanted to apologize, he had to, he honestly hadn't thought through what he was doing. He already knew Jihoon had fallen for the doctor, even though he had strictly told him not to and Jihoon had replied confidently, "who do you think I am?" Over time, Jihoon's tired look when talking about the doctor had turned into an enamored one. Seungcheol realized his friend was in love even before he himself realized his feelings for Soonyoung. He had been really cruel, but then again, that was his daily bread.

He had been the culprit of everything, well. He had pushed Jihoon into planning deaths, he had pushed him into killing, and... "but Jihoon didn't refuse." Was he really a manipulator or was Jihoon just as crazy as him? He huffed and finally got up from the couch, walking towards Jihoon with open arms. And he caught him in a hug, feeling Jihoon try to wriggle free until he gave up and buried his face in Seungcheol's chest.

"I hate you," he murmured with a choked voice. You didn't have to be a genius to notice Jihoon was crying. He began to tap gently on Seungcheol's chest. "What are you going to do now? Mingyu and Soonyoung will tell everything to the detectives and... we're going to spend our lives in prison, because of you."

"Yeah, I know..." he whispered, his voice laden with affection. "What else? Do you want to kick me in the balls? Go ahead."

"Son of a... I'm not joking!" Jihoon pulled away from him a little to look him in the face and gave him a glare. "They have evidence, Seungcheol! We're screwed!"

"They're not stupid enough to go to a hospital or report it to the authorities. After all, didn't you say it was a secret investigation? We're all in trouble. If we sink, they sink, and vice versa."

"But... but..." Jihoon's voice trembled. "You shouldn't have done that... fuck..."

"I didn't know you were in love with Kwon!" lie "I just noticed he was distracting you quite a bit from your original work, so I thought it was better to get rid of him. Plus, you hadn't gotten your hands dirty in a long time, and you promised you would take care of him in any case."

Jihoon screamed in frustration, burying his face in Seungcheol's chest, causing the older man to smile and begin to gently stroke his hair.

"I hate you."

"Don't be like that, sweetheart," he rocked with the boy. "I made a mistake, I admit it, but you made one too."

"Really?" He lifted his chin to look at Seungcheol, his eyes reflecting boredom. The man didn't respond, just ran his thumb over Jihoon's lips, looking at them with curiosity. "I have a boyfriend, leave that," he pushed him away with a slap.

"Do you think you still have a boyfriend?" Seungcheol teased, tracing Jihoon's cheek with his hand. "After what he saw? Don't make me laugh."

"If you're in the mood for something, find someone else. Some lunatic will want to be with you," Jihoon moved away from him, still looking at him with some anger. "I'm not lying, Seungcheol, I'm very angry with you... and with myself."

"Relax," he said. "And besides, I don't want 'someone else', I have Jeonghan."

"Yes, but Jeonghan is dead," oh, right. "He's been dead for almost ten years. And you've been dragging him along since then."

"And you haven't?"

"I..." Jihoon moved further away from him. "It's all your fault."

Seungcheol chuckled and shook his head, crossing his arms. This conversation was taking a direction he didn't like very much.

"You're right," he took a step back. "But right now, I'm not the only one involved in this, remember that. Oh, and sort out your... little mess."

"My little mess? Don't forget you were the one who kidnapped them."

"Thanks to whom? You fell in love with Kwon!"

"By whose order?"

"Uh, am I your father?"

"No, idiot, you're the person I love the most," Jihoon told him, mimicking the older man's posture. "If I didn't love you... do you think I would have done everything I did? Look, what you did now is unforgivable-"

"Everything I've done is unforgivable, Jihoon," he smiled. "Don't try to make yourself feel better by making me look like the only bad guy. Yes, I admit that kidnapping your 'hunny' wasn't the smartest move, it was more of an impulsive decision. But you breaking your promise-"

"Fuck you, Seungcheol," Jihoon interrupted him, turning around and leaving the place, perhaps a little angrier than he had been at first.

Seungcheol looked at the front door, debating whether to chase after him and apologize or stay inside. He laughed at himself, he definitely wouldn't apologize, he wasn't like that. He only knew how to fan the flames but never extinguish them, that's what he had done his whole life. He had to learn to apologize, really... if he didn't want what happened with Jeonghan to repeat itself...

Jeonghan.

Because of Seungcheol, he couldn't say goodbye to him. Because of him. Damn it. He had to apologize to Jihoon, he had started the argument and he had to finish it. Because... what if something happened to Jihoon? No, what if Jihoon did something? Seungcheol had to find him, apologize, make up with him, and everything would go back to how it was before.

Shit, all of this had happened because of the doctor. Oh, and also because Seungcheol was an idiot who didn't know how to handle his emotions. Nice.

"It's just one damn month!"

"No, Jeonghan! One month is too much..."

"But you'll come with me!"

"Don't you understand I have to work? I can't come with you!"

"And what am I supposed to do then? I need to go!" Jeonghan shouted, frowning. Seungcheol sighed and looked at him, putting his hand on his hip.

"Can't he come?" he asked. The whole argument had started because Jeonghan suddenly contacted his friend or childhood neighbor... something like that, Seungcheol didn't care about that guy. The thing is, the guy's grandmother, or aunt, or mother... again, Seungcheol didn't care, had died. Her death coincided precisely with the rekindling of his friendship with Jeonghan, and now he wanted to go visit him and help him along with his cousin, Jaehyuk, an annoying teenager who had Seungcheol a bit fed up. The kid always wanted to be around Jeonghan and did everything he asked him to. Jeonghan's friend from his hometown had fallen into a sorry state after the death of his... of his relative, who was the last person he had left. He wasn't even going to his job or university, and Jeonghan feared his friend might make an impulsive decision, so he wanted to take care of him for a whole month, and then maybe he could convince him to move to the city. Seungcheol didn't think that was a good idea either, if Jeonghan's friend moved nearby... he wouldn't pay him as much attention anymore. He didn't want to receive the guy in his house, but if that made Jeonghan happy... damn it "Tell him to come."

As long as he didn't have to be away from Jeonghan for so long, Seungcheol was willing to welcome a stranger into his home. Why couldn't Jeonghan appreciate that? Yes, it was selfish of Seungcheol, but he was doing it for him, for Jeonghan.

"Cheol, he barely has the strength to answer my calls, do you think he's ready to leave his city and his home? I think it's best if I go."

"But a month is a month, Hannie," his tone softened, and he tried to approach Jeonghan to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear, but his fiancé removed his hand and pushed the strand away himself. Seungcheol felt that as a strong blow. Jeonghan avoiding his touch was... painful.

"You can come to see me from time to time..."

"My job—"

"And again that damn job! Is that job more important than me?"

So it's like that, huh?

"Is your friend more important than me?" he raised an eyebrow. Jeonghan couldn't answer, he just lowered his gaze and walked towards the bed. He curled up between the blankets and Seungcheol reluctantly went to lie down on the other side of the mattress, facing Jeonghan. "Good night—"

"Don't talk."

"Fine," Seungcheol huffed. "Then don't be begging for my attention later."

"As if I'm the one desperate for a little affection," Jeonghan mocked, turning away. "Let's talk tomorrow when we're calmer."

"Whatever you say..." Seungcheol murmured, watching Jeonghan's back, resisting the urge to pull him close and hug him, and to apologize, and to let him do whatever he wanted. He could have done that, but he didn't. He could have whispered apologies into his fiancé's ear, but he decided not to. Instead, he also turned around, his back against Jeonghan's.

"Fine, then don't talk."

Seungcheol huffed and hugged his pillow. It was cold.

The next morning, Jeonghan's parents were signing a consent form to donate their organs.

Seungcheol touched his cheeks, they were wet. His eyes burned, and tears kept flowing. Remembering was always so painful and awful; it left him wondering: "why did I do this when I could have done that?" And it sucked, because no matter how sorry he was, he could never get Jeonghan back.

He went in search of Jihoon, making up some excuses along the way.

Chapter Text

A few years ago...

Joshua followed Seokmin's figure wherever he moved. He smiled when the younger one made faces and when his voice sounded more excited than necessary while describing a rather graphic crime scene.

"I'm sorry about that," murmured Seokmin. "It's just satisfying to know that I embarrassed my cousin—my cousin being Taemin, a prosecutor. He swore my client was guilty... ah, does that idiot not know who I am?"

Joshua had to close his mouth to keep from drooling. Seokmin was the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life. He was professional, intelligent, and above all: a ray of sunshine. Too bad the young lawyer never cast his gaze upon him, and the few times he spoke to him, he was stiffer than a log and so formal that it made Joshua feel like an old man. The detective was coming to the grand conclusion that he was in love. And damn, it was the least reciprocated love he would ever have.

"The lawyer is going to leave us if you keep devouring him with your eyes, you know?" murmured Chan, taking a seat beside him. "He's already told me he thinks you hate him."

"What!? That can't be true!" Joshua squealed, covering his face with his hands to hide his blush. "Ah... how can I approach him?"

"You're almost thirty," Joshua rolled his eyes, murmuring, "you don't have to throw it in my face." "You've had a whole life to experience romance, and you don't know how to act normal around someone you like?"

"No one ever wanted to go out with me because I was always studying in my youth, you know?" Chan scoffed. Was this the same person who had been complaining to him just 20 seconds ago about turning thirty? Unbelievable. "Studies were the most fundamental thing in my life, and... without realizing it..." he sighed. "I ended up like this. Alone," he began to count on his fingers. "Single, on a minimum wage, dating my work..."

"It's all just excuses," Chan interrupted him. "I'm much younger than you," he emphasized the last part. Joshua muttered a curse under his breath and kicked him under the table. Chan complained, but continued speaking: "...and I've dated many people."

"Wow, what an incredible fact!" Chan smiled smugly. "It would have been much better if I had asked you, don't you think?" Chan's smile faded, and it was time for Joshua to mimic the smile the younger one had before. "I don't care if a fourteen-year-old has been with more people than I have been in my entire life—"

"That's because you haven't been with anyone," Chan teased, earning another kick to the foot.

Joshua cleared his throat before continuing.

"The only thing that matters to me now is winning him over... I just don't know how."

"Ah... really," Chan sighed for the umpteenth time that night, and out of nowhere, with a decisive move, he got up from his chair. Joshua looked at him alarmed and grabbed his arm, conveying everything with his gaze. "Calm down; watch and learn." Chan put his hands in his pockets and walked casually towards Seokmin, who was filling the board with some evidence while dancing to the background music. "Hey, Seokmin, can I have your number? I think it might be necessary."

"Of course!" Seokmin handed him his cellphone for Chan to input his own number. "Send yourself a message from my number so I don't forget, okay?"

Chan nodded and glanced at Joshua, raising his eyebrows. Seokmin turned around and continued busy with the board, while Chan did something on his phone. Suddenly, Chan turned his head towards Joshua again, and at that moment, a message arrived on the older one's phone.

"Hey"

It was from an unknown number. He sought Chan's gaze, but he was already returning the phone to Seokmin.

"You didn't do what I think you did, did you?"

"Of course I did!" Chan said, returning to his seat. "If it's not me, then who?"

"You're an idiot," Joshua dropped his face onto the table. "A complete idiot."

"Shut up, you'll thank me later," Chan patted Joshua's back. "...or at least I hope so."

Chapter Text

Two years ago...

The colorful lights and booming music had Jihoon feeling dizzy and squinting his eyes. He could barely see, and he felt uncomfortable among all the sweaty people dancing. The worst part was that he couldn't find the person he was supposed to meet that day anywhere. He looked around, and at that moment, he cursed himself for deciding to wear low shoes that day. He took refuge in a corner away from the crowd and searched his phone for the guy's photo again, trying to imprint his face in his mind. But seriously, why did the guy have to be dressed like a damn tiger in the photo Jihoon had? That doctor was definitely not normal.

"What did I get myself into?" Jihoon sighed, looking at the photo one last time before putting his phone away. According to Seungcheol, the doctor would be at that club all night, as it was well known that after his long shifts, Kwon liked to... have fun. Jihoon didn't like those places; on the contrary, he detested them. The extremely loud music, the blinding lights, some people blocking the way, and worst of all: people who apparently didn't know that motels existed because they threw themselves at each other to kiss and grope in public. That really disgusted him. Just then, he narrowly avoided being hit by a distracted girl dancing and continued walking, thinking about how he would beat Seungcheol to exhaustion when he got home.

He scanned the faces of as many people as he could, even interrupting the dance or kisses of several men, thinking that one of them might be the doctor. And when he was about to give up and go home, he saw him. Kwon was standing on a table in the middle, dancing, with a group of people around him shouting and imitating his dance moves. It seemed like a ritual, Jihoon thought. The doctor had a ridiculous cat-ear headband, and his voice was competing with the music coming from the speakers. Jihoon approached until he was among the other people surrounding the table and looked Soonyoung in the face. Somehow he caught the doctor's attention because the next thing that happened was that he slipped off the table, looking Jihoon in the eyes. When he fell, the people who had been cheering for him minutes before scattered throughout the bar, while Jihoon crouched down and helped Soonyoung stand up. He had some blood on his face, probably from hitting the ground, but other than that, he didn't seem to be injured elsewhere.

"Those damn traitors, they don't even care about me," Jihoon heard him grumble as he helped him to his feet again. "Oh... my head hurts," he touched his forehead, cursing when his fingers touched the blood.

"Are you okay?" Jihoon asked, and finally Soonyoung's eyes met his. Jihoon found a napkin somewhere and carefully wiped the blood off him. "Does it hurt a lot?"

"No..." the doctor's cheeks turned pink. "Who are you? I'm sure I fell when I saw you."

"Oh, I... I just saw you dancing, and you caught my attention," he tried to sound friendly, or flirtatious, or something like that. Wasn't that what Seungcheol wanted? "I didn't think you would slip because of me."

"Who wouldn't fall off a table after seeing such a cute face? You're irresistible, baby."

What?

Jihoon frowned and looked away. What the hell? The doctor was drunk, of course, that's why he was acting like such a... dirty old man. He returned his gaze to Soonyoung, who was now smiling broadly, as if he hadn't just said the cheesiest pickup line Jihoon had ever heard. The only person who had ever complimented Jihoon was Jeonghan, and maybe Seungcheol did it once or twice when they were teenagers. But not even Jeonghan's joking trucker compliments compared. What a damn cheap flirtation from that doctor. Although, that made things easier for Jihoon; he already knew he didn't have to try so hard to win Soonyoung over.

"Uh..." he let out an awkward laugh. "Thanks?"

"Don't be shy, sweetheart," he was about to kick Soonyoung when he put his disgusting hand on his cheek, "do you want a drink?

I want you away.

"Yes..." he murmured, discreetly removing the sweaty hand from his cheek, "Are you really okay? You hit yourself pretty hard."

"Nah, it's nothing, honey," he downplayed it and began to walk, shaking of course, towards the bar, followed by Jihoon. "Sweetheart, what's your favorite drink?

At that moment, Jihoon missed Jeonghan's "what a big ass you have" more than ever. He'd rather hear that a thousand times from his dead friend than to hear a drunken stranger calling him cheesy things.

"I'll drink anything, it doesn't matter," he replied.

"How perfect you are," Soonyoung told him before turning around and ordering two drinks from the bartender. Jihoon wanted to hit something, really. What he had to endure for Seungcheol, my God. "Well, sugar cube, I ordered this weird thing, I don't even know what it is but it looks delicious, right?"

Why was this man talking to him like that when he had seen him for the first time... three minutes ago?

Jihoon looked at the glass the man was offering him. It had a liquid that looked quite dubious, but then he saw Soonyoung gulp it down in one go and smile, telling him it was very good. He crossed himself and asked any deity not to take him that day; if his demise was due to a drink of dubious origin, his spirit would haunt Seungcheol for all eternity for putting him in that situation. When his friend mentioned the doctor, Jihoon thought he was a serious man, who didn't let anyone get close to him and becoming friends with him would be a challenge. He had to heed the alarms in his head when Seungcheol mentioned that the doctor spent every night he wasn't supposed to work in a singles bar, getting drunk beyond belief and sleeping with anyone who caught his eye.

"And what's your name?" Jihoon tried to start a conversation with the man, who seemed like he could faint at any moment.

"Soonyoung, and you, baby?"

"Jihoon," he replied.

"How beautiful your name is, just as beautiful as you," he blew a kiss to him. "Our names go well together, don't they? Soonyoung and... wait, what was your name again?"

The night continued like this; Soonyoung drunk and Jihoon putting up with the urge to pull a knife out of his pocket and do something with this man who did nothing but make him uncomfortable. Seungcheol would really pay for this. He ended up giving Soonyoung his number, and just when he was finally about to leave, the stupid doctor stole a kiss from him and promised him eternal love, what the hell?

He was sure the doctor wouldn't remember any of that the next day, and he was right, because in the morning he was awakened by a call that he initially thought was from Seungcheol.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry... and good morning. Um, did I meet you last night?"

"Who is this?" Jihoon asked, pretending to be stupid. Even by phone, Soonyoung's voice sounded like that of a normal human being, and not like an idiot as he had heard the night before.

"I'm..." he sighed, "Soonyoung, do you remember me? I just want to ask you to please forget anything that happened last night. I was very drunk and I hardly remember anything. I read the messages I sent you and they are very obscene, I'm sorry. Again, I don't usually give my number to strangers, let alone my... 'one-night stands.' So please, delete my number and-"

"I didn't sleep with you, you idiot!" he shouted, embarrassed. "For God's sake, we just had a few drinks and you kissed me... By the way, what's wrong with you!? Why did you kiss me!? Disgusting" he allowed himself to vent. He didn't care about Seungcheol anymore; after going through so much just to get close to Soonyoung, he didn't want to see that guy again. Seungcheol should find another way, because Jihoon wouldn't go along with it again. "You also gave me a drink that tasted like crap... you're gross, you know? It's shameful that people like you are the doctors in our country. So, what hospital do you work at? I'll make sure to never set foot there."

"Did I even tell you I was a doctor? Oh my God, what happened to me?"

"Yes, you told me you were a doctor and that you liked tigers, is your wet dream to screw a tiger? Ugh, you're disgusting."

"No! I would never do such a thing!" he yelled "What else did I tell you? Just forget everything, please... oh, how embarrassing."

"You're a freaking playboy and... a horrible person!" it was being said by a murderer... "I hope I never see you again in my life, seriously..."

"What can I do to make you forget everything? Please, I beg you not to tell anyone what happened last night, I'll get fired. Do you want money? Or free medical appointments for life? Or..."

"I don't want anything from you, ugh, how disgusting" he ended the call and threw his phone on the floor. "I'm going to kill him."

After telling Seungcheol all his misfortune, he hoped his friend would understand, but no, Seungcheol just laughed in his face and told him he had to get Soonyoung. Finding medical information was very difficult, and if Jihoon was close to Soonyoung, who apparently was an idiot who couldn't keep his mouth shut, getting information from him would be easy. Even more so considering that the man was somewhat involved with Jeonghan's transplants. That's why, that same afternoon, Jihoon was meeting with the guy he wanted to avoid in his damn office, because the bastard couldn't just leave his job like that.

"Really, thank you very much for accepting my invitation" Jihoon raised his eyebrows; the guy looked very different in his medical coat and his neat appearance. He was groomed, his office was organized and nice, so nice that it could be pleasant to be there if it weren't for all the tiger-themed decorations. But well, Jihoon's surprise at seeing that unknown side of the man was genuine. "I'm really embarrassed about everything that happened. I'm not like that-"

"Apparently you are like that when you get drunk" he interrupted him. "Look, I'm not trying to ruin your life or anything" he lied, he actually wanted to make him suffer. But he remembered Seungcheol and his request, so he sighed and smiled. "I also acted like an idiot. My apologies" against his will (supposedly) he bowed from the comfortable and cushioned chair he was sitting in. "Um... well, are we okay?"

"Thank you very much! Wait a second" he searched for something in his drawer, took out a handful of candies, and put them in Jihoon's hands. "Here you go, as a thank you... God, how embarrassing."

"It's okay, no big deal" he looked at the candies in his hands, wondering what he should do with them. "Well, I guess I'll be going then."

Soonyoung nodded and accompanied him to the door. When Jihoon was about to cross the threshold, the doctor stopped him.

"We can... have lunch sometime?"

Jihoon looked into his eyes from below. Was that the same guy who was dancing on a table just last night? "Who wouldn't fall off a table after seeing such a cute face? You're irresistible, baby." His smile widened. In the end, everything turned out the way he wanted, didn't it? Well, Lee Jihoon could endure the disgusting compliments that man could give him in the future. Soonyoung would soon be at his feet.

(Jihoon didn't take into account that he could fall in love too... silly)

Chapter Text

About ten years ago (more or less, I don't know)...

He ran until he finally found a suitable hiding spot. He placed his hand on his chest, feeling the fast beats of his heart, and thought it was time to calm down. He sighed and leaned against the wall, catching his breath.

"Do you think you can escape from me?"

Minghao screamed upon seeing Wonwoo in front of him. The older boy smiled cynically and held out a perfectly arranged tuxedo in his hand. He extended the garment to Minghao, who just shook his head, trying to escape.

"No, no... I don't want to!" he shouted, pushing himself further into the wall. "Please..."

"Hao, you won't regret it."

"I don't trust you!" Damn, why did Wonwoo look taller than usual? He was terrifying.

"It's just once, Hao," he smiled. "Take it."

"Please, Wonwoo, I don't want to."

"Why don't you want to?" He was practically shoving the tuxedo in his face. "Is it the clothes? I can change them."

"You know the clothes aren't the problem!" He took the tuxedo and Wonwoo's eyes lit up hopefully.

Minghao had the misfortune of being roommates with Jeon Wonwoo at that boarding school. He had known Wonwoo for years; he was even the one who introduced him to his best friend, and thanks to him, they had been dating for a few years now. That's why Wonwoo held Minghao in high regard, so much so that he wanted to set him up with a boyfriend as well. Minghao didn't want to meet Wonwoo's best friend; everyone knew that Junhui only cared about two things: computers and money. The few times Minghao saw him in person, the guy always had his nose buried in a screen. His roommate had told him that Junhui's dream was to be a cybersecurity agent, so he thought they could get along because of that. But Minghao couldn't see the point.

"Jun wants to meet you!" He insisted.

"Don't lie to me!" He looked at the tuxedo in his hands.

"Come on, Hao. Jun is handsome," he pouted. "If I weren't with Gyu, I'd be dating Jun, really."

Minghao opened his mouth, surprised. Wonwoo was a serious case, really. Mingyu and him truly made a good couple, complementing each other perhaps too well. The best part was that, in front of Mingyu, Wonwoo was an extremely normal person. And the two of them in front of Minghao were... well, everyone wondered how someone like Minghao could be friends with people with such different personalities from his own. Over time, Minghao found himself influenced by those personalities, sadly.

"It's not because Jun isn't attractive. I admit he's hot and—"

"Perfect! Then put on the tuxedo and let's go, he's already at the restaurant waiting for you."

Minghao hated Wonwoo.

He felt like an idiot when he was pleading with Wonwoo in front of everyone in the restaurant, including his date, not to leave him alone. His damn roommate just gave him a hug, told Jun not to act weird, and then escaped from the restaurant. Minghao swore revenge; apparently, Wonwoo forgot they slept in the same room. He felt even more embarrassed when he saw his date wearing casual clothes, and meanwhile he was wearing a damn tuxedo; the worst part was that the tuxedo looked too good on him. And the big shit was that Jun wasn't even looking at him. Minghao had never been "alone" with Wonwoo's best friend before, let alone had a conversation with that guy. All he knew was that they had absolutely nothing in common; the fact that they were both interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement didn't even count because, well, almost everyone in their circle practically wanted something similar, excluding Mingyu.

He looked at Jun shyly, noticing the older one also staring at him without any discretion. Jun smiled sideways and didn't look away, seriously? Then, Minghao didn't either. It was a ridiculous staring competition... what the hell were they doing?

"Okay, enough, this is awkward," Minghao complained and sighed, fixing his gaze on his hands. "I'm sorry for wasting your time, I didn't want to come either—"

"Who says I didn't want to come? I asked Wonwoo for this."

"Uh!?" The young man choked on his saliva and coughed. His cheeks suddenly felt warm and he looked at Junhui in surprise. "Don't lie..."

"I'm not lying," Jun shrugged, widening his smile. "I've always been curious about Wonwoo's roommate." He leaned forward a bit. "Tell me, what kind of person are you?" Was it just Minghao, or was Jun's gaze too penetrating? Looking into his eyes was like being sucked into a black hole; it made Minghao feel a bit overwhelmed, but he couldn't look away. He seriously considered his answer, or tried to, because he realized he was the most normal and boring person Jun could ever meet. He had normal interests, normal goals, normal hobbies... the only thing that wasn't normal in his life were his friends, but that was another topic of conversation. Compared to Jun, he didn't have many things that could grab others' attention. Only Minghao didn't know that, all the time he was thinking, Jun was checking him out, because Hao didn't take into account that he was an extremely attractive person and that literally nine out of ten people in the academy wanted to be with him. Very "Y/N" of Minghao not to know that he was desired.

"I'm just a normal guy," he replied simply, as if he hadn't been overthinking before. "And what about you?"

"I'm very lively, although it doesn't seem like it. Everyone thinks I'm the typical quiet guy who doesn't lift his head from his computer..." Minghao finally looked away, feeling guilty. "But no! I love having fun, partying, and talking. Oh, how I love talking," the younger one nodded; he was already realizing. "You see, they say that I only care about two things in this life: computers and money," did that guy read Minghao's mind or did Jun just know everything they said about him? "But that's not true, actually I only care about three things," he showed three of his fingers, "computers," he started counting with his index finger, "money, and cats. How can people think I don't care about cats? They're my number three priority in life. Anyway, I'm also a bit picky, but I hate overly picky people! I also hate it when candies don't taste as expected, do you know the disappointment of excitedly eating a candy that looks delicious and turns out tasting like shit?

"I... guess?"

"See? I'm right! Besides, I don't give a shit about justice or that... we know that corruption reigns in this world, and I think everyone should just accept it," he sighed. "And yes, I think we should fight against corruption but I, in my case, will leave that for future generations. If I have to become a corrupt official, I will, because money and power are life, pure life," Jun looked at Minghao's disgusted expression and chuckled before lowering his gaze. "That's why I don't share my controversial opinions with anyone... anyway, are you hungry? By the way, I like your outfit, you look like you're from a movie from the last century, if that makes sense."

"Thank you... you look good too—"

"I know," Minghao raised an eyebrow and Jun burst out laughing. What a cheeky guy. "I'm just kidding."

"Anyways... I'm hungry, why don't we order?"

Then, as they ate, Minghao started thinking again. Jun wasn't completely unpleasant; he was handsome, charismatic, and even a bit funny. He had imagined the guy as a dry and boring person, but his personality was far from it. Still, there was something about him that didn't quite click with Minghao, he didn't know if it was because of his jokes or because he talked perhaps too much. Probably both. But aside from that, Jun was someone Minghao could tolerate in his group of friends, he wasn't a detestable guy at all. Now, did he imagine a future as Jun's partner? Definitely not, that date was supposed to be for them to get to know each other, to connect, and then live happily ever after, but Minghao didn't see that thing as anything beyond a friendship. The date went smoothly, if that term made sense between them, and just as they were about to say goodbye, something happened that left Minghao somewhat stunned and even kept him from sleeping at night: Jun kissed him and said he hoped to have another date with him. Minghao's first reaction would have been to hit him and run away in another situation, but for some reason, what he did was return the kiss to the older one and say, "Alright, see you." Damn, his reaction was not at all like something he would do; he was sure he had been possessed by someone else for a few seconds, because as soon as he returned to his dormitory, he found himself screaming into his pillow and didn't say anything to Wonwoo.

And deep down, though he tried to deny it, he was relieved that Jun wanted to have another date with him.

Chapter Text

Many years ago (I don't know how many)...

He was always told that breakups weren't as painful as people made them out to be, especially not teenage love breakups. And well, Mingyu wanted to punch absolutely everyone who said that because he had a broken heart, and it had been a year already! He thought there was genuinely something wrong with him. How could he quickly get over the death of his hamster but couldn't get over his ex who was his partner for about six months? What he disliked the most about the situation was that his best friend, who was supposed to be like his brother, was still friends with his ex as if he hadn't broken his heart.

"How can you do this to me, Hao?" he whined, hugging him from behind and leaning on him. They were in his room after returning from school. Since his breakup with Seokmin, Minghao accompanied him to his house every day for hours because Mingyu always complained of feeling very lonely. "Seokmin is mean!"

"He's not mean, you're just stupid," Minghao said bluntly, trying to ignore Mingyu's weight. "How have you still not gotten over him?"

"You don't know how it feels!" he huffed.

"Okay, I guess?" Minghao sighed, and Mingyu pouted, separating from him. "You should find someone new to forget about Seokmin."

"Using someone else is a horrible action!" Mingyu exclaimed, sitting on the floor. "Ugh! Everything sucks... I just want to be an adult to be automatically happy."

"Yeah, you'll be very happy working, getting a lousy salary, paying bills, and having debts... so happy, just look at your divorced parents," Minghao sat down in front of him, smiling. Mingyu was offended and kicked him, which made Minghao laugh even more. "Okay, sorry. What I'm trying to say is, you shouldn't give up on love just because it went wrong once. Besides, I told you never to get romantically involved with a friend. This is what happens when you don't listen to me."

"Shut up!" he shouted. "But you're right, unfortunately... what am I going to do!? Everyone has a partner and flaunts it, even Seokmin is already dating someone else," he said with a sad expression. "You'll never know how much courage someone with a broken heart must have to trust in love again."

Minghao crawled over to Mingyu and slapped him. Indignant, the young man just stared at him with his mouth open, also quite hurt. Minghao grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

"You're only seventeen, idiot!" he yelled, giving him another slap. "You have your whole life ahead of you, how can you be so dumb? And don't give me those edgy kid lines! Please, stop being so pathetic," Mingyu was in shock; how could Minghao be so cruel to his poor heart? "You're going to get up, clean yourself up, and come with me somewhere, okay?" Minghao finally let go and stood up, offering Mingyu a hand to help him up. "You're going to behave like a good boy with that person, got it? If you act like an idiot, I'll make sure to beat you until you lose consciousness... or life," he smiled, not letting go of Mingyu's hand. "Now go take a shower and put on your best clothes, got it?"

"What are you planning?"

"Got it?" Minghao repeated, threateningly. Mingyu nodded and reluctantly walked to the bathroom. "If you keep up with that attitude, I'm going to kill you—"

"I'm happy!" he pretended excitement and walked with little jumps to lock himself in the bathroom. He leaned against the door after closing it and sighed. Seriously, what was Minghao planning? 

He spent minutes staring at himself in the mirror without moving an inch, and then heard Minghao yelling at him to hurry up from outside. He didn't want to incur his best friend's wrath again, so he took a quick shower and came out, finding his room a mess, and by mess he meant he found one of his pants on the floor. Minghao made him choose between some outfits, and in the end, Mingyu opted for a comfortable one, earning a disapproving look from Minghao. After that, he was subjected to torture (Minghao applied makeup on him), and finally, he was kidnapped (Minghao took him to an amusement park). He felt smaller than ever when Minghao took him by the hand for an entire hour around the park looking for someone. He heard Minghao curse quietly at his friend, saying he never gave good directions, and after wasting so much time, they found him. At the park entrance. Minghao got so angry that he was on the verge of causing a scene in front of everyone, but luckily he didn't and simply gave his friend a "subtle" kick.

"Wonwoo, let me introduce you to Mingyu," he stepped aside so the two boys could greet each other face to face. When Mingyu made eye contact with Minghao's friend, he felt something strange, like warmth spreading across his chest. Wonwoo's eyes locked onto his, and then he smiled somewhat shyly. Mingyu had never been very shy; perhaps he could be quiet when first meeting someone, but within minutes, he would show his true animated and talkative self. For some reason, with Wonwoo, he felt nervous; he didn't feel like starting a conversation or anything, he was embarrassed by any thought that crossed his mind, and without even exchanging a word with the guy, he was afraid of ruining his image by saying anything stupid. But of course, best friends exist for a reason, and that's to ruin your image so you don't do it yourself. "He looks tough but he's really a baby, and he hasn't gotten over his ex, so help him with that."

"Hao!" he complained, making a big pout.

"You see?" Minghao asked Wonwoo, who let out a laugh. Ah... what a lovely laugh. Mingyu mentally slapped himself and tried to look anywhere but at Wonwoo, but that guy just kept drawing his gaze. "Anyway, I have to go right now, so enjoy," and then he ran off.

Wonwoo blinked, watching Minghao leave before turning his gaze to Mingyu and sighing.

"Do you want to go into the park?" he asked Mingyu.

"I already wandered around for an hour, but sure," he put his hands in his pockets, pretending to be relaxed, and entered the park again, walking alongside Wonwoo. "And... how old are you?" he asked, trying to look at the imposing park rides or the many people walking around with headbands or candies in their hands. He wanted to distract himself from Wonwoo's face.

"Eighteen," he replied. "Hao told me you're his age," Mingyu nodded, "he also told me you'd like to be a nurse..."

"Oh, apparently he told you a lot about me," he laughed nervously. "What else did he say about me?"

"That you're smart but your personality doesn't let that trait of yours stand out — ouch — he told me you fell in love with another one of your best friends and then everything went wrong, and it ended up breaking your heart... oh," Wonwoo stopped and Mingyu did too to look at him. "Is that the ex you haven't gotten over?"

"I...," he pressed his lips into a thin line and then nodded, defeated. "Didn't he say anything good about me?"

"That you're a good friend," he shrugged and resumed walking. "I hope he didn't say anything about me."

"No, he didn't," the younger admitted. "Will you tell me about yourself?" he asked, feeling all the embarrassment in the world a few seconds later. He tried to turn his face away as much as possible from Wonwoo to hide his red cheeks, even though the older wasn't even looking at him.

"Well... hmm," damn, his voice was like a little too attractive... what— "I don't have many things to say about myself... oh! I like video games and I also like to sleep, although I hardly ever sleep. I hate it when people touch my glasses, especially when they put their nasty fingers on the lenses," Mingyu turned his head to look at Wonwoo, who was still looking ahead as he walked, "and soon I'll start my studies to become a police officer."

"You want to be an officer? That's interesting. I thought you'd want to be a doctor or something," he smiled.

"I don't like that crap..." he looked at Mingyu out of the corner of his eye, "no offense," Mingyu burst into laughter and shook his head, mumbling something like, "no problem." They continued walking aimlessly until they reached a tent in the park where they sold some junk food, and Mingyu, wanting to be chivalrous, offered to buy Wonwoo something to eat. Everything was going well until he realized he didn't have his wallet with him, and Wonwoo had to pay for everything. Mingyu still tried to act considerate towards Wonwoo, even when they had been walking for two hours already and had seen each other's most embarrassing sides when he passed out on a ride and Wonwoo threw up on another one. Even then, he tried to appear normal in front of the guy, because he promised Minghao... and because Wonwoo was so cute and looked so good and his voice was so soft, delicate, attractive, and beautiful that he simply wanted to marry his voice and listen to him whisper medical terms into his ear for hours. He shook his head, trying to push away those weird thoughts about someone other than Seokmin, and heard Wonwoo talking about something he had no idea about because he had been staring at his face for like ten minutes, thinking the older guy was very handsome—"So... are you listening to me?"

"Yes!" he replied. "And what happened next?" he asked to seem interested.

"Nothing at all, that's the funniest part," he smiled when he saw Wonwoo laugh. "Anyway, why did you break up with your ex?"

"He broke up with me because... he didn't feel the same anymore. He said everything was better when we were just friends," he murmured, suddenly feeling down. The topic of Seokmin always made him sad (for obvious reasons). "But I've been trying to get over it."

"Look, first love is always the most painful and the stupidest, so just tell him to go to hell," Wonwoo told him. "Plus, who in their right mind falls in love with a friend? That was very stupid of you. I mean, with so many people in the world, you decided to fixate on someone you've known for years?" he rolled his eyes. "Meet new people, fall in love, and be happy. Staying stuck in the past won't help you at all."

Mingyu contemplated Wonwoo, who after giving his speech continued to calmly eat his burger. He was right, Mingyu knew it and even accepted it, but the problem is that it was easier to "say" than "do." He always wanted to get over Seokmin, from the moment the guy broke up with him, but it was very difficult. Maybe it's because Seokmin left a big mark on his life, or because he was very immature and didn't know how to say goodbye to someone who didn't love him anymore. He thought Seokmin was everything he had ever wanted; he was beautiful, talented, nice, funny... he was everything to Mingyu, sort of like his ideal type. Although his crush on Seokmin was also sudden, because before turning fifteen, he had never been interested in his friend. Apparently puberty came with all its hormones and after that, he was drooling over Seokmin. Minghao, being the voice of reason, advised him not to damage the friendship, but since Mingyu sometimes seemed to have his brain in his ass and vice versa, he didn't listen and there he was a year after the breakup, crying over him.

"Have you also had your heart broken?"

"No, I'm not dumb enough for that to happen to me," he replied before taking one last bite of his burger, "... no offense, again," Mingyu shook his head, leaving some of the sadness behind after interacting with Wonwoo; the guy was fun, all the time he had spent with him on that sort of impromptu date had been worth it. Wonwoo was nice, and he really didn't want to embarrass himself in front of him. "Anyway, what would you do if you saw your ex right now with his new partner, if he has one?"

"I would try to hide so he doesn't see me being so miserable."

"That's depressing, Mingyu," oh, it was the first time that night that Wonwoo called him by his name. "You should act like you're happy, much happier than you were with him. That way he'll know you've moved on and that you don't care anymore. Haven't you even tried to have a partner in this time?"

"No..."

"Then, because I like you and because today is Valentine's Day—"

"Today is Valentine's Day!?"

"Yes, Mingyu, didn't you know? Don't you have a calendar or something? For God's sake," Wonwoo looked at him, deeply disappointed. "It's the most important date for losers like you, it's not possible that you don't know that today is the day," he shook his head.

"I simply didn't check today's date on the calendar, and there's no need for you to insult me—"

"As I was saying," he interrupted, "as a gift for meeting you on this special day, we can be boyfriends until the end of the night."

"Uh? What do you mean?"

"Let's pretend to be boyfriends for..." he looked at the watch on his wrist, "an hour and a half, maybe that way you'll cheer up a bit and this could be the first step to getting over him. And Minghao made me promise him that I had to act all romantic with you so you feel really nice, so cooperate," so it was all a damn plan from his damn best friend, excellent. "In an hour and a half I'm going home, and you should go home too. Make good use of this time, I'm the best boyfriend you could ever ask for."

"God..." Mingyu laughed, he had never heard anything more ridiculous than that, but he ended up accepting it.

Pretend to be boyfriends for a guy he had just met for an hour? That was a piece of cake.

Except it wasn't a piece of cake because Mingyu actually felt involved with Wonwoo when they walked around the park like two lovebirds holding hands, and even taking a silly couple photo booth session. When he got home, Mingyu felt his hand empty, a feeling similar to the one he felt when he spent too much time without Seokmin, a feeling he had gotten used to over the past year.

It was very strange, Mingyu wanted to see Wonwoo again.

Chapter Text

Wonwoo watched as Joshua sipped his chocolate milk slowly, with total calm. He glanced at Minghao, who was to his left; the young man was clenching his fists as tight as he could, and Wonwoo understood, he also wanted to jump on Joshua and give him a couple of punches. Seokmin leaned against Wonwoo's right shoulder and sighed, closing his eyes.

"If you fall asleep, I'll-"

Wonwoo's threat hung in the air when he heard soft snores coming from Seokmin. Seokmin's head weighed on his shoulder and he wanted to shake him, but he wasn't so heartless as to wake him up. The lawyer was probably very exhausted, who wouldn't be after everything? Wonwoo yawned and slowly rested his head on Minghao's shoulder.

"Don't even think about it," Minghao pushed him, and Wonwoo huffed. Seokmin also woke up from his nap, which hadn't lasted even two minutes, and blinked, looking at Joshua and then at Minghao. "He hasn't said anything yet," he pointed at Joshua. "Hey, if you plan to stay quiet all damn night, I'll go back home. Unlike you, I have someone waiting for me-"

"I met Jeonghan," Joshua interrupted. Minghao, Wonwoo, and Seokmin settled on the couch, adopting a straight posture. "We were kind of best friends when we were kids," he shrugged and placed his chocolate milk mug on the table in front of his chair. "He moved away when we were teenagers, and we lost touch."

"And why are you telling us this now?" Wonwoo asked. "Couldn't you have told me when I started the fucking investigation?"

"Would it have made any difference?" Joshua's look was strange. Wonwoo could describe it as cold; something rare in Joshua, as his eyes, no matter the situation, always reflected warmth. "The last time I saw him, I was sixteen; that wouldn't have helped with the case, Wonwoo."

"And why does this information matter now for the case? What changed?" Minghao questioned, crossing his legs and taking a more relaxed posture. "Suddenly you have a hero complex and want to throw yourself into the fire? You want Seungcheol to kill you?"

"I talked to Jeonghan a day before his death," Joshua continued. "I was about to graduate from college, and my adoptive mother had passed away days before. I was really messed up after that; I didn't have the strength to go to study or work, not even to cook myself a meal. Jeonghan really wanted to visit me, he told me he would spend a month with me to help me, and that even his cousin would come with him to my house to keep me company, but he never showed up. Weeks went by," he interlocked his hands over his abdomen, "weeks in which I didn't hear anything from him, weeks in which I improved a little, and... out of nowhere, one day they told me he was dead. I had a terrible relapse," he sighed, "but I also managed to get out of there. I found a job in this city and decided to leave everything behind. I focused a lot on my current life, so much so that from time to time I even forgot about Jeonghan's existence, until Wonwoo started with this."

"You're giving a lot of context but few answers to our questions... what are you getting at, Joshua?" Wonwoo asked, much more impatient than before.

"Seungcheol might find me interesting because of this. I was thinking..."

"Ah, you're thinking? Doesn't seem like it," Wonwoo interrupted, and Seokmin hit him on the head, annoyed. "What?" he asked jokingly, and the lawyer hit him again on the arm.

"As I was saying... I was thinking that I could pretend to agree with him," Minghao let out a not-so-discreet laugh, and when Joshua looked at him tiredly, he pretended he hadn't done anything. "God, why don't you trust me?"

"You're terrible at making plans," Minghao had never sounded more sincere.

"And a terrible actor," Wonwoo added.

"I believe in you, detective," ah, that's why he loved Seokmin.

"He knows that we know his weird stuff and his motives, right?" Minghao got up and started walking around the room. "We're in similar situations: Jihoon and him know us, but now, by kidnapping Mingyu and the doctor, we also know them a bit better. Things will get more complicated, of course, but we can find a way out," he looked at Joshua. "A way out that doesn't involve executing your plan."

"Think about it, Hao. When Jeonghan died, I was vulnerable, his death clearly caused me to have a relapse. Seungcheol's mental state isn't the best, he'll probably trust me quickly if I pretend to share his motives. Maybe what he needs is to feel someone he can relate to, and I can pretend to be that person."

"And what about Jihoon? If he's his accomplice it's because they identify with each other or some shit like that," Wonwoo said, crossing his arms. "Why would he want to associate with a detective who had been investigating him?"

"That's it: Jihoon!" Seokmin jumped up with a bright expression on his face. "We can put on a whole show and pretend we don't know they kidnapped the doctor and Gyu," he walked over to stand in front of Joshua, smiling. "Look at the time; meetings usually end before three in the morning, and by now we'd all be asleep, don't you think?" he heard Wonwoo sigh and ignored it, focusing on Detective Hong. "Nothing confirms to Jihoon or Seungcheol that we already know everything. Of course, it's something possible, but we've already let them see a bit of our personalities... who knows if they're still hoping we don't know anything. After all, they know we value our few moments to sleep more than anything," Joshua smiled and nodded, so Seokmin looked away to avoid blushing. He cleared his throat and continued. "I could... meet with Jihoon."

"No way, it's too dangerous," Joshua said; Minghao also approached and shook Seokmin by the shoulders.

"Are you crazy?" he complained, frowning. But he didn't look angry, not even bothered. Seokmin smiled and shook his head, stopping Minghao.

"When I found out Jihoon was a private investigator, I wanted to work with him. I can use that as an excuse for our meeting, and I won't mention anything about the kidnapping at any point."

"And what guarantees you that he'll want to attend that meeting, Seokmin?" Wonwoo asked; Seokmin looked at him, and his smile widened.

"I'm very charming, and also very persuasive," Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "I'm serious!" Seokmin huffed and sought Joshua's gaze again. "What do you think about that? Do you think it could work?"

"Yes, thank you very much," Joshua wanted to forget everything and throw himself to hug the lawyer. Oh... he wanted to switch places with Soonyoung for just a few minutes to be able to feel Seokmin's arms around him.

"Your plan is missing something, then," Wonwoo finally stood up and positioned himself next to Minghao, close to the other two. "If you approach Jihoon, what will Joshua do? Approach Seungcheol in some way?"

"Hmm..." the lawyer looked up at the ceiling, thoughtful. "In that case, Joshua... I mean, Detective Hong, could come with me to the meeting with Jihoon. If we show that we still trust him, he might also open up to us."

"And what if Joshua tells Jihoon about his past with Jeonghan? They also seemed to be good friends," Minghao added.

"That's an excellent idea," Joshua high-fived the younger man, cheerful. "See? It's not such a bad plan, Wonwoo, Minghao," he looked at them while they returned his gaze with some doubt. "I think it could work," he nodded, trying to convince himself that nothing could go wrong. "Again, thank you, Seok... Lawyer Lee."

"You can call me by my name, no problem," Seokmin said after letting out a chuckle.

Wonwoo whistled and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"That's... romanti-"

"Shut up, blindy"

Chapter Text

Between going to his house to pick up clothes and other belongings and arriving at Chan's building, a few hours had passed. The building looked average from the outside, nothing too luxurious compared to other downtown apartments, but that was the least of Soonyoung's concerns; he was grateful to have a safe place to stay. Chan felt sorry for the doctor when they got to the elevator and saw a sign on the doors: "Out of order."

"What floor do you live on, Officer?" Soonyoung asked with a smile, trying not to worry about it. His whole body ached, yes, but he could manage to climb a few stairs.

"The top floor..." Chan whispered, embarrassed.

It was thirteen floors.

Soonyoung nodded, accepting his fate. Chan started walking with the doctor's suitcases, and he followed, limping, carrying a large bag and his work briefcase. It took quite a few minutes trying to climb up, and it took much longer because of Soonyoung's physical condition, who tried not to worry the officer, but his groans and grimaces of pain were inevitable. The next blow was finding out that Chan lived at the end of the long hallway; they were both almost crawling when they reached the door, which Chan opened quickly and almost dove into the apartment. The young man directed Soonyoung to his room, which had a small single bed and a chest of drawers, nothing more.

"And where will you sleep?" he asked worriedly because he knew that in Officer Lee's small home, there wasn't even a living room; there was only a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen. What separated the three places was an area, also tiny, where there was a small table and two chairs, and this served as a dining room, office, and "living room."

"On the floor," Chan pulled out a futon from a drawer and placed it next to the bed, "I'm used to it, so it's no problem."

All of Soonyoung's suitcases and bags were placed in the dining room because they wouldn't fit in the bedroom. When Chan said it was a small place, Soonyoung imagined something obviously small, yes, but in that place, Chan barely fit in easily. But at the same time, when he was tucked in from head to toe in Chan's bed, he smiled. He felt welcomed by the officer and was very grateful. And although his body already hurt just thinking about having to climb and descend thirteen floors in the following days, that was also okay because he was alive. Gradually, he fell asleep, his body demanding rest, and he allowed himself to rest in the officer's bed, listening to the young man snore from the floor.

To the dismay of both, the alarm for work sounded less than an hour later, and Chan got up grumbling from the futon, saying that just when he was starting to have a nice dream, he had been awakened. Soonyoung felt transported to the moments when he was studying, to all those times he had to give up his sleep for assignments or exams, and he rubbed his eyes, yawning. Both Chan and he started work at similar times, so he proposed to the young man to drop him off at the station before heading to the hospital, and of course, the younger one accepted. The apartment had become a mess with all of Soonyoung's scattered suitcases, even more so when he started looking for clothes to cover the wounds he had from the night before. Chan carried him on his back down the stairs, which was very dangerous, but luckily everything went well, and then they set off to their jobs in Kwon's wrecked car.

Obviously, the condition of Dr. Kwon's car and his own injuries sparked conversation at the hospital, but he reassured everyone by asking them not to make a scene and telling them that he had simply had a minor accident with Mingyu. The nurse, who had new Hello Kitty band-aids on his face, greeted him by giving him a coffee, which Soonyoung appreciated.

"How was your first night away from home? Did you manage to get any sleep?" he asked.

"Does forty minutes count as sleep?" Mingyu laughed and shook his head, feeling somewhat sad for the doctor, "Well, then you'll draw your own conclusions. Although I felt comfortable with the officer, he even made me breakfast."

"Chan is a good kid," Mingyu affirmed. "I'm glad that, all things considered, you're okay, doctor," he turned to leave the office but when he was about to open the door, he turned back to Soonyoung. "And... you haven't been contacted by Jihoon, right?"

"I don't have a phone, remember?"

"Ah... right," the nurse nodded and left the office. "By phone isn't the only way you can be contacted, doctor," he murmured to himself as he headed to his work area.

Soonyoung watched intently as smoke rose from the cup on his desk, lost in his thoughts. Once again, all he could think about was Jihoon and all the things he had been through.

"Just... act like you're desperate," Detective Hong had asked him.

"Desperate?" Soonyoung furrowed his brow. "What if Jihoon gets nervous or worried for nothing?"

"It's just a technique to get him here faster," the detective smiled, and finally Soonyoung understood; of course, it was all to end the meeting as early as possible. "People perform better under pressure and get places faster when they're worried... sometimes."

"You're right," he dialed Jihoon's number and glanced at the detective, who just nodded, encouraging him to speak. "Can you come with us to Mingyu's house today?" he tried to sound as serious as possible; the detective raised both thumbs. Soonyoung put the call on speaker as the detective requested, and they heard Jihoon answer.

Ah, Soonyoung thought he had understood everything at that moment, but he actually hadn't understood anything at all. And he felt like an idiot because Detective Joshua apparently had doubted Jihoon from the start and had sent him to make the call just to make him nervous and press him. He had been blinded by his love, or perhaps Jihoon had been good enough to manipulate him, or maybe, simply, Soonyoung was a fool who fell in love too quickly. Upon reflection, he didn't know Jihoon that well; he knew nothing about his past, never cared to ask, yet Jihoon knew absolutely everything about him.

Jihoon, Jihoon, Jihoon... fuck.

He took a sip of the coffee, savoring its bitter taste. Focusing on pending work and his patients was proving almost impossible due to the pain in his body and how overwhelmed he was; noticing this, Mingyu simply took him out for lunch at a café across from the hospital.

"I shouldn't be doing this, Mingyu," he looked around, hoping not to find anyone familiar. "It's inappropriate for me to be here at this hour, it's not time yet..."

"Would you prefer to tarnish your image in front of your patients?" Mingyu interrupted him. "You should have taken the day off."

"You know it would be strange. People would start talking and..." he shook his head, sighing. "Even now, they're talking and saying things; my car is in terrible condition as am I, and you're not exactly good either. Now we're the center of attention, and everyone is speculating," he remembered some nurses saying that both he and Mingyu were involved in shady affairs and that this "accident" had actually been an attempted homicide... not far from the truth. Soonyoung shook his head, pushing aside that memory, and continued speaking. "I'm worried about the investigation right now; if we miss even the slightest thing, the agents will be at risk, and I wouldn't want all their work and dedication to be ruined because of us, or well, because of me," he looked at Mingyu. "You could have died yesterday, all because of me."

"You were in danger too, doctor, and it's not your fault. Besides, I decided on my own to work with Wonwoo and the others," Mingyu said. "From the beginning, I knew it was dangerous, which is why I didn't want you to get involved, but in the end... it turned out as it should, and we can't do anything about it," Mingyu glanced at his phone, which kept vibrating, with a furrowed brow. "It's the group chat for the investigation," he told Soonyoung. "There are too many messages; what could they be talking about?" the doctor shrugged, and Mingyu began to read the messages quickly, skipping some and not paying much attention until a screenshot of a news article sent by Chan left him stunned. "Doctor..." he handed his phone to Soonyoung.

"Intensive care doctor found dead after being missing for..."

"It's Yugyeom," he said, reading the news. "Seungcheol, he... he told me last night."

"You knew? Why didn't you tell me anything?" Mingyu demanded.

"With all the things on my mind, I momentarily forgot," he handed back the phone. "I think it won't be long before we're the next target, considering that we now know too much."

"Don't say such things, please; we're protected, the guys won't let anything happen to us, I can assure you," Mingyu tried to sound confident, but he didn't quite succeed. He didn't want to admit that Soonyoung had a point, and of course, because it terrified him. He had already been kidnapped and had managed to get out of it because Jihoon had "taken pity," but he was sure he wouldn't be so lucky if something like that happened again. He couldn't help but think of Wonwoo; his husband was in much greater danger now. "But... why 'putting in public' the body of Dr. Kim now? It's weird that they did it just a day after kidnapping us. Do you think they're giving us a warning?"

It bothered Soonyoung a little that Mingyu was using the plural to refer to the atrocities Choi Seungcheol was committing; he didn't want the constant reminder that Jihoon was doing the same. It was stupid, he knew.

"Probably," he nodded. "Wait, does Jihoon still belong to the group chat?"

"Yes..." Mingyu responded after checking the group members. He looked up from his phone to the doctor, furrowing his brow. "Don't tell me you think..."

Mingyu left the sentence incomplete when Soonyoung started laughing. It started as a quiet laugh but then escalated into uproarious laughter that had all the other people around staring at them. The nurse was becoming increasingly concerned about the doctor's mental well-being; of course, he wouldn't be okay after being kidnapped and after finding out that his boyfriend was a murderer, but he never thought he would see the doctor completely lose it. Soonyoung took a deep breath and stopped laughing, having small spasms in his body until he calmed down completely.

"The game has begun, Mingyu."

"Huh?"

Chapter Text

Joshua looked impatiently at Minghao, who at the last minute was hesitating about the plan he had agreed to days before with Wonwoo. Fortunately, the troublemaker who started the whole mess was no longer bothering and approved without much fuss what Seokmin and Joshua had planned. And Minghao had agreed initially, but just as Joshua was getting ready to leave with Seokmin, the other detective stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder and murmuring things like, "Are you really sure?" and "That plan isn't even that good, Joshua."

"Hao, I have to go; Jihoon is probably already waiting for us, and Seokmin is looking at you like he wants to kick your ass," he whispered the last part, giving a quick glance at the lawyer standing in a corner of the office.

"I don't care about Seokmin!" he deliberately shouted so his dear friend could hear him. "I'm worried about you. Seokmin might be able to handle Seungcheol and Jihoon, but you can't, Joshua. It's better if Seokmin does it alone; he's enough."

"I won't leave him alone, not in any way," he said firmly, then intertwined his hand with Minghao's hand that wasn't gripping his shoulder. "We'll be fine, okay? There's not much that guy can do in a public place," he said, this time softly. The younger man finally released his shoulder and after looking at their intertwined hands one last time, he hugged Joshua lightly and stepped away from him, trying to smile.

"Don't die," and then he turned to Seokmin, "neither of you."

Seokmin nodded and gave him a thumbs-up before smiling brightly.

"I'll make sure not to... drama king."

Minghao tried to trust his friends' words and finally let them leave his office. He was genuinely scared, but in the eyes of the other two, he was overreacting; well, that could be true since Minghao was acting as if his friends were going to war. He doubted he could fully concentrate on work due to stress, but he had to. Lately, Commissioner Im had been much more insistent than before, and that was another concern added to his large repertoire of worries. Added to that, Prosecutor Taemin had also been coming in and out of the police station for no apparent reason. Minghao knew about his friendship with Yoona, but it was still strange; the prosecutor always came at odd hours when the commissioner was very busy, and he did nothing there, just stopped to watch the officers work, made a couple of comments that no one found amusing, and then left. It was very odd; didn't that man have any work to attend to? Sighing, Minghao slumped into his chair and rested his arms on the desk in front of him.

He really hoped everything would turn out okay.

Jihoon anxiously glanced at his wristwatch, thinking he might have arrived at the café a bit early; but his thoughts were dispelled when he saw Joshua and Seokmin approaching him. The lawyer smiled kindly as always, as did the detective. They seemed too friendly, as if nothing had happened.

He had been very restless those days. He assumed that Soonyoung and Mingyu had told the agents everything, because of course, it was obvious, it was the smartest thing they could have done. But he doubted that when he received a message from Seokmin asking him to meet for something important but at the same time had nothing to do with the investigation. It could all be an act, there was no doubt about that, but at the same time, Seokmin and Joshua's warmth and kindness baffled him. There was no way those two could be such good actors... right? Jihoon had acted all that time, and he had done it quite well, considering that Soonyoung never suspected until he revealed himself. But he always felt nothing but genuine attitudes from everyone else, as if the only one with hidden intentions there was him.

Maybe because that was exactly it. The officers, Soonyoung, even Seungkwan, had good intentions. While Jihoon... damn it, he just wanted to be good. He would support Seungcheol all his life, but after admitting to himself that he loved Soonyoung, everything had turned upside down.

Oh, Soonyoung... so he had kept the kidnapping a secret. That eased his heart a bit. Perhaps it meant that Soonyoung hadn't stopped loving him and that he cared about him, maybe he even wanted to help him. He was already getting his hopes up, unfortunately, but he didn't blame himself for it. After all, those days thinking that Soonyoung hated him had been torture, so he preferred to think that he still cared about him. That he still thought about him and continued to yearn for only him.

"Hello, how have you been?" Joshua was the first to greet and take a seat, followed by Seokmin, who sat beside him.

"Fine..." he responded calmly, trying to analyze the two men in front of him. He couldn't fully trust them.

"It's been a while... after Doctor Kwon's accident and Mingyu's, the meetings were suspended," Seokmin said sadly. Joshua looked at him, somewhat alarmed, because they weren't supposed to mention anything about it, but the timid touch of Seokmin's hand on his under the table, where Jihoon couldn't see, relaxed him... what the hell? Was Seokmin touching him? Him? Joshua blushed and pulled his hand away, placing it on the table. "By the way, how is the doctor? Is he feeling better?" Seokmin asked after clearing his throat. That had been a bit awkward...

"Ah... uh..." Jihoon hesitated. "Yes, he's feeling better," he lied, staring directly at the lawyer, but he didn't notice anything. The young man looked genuinely concerned about Soonyoung. Had Soonyoung really not said anything? And if this was true, how had he managed to get Mingyu to agree with him not to tell his husband and the others anything? "Hmm... what's the purpose of this meeting?" he changed the subject.

"Right!" Seokmin took out a few documents from his briefcase and placed them on the table between them. "I want to hire you as a private investigator for a case, it's about a scam. You've worked with cases like this before, right?" Jihoon nodded in response. "Excellent. It's still too early to point fingers at any culprit; everything is just beginning, but getting information has become a torment, so..." and he left it there, waiting for a response from Jihoon, who seemed to be thinking carefully about what to say.

"Okay, we can work together," he said simply. "And... why is the detective here?"

Joshua felt attacked. Although he probably shouldn't have; Jihoon had just asked a question.

"Oh, he's here because the case also interests him. You know, police stuff," Seokmin replied before Joshua could imagine a response. The detective looked at the lawyer with some admiration; he didn't seem nervous or pretending in front of Jihoon. He looked... normal. He, too, had given his best for a good performance, but he thought that at one moment or another, something about him might have given him away. Jihoon seemed to understand, and after that, he didn't speak much; he just listened to Seokmin's details and requirements, accepting everything without further questions. In the eyes of Joshua and Seokmin, Jihoon looked very calm and acted normally, even after what had happened less than a week ago.

That angered them both, although they didn't show it. That man had witnessed the kidnapping of the supposed man he loved, and instead of asking for help, he preferred to stay on the side of the worst person of all. But were Seungcheol and Jihoon really different? Joshua examined him with his gaze. The younger man smiled at Seokmin as he listened to him and wrote down what the lawyer said in a notebook. All with total normality. That same man who seemed incapable of hurting a fly was a murderer who was free and who, perhaps at that very moment, wished to end them. That same man had managed to deceive them all.

Jihoon had to leave after a supposed urgent call, leaving them alone.

"That man is a real danger," said Joshua. "He lies to us shamelessly, huh?"

"We did the same thing, didn't we?" Seokmin said with humor, smiling. Joshua had to fix his gaze on somewhere other than the beautiful face of the young man.

"We have good intentions, he doesn't," he replied. "Well, I think we did well. If he had many suspicions, they were probably dispelled. Maybe right now he thinks Doctor Kwon is on his side."

"It's true, but we should try to keep the doctor as far away from Jihoon as possible. If they come into contact, it's possible that... you know"

"Do you really think the doctor could turn his back on us for Jihoon?" Joshua asked curiously, looking back at Seokmin. 

"Love blinds people," he replied. "But I'd like to believe that the doctor won't do that. He's very strong and also has a big heart... he's a very fair man, I'm sure. Anyway, for now, both he and Officer Chan should be a little removed from everything."

"Yes, although Chan doesn't show it, he must be somewhat affected. He trusted Jihoon completely all this time, and knowing that he's one of the targets must have hurt him a lot," Joshua sighed. "We've completed the first part of the plan; what's left is simply to act normally... Do you remember the article Chan sent?"

"About Doctor Yugyeom?" he asked; Joshua nodded. "What about it?"

"I think it's obvious that it wasn't a suicide like the media wants to make it seem. The police investigation into that was very simple; it concluded quickly as a suicide," he shrugged. "We couldn't do much because it didn't concern us, but... everything about that case was identical to the others. Seungcheol and Jihoon always find a way to have cases declared as suicides or accidents," he leaned in a little closer to Seokmin. "Doctor Kim Yugyeom was Yoon's transplant coordinator. Chan fully believes that the doctor committed suicide; he says it has nothing to do with Seungcheol and even talked about it in the group chat, of which Jihoon is still a part" Seokmin looked at him attentively, so much so that it overwhelmed him. Still blushing, Joshua didn't look away. "Jihoon, besides believing that we don't know anything, knows that Chan trusts him or doesn't suspect him at all. He can try to get close to him with lies; he can even 'reveal himself' I don't know if you understand; he can tell him the truth, promising him that Seungcheol won't kill him or anything like that. We see what kind of person Jihoon is, with his appearance and his deceit, someone like Chan could fall for it."

"Ah, it's all a mess," Seokmin was the first to look away, taking his gaze to the vase that was in the center of the table. "Changing the subject, would you like to order something?"

Joshua looked at Seokmin's profile, suddenly feeling warm inside. He smiled, still looking at him.

"I'd love to, but I don't have any money."

Seokmin turned his head towards him, laughing.

"Very funny... " Joshua blinked, still smiling. "You're serious, aren't you? Um... don't worry, I'll treat you." 

Joshua wanted to marry Seokmin.

Chapter Text

"Seungcheol, I think Soonyoung is on our side," his voice couldn't hide his excitement. "I'm almost sure."

"Oh, until you deign to talk to me again."

Jihoon's small smile faded as he watched Seungcheol. His best friend had his back to him from the couch, using his laptop, his attitude screaming "disinterest" in everything regarding Jihoon.

"You talk as if I'm the one who behaved like an idiot" that seemed to touch a nerve of Seungcheol's, who turned to look at Jihoon with an incredulous smile. The younger one looked at him defiantly, and Seungcheol's expression softened. He patted the empty space beside him on the couch, and Jihoon accepted the invitation, moving closer to sit down.

"I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't entirely in my right mind—"

"You're never in your right mind," Jihoon interrupted him sternly.

"Whatever... why do you think your little boyfriend is supporting us? For the power of love? Don't play" he chuckled.

"I'm serious, Seungcheol. He didn't tell anyone about your 'little moment of fun,'" he said, grimacing. "I don't know how he got Mingyu to lie too... no, actually, I don't know about Mingyu. Soonyoung might be on our side, but..." he tilted his head, cursing. "I have to investigate that."

"I don't recommend trusting them."

"Please, if they knew something, I would notice, don't you think?"

"Your overconfidence has led you to failure most of the time. Other people aren't as stupid as you think, Jihoon," he tried to advise him, but Jihoon just clicked his tongue and ignored him.

"At least I'm discreet and don't act like an impulsive child, unlike someone I know," Jihoon narrowed his eyes at Seungcheol. So he still held a grudge for kidnapping his 'sweetheart'. "Anyway, they talk in the group chat as if nothing happened, and there's no activity from Mingyu or Soonyoung; the only ones sending messages are the officers and the lawyer. They believe that Soonyoung and I are still living together; they even asked me how he was after the accident. That's why I want to believe that Mingyu hasn't said anything either, because... if they had any questions, they could ask him, don't you think?"

"You might be right or you might be about to ruin everything, I don't know," Seungcheol replied. "I just ask that you act wisely," he spoke without taking his eyes off his laptop screen; whatever he was watching apparently was more interesting than his friend. "Don't make rash decisions."

"You know what? It's very curious that you say that. As far as I remember, we're in this situation because someone kidnapped a key witness from the damn police investigation they're doing, for no reason," Jihoon's voice was escalating with each word he said, and his gaze drilled into Seungcheol, who was still immersed in the screen. "I'm doing everything possible to keep us from getting caught, Seungcheol, and to fulfill your whims, but..." his anger was gradually replaced with sadness. He felt his eyes welling up and a lump in his throat. "Why do I feel like I'm the only one doing anything? Why do I feel like I'm doing all the work? I'm out there, risking it all, and you... you're just here, telling me what to do but not helping me at all."

"You've become very sensitive since..." Jihoon glanced away, anything but Seungcheol and his damn laptop. He closed his eyes, tears slipping down, but Seungcheol did nothing. He didn't even try to console him with words or awkward gestures as he usually did. He was being more of an idiot than usual, and it was hurting Jihoon even more. Unable to bear being in that place for another second, he stood up abruptly and ran his hands over his face, trying to wipe away the tears that kept flowing regardless. Seungcheol finally looked at him. "What? Are you leaving again?" Jihoon didn't respond and walked towards the door, placing his hand on the knob but not turning it yet. When had leaving that place become a source of relief? Usually, he wanted to go in there and spend the whole day with Seungcheol, who always listened to him and helped him, advised him and made him feel good. Now, the apartment they rented for their 'mischief' had become an unpleasant place for him. Perhaps everything had started to break since the moment Seungcheol had come up with the brilliant idea of kidnapping Soonyoung, or he had simply started to feel suffocated in that place since he first thought that maybe he would like to help the officers in their investigation and redeem himself. Or he had just had enough of everything and needed a break. 

"Jihoon, you're always running away. You can't solve all your problems by running away, you're not a child anymore," Seungcheol's voice brought him back to reality. He looked ahead; the door was still closed, and his hand gripped the knob tightly, so tightly that he wouldn't be surprised if the knob broke at some point. "Jihoon..." 

He didn't need to hear more. He turned the knob and left the apartment, feeling a mix of emotions and conflicting desires. He had to decide quickly and choose one of the two viable paths, but no matter which one he chose, Jihoon felt like he was betraying himself. He was confused, scared, sad, excited... if only Soonyoung were there. 

He stopped halfway down the dark hallway; the landlord hadn't fixed the lamps yet. He took a deep breath and turned his head slightly. His heart was racing with uncertainty; perhaps Seungcheol had regretted everything and was finally thinking of giving him some genuine apologies. But no, there was no one behind him. Seungcheol hadn't rushed out to find him like last time. From his position, he could see the door to the apartment open, with dim light spilling out from inside. So that was it. Jihoon started walking again, hands in his pockets. His body language didn't reflect any of the turmoil in his mind. 

Damn it, he cursed Jeonghan a thousand times for dying. He really did. All his problems had started because of that. Jeonghan... what would he do in his place? He used to make decisions that benefited him and only him, without worrying much about others, but how the hell was Jihoon supposed to know what was good for him and what was bad? If he had the chance to ask Jeonghan for advice, what would his friend say? "Too bad, life goes on, Jihoon," or "Forge your own path." Nonsense, that was Jihoon's own mind trying to console him; Jeonghan would obviously say: "Don't leave Cheol." 

He almost laughed at his own thoughts. But at least, he wasn't so alone, right? Because Soonyoung had protected him. Although, he had no idea where Soonyoung was staying now. He had gone to look for him at his house, but he wasn't there, just like his most important belongings. Sleeping in that empty bed had been torture for Jihoon. He wasn't brave enough to go to the hospital and talk to him either. Contacting him was impossible, although there was also the possibility that Soonyoung already had a phone and a new phone number. How could he approach him again without being too obvious? First of all, did Soonyoung really want to see him, or was Jihoon just getting stupid hopes? Could he ask Chan or Mingyu for help? Mingyu probably wouldn't be a good option because of Wonwoo, but Chan... Chan could understand him, right? 

He would wait until the next day to send a message to the young officer. If he told him the truth, Chan would probably feel betrayed, but if Jihoon told him a half-truth, leaving out the whole kidnapping part, he was sure Chan would lend him a hand to get back to Soonyoung. Honestly, Jihoon had no idea what he had done to please Chan so much, but he could use that to his advantage. 

Sending a message to Chan would be fine, or at least that's what he wanted to believe.

Chapter Text

Wonwoo put on a stern face. There was the "little delinquent" again. He was fed up with that kid, and he was even more fed up with the adults who always brought him to the police station.

"I've already told you that I can't do anything for you; social services should take care of him, not me! I'm a police officer!" he said, his patience wearing thin. The boy, sitting between his aunt and uncle, huffed.

"But he's a delinquent, he should be in jail!" the aunt exclaimed. Wonwoo looked at the teenager again; in his eyes, all he could see was hatred towards his aunt, and Wonwoo could understand a bit where that was coming from. The kid had had a very tough few years, but even so, that wasn't something that had anything to do with him. "He broke into our house again, we can't allow that."

"I just went into the yard!" the boy defended himself. "Aunt, please, you're exaggerating."

Mr. Yoon sighed and looked at his wife and nephew with disappointment before turning to Wonwoo, pleading.

"Help us, please," the man begged. Wonwoo wanted to laugh; it seemed like that man would burst into tears at any moment. And then he felt bad for wanting to laugh; the Yoons hadn't had an easy time lately either, but, unsurprisingly, that didn't have anything to do with Wonwoo. Seriously, why did he always have to deal with weird people? Lately, he preferred patrolling for hours to sitting in the police station and dealing so closely with stupid cases. Damn it, he even preferred cases of drunken fights to listening to this couple complain about their poor nephew.

"Sir, when will you understand that it's not something I can deal with? I can't get involved in that matter, and this kid... I mean, young man, hasn't committed a serious crime to be locked up. He just stepped into his house's yard, which is completely open, and anyone can enter, did he commit an act of vandalism?" the Yoons shook their heads. "Then I can't do anything. If you like, I can recommend a psychologist or..."

"We just want to stop dealing with him!" Mr. Yoon exclaimed. "We can't go on like this."

How cruel that man was to a fifteen-year-old boy. To his fifteen-year-old nephew. To a fifteen-year-old child, a forsaken child, a child who felt like he had no one in the world, a child who ran away from home seeking some affection and all he received was rejection. Jaehyuk lowered his gaze, and Wonwoo felt his heart ache. Ah, that child didn't deserve to hear those cruel words. And, against all odds, Wonwoo decided to do a good deed, not because he was a good person and wanted to get that poor kid out of that environment, but because he was already tired of that annoying old couple bothering him at work. Sure. It wasn't because he felt sorry for Jaehyuk or anything like that, no.

"All right! I'll do something, but get out!" he responded exasperated, and the Yoons almost shot out of their seats and left, leaving poor Jaehyuk "abandoned" at the police station. "Jeez! How do you stand those two?" he asked. Jaehyuk opened his mouth to reply, but Wonwoo raised a hand. "Wait, don't say anything, I know you can't stand them. Anyway, kid, why do you like getting into trouble? You know what they're like, why don't you leave them alone? I know you're not okay, you're sad, and I understand, but so are they. You lost your cousin, your friend, but they lost their son, and maybe that makes them more irritating than usual."

"It's just that..." he trailed off, shrinking into the chair. "I try to live like Jeonghan told me."

"Inside a police station? Because you spend more time in here than out there soaking up the sun," Jaehyuk rolled his eyes, which made Wonwoo laugh. "Look, kid, I don't have all day, and I'm not a psychologist, so I can't do much for you. But since you're pitiful, and I hate seeing people miserable, you can talk to me, okay?"

"Thank you, officer."

"Yeah, whatever, just go."

Young Jaehyuk took Wonwoo's words as an invitation to visit him at the police station whenever he wanted. He even brought him lunch, and Wonwoo, embarrassed, accepted it. He also discovered that Jaehyuk didn't keep quiet; if he made the small mistake of asking him something, the teenager would start talking and wouldn't stop until Wonwoo got tired and told him to leave. But it was bearable. Being honest with himself, chatting with someone relaxed him a bit, especially since he had been temporarily transferred from his usual workplace and was no longer with his usual colleagues.

As it was routine, at the end of his shift, Wonwoo visited Junhui, his best friend, who had recently undergone another surgery. After his first surgery a few years ago, Junhui's health had remained delicate, so much so that he had received other surgical interventions. Therefore, he required a lot of bed rest and was forced to leave his position as a cybersecurity agent indefinitely. Wonwoo wondered how so many people around him were sick; he simply hoped not to be the next one. While Minghao was still stuck in his shifts, Wonwoo stayed with Junhui, who even on the brink of death (or well, maybe that was an exaggeration by Wonwoo) didn't stop bothering him.

"So, are you never going to marry Mingyu, loser?" he teased, sticking out his tongue childishly. Wonwoo rolled his eyes and looked at him, smiling a little. Junhui had very pronounced dark circles, he looked incredibly pale, and he looked weak. Even with his hoarse, low voice, he managed to have that characteristic mocking tone that made Wonwoo's hair stand on end. "Even Hao and I got married, and you guys..."

"And what's so good about getting married!?" he protested. "We live together! Why would I need anything else?" He fixed his gaze on his hands. Everyone talked to him about the wonders and miseries of being married, and Wonwoo didn't know what to think. A part of him wished to marry Mingyu and have a fairy tale-like story, but at the same time, he was terrified that their relationship would go to hell because of marriage. Anyway, he knew that if Mingyu proposed to him, he would say yes.

(Spoiler-no-spoiler: Wonwoo was the one who proposed to Mingyu).

"It's not the same to call Mingyu 'your boyfriend' as it is to call him 'your husband,'" he shrugged. "I don't know... doesn't it sound more elegant?" Wonwoo snorted, making Jun laugh. "I'm serious, getting married was one of the best things that happened to me."

"Most couples say the opposite, but I respect your opinion," he sighed; Junhui's tired eyes watched him for a few seconds, "what are you looking at?"

"Can't I see you?"

"No."

"Idiot," Jun chuckled, followed a few seconds later by Wonwoo's deep laughter. "You look... haggard?"

"Coming from you?"

"Very funny," Jun chuckled again, then looked at Wonwoo seriously. "No, seriously, why do you look more tired than usual? Everything okay at the station? Or is it something personal?"

He hated how well Junhui knew him, really.

"It's... work stuff. Too many things... I'm starting an investigation, and I haven't told anyone yet, don't you dare tell Hao!" Junhui nodded. Wonwoo knew that was a lost battle; Jun couldn't keep secrets. "I don't have much evidence, but... ah, it's better to tell you everything from the beginning. It all started with some upset folks who didn't know what to do with their 'rebellious' nephew, and now the kid has me as his 'protector'... I just told him he could talk to me!," he exclaimed, sounding tired. "The worst part is that the kid can be really nice sometimes; I'm afraid of getting attached."

"What's wrong with getting attached?"

"Well, most likely, I'll be transferred soon to another police station; if that happens, that kid will be left alone," Wonwoo pouted, feeling a bit sad. "You know? That kid's life is depressing."

"And you're going to tell me about it?"

"Do you want to hear?" Junhui narrowed his eyes, and Wonwoo wanted to hit him; he knew his friend had every intention of refusing. "Of course, you want to hear, idiot, you're such a gossip."

"Not really, but if you want to talk that badly, who am I to refuse?," the older one said with feigned disinterest.

"Well," Wonwoo ignored him, "his cousin, who was kind of like his older brother and sort of a best friend, died a few years ago. Obviously, the kid was devastated by this, but over time, he healed his wounds. And a few months ago, another tragedy happened in his life."

"What happened this time?"

"He told me he had a very kind neighbor. She lived with her daughter, and Jaehyuk was always there to help the mother when she was busy... remember the accident where a woman and a girl were run over by a trailer? Well... it was them."

"Oh no," Jun looked away, "but then, what does that have to do with your investigation?"

"Right! It's that I found a name that was often around the kid... 'Choi Seungcheol.' That man was the cousin's fiancé, and he also turned out to be the last person who was with Joohyun, the woman who died in the accident, and her daughter," he crossed his arms. "But those aren't the only deaths surrounding him. A young boy took his own life a month ago, supposedly, and the day before he did it, he had dinner with this Choi Seungcheol."

"And then what do you think? That this Seungcheol guy is an angel of death?"

"I mean... after his fiancé's death, three people have died, and two of them had organ transplant surgeries years ago, just like you. And all those people had one thing in common—the donor was Seungcheol's fiancé," he looked at Junhui. "In other words, your donor."

"What!?" Jun exclaimed, only to have a coughing fit afterward. Wonwoo approached and gave him gentle pats that didn't help at all. "Do you think that guy is killing those who received organs from his fiancé?," he asked after recovering, his voice sounding even lower and raspier than before. Wonwoo handed him a glass of water from the table and leaned over Jun to straighten his tousled hair a bit.

"When you put it like that, it sounds crazy, right? But those deaths surrounding him seem inexplicable to me, and those people have the same thing in common," he sighed again. "And it scares me because it turns out that Chan and you had the same donor."

"Really? How do you know that?"

"I just had to do some research... I'm still not sure about some things, and I want to make sure of everything before I talk to the others... what do you think?"

"I'd like it to be just a dumb theory of yours because if it's really like that... how scary."

"Yeah, me too... what do you think Joshua and the others would say when I tell them?"

"They'd probably all think you lost your mind," he shrugged. "Although, knowing them...," he tilted his head, thoughtful. "Yeah, they'll support you. After all, they're even weirder than you."

Ah, that was true.

"You have a point," Wonwoo's phone vibrated in his hands at that moment, and he already knew what it was. "I'm sure it's your hubby telling me to feed you."

"Ugh, why is he like this? I can take care of myself," Jun mumbled childishly. Yeah, well, when he acted like that, Wonwoo doubted that guy really could take care of himself.

«Wonwoo, I won't make it in time today. Feed Jun for me.»

«He says he can feed himself.»

«Dare to leave my house without feeding him.»

«Are you threatening me?»

«Yes, you little shit.»

"Already threatening me," he showed the messages to his friend, who just smiled lovingly at the screen, "seriously!? Do something! Defend me or something!"

"Just feed me and shut up."

"I swear when you get better, I'm going to...," another message arrived on his phone, and exasperated, he muttered, "Minghao, you're so persistent... oh, it's Jaehyuk."

"The kid with the shitty life?," Wonwoo nodded without looking at Jun, paying attention to the message. "What does he say?"

"His uncles disappeared...," he frowned, typing a response to the kid immediately. "He says his uncles aren't answering messages or calls, and there's been no one at home since last night," he got up and walked to the kitchen, leaving Jun confused in bed. He called Jaehyuk and waited for him to answer while looking for something to feed his friend. After three rings, Jaehyuk answered. "Hey, kid, what do you mean by those messages?"

"Officer Jeon," the young man sounded distressed, "they're really nowhere to be found, the neighbors don't know anything either, my mother hasn't heard from them since yesterday. The last thing we know is that they went out to dinner with my cousin's boyfriend."

"Wait, with Choi Seungcheol?"

"Yes! I don't want to sound pessimistic... are they okay?"

"Hmm... well, Jaehyuk, I'll see if I can do something, okay?" He heard the teenager sigh. Wonwoo didn't understand how Jaehyuk could still worry about his uncles after they literally wanted to put him in jail. He supposed it was the innocence of adolescence or something like that. With that, he found the perfect lunch for Junhui: a few apples. "Call me if something happens. I have to go now."

"Okay... thank you very much, officer."

"Yeah, yeah, bye." He waited for Jaehyuk to hang up before yelling at Jun while washing the apples he would take. "Jun, I think Choi kidnapped the uncles!" The elder replied something that Wonwoo couldn't hear, so he placed the washed apples in a bowl and went back to the room, leaving the bowl on Jun's legs. "What were you saying?"

"I was asking how you're so sure about it," Jun looked at Wonwoo tiredly, taking an apple and biting into it.

"First of all, I'm not sure about anything, but... before they disappeared, the Yoons had dinner with him, according to Jaehyuk. Doesn't that seem strange, Jun?"

"Yes, but it could also be a coincidence."

"What a coincidence that they disappeared after a meal with Seungcheol, just like three other people died after eating with him, right?"

"That's... shit, the more you say it, the less bizarre your theory sounds. Who knows, you might be right for the first time in your life, Wonwoo."

"Thanks?" Jun smiled at him, then finished the apple in one bite. "Hey, will you help me investigate? You spend all day in bed doing absolutely nothing."

"I'm sick, I can't help you."

"What a son of a..."

Chapter Text

"Lee Jihoon sent me a message saying he wants to meet up with me, oh my God, what should I do? Shzksjdkejw I'm scared omg what if he kills me? Help help help, is he really the accomplice???? Is it 100% confirmed???? And what if he's just a poor man who was manipulated by Seungcheol???? Should we really be suspicious??? I feel sorry for him!!!! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO WONU BABY I LOVE YOU WONWOO PLEASE HELP ME AND DON'T TELL THE OTHERS OR THEY'LL MAKE FUN OF ME, okay? Okay???? Please help what do I do??? What do I say???????????? Sgdiejdiejdk I'm going to cry"

Wonwoo blinked in disgust as he looked at Chan's lengthy message before showing it to Minghao, who had a similar or even worse reaction. The good thing about the situation was that everyone had been expecting something like this to happen, but the bad thing was that they hadn't planned what to do if it did. In short, everything was chaos... but was that anything new for them? Definitely not. It was always chaos.

"What do we do?" Minghao looked at Wonwoo, who just shrugged. "Wonwoo!" he complained, as Wonwoo never seemed to know what to do, even when they were in this mess because of him.

"We should ask Joshua... he's the one dealing with almost everything now. He can be the voice of reason," said Wonwoo, walking over to Minghao's office, which had now become Joshua's lair after he had kicked out the "owner" of the place. "Shua, we need help!"

As always, Detective Hong was asleep on the couch. He woke up with a start and yawned, rubbing his eye.

"What's up?" he asked before yawning again, rubbing his eye once more.

"Lee Jihoon sent a message to Chan," Wonwoo threw his phone to Joshua for him to read the message, but Joshua failed to catch the phone in the air, and it fell to the floor. "Shit... tell me the screen isn't cracked," he asked when Joshua picked up the phone.

"It's not," Joshua replied. "Do I really have to read all of this? Just give me a summary," he asked after glancing at Chan's message.

"The message has more question marks than words, just read it," said Minghao, giving Wonwoo a gentle push to enter his office. Joshua complied and read the message, letting out a low laugh at the end. "What do you think?"

"In fact, this intertwines a bit with my plan," Joshua stood up from the couch with a smile, handing the phone back to Wonwoo.

"Do you mean your plan pulled out of thin air that you made with Seokmin?" Wonwoo said, checking his phone's condition. "The one where you become 'buddies' with Jihoon and somehow manage to get to Seungcheol and pretend to agree with him, and when he least expects it, you catch him red-handed and everything ends with a 'happily ever after'? That plan?"

Joshua snorted.

"Yes, that plan... damn it, why do you guys think it's such a bad plan?"

"Because it's horrible," Minghao muttered. Joshua looked at him, crossing his arms, and Minghao raised his hands, taking two steps back. "I didn't say anything."

"Joshua, you haven't taken into account several points, starting with a very important one, and that is: Jihoon is not stupid. If he were stupid, he wouldn't have been able to fool us for so long, don't you think?" Wonwoo, after making sure his phone had not a single scratch, put it in his pocket and started walking around the office while talking until he reached the chair behind Minghao's desk, sitting on it. "Tell me, what do you plan to do? Break down the plan completely so we can give Chan an answer before he has an anxiety attack."

"I know he may distrust me, but I also had my reasons for keeping quiet about being Jeonghan's friend, even you didn't know about it," said Joshua. "There's a way to make Jihoon willing to work with us after this; Seokmin and I are convinced of it. We don't know if this is really the case, but we have the theory that Jihoon has genuine feelings for Doctor Kwon; we plan to use it indirectly to get his attention. We can do the same with Chan, since he was contacted first... so, Wonwoo, tell Chan to accept the invitation, with the condition that I must also attend that meeting. If I reveal my relationship with Jeonghan in front of Jihoon, he will have Chan's genuine reaction, who still knows nothing, and so he will lower his guard, or so I hope."

"But... didn't we agree to keep Chan and the doctor as far away from Jihoon as possible?" Minghao asked.

"When have things ever gone as we wanted?" Wonwoo interjected. "What worries me is that Jihoon won't believe you and screw everything up. I know you've achieved something like a kind of closeness after Seokmin started working with him, but that doesn't mean you're friends or anything like that."

"Don't worry, Wonwoo, everything will be fine," said Joshua. "In fact-"

"What will be fine?" The three men turned their heads towards the door at the same time. There was Commissioner Im, perfectly uniformed as always, and she looked at them with that typical smile that made Wonwoo nervous.

"Hello, ma'am," he greeted. "We were talking about a surprise birthday party for Wonwoo's husband," Joshua replied, smiling at her in the same way, looking at someone who was peeking behind Yoona. "Is that you, Prosecutor Lee?"

Having been caught, Taemin emerged from his "hiding spot" and entered the office, with that arrogant aura that characterized him so much and that Seokmin detested. Lucky for them, the lawyer wasn't there.

"Hello! You're as secretive as ever," he said.

"And you're as nosy as ever," said Wonwoo. "Can we know what you're doing here again?"

"I just came to talk about cases with Yoona," the woman nodded, still smiling. "What? Can't I come?"

"It's not a problem that you come to the station, but you always come to our area, which is quite far from Commissioner Im's office, if you haven't noticed," Minghao said, crossing his arms. "It almost feels like you're looking for something."

"I was just curious why my cousin is spending so much time here," Taemin looked at Minghao. "Honestly, I was worried that you might be passing him evidence from some case he had to defend instead of presenting it to the prosecution."

"Not at all, Prosecutor," Joshua spoke up, diverting Taemin's attention. "Just as you come to meet with Commissioner Im, Lawyer Lee does the same with us. You must know, Lawyer Lee has been friends with us for years."

"Oh? I thought his friendship was only with Detective Xu... and until a few months ago, Seokmin rarely set foot in this station, which seems strange to me, if supposedly they've been friends for so long. Seokmin doesn't come here unless he has a job with you, or do you think it's a secret that you seek Seokmin's help when the job is something complicated?" Joshua struggled not to remove the calm expression from his face while listening to Taemin speak. Wonwoo, who couldn't contain himself, stood up from his chair and walked up to Taemin, looking quite big in front of him.

"With all due respect, Prosecutor Lee, what we do or don't do is none of your business," Wonwoo said firmly. "Seokmin is our friend, and we don't owe you any more explanations... unless they're your concerns, Commissioner Im?" he looked at Yoona, who was still standing there, with a relaxed posture that didn't detract from her elegance.

"Not at all, Wonwoo," she let out a delicate laugh. "Taemin, I don't see the need to act so immaturely... if you have a problem between you, then resolve it outside of work, okay?" she turned around and left the office.

"Taemin, you just got called immature," Wonwoo teased. "Look, your owner already left, why don't you do the same?"

"You've always had a bad attitude, Wonwoo," Taemin took a few steps back to get away from Wonwoo. "Oh, young people, don't think I don't know that something is going on."

"Whether something is going on or not, it's not your job to worry about it," Minghao forced a smile.

"We'll see..." Taemin also left the office, and the three of them could breathe again.

"Son of a bitch, someday I'll kick his..." Wonwoo muttered when the door closed. It wasn't even a minute later when the door opened again. "What the fuck do you want!?" he almost shouted, thinking it was Taemin again.

"Oh, it's just... you didn't reply me," Chan said, apparently surprised to hear Wonwoo's tone of voice. He felt bad for him and went to give him a hug.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to speak to you like that, okay?" he hugged Chan and kissed him loudly on the head, but Chan pushed him away. "Why don't you let me give you a little love?"

"He showed you the message, right?" Chan ignored Wonwoo, asking Minghao and Joshua, who nodded. "Before you make fun of me, let me tell you that..."

"We won't make fun of you," Joshua said, which was contrary to the mocking smile that appeared on his lips. "Meet up with Jihoon, Chan, but take me with you."

"Why? You'll probably mess everything up if you go."

"You're not the one to talk about 'messing' things up," Minghao said as he organized his desk, who knows when he started doing that. Chan gave him a dirty look and turned his gaze back to Joshua.

"It's very dangerous for you to go alone, Chan," Joshua continued. "You heard what Dr. Kwon said, Jihoon is no angel."

"But I can defend myself much better than you-"

"Damn it, Chan! Take Joshua and that's it!" Wonwoo said, exasperated. "The discussion is over, Joshua will go with you, whether you like it or not. Weren't you asking what to do? Well, there you have it."

Chan reluctantly agreed.

"By the way, no mention of Dr. Kwon, okay?" Joshua told Chan, who nodded confidently.

"Understood."

A few days later, Jihoon had Joshua in front of him again. He was getting tired of that detective; even if he had nothing to do with the meeting, he was always there. The worst part was that he always behaved so calm and friendly that it was almost impossible for him to think that Joshua had bad intentions.

All the things that Jihoon had planned to say remained unsaid, because he definitely wouldn't speak in front of Joshua, as he didn't trust him as much as he did Chan. Was there a reason for this? He didn't even know, but Chan had something that inspired him with some confidence. Jihoon just wanted to tell Chan that he wasn't actually with Soonyoung, that they had had a fight after the accident, and that he had been ignoring him for weeks; he was very sure that Chan, being as kind as he was, would do everything possible to help him. Joshua's presence there, however, complicated things for him. He always complicated things for him, damn it, Jihoon was starting to have something personal against Hong.

"Detective Hong, we've been seeing each other a lot lately, haven't we?" he said, unable to hide his slight displeasure.

"This time I do have a purpose for coming," Joshua replied. "Why don't we sit down?"

Ah, because they were in a beautiful park. It was a lovely and warm sunny day, the plants in the park seemed to glow, children were playing in the distance, and their laughter could be heard, a few couples were strolling while timidly holding hands, and then... there were the three of them, dressed in dark clothes, carrying secrets for a long time, and singlehood. Lots of singlehood, too much, so much so that at least Joshua thought it wasn't necessary anymore. They took a seat on a bench, and Jihoon ended up sitting between them. It was a somewhat funny and peculiar position for a supposedly serious meeting, but nothing could be entirely serious when it came to them. To Chan and Joshua, because Jihoon considered himself serious enough, of course he did.

"Detective Lee, is something happening?" Chan asked.

"Not... really? It's something very personal," he said, glancing sideways at Joshua.

"I'm sure we can help," Joshua placed a hand on his shoulder, which was discreetly pushed away by Jihoon.

"It's not something very important anyway. We could talk about it later."

"What a shame... well, I do have something I want to tell both of you," Joshua focused his gaze on the green lawn. Too beautiful that it seemed fake. "I didn't tell you before because... it hurt, I didn't know what to do about it, and I preferred to stay silent because my opinions could cause disasters within the team," he felt some pity for Chan; his friend would have to swallow a lie from him. He would tell him the truth later, but for now, he needed to get a reaction from him to finish convincing Jihoon. "I... was friends with Yoon Jeonghan. Best friends, we grew up together."

"What!?" probably both of them yelled in unison. Or maybe it was just Chan, being louder than usual.

"That's right... it sounds unreal, doesn't it? But I'm serious. Jeonghan was almost like my brother, when he left... it was devastating," he sighed. "I don't like to think about it, so I don't even talk about that time."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Chan started to complain. "It would have simplified many things! Do you know I spent days looking for information about Jeonghan? You could have helped me!"

"I'm sorry, Chan, but I couldn't tell you... I didn't feel capable," Joshua tried to appear distressed. He was giving the performance of his life; they should reward him for that in the future. "Especially because... in some ways, I understand Seungcheol."

"You understand what!? Are you saying you defend a murderer!?" Chan yelled, jumping out of the bench to stand in front of Joshua, waving his arms exaggeratedly. "Have you gone crazy?"

"I don't justify his actions, but..." he lowered his gaze, trying not to laugh at Chan. "Jeonghan was... special. He was light for everyone, he was beautiful inside and out. I understand why Seungcheol went mad after losing him. I mean, I went mad too-"

"But you never killed anyone... or did you? Have you killed someone!?" Chan looked at Jihoon, who seemed to have no reaction, and then looked back at Joshua as if he were really crazy. "Joshua!?"

"No! I haven't killed anyone and I'm not going to... calm down a bit," he turned to look at Jihoon. "What I want to say is that I want to meet Seungcheol to make a deal with him."

"Why are you looking at me?" Jihoon shrunk a bit.

"Because I need your help, after all, you're 'the bait,' right?" he smiled. "One day when you come into contact with Seungcheol, you can introduce me to him. He must already know me, but maybe he doesn't know about my friendship with Jeonghan."

"It's madness!" Chan called his attention again. "You were afraid of Seungcheol! What happened now?"

"I just... want to resolve this quickly," he replied. "So, what do you say, Jihoon?"

He really thought about it. Could he also talk about the friendship he had in his teens with Jeonghan? Wouldn't this directly implicate him with Seungcheol? He dismissed that idea. He just needed a way to protect Seungcheol from the cops and protect Soonyoung from Seungcheol, which could be a bit more difficult. Jihoon could handle it, he had confidence.

"Okay, I'll do my best," he hoped he wouldn't regret it.

"Ah, everyone has lost their minds... what do Minghao and Wonwoo think of this? What does Seokmin think? Did you tell them?" Chan continued to be exasperated.

"They agree with me."

"Oh my god," Chan whispered. "This is terrible, we're all going to die... even poor Dr. Kwon, oh no..."

"Dr. Kwon?" Jihoon looked at Chan, who covered his mouth. "You... know where he is?"

"Wasn't he with you?" Joshua interrupted, saving for later his desire to beat Chan for being such a blabbermouth.

"He...," Jihoon would continue. After hearing Joshua, he believed that the detective trusted him enough to tell him that and even leave a part of his plan in his hands, so he would do the same. All he wanted for now was to see Soonyoung again, nothing more. "Actually, after the accident, we fought and he left home. He's not answering, and I don't know where he is. I'm really worried about him, I guess his injuries mean he's not working, so I haven't been to the hospital yet."

"Uh..." Chan and Joshua looked at each other. Neither knew what to do... great. "We don't know either, I'm sorry," Chan said.

"I see..." Jihoon was hit by a wave of sadness. "Thank you..." Chan looked at him with a pout; he felt sorry for him. He felt that Jihoon's sadness and concern for Soonyoung were genuine, but he also couldn't betray the doctor and take Jihoon to his apartment. It was difficult, but he had to accept it; Jihoon was a bad person and Soonyoung didn't want to see him. "I guess that's all then, right? We'll see each other later... Detective Hong, I'll help you with whatever you need. Goodbye."

"Goodbye..." Joshua waved his hand back and forth, bidding farewell to Jihoon. When he finally disappeared from his sight, he stepped on Chan as hard as he could. "Idiot! Why did you mention the doctor!?"

"It slipped out! Because of living with him, I'm already used to mentioning him!"

"You almost ruined everything..." he pretended to punch Chan again but gave up on the idea and stood up from the bench. "Let's go back to the station."

"Yes, sir."

Chapter Text

Seokmin was in his office reviewing some documents. "Focused" might be the perfect word to describe him according to anyone who saw him at that moment, but that wasn't really the case; his mind was a mess. He tried to bury himself in work and not think about anything else, but still couldn't fully concentrate. All because he hadn't received a response from Joshua to his message. Seokmin didn't consider himself a desperate person or anything like that, but he couldn't help feeling anxious when Joshua took too long to reply. And it wasn't because he imagined that something bad had happened to him; it was simply... terrifying to think that Joshua was ignoring him, which was stupid because just like he had a lot of work, the detective did too.

"Hi! Did everything go well?" was his message, which had been read four hours ago and still hadn't received a response. At this point, Seokmin would start biting his nails out of frustration.

He sighed and set aside the documents to check his phone for the thousandth time, the only notifications being from the only game he had downloaded. He slumped in his chair and whimpered, embarrassed of himself. He didn't even like having people's attention on him that much; it was one thing to love being recognized for his work and another very different thing to be the center of attention, or so he thought. He never begged for people's attention and was happier when he wanted to go unnoticed and succeeded, but everything was different with Joshua. He wanted to work alongside Joshua, help him, listen to him, support him... and none of that really had to do with his status as a lawyer; they were his personal desires. In his adult life, he hadn't allowed himself to enjoy the company of anyone beyond friendship, as he had other priorities. For years he hadn't felt a connection like that with someone, and it terrified him. He liked Joshua, but Seokmin didn't want to fall in love with him. And sadly, that's what was happening little by little. Hong was very bad at hiding his feelings, so much so that the clueless Seokmin had been able to realize the silly crush the older one had on him from the beginning, from when he was just starting his professional life. At first, he thought it was something that would pass quickly for Joshua, so he learned to ignore it and pretend he didn't know anything. All of that dragged on for years until it reached that point. And Seokmin hated feeling things for Joshua against his will.

He started by thinking that Joshua was handsome, which was normal, since any friend or acquaintance can seem handsome to a person. Then, he couldn't stop thinking about Joshua or worrying about him, which also used to be normal in a friendship or a somewhat close relationship. Everything was normal until it wasn't. Seokmin began to crave Joshua's attention and closeness, he began to love, maybe too much, the conversations he had with him, no matter how senseless they were, he could get lost in his gaze for minutes and not realize it. The bad thing was that, the more he fell in love with Joshua, the harder it was for him to pretend that he didn't feel anything for him, and it was also harder to live without his attention. He was acting like an inexperienced person when he wasn't like that. It was even funny to know that the guy he had "broken his heart" a few years ago was already happily married, and meanwhile, he was still alone. Because he was a coward.

Did he simply fear commitment because all his past relationships had failed because of his own fault? Everyone around him was already settling down; his schoolmates were already getting married and some even had children already. Seokmin also thought that by this point in his life he wouldn't be living in a small place and didn't think he would dedicate his whole day to work, as according to his plans, he would have to dedicate part of his day to his partner as well. He wanted to fall in love and at the same time didn't want to fall in love because of an inexplicable fear; he didn't understand himself. Perhaps his mind considered it better to fall in love with someone who had no connection to his job?

Trying to clear his thoughts again, he continued to review the documents Jihoon had provided him about the case he had been helping with. Thinking about Jihoon inevitably made him think of Joshua again, and consequently, he was distracted. How difficult it was to be in love.

No, no... Seokmin wasn't in love, he was in the process of falling in love, which was very different...

"Seokmin," as if Seokmin's desires were attracting him, Joshua made his presence known in his office, "are you okay? I knocked on the door several times but you didn't say anything, so your assistant let me in."

Seokmin observed him in the midst of his trance, remaining silent for a few seconds before snapping out of it and responding, trying not to look stupid.

"Hi! Sorry, I didn't hear you," he cleared his throat and smiled cordially, standing up, "Take a seat, please," he pointed to one of the two chairs in front of his desk, and sat back down when Joshua did, "And... what do you think?" he asked referring to his office, making the poor attempt to start a natural conversation, only that it sounded very forced and out of place. Anyway, he just shut up and stared at Joshua, who smiled shyly.

"Very boring for you," was his response. A very honest response that Seokmin felt like a bucket of cold water because he really thought the decorations he had placed captured his essence. Either he had terrible taste in decorating, or Joshua perceived him, perhaps, as a slightly more cheerful person than he actually was, "I'm sorry for not replying to your message, I hope it didn't bother you."

"Not at all," he downplayed it with a wave of his hand, without letting go of his act of: "of course less than three minutes ago I wasn't having an existential crisis because I realized I love you," which instead of helping him only made his nervousness more evident. Seeing Joshua make a lip twitch, he felt like he had said something wrong "Did everything go well?"

"Yes, just had to change some of the things we had already established, I had no choice," Joshua replied, "Jihoon seems to be desperately looking for the doctor, do you think it's a good idea to give him what he wants?"

"I'm worried about the doctor's well-being," he admitted, and there he could notice another twitch in Joshua's lips... seriously, what was he saying wrong? "His wounds have started to heal, and I doubt he's fully recovered from what he went through," he continued. "In my opinion, it's better to focus on Officer Chan."

"That's true... ugh, now I feel like a jerk for wanting to use Kwon even in his current state," he rested his elbows on the desk and hid his face in his hands, sighing heavily.

"Don't beat yourself up over that; you didn't do anything wrong," Seokmin's hand extended a few times and then returned to its place, pondering whether it was a good idea to pat Joshua on the shoulder or head, so after mentally debating with himself for a few seconds, he decided that it was best to comfort him with his "super pats," so he leaned closer to the older man and gently stroked his head. Well... those were definitely not encouraging pats.

Joshua lifted his head but didn't pull away, looking at Seokmin with surprise and flushed cheeks. The lawyer, for his part, slowly withdrew his hand from the detective's head, thinking once again that he had done something wrong, but after seconds that felt eternal to both of them, Joshua simply smiled again, thus calming Seokmin's erratic heartbeats.

"Hmm... oh, yes! When I mentioned Yoon Jeonghan, Jihoon didn't have any reaction at all, I was quite surprised," Joshua leaned back, pressing his back against the backrest of his chair. "And I had to deal with Chan bothering me for two whole days because I hadn't told him about my past."

"Really?" Seokmin chuckled. "How did you get rid of him?"

"I had to lie to him and say that I had forgotten; he finally believed me and left me alone about it," he said. "I don't like lying to him, but that's better than telling him the truth, which could hurt him a lot more. I had to wait for some time until the waters calmed down to be able to tell him that; if we told him right after finding out about Jihoon's deception all at once, we don't know what rash action Chan could take," Seokmin couldn't take his eyes off Joshua as he listened to him speak, smiling especially when Hong made adorable grimaces of disapproval with what he had done. "Anyway, I just have to wait for Jihoon to find a way to reunite me with Seungcheol, and after that, I just have to pray that he doesn't kill me."

"Oh..." Seokmin was brought back to reality abruptly. "Don't say those things," he put his hand on his chest unconsciously. "I won't allow you to put yourself in danger."

"Uh?"

"Uh?"

Well... Seokmin could only count the seconds in his head until Joshua said something else. Damn seconds, he felt like each one lasted a whole year. Joshua lowered his gaze and then raised it again, then glanced around the office; he intertwined his hands, which trembled shamelessly, and then stared at his feet, without having the courage to look Seokmin in the face, because his cheeks had turned red again.

"Thank... you?" and after what felt like the longest wait of Seokmin's life, Joshua spoke. His voice sounded amused, almost as if he had just choked on his own saliva.

"Joshua, do you want to go out?" he suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Hmm?" he had messed up again.

But Joshua nodded, still not looking very convinced.

"And why is that?" he raised an eyebrow, and Seokmin didn't know what to tell him.

"Ah... oh... um... what do I tell you? I don't know," he let out a nervous laugh and scratched his neck before standing up and heading to the door of his office, which he opened for Joshua. "I'm just hungry and I don't want to eat alone."

"Sure..." Joshua got up and walked out, with Seokmin following closely. "So where are we going?"

"To my place?" he really didn't know why he was saying these things, his mouth seemed to let out the words before his brain could process them and in the end he was just making a fool of himself. Joshua turned to look at him almost with a question mark drawn on his face. "Sorry, I'm a bit... off today."

"Did you drink?" Joshua asked him seriously before bursting into laughter. "Don't worry, if you cook well, there's no problem."

"I'll prepare something delicious, I won't disappoint you!"

"You could never disappoint me," Joshua said casually before turning around and continuing to walk.

Oh...

Seokmin really could faint at any moment as his entire face heated up. He thought it was time to give up in his fight with love; after all, he couldn't win it.

Chapter Text

The photos disgusted Minghao to no end. After so many years of seeing the same thing, everyone thought he was used to it by now, but seeing images of corpses and seeing them in person would never be something he could tolerate much, especially after all the nightmares he had been having in recent months about his husband.

On the dining table of Mingyu and Wonwoo's house, with the latter a few steps away trying to cook something after rejecting the help offered, Minghao and the nurse were analyzing the photos and autopsies done on Seungcheol's fatal victims. Mingyu watched him push aside the photos until he finally exploded:

"Minghao, you're not paying attention!"

"Don't yell at me, idiot!" the younger one yelled back, letting go of the photo in his hand. "I don't know why I have to review this... it makes me sick."

"It was your idea, dumbass," Mingyu said, looking at him with weariness. "I can't help you if you keep acting so sensitive."

"I'm not like you, Mingyu," he said. "Seeing so much blood disgusts me, and seeing those people like that... I imagine what they suffered because of that damn Seungcheol, and it gives me chills." He glanced for a moment at the photo of the police report of a body in an advanced state of decomposition. According to the official report, the boy in question had escaped from his home, leaving a note saying he was tired of bothering his relatives with his illness, and then proceeded to take his own life in a forest, only to be found by hunters a few months later. No one seemed to care much that the last person to have contact with him was Choi Seungcheol, and they didn't investigate him further. "I really can't..."

"It's curious that Choi uses different methods in all his murders," Mingyu decided to focus on the photos, ignoring Minghao a little, who fortunately didn't throw the first object he found around. "A rope" he put another photo of the young man's corpse in front of his eyes, and Minghao swallowed hard "a gunshot" he then placed Yugyeom's photo "and a... truck" finally, he placed the horrifying images of Seungcheol's first victims.

Minghao pushed aside all the images again and sighed.

"Wait... why haven't we investigated that truck yet? Who was driving it? What punishment did that person receive? What really happened?"

"You're right... that must be here somewhere," both Mingyu and Minghao began to search among all the papers they had scattered on the table for the report on that "accident." Mingyu found it and read it, then handed it to Minghao.

The person who caused the accident, a middle-aged man, tried to flee after hitting the woman and her daughter, but was caught shortly afterward. Before serving his sentence, however, he died after being stabbed repeatedly by a person who was never caught, and it is believed that this was a "settling of accounts," because the man was a well-known criminal. They closed the case there and no one talked about it anymore, even the man's family seemed to be unusually quiet about the whole situation. Minghao couldn't help but laugh at those stupidities.

"They hired someone to murder them and then they killed him too as if nothing had happened? Ah... those two are bastards," Minghao let go of the sheets. "What the hell were the people in charge of these cases doing? Fuck... the funny thing is that if you already know the truth, all this seems ridiculous." He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, probably pulling out a few small tufts. "How is that man still free?" He placed his fist forcefully on a photo of Seungcheol, crumpling it slightly under his touch.

"You should calm down, Hao... soon you'll be able to lock him up," Mingyu said.

"He kidnapped you when you had nothing to do with his shit!" he exclaimed. "He doesn't even try to hide well, because he knows he'll get away with it..."

"Minghao," he approached him, taking his hands in his on the table and stroking them slowly. "I know all this worries you much more because of Jun's vulnerability, but please, look at the great team you have. Don't think about the worst now, okay? Jun will be fine."

"How can you be sure of that?" he asked with a trembling voice. "Again, he kidnapped you and the doctor in the stupidest way possible and we couldn't do anything, we couldn't even go help you." He looked Mingyu in the eyes, his best friend returning the gaze, feeling somewhat guilty for the depressing thoughts Minghao was having. "If something happened to you, Mingyu..."

Mingyu smiled and pulled Minghao towards him, hugging him affectionately. The younger one tried to pull away after a few seconds because he felt uncomfortable in the position, but Mingyu seemed not to mind and continued to hug him from his chair. The pleasant and warm moment was interrupted by Wonwoo placing what he cooked on top of all the images and papers, earning complaints from the detective and his husband, but ignoring them as if nothing. He placed his hands on his hips and smiled proudly.

"Enjoy my masterpiece."

"What is that?" Mingyu looked skeptically at what lay in the giant bowl in the middle of the table. Wonwoo's smile widened, making the other two feel true terror.

"Soup."

Minghao had to cover his mouth to muffle his laughter.

"This... took you so long...?" Mingyu left his question hanging in the air and took a spoon that Wonwoo handed him. He tasted the soup, trying hard not to grimace in disgust. "It's delicious, babe."

"Really?" Wonwoo smiled tenderly and took a seat in front of them, sliding a spoon towards Minghao. "I don't feel like washing the dishes, so you both eat from this bowl, okay?"

"Ugh..." Minghao looked from the spoon to the bowl and simply shook his head. "I'm not hungry, thanks-"

"Five minutes ago, you were yelling that you would die of starvation if you continued like this," the older one murmured. "You're not leaving my house until you eat." He threatened, turning the tables on him. Wonwoo, inwardly, felt powerful using Minghao's words against him, because whenever he visited Junhui, Minghao would threaten him for hours to feed the sick man and also eat well. "Now..." he pushed the bowl a little closer to Minghao, also dragging some of the photos that were on the table. "eat, Hao."

"Fine..." Minghao took the spoon, which trembled exaggeratedly as he scooped up some soup before bringing it to his lips. He swallowed, trying to avoid Wonwoo's gaze, and dropped the spoon when he began to cough violently. "God, it tastes like shit! How do you still not know how to cook, useless!?"

"I do know how to cook!" Wonwoo also raised his voice. Mingyu chuckled, alternating his gaze between the two men. "Mingyu loves what I cook! Isn't that right, honey?" The latter nodded immediately.

"Mingyu's taste buds are messed up because of you!" Minghao retorted. "How much did you make Jun suffer when I asked you to feed him? Poor thing..."

"I only gave him apples!" he responded. Minghao turned to him, surprised. "Uh... and also... uh... I also gave him... you know, things."

"You only gave him apples!?" Minghao repeated. "That's how you took care of your supposed sick best friend!?"

"Of course not, I..." he literally escaped from his "little" fight with Minghao when his phone started ringing; it was Joshua. He answered the call with relief. "What's wrong?" he heard someone sobbing on the other end of the line and couldn't help but worry instantly. "Is everything okay, Joshua?"

"I... " Joshua continued sobbing. "I'm going to die, he's too beautiful... is there really someone like that? Isn't this a dream, Wonwoo?"

"What are you talking about, you idiot?" he put his phone on speaker beside the bowl, so that Minghao and Mingyu could hear. "Are you okay?"

"Wonwoo... I think I can die in peace now," and then he sighed. "I'm crying... I've never felt like this before." The three of them heard Joshua seem to sniffle, then fell silent.

"Did he drug himself with something?" Minghao muttered. "Joshua, you're supposed to uphold the law, drugs aren't good for you-"

"Hao? Are you there?" Joshua's softness confused them. "I just experienced the best moment of my life, and I met what true love is..."

"What the hell are you saying?" Wonwoo asked, tired of beating around the bush.

"Idiots! Can't you guess!? I had a date with Seokmin!"

"With that bitch?" Wonwoo murmured that time. Minghao rolled his eyes and kicked him under the table a few times.

"At his house... do you know what it's like to eat the delicious food he prepared just for me, sitting in a beautiful chair in his beautiful house?" he sighed again. "I think I'm ready to get married and start a family with him."

"Hey, really? You know better than anyone that Seokmin is very kind and pure," Minghao said, ignoring Wonwoo sardonically saying: "Yeah, right" "where are you now? Are you already arriving at Wonwoo's house, right?"

"I'm waiting for Chan to pick me up," he replied. "I just called Wonwoo to tell him that I was reciprocated by the love of my life..."

"You definitely haven't been reciprocated," said Wonwoo, interrupting him.

"... So you can stop bothering me and telling me that I'll die a virgin," Joshua continued as if he hadn't heard Wonwoo.

"No, I never say lies or nonsense," Wonwoo said, and Joshua complained, annoyed. "We won't believe you until Seokmin and you are really in a relationship and not in... whatever you're in right now, okay? Although that idiot Seokmin doesn't know how to have a stable or lasting relationship, so I wish you luck."

"Shua, don't listen to Wonwoo, I trust your seduction skills..." Minghao encouraged him. Joshua didn't say anything else and ended the call. "Actually no," said Minghao, "I mean, if Seokmin liked him as much as he seems to, he would have told Joshua years ago."

"Just that Joshua is an idiot," Wonwoo told him. "With his clumsiness, he'll never achieve anything. He acts very mature and intelligent when he wants to, but when he's around Seokmin he just scares him away... please, even we two were more skillful when we met the two assholes we married," he pointed at Mingyu, who looked at him, a little offended, "and we were teenagers... why is it so difficult for him? Compared to us, he's a nice person."

"That's true..." Minghao agreed, and Mingyu didn't even try to understand how he could agree with something like that. "But everyone is different, maybe because he didn't have the opportunity to be with someone romantically when he was younger, now that he's old..." he made a face and then sighed, "I hope it goes well."

"In fact, both of them are a bit stupid," Mingyu said, intervening for the first time in the conversation. "I mean... I haven't seen many interactions between Seokmin and Detective Hong, but come on! It's obvious that both feel something for each other. Detective Hong can't hide it, and well, maybe because I've known Seokmin for a long time, but he... also behaves like a kid going through his first crush," he narrowed his eyes and looked at Minghao, "remember that look? The one he gave me when we were kids?" Minghao nodded and applauded, remembering, "It's the same one he gives the detective!"

Minghao pouted and clasped his hands, bringing them to his chest and fluttering his eyelashes exaggeratedly at Mingyu.

"Mingyu, did you like my performance?" he continued batting his lashes while using a high-pitched tone, supposedly imitating a teenage Seokmin. Mingyu started laughing loudly, and Wonwoo blinked in astonishment as he watched them joke with each other; he would never understand the humor of those two. Suddenly, Minghao became serious, dropped his hands, and cleared his throat. "Hmm, I don't know why I did that, sorry," he murmured, looking down.

"Now you're acting like you're not missing a few screws? Ah, you don't have to pretend with me," Wonwoo started laughing, but Mingyu and Minghao's gazes were fixed on a point behind him, and they even looked somewhat uncomfortable. He simply smiled and turned to see his guest. "You're here!" He stood up and hugged Seungkwan, spinning around with him. "I missed you, you know?"

"Really?" Seungkwan smiled, his cheeks taking on a soft pink hue. After separating from Wonwoo, he greeted Minghao and Mingyu properly, who were still a bit tense after seeing him witness their insane antics. "Sorry for showing up out of the blue, I thought Wonwoo had informed you," if looks could kill, Wonwoo would already be lying dead on the floor. The best friends looked confusedly at the amusing and yet strange interaction between the officer and Seungkwan; at some point, this had turned into a friendship and they had no idea.

"Oh, please," Wonwoo draped an arm around his shoulders, "your house is my house, okay? And how did you know I had left the door open?" Seungkwan smiled falsely, and Wonwoo simply patted his head affectionately.

"Well, I rang the doorbell twenty times and also called you on the phone like ten times but you never answered."

"You did?" Wonwoo let go of him abruptly and analyzed him. "Ah, yes... I had your number blocked."

"And why is that!?" Seungkwan squealed, shaking him by the shoulders. "What did I do to you!?"

"You take too long to answer my messages, so I thought of doing the same to you to see how it feels," Seungkwan muttered some insult before punching him "lightly" in the stomach. "Anyway..." said Wonwoo when he caught his breath a bit. "They still don't know why you're here; but we'll talk about that when the other three arrive."

"I wonder how..." Minghao made a few hand gestures. "That happened."

"Do you remember when I had to take care of him? Well, Boo turned out to be a very kind person. We got closer when we started messaging each other," said Wonwoo. "By the way, Seungkwan, do you want some soup?" The younger one looked at the bowl that the officer was pointing at and then shook his head eagerly.

"Thanks, I've already eaten..." he replied, looking doubtfully at the contents of the bowl.

A few minutes later, Chan arrived along with Joshua and Soonyoung, and as if that weren't enough, after that, Seokmin also showed up. Wonwoo watched amusedly as he interacted with Joshua; there was some kind of tension there, which he would take care of breaking down later. But Minghao couldn't stand to see them act that way... for God's sake, if they had seen each other less than an hour ago at Seokmin's house, why did they have to act like this?

They settled in the living room armchairs, and since there was no space for Chan, he had to sit on the floor, but he insisted that he was comfortable there; Wonwoo dragged him and placed him between his legs so that Chan could lean against him. Seokmin and Joshua ended up sitting side by side on the smaller couch, although that was obviously a magnificent work by Xu and Jeon.

"Before we start the meeting, why don't we introduce those who haven't met yet? Dr. Kwon, this is Boo Seungkwan..." Wonwoo was interrupted by their ironic laughter, and he raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, you know each other?"

"Of course we know each other, he's the reason I'm alive, right, Dr. Kwon?" Seungkwan's laugh sounded a bit... too fake, while his gaze threw daggers at Soonyoung, who smiled back at him in the same way.

"The things you say, Seungkwan," he also faked a laugh, and then fell silent, sitting totally straight and without any emotion on his face.

Oh... well. That was uncomfortable. Apparently, they didn't like each other. There was a story there that none of those present wanted to unravel.

"Uh... interesting," murmured Wonwoo. "Yes... whatever," he caught the attention of the others who shared confused looks after that peculiar dialogue between the doctor and Seungkwan, "well, our dear Seungkwan was contacted again by Choi Seungcheol. After disappearing completely from his life after that day at the restaurant, he's back. The thing is, he doesn't act hostile or friendly, he just shows his true colors, because he knows that Seungkwan and his husband are aware of his murders."

"What kind of things does he say?" asked Joshua.

"'You shouldn't carry so much weight, it's bad for you'; I received that message just as I returned home after shopping. Then: 'Don't you want help with the shopping?', and the last one was: 'Will Jeonghan's heart race when you read my messages?'" Seungkwan replied.

"Oh, but he's a damn bold one," grumbled Minghao, returning to the anger he had felt earlier. "Completely shameless, really, what are we waiting for?" Wonwoo, next to him, kept him in check by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Just a little longer, Hao. When I can finally have direct contact with him, it'll all be over in the blink of an eye," Joshua assured him, looking at him from the other couch. Everything about him exuded confidence, but not even that convinced the other detective.

"You're taking too long," Minghao commented with evident impatience. Joshua just sighed, choosing to remain silent and not prolong the discussion.

"We have to do something to protect Seungkwan," Wonwoo spoke up again, and all eyes fell on him. "Seungcheol seems to be losing his mind more with each passing day, although it sounds impossible. Seungkwan isn't safe in his own home, not even his husband; at this point, no one is. Keeping an eye on him doesn't sound like a very viable option, and moving him to any of our houses either... if he leaves the city, maybe, but this isn't easy. So, what do you think?"

"It's not as easy as with Dr. Kwon, because Seungcheol wasn't chasing after him..." murmured Seokmin. "With the erratic movements Choi has made lately, I wouldn't be surprised if he chased Mr. Boo out of the city."

"What if... we distract Seungcheol?" Chan asked from the floor, nestled between Wonwoo's legs. "We make him focus on something else, and in the meantime, we can move Mr. Boo and his husband out of the house quietly, without Choi finding out where they went."

"That's a great idea, Chan," Joshua praised him with a smile, but before Chan could feel like a mastermind, of course Joshua had to bring him down from his cloud. "And you can become that distraction. There isn't much information about you that Seungcheol has access to, and what Jihoon got for him isn't enough; if we make him interested in you..."

"No way," Chan refused. "Why me? What other things should he know about me?"

"Like how to contact you, for example. Jihoon wouldn't give him your phone number because then Seungcheol wouldn't have a way to explain where he got it, but if we reveal your email, or if you open up a social media account, maybe in a few days you'll receive a message. A friendly message or a threatening one, it all depends on his mood," Joshua replied.

"I have to think about it..." Chan glanced at Seungkwan out of the corner of his eye; the man looked sad and troubled, he even seemed to be pouting. Chan grumbled to himself and his sigh sounded like a whimper. "Ugh, fine, I'll do it."

"Perfect... why don't we talk about the disgusting task I was assigned?" Minghao said. "Mingyu and I realized that his modus operandi is... not having one. Absolutely every death under his hands is different, from supposed accidents to suicides... there's no way to connect his crimes this way. The investigations done in those cases were so poor, they were classified as what they seemed at first glance, say accidental deaths, and so on. There's no evidence of any kind, and the only one classified as murder is so far removed from Seungcheol that he can't be connected to this victim either. There's no evidence linking him to the cases, and there are no recent crime scenes to sneak a peek at."

"So far, in the eyes of our superiors, the evidence we have is pure speculation, which is why we need something stronger, something physical," Chan said. "But Seungcheol and Jihoon don't let any detail slip."

"They must have made some mistake," everyone turned their heads towards Mingyu, who had remained so quiet that no one remembered he was still sitting there. "I mean, nobody's perfect. There must be something out there, something they must have left behind, or some 'trophy' or they took from the victims."

"If they're as sadistic as you say, you might be right," Soonyoung agreed. "In the reports of these deaths, was there any mention of a missing item from the victims?"

"No," Minghao replied, "but again, the reports seem to have been done half-assed, so maybe we can look into that more thoroughly."

The eight people in the room fell silent, each immersed in their own thoughts. They all needed an answer, for some lightbulb in their heads to turn on or for some magical entity to suddenly appear and tell them what to do or not to do, but no, there they were racking their brains as they tried to move forward. But Seungcheol always seemed to be two steps ahead, and when they thought they finally had him, he found a way to turn everything in his favor again.

Wonwoo, not knowing what else to do or say, and while trying to braid Chan's hair, asked quietly:

"Are you hungry? I made soup-"

"No," the other seven responded in unison.

Chapter Text

Just like in a scene from some generic eighties movie, he was standing with his back against the wall, dressed in black and arms crossed. Jihoon wouldn't be surprised if out of nowhere Seungcheol pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and started smoking. He sighed, restraining himself from saying unpleasant things to the man who was just existing, and stepped closer to him. Seungcheol looked down at him, blatantly ignoring Jihoon, making the younger one's anger grow with each passing second.

"How long are you going to keep this up?" he asked. Seungcheol lowered his gaze, meeting Jihoon's eyes. "Can you stop being so childish, please?"

"I don't understand you," Seungcheol narrowed his eyes. "I really don't understand you, Jihoon."

"We finally agree on something." Jihoon smiled wryly. "Alright, tell me why you don't understand me."

"What do you want to do? Do you want to be with the doctor or do you want to be with me?" he raised an eyebrow, and Jihoon felt judged. "It's one or the other, not both. If you want to play hero now, well, go play with your cop friends and act out your hypocrisy, I won't stop you; but if you want to continue honoring Jeonghan's memory with me, we can be together," he seriously called that "honoring Jeonghan's memory"?

"Why are you making me choose between the two people I love the most, Seungcheol? I love you, I will never stop loving you and I always remind you of that, but Soonyoung is..." he groaned in frustration, not knowing exactly how to describe what he felt for the doctor. "With him... I feel like Jeonghan told me he felt with you; minus the weird part of the unhealthy obsession you two had with each other and that you, curiously, still have. You say 'we can be together' and then ignore me when I do or say something you don't like, do you think I'm a joke?"

Seungcheol scrutinized him with his gaze. It felt so heavy that Jihoon, though he tried, couldn't help but look away. He felt uncomfortable with his best friend, that was it. Well, Jihoon's daily routine since Seungcheol kidnapped Soonyoung and Mingyu was simple: he woke up and suffered. He hadn't had a happy day since then, and it's not like he was the happiest person in the world before that, but at least... he had something, or rather someone, that made him feel normal. He hadn't realized how important Soonyoung was until he "lost him," and he thought Seungcheol would feel the same way about him if Jihoon decided to step away, which is why he didn't want to do it, because even though his best friend treated him like crap, he didn't want to see him suffer more than he already had.

As Seungcheol continued to look at him, apparently thinking about what he was going to say or just ignoring his words as usual, Jihoon cursed under his breath. And that's when Seungcheol smiled.

"Those people don't know about my in-laws and they'll never know, so we're good."

"They can lock you up... no, lock us up," he pointed from himself to Seungcheol several times with his index finger to emphasize what he was saying. "with what they have. It's enough, or do you think you're magical or something?"

"There's no physical evidence, and by the time I'm done with Seungkwan..."

"Seungkwan, Seungkwan, I'm tired of you with that man!" Jihoon almost yelled. "Leave him alone! Stop making trouble, Seungcheol. Don't make this bigger than it already is, for God's sake. We're already between a rock and a hard place, why do you want to make it worse?"

"Because I have to avenge Jeonghan..." if Jihoon hadn't known Seungcheol all his life, the coldness in his gaze would have scared him. Anyone who saw them would think that at any moment, Seungcheol would pounce on Jihoon to hit him. Or something worse.

"Haven't you had enough already? Please..." hating himself as usual, Jihoon held back the urge to cry. "Just..." and then he remembered Detective Hong and what he had told him a few days ago. "Cheol... one of the detectives wants to make a deal with you."

"Do you really believe that? You're being fooled by those people, Jihoon."

Oh, Jihoon wanted to pull Seungcheol's hair.

"Let me talk?" he asked, taking a deep breath, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Seungcheol made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "The detective said he wants to get in touch with you; maybe you can have lunch together one day, who knows. He... he was that friend of Jeonghan's, you know which one."

"The one from his city?" and for the first time, Seungcheol seemed interested in what he was saying. Jihoon nodded. "No... that's a lie, how can you believe that? They want to deceive you, Jihoon." that friend of Jeonghan's didn't bring back good memories for him, not at all. Sure, it had been his fault that the last thing Jeonghan had felt towards Seungcheol before leaving was pure disgust and anger "... I don't want to meet him or talk to him. He can send his fucking deal to hell."

"Seungcheol, talking to him might be the only thing that saves us, please... he still trusts me, don't ruin everything," the older one sighed and looked at Jihoon with exasperation for a few seconds before nodding, tired.

"Fine, whatever..."

Seungcheol emerged from Jeonghan's room's bathroom with a towel wrapped around his head, and he smiled at the young man waiting for him sitting on the bed. Jihoon was still asleep on the other side of Jeonghan, oblivious to all this.

"How does it look?" Jeonghan asked excitedly. Seungcheol didn't respond and with giggles removed the towel. His boyfriend got up from the bed and cheered, clapping his still color-stained hands and hopping around as he approached to touch Seungcheol's now blue wet hair "Wow... you look amazing," he tiptoed to check Seungcheol's roots and made an affirmative sound; "I'm great at this, I should open a hair salon."

Jeonghan's house, as usual, was empty. His parents were working and he was there packing, as he would soon move in with Seungcheol. Jihoon had also gone to help them with the process, but he lost the battle against the comfort of Jeonghan's bed and fell asleep shortly after arriving. After packing most of their things, Jeonghan thought it would be a good idea to dye Seungcheol's hair an unusual color, so that's what they spent the next few hours doing.

"Really? I feel a bit ridiculous with this color." he looked away from Jeonghan's eyes as he felt his cheeks warm.

"Don't say that, it looks beautiful on you," Jeonghan kissed him on the cheek and smiled. "I really did a good job... now I want to dye my hair, should I do it?" Seungcheol shook his head, running his hand through Jeonghan's shoulder-length hair. "What? Do you prefer me with black hair?" he joked, taking a strand of his hair to examine it. "A dark brown wouldn't look bad on me, right?"

"Any color would look good on you, love." he replied. "Although you're right, black is my favorite... weren't you blond before you met me?" Jeonghan nodded, taking a few steps to sit on the bed, gesturing for Seungcheol to do the same.

"Yes; at first, I didn't want to have my hair like that, but Soo insisted so much that I did it," he shrugged, a nostalgic smile on his lips. "I didn't like the final result, so I forced Soo to dye his hair the same way, and there we were, like the only blondes in school. Oh, we dyed so badly we looked like light bulbs," he laughed, looking down at the floor, remembering with a warmth in his chest. "Those years were crazy, really..." when he lifted his head, he met Seungcheol's curious gaze and suddenly felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I talked too much, didn't I?"

"Who is Soo?" yes, even though his boyfriend's story sounded interesting, he only cared about one thing: Soo. Maybe Seungcheol was getting jealous of someone who clearly was no longer part of Jeonghan's life, but well, that was him.

"He was my best friend," Jeonghan answered. "I haven't heard much from him since I moved to this city... the last thing I knew was that he wanted to be a cop or something, did he make it?" he asked that to the air, sighing.

"Why don't you try to contact him on some social media? It's not that hard to get back in touch," although he was giving suggestions, he didn't really want Jeonghan to become best friends with this Soo guy again. But if that made Jeonghan happy, Seungcheol couldn't do much about it.

"I'm too embarrassed; I disappeared from his life practically out of nowhere," trying to erase his sad expression, he smiled and ran a hand through Seungcheol's hair again. "But well, let's not talk about that... shall I dry your hair?" Jihoon had fallen asleep with the hairdryer in his hand, and Jeonghan smiled again, slowly removing his friend's fingers from it, trying not to wake him up. When he finally had the object in his hands, Jihoon complained and turned over, murmuring some things in his sleep; Jeonghan threw a blanket over him and got up from the bed to plug the hairdryer into some outlet in the room. Seungcheol watched him, clenching his fists. He wasn't in a very good mood after hearing his boyfriend talk about Soo. Damn it, he should control those jealous feelings, but he just couldn't. Knowing that his Jeonghan had been thinking about someone else for so many years and that thinking about that person made him sad, made Seungcheol feel powerless, for some reason. "Do you think Jihoon will wake up with the noise?" Seungcheol shrugged disinterestedly and Jeonghan turned to look at him. "What's wrong, Cheol?"

"You... did you have something with that 'Soo'?" he walked over to Jeonghan heavily. "Do you... feel anything for him?"

"Seungcheol," Jeonghan dropped his arms to his sides, not letting go of the hairdryer, looking a bit tired. "Are you serious? Jisoo and I had a relationship just like yours with Jihoon."

"But..." he whispered, leaving his sentence incomplete.

"You're the only one in my life, Cheol, don't worry," he smiled, and Seungcheol finally calmed down a bit, intertwining his hand with Jeonghan's free one. "Sit on the floor, I'll dry your hair now."

Since he turned on the hairdryer, Jihoon woke up and started complaining and throwing pillows at them.

"Oh, you have blue hair," Jihoon said when he stopped hitting his friends, looking at Seungcheol as he rubbed one of his eyes with his fist. "It suits you," Jeonghan laughed, still drying Seungcheol's hair.

"Thank you," Jeonghan replied for Seungcheol, who chuckled softly. "Do you want me to dye your hair too?" he asked; Jihoon actually seemed to consider it.

"Should I?" he glanced up at the ceiling on the bed, interlocking his hands over his abdomen. "No, better not; although I would like to get a haircut... would you cut my hair, Jeonghan?"

"Of course... do you want me to leave you bald?" he asked, and Jihoon didn't respond. Jeonghan looked at him and realized he had fallen asleep again. "Oh God... is that a problem? How can he fall asleep so fast?"

"Jeonghan... what was Jisoo like with you?" Seungcheol asked after a few minutes of silence. Jeonghan turned off the hairdryer and set it aside before sliding to the floor with Seungcheol, resting his head on the older one's shoulder.

"It was like he was my twin. We did everything together, everything..." Seungcheol tensed, Jeonghan could feel it, so he tried to reassure him immediately. "I already told you we didn't have anything, don't get jealous. I've never been jealous of your friendship with Jihoon."

"But Jihoon is also your friend, I never met and never will meet this Jisoo... what if he felt something for you? What if..."

"That wouldn't matter because you're here," he interrupted with a calm voice. "I'm with you and no one else. I wouldn't leave you for anything or anyone, Seungcheol. I've told you before and I'll repeat it as many times as necessary; I only love you."

Seungcheol wouldn't deny it, he still felt insecure because of that friend of Jeonghan's. And as he realized that, he preferred not to mention him too much, because every time something about his life before meeting Seungcheol slipped out, he would get upset, even if he tried to hide it. He went a long time without talking about "Jisoo," he even tried not to think about him, and he succeeded.

Everything was fine until Jeonghan found out that his friend was going through a terrible time and tried to help him, unaware that it would unleash one of, if not the strongest of all his fights with Seungcheol.

Ah... could Seungcheol ever forget the last words Jeonghan said to him? "Fine, then don't talk." His chest began to ache, and he fell to the floor on his knees, surprising Jihoon who immediately lay down with him, asking if he was okay or if he needed anything. Suddenly, he felt like his clothes were too tight, so tight that they didn't allow him to breathe.

"Fine, then don't talk."

Jeonghan... why?

Why?

Before everything turned black, he could see Jihoon, who had teary eyes as he shook him and patted his cheeks that he couldn't even feel.

Jeonghan, why you and not me?

Chapter Text

Seokmin had a peculiar habit of keeping many photos on his phone, too many in fact, and he hated deleting them. He said it felt like a part of himself was being torn away when he had to delete a photo or a video, even the most useless ones. Damn, he had pictures of his university assignments, and he wouldn't delete them because he said they might come in handy for him or someone else someday. He even had a photo of a lemon, what the hell did he need a photo of a lemon for?

Okay, that's one thing, the other was: how the hell did Joshua know all that? Well, Seokmin had just told him that night. The lawyer had gone to bring dinner to Minghao at the police station, only he didn't realize that Minghao was accompanying Junhui for a medical check-up, and he decided to stay at the station with Joshua and Chan, giving them the dinner that was originally meant for Xu. Chan only listened to that story with a raised eyebrow; the whole situation seemed very convenient to him, and he could only think that Seokmin was there to see Joshua actually, so after dinner, he went home, leaving the other two alone.

When Chan got up to leave, Joshua looked at him pleadingly, with a look that more or less said: "don't leave me alone, idiot, I'm very nervous, please don't leave me alone with Seokmin" but he just ignored him, and putting a hand on his shoulder, he said:

"Take advantage" he winked and grinned broadly, then turned around and skipped to Dr. Kwon's beat-up car, who was already waiting for him there to go back home.

Chan found Joshua's concerns stupid because not long ago, he had been crying because he went to Seokmin's house and ate his food. He thought that by now, he wouldn't have rosy cheeks after hearing the slightest word from the lawyer. But it wasn't like that. After that big "event" (meaning the sort of date at Seokmin's house), Joshua had made an incredible setback and now he couldn't be near Seokmin without starting to shake with nerves, or excitement, or both.

Seokmin excitedly showed him his useless photos that he would never delete, and Joshua just laughed nervously, hoping that the young man wouldn't notice his cheeks and ears, which were probably very red, and thinking that Seokmin was too cute, even when he wasn't trying. At one point, Seokmin slid his finger across his phone screen, showing more of the thousands of photos, and some caught Joshua's attention, although he couldn't see them well. It was like he had the slight feeling that they were screenshots of photos that had been posted of him, because Joshua himself only posted pictures of sunrises. Damn, he definitely saw a few screenshots of the stories that Wonwoo had posted to congratulate him on his birthday... why had Seokmin taken screenshots of photos of him? When he tried to say something, Seokmin cleared his throat and put his phone away.

Oh, well. Joshua also decided not to say anything about it, it would be weird. Or would it? He didn't know, but there was something about the thought of Seokmin having pictures of him that excited him. Should it excite him? He didn't know either.

"But I've talked too much about photos... what about Choi Seungcheol?" Seokmin said casually, and Joshua admired his ability to change the subject so quickly.

"Jihoon told me that next week... Ah, I hope what I tell Seungcheol will be enough for him to stop harassing Seungkwan." he took a sip of his drink. "But Jihoon told me: 'Don't be surprised if the meeting place is very lonely'," he tilted his head, looking at a spot on the floor. "...that scared me, what will I do if they have a plan to kill me between the two of them? Although that wouldn't be convenient for them, would it?"

"They can't be stupid enough to kill you," ah, but then Seokmin remembered Dr. Kwon and Mingyu's kidnapping, and he pressed his lips together. "Or can they?"

Joshua smiled and shook his head. In moments like this, moments when he was doing absolutely nothing important, just eating junk food that would give him a horrible stomachache later, he felt like he loved Seokmin. Yes, well, one thing didn't connect to the other, but Joshua just liked him too much.

"Working late?" there was that woman again; Joshua sat up straight and greeted her briefly, Seokmin did the same. "I'm surprised to see you here, Lawyer Lee," she addressed Seokmin with a smile.

"Ah... great," was his clever response.

Yoona glanced around the small room, as if she were looking for something.

"What were you investigating?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, but still sounding friendly.

"Cold cases; we were talking about wanting to solve them someday," Joshua replied casually and she nodded to leave the same way she came. "I don't know why I think our lives will be screwed if she finds out."

"Because it probably will, especially with my cousin as a friend," Seokmin said, looking at him. "Don't worry, I'll try to help you all if they try to sink you."

That made Joshua laugh, again. Seokmin never ceased to amaze him with his purity; he really didn't know how someone could be... like that, so authentic and simply good. A little corrupt but good. Seokmin's job and his desire to be the best no matter what didn't have anything to do with his angelic personality. Yes, Joshua had learned to separate "Lawyer Lee" from "Seokmin," because they were like two different people. Wonwoo should learn to do the same; "Teen Seokmin and Mingyu's ex" wasn't the same Seokmin. His Seokmin. It was ridiculous to think of that poor man as "his," Joshua was just going crazy, that man was nothing of his; that whole strange relationship they had could only be considered a "friendship that started out of convenience but then did become a genuine friendship... I think."

He stopped looking at the remnants of food on the desk and decided to pick them up and put them away in a bag to throw them out later. Then, he sighed, returning his gaze to Seokmin.

"Hey, sorry to tell you this out of the blue, but can you take me home? You know Minghao left me stranded."

Seokmin agreed.

The ride to his house in Seokmin's car was silent. Joshua watched the cars pass by the window on his side as he thought that Seokmin was really a good driver. Every time he got in with Seokmin as the driver, he felt safe. Or he just felt safe with any other driver who wasn't Wonwoo the reckless or Minghao who drove at zero kilometers per hour. Probably that was it.

They arrived at his house, and Joshua really wanted to stay in the car a little longer; even if he wasn't doing anything with Seokmin, not even talking to him, he just wanted to be close. Was that really being in love? Or was that just being stupid? It didn't matter, he was too old to worry about those things. He mumbled a thank you and a goodbye and placed his hand on the lever to open the door, he was going to do it, he really was going to do it, but something stopped him and he turned to look at Seokmin next to him, seeing him with his cute bright eyes from his seat, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on his leg, looking totally carefree but at the same time attentive to whatever Joshua would do or say. Before Joshua said anything, however, Seokmin spoke:

"Can you promise me something?" Joshua let go of the lever and turned to face Seokmin.

"What is it?"

"Can you promise me that you won't let Seungcheol hurt you on the day of your meeting?"

Oh... how could Joshua not fall in love with that man? In his eyes, he was perfect.

Joshua couldn't promise something like that, after all, Seungcheol was crazy, and he was even capable of blowing him up with a bomb or something, but he couldn't say no to Seokmin's eyes.

"I promise."

Seokmin smiled at him.

Chapter Text

Seungcheol gave him a warm welcome. Or did he? No, he didn't, a gun pointed between his eyebrows was too cold for that, so was it a "cold welcome" then? Joshua should just shut off his thoughts before snatching the gun and shooting himself out of stupidity.

When Jihoon told him the meeting place was a lonely spot, he didn't imagine it was an abandoned warehouse; apparently, he had expected too much from serial killers.

Seungcheol's gaze conveyed many things. Bad things. Anyone under that gaze would tremble, and Joshua was really trying not to start shaking. He had witnessed many things in his years as a detective, had gone through many things alike, but he couldn't recall ever being under the barrel of a gun wielded by a killer. He had only seen killers handcuffed and sitting in an interrogation room or a courtroom, never facing him, in an abandoned place, with no one else but them, and meanwhile, he was totally unarmed. He had everything to lose, he just hoped not to anger Seungcheol because for some reason, that man seemed to hate him too much. At least the feeling was mutual.

How could Jeonghan fall in love with someone like this? Joshua should have passed on his good tastes to Jeonghan before he moved away; maybe if Jeonghan had Joshua's taste for falling in love with tender and good people, they wouldn't be in this situation, but well, his friend was young and stupid when he got involved with Seungcheol.

"Give me a reason not to shoot you right now."

"I am part of the police?" That had sounded like a question, but that was the least of Joshua's concerns, he was too scared.

"Wrong." said Seungcheol, "Do you think I'm not capable of killing you?"

"Well, Jeonghan wouldn't like it if you killed me..." and surprisingly, that had worked. Joshua quickly discovered what this man's weakness was. He finally had something in his favor. "Why don't you put that gun away from us and let's talk like people? I came to offer you a deal."

"I won't surrender," Seungcheol didn't let him continue, "nor will I step into jail, or a mental institution, and I won't stop chasing those people, detective. You can save yourself for now, but them? They never will," he placed the gun on the ground and kicked it away, "they live thanks to Jeonghan, doesn't that anger you?"

"It's a strange feeling, but that doesn't mean I feel the need to kill innocent people," Joshua crossed his arms. Seungcheol judged him with his gaze, and not only that, he looked like he wanted to strangle him. That's why Joshua took two steps back; he wasn't as strong as Choi, so in case of any trouble, he would escape. "A deal, that's all I'm asking for. If you stop pursuing Mr. Boo Seungkwan and his husband, and turn yourself in, your sentence will be-"

"I'm not going to surrender," seriously? Joshua was already getting tired of this man, and they were just getting started, "I'm not crazy either, nor am I stupid. I know exactly what you're trying to do."

"Well, luckily you're not crazy," Joshua muttered. Seungcheol looked at him with hatred, again, didn't this man know how to smile or make a friendly face? "Look, honestly, I don't want you to suffer, I know he... Jeonghan wouldn't have liked to see you suffer. Out of respect for him, I want to help you. At the end of the day, we're both idiots who owe loyalty to a dead man, or something like that."

"You don't understand."

"No, Seungcheol," it felt like calling him by his name was ripped from his throat. It was weird. Very weird. As weird as having him in front of him. He felt chills and succumbed to his gaze, lowering his own, "Nothing you're doing is something that would make Jeonghan proud. We can come to an agreement. I can help both of you, both Jihoon and you."

Seungcheol raised his eyebrows and whistled, smiling in a way that scared Joshua even more.

"So you knew about Jihoon..."

"Yes, well, you weren't very careful when you kidnapped the doctor," Joshua teased him a bit. Not too much to not anger him, "If both of you cooperate with the investigation and provide us with enough evidence to officially open the case, I promise to get you the lowest possible sentence according to your crimes," that was obviously a lie, but Seungcheol didn't need to know that, "We can get you the best lawyers in the country, and..."

"I'm not like Jihoon, detective, I'm not swayed by useless talk. You're telling me this now, but at the last moment, you'll throw me into the fire, won't you? Do you really think I'm that stupid? Just because Jihoon is a fool blinded by love, doesn't mean I'm the same as him, please," for the first time, Seungcheol let out a laugh. A sardonic laugh. The bastard thought he was so funny that he even had the nerve to cover his mouth with his hand while he kept laughing.

Joshua watched him laugh, and for a moment, he hated himself because he felt sorry for that man. Oh, he shouldn't have hated himself for that, after all, he was human and it was normal to feel a bit of empathy for someone going through a hard time, right? But then he remembered Seungcheol's victims and their families. He shielded himself from all his crimes by saying he committed them "out of love" and to avenge a dead man who didn't even need to be avenged, but what about the families of his victims? Didn't they have the right to feel pain? If those people found out that their relatives didn't actually die accidentally or at their own hands, but were murdered, then, according to Seungcheol's logic, those people could also harm him, right? And even though those people had never directly harmed Jeonghan or Seungcheol, they simply had the fortune or misfortune of receiving Jeonghan's organs... "evil" had to be paid with "evil," right, Choi Seungcheol?

"You're exactly like him, Seungcheol," Joshua gradually stopped feeling afraid, replaced by anger. He wasn't usually one of those people who got angry over little things, but the man in front of him was testing his patience. "Or isn't it because you're blinded by love that you're doing all this?" Seungcheol stopped laughing and looked back at him. Like a hunter looks at his prey. Oh, no... still, Joshua kept talking. "You really don't understand, Seungcheol. You're an immature person who didn't handle the death of someone he loved well. And well, I understand that you may have gone a little crazy, we all do, but killing innocent people? Are you seeing yourself? Do you think Jeonghan would be happy about that? Did you really know him?"

"Don't talk about Jeonghan..."

"You're committing atrocious acts in his name, knowing the kind of person he was. If there's any heaven or hell, I'm sure Jeonghan is writhing in it, hating you with every ounce of his being, and regretting ever falling in love with you-"

Seungcheol punched him in the face.

Joshua spat blood.

"Don't you dare talk about Jeonghan... it's your damn fault that all this is happening," he whispered the last part. Joshua placed a hand on his cheek and caressed it, as if this would make the pain go away.

The promise I made to Seokmin...

"Think about the deal, it's not too late, Seungcheol. For once in your life, do something truly for Jeonghan and not for yourself..."

Another blow. A kick to his stomach made him stagger, but Joshua managed to stay on his feet. He didn't want to fight, especially seeing the clear difference in strength between him and Seungcheol. Was Seungcheol really capable of killing him? Joshua had already seen what he was capable of, so he didn't doubt this much, but if he really wanted to kill him, he would have done it already. Or maybe he was just waiting to hear what he had to say before finishing him off. After all, Choi Seungcheol was unpredictable.

The only thing left for him was to escape, but how would he do it? There was only one door, and outside was a vast terrain before reaching the highway. Joshua had his phone with him and could call for help, but the question was: when would he have the chance to do it if Seungcheol was on top of him? It was definitely not a favorable situation.

He managed to dodge Seungcheol's next blow and landed one that didn't completely destabilize him but at least confused him. Joshua took advantage of those few seconds to run towards the door, but obviously, Seungcheol wouldn't let him go so easily. He caught up to him and dragged him by his shirt, throwing him to the ground and placing a foot on his chest. And he began to squeeze, harder and harder.

Oh, he's going to kill me... I'm terrible at keeping promises.

He hit Seungcheol's foot and whatever he could reach of Seungcheol's legs with his hands, but clearly, that wasn't enough to push him away. He felt incredibly small and useless there, on the verge of being killed. Complete crap; who knows how many years he spent training to end up like this, seriously, Joshua? He kicked and continued hitting whatever he could of Seungcheol. He really wasn't achieving anything, and he felt worse with each passing moment. Seungcheol wasn't even squeezing hard enough to kill him outright; he was just mocking him.

Joshua pulled his phone out of his pocket with difficulty, and Seungcheol bent down to grab it, which Joshua took advantage of to slip away, pushing the criminal. Without checking much of what he was doing on his phone, as he was more focused on running, Joshua dialed the speed dial number. He didn't remember if it was Wonwoo's, Chan's, Minghao's, or his grandma's number, he just hoped that whoever it was, would realize that he was about to be finished off by that guy. After dialing, he threw his precious phone aside and began to run, being stopped again by Seungcheol, but before falling to the ground again, he kicked and punched his face.

Seungcheol took a few steps back and smiled, running his thumb over his lips.

"Can you even hit people?" he asked, genuinely surprised. What a bastard, Joshua hated him, really. Was he implying that Joshua didn't know how to fight? Of course he knew how to! Please... Joshua may have been used to fighting with just skinny, stupid, and inexperienced criminals, which was different, that's why he couldn't defend himself so well against him, who had been killing people for like ten years. Joshua was sure that if Seungcheol were just a little less strong, he could defeat him once and for all. Oh, but if Seungcheol were just a little less strong, probably one of his victims could have escaped. At the end of the day, had Seungcheol actually killed someone with his own hands? No, the real question was, why was Joshua thinking about that when he should be escaping?

He was going to keep thinking of alternatives until he saw Seungcheol pull out a knife from somewhere, and that's when he thought, "to hell with it all, I'm going to run." And so what if he was being a coward? He had promised something to Seokmin. Joshua was terrible at keeping promises, but at least he would try to keep it until he realized he really couldn't. And for now, he had hope.

He ran out of the warehouse, hearing Seungcheol's heavy footsteps behind him, being greeted by the night breeze; when he looked back, Seungcheol was already there and didn't hesitate to throw a punch at him. Joshua covered himself, and as if he had momentarily forgotten that Seungcheol now had a knife, he provided him with cuts on his arms. Joshua managed to push him away and landed a few punches, but Seungcheol wasn't deterred by this and delivered a precise blow to his abdomen that left him breathless for a few seconds. Joshua thought that nothing could get worse when Seungcheol started hitting him with his fists without giving him time to react, but no, of course everything could get worse, because Seungcheol plunged the knife into his abdomen, pulled it out, and stabbed him again.

Joshua spat blood again.

The pain spread quickly throughout his body, and he collapsed to the floor. Seungcheol straddled him, pulling out the knife and stabbing him for the third time. Joshua's eyes welled up, and his vision began to blur. Seungcheol was taking his time, seemingly enjoying every second of it. He withdrew the knife, but before he could plunge it again, something interrupted him. Rather, someone.

"Are you insane!? Ugh, I don't know why I'm asking when I already know the answer," Jihoon appeared out of nowhere and kicked Seungcheol off Joshua. "Do you realize the mess you just got yourself into!? You better hope the detective doesn't die," he crouched in front of Joshua and patted him. "Detective Hong... open your eyes, please."

"What's gotten into you!?" Seungcheol yelled at his friend, furious. "Let me take care of the problem from the root, Jihoon, move."

"Seungcheol, any hopes for a lighter sentence will go down the drain now... you hurt a cop," although Jihoon was angry, he seemed more focused on doing something about Joshua's wounds. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around Joshua's abdomen, applying pressure. "Oh, I don't know what to do, I'm not used to helping people..." his hands trembled, soaking in Joshua's blood as Jihoon watched him lose consciousness. "No, no, no... open your eyes, damn it!"

Seungcheol huffed and got up from the floor, holding the knife and walking over to Jihoon.

"Let him bleed out," he pushed Jihoon away from Joshua. "Let's go home," he began to walk, dragging Jihoon along with him, not allowing him to return to where Joshua lay.

My promise...

Joshua's eyelids felt heavy. He was sleepy, very sleepy, and in pain, a lot of pain. Pain was the only thing keeping him awake. He gathered all his strength to sit up and looked down. He was covered in blood. He couldn't do anything else, so he lay back down and looked up at the starry sky, at least that was beautiful. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he smiled.

I already knew I wouldn't be able to keep my promise, still...

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Chapter Text

The music added the perfect touch to their dinner; he brought his wine glass to his lips and took a sip, smiling peacefully at the bitter taste. Jun looked happy too, although he was more focused on eating than anything else. Still, Minghao couldn't take his eyes off him.

Minghao wasn't too fond of the idea of having dinner "off-hours," but there was no other way. If he wanted to have dinner with Junhui, he had to wait until the end of his shift at ten in the evening, and although most of the time he was so tired that he didn't even have time to make it back to his room properly and ended up falling asleep on the couch, he took advantage of the days when he had "energy" to have a nice dinner with his beloved husband.

"Why don't you put something else? That's too boring," ah, there it was, the damn comment against his classical music. Why did no one else enjoy having an elegant dinner in their dining room accompanied by classical music, only Minghao?

"Why don't you shut up and keep eating?" was his kind response. His husband shrugged and, indeed, continued eating. Minghao sighed and finished his wine in one gulp, filling his glass again almost to the brim. Junhui looked at him in surprise. "What? Are you surprised that I'm drinking?" he asked, annoyed.

"You'll finish the bottle, and I haven't even had a sip..."

"You can't drink!" he retorted, pretending to throw the bottle at him, although obviously he wouldn't. The urge to do so was there anyway. He complained under his breath; sometimes Junhui forgot that any little thing could send him to the hospital, and that stressed Minghao out. "Ugh, seriously... what am I going to do with you?"

"Stop treating me like a child, Hao, can't you see I'm fine?" Jun waved his hand, as if dismissing everything. Although, in reality, that's exactly what he was doing.

"You almost died last week!" Minghao shouted. Jun just shrugged again. Even that was irritating Minghao.

"Yes, but I didn't die, so don't worry about it," he said, and Minghao scoffed, taking his new wine glass and drinking half of it in one go. "Your job already causes you too much stress, if you keep worrying so much about me, you'll get sick too, and I don't want that."

Aw, his Jun had his cute moments too. Minghao played with the glass between his fingers and nodded.

"All right, you're right," if only that wasn't a conversation they had daily, everything would be better. But no, Jun wouldn't stop treating his delicate health as a game, and Minghao wouldn't stop losing his mind over him. They both knew it, which is why they always ended the conversation the same way: with Minghao saying he wouldn't worry excessively about him. Jun smiled and got up from his chair, walking over to Minghao's chair and offering him his hand.

"Let's dance to your boring music," Minghao observed the hand that was offered to him, and with a chuckle, he took it, standing up and letting himself be dragged by Jun to the living room, where they danced to a slow rhythm. Jun made Minghao spin, wanting to hear more of his giggles and hoping the young man would smooth out his furrowed brow, and so it happened. Soon, their laughter filled the room, sounding louder than the music coming from a small speaker, and they only stopped their dance when Jun felt nauseous from spinning immediately after eating.

They sat together on the couch, Jun resting his head on Minghao's shoulder and humming a tune that had nothing to do with the one coming from the speaker, but that didn't bother Minghao. He simply enjoyed the weight of his husband's head on his shoulder and nothing else; he tried to forget, even for a moment, all the worries his job caused him. His mind drifted as far away as possible from the thought that Joshua was at that very moment meeting with Seungcheol, or that he was probably already on his way home after a satisfying end to the meeting. Minghao really didn't want to think about that.

Ah, but the universe seemingly hated it when he had moments of peace, because the music was abruptly replaced by his annoying, irritating, and downright ominous ringtone. Grumbling, he picked up his phone and disconnected it from Bluetooth for privacy in his conversation, then proceeded to answer the call after seeing it was from Joshua.

"What?" was his greeting, rather brusque, but he didn't hear a response. He could hear his friend's phone seemingly dropping to the floor or some flat surface, and then he heard footsteps. Nothing more. "Joshua?" he asked; Jun looked at him, curious, and Minghao gestured for him to be silent even though he wasn't speaking. "Joshua?" he asked again.

"Can you even hit people?" he heard, or something like that, as the voice sounded distant. After that, he only heard footsteps as if several people were running away from the phone. He pulled away from Jun and looked at him, Jun's big eyes blinked, asking for an explanation, which Minghao couldn't provide because he himself didn't understand anything. The call was still ongoing.

"Sweetheart, can you track this call?" he handed his phone to Jun with a worried expression on his face. "I think something bad is happening."

Junhui nodded and ran with the phone to his office, where he had all the necessary equipment. Minghao followed suit, dialing Wonwoo on his work phone. After a few rings, Wonwoo answered:

"Are you seeing the time? You'd better-" 

"Gather everyone at your house," he interrupted; when Wonwoo was about to complain, Minghao spoke again. "I think Joshua is in danger. Jun is going to track his location now... you, get ready in your car, so you can drive off when I send the location. I have to go... also, call Doctor Kwon and tell Mingyu to prepare a room just in case," he spoke hurriedly and only noticed Wonwoo responding with monosyllables. "When Jun has the location, we'll head to your house, goodbye."

He entered Junhui's office and found him with all the monitors on, typing frantically. He stood behind him, placing his hands on Jun's shoulders as he slid from side to side in his chair. Jun furrowed his brow, seeing the layers of security protecting the information, and clicked his tongue, raising his gaze to meet Minghao's.

"It might take about half an hour, Hao," he answered honestly, returning his gaze to one of the screens.

"Can't it be fifteen minutes?" sweat slid down the younger one's forehead, and with each passing second, he felt more nervous. Jun made a sound as if he wasn't convinced but nodded.

"I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything," he sighed, trying to find a gap in the encryption. "It's been a while since I've done something like this," he muttered.

Minghao alternated his gaze between the screen and his husband, wishing he could help in some way, but he knew it wasn't possible, so he gave up on intervening. He just kept his phone ready to call Wonwoo as soon as everything was ready.

Wonwoo waited anxiously in his car, checking his equipment and constantly checking the time on the clock. The minutes seemed to last an eternity to change to the next number, and Wonwoo was already getting impatient. He rested his head on the seat when his phone rang and answered it with clumsy hands.

"Where?" he didn't give the person on the other end of the line a chance to say a word.

"The phone is located in that abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city," it was Junhui's voice. Wonwoo felt a kind of reassurance hearing from his best friend, and with all urgency, he started his car, driving as recklessly as he could and activating the sirens so that any traffic officers he might encounter on the way wouldn't bother him. He ran red lights, drove down one-way streets, and almost hit a pedestrian; Jun was sure that if all this had happened a few hours earlier, Wonwoo would probably have been involved in an accident. Then again, Wonwoo always drove like a madman. "Take it easy, Wonwoo, it's recommended that you arrive alive and in one piece to help Detective Hong if necessary," he said, knowing better than anyone Wonwoo's "driving style."

"Shut up, Jun; if it had been Minghao, he would have reached the warehouse in an hour," he joked, turning the steering wheel with all his strength to overtake a car in front of him.

"Because precisely the warehouse is an hour away from the city, genius," he heard Minghao complain from behind Jun.

"Whatever, I'll be there in less than twenty minutes if everything goes well," Wonwoo said.

He continued to listen to Junhui's directions to get there, and as he planned, he arrived at the warehouse eighteen minutes later, jumping out of his car with his firearm, uniform, and even a bulletproof vest just in case things got interesting. He hated with all his being the vast barren land that lay before reaching the warehouse, and he was a little scared of his own shadow. All he could hear were his footsteps and the cicadas, as well as the wind. He scanned the area, finding absolutely nothing but nature; some plants and nothing more. Getting closer to the warehouse, he could see someone lying near its door, and immediately thought the worst. He cautiously ran towards the person, and all the alarms in his head went off when he saw that it was Joshua. He was beaten up, but from afar, the most worrying thing was the immense pool of blood surrounding him. Joshua struggled to keep his eyes open, and Wonwoo felt a strong urge to cry.

"Joshua..." he whispered. The detective had a jacket wrapped around him, as if it had been used before to try to stop the bleeding a bit, and he was breathing heavily. Without wasting any more time, Wonwoo picked him up in his arms and ran with him to the car, carefully placing him in the passenger seat. The call with Jun and Minghao was still connected to his car speakers. "I've got him... he... he's bleeding out," he clumsily reversed his car and then made a U-turn to return home, driving much more recklessly than before, if that was possible.

"Bleeding out!?" Minghao shrieked. "How did that happen!?"

"I don't know!" he also shouted, looking at Joshua lying next to him complaining. "Oh my God, what will I do if he dies in my car!?" he pressed the accelerator even harder.

"Drive carefully!" now it was Jun speaking, or rather, shouting. "You both need to arrive alive, not dead..."

"Shut up, Jun, you're not helping!" Wonwoo agreed with Minghao and looked at Joshua again, who just leaned back in the seat and pressed his hands to his abdomen, with a pained expression.

"Joshua, don't die, okay?" Wonwoo whispered to him; Joshua couldn't even open his eyes properly. "Joshua?" he slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road and adjusted his friend in the seat; the blood didn't stop flowing. "Don't you dare close your eyes, okay?" he threatened, or tried to, Joshua just smiled, or made a grimace that seemed like a smile. "There's a hospital nearby, I'll take you to the emergency room," Wonwoo murmured more to himself than to Joshua or his friends still connected to the call and started the car again.

"No... hospital," Joshua whispered and Wonwoo had to concentrate not to brake again. "Just..."

"Don't talk," he said. "Hey, this idiot says he doesn't want to go to the hospital. Should I listen to him or what?"

"I don't think taking him to the hospital would be the best... or would it?" Minghao then let out a frustrated yell. "Damn... I don't know. If you take him to the hospital, we'll have to explain things, but nothing guarantees he'll survive at home... Wonwoo, it's up to you."

"Hao!" he complained, but Minghao wasn't going to change his mind. Wonwoo sighed, resigned, and decided to go home, hoping it would be enough to keep Joshua alive. "Hey, dying guy," he called out to the detective, who didn't respond, but Wonwoo knew he was still conscious. "I'll honor your wish just in case you die, so your spirit won't haunt me."

"How can you say those things to him!?" he heard another shout; as if he had forgotten he was still on the call. "Ugh, you're an idiot. Anyway, Jun and I are on our way to your place. When you make a decision—"

"I already made it," he interrupted, then checked the time. "See you in some minutes."

Mingyu waited anxiously outside his house, alongside Chan. The young man yawned and stretched his body; he was wearing a long one-piece pajama of some strange creature. Was that supposed to be a dinosaur? Mingyu tried not to focus too much on that outfit, but he couldn't help it. It was ridiculous, but cute. He hugged himself and regretted not bringing a coat to wait outside; he only had his pants and a sleeveless shirt. As if his pleas had been heard, Minghao came out of the house and placed a coat on Mingyu's shoulders before turning to Chan.

"What the hell are you supposed to be? A worm?" Chan rolled his eyes and looked at Minghao.

"What does that matter now? It's just pajamas," Minghao made a sound, mocking him, and Chan groaned exasperatedly. "Wasn't it supposed to be some minutes until they arrived? It's been like an hour already!"

"It's only been five minutes, Chan, don't be so exaggerated," Mingyu sighed, adjusting his coat. "I hope they're both okay..." and he looked ahead, just as his husband's car parked terribly in front of the house, braking hard. The three of them ran to the car as soon as Wonwoo got out of it, and Chan took care of opening the passenger door, staggering to see Joshua's condition. Mingyu pushed him aside and carried Joshua in his arms, then hurriedly entered the house with him, Minghao trying to see Hong as well.

The nurse rushed upstairs to the guest room where the doctor was waiting alongside Seokmin, both truly hoping that nothing serious was happening and that it was all just Minghao's paranoia upon receiving a possibly mistaken call. But no, obviously it wasn't. Mingyu entered with Joshua bleeding out and carefully laid him on the bed. Soonyoung became serious and began to work without saying another word, removing Joshua's shirt and examining the wound with Mingyu's help.

The others crowded at the door, none wanting to enter the room to avoid interrupting but at the same time too curious and worried to stay away. Meanwhile, the lawyer had stayed in the corner of the room, seemingly in a trance.

"This... is very serious, he needs to go to a hospital as soon as possible," Soonyoung said, and that really crushed everyone's spirits once again.

"Is there really no way to help him even a little bit from here?" Chan asked, peeking through the door. "You know it will be a problem to explain everything. Doctors will ask questions, call the police even if we are the police, and..."

"And what!?" Seokmin shouted, snapping out of his stupor. "He's going to die! Let's go to the emergency room!" he started to shed tears as he watched Joshua on the bed with Soonyoung and Mingyu maneuvering with him. "I... I'll deal with any problem, let's go-"

"No..." Joshua whispered and instantly a deathly silence fell. Soonyoung hadn't even realized that the detective had momentarily regained consciousness. "No hospitals..."

"Shut up!" Minghao yelled from the door. "Don't strain yourself to speak, just shut up."

"The investigation..." Joshua said with difficulty, even trying to sit up. Mingyu laid him back down again. "Seokmin..."

"Yes? What is it? I'm here," Seokmin crawled over to kneel beside the bed and looked Joshua in the face. For a second, he was aware of his disheveled appearance, his tousled hair, and his "grandpa" pajamas, but seeing Joshua's sweaty face, furrowed brow, closed eyes, and parted lips made him forget about that quickly. "Oh... what did they do to you?" he asked in a whisper, crying.

"Seokmin, step aside," Mingyu told him. "You're interfering with Doctor Kwon's work."

"I'm sorry..." Joshua said, opening his eyes a little to look at Seokmin. The young man looked back at him and shook his head, reaching a hand to Joshua's forehead to push away the strands of hair sticking to it. "The promise..."

"It's okay..." he reassured him, now stroking his hair.

"Seokmin, please," the doctor told him, clearly asking for space, and Seokmin finally accepted, going with the others to the door. He sought out Minghao and, finding him, didn't hesitate to seek refuge in his arms, crying inconsolably while his friend tried not to break down right there as well. Minghao tried to calm Seokmin, who buried his face in his neck and soaked it with tears, while also watching the doctor do something strange that he didn't understand and didn't want to understand with Joshua's wound.

"He won't survive if he stays here," Minghao heard Jun say behind him, and he was about to tell him to go to hell, but the look Jun gave him was too honest and concerned. "I know the investigation is very important to all of you, especially because of me and Chan, but..." he glanced inside the room. "His life is more important."

"Jun is right," Wonwoo said. "Besides... does it really matter now whether they discover the investigation or not? Sooner or later it was going to happen." He ran a hand over his face. "The punishment for opening a case in secret is there, but for what our 'main suspect' did to Joshua, our punishment might be less severe."

"Although there are no witnesses or evidence of anything," Chan spoke up. "I mean, there's nothing to say that Choi Seungcheol was the one who stabbed Joshua. It would be Joshua's word against Seungcheol's if they investigate that further, and since there's still no physical evidence that Seungcheol committed the previous crimes, after an interrogation, it's very likely that they'll release him and accuse us of trying to incriminate him."

"That's a good point, but..." Wonwoo didn't finish because Joshua's weak voice made its appearance again, interrupting.

"Lee Jihoon..." the doctor tensed at hearing that name. "He was there."

"Huh? Did he do something?" Joshua didn't respond to Wonwoo and he shrugged. "Even if he's a witness and can change the course of everything, here we all know he's going to prefer to be on Seungcheol's side. Plus, it benefits him as an accomplice."

"Back in a dead end again," Minghao murmured, stroking Seokmin's head, who was still clinging to him.

"No," Soonyoung said without looking at them, still focused on Joshua. "I will try to convince Jihoon. I'll help you in any way I can. I think... I can get him on our side."

And silence fell again.

Chapter Text

"Seokmin, go home."

The young man ignored the command and only stared at the irregular lines on the screen. Seokmin felt that if he looked away, those lines would be replaced by a straight line; the thought gave him chills.

Minghao grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the room despite the lawyer's protests.

"Don't worry about him, Seokmin. I'll stay here tonight," the young man said, but Seokmin shook his head, earning a reproachful look from Minghao. "You have to work early tomorrow... go home."

"But Joshua is—"

"He'll be fine, the doctors said he just needs to rest." Seokmin didn't look convinced, and really, neither did Minghao; although Joshua was stable now, he couldn't stop thinking that something bad could happen at any moment. "We need to have energy for what's coming tomorrow, so please..."

"You too, Minghao." He gently removed Minghao's grip from his arm. "I really don't mind staying here. Go home with Jun..." Minghao smiled and then sighed, giving in.

"Alright... I'll see you tomorrow, I suppose." With a final nod, Minghao left, leaving Seokmin outside the room.

The young man turned around and looked at the door, wondering if he should go back in or stay outside. Mingyu appeared and gave Seokmin a tired smile before entering the room. Seokmin watched from outside, catching glimpses through the small window in the door, and stepped back when Mingyu came out again.

"He's waking up; he's a bit disoriented and will stay that way for a few minutes or even hours. So, don't bother him too long, okay?" Seokmin nodded, not quite understanding what Mingyu meant. Was Mingyu implying that Seokmin would go into the room and start a conversation with a freshly operated Joshua? He clearly wouldn't do that... though that's exactly what he'd been thinking of doing once Joshua woke up. Ah, Seokmin had never had to deal with something like this in his life. "By the way, if he asks for water, only let him take a few sips." Seokmin nodded again, hating his ex-boyfriend for giving him responsibilities, but at the same time feeling a bit excited to have to take care of Joshua. Mingyu patted him on the shoulder before walking down the hallway, leaving Seokmin deep in thought.

Seokmin didn't know if Joshua would like to see him immediately after waking up, but... he didn't care. He really wanted to see him awake to calm his worried heart. He took his phone out of his grandpa pants pocket and checked the time: a quarter to four in the morning. So, it had already been four hours since Joshua's surgery, and he had spent all that time watching Joshua's face, waiting for him to wake up, and now that he had, he was hesitating to see him. He put his phone away and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants before finally entering the room.

They had had to tell a few little white lies to the hospital staff to keep them out of their business, and they had to use Soonyoung's influence to prevent others from intervening with Joshua. They had placed him in a large room with all the amenities, but that meant nothing if Joshua didn't get better. He would need to recover soon to testify against Seungcheol without being under the influence of any painkillers following the surgery. That way, the man wouldn't have time to escape or hide. The evidence they had wasn't enough to open a case, but with Joshua's testimony, Seungcheol would already be considered a suspect, and if Jihoon decided to help and cooperate with the police, they would see a new beginning for the investigation. The biggest problem was the consequences of opening a case in secret and without their superiors' authorization; even if Seungcheol was found guilty, the punishment for the officers would be quite severe, including Joshua, even though he was a victim. From sanctions to possibly losing all their positions, it was an increasingly unfavorable situation. Seokmin wasn't safe either; by helping with the investigation, the prosecution would also have their eyes on him, and it could affect his career as a lawyer. Oh, and his dear cousin wouldn't hesitate for a second to make his life even more miserable.

He approached the bed with a sad expression on his face, feeling guilty and powerless inside. He simply believed he shouldn't have let Joshua go alone. Everyone knew it was dangerous, but at the same time, they all had the stupid hope that Seungcheol wouldn't try anything.

They were too confident. And stupid. Maybe more stupid than confident.

Joshua was blinking to get used to the white light that illuminated the entire room, and he immediately tried to sit up.

"Don't move," Seokmin touched one of Joshua's shoulders and gently laid him back down. "Do you feel better?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?" he replied in a hoarse voice, trying to smile. Seokmin felt sorry for him and grabbed the water bottle from the nightstand, opening it and bringing it to Joshua so he could take a sip.

"No more... or Mingyu will kill me," he took the bottle away from Joshua, who looked like he was going to protest. Seokmin pouted; poor Joshua was thirsty and couldn't even drink water as he pleased. That bastard Seungcheol was going to pay for this, he really was. He had hurt Joshua so much, for what? To feel good? To prove he was a strong man? Seokmin was beyond angry. He really...

"Why are you crying?" Joshua asked him in a barely audible voice.

"Huh?" Seokmin touched one of his cheeks and realized it was wet. How pathetic, he had started crying in front of a sick person. But this only made him cry more, unable to stop. "It's nothing..." he replied, tears streaming down his face as if they were faucets. "Really, it's nothing," he wiped his cheeks, as if that would be enough to stop the tears. Obviously, it wasn't. "I... I was scared you wouldn't wake up," he finally admitted.

Joshua gave him a scrutinizing look, a very beautiful one, but also sad, because he looked so weak.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"Why?" the detective repeated. "You shouldn't waste your tears on me."

"I only cry when it's worth it," his attempt at a defense sounded very... very strange. He regretted it immediately, and then not so much, because Joshua smiled at him, closing his eyes in the process.

"What time is it? You should sleep, Seokmin."

"I'll sleep when you do," he said. "I don't want to leave you alone."

"I just woke up, you can't—"

"Alright, enough talking for today." Mingyu reappeared almost like magic in the room, making Seokmin jump. He hadn't even heard the door open. "Detective Hong, we need to monitor you a bit now, it won't take long, so don't worry. Seokmin, that sofa over there," he pointed to a nice couch near the bathroom door, a bit away from Joshua's bed, "is a sofa bed, so you can sleep there."

"I'm not sleepy..." he complained like a child, but Mingyu dragged him until he was standing in front of the sofa. Seokmin huffed and turned the couch into a bed, then flopped onto it.

"You have a trial in the morning, and the others will formally bring the investigation to light... you need to sleep well to face all that." Mingyu really hadn't changed at all... always eager to interfere with his plans. But he didn't do it with bad intentions, he was just worried. Thinking about this, Seokmin curled up on the sofa bed and a few minutes later received a blanket from Mingyu. Soonyoung entered the room with a smile, and along with Mingyu, checked on Joshua, giving him a quick examination that Seokmin watched from where he was lying.

"It's time for you to get some rest," Soonyoung said when they finished, walking towards the door of the room. "Good night to both of you," he said and left, with Mingyu turning off the light.

How ironic that the first night they spent together alone in a room was in a hospital, both in separate beds, and one of them just out of emergency surgery. Joshua looked at the ceiling, nervous. Damn it, how could he not be nervous when Seokmin was just a few meters away, asleep? Joshua couldn't sleep either, and even though they assured him that the medication they had just given him would soon take effect, he didn't believe it. He couldn't sleep with Seokmin there! And well, he knew nothing could happen given the situation they were in, but still... "Still" what? Did Joshua want something to happen?

Soonyoung had finally finished for the day. He wanted to go home and take a good bath, although at the same time he wasn't entirely sure, he didn't want to be too far away in case something happened with Detective Hong. Mingyu was there, and he could handle anything in Soonyoung's absence, so taking that into account, he headed to the hospital entrance.

And Lee Jihoon was there.

His... Jihoon was there. He looked around, as if searching for something or someone. Trying to hide the excitement that flooded his body, Soonyoung approached him, attempting to appear casual with one hand in the pocket of his long white coat. Jihoon's small eyes widened as he saw him, and he seemed to want to say something, but no words came out.

"Hi..." was all he could manage after stammering. Soonyoung looked at him, testing himself, and realized that he still loved him as much as the first day. Jihoon looked exhausted and nervous, fixing his eyes on his palms as he fidgeted with his shirt.

"Are you looking for someone?" Soonyoung really hoped his voice sounded as cold as he intended, but he doubted it a bit; he was always gentle when it came to Jihoon.

"Oh... I...," he looked up again, staring directly into Soonyoung's eyes. "Is he okay?"

Soonyoung immediately knew he was referring to Joshua. He nodded, maintaining his calm demeanor, and felt a small pang in his chest.

Was he jealous? No, like... why would Soonyoung be jealous of Joshua? Jihoon could be concerned about the detective’s well-being because of his best friend’s safety, that was understandable, so why was he jealous? Maybe deep down, Soonyoung wished Jihoon would ask him: "How have you been since you found out I betrayed you and everyone else?" or something like that.

"Are you looking for Detective Hong? There's no way I'll let you near him..."

"Actually, I was looking for you."

Oh.

What a nice coincidence. Soonyoung froze for a few seconds before remembering to act naturally and tilted his head, looking at Jihoon with an expression the latter couldn’t decipher.

"Me? Why is that?" he said, but Soonyoung had an idea why, and Jihoon knew it.

"Soonyoung, you know what I mean," Jihoon suddenly looked... vulnerable. Soonyoung felt his heart clench. "I understand that you hate me and don't want anything to do with me, and I respect that too, but I just..." He took a few short steps closer to Soonyoung. "I just want to tell you that I still love you," he whispered the last part, with a slight blush on his cheeks and ears.

Soonyoung couldn't respond immediately. He wanted to tell him that he had missed him like crazy, that he still loved him a lot, and that no matter what, his feelings wouldn't disappear. But Soonyoung also had at least a little self-respect. As much as he truly felt that way towards Jihoon, he was aware of what his boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend (or whatever Jihoon was to him at that point), had done. He had lied to him for a whole year and spent months lying and pretending to collaborate in the investigation. Even with all those sweet words Jihoon was saying, Soonyoung couldn't fall for it. Not again.

"I hope you have time in the afternoon," he said suddenly, moving away from him as quickly as possible, feeling his eyes sting, eager to release a few tears.

Jihoon watched Soonyoung leave the hospital in a hurry and sighed, a smile appearing on his lips.

It wasn't even nine in the morning when Commissioner Im burst into Joshua's room alongside Prosecutor Lee, one looking angrier than the other. Joshua, still in pain, looked at them in surprise, but Wonwoo, standing by his side, faced them with a neutral expression.

"What were you thinking!? A secret investigation!?" There she was, the woman who rarely got upset, yelling.

"Good morning to you too, Commissioner Im," Wonwoo replied, and the woman's eyes shot daggers at him. "Something tells me you've known about this for a while, so... why the fuss?"

"You know what you did was not only reckless but also illegal, right?" Taemin asked.

"And what are you doing here, prosecutor? You're lucky Seokmin just left because he’s been itching to punch someone since last night..." Wonwoo said, and Joshua groaned, telling him to be quiet. "What? It's true!" the younger one protested, turning to Joshua.

"I apologize on behalf of everyone, ma'am, sir," Joshua intervened, his voice raspy. "We know it might not have been the best decision to do everything in secret, but we had our reasons. First of all, the evidence is not enough," he explained. "We only have circumstantial evidence, nothing that directly incriminates Choi Seungcheol and Lee Jihoon."

"What he means by circumstantial evidence are some behavior patterns and, obviously, the relationships he established with the victims prior to their deaths or disappearances," Wonwoo continued, seeing how difficult it was for Joshua to speak. "We know we can't get an arrest warrant with the little evidence we have, but at least Joshua's statement will be enough to list him as a suspect in his attack."

"When it’s proven that he didn't commit any of the crimes you think he did and that he wasn't the one who attacked Detective Hong..." Taemin said, and Wonwoo really wished Seokmin were there. Ah, the lawyer was never around when needed.

"Work more and talk less, prosecutor." Taemin looked highly offended by what Wonwoo said, but the officer dismissed it and continued. "With Joshua, we can get an arrest warrant; it’s still too early to accuse him of the other crimes..."

"But...?" Yoona prompted him to continue, and Wonwoo did, smiling at her.

"But there is a witness." Wonwoo's smile twisted into a grimace. "And this witness is Lee Jihoon."

"You mean the supposed accomplice?" the woman asked, crossing her arms.

"I don't mean the supposed accomplice, I mean the accomplice," he clarified, and Yoona scoffed. "The evidence is there, commissioner, we know it’s not enough to open a case or even bring him to trial, but anyone with a functional brain can see the connections... I understand if you, prosecutor, don’t see it, these things happen," he muttered, and the little jab didn't go unnoticed by Taemin, who looked even more annoyed than before. "If we can get Jihoon to testify in our favor..."

"Why would the accomplice of an alleged serial killer want to testify against his partner? That's ridiculous," Taemin said in a mocking tone. "The only thing keeping all of you from being immediately dismissed is the attack on Detective Hong, otherwise..."

"We have our ace up our sleeve," Wonwoo said confidently, although he felt a bit insecure. Nothing guaranteed that Jihoon would side with them. No matter how much Jihoon was in love with Soonyoung, sometimes boyfriend's love just wasn't enough, or something like that. And blood was thicker than water... although Jihoon and Seungcheol didn't share blood, so in that case, it didn't make sense, and it would be weird to think that way because sometimes those two had attitudes that made Wonwoo wonder: "Are they a couple!?" But then those thoughts would vanish because, well, Seungcheol was still obsessed with a guy who had died who knew how many years ago. Anyway, what was wrong with Wonwoo? Why was he thinking about that? He shook his head and looked at Joshua, who returned his gaze with that weak smile that made him feel pity. "Trust us, at least one last time."

"That will be difficult, Wonwoo," Yoona said to him. "I am especially disappointed that Minghao got involved in this... him being such an exceptional young man. It's a shame."

"Yeah, well, his husband is probably on Seungcheol's 'cursed list' of targets; anyone would have been worried," Wonwoo replied. "We believe the attack on Joshua is proof enough for at least an interrogation; we can bring the 'not-so-secret secret case' to the table with Jihoon's help."

"We'll have to see how that works out for you," Taemin said, and Wonwoo wanted the prosecutor to shut up, maybe forever. The prosecutor spoke with such an annoying tone of superiority that it was like an invitation for Wonwoo to punch him until he learned some humility. Good thing Wonwoo wasn't a violent man... or well, good thing Wonwoo was a professional man.

"If Seungcheol is found guilty of my attempted murder, it will make everything else easier," Joshua said. "I'm sure there will be some evidence in the warehouse and on Seungcheol's body since I was able to hit him. Although not as hard as he hit me..." Wonwoo literally laughed in Joshua's face after hearing him say that, and the detective wondered why he had mentioned that in front of a bully like his friend. Clearing his throat, Joshua continued: "I don't have any proof like messages or calls because I discussed all the details of my meeting with Seungcheol with Jihoon in person, but you will find something. I know there has to be something."

"What about the call you made to Minghao?" Wonwoo asked. "The audio can be analyzed and..."

"Alright, you’re going too far," Yoona stopped them. "We'll resolve one thing at a time, understood?" Both nodded. "Perfect... I'll be leaving now. Wonwoo, come with me, I'll see if I can get an arrest warrant for tonight... and get well, Joshua," she said and left the room with Taemin.

When Wonwoo saw the door close, he turned back to Joshua.

"Well."

"It was progress, I suppose," Joshua said. "Although we are closer to being fired..."

"You're lucky you got stabbed," Joshua looked at him incredulously. "I mean, if they had discovered us before without having something 'stronger' to accuse Seungcheol, then we'd be screwed a hundred percent."

"And now what? Are we screwed fifty percent?"

"Eighty-five percent," Wonwoo corrected him as if it were a serious matter. "But something is something," Joshua shook his head, smiling, and just then something came to Wonwoo's mind. "Hey, what's this about Seokmin spending the night here?"

"Minghao told you?"

"So it's true?" he asked with a big smile. "Uh... getting attacked has given you some great and sudden advantages, Shua... who would have thought."

"Before you think anything, nothing happened between Seokmin and me."

"Oh? And what's the need to clarify that?" he teased. "Did something happen?"

"Fuck you, Wonwoo," Joshua sighed and settled back on the bed. "You should go, Commissioner Im told you to go with her."

"You're right, see you later, old man," Wonwoo softly bumped his fist against Joshua's and left, leaving Joshua alone in his room once again, with the machines connected to him being the only source of noise.

Joshua couldn't help but think about Seokmin and smiled, remembering how worried the younger one had been earlier that morning, afraid to leave him alone.

"Seokmin, you need to go to work," he had said, but Seokmin just looked at him with a pout.

"What if you get worse again?"

"I'm in a hospital; they'll be able to help me," he assured him, but Seokmin still didn't look very convinced. "Your job is more important, Seokmin... go."

"I'll come back as soon as I'm done," Joshua nodded to keep him calm. "And I'll bring clothes! For me and for you, because I'm staying here with you until you're discharged, okay?"

"Yes, Seokmin, I won't move from here, don't worry," he said with a soft laugh.

Seokmin had given him an adorable warning look before leaving, and Joshua kept smiling like a fool until Wonwoo came to visit him as well.

Seokmin returned a few hours later, with lots of things to say about his day. Things that Joshua loved to hear.

Chapter Text

Seungcheol was still lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling without saying anything. Jihoon stopped pacing around and stood still, watching him.

"Do you feel better?"

"Why didn't you let me kill him?" Seungcheol looked at him without getting up from the couch. "He's the main problem. If I'd killed him..."

"Seungcheol, why are you so set on killing that man?" Jihoon asked, more out of curiosity than anything else. Sure, he was angry and worried because he knew they were in deeper trouble than ever before, but Seungcheol was still his best friend. "I thought you wouldn't hurt anyone related to Jeonghan anymore."

"That's exactly why I want to kill him..." Jihoon raised an eyebrow, confused, and Seungcheol sighed. "Because of him, everything went to shit. Jeonghan and I were fine before that idiot reappeared in his life out of nowhere."

Jihoon put his hands on his hips and shook his head.

"You know they'll probably arrest us tonight, right?" Seungcheol looked away and stared at the ceiling again. "Cheol... all the things you've done... to get to this point? Seriously?" Jihoon tried to meet Seungcheol's gaze, but he wouldn't give in, even closing his eyes. "Hey... we're really done for, are you okay with that?"

Seungcheol let out a small laugh, still with his eyes closed.

"I can pay bail," he said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Maybe for him, it was. Jihoon didn't say anything, he just kept looking at him, trying to get something but failing. Seungcheol was just being an idiot, as Jihoon was used to. "You're... going to testify against me, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" Jihoon sighed and ended up throwing himself on top of Seungcheol on the couch. The older one grimaced but didn't complain, just adjusted himself a bit and Jihoon did the same, resting his chin on Seungcheol's chest and looking at him with wide eyes. Seungcheol smiled and finally opened his eyes, looking at Jihoon and bringing his hand to the younger one's head, starting to stroke his hair.

"Would you betray me for your boyfriend?" he asked, smiling, with adorable dimples forming in his cheeks. Aw, he almost didn't look like a killer, how cute. Jihoon snorted, bringing his hand to Seungcheol's nose to pinch it. "Ouch, don't do that," he complained, moving Jihoon's hand away. "I know I've... I've been a bit of a bastard," he said, his hands gently moving through Jihoon's hair.

"A bit?" Jihoon muttered, giving him a light punch in the ribs.

"Yeah, well, I haven't been the best," Jihoon hit him again and this time Seungcheol looked at him sternly. "Jihoon, I know I've pressured you a lot and treated you like shit..."

"Thanks for noticing."

Seungcheol ignored Jihoon's comment and continued.

"I want you to know that I'll always be by your side. Even if you leave, you can always come back to me, I'll never reject you or leave you," he said, caressing Jihoon's cheek. "Han and you... you are my life. Without you, I'm nothing, Jihoon."

Jihoon looked at him with pity. Nothing was more painful than seeing Seungcheol talking about Jeonghan as if he were still alive. Even so, Seungcheol would say these sweet things and then his actions would be the opposite, confusing Jihoon immensely.

"Why do you think I would betray you?"

"Because you love that guy who appeared out of nowhere more than you love me," he said, not stopping his caresses. Jihoon felt anger rising. Seungcheol had no right to think that way.

"Saying that is very hypocritical of you," Jihoon said softly. Seungcheol withdrew his hands from Jihoon and looked at him, frowning.

"Why do you say that? You know it's true," there was something in his tone that irritated Jihoon further. 'Irritation,' that's what it was. Did Seungcheol think he could be angry? Shouldn't Jihoon be the one who was angry?

Jihoon really didn't know if he loved Seungcheol or Soonyoung more. He couldn't imagine a life without either, but one's presence hurt the other. Although he had his difficult moments with his best friend, that didn't mean Jihoon would stop loving him or anything like that; Seungcheol had been his support, his pillar when he needed it most. What was also true was that, since he fell in love with Jeonghan, Seungcheol had left Jihoon a bit on the side. This didn't make Jihoon doubt his affection and love, but it was a bit painful, even if he pretended it wasn't. On the other hand, only recently had he realized that what he felt for Soonyoung was love. He spent a whole year believing he had Soonyoung at his feet when it was actually the other way around. After being abruptly separated from Soonyoung, he realized how much he needed him in his life and how used he was to him. If Jihoon had to choose one of the two, he would choose both.

Although maybe, Jihoon should only choose himself.

"Things like that didn't bother you when Jeonghan was alive," he murmured. "You always loved him more than you loved me, and now I'm the bad guy? Seungcheol... you're really a little piece of trash."

"Huh?"

"Fuck you," Jihoon got off his friend and went to one of the empty rooms, wanting to be alone. Upon entering, a wave of memories overwhelmed him. Ah, this was the room where Seungcheol had kept Soonyoung captive. He took a deep breath and left, letting out a yelp and jumping when he saw Seungcheol standing there in front of him.

"I just want you to know that, no matter what decision you make, I'll always be here for you," he said, holding Jihoon by the shoulders, making their gazes meet. "Destroy my life and everything we've done, but please, don't leave me alone, Jihoon."

"You're saying these things because you're scared," Jihoon lowered his head, but Seungcheol made sure to lift it, placing his fingers on his chin to raise his face. "No, Seungcheol, let me go..." he said weakly and pulled away from the man. "You think the police are going to come for me and you want to make sure I stay on your side, right?"

“Whether you’re on my side or not, you’ll still end up in jail,” Seungcheol seemed anxious, but that wasn’t going to affect Jihoon anymore. He was fed up. “No matter what you do, I won’t hate you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, if you prefer to go with a group of cops who just want to use you…”

“Use me... isn’t that what you want to do too? Use me for your benefit?”

Seungcheol fell silent.

Oh, fantastic. Jihoon laughed and shook his head. It wasn’t a small laugh, no, it was a booming laugh. It seemed there was nothing more to say. Seungcheol knew it, and so did Jihoon, so he just gave the man one last look before leaving the apartment.

Outside the building, he finally breathed in the fresh air and smiled. He would walk to the nearest bus station and enjoy the rest of the day. The way things were going, it was probably his last day of freedom, so he was going to live it normally. Without being weird, without watching people, without hiding bodies, without keeping secrets… he would just be Jihoon.

The sun was shining intensely, making Jihoon want to hide from it, but there was no shade nearby, so he just kept walking through the empty streets. When he reached the bus stop, he let out a satisfied sigh and sat down, finally getting the shade he wanted. He was so hot he was sweating, even though the weather wasn’t that warm. He ran a hand over his forehead and kept looking ahead, hoping the bus would arrive soon; he wasn’t thrilled about sitting there for hours doing nothing, and he also wanted to get somewhere early. He saw a car approaching and followed it with his eyes as it passed in front of him; he recognized that car, and apparently the driver recognized him too because he parked a short distance away and then jogged to the stop to sit next to Jihoon. He looked ahead again, knowing that the person sitting next to him was staring at him.

“Hey,” he greeted, finally facing him. “I was going to go home to see you.”

“I’m not staying at home, you know that.”

“Right… I forgot,” Jihoon snorted. “Why did you want to see me this afternoon?”

Soonyoung looked him in the eyes.

“Testify against Choi Seungcheol.”

Ah, it was for that. Why did Jihoon have hope? Somehow, he felt bad. Of course, Soonyoung didn’t want to talk about their relationship or other things, that was ridiculous. So why did he feel disappointed?

“Why would I do that?” Jihoon asked. Not because he would or wouldn’t do it, he really wanted to know. He was screwed, whether he testified for or against, there was no escape. At least he wanted to have someone to lean on, but there was no one. His teenage self must be very proud of being alone in life. "You did it, stupid and immature Jihoon," he wanted to say out loud.

“Because you should.”

“‘Because I should?’” Jihoon repeated slowly, questioning. Soonyoung didn’t look away.

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” he said suddenly, and Jihoon almost laughed. “Because it’s what you really want.”

“How do you know I want to do that, Soonyoung?”

“I know you,” he replied confidently.

“Do you really?”

Silence.

“I know Lee Jihoon, not the weird guy Choi Seungcheol molded.”

That was… Jihoon thought about it for a few seconds. He didn’t know if Soonyoung was right. To be honest, Jihoon didn’t even know himself. Sometimes he felt things that weren’t like him, and other times he hated people who had been with him his whole life, like Seungcheol. His mind was a mess, everything about him was. Things mattered a lot and at the same time didn’t matter, he wanted to escape the law and live a quiet life with a new identity, and at the same time, he wanted to turn himself in and pay for his crimes. Everything was wrong and everything was right. A complete mess.

“Soonyoung… what will happen to Seungcheol?”

“Shouldn’t you worry about yourself?”

“I have nothing left to lose,” he shrugged, looking ahead again. Soonyoung imitated him, and together they watched the big tree on the other side of the street.

“And you think he does?”

“Me.”

Jihoon was probably giving himself too much credit. Maybe Soonyoung thought the same, which was why he laughed.

“Well, if he’s found guilty, you know what the sentence is,” he replied after a few minutes that felt like an eternity, so much so that Jihoon had forgotten what he meant and had to force himself to remember. A cool breeze blew and ruffled his hair a bit. “He’ll never be found guilty if you don’t cooperate. You’re crucial to this case, Jihoon, why don’t you put yourself first, at least once in your life? You don’t need anyone or anything, as long as you don’t lose yourself…”

“I… I think I’ll take the blame for everything. The attack on Hong, the murders, the Yoon disappearances, the harassment of Boo Seungkwan…” he started playing with his fingers. “Last night, I was scared. I thought of the worst scenarios and worried so much about Seungcheol and me, but now…”

“Jihoon,” his heart skipped a beat when he felt Soonyoung’s hand on his shoulder. “How can you take the blame for things you didn’t do? Are you an idiot? That man brainwashed you, or something, how can you do so much for him? Are you in love with him?” Jihoon really didn’t want to look at him because he knew he would laugh; Soonyoung’s annoyed tone amused him a little. “Wait, is that it? Are you in love with Choi Seungcheol!?”

“What? No!” Jihoon looked at him with disgust and indignation. Soonyoung’s cheeks were flushed. “I just… love him,” he admitted, and Soonyoung made a face. “Not in the way you think, I swear!” he hurried to clarify. “I just love him… is it weird to love someone?”

“But it’s weird to collaborate with a criminal, no matter how much you love them… and it’s even weirder to kill innocent people under the stupid excuse of love,” Soonyoung said in a low, almost inaudible voice.

“I would kill for you,” Jihoon said with embarrassment.

“Would you testify against Seungcheol for me, then?”

“Are you trying to manipulate me?” he qu

estioned with a smile.

“You did the same to me.”

“Touché.”

Jihoon finally made a decision. He would say goodbye to Seungcheol.

Chapter Text

Chan observed the arrest warrant handed to him by Commissioner Im and stifled a sigh of exhaustion. Wonwoo looked even more tired than he did, swaying on his feet while the woman talked and talked, showing no signs of fatigue compared to them.

“When the workload lightens a bit, we need to have a conversation, don’t forget,” Chan blinked and looked at Yoona; he hadn’t been paying attention for a while. He nodded, not fully understanding what she meant, trying not to yawn in his boss’s face. “You can go now, don’t waste any more time.”

Chan decided to drive this time; he definitely wouldn’t put his life in Wonwoo’s hands, knowing how tired he was and what kind of driver his partner was, especially at night. Ah, “night,” that word Chan loved so much because it meant only one thing to him: sleep. Too bad he was working that night, and he knew very well that his rest wouldn’t come soon. He watched as Wonwoo nodded off in the passenger seat, sleeping for microseconds then waking up startled, and he sighed. Ah, shit… he was sleepy too. He wasn’t thrilled about facing Choi Seungcheol either. He only knew the guy through pictures, videos, audios, and of course, the hundreds of documents he and his team had to draft, but “meeting” him in person and arresting him made him a bit nervous. Chan had never worked on a case of this level; he usually spent his time patrolling, accompanying Joshua or Minghao, and when he wasn’t doing one of those things, he was locked up in the police station working from there. He tried to focus on the road while deep down, he was maybe regretting getting involved in this situation and even needing a kidney transplant years ago, though that last one wasn’t his fault.

“Chan,” he was startled by Wonwoo’s voice and glanced at him briefly before looking ahead again. “Not to bother you since you seem very focused on driving, but…” he smiled with feigned innocence. Chan knew Wonwoo well enough to know that smile only meant something not very good. “You passed the street for the building where Seungcheol is six minutes ago.”

“Why didn’t you say anything!?”

Wonwoo shrugged and yawned.

“I forgot.”

Chan’s day was just beginning… and it was already nine at night. Why the hell did he want to be a police officer? There were so many professions in the world, and young Chan had decided on this one. Wonwoo started laughing at Chan and then patted his head gently, as if asking for forgiveness.

Jihoon entered the station behind Soonyoung, almost as if he was hiding. He followed the doctor’s clumsy steps until he entered an office, and Jihoon didn’t know if he should go in, but Soonyoung told him to. Minghao was sitting behind a desk, looking at them kindly. Or at least, looking kindly at Soonyoung.

“Good evening,” greeted the detective. “I really thought you’d take less time,” he said to Soonyoung.

“Ah… did I take too long?” Soonyoung asked with a smile and approached Minghao, sitting in one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

“Yes, almost seven hours,” and suddenly, Minghao didn’t look so kind. His sharp gaze fixed on Jihoon. “What happened during that time? Did you warn Seungcheol so he could escape?”

“Oh my God, what do you think of me?” Soonyoung complained. Jihoon was already uncomfortable due to Minghao’s heavy stare, but he said nothing and kept his head down. “We were just… catching up,” Soonyoung excused himself, sounding shy and even nervous.

“I see…” Minghao finally stopped looking at Jihoon, and he felt like he could breathe normally again. “Prosecutor Lee and Seokmin are waiting for us in the interrogation room.” He got up from his chair and walked to the office door, where Jihoon was still standing. “Stay here, doctor.”

“Huh? Can’t I be present for the interrogation?” Soonyoung went to Minghao, seeming like he was about to start begging at any moment.

“No, why would you be present?” Minghao almost mocked him. “I’ll try to keep the interrogation short so we can all go home early,” he glanced at his wristwatch and grimaced at the time. “Forget it… no dinner at home tonight.”

“Does that… mean I won’t be put in jail?” Jihoon spoke to Minghao for the first time. The young man gave him a flat look and sighed.

“No matter what you say, you’ll spend the night here.” Jihoon nodded, his mind open to a thousand possibilities. The one who didn’t look pleased at all was Soonyoung, who gasped in surprise. “What’s the matter, doctor?”

“If Jihoon spends the night here, so will I.”

“Fine. It doesn’t affect me in any way, but you won’t be able to be with him in his cell; you’ll have to find somewhere to sleep,” he finally left his office, and Jihoon followed, closing the door and bidding Soonyoung farewell with a small wave of his hand. “Seokmin agreed to be your lawyer in this case, so speak freely.” They passed through several doors, each with some security system, and then arrived at a small room. Before entering, Jihoon looked at Minghao in confusion.

“What do you mean by ‘lawyer’? Isn’t it my right to choose my own defense?”

“How sad that life is so unfair, isn’t it?” Contrary to what he said, Minghao didn’t look sad at all, just bored. “We’re helping you a lot, Jihoon, so a little help from you wouldn’t be bad.” Minghao approached him, lowering his voice. “Right now, you’ll be testifying as a witness for the attack on Joshua, but when the other accusations against Seungcheol come to light, you’ll be a suspect too, and then you won’t get as many conveniences. All I can tell you is to cooperate, nothing more.”

He observed the half-open door and then Minghao, who said nothing else and entered, expecting Jihoon to do the same. Seokmin and Taemin were sitting at a table, facing each other. Seeing Minghao take a seat next to Taemin, Jihoon assumed he should sit next to Seokmin, so he did.

“Good evening, Mr. Lee,” Taemin greeted, “we want to talk to you about the attack on Detective Hong last night. Can you tell us exactly what happened?”

“Sure…” Jihoon hesitated a bit before responding and looked at Seokmin, who nodded, giving him some reassurance. “I was the one who planned the meeting between the detective and Seungcheol because he asked me to. I took Seungcheol in my car and waited for him while he was with the detective.”

“So, you knew Seungcheol was armed and still let him meet with Joshua, fully aware that something could happen, is that right?” Minghao asked, jotting down notes in his notebook.

“I didn’t know he was armed,” Jihoon admitted, “I really didn’t think he was capable of hurting him. At one point, I got out of the car because I thought he was taking too long, and I saw him on top of the detective.”

“What did you do after seeing Detective Hong injured?” Taemin asked in a calm voice.

“I pushed Seungcheol away and tried to stop the detective’s bleeding with my jacket,” he lowered his gaze to his hands. “He was losing a lot of blood…”

“It’s okay, Jihoon, just tell us what you remember,” Seokmin intervened when he saw Jihoon starting to tremble.

“I was very angry and arguing with Seungcheol for doing that, but then he pulled me away from the detective and took me to the car,” his eyes met Minghao’s as he looked up.

“Did you call emergency services at any point?” Taemin’s voice made Jihoon turn his gaze to him, and he shook his head.

“If I did... that would implicate Seungcheol and me, but... I just didn’t want anything bad to happen.”

“Is there anything else you remember?” Minghao intervened this time, twirling his pen between his fingers.

“No, that’s all,” he said, feeling a huge weight lift off his shoulders.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Taemin said and stood up, walking toward the door before turning slightly to look at Minghao. “Detective Xu, take Mr. Lee to his cell, and you, Seokmin, assist him with whatever he needs.” He took his phone out of his pocket and glanced at it. “I have to go,” and with that, he opened the door and left the interrogation room.

Seokmin scoffed, looking at the path Taemin had taken.

“Ah, who does that idiot think he is to give us orders?” he also stood up and stretched a bit, Minghao did the same. “I’m sure he thinks he’s very important or something.”

“The prosecutor... wants to take the case from us,” Minghao said. “He’s going to take all the credit because it’s obvious that when our investigation officially opens, it will become a very high-profile case... we did what we could, Seokmin.”

“It shouldn’t be that way!” Seokmin exclaimed. “It was our time we invested, we risked our jobs and our lives!” he narrowed his eyes, angry, and snorted. “Now this guy comes out of nowhere and wants to pretend our work belongs to him… you’ve got to be kidding me. This situation feels like my worst nightmare.”

“If we feel powerless, I can’t imagine how Wonwoo must feel, having investigated everything on his own for years,” Minghao sighed and looked at Jihoon. “Come, follow me.” Jihoon stood up and walked behind Minghao, with Seokmin by his side.

“Ugh, don’t bring Wonwoo into the conversation, you’re making me feel even worse,” Seokmin complained. “My cousin exists only to mess up everything he sticks his nose into; if he takes full control of the case…” he touched Minghao’s shoulder and forced him to turn around to face him, “he might do something stupid and let Choi Seungcheol go free.”

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen, okay?” Minghao placed his hand on Seokmin’s, which was still on his shoulder, and gave it a comforting pat before gently moving it away. “By the way, did you visit Joshua today?” Minghao asked the lawyer as he started walking again. Jihoon looked at Seokmin with curiosity; he was somewhat interested in Detective Hong’s well-being too.

“Yes, I stayed with him for a while this afternoon,” Seokmin replied with a small smile, “I plan to stay with him until he’s discharged.”

“Don’t you have a life?” they arrived at a place with a few empty cells. Minghao took a keyring out of his pocket and, after trying several keys in the lock of one of the cells, finally found the right one and opened the door, indirectly inviting Jihoon to enter. When he did, Minghao closed the cell and looked at the young man behind the metal bars. “In a few hours, you’ll probably have another interrogation, so rest and mentally prepare for it.” Jihoon nodded without saying anything, and Minghao left with Seokmin, leaving him inside the cell.

Back in his office, Minghao found Soonyoung pacing around impatiently. Upon seeing him, Soonyoung rushed over with an expectant look.

“And Jihoon? Is he okay?”

“Of course he's okay. Do you think we torture witnesses during interrogations?” Minghao snorted and walked over to his beloved sofa, flopping onto it.

“Doctor, I didn't know you were here,” Seokmin greeted him with a big smile, which Soonyoung mirrored. “I can see you're much more cheerful than before.”

“Ah, well...” he scratched his neck and laughed, looking at a painting hanging on the wall. “Jihoon and I talked…”

“For seven hours,” Minghao interrupted from his sofa, eyes closed.

“Yes, but the thing is, we hadn't seen each other in a long time... things aren't the same between us as they used to be, but I felt good being with him,” he smiled. “For a moment, we just forgot all the bad stuff.”

Seokmin smiled and nodded. Oh, so the doctor and Jihoon had fucked, great.

“I'm happy for you, Doctor,” Seokmin said, patting him on the shoulder. “I'm leaving now, see you tomorrow.”

“See you!” Soonyoung said goodbye.

“Are you going to the hospital?” Minghao lifted his head from the sofa to look at Seokmin, who nodded. “Oh, how dedicated you are to Joshua... love really is magic.” Seokmin felt his ears warm up and, before he could get more embarrassed, left the office, hearing Minghao and Soonyoung laugh… or mock him and his reaction, whatever.

Wonwoo coughed and then yawned, triggering the same reaction in Chan, who had to slap himself in the face before knocking on the apartment door. Wonwoo walked down the hallway, checking the surroundings, while Chan struggled not to lean against the nearest wall for a quick nap. The door didn't open, so he knocked harder.

“Police, open the door,” he called out loudly. Behind him, a few apartment doors opened. Curious neighbors peeked out and started murmuring among themselves, looking at Wonwoo and Chan as if they were some kind of aliens. “Mr. Choi Seungcheol, open the door,” Chan said. The neighbors' murmurs only grew louder, and Chan really wanted to shut them up; his head was already hurting. Finally, the door opened, and the officer was greeted by Seungcheol’s peculiar look. That man always seemed bored.

“Is something wrong?” Oh, how brazen he was. Chan tried not to laugh and showed him the warrant.

“Choi Seungcheol, you are under arrest for the attack on Detective Joshua Hong. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.” Something like anger flashed in Seungcheol’s eyes, but Chan didn’t notice much of it. The man sighed and fully opened his door, turning around and placing his hands behind his back, even though Chan hadn’t said anything yet. Well, that was better for him; he really wouldn’t know what to do if Seungcheol resisted. He took the handcuffs hanging from his belt and placed them on Seungcheol. “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.”

“Can’t I post bail?” Seungcheol asked as Chan took him by the arm and started leading him out of the building.

“Isn’t it a bit early to ask that?” Wonwoo asked, and Seungcheol snorted, staying silent the rest of the way.

When they returned to the station, they processed Seungcheol, taking his photos and fingerprints, and the man kept smiling as if it were all a game he was destined to win. Chan decided to leave that job to Wonwoo, because Choi Seungcheol gave him the creeps, especially knowing that the man didn’t see him as a person but as “something” that needed to be eliminated from this world. He prepared the interrogation room, bumping into Minghao at one point.

“Another interrogation? I’m sick of this,” the detective sighed, leaning on Chan. “Couldn’t you… I don’t know, arrest him tomorrow?” He pouted and then dragged himself into the room with Chan, glaring at Taemin.

“Commissioner Im is behind the glass,” Chan pointed his thumb at the one-way window behind him. “I’m leaving now; being in the same room as Choi Seungcheol makes me sick.” And he left as Wonwoo arrived with Seungcheol.

Taemin calmly reminded him of his rights but was astounded that Seungcheol chose not to have a lawyer. He couldn’t help but think that this man had some malevolent plan, but well, he just wanted to get the case over with. Without the interference of a bothersome lawyer, Seungcheol’s trial would be smoother, and the prosecution would clearly win. Thinking of this, Taemin smiled and addressed Seungcheol:

“We have enough evidence, and Detective Hong survived. Once he recovers, he will also testify. So, Mr. Choi, you should cooperate.”

Seungcheol shrugged, his handcuffed hands on the table.

“I stabbed him,” he told Taemin as if he were talking about something as trivial as his favorite song. The prosecutor couldn’t hide his surprise.

“What?”

“Are you admitting that you attacked Detective Hong?” Minghao asked, seeing that Taemin was barely recovering from his stupor.

“Yes, I did,” Seungcheol confirmed.

“This confession will be recorded… you understand that this will be used against you in a court of law, correct?” Minghao pressed, but Seungcheol didn’t seem fazed. It was fascinating, really. No matter how hard Minghao tried to imagine what this man was thinking, he found it impossible to get into his mind.

“Whatever,” Seungcheol had the audacity to say.

“Now that you have confessed to the attack, we need to talk about the other accusations,” the commissioner’s voice was heard throughout the room, “are you willing to undergo another interrogation, Mr. Choi?”

“Go ahead” he nodded.

As Minghao talked about everything they had discovered and the connections they had found, Seungcheol didn’t even look at the images placed on the table. He just stared directly at Minghao with curiosity, or something else that Minghao couldn’t really understand but that scared him. Whatever Choi Seungcheol was planning, it scared him. But with the accusations of the disappearances and mysterious deaths, Seungcheol became more reserved, deciding not to say much and defending himself with basic statements like: “There’s not enough evidence to implicate me directly.” Damn, they knew that, they had spent months investigating for a reason. Hours passed and they didn’t get much out of Seungcheol, so they put him in a cell and took Jihoon out of his for another interrogation. That interrogation was easier because Jihoon confirmed everything immediately and even told them where to find the evidence. He was really efficient, Minghao thought.

Everything was going incredibly well for them, with Jihoon cooperating, the sanctions for their actions of opening a secret investigation seeming less severe as everything progressed, but something still felt off for Minghao. There was simply something that didn’t add up. Well, this could actually be the case, or it could just be that he had been so stressed that he thought nothing would have a quick resolution.

«Even so…»

Damn, what was Choi Seungcheol planning?

Chapter Text

Joshua was being pushed in a wheelchair by Minghao. He sighed; he had insisted that he could do it himself, but Minghao, Wonwoo, and Chan were too stubborn and even played rock-paper-scissors to see who would take care of Joshua. To no one's surprise, and everyone's at the same time, Minghao was the winner.

“I can do it myself,” Joshua tried to say for the umpteenth time, but Minghao, behind him, gave him a gentle (or not so gentle) tap on the head, leaving him complaining. “It’s been two weeks, Hao, I’m better…”

“Eleven days is not two weeks,” Minghao muttered. “When you can eat solid food again and move without complaining about the pain, I’ll believe you’re better.”

“You treat me like I’m a baby,” Joshua mumbled. “I’m really fine. Clearly, I’m not going to be my strongest and healthiest self after being stabbed like four times, but I’m not dying either!”

“Let’s leave that for Seokmin to analyze,” Minghao mocked him, and after that, Joshua remained unusually quiet. He didn’t say another word.

Seokmin had “invited himself” to Joshua’s house to take care of him. Of course, that was an excuse. Or maybe it wasn’t an excuse, and he was genuinely a pure person who just wanted to help. According to Wonwoo, however, it was all part of Seokmin’s plan to win Joshua over during his recovery time. Wonwoo’s house was huge, and he had a nurse as a husband, the same nurse who took care of Joshua during his hospital stay. Wonwoo had all the right points for Joshua to want to stay with him temporarily, but no, his supposed friend rejected him with a sweet smile on his stupid pale and clearly weak face.

“Thanks, Wonwoo, but Seokmin already offered to stay with me at home.”

Wonwoo’s fists still burned when he thought about it. It wasn’t as if he was dying to have Joshua living in his house, and it wasn’t like his hidden fantasy was to take care of his sick friend. Of course not, that was ridiculous. What bothered Wonwoo was that Joshua preferred Seokmin over him. And although this was obvious to Minghao, Chan, and Joshua himself, it wasn’t rational to Wonwoo. Joshua should choose him! After all, Wonwoo had been… well. Yes, well, there weren’t many flattering things to say about Wonwoo, but he would take good care of Joshua! He would even allow moderate visits from the annoying Seokmin at his house. He knew he was acting too childish, but did it matter when his friend had betrayed him for “another”? He wasn’t jealous, he would never be; he didn’t get jealous of his husband, would he really get jealous of a friend?

Someone took his glasses, and before he could protest, a thumb pressed between his brows and massaged in circles.

“What are you doing, Chan?” he asked before removing the younger man’s hand from his face and snatching his glasses back.

“You’ll get wrinkles from being angry all day,” Chan said. “Learn to smile, Wonwoo, life’s been pretty bright lately.”

“Are you really saying that before they tell us what our sanctions are?” Chan looked away, and Wonwoo laughed. “I thought so.”

The door to Commissioner Im’s office swung open, and the woman entered, followed by Joshua and Minghao, and behind them, Prosecutor Lee, who apparently had to be present at all times. They were all dressed in black formal suits, as if attending a funeral. In Chan’s mind, it was a possible funeral for his career, so it made some sense.

“I believe everyone knows why we’re here today,” Yoona began. “You’ve given multiple excuses as to why you decided to start an unauthorized investigation, but the end does not justify the means.” Wonwoo showed a twisted smile, and Yoona sighed, placing both hands on the table in front of them. “Today, I don’t want to hear from you; I’ll just tell you your sanctions, and then you can go home.”

Chan swallowed hard. He was scared; he wouldn't deny it. He clenched his hands on his pants under the table, hoping no one would notice, but Wonwoo did. He gave him a squeeze, helping to calm his nerves.

“We understand, Commissioner. What will our sanctions be?” Joshua asked, and Yoona’s gaze softened a bit as she looked at him.

“Joshua, Minghao, you will receive a formal warning in your records,” she said. Both nodded, and Chan’s fear increased. Damn, he was probably shaking; how could Joshua and Minghao remain so calm? “Additionally, both of you will be suspended for two weeks without pay.” Minghao winced in pain but nodded, accepting it as well. Chan started praying in his head, begging any deity that might be listening for help. “Officer Chan, you will be reassigned to administrative duties for a month.” Chan let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that his punishment wasn’t as severe as he had feared. “And you, Wonwoo, since this was all your brilliant idea, you will receive a formal warning in your record and be suspended for a month without pay.”

“We accept the consequences, ma’am,” Wonwoo said.

They left the office and then the station, as they had nothing more to do there for now. Minghao was pushing Joshua in his wheelchair, deep in thought, and as they walked through the parking lot, Chan finally broke the silence.

“Did you really tell her that this was all your idea, Wonwoo?” he asked the older man, who nodded and looked at him.

“Of course,” Wonwoo replied. “I fully deserve my punishment.” He continued walking until they reached his car, and everyone followed. “I have to apologize to you all, I guess. You got into this mess because I convinced you.”

“It was our decision,” Minghao assured him, helping Chan get Joshua into the car while Wonwoo put the wheelchair in the trunk. “I don’t regret anything.”

“Neither do I.” Chan said. “Thanks to you, that man was finally caught. It’s only a matter of time before he’s locked up for life.”

“Yeah, but… we’ll never get the recognition for it,” Wonwoo said quietly, a mix of anger and sadness in his tone.

How could they not be angry? The only topic of conversation in the city, and probably the country, was: Choi Seungcheol, Lee Jihoon, and their crimes. Everyone talked about it and made theories, on TV shows, gossip channels, magazines, internet forums… the case was everywhere. As Minghao had said, it had become a highly publicized case, which was to be expected because no one would think something like that could happen. Like, in what kind of world would a man kill others for the organs of his deceased fiancé? Well, that definitely had happened. Anyway, their anger stemmed from Lee Taemin. Oh, Prosecutor Taemin, who’s everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Prosecutor Lee Taemin had become a national hero and the man who won the affection of all the affected families. He almost seemed like a politician during election time, winning the public’s sympathy and respect. He had told everyone that the investigation was his idea, that he uncovered the mysteries surrounding Choi Seungcheol, and that he had risked his life for the case. And everyone believed him.

Except for those who truly risked their lives for the case. Those two police officers, those two detectives, that doctor and that nurse who were kidnapped by Choi Seungcheol himself, that former officer who was on the list of future victims, that man and his husband who were harassed and threatened by Seungcheol, and of course, the lawyer who unfortunately was born as the cousin of Prosecutor Lee Taemin.

“We better forget about that for a while,” Joshua said, sitting in the back of the car with one of the doors open. “It’s no use whining. We did what we could.” Wonwoo nodded resignedly and finally got into the car.

Chan and Minghao said their goodbyes as the car drove off, and then Minghao dropped Chan off at the building where he lived. Chan climbed the stairs to the damn thirteenth floor, because the elevator was still out of service, and entered his small apartment. As empty as always. Chan had somewhat gotten used to the presence of Dr. Kwon there, even though it was a relatively short time. Coming home after work was terribly boring since Soonyoung had decided to go back to his own place. He still remembered the nights when he and Soonyoung drowned their sorrows in alcohol, and he could never forget the silly demeanor the doctor had when he was drunk. Exhausted, though he had done almost nothing that day and it wasn’t even noon yet, Chan went to his room and collapsed on the bed. Maybe it was all the accumulated fatigue from months or maybe he just wanted to sleep, but what is certain is that he closed his eyes and slept like a rock for hours.

Junhui was surprised when Minghao arrived home so early. He followed him everywhere he moved, waiting for Minghao to reveal the real reason for his sudden arrival.

“Are you going to stop following me?” Minghao asked, already tired of Jun’s behavior, serving himself a glass of water.

“Talk to me, why are you avoiding me?” Jun hugged Minghao from behind, causing him to shiver. Jun placed his chin on Minghao’s shoulder and looked at him expectantly.

“I’m not avoiding you, I’m just... exhausted,” he sighed and took a sip from his glass. Jun continued to look at him. “What?”

“Are you okay?”

Minghao put the glass down on the counter and then turned around, melting into a hug with Jun. The older man squeezed him in his arms and Minghao let out a small sound of satisfaction. He buried his face in Jun’s neck and inhaled his scent, feeling so good. Feeling like he was finally home.

“Joshua and I were suspended for two weeks without pay,” he said, his voice muffled by their position, “and we received a formal warning in our records. Chan will have administrative duties for a month, and Wonwoo was suspended for a month and also received a warning.” He pulled back a bit, just enough to see Jun’s face. “But the punishments aren’t my main problem, the case is.” He lowered his head. “We did so much, only for someone else to take all the credit.”

Junhui’s hands cupped his cheeks, gently lifting his face again. He leaned in and kissed Minghao on the lips, a soft touch that almost felt like it hadn’t happened at all.

“That may be in the public eye, but does it matter? Those of us involved know what happened and how it happened,” he smiled. “The prosecutor might think he’s on top of the world now, but reality will hit him soon enough.” He kissed Minghao’s forehead affectionately. “The case will be too much for him alone, you’ll see.”

“That’s true…”

“Besides,” Junhui continued, “the case is no longer your concern. If everything goes wrong from now on, it will be the prosecutor’s fault and no one will be able to blame you or the other guys.”

“Is it just me, or do you want everything to go wrong for Taemin?” Jun didn’t respond, just laughed and placed his hands on Minghao’s hips, kissing him on the lips again.

Wonwoo placed Joshua in his wheelchair, and instead of leaving, he stayed by his side, looking at him.

“You complained the entire way about having to bring me home… why don’t you hurry up and leave?” Joshua looked angry with him, as if he had the right to be. Impossible, Wonwoo was the only one who had the right to be angry. He crossed his arms and gave Joshua a judgmental look.

“You abandoned me!”

“I didn’t abandon you!”

“Yes, you did! I offered you my house, a comfortable room, and you… you preferred to stay with that idiot Seokmin.” Wonwoo sighed dramatically, and Joshua rolled his eyes.

“Can’t you say those unpleasant things when I’m not around?” Oh, right, Seokmin was there too, waiting for Wonwoo to finally finish his drama so he could take Joshua inside. Wonwoo looked him up and down; Seokmin was wearing casual clothes, some pants that didn’t go much below his knees, and a big white T-shirt with no design. “Just go, Wonwoo… Joshua can’t be out in the sun for too long.”

“Where did you pull that information from?” Wonwoo questioned. “Just look at you… are you really telling me you’re capable of taking care of Joshua when you’re dressed like that?”

“I just woke up!”

“This isn’t the time to be waking up!” Wonwoo gasped, indignant. Joshua just watched them argue from his chair, resting his cheek on his hand. “You’re a man, Seokmin, not a child…”

“Shut up, you filthy rat,” Seokmin countered, “don’t you have something better to do? Like… keeping Mingyu company? That poor fool married you, for what? To leave him alone at home while you make a scene with another man who already has company?”

Wonwoo smiled.

“So you admit there’s something between you and Joshua?”

“Hey!” Joshua’s protest went unnoticed by both.

Seokmin’s face turned red all of a sudden, and he opened his mouth, trying to say something but nothing came out.

“I see… now I understand everything better. Why didn’t you explain it from the start?” Wonwoo’s smile was grating on Seokmin’s nerves. “My dear lovebirds, I’ll leave so you can continue making your love nest flourish, or something… Seokmin, treat Joshua gently, don’t be too demanding or his wounds will reopen, okay?”

“What the hell are you saying in the middle of the street, idiot!?” Joshua shouted, looking around, hoping no neighbor was close enough to hear Wonwoo’s nonsense. Meanwhile, Seokmin was blushing more and more.

“I’ll bring dinner tonight, so you don't get food poisoning from Seokmin’s cooking,” Wonwoo said before getting in his car and driving off at full speed.

“He talks like he’s a good cook,” Seokmin muttered before pushing the wheelchair into the house. He helped Joshua out and placed him on the living room couch, then sat down next to him. “How did it go?”

“We were suspended for a while, but at least we weren’t fired,” he loosened his tie and finally felt comfortable. “I think it’s all coming to an end.” He looked at Seokmin, who was smiling at him as if he was very happy for him. It was adorable. Joshua was probably delirious due to his condition, but he thought for a moment that he was grateful to Seungcheol for almost killing him; thanks to that, Seokmin was now living with him, even if only for a few weeks, but the important thing was that he had Seokmin in his house, and everything felt so normal, so right, as if they had been living together for years. It was all so… domestic. When Seokmin returned to his home and left Joshua alone, what would happen to him? Could he face that emptiness? Being so close to Seokmin could easily be the best thing that had happened to him in recent months. Or in his life, Joshua was in love enough to think that way.

Being with Seokmin feels so good. It feels like he’s mine.

Oh no, being possessive of someone who was little more than a friend was a very bad idea. Joshua shouldn’t feel like Seokmin was his, because he wasn’t. Yes, Seokmin was just a friend that Joshua was in love with, and yes, Seokmin sometimes gave him strange signals that made Joshua think that maybe, just maybe, could be something there, but…

He looked at the floor and then at Seokmin. Mine. He had to stop looking at Seokmin to see if he could shut off those stupid thoughts. He looked at the closed yellow curtains as if they were the most interesting thing in the world, and didn’t stop looking at them when Seokmin let out a low chuckle.

“You all did a good job,” he said. “Are the curtains that interesting, Joshua?”

“Ah…” he looked back at Seokmin, embarrassed. “I just had a very stupid thought.” A hand rested on his. Joshua stared at it, eyes wide with surprise. Seokmin leaned a little closer to him.

“What is it about?” Seokmin asked softly, their breaths mingling.

When had their faces gotten so close?

“I…” he closed his eyes, Seokmin’s face moving closer until they were touching. “I just want you to be mine.” he whispered against Seokmin’s lips before kissing him.

Seokmin’s eager hands pulled him closer, tangling in Joshua’s black hair, devouring his lips as if they were the finest delicacy. Moaning, Joshua slipped his tongue into Seokmin’s mouth and pounced on him, pressing the lawyer into the couch without stopping the kiss. Seokmin’s hands roamed, caressing every part of Joshua’s body they could reach. But apparently, both had forgotten that Joshua was recovering from major surgery, so when he moved a bit more, a sharp pain spread through his abdomen, causing him to collapse onto Seokmin with a groan. Their heavy breathing was the only sound in the room for a few seconds before Seokmin’s voice, almost choked, broke the silence.

“Are you... okay?” he asked hesitantly. Unconsciously, he brought one of his hands to Joshua’s head and stroked it. Joshua responded with a small affirmative sound, and Seokmin felt relieved. Joshua decided to lift his face and looked at Seokmin with his dark eyes. The younger man blinked, looking at the ceiling, avoiding Joshua’s gaze at all costs. Instead of saying anything, he just started laughing, his cheeks turning red. Seokmin gave in and looked at him, completely captivated by Joshua. He looked so beautiful laughing. Ah, he really looked gorgeous; Seokmin wanted to put him in a box and protect him from the world. And Joshua felt the same way about him.

“What’s going on? Why are you laughing?”

Joshua sat up again, and so did Seokmin, watching as Joshua’s laughter gradually subsided into silence once more.

“I like you, Seokmin.”

“Uh!?”

“No...” Joshua murmured, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes. “I actually love you, Seokmin, though I’m not sure if this is something I should say after a first kiss...” He shook his head and fixed his gaze on the bookshelf filled with books positioned in a corner of the room.

Seokmin’s lips curved into a sweet smile again.

Chapter Text

Joshua never thought he'd miss his job. Well, he didn't actually miss the job itself, he missed the paycheck, but those two things went hand in hand. He had already missed work due to his health condition for a while, and just when he was well enough to work remotely, he got sanctioned. Wonderful. Wonwoo had really taken his punishment as if it were a vacation, and Joshua wished he could do the same, but he couldn’t. He was lying in bed, sweating and feeling like crap. Unfortunately, he had developed a fever just when he thought he was almost recovered. The worst part was that Seokmin wasn't home; he had to go to work while Joshua was still asleep, and when he woke up, he was burning with fever.

He felt lonely and didn't have the strength or the desire to get out of bed to cook something, and he thought it was really pathetic to wait for Seokmin all day like this, feeling gross, so he called Chan to help him out a bit. Joshua hated depending on people, but there was nothing else he could do in that situation. Chan made him a terrible soup, helped him bathe, and gave him some questionable medication that was probably expired, but still made Joshua feel a bit better. Feeling more presentable and healthy, Joshua decided it was a good idea to walk around the house a bit, so he did with Chan following him and making sure he didn't fall and break his ass.

Chan got distracted just as Joshua bumped into the leg of a chair and then fell flat on the floor. Now, Chan was applying some ointment to the bruises on Joshua's arms and legs while sitting on the couch with Joshua's legs in his lap.

“Have you enjoyed being alone at the station?” Joshua hissed, and his leg jerked involuntarily when Chan applied ointment to another small bruise. “Idiot, can’t you be more gentle?”

“What am I doing wrong?” Chan complained and pushed his legs, making Joshua writhe in pain. “Oh, but answering your question, honestly, it feels almost the same... you guys slept all the time, so there’s not much difference. I miss the gatherings at Wonwoo and Mingyu’s place more than anything.”

“The gatherings were stressful but in the end, it was nice to spend time together, wasn’t it?” Joshua asked, curling up on the couch. Chan nodded and closed the ointment, throwing it onto the table with little care, earning a reproachful look from Joshua. “Anyway, have they set a date for the trial?”

“I heard Commissioner Im say it’s next month, the trial for both of them,” he sighed. “They’re both in pre-trial detention until then... Dr. Kwon is visiting Jihoon today and wants me to go with him.”

“Is he scared to go alone? Or do you also want to visit him?” Chan looked away, embarrassed. “Oh, Chan, you still have faith in Lee Jihoon... why?”

“I don't want to visit him, and I won't! And he's not a bad person,” Chan could tell by Joshua’s expression that he didn’t believe him. “I mean, yes, he made mistakes and did some nasty things, but everyone deserves a second chance, right?”

“Well, by that logic, there should also be a second chance for Seungcheol, right?” Chan glared at him, and Joshua laughed. “See? You can’t say anything because you know I’m right.”

“You can’t compare Jihoon to Seungcheol, for God’s sake,” Joshua snorted at this. “Ugh, we’ve already talked too much about the case when we said we’d try to forget it... what about you and Seokmin?”

“What about what?”

“What do you mean ‘what about what’? You know what I mean! You’re living together, I’m sure the tension has already reached its peak and...” he raised and lowered his eyebrows suggestively, “you know.”

Joshua blushed and shook his head.

“Of course not...”

“No way!” Chan squealed, both excited and surprised. “You guys did it! Wait, did you really do it? Wonwoo and Hao need to know this!” He suddenly pulled out his phone and started typing like a madman. Joshua lunged at him, suppressing all his body aches, just to snatch the phone away from him. “Hey, get off me!”

“You're delusional!” he yelled, finally grabbing the phone and returning to his previous position. Chan pretended to jump at him to take his phone back, but Joshua gave him a warning look. “Don't you dare...”

“Fine... calm down,” Chan raised both hands in surrender. “But be honest... something did happen, right?”

Joshua also gave in, so he nodded, and Chan clapped, looking happier than Joshua. He handed the phone back to Chan, being especially cautious until the younger one got fed up and took his phone from the detective's hands.

“We’ve only kissed a few times,” he muttered shyly, making Chan jump off the couch, still clapping with excitement. “Don't tell anyone! I know you're very chatty...”

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” That definitely didn’t reassure Joshua, because first of all, nothing was emptier than Chan's "innocent" promises. “By the way, what time does Seokmin get back?”

As if on cue, the front door of the house opened, and Joshua jumped up from the couch and walked towards it. Chan looked at him in surprise and followed, watching as Joshua warmly greeted Seokmin and even took off his jacket while Seokmin yawned and murmured that it had been a long day. Chan looked at the clock on the wall: it was four in the afternoon. He looked back at them and stifled a gasp of surprise when he saw Seokmin lean in to kiss Joshua, but the older one pulled away and looked at Chan, tense.

Oh... interesting.

“Ah... hi, Chan,” Seokmin greeted awkwardly, scratching his neck. “I didn’t know you were here...”

Chan let out a laugh and waved his hand in greeting.

“What a surprise,” he said, referring to everything that was happening, especially the almost-kiss between the lawyer and his partner. Of course, Wonwoo and Minghao had to know about this. “I... need to go, I have something very important to do now.” Joshua gave him a confused look, and Chan shrugged. “I really have an appointment... have fun, bye!” He slipped between them, opened the door, quickly left the house, and then slammed the door shut.

Seokmin blinked at the door, then cleared his throat, turning to Joshua.

“I'm sorry...”

“It doesn't matter anymore; the others would find out at some point anyway,” he sighed resignedly.

After the... "hot" kiss they had shared a few days ago, things between them had become a bit tense and at the same time strange. It was like Seokmin was always kissing him now, and Joshua gladly accepted the kisses. They were adults; he thought there was no need to talk or clarify things. It was something that should happen at some point, and he shouldn't lose his mind over a few innocent and meaningless kisses. Ah, but why did it feel bad that they were just that, meaningless kisses? Joshua loved Seokmin; he knew it, and he had even told him. Seokmin's response had only been a smile, which really discouraged him, but then he briefly forgot about it. Uncertainty invaded Joshua because he wanted something formal. He had never had it in his life, and it was something he had wanted for years, but he didn’t know what Seokmin wanted. Yes, as the supposedly mature and responsible man he was, Joshua should ask the lawyer about his desires before getting more excited, but the problem was that he thought of the worst answers he could receive. What if Seokmin didn’t want anything with him? What if he just needed him to relieve his frustration?

No, Joshua thought it was exactly that. He also had immense sexual frustration due to his thirty years of singlehood, and because he never wanted to or had the time to go out and get wild like most people. He looked at Chan and felt a bit envious; the officer had really "made the most" of his youth compared to him. Besides always reminding him that he was alone (though in reality, all his other friends did the same), Chan also loved to talk to Joshua about his experiences, as if he were asking for it.

Seokmin was good, handsome, kind, intelligent, and overall a great person. Joshua had been carrying an "unrequited love" for years, but he also hadn’t done anything to turn it into a reciprocated one. Or at least until he kissed Seokmin for the first time. The kisses were already becoming something routine and not special, or so Joshua thought. Damn, he really needed to talk to Seokmin, but... he was afraid of losing what he had always longed for.

“What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?” Seokmin's hand cupped his cheek, and Joshua sighed in contentment, almost closing his eyes. He was about to pull away to slap himself, but Seokmin's hand felt so good and right on his cheek that he simply couldn't.

“I don't know if I should say it...” he murmured, shy again. He didn’t even know how he had been able to tell Seokmin: “I just want you to be mine.” Saying that out loud now seemed impossible, maybe because excitement wasn’t clouding his judgment like last time.

“Say what?” Seokmin's voice was low and warm. Intimate. He was searching for Joshua's eyes, but Joshua kept looking away, so Seokmin lifted his chin, facing the pretty dark eyes. “Joshua...”

“Seokmin, be honest with me,” he tried to sound firm and not get lost in the affectionate look Seokmin was giving him. Feeling so much affection for one person couldn't be possible, Joshua just wanted to shut up and hug Seokmin all day long. Joshua just didn’t know how to continue with what he was going to say, he was sure he would screw it up with whatever nonsense he said. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm down, and then opened them again, looking back at the young man. “Are you okay with me loving you?”

Well, that definitely wasn't what he wanted to ask, but his insecurity surfaced. Seokmin was surprised and pulled away from him, disappointing Joshua a bit.

“Ah... I... what kind of question is that?” he laughed nervously. Joshua wished he had a shovel in his hand to dig a hole in the floor and then tunnel to the other side of the world. That would be great, but even on the other side of the world, the embarrassment wouldn’t disappear by magic. Everything was a real mess. “Joshua, I really...

If you’re going to reject me, just do it.

“Yes?”

Seokmin thought about it for quite a few seconds before sighing resignedly.

“I’m completely okay with it.” Joshua felt a wave of relief and nodded slowly. “All the relationships I've had have fallen apart because of me, which is why I didn’t want to... to go too far with you.” He moved closer to Joshua again, just a little to calm his anxiety. “I thought it would be okay just to kiss you, I also thought you’d be okay with that because... well, why not be okay with it?” He was trembling, Joshua noticed, and that made him feel even smaller and more helpless. “I was terrified that you’d feel used, and you did, didn’t you? I never wanted to use you; it’s just that I hate the idea of ruining whatever we have... sometimes I can’t help but think that you’re too much for me, and I feel like a shitty person because I’ve known how you feel for a long time and decided to just ignore it to avoid hurting you, though honestly, I was just protecting myself from suffering.” He looked at Joshua apologetically; Joshua was already looking at him intently. “The fewer signals I gave you, the better everything would be, or so I thought, but then I missed your attention too much, and I missed you in general, and it was ridiculous. I felt like the most pathetic guy in the world. Ah... I probably am.” He covered his face with both hands, too embarrassed. “I didn’t want to love you, for both our sakes, but...” he let his hands fall to his sides, looking defeated but with some hope in his face, “it was impossible not to. How could I not love you, Joshua?”

Joshua just watched him. Stunned, thrilled, surprised, happy. Feeling too many things at the same time, he might start crying or laughing at any moment, or faint. Seokmin took a deep breath after letting it all out and hesitated a bit before looking directly at Joshua again. Joshua hugged him.

Chan turned down the volume of the radio as they stopped at a traffic light. Soonyoung hadn't said a single word in the ten minutes they had been in the car, heading to the prison. Chan felt trapped as he watched Soonyoung drive without even humming along to the songs on the radio. It was strange because Soonyoung usually talked non-stop. Although, nothing had been very "normal" lately. Yeah... Chan could never get over seeing Joshua and Seokmin almost kiss in front of him; he shook his head, pushing those thoughts away.

“Are you really okay with this?” he broke the silence as the light turned green and Soonyoung started driving again. “I thought you were ready to... let him go, you know?”

“I can’t just ‘let him go,’ Chan,” he replied, his tone sounding bored. “This is about closing cycles. Everything in its own time, step by step.” Soonyoung probably didn’t even believe himself.

“Sure...” Chan muttered. He’d be more convinced if someone told him pigs could fly. “You know it’s okay to let go of what hurts you, right?”

“Who says he hurts me?”

“It’s written all over your face, doctor,” Chan sighed, tired. “I know you still love Jihoon, and being honest with you, I still think he’s someone who had a hard life and deserves a second chance, but even so... isn’t this too much? You’ll have to see him at his trial, why do you want to torture yourself now?”

“It’s not torture, Chan. I just want to... see him before he’s sentenced.” Soonyoung stayed silent for a few seconds before continuing. “What if I can’t see him anymore? What if today is my last chance?”

“This will hurt both of you... you’ll be giving Jihoon false hope and torturing yourself.”

Soonyoung didn’t say anything for the rest of the drive until they reached the prison, and Chan had to pull every string to get Soonyoung in as Jihoon’s visitor. After Soonyoung passed through all the security checks, Chan stayed outside, leaning against the brick wall while playing on his phone. Soonyoung walked through the cold prison hallways, his heart pounding. When he reached the visiting room, he saw Jihoon sitting there, his hands cuffed and chained to the table. Jihoon’s eyes lit up when he saw him.

“Hi...” Soonyoung said, taking a seat in front of Jihoon. Up close, he could see how haggard Jihoon looked. His heart could break at any moment, the sight hurt too much. He tried to think of the bad things Jihoon had done to not feel so bad, but the love he felt for him was greater. He was broken; he knew it. How could he love someone like this so much?

Jihoon gave a small smile.

“You came.” his eyes welled up, and he looked down at his chained hands. “Thank you...” he murmured.

“No need to thank me,” Soonyoung replied. “I wanted to see you before the trial... are you okay?”

“I’m better now that you’re here.” Soonyoung pursed his lips, not believing Jihoon. He looked sad, and well, it’s not like he would be happy and excited to be in prison, but there was something about him that made him look more empty. Soonyoung’s chest ached just looking at him.

“Be honest,” Soonyoung moved his hand to touch Jihoon’s, but remembered he wasn’t allowed physical contact with him, so he pulled back with regret and left it on the table. “You’re sad about something.” It wasn’t a question. Jihoon glanced briefly at Soonyoung’s hand before nodding.

“Seungcheol... I haven’t heard anything about him, I haven’t even seen him around here,” he said. “I’m afraid he hates me for betraying him...”

“You did the right thing, Jihoon,” Soonyoung assured him. “And the best part is you made the decision yourself.”

“I thought I was ready to say goodbye, but...” his voice broke, “I don’t have anyone anymore. I’m alone... I don’t have Seungcheol, I don’t have Jeonghan, I don’t have you... am I going to lose myself too?” he asked, sobbing.

Soonyoung felt his eyes burn, refusing to let the tears threatening to fall escape.

“You haven’t lost me, I’m still here,” Soonyoung said. “I won’t leave you, Jihoon.”

Really... what was he doing? He knew it wasn’t a good idea; he knew he shouldn’t do it. He knew Jihoon had done things that went entirely against his principles, but... when Jihoon looked at him with eyes full of tears and hope shining, Soonyoung felt whole again.

He could never leave Jihoon.

Chapter Text

A call woke Wonwoo up. Frowning, he slowly opened his eyes, glaring at his cell phone on the nightstand. Mingyu mumbled in his sleep beside him, tossing and turning until he nearly fell off the edge of the bed. After making sure Mingyu was safe, Wonwoo answered the call.

"I hope you have a good reason for waking me up at this hour," he said, rubbing one eye with his hand.

"Always so kind," replied Minghao. "Weren’t you supposed to arrive today? The trial is tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Isn't it in a month?" He yawned and fell back onto the bed, closing his eyes contentedly as his head hit the pillow.

"The month has already passed, Wonwoo!" Minghao shouted, and Wonwoo moved the phone away from his ear. "You start work in two days, idiot. Did you lose track of time?"

"Two days?!" Wonwoo sat up abruptly, surprised. "But... I have plans until next week," he muttered. He glanced at Mingyu, who had woken up after his shout, and reached out to pet his head. He heard Minghao murmur something, probably mocking him.

"I don't care, come back today if you don't want me to burn your house down," Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you even took Mingyu... he has to work too!"

"He deserves a good vacation too!" Wonwoo excused himself. Mingyu raised an eyebrow at him before sitting up in bed and stretching a bit. "You woke him up, idiot... honey, go back to sleep, it's early," he said to Mingyu, his tone soft, very different from the one he used when talking to Minghao.

"Are you sure? Weren't we going out for breakfast at nine? What time is it?" Mingyu asked. Wonwoo ran a hand through his hair to smooth it a bit.

"It's only seven-thirty, sleep a little more." Mingyu nodded and lay back down, falling asleep immediately.

There was a small silence on the line before Minghao could be heard arguing with someone, and then his phone was snatched away.

"Get your asses out of that bed and come back to the city, now!" It was Chan.

"Chan, I missed you," Wonwoo sang. "Why didn't you warn me in advance that my vacation was ending? You know I'm very absent-minded," he pouted. Chan muttered something like "I hate this idiot" before responding.

"If only you hadn't blocked my number..." he replied in the same affectionate tone but somehow sounding biting. Wonwoo sighed. "I hope to see you in court tomorrow, I swear if you're not there..."

"I'll be there first thing, you'll see," Wonwoo said. "I'll have to cancel my plans... Boo is going to kill me." He got out of bed and yawned again before running a hand over his head, putting on his glasses, and leaving the room.

"It's still baffling to me that you're friends with Boo Seungkwan, I mean... how? You're not a very pleasant person, to say the least," Chan asked, and Wonwoo smiled, moving through the hallway to reach the bathroom. He tried to open the door, but a sleepy voice said from inside, "Occupied," so he sat on the floor, leaning his back against the wall opposite the door.

Seungkwan had spent the last two months moving to Jeju. It took him quite a while because he had to do it quietly, without anyone knowing. After moving, he invited Wonwoo to his house, which coincided with Wonwoo's suspension from work. So after packing his things and his husband, Wonwoo went to the beautiful island. Luckily, Mingyu was getting along wonderfully with Hansol, Seungkwan's husband; they understood each other in their own way, which made Wonwoo feel even better because before leaving for Jeju and almost dragging Mingyu against his will, he wasn't sure the younger one would enjoy the impromptu vacation. Seungkwan tried to make Wonwoo's visit to Jeju a dream while at the same time trying to heal his mind after all the recent events. They were so wrapped up in their bubbles that neither realized time was still ticking and that vacations couldn't last forever. What a pity, but money doesn't earn itself.

"I don't know whether to find it funny or hurtful that you think so poorly of me, Chan, but at least people outside our circle don't find me unpleasant," he replied with a laugh. "Hey, do you know why Seungkwan and Dr. Kwon don't get along?"

"No, did Seungkwan tell you why?"

"Apparently, they had mutual friends in high school. After class, they would go to karaoke with their friends, and the friends always said they had the best voices, so they always put them to compete," Wonwoo paused to laugh, recalling Seungkwan's words from the previous night: "Soonyoung always lost his voice trying to keep up with me." "At first, Seungkwan told me he got along with Dr. Kwon, but at some point, the friendly teenage rivalry turned into a lifelong rivalry, and to this day, they can't stand each other. Seungkwan regrets that his personal doctor is Dr. Kwon, but he doesn't look for another doctor because... I guess he likes having someone to argue with."

"I think I can see why you get along so well with Seungkwan... you're more similar than you think," Chan said before the phone was snatched away again and Minghao's voice returned. "Does this idiot think my phone is his or what?!" he was clearly complaining about Chan. "Ah, I'm fed up with everyone... will I see you tonight, then?"

"Do you know how hard it is to book a flight at the last minute?" Minghao mumbled something unintelligible on the call and then hung up, leaving Wonwoo with words still on the tip of his tongue. The bathroom door opened, and Hansol came out, looking at Wonwoo on the floor with curiosity.

"Why are you awake so early? Weren't we going out for breakfast at nine?"

Wonwoo sighed again.

The next day, the courtroom was packed. Media, victims' families on one side, and some police officers, including Commissioner Im, on the other. Seungcheol and Jihoon were seated with their respective lawyers at the bench. Jihoon glanced at his best friend, whom he hadn't seen in a while; he looked a bit... different. Seungcheol always used to look strong and healthy, although with an unending sadness in his eyes, but now, not even that was visible. Seungcheol's lawyer, who Jihoon assumed had been hired last minute, was saying a few things to him while Seungcheol smiled at the judge on the bench. Feeling Jihoon's heavy gaze, Seungcheol turned to look at him and winked.

Ah, Jihoon didn't know how to feel.

Jihoon quickly averted his gaze from his friend and, as discreetly as possible, looked over his shoulder at all the people there to watch the trial. He only wanted one person to be there, but he didn't see him. So Soonyoung wasn't coming? Jihoon didn't want to think about it; after all, Soonyoung was an idiot who was always late. But Soonyoung could also back out at the last minute and simply not show up. Jihoon's lawyer whispered a few things to him that he didn't pay attention to, and he just nodded.

The judge struck the gavel, and the room fell silent.

"We begin with case number 20622, the State versus Choi Seungcheol and Lee Jihoon. They are charged with multiple counts, including attempted murder, murder, and forced disappearance. This court has reviewed all the evidence presented during the trial and is ready to proceed with the verdict and sentencing," he paused before looking at Seungcheol and Jihoon. "Both defendants have pleaded guilty, let us proceed with the opening statements."

The room filled with murmurs as Taemin rose from his chair, saying, "Thank you, Your Honor," and walked to the podium, adjusting some papers before approaching the microphone to speak. Wonwoo had never been so angry in his life.

"If you keep staring at him so intensely, I'll think you like him and not that you want to kill him," Chan murmured beside him. Wonwoo laughed softly before stepping on his foot.

"Go to hell," he whispered, focusing his attention on Taemin, who seemed overly pleased to be there, handling the case as if it belonged to him.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, today we will present compelling evidence that demonstrates the guilt of the defendants in the heinous crimes of murder, attempted murder, and forced disappearance. We will show you how Choi Seungcheol and Lee Jihoon planned and executed these atrocious acts..." Taemin continued speaking. Wonwoo couldn't stop imagining a world where the real investigators were recognized and the "magnificent Prosecutor Lee" was punished for being a thief. Everything turned out to be so unfair. Wonwoo had tried to forget all that while vacationing—or while being suspended, which to him was the same—but now that he was there, sitting in that room watching that trial, he couldn't help the feeling of helplessness.

He got lost in his thoughts until Seokmin, sitting on his other side, touched his shoulder, nodding towards the front.

"Joshua is about to testify." Wonwoo watched his friend being guided by a bailiff to the witness stand, and after swearing to tell the truth, the questions began. Seokmin looked at him from his seat with concern and who knows what else, but to Wonwoo, it just seemed ridiculous. Seokmin apparently thought something would happen to Joshua while testifying; perhaps he thought Seungcheol would rise from his seat and finish him off in front of everyone or something.

"You're going to start crying any minute now. Stop being so clingy," he told the lawyer, who finally stopped staring at Joshua.

"I'm worried about him... he looks very nervous," Seokmin pouted. "I couldn't even encourage him this morning because he left home so early." Wonwoo tried not to look too surprised when Seokmin referred to Joshua's house as their place. Oh, things were escalating quickly. Even so, there was something about that relationship they still hadn't told Wonwoo, and he was going to make sure he got the full scoop. "I sent him a message, but he didn't read it... what if he thinks I don't care about him?"

"Oh my God, you're making me believe you two are dating with all these ridiculous things you say, Seokmin," he got no response. Seokmin turned back to watch the trial, leaving Wonwoo in shock... what the hell had happened while he was in Jeju?!

"They are dating, Wonwoo," Minghao, sitting on the other side of Chan, confirmed, leaning in a bit to whisper. "They have been for a few weeks now."

"I had no idea... why didn't you tell me?" He stepped on Chan's foot again, and the younger one had to swallow his pain because he wouldn't cause a scene in the middle of a trial, which he should be paying attention to, by the way.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before you blocked my number," Chan complained, and Wonwoo suddenly remembered everything. He had blocked Chan because he wouldn't stop sending messages saying things like: "You won't believe this", "Something incredible has happened..." and other similar ones that only sounded like fake video titles for stupid people found on social media.

"You took too long to say things instead of getting straight to the point," Wonwoo said. Joshua finished his testimony and left, so Wonwoo focused on the trial again. "Choi Seungcheol is very calm..." he looked at him with interest. He couldn't expect much emotion from that man, but reaching that level of expressionlessness was unprecedented. He didn't seem to care about anything that was happening; he didn't even react after Joshua detailed to the world how Seungcheol stabbed him and left him to bleed out.

Minutes flew by until the judge indicated that the jury would go to deliberate and a new hearing for the sentencing would take place in two weeks. Everything was supposed to be ready that day, but apparently, Taemin had hinted that he had even more evidence to present. Hearing this, Chan tapped his foot impatiently. What other evidence could Taemin have? Had he made a deal with Seungcheol? Was there something none of them knew? In any case, this extension of the trial caused some unease among everyone.

Leaving the courthouse with his colleagues, Wonwoo slowly loosened his tie. Minghao was distractedly using his phone, which is why he had his arm linked with Wonwoo's as they walked. Joshua walked, leaning on Seokmin's touch, which Wonwoo found ridiculous because he knew Joshua could walk easily by now. He was mentally noting all the "clingy" things those two did to tease them in the near future.

"Have you seen Soonyoung?" Chan suddenly asked, and everyone stopped, turning to look at him. "He said he would come."

Jihoon was being escorted by some guards to leave the courtroom, and Soonyoung approached him. He managed to get close enough to brush his hand against Jihoon's arm, and when Jihoon saw him, Soonyoung weakly smiled.

"I'm here, Jihoon," he whispered. Jihoon smiled, relieved, and nodded before being pushed by the guards out of the room. "What the hell am I doing?" Soonyoung asked himself out loud, looking at the door through which Jihoon had disappeared. Letting out a frustrated groan, Soonyoung left the courthouse.

Minghao finally lifted his gaze from his phone to look briefly at Chan before going back to what he was doing.

"The doctor was sitting at the back of the room the whole time, crying," he answered Chan's question and then tugged on Wonwoo to keep walking.

Chapter Text

For Joshua, there was nothing better than waking up in his boyfriend’s arms. His boyfriend. He smiled, still with his eyes closed, feeling like his heart might burst with happiness at any moment. He pressed his face into Seokmin’s bare chest, feeling a kind of satisfaction as he did. Seokmin’s arms tightened around him, and Joshua realized he was already awake. He stopped hiding his face and looked at Seokmin, who was blinking sleepily.

“Hi,” Joshua whispered.

Seokmin smiled and pressed his lips briefly to Joshua’s in a tender “good morning” kiss.

In the past few weeks, both their lives had changed quite a bit. Since they apparently didn’t know how to breathe without each other, they were living at both their houses simultaneously. It was sad, but Seokmin couldn’t just move from his house to Joshua’s and vice versa. One day, they’d have to find stability and one of them would have to move in with the other permanently, but they weren’t worried about that now. They were living in the beautiful stage of being in love, if that was even a stage of falling in love, and nothing and no one could pull them out of that bubble. They decided to stay at Joshua’s house for the week, and after Seungcheol and Jihoon’s sentences were finally handed down, they’d go to Seokmin’s house for who knew how long.

Joshua felt like a part of him was being ripped away when Seokmin kissed him on the forehead and then pulled away to get out of bed. He didn’t want to let go of Seokmin. He was always clingy with him, but in the mornings he was a thousand times worse, so he also got out of bed and followed Seokmin to the bathroom, where Seokmin was now brushing his teeth. Joshua hugged him from behind and pressed his nose into Seokmin’s shoulder before covering it with kisses. The giggles Seokmin let out were the best sound Joshua could hear.

“Shua, we’re going to be late,” Seokmin protested, but made no effort to pull away from Joshua. Instead, when he finished brushing his teeth, he turned around and hugged Joshua, leaning into him. “We’re going to be late,” he repeated.

It took a tremendous effort for them to separate, make breakfast, and get ready for work. Seokmin dropped Joshua off at the police station, giving him a long, deep kiss on the lips as a goodbye. Joshua’s day couldn’t have started better, so he walked into his dreadful workplace more enthusiastically than ever, greeting everyone who, for some reason he couldn’t fathom, had tired faces. But then, that wasn’t the most unusual thing in the world, knowing that all these people had early morning shifts. He bumped into someone’s shoulder as he was reaching his desk.

“Sorry...” Wonwoo looked at him with large dark circles under his eyes. “What are you doing here? Did you finally switch shifts?”

“Do you live under a rock, or do you just not watch the news?” Before Joshua could say a word, Wonwoo showed him an article on his phone.

BREAKING NEWS: Choi Seungcheol escapes from prison 5 days before his sentencing.

Joshua’s eyes widened as he alternated his gaze between the screen and Wonwoo, incredulous. The officer gave him a crooked smile and continued walking to sit at his desk. Joshua saw Chan sleeping on his keyboard, and the door to Minghao’s office slightly ajar. He headed to the office and slowly pushed the door open, poking his head in first before his body. Minghao frowned as he looked at his computer screen.

“How did Seungcheol escape?” he asked. Minghao jumped at his voice but didn’t even look at him, too focused on whatever he was watching. Joshua moved behind Minghao to see the screen and discovered the detective was watching the prison’s security footage. A security camera showed the hallway in front of Seungcheol’s cell.

“Some guards helped him escape, but it’s strange because the guards don’t do rounds at that time,” he rewound the footage a bit so Joshua could see the scene. A man in a prison guard uniform stopped in front of Seungcheol’s cell with a flashlight, took out some keys from his pocket, and opened the cell, then led Seungcheol in the opposite direction of the camera. The guard’s face was never visible. “The prisoners who saw this just thought Seungcheol was being taken to a visit,” Minghao switched to another camera. It was the hallway leading to a back door of the prison, near the trash containers, an area only authorized personnel could access. Minghao clicked a few times and the perspective changed again: now Seungcheol was being escorted by two other guards out of the prison, where a car was waiting. As soon as Seungcheol got into the car, it took off. The quality of the images wasn’t great, so the car’s license plate couldn’t be seen. “All the guards have been interrogated, and all have proven alibis,” Minghao sighed. “These three guards we saw aren’t real guards. We’re waiting for footage from nearby security cameras to track the car’s route, but...” he slumped in his chair, “for now, this is all we have.”

“So... you’re saying strangers entered the prison, freed a dangerous criminal, and no one knows anything?”

“You could say that... yes,” Minghao replied. “The thing is, at no point did three individuals enter or leave the prison. Those people are inside, but who are they?”

“Lee Jihoon... does he know anything about this?” Joshua asked, leaning over Minghao to rewind the footage and start it from the beginning.

“No, he was asleep at that time and hasn’t had contact with Seungcheol for a while. The closest they’ve been was the last trial, but they didn’t even exchange words there,” Minghao growled, looking at the screen again. “Damn it... I knew that man was planning something,” he muttered. “Not just anyone can escape prison so easily... it means one thing.”

“Someone very powerful is helping him,” Joshua concluded, and Minghao nodded.

“Someone like Lee Taemin,” Wonwoo said from the door. Who knows how long he’d been standing there, but that wasn’t the point. “Think about it, out of nowhere he asks for the trial to be extended because he has more evidence, and just five days before the trial resumes, Seungcheol escapes.”

“And even though I believe you, there’s still nothing to prove he’s behind this,” Minghao said. “To everyone, he’s a hero. Why would the one who put Choi Seungcheol away help him escape? That’s what people would say.”

“But does Choi Seungcheol have enough power and influence to have Prosecutor Lee Taemin on his side?” Joshua asked. “If Taemin really is responsible for this, he’d be finished if everyone found out.”

“Enough,” Yoona entered the office as if it were hers and walked over to stand in front of Minghao’s desk, hands on her hips. “Stop meddling in this case, it’s no longer your concern,” she said, looking at each of the three men. “This is a matter for the prosecution, okay? You’re just officers and detectives who deal with minor crimes, not this.”

“But...”

“No ‘buts,’ Wonwoo, or haven’t you had enough with your sanctions? Enough of sticking your noses in this case. And stop doubting Prosecutor Lee... those two wouldn’t have been arrested without his help.” The commissioner looked at each of them attentively before turning to leave the office, but Wonwoo stepped in her way, crossing his arms.

“This is our case,” he emphasized “our” with force, angrily. “Our loved ones are in danger now that monster is free again, and you want us to do nothing?”

“Step aside, Officer Jeon,” but Wonwoo didn’t move, remaining like a stone in front of the woman. “Officer...” she said in a warning tone.

“Wonwoo,” Joshua said in a tone similar to Yoona’s, and he finally stepped aside, letting Commissioner Im leave the office. Before crossing the door threshold, however, she turned around.

“I’ll make sure your family and friends are safe, alright?” She didn’t wait for any of them to respond, just continued on her way, giving Chan a dirty look before leaving the area completely.

The three sighed in unison, terribly fed up with everything that was happening. When they were so close to the end, to a definitive resolution, Choi Seungcheol had to pull one of his stunts and ruin everything. The question now was: where was Choi Seungcheol?

Chapter Text

Jeonghan’s photo was wrinkled and already starting to fade. It wasn’t even an old photo, like one from his childhood or teenage years. No, this photo had been taken by Seungcheol on Jeonghan’s twenty-third birthday. He was looking directly at the camera with a wide smile. His hair was short, with a dark brown color, and he had a small smear of cake frosting on his nose. Seungcheol remembered all the details of that day, remembered how the other photos he took with the instant camera had gotten ruined and this was the only one that survived. Since then, it had become the photo he always kept in his wallet. He smiled a little, brushing his fingers over Jeonghan’s face that was already fading.

“Are you awake?” the man asked, looking at him through the rearview mirror. Seungcheol looked up, his eyes meeting the man’s. “You’re lucky I know desperate and crazy people who’d do anything for money.”

“It’s the least you could do, I gave you what you wanted,” he replied. Taemin chuckled softly and kept his eyes on the road. Seungcheol looked out the window beside him, his eyes catching only the blue of the sea below the road.

“I didn’t think you’d lie to Jihoon,” Taemin’s voice came again after a few seconds. “They might think he lied in his statement.”

Seungcheol shrugged.

“At the end of the day, I’m a bad friend,” he looked at Jeonghan’s photo again. “I told him he could always count on me, but look at me, running away.” He laughed a bit and put the photo back in his pocket. “I’m a really bad friend.”

“Sometimes you have to put yourself first,” Taemin murmured. “I know that very well.”

“And you don’t mind betraying your friend the Commissioner and the whole country?” Seungcheol asked, curious.

“Me?” The prosecutor turned to give him an incredulous look, then let out a laugh before calmly continuing to drive. “There are few things one won’t do for power or money. I’m already in the position I always wanted, what more could I ask for? It’s definitely a scandal that you escaped, and they’ll be searching for you high and low, but no one will suspect me... to everyone, I’m the most innocent regarding your escape.”

“Not to everyone...” Seungcheol whistled, knowing very well that those who started the investigation on him would suspect Taemin immediately.

“To everyone who really matters,” Taemin corrected. “We’re almost there.”

Seungcheol remained silent for the rest of the trip. They arrived after ten minutes at a small house near the pier, and a young woman came out and ran towards Taemin to hug him.

"You came! What's the job?" she asked excitedly, glancing curiously at Seungcheol. Taemin smiled and pulled the woman to his side by the shoulders. "I'm so eager, I can't wait to leave this place."

"Jimin, this will be your new older brother... give him any name you like, okay? I'll handle the new identifications later," Taemin said.

"My new job is to have an older brother?" she asked, puzzled, but she couldn't be more puzzled than Seungcheol. He really wanted an explanation; none of this was part of the plan.

"Explain yourself, Lee," Seungcheol demanded, crossing his arms. "Who is this girl and why is she going to name me like I'm a dog?"

"Jimin, dear, your new brother is quite difficult, I hope you can tolerate his company," Taemin ignored him, watching as the young woman just nodded, still confused. "Now, Seungcheol, here's what you'll do... but first, let's go inside, it's very hot out here." He walked still half-hugging the girl. The house was just as tiny inside, the old wooden floor creaking with every step they took. They sat on the green sofa in the living room, which squeaked under their weight, and Seungcheol took a seat in a small chair to the side, with his characteristic air of distrust.

"As I was saying, you two are now siblings. Jimin will make sure to keep her pretty mouth shut and invent a story about your lives together, right?" he looked at the girl, who nodded unconvincingly. "You'll need to make some changes, not many... like cutting your hair, for example," he told Seungcheol, analyzing him. "Anyway, you will move to Barbados in three weeks. In the meantime, you are not to leave this house, Choi Seungcheol, understood?" Seungcheol nodded reluctantly. He wasn't thrilled about having a little sister who would move to an island with him. It was all his fault for believing Taemin would give him a new life so easily. "Have you thought of a name yet, Jimin?"

The girl looked thoughtful before nodding with excitement.

"How about 'Jisoo'?" she asked with a smile.

"You've got to be kidding me, I'm not going to be called 'Jisoo'," Seungcheol scoffed, and the girl shot him a dirty look.

"How about 'Jihoon'?" Seungcheol looked at her again. "Yoo Jihoon doesn't sound bad, does it?"

"Oh, how interesting," Taemin said with a chuckle. "Do you like your new name, Seungcheol?"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" But he didn't complain. If he couldn't have Jihoon, at least he could carry his name with him. It was the only thing he could hold onto.

"Ah, Seungcheol, did you notice? I got you a sister who has the same last name as your boyfriend, so you don't feel so alone," Taemin said with something akin to excitement, but Seungcheol just grimaced and looked anywhere in the living room.

"His last name was 'Yoon'," he murmured. "But you got close enough, I suppose."

"You're so ungrateful... this is what I get for helping fugitives," said the prosecutor. "For now, a guy named Joohyuk will bring you food every day and also take you to the place where the plane to Barbados will take off from, got it?" Jimin was the only one who nodded; Seungcheol just looked like he was fed up with everything. "If Jimin gives me any complaints about you, the whole world will know your whereabouts, understand, Seungcheol?"

"How bold of you to assume I will stay quiet if you rat me out... this is a secret between the two of us, Taemin, keep that in mind."

"A secret between the three of us," the young woman interjected.

"You're not exempt from this either, Jimin. I hope I don't hear complaints from Seungcheol about you," Jimin nodded for the umpteenth time and Taemin stood up, stretching a bit before walking to the door of the house. "Well, I hope you get along, you're both in this together," and without saying anything else, he left, leaving them alone in a small house in the middle of a fishing village.

"He always comes and brings me problems for fifteen minutes and then disappears for six months," the girl complained, looking at the door. Seungcheol examined her; he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that such a young and seemingly innocent girl was also a fugitive. "And... what did you do to earn Taemin's favor?"

"What he wanted," he replied simply, and Jimin pursed her lips. "And you?" he ventured to ask, and she smiled.

"I killed his competition," she shrugged. Oh... that was... Seungcheol had no thoughts on that. "I've been wanting to escape this country for a long time but he always postpones my departure, I guess he was waiting to find me a companion," she tilted her head, looking at Seungcheol with interest. "Aren't you the crazy guy who killed the people related to an organ donation?" Seungcheol raised his eyebrows and nodded. What a direct question. "And what happened? Have you finally given up on hunting people?"

"There's not much I can do for now," he replied honestly.

"For now..." she repeated as if analyzing each word. "It's a shame, you'll probably never fulfill all your tasks. After all, we will never set foot in this country again."

"Yeah, probably..."

There was some bitterness in his voice. Deep down, he hoped for the day when he could meet his best friend again, without any grudges between them, but he knew that wasn't very likely and a reunion with him wasn't something Taemin had planned. When Seungcheol got rid of his in-laws, he didn't tell Jihoon anything about it and even gave him a false address about where the bodies were hidden, knowing that Jihoon couldn't care less about it. Taemin was a disgusting corrupt person who tried by all means to make a deal with Seungcheol before they caught him; he refused them all until Taemin made him a big offer, but of course, he had to give something in return. What else could Seungcheol do? There was no way he would spend his entire life in prison. Maybe Jihoon could endure that because he had a soft heart, but Seungcheol? He wasn't going to waste his time with that crap.

Now Taemin had the evidence that would catapult him to the top completely and Seungcheol had his new life ahead of him next to another killer who would be some sort of younger sister and caretaker. When he started his messed-up project of avenging Jeonghan, he never imagined an outcome like this, but well, happy endings didn't exist, and neither did perfect crimes.

Jeonghan, is it okay if it ends like this? If I never finish your revenge? Is it okay with you?

Seungcheol could only imagine Jeonghan smiling at him, with the lovely smile that only he could have.

Jeonghan, will you still love me now that I'm Yoo Jihoon? Will you?

Of course he would. Jeonghan wouldn't stop loving him just for changing his name, because that's how Jeonghan was, an angel. That's how Jeonghan is, a good, pure person who only has love to give.

Jeonghan, would you love me even if you knew I'm a monster?

Seungcheol sighed, feeling tears starting to well up in his eyes.

"Hey, are you okay? Why are you crying all of a sudden?" he heard Jimin's voice, but it sounded distant. So distant...

Jeonghan... I'm so sorry.

Chapter Text

Soonyoung's world shattered when he heard the judge.

"What?" he murmured in his stupor, but clearly no one heard him. An immense fear overwhelmed him; he just wanted to get up from his chair and run to Jihoon, hug him, and assure him that everything would be okay.

Fifteen years in prison, with the possibility of parole after ten years, considering his cooperation and secondary role in the crimes. That was the sentence, and Jihoon seemed to accept it. His lawyer tried to reduce it, but it remained as it was. Fifteen years.

A month later, he was still just as bitter, watching the news on his phone while having breakfast at home, absentmindedly stirring the food on his plate. The reporter talked about the lack of progress in the investigation to find Seungcheol's whereabouts. It was suspected that he was still in the country, but no trace of him had been found anywhere for a month. As if the earth had swallowed him. Soonyoung looked at the image of Choi Seungcheol on the screen with disgust, hating that man with all his being. It had been a while since he had any genuine smiles. Of course, he still smiled a lot and treated all his patients with the same kindness and professionalism, but after everything that happened, nothing felt right, everything felt forced, wrong. Or was he simply unhappy? Probably.

The doorbell rang, and he got up from the table with effort, leaving his phone lying around. He glanced at his house and let out a groan; it was a mess. He ran a hand through his hair and opened the door.

"Hi!" Chan greeted him with a smile. Soonyoung smiled back and stepped aside to let the officer into his house.

"What brings you here?" he asked, closing the door and heading to the living room with Chan.

"Today is my day off," he replied. Soonyoung nodded; it was his day off too. "I heard there hasn't been any progress in catching Seungcheol... some even say he's dead."

"Well..." Soonyoung shrugged, "it's better if he's dead, so he won't have the chance to ruin more lives in the future." He sat down in a chair and gestured for Chan to take another, but he didn't; he just looked around the house. "Sorry for the mess," Soonyoung apologized belatedly, "I haven't had much time to tidy up, clean... you know, those things."

"You look unkempt," Chan returned his gaze to Soonyoung. "You have a food stain on your shirt." Soonyoung looked down and saw a stain, probably from some sauce. He shrugged and smiled at Chan.

"I forgot how to take care of my appearance, I guess."

"This is because of Jihoon, isn't it?" the officer sighed tiredly. "Doctor, don't you remember what I told you? You're hurting yourself and Jihoon in the process!" he complained. "Why are you like this? Make up your mind! Either you leave him, or you stay with him; you can't do both! He's been in prison for a month, and you haven't visited him even once, and then you act like this," he pointed at him. Soonyoung looked away, a bit uncomfortable with Chan's lecture. "Soonyoung... please."

"Chan, you don't understand-"

"No! I don't! How will I understand if you don't explain it to me?" he huffed. "Do you even understand yourself?"

Soonyoung remained silent.

No, he couldn't even understand himself. Jihoon was where he was because he had asked him to be. Chan might be right; instead of saying sweet words to Jihoon and then disappearing from his life right after saying "I'm here," he should be responsible for his actions and words. Jihoon had lied, hurt him, and yet he loved him. How could Jihoon love him even though he knew he would end up hurting him? That meant he was a bad person, right? Ah, but why did everything have to be divided into "bad" or "good"?

"So what do you suggest I do, Chan?"

Chan gave him a long look before leaving the house without answering.

"In a surprising revelation, the remains of Yoon Jeonghan's parents, Choi Seungcheol's fiancé, were found..." Soonyoung approached the table again, his phone still playing the news. "Prosecutor Lee Taemin, known for initiating the investigation against Choi Seungcheol along with the prosecution, led the searches that led to the discovery of the bodies. This finding represents a significant advancement in the case." Soonyoung took the phone in his hands and sat down, immersed in the news. "However, Choi Seungcheol's whereabouts are still unknown, and he remains actively sought by the authorities. We will continue to report as more details emerge."

The scene on the screen changed, now showing a reporter at the discovery site. Behind him, Lee Taemin was talking to some police officers.

"Prosecutor Lee Taemin has stated that the investigation will continue until Choi Seungcheol is captured and brought to justice. Authorities urge anyone with information about his whereabouts to come forward immediately."

Soonyoung couldn't help but think of Jihoon. Suddenly feeling worried, he searched for the latest news about Jihoon and found an article. With trembling hands, he clicked on the news, which featured a picture of Jihoon at his trial.

«This discovery has cast new doubts on the statement of Lee Jihoon, Seungcheol's accomplice, who previously indicated that the remains were in a completely different location. Lee Jihoon, currently in prison and sentenced to 15 years with the possibility of parole after 10 years, has seen his credibility questioned by this revelation. 'This discrepancy raises serious questions about the reliability of the information provided by Lee Jihoon,' a prosecution spokesperson stated. 'We are reviewing all statements and evidence related to better understand his role in these crimes.'»

There was also an interview with Taemin, who looked directly at the camera with determination:

"Every clue, no matter how small, can be vital to solving this case." Soonyoung almost laughed at Taemin's words. He never trusted authorities too much; in fact, he detested them. He changed his way of thinking a bit when he met the detectives while working with them on the investigation, but the existence of Lee Taemin somewhat proved his point: the more power people had, the more corrupt they became. From his point of view, either Taemin or someone in a similar position had helped Seungcheol escape from prison. But why would Seungcheol escape without Jihoon? Did he hold a grudge against him for testifying?

Soonyoung groaned and banged his head on the table. Jihoon was in prison, going through a tough time now that they were doubting what he had said, probably waiting for Soonyoung, who had not visited him yet after promising never to leave him. Jihoon must be feeling terrible; his best friend abandoned him, and now Soonyoung was on the verge of doing the same just for being a coward. An idiot, a bad boyfriend. He banged his head again. Did they even still have a relationship?

"Damn Seungcheol, I hate you," he cursed under his breath.

The next thing Soonyoung knew, he was filling out a visitation form at the prison where Jihoon was. He fiddled with the pen in his hands while staring at the section he had yet to fill out. "Relationship with the inmate." He looked at the form again; everything was filled out except for that damn section.

"Inmate 1022, you have a visitor," the guard guided Jihoon from his room to the small visitation room. He walked the whole way in confusion. A visit, really? He had already accepted that he would spend at least the next ten years without seeing anyone. After all, the only two people who really mattered to him hadn't come. Seungcheol because he escaped and Soonyoung because... Jihoon didn't know why.

The guard opened the door, and Jihoon entered, looking at Soonyoung behind the glass in surprise. He hurried to sit down and smiled at Soonyoung, but for some reason, Soonyoung started crying.

"Soonyoung, hello," Jihoon said, trying to get Soonyoung's attention, but he couldn't stop crying, even lowering his head. Jihoon wanted to comfort him, at least hold his hand, but the glass between them prevented it. "What's wrong?"

"What happened to you?" the doctor asked through his sobs.

"Oh... this?" Jihoon brought a hand to his left eye. It was bruised, and he had other bruises on the rest of his face. "It's nothing..."

"Jihoon."

Soonyoung was looking for an explanation, and Jihoon couldn't lie to him. How could he? He had already done it too many times; it was time to be honest.

"I guess my cellmates don't like someone who was involved in the murder of vulnerable people, especially a small and innocent girl," he shrugged. "I disgust myself too."

"Seungcheol is the one to blame," Soonyoung murmured.

"And I helped and protected him... I'm just as much of a piece of shit as he is," Jihoon smiled humorlessly. "Let's not talk about that... why are you here? I thought you wouldn't come."

"I'm sorry... have you been waiting for a long time?" Soonyoung asked, wiping the tears from his eyes with his thumbs. "Jihoon, I'm so sorry..."

"You shouldn't cry," Jihoon said with a broken voice, his eyes stinging. "You shouldn't apologize either. It's not your fault I'm here," he licked his lips. "I would completely understand if you decided never to visit me."

"No, Jihoon," he shook his head, denying it. Jihoon pursed his lips, seeing him still crying. "Why didn't you call me?" he complained. "I didn't come because I'm an idiot, but you could have called me..."

"I didn't want to bother you, Soonyoung... in the end, I think it's best if you forget about me and move on," he lowered his gaze to his prison uniform and then looked back at Soonyoung. "All I'll do is tarnish your image."

"Jihoon, I love you," Soonyoung said. "I tried... I really tried not to when I found out everything you did, but I couldn't," he tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace due to his crying. "I know it's stupid, I know I shouldn't... but I can't stop loving you. I'm sorry if it's a burden for you, but I don't regret loving you," he let out a little laugh. "You were the only one who really saw me for who I am, even though your main motives weren't the best... ah, am I being too pathetic?"

Jihoon also let out a laugh.

"I don't know... but thank you for loving me." Finally, Soonyoung was able to give him an honest smile. "I also... well, you know, I feel the same way too."

"Are you embarrassed?" Soonyoung teased him.

"No!" Soonyoung raised his eyebrows and pointed a finger at him. Jihoon's bruised cheeks started to turn a reddish color. "Stop teasing me!"

"Are you blushing, Jihoon?"

"I'm not! Shut up," he crossed his arms, embarrassed, while Soonyoung kept mocking him.

"Really? Then why do you look like a tomato?"

Seeing Soonyoung laugh with him (and laugh at him) reminded Jihoon of something he had tried to avoid in recent months. "Feeling good and whole." He hadn't managed to feel that way with anything or anyone, and now Soonyoung came, telling him that he still loved him and then played with him as if nothing had happened. As if nothing had changed between them. Soonyoung had no idea that anything he said or did could make or break Jihoon's day, and secretly, Jihoon was grateful for that because if Soonyoung knew the great influence he had over him, he probably would never be honest just to make him happy. Soonyoung laughed, with his eyes closed and clapping, and Jihoon smiled, watching him from the other side of the glass, praying to have more moments like this in the future, and forgetting, at least for those moments, that he was in prison and far from Soonyoung.

He was paying for his crimes, and that was fair, but did he have the right to be happy after what he had done? Thinking about the victims and how both he and Seungcheol had taken away their chance to live was something that would always torment him and something he would always regret, even so...

He sighed. Soonyoung had already calmed down a bit, although he occasionally laughed at Jihoon's red face.

Even so...

"I want to try to be happy."

Chapter Text

Yoona watched the security camera footage again. That car Choi Seungcheol got into, that route he took, those three fake prison guards... she knew it all too well. How could Taemin do this to her? She was stressed; she could understand her supposed friend and confidant's desire for recognition, and she could even understand him "stealing" the case from her subordinates, but to ally with the murderer? That was a different level. The worst part was that Yoona couldn't do much. If she brought all the evidence incriminating Taemin to light, it would be her downfall too. Because if she revealed that Taemin was the one who freed Seungcheol, even though the prosecutor would be investigated, it would also implicate her for knowing and staying silent. She tangled her hands in her hair and groaned in frustration, hoping not to run into Taemin soon because if she did, she might get violent and end up killing him or something.

"Hey, Yoona, stressed out?" Taemin entered her office, with his calm demeanor, hands in his pants pockets. Yoona frowned at the sight of him. "What's wrong? Is it about Choi Seungcheol?"

"Why did you do this to me, Taemin?" she asked angrily. He looked at her innocently. "Don't play dumb. I know that car in the footage is yours... why Choi Seungcheol? Do you know how much trouble you'll be in when it's discovered that you're behind this?"

Taemin walked over to her, positioning himself in front of Yoona's desk. There, he crossed his arms and smiled, tilting his head slightly.

"Who says it will be discovered? I've already eliminated all the evidence," Yoona sighed. "If you talk, Yoona, it will be your word against mine, and we both know how that will turn out," he gently took Yoona's hands from her hair and stroked them a little. "It's better if you stay quiet, okay? After all, you look prettier when you're silent."

"Let go of me, idiot," she snatched her hands away from his and clenched them into fists. "I just... don't understand, why? You made such a fuss to take over the case, for what? To release Seungcheol shortly after? It doesn't make sense."

"Doesn't it?" he replied, then clicked his tongue. "It does to me... but don't worry, I don't expect you to understand, I just expect you not to talk too much." He looked at her seriously. "If I fall, I'll drag you down with me."

"Why? What did I do to you? I've done nothing but support you all these years..."

"No reason," he shrugged. "Just because."

Yoona opened her mouth to say something but then closed it, deciding not to speak. She had specifically asked that group of rebels under her command to let go of the Choi Seungcheol case, but would they? She knew they were very involved and hated Taemin, and though she was partly to blame for the prosecutor now being the "owner" of the case, she could also understand the young people's ill feelings towards Taemin. Even she was starting to hate Taemin. Im Yoona hated not being able to do something when she had the power to do so, but what she hated more was being trampled on, and that was exactly what Taemin was doing. Although she would let it slide, at least for the moment, because the moment she found the slightest opportunity, she would take him down. Taemin thought he was the villain; apparently, he had forgotten who taught him to be that way in the first place. Yoona would tolerate anything except betrayal, and this vulnerable position Taemin had left her in was unacceptable. It was, in every way, betrayal.

According to the just, you shouldn't repay evil with evil; but Yoona wasn't just, in her view, traitors deserved a lesson.

"Just because?" Taemin nodded, as if pleased that Yoona was finally on the same page as him. "Fine, then... do what you have to do," she said, and Taemin smiled warmly at her again.

"I knew you would eventually understand your position, Yoona," he patted her shoulder. "You always do a good job, Commissioner Im."

Taemin wasn't wrong; Yoona always did a good job.

Wonwoo reluctantly returned to the station. The last few days had been even worse and busier than those leading up to Seungcheol and Jihoon's trial. With Seungcheol's escape, the media all over them, and that damn Lee Taemin taking all the credit, he hadn't had a moment's rest. Although his boss had clearly told him to let go of the case, he wouldn't. He was too stubborn for that. Besides, it wasn't just his best friend and partner who were in danger; now everyone he cared about was. Wonwoo knew almost everything about Seungcheol, and the same was true for him. Of course, Wonwoo would never forget how easily that man had kidnapped Mingyu. Because of things like that, he felt the need to catch Seungcheol, to do it himself with the help of his comrades. If they weren't the ones in charge of this, nothing would go right. Because they had taken away control of the case, Seungcheol had escaped as if it were child's play. Wonwoo had two main goals: to ruin Lee Taemin's career and to catch Choi Seungcheol, and he had to accomplish at least one before he died. He would achieve one of them, and, if possible, both.

"Uh? What are you doing here?" he asked as he arrived at his desk. Mingyu looked at him from his chair and sighed.

"What are you doing here? You should be at home." Mingyu was wearing his medical uniform, which made Wonwoo feel a bit bad and guilty. After finishing his exhausting shift, Mingyu should go straight home and rest, not waste his time at the station because of him. Wonwoo approached until he was in front of Mingyu and took one of his hands, intertwining it with his own.

"Go home, you need to rest," he ran his other hand through Mingyu's hair. "I'll get home early, okay?"

"Wonwoo..." Mingyu complained, standing up. "You're exhausted; you're going to get sick." He cupped Wonwoo's face with his hands. "You've only been home to shower lately. Are you even eating properly?"

"Chan gives me food," Wonwoo muttered, unable to meet Mingyu's eyes.

Mingyu pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded, stepping back to put some distance between them.

"So you've been eating junk," the nurse concluded, and Wonwoo immediately shook his head. "If you won't go home, neither will I."

"Mingyu..." Wonwoo tried, but his husband was already decided. "Babe—"

"Oh, for God's sake, Wonwoo, you're at work. Don't you know romantic interactions are prohibited?" Seokmin appeared, as always, dressed in a suit, and this time he had a lunchbox in one of his hands, probably containing Joshua's lunch. "And what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working or something?" he asked Mingyu.

"His shift is over; he should be resting," Wonwoo answered for Mingyu, with an air of concern. "Seokmin, convince him to go home."

"No, convince Wonwoo to go home," Mingyu stepped forward, pouting. Seokmin sighed.

"You two are idiots... where's Joshua?" he looked around; only Chan was at his desk with headphones on, ignoring everyone's existence, and the door to Minghao's office was closed.

"You're really useless," Wonwoo muttered and finally looked back at Mingyu, exasperated. "Fine! Let's go home." Mingyu cheered with a small "Yay!" "But before we go, let me check some reports." Wonwoo was about to turn on his computer, but Mingyu grabbed his arm and pulled him as far from his desk as possible. Seokmin watched them with a disapproving grimace (when he was even clingier with Joshua).

"No, no reports or work," Mingyu pulled Wonwoo closer, and the officer huffed, resting his forehead on Mingyu's shoulder and wrapping his arms around the younger's waist. "Let's go, okay?" he asked softly. Wonwoo lifted his head a bit.

"Okay," he nodded, but he didn't sound entirely convinced. Before he could drag himself back to his desk, Mingyu led him to the exit, waving at Seokmin. Before leaving, Wonwoo turned to face Seokmin. "Joshua is probably sleeping with Minghao in the office," he winked when Seokmin looked at him with an expression that screamed, "Why didn't you tell me before, you idiot?" and finally left with Mingyu, even though he had just arrived.

Wonwoo handed the car keys to Mingyu and got into the passenger seat—the same seat where Joshua had once been agonizing—sighing heavily as he fastened his seatbelt. Mingyu got into the driver's seat and started the car, but before driving off, he turned to Wonwoo and looked at him with the same worried expression as before.

"What is it now?" Wonwoo asked.

"Are you really okay?" Mingyu responded with another question.

"About what? If you mean my health, well, yes, sort of... not really, but it's nothing. When I was a student, I felt like this all the time, and I survived."

"I mean the case." Wonwoo rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window. "Wonwoo... if you're angry, just say so. You don't have to pretend you're okay with them stealing all your and the guys' work. You can talk about it. You shouldn't act like it doesn't exist just because Seungcheol escaped or because you can't do anything about it anymore."

"Didn't you want to go home? Then drive," Wonwoo said, avoiding the topic. Mingyu sighed and drove off in silence, turning off the radio when an upbeat song from some old girl group started playing. Wonwoo kept looking out the window at the quickly passing cars and people, but at one point, the silence became so heavy and uncomfortable that he groaned in frustration and banged his head against the seat's headrest. "I think I need to ruin Lee Taemin's life to be happy."

"Uh!?" Mingyu squealed, startled, trying not to lose control while driving.

Wonwoo smiled sweetly and looked at him.

"Didn't you want me to talk?" he questioned. Mingyu nodded slowly. "Then listen to my plan."

Chapter Text

Chan's days off were sacred. He waited weeks to finally have them, and when they came, he would spend them as he wanted. Sleeping all morning, spending the afternoon cleaning the apartment, and going out at night with his friends or maybe staying home watching reality shows until dawn was paradise on earth for Chan. Often, he used these days to visit his family in his hometown, and even when he was there, the routine didn't vary much because nothing and no one could interrupt him when he was resting. The word "work" disappeared from his vocabulary during that time. No more "Officer Lee" or "Officer Chan," he was just Chan, a twenty-something young man tired of working day and night for a terrible salary and treatment, but at least he was fulfilling his dream, right?

Right?

His home was the smallest, and being in his room all day was suffocating. So after waking up and taking a shower, Chan dragged one of the two dining chairs to the window in the "living room," if it could be called that, and sat down, looking at the city below him. Chan wasn't a big fan of heights, but when he moved to the city, the only place he could afford was this one. Although he now had enough income to look for a more comfortable place, he was already used to living in that building, which seemed like it could fall at any moment. Well, it wasn't that bad, really, but Chan loved to exaggerate his situation. He smiled, opening the window a bit. He didn't usually do that because the apartment would fill with dust, and pigeons would come in just to crap on the floor, but since he had to clean that afternoon, it didn't matter.

He breathed contentedly as he felt the wind envelop him, and he settled more comfortably in the chair. The day was wonderful; it was only eight in the morning, the sun was shining, and although summer was coming, the weather that day was quite cool. He could stay there all day and wouldn't even notice, but unfortunately, he couldn't do that because his dear home wouldn't clean itself.

"Maybe tomorrow," he murmured to himself, looking out the partially open window. The city's noise was faintly perceptible. "If tomorrow the weather is just as nice..." he shrugged. He would have to wait until the next day to laze around. For now, he would prepare a good breakfast, then clean and wash all his clothes, and later at night... "At night I can go drinking," he smiled and closed his eyes, already imagining himself in one of those good bars downtown, spending some money on drinks. He was already excited.

"He's not answering," Wonwoo pulled the phone away from his ear and dialed again. "That little son of a..."

Joshua sighed and let his forehead fall onto the table. His stomach growled, and he had to resist the urge to complain out loud; he just hoped that Mingyu would appear out of nowhere in the basement with some snacks or something to eat for them; no matter what it was, Joshua wouldn’t complain. He just needed to eat.

“What if he’s still asleep?” Minghao asked, then yawned. “You know he usually doesn’t check his phone on his days off.” He rested his cheek on his hand on the table, sitting next to Joshua.

“So what? I don’t care,” Wonwoo said angrily, calling Chan for the fourth time. “This brat better have a good reason for not answering. I swear... Chan! I was worried about you!” he exclaimed when Chan finally picked up. Minghao rolled his eyes and giggled while Wonwoo smiled, taking a seat in front of him.

“What do you want?” Chan sounded grumpy. Wonwoo felt deeply offended by this and frowned.

“And what’s with that tone?” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Go to hell, idiot... Anyway, I need you to come to my house as soon as possible.”

“Huh? At this hour? Nah...”

“And why not? It’s something important!”

“Important like what?”

“About Taemin.” Chan made a noise like he was telling Wonwoo, “don’t even think about it.” Oh, Wonwoo was getting angrier. “If you’re not here in forty minutes, I swear I’ll come get you and throw you off the roof of your building.”

“But I have things to do today...”

“Nothing is more important than revenge, Chan,” Wonwoo said. “Are you coming, or do I have to show up at your apartment?”

“Ooh, you’re starting to sound like Choi Seungcheol,” Chan mocked.

“Our revenge makes sense, unlike that lunatic’s... but stop changing the subject, are you coming, or should I bring you?” Chan sighed after hearing this and took a moment to respond. It was only a few seconds, but Wonwoo felt like his head was going to explode if that idiot didn’t answer right away.

“Fine... I’ll be there soon.”

“Aww, that’s why I love you, Chan,” he faked a sweet tone, and Chan sighed again before ending the call. “Our little guy is coming... I hope he didn’t lie just to shut me up.”

“With Chan, we can expect anything,” Joshua said, still with his head on the table and hugging his stomach with both arms.

“Heh... you’re not one to talk,” Minghao muttered, giving him a dirty look, though Joshua wasn’t even looking.

You could say Chan’s day was already ruined. He didn’t want to answer Wonwoo’s call because he knew it was something work-related, but his colleague was so persistent that he got tired of hearing his phone ring and ended up taking the call. If Wonwoo really wanted to talk about something other than work, he would have sent a message, because both he and Chan weren’t big fans of phone calls. It was exhausting, especially when you were a police officer. And there it was, damn work even chasing him on his days off… but, was it really work-related? If they were seeking revenge on Taemin, weren’t those personal reasons? Chan stopped complaining and made his way to Wonwoo’s house. Maybe the day could get interesting with whatever Wonwoo and the others had planned.

“I’ve got a great idea, Chan!” Wonwoo didn’t even greet him, just dragged him inside the house, pulling him by the arm. “Really, it’s brilliant. It’ll ruin Taemin, our case will be ours again, and we won’t be in danger,” he said one thing after another, excited. He ran down the basement stairs with Chan. Joshua was snoring at the table and Minghao was disinterestedly using his phone.

“How did you guys agree to come here so early?” Chan asked them. Minghao put down his phone and looked at him.

“Because Mingyu is going to make breakfast... or that’s what Wonwoo told us an hour and a half ago... it’s almost ten,” Minghao pouted and looked down at the table. Joshua shuddered beside him in his sleep and continued snoring.

“Don’t worry, Hao,” Wonwoo sat down in front of him again. “Mingyu went out to buy ingredients, you’ll see he’ll come back and feed you, okay?”

“This happens because I’m too lazy to make my own food,” Minghao finally said, as if ignoring Wonwoo. The older man gasped, outraged, but soon dismissed it when he slapped his palms on the table, causing Joshua to wake up with a start.

“I found a way to expose Lee Taemin,” everyone turned their attention to Wonwoo. “And for that, Seokmin is a key piece, that’s why I need you to convince him, Joshua.”

“Me? Why don’t you do it?” the detective questioned, uncomfortable.

“You’re his boyfriend! Ugh… see how it feels? But when we were investigating Seungcheol, you guys forced me to seduce Mingyu to get to Dr. Kwon…” he muttered, looking away. The other three present suddenly felt embarrassed.

“Ah… but… but you’re married! Or are you going to tell me you don’t do it often?” Joshua tried to lighten the mood, but Wonwoo kept his poker face, even crossing his arms. “Besides, we didn’t ‘force’ you to seduce him, we just asked you to convince him…” as Joshua continued speaking, his voice lowered. Wonwoo raised his eyebrows at him and he nodded, resigned. “I get it... fine. But just out of curiosity, why don’t you ask him yourself? Did you ask and he refused to help you? I told you, you’re too mean to him...”

“Not at all, I haven’t asked for his help yet,” Wonwoo replied. “Seokmin has connections in the prison Seungcheol escaped from, I’m sure he’ll find someone willing to give information, something like Taemin was recruiting people, but I haven’t asked for his help yet because he’s too busy.”

They all stared at him, stunned.

Wonwoo worried about bothering Seokmin? Really? And what would be next? A “Surprise, I’m going to be a dad!”, or worse, something like: “Surprise, I’m divorcing Mingyu!”? Was the world ending, or had pigs learned to fly? Wonwoo worried about bothering Seokmin when he had a lot of work? Since when did he even care about the lawyer’s well-being?

“Huh? You care about Seokmin!?” Joshua shouted.

“Of course, he’s my friend, what do you think? That I hate him?” he asked, not understanding their reactions.

“Precisely; you call him ‘whore’ all the time,” Chan said.

“He calls me ‘piece of shit’!” he exclaimed. “Oh, you bunch of idiots, you only focus on the ugly things I say…” Wonwoo had never felt so betrayed in his life, but Minghao just laughed in his face.

“I knew you had a love-hate relationship, but I never thought you’d really care so much about him… have you finally gotten over Mingyu being obsessed with him for months?” Minghao asked just to tease him, but the man with glasses just smiled smugly.

“Why should I be upset if I’m the one enjoying life with Gyu now?”

“Why are you talking about my boyfriend’s past relationship in front of me?” Joshua sounded irritated, emphasizing “my boyfriend” strongly, making the others mock him.

“Spoken by ‘Mr. Jealous’,” Chan continued to tease, laughing loudly. “Hey, but relax, Seokmin was the one who dumped Mingyu for being useless.”

“That’s true!” Minghao and Wonwoo said in unison, then burst into laughter, high-fiving a few times before continuing to laugh like seals.

Joshua watched them, feeling a bit tired, but also that warm, pleasant sensation in his chest. Chan kept making silly comments that caused Xu and Jeon to laugh even more, and Joshua smiled, never taking his eyes off the three of them. Loving them with all his heart. Even with their silly attitudes and childish games, they were the best friends he could ask for. He remembered how in his childhood and adolescence he only had Jeonghan, and how he only felt that way when he was around him. When they drifted apart, he thought he would never find such a pure friendship again, but he was wrong. And he was glad he was.

“So, back to Seokmin,” Wonwoo continued after calming down, wiping the tears that had come out from laughing so hard with his fingers. “If he can get even one witness, we can start a campaign of distrust against Taemin. But it doesn’t have to be rushed; we can do it little by little, and anonymously. We can also post comments and our original investigation work on forums until one of those posts goes viral and the public starts to distrust Taemin more and more for being a liar. The final blow would be to reveal that he’s behind Seungcheol’s escape.”

“That could work,” Joshua said, nodding. “But… if some loose ends about Seungcheol’s escape have mysteriously disappeared, nothing guarantees that he won’t take care of eliminating anything we post against him.”

“The truth can’t be hidden for long, and lies can’t be maintained, right? Plus, Minghao has a hacker husband who can help,” Chan pointed to Minghao, who raised an eyebrow at him.

“Hacker?” he asked, laughing, but Chan nodded, completely serious. Well, the officer really thought Jun was some kind of movie hacker, better not burst his bubble. “Wonwoo, I think it could work, especially if Taemin stays quiet.”

“What if he turns people against us?” Joshua spoke again and all eyes turned to him. “I mean, he’s an expert at manipulating the public and turning things in his favor.”

“Your boyfriend is his cousin, he must know some dirty secret about Taemin… if he tries to ruin us, we can expose anything, and that’s it,” Chan had never looked so sure, maybe he was also excited to make Taemin pay, who knows? “But anyway, when is Mingyu arriving? I didn’t have time to have breakfast because of Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo smiled, but carried a tiny feeling of guilt. He had actually lied to everyone to get them to his house despite the hour. Mingyu was really working. But Wonwoo would make it up to them, he’d take them to have breakfast at a good restaurant and...

Minghao jumped on him to pull his hair.

Chapter Text

The wind was fresh, and combined with the sound of the waves, it made sitting by the shore a lovely and relaxing experience. He could see the sun disappearing as the sky was painted with darker hues.

"Hoon! Dinner is ready!" Seungcheol turned his head and saw Jimin coming out of the house. She was wearing an apron and holding a wooden spoon in her right hand. He decided to ignore her and turned his gaze back to the waves. He could feel the young girl getting closer, her steps only slightly muffled by the sand. "Jihoon!" she complained, sitting down next to him. "I told you dinner is ready, why aren't you coming?"

"I don't like it when you cook," he responded, bored. Jimin gave him a not-so-friendly shove.

"Oh, really? Then don't eat anything," she said, standing up, angry, and returned to the little house. After a few minutes, the sun finally disappeared, seemingly swallowed by the waters. He finally stood up and brushed the sand off his pants. When he entered the house, he saw Jimin eating dinner. She had a frown on her face, her cheeks puffed out, and she seemed to be crying. She was devouring the pieces of vegetables in seconds, as if she was angry with the food too.

"Why are you acting like a child?" Seungcheol sighed, sitting across from her. Jimin stabbed a piece of some tuber that Seungcheol couldn't identify with her fork and swallowed it. She didn't respond to him, just kept eating as if there was no tomorrow. The plate in front of him was covered with another plate, probably put there by the young girl to keep the many insects around from landing on his dinner. He removed the plate and looked at his food; the pieces of vegetables were arranged to look like a smiling face. Ah, Jimin was really just a child. "Jimin..."

"It's Karina," she corrected him. Seungcheol nodded. He didn't know why his "sister" was so obsessed with using their fake names even inside the little house they were living in, which was far away from society, hidden on a beach.

"Karina," he said just to please her, "what time do you leave for work tomorrow? I have an afternoon shift. If you're free in the evening, we can go fishing together." Jimin's eyes lit up; she reminded Seungcheol a bit of Jihoon when they were younger. Jihoon always seemed excited and happy when Seungcheol suggested things, no matter how boring or absurd they were. He was adorable.

"I work in the morning!" the young girl responded excitedly, and Seungcheol couldn't help but smile at her.

Taemin had practically abandoned them to their fate on that island. The guy who brought them only gave them a little money to survive for about two weeks and took them to the house where they had been living, nothing more. From arranging the house to finding jobs, they had to do it all themselves. The house was very small; it had no rooms or anything, just one door, which they used to enter and exit, obviously. The kitchen wasn't separate from the rest, and it only had a stove, a fridge, a round wooden table, and two chairs. They slept on two single mattresses on the floor, a few steps from the table, and the bathroom was in a small room outside the little house. Seungcheol went to sleep and woke up cursing Lee Taemin for doing this to them, but at the same time, he also felt he was being ungrateful. In the end, it was Taemin who helped them. That didn't stop Seungcheol from sometimes wanting to kill him; he didn't like Lee Taemin at all. Jimin worked in a restaurant, and Seungcheol had secured multiple jobs that provided small daily incomes. Both had dyed their hair a light brown and had it cut; Seungcheol's looked very good and even because Jimin had taken care of it. The same couldn't be said for the horrible bob cut the poor girl had... In Seungcheol's defense, she was the one who insisted he cut her hair.

Weeks passed without news from home, and little by little they got used to each other's presence, to being Jihoon and Karina Yoo. Jimin and Seungcheol had silly fights every day, or rather, she got mad at Seungcheol for being grumpy, and he said things that made her even angrier.

Was it fair to be living a relatively peaceful life while he had ruined some families' lives? He looked again at the vegetables on the plate; he still hadn't touched any. He turned his gaze to the window, or rather, the hole in the wall that looked like a window, and saw the moon beginning to appear.

Was it even fair to be alive? Jeonghan was gone, Jihoon was in prison, and he was far from what his life once was. He had hurt many people, including himself. Could he ever complete Jeonghan's revenge, or would he have to give it up? The existence of Seungkwan, Jun, and Chan still nagged at the back of his mind; he needed to do something with them, make them suffer at least a little. Make their loved ones feel a fraction of what Seungcheol felt when he lost Jeonghan in every sense, limited to having a bit of his ashes in a locket. His damn in-laws couldn't even give him an urn, just an ugly and far from elegant locket. Although he complained about it, he always kept the necklace tucked away but never wore it. Jihoon said that maybe wearing the necklace would make him feel like Jeonghan was close, but that didn't convince Seungcheol. He felt that the locket burned his chest every time he wore it. In reality, he had forgotten the locket's existence until Jimin found it while organizing Seungcheol's belongings in some drawers, and since then, it had always been on top of the dresser, waiting to be used. The girl always told him it was a beautiful accessory, and if he didn't want it, she would gladly keep it, but Seungcheol couldn't allow that either. The locket was the only thing he had left of Jeonghan, and if he couldn't wear it because of the pain the memories brought, no one else could.

Months had passed since Jihoon asked him to forget about "revenge" and try to live a normal life. He had asked him, angry, desperate, maybe even scared, and there was Seungcheol, who seemed incapable of doing anything his only friend asked him. No matter how much he focused on his new life, he imagined those three men living happily, smiling, enjoying life, while his Jeonghan couldn't. For almost ten years, Jeonghan hadn't been able to...

"Jihoon, is it true what you said about not liking my food? You haven't taken a single bite," Jimin said after what felt like an eternity. The table was already clean, and only Seungcheol's plate was still there, well-placed. It still had the smiley face made of vegetables.

"Huh? No, I... I think I lost my appetite," Jimin nodded, a sad expression on her face. Seungcheol forced himself to say the next words: "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, you can eat it for breakfast tomorrow," she picked up the plate and walked away to the kitchen. From where he was sitting, Seungcheol could see her perfectly, but he preferred to lie down on his mattress and close his eyes. He wasn't sleepy or anything, but he preferred that to keep thinking about the same things as always.

Seungcheol looked at their intertwined hands for a moment before raising his gaze to meet Jeonghan’s profile. The young man had stopped walking and turned to look at the river below them. That day, Jeonghan had been acting a bit strange. In fact, he had been behaving oddly for a week already, but was it really like that or was it just Seungcheol imagining things? Because, well, Jeonghan was always a bit strange. They were walking along the dikes containing the waters, and it was really beautiful to see, because everything was full of vegetation and peaceful. Their matching white shirts and olive green shorts made them feel like they were just another part of nature. The only people there were the two of them, and there was nothing Seungcheol could love more than being alone with Jeonghan, simply watching him be himself.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Jeonghan let go of his hand and sat on the edge of the dike, his feet dangling. Seungcheol thought that was dangerous, so he sat down next to him to make sure nothing would happen to Jeonghan. He continued to look at the river, swinging his feet as if he were happy. Seungcheol placed a hand on the thigh exposed by Jeonghan’s shorts and nodded.

“Yes...” he responded, knowing that Jeonghan couldn’t see him. But at that moment, Jeonghan turned his head, pressing his forehead against Seungcheol’s with a smug smile.

“I mean the river, not me.”

“I’m talking about the river,” Seungcheol defended himself, embarrassed. Jeonghan chuckled and pressed his lips to Seungcheol’s. Then, he rested his head on his shoulder and kept swinging his feet, placing his hand over Seungcheol’s that was still on his thigh.

“Cheol... how did you feel the first time you saw me?” Jeonghan asked after a few minutes of silence. “Was it love at first sight like it was for me?”

“Love at first sight when you had already been attending school for two months?” Seungcheol teased. Jeonghan let out a low whine, and the older finally sighed, kissed Jeonghan’s head, and responded, “You already know, why do you want me to say it?” Jeonghan murmured something very softly, he couldn’t hear it well, but he understood something: “just say it”, and he couldn’t help but feel filled with Jeonghan’s presence there. “Even when you weren’t looking at me, I was already looking at you.”

“Really!?” Jeonghan pulled away from him and looked at him with his big eyes wide open, shining. Seungcheol brought his hand that wasn’t being held by Jeonghan to his cheek and caressed it, trying not to melt when Jeonghan leaned into his touch.

“How could I not look at you? You were the most beautiful person I had ever seen,” he smiled, remembering the first time he saw Jeonghan walk through the classroom door and be introduced to his classmates.

Jeonghan looked sad and uncomfortable that day, wearing his uniform perfectly and his black hair tied in a ponytail. It was too long, and Seungcheol knew they would send him to cut it. Everyone in the classroom, boys and girls alike, watched Jeonghan move to his seat with curiosity, whispering among themselves. Seungcheol almost lost his breath when he saw Jeonghan sit in the row to his right, just a few seats ahead of him. From there, he could see his profile perfectly. Jeonghan seemed very shy, and although many people approached him to talk, he always responded in a tiny voice and with sweet smiles. Seungcheol couldn’t blame the people who wanted to be near him, as he seemed as beautiful inside as he was outside. But he never dared to talk to him, even though Jihoon told him he should; he preferred to ignore Yoon Jeonghan’s existence so as not to hurt his own heart. Oh, but after two months, all of this crumbled when Jeonghan joined his circle and showed him as much love as Seungcheol gave him.

“Me? But you’re a thousand times more handsome than me,” Jeonghan said, pouting, which Seungcheol leaned in to kiss. The innocent kiss quickly became not so innocent when Jeonghan sat on Seungcheol’s lap to deepen the kiss further.

“No, it’s dangerous,” Seungcheol pulled away, though he really didn’t want to. But it was true, it was dangerous; Jeonghan could lose his balance and fall into the river, and he might drag Seungcheol along with him. “And we’re outside, anyone could see us…”

“There’s no one around here,” Jeonghan started planting wet kisses all over Seungcheol’s neck, even nibbling on it a few times.

“Jeonghan, we’d better go back home and…”

“What are you willing to do for me, Cheol?” he asked seriously out of nowhere, stopping his kisses to look at him. Seungcheol looked into his eyes, hypnotized. Jeonghan’s arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, and Seungcheol had to wrap his arms around Jeonghan’s waist to keep him from falling. “Tell me, Seungcheol.”

“Anything,” he answered against Jeonghan’s lips, not taking his eyes off his.

“Like what?” Jeonghan kissed him again. This bold Jeonghan was nothing like the shy Jeonghan he once knew, but he didn’t mind; he loved this Jeonghan more because this was the real one. “Would you kill for me?”

“Of course… I’d do anything for you, really.”

“Then why are you afraid?” with one hand, he caressed Seungcheol’s chest and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. “If I fall into the water, you’ll fall with me. If someone finds us, we’ll be together… you’re not alone, why don’t you take the risk?”

“But why here? We can wait until we get home and…” he placed a hand over Jeonghan’s, which was still unbuttoning the shirt. Jeonghan just smiled at him.

“What if we die before we get home?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“We’ll leave this world with the regret of not giving ourselves to each other one last time,” he kissed Seungcheol’s collarbone before finishing unbuttoning the rest of his shirt.

“That doesn’t make any sense, Han… you’re just saying that because you’re horny,” Seungcheol laughed, running his hand through Jeonghan’s soft hair. But the look he received from his boyfriend…

The look Jeonghan gave him was chilling.

“What if I die tomorrow? Or in two, three days? Then you’ll regret for the rest of your life rejecting having me one last time.”

“What are you talking about? Are you sick? Is something wrong? Why are you suddenly talking about death?” he immediately worried, but Jeonghan just smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“I’m just kidding…” he began unbuttoning his own shirt, lowering his gaze to his fingers as they struggled with the buttons. “What I mean is that… nothing is guaranteed, so we should act in the moment.”

“But why here outside? Don’t you think it would be more comfortable at home, love?”

“At home…” Jeonghan took off his shirt and placed it to the side. “It wouldn’t be as special or beautiful as here.”

“Is it a fetish or a fantasy?” Seungcheol smiled sideways, caressing Jeonghan’s bare back, who shivered at his touch.

“Something like that,” he replied, resting his forehead on Seungcheol’s shoulder for a few seconds before starting to cover it with kisses. “Or rather… a dream.”

“To fuck outdoors? That’s your dream?” Jeonghan faced him, smiling again, and shook his head.

“To be like this with you, alone, with no one else around…” he kissed his cheek. “It’s all I could wish for in my last days.”

“Last days?” Seungcheol tried to pull away, confused, but Jeonghan didn’t let him, pulling him back for a kiss.

“Don’t pay attention to me.”

He died three days later.

Seungcheol opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Why had Jeonghan acted like that? No… did that day even happen like that? Wasn’t Seungcheol’s mind altering his memories? He curled up on the mattress, shrinking as much as possible. Lately, all his memories of Jeonghan had been strange, why? He wouldn’t be able to sleep thinking about it.

Chapter Text

"Seokmin, I appreciate you a lot and I thank you for many things, but I won't give you what you want," the man took a drag on his cigarette and then exhaled the smoke.

Moon Taeil, a former client of Seokmin who now worked in the prison cafeteria. He was bitter and pretended to be grateful to Seokmin, although it was all a lie. Seokmin knew that Taeil harbored resentment towards him for not winning a lawsuit. As if that was Seokmin's fault! In the first place, Taeil had been one of his first clients when he was just starting out; being so young and inexperienced... there was no way he could have done a perfect job on such a complex case. Anyway, after that, Taeil went bankrupt and got a job in the prison. And Seokmin, feeling a bit guilty, would visit him from time to time during his shifts. He just wanted to act like a "friend" even though neither he nor Taeil believed that story. The truth was, Seokmin just wanted to have connections in all the prisons possible in case he ever needed something. Finally, the day came, but it wasn't going very well.

"Is it even allowed to smoke here?" Seokmin asked, wrinkling his nose, but Taeil took another drag and blew the smoke in his face. The lawyer coughed a couple of times, but he couldn't get angry, so with his best face, he spoke, "Come on! I promise I won't tell anyone!" Seokmin insisted, trying to take his hand, but the man pulled away and got up from the metal chair, laughing.

"As if I would believe you."

"How much did Taemin pay you? I can pay you more!" he followed Taeil as he began to walk away.

"Are you sure?" Taeil looked at him over his shoulder and laughed again, "I doubt it... it's not something you can pay with money."

Seokmin tilted his head, confused.

"No? What the hell did Taemin promise you?"

"It's not a good idea to talk about it with a lawyer, I hope you understand," after saying that, Taeil left, leaving Seokmin standing in the hallway with even more questions than he had initially.

Alright, if he got nothing from Moon Taeil, maybe the next person would be more helpful.

"How do you even know it was me who got him out of the cell!? Did the camera catch my face!?" the young man on the other side of the glass shouted. Seokmin tried to calm him down, he'd been trying for minutes, but it wasn't working. The boy kept screaming and cursing. At one point, he got up from his seat and started banging his forehead against the glass, frustrated.

"Enough!" Seokmin had to shout, and finally, Yeonjun sat down and breathed, head down. "No one knows it was you, I recognized you because... well, I've known you for years, it's easy for me to do so."

Choi Yeonjun, although only twenty-three years old, was supposedly a criminal who had been wanted for years, and now that he was caught, he was sentenced to seventy-two years in prison for his charges, which included: fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking, attempted murder, and arms trafficking. To Seokmin, it was almost inconceivable that someone as foolish and young as Yeonjun could have committed all that, but apparently, the young man was very cunning when it came to shady businesses. Still, to Seokmin, there was something fishy about this case; he didn't believe the fearsome "Fox" was actually Yeonjun. Maybe Yeonjun was a cover for the real criminal and was paying for his crimes while the real one continued to commit misdeeds out there. But well, that wasn't the issue that day. Seokmin had met Yeonjun when he was in high school. Yeonjun was one of those rich kids who got into trouble, so his family always contacted the then novice Seokmin for help. And although Seokmin had not worked for Yeonjun and his family for years, he still had some affection for the young man, despite all his charges that made him seem like a dangerous person.

"Are you one hundred percent sure no one knows it's me?" Seokmin nodded, tired, and finally Yeonjun seemed to pull himself together. "Ah, that's a relief. If the media finds out that I was also involved in helping Choi Seungcheol, I'll kill Taemin... oh!" he interrupted himself, covering his mouth with both hands and looking surprised at Seokmin.

"So Taemin is involved?" Seokmin pressed, seeing how Yeonjun's eyes reflected more than just surprise. It was fear.

"I mean another Taemin! Not your cousin the prosecutor, but another Taemin..."

"Yeonjun..." Seokmin gave him a sympathetic look, "you don't have to lie to me, you know I won't betray you. You can talk to me," he looked at his watch; visiting hours were almost over and he needed to get something, even if it was something small, before going back home. "Don't be afraid, I won't let you get hurt."

Yeonjun gave him a look that seemed like that of a little kid. A scared kid, who just needed to hold on to something, or someone. Was Yeonjun really "the Fox"? This seemed more and more impossible to Seokmin.

"Taemin promised that they would reduce my sentence if I did what he asked," Yeonjun said in a very low voice. "You know how I have no chance to appeal? He said he would make it possible after seven years. Now I just have to wait, and I'll probably get out of prison early to be with my family again, and not when everyone is already dead..."

And after telling him that, he started to cry. Seokmin looked at him with pity, but without finding the right words to calm Yeonjun's pain. It was obvious that Taemin had tricked him, but there were still more things there. Yeonjun was too innocent to be a criminal of the level of "the Fox." After a few minutes where only Yeonjun's sobs were heard, Seokmin decided to ask:

"Is it really you?" A guard opened the door behind Yeonjun, and Seokmin just looked at him. "Yeonjun... you're not 'the Fox', are you?"

"Visiting time is over," said the guard, lifting Yeonjun from the chair.

"See you, Seokmin," was all the young man with swollen eyes replied before leaving with the guard.

Ah, but that look he gave him... was the answer Seokmin needed. The answer that confirmed everything. Now what was he going to do? If he had the information but no evidence, how could he get everyone to distrust Taemin if there was nothing to back it up?

A few days passed after all that, and there he was, in a café with his beloved Joshua and Wonwoo, telling them about his misfortunes. He had Joshua's hand on his shoulder, and meanwhile, Wonwoo kept asking question after question that Seokmin was tired of answering.

"But if Choi Yeonjun isn't the creepy criminal... who is?" Wonwoo asked. Seokmin sighed and looked at him, exhausted. It was the third time Wonwoo had asked the same thing. But instead of answering, Seokmin just breathed to stay calm and not throw his coffee cup in the officer's face.

"He already told you he doesn't know, idiot. Can’t you hear?" Oh, that's why Seokmin loved his precious and adorable cotton candy, aka Joshua. Without saying anything, Joshua already knew what Seokmin wanted to say. Or maybe Joshua was also tired of Wonwoo's questions? That was another possibility. But Seokmin preferred to think that his connection with Joshua went beyond that, to the point where their minds connected and became one; it seemed more romantic to him.

"No need to be so rude, rotten garbage" Joshua looked at him, offended, and Wonwoo took a sip of his juice as if he hadn't just insulted him.

"And I'm the rude one?"

"I don't know who the third person who helped Seungcheol escape is, but it must also be someone Taemin owes something to," said Seokmin, interrupting the small fight the other two were about to start. "The third person isn't the problem, the lack of evidence is."

"Always the damn lack of evidence..." Wonwoo murmured.

"Yes... Yeonjun and Taeil owe Taemin loyalty, so they won't go around saying things that would hurt him; talking is a risk for them too," Seokmin frowned, angry at Taemin for being a slippery rat and at himself for not being able to get much.

"If there was any recording showing Taemin visiting Yeonjun, or any proof that he met with Taeil to talk..." Joshua said, and at that moment, a lightbulb went off for Wonwoo.

"Taemin wouldn't be so stupid as to go in person himself," with that, he slapped his hand on the table as if he was making a bet. Joshua and Seokmin looked at him, fed up, but Wonwoo smiled as if he was about to give "the revelation of the century." "We could find something in Yeonjun's call records in prison."

"Oh, sure, that would be a great idea if we weren't dealing with Lee Taemin," Wonwoo made a face of disgust when Joshua practically rejected his idea, making the detective feel just a little bit angry... who are we kidding, Joshua wanted to hit Wonwoo, but he wouldn't because they were in a public place and he was going to behave like a decent person in front of his beautiful Seokmin. "If he already deleted the recordings that would reveal the route the car took when Seungcheol got in, what makes us think he doesn't have the records of the call or calls he had with Yeonjun? If they even communicated through that medium, of course."

"We also can't assume that Taemin is perfect," Seokmin intervened. "With so many pieces of evidence he has to eliminate, he must have missed something, right?"

"Exactly!" Wonwoo agreed with Seokmin (something very rare). "Since you got involved with Joshua, it's like you swapped brains and now he's the dumb one and not you," he said sweetly, to which Seokmin could only laugh. "It wouldn't hurt to request Yeonjun's call records, we might find something interesting."

"Well, but for that, we need a judge's order," Joshua spoke again.

"And that's where Seokmin comes in; he'll do us the favor of getting one," Wonwoo replied with a smile.

"I'm sure it doesn't work that way... you already got into trouble for doing things wrong. It's better that if we're going after Taemin, we do it openly, and you two with the respective permission of your superiors," Seokmin tried to reason with them, but both Joshua and Wonwoo shook their heads.

"Commissioner Im is very close to that man and let him take over our case in the first place, I'll never trust her," Wonwoo said. "Besides, she's determined that we forget everything related to Choi Seungcheol and Lee Jihoon."

"But if you're caught working on another secret case, the penalties will be worse, Wonwoo," Seokmin tried again. "Did you enjoy a month without working and without pay?"

"Honestly speaking... yes."

Of course, there was no reasoning with Wonwoo, so Seokmin turned to Joshua and gave him the most pathetic pleading look he could muster, hoping it would be enough to convince him.

Spoiler: it wasn't.

"This time Wonwoo is right, honey," Joshua said as if it pained him to utter those words. Dramatic. "All we want is to achieve genuine justice, not the fake justice that Taemin achieved for the victims at the expense of others' work. We want to bring peace to the families and also be recognized for our efforts, even if just a little. In the end, that's what every non-corrupt police officer desires."

"You almost died because of this case, Shua... are you really willing to be in danger again?" Seokmin looked really worried, and that made Joshua's heart race, he had to hold back his urge to kiss him right there. Wonwoo looked disgusted.

Joshua smiled tenderly at his boyfriend and took his hand over the table.

"Seok—"

"Alright, time to go!" Wonwoo interrupted abruptly before he could say any sappy nonsense. "Seokmin, get up from that chair and go to work, you need it." Seokmin didn't even have time to be offended because Wonwoo turned to Joshua. "And you, look for a way with Minghao to access the recent call records that the supposed 'Fox' had in prison." After, in short, sending them to work, Wonwoo stood up from his seat. The other two followed suit, still a little shocked.

"Are you leaving already?" Joshua asked, and Wonwoo nodded. "Are you going back to the station? Let me go with you then."

"No, I have something to do," Wonwoo stopped him. "I have to go now, goodbye!"

Seokmin and Joshua watched him until he left the café, then looked at each other, a bit confused.

"What could be so urgent?" Seokmin asked without expecting an answer. Joshua shrugged.

"As long as his desperation isn't to get to some video game competition early, it's fine, I guess."

Chapter Text

Wonwoo gave a brief glance at his wristwatch and then looked at his destination across the street. The competition started in three minutes, the traffic light would change in about twenty seconds, and if he ran from one end of the street to the other, it would take Wonwoo about seven seconds. Entering the cybercafé, finding an available seat, logging into a computer, and accessing his account would take Wonwoo...

The traffic light changed. Two minutes left. Wonwoo smiled and was about to start running. Sweat dripped down his forehead. The cybercafé was so, so close, just a few steps away. Wonwoo just had to run and cross the street, and he would make it in time.

"Officer Jeon?" Wonwoo froze.

He turned around out of curiosity, not because he thought they were talking to him. Praying they weren’t addressing him. The video game competition was about to start, so under no circumstances should anyone be talking to him, or else he’d lose the in-game rewards. If he missed the competition, all his efforts would go to waste, and he’d have to wait weeks for another competition to open. Besides, he wasn’t even wearing his uniform, and there were probably thousands of "Officer Jeon" in the country. He only turned around because he was curious to hear this suddenly, and...

"Jaehyuk?"

The young man's eyes lit up, and he nodded, approaching Wonwoo.

"It really is you!" Jaehyuk said, excited. He looked older, much older than when Wonwoo last saw him, but he still had that air of innocence and the same vibrant tone of voice. It seemed as if many more years had passed than actually had, and at the same time, it felt like no time had passed at all. "Are you busy today?"

"Well..." Wonwoo looked at the clock again. One minute left. Jaehyuk blinked, expectant. "Actually..."

"Really? Do you want to have coffee with me?" the boy didn’t let him finish. Wonwoo looked at the traffic light and the cybercafé across the street again, and then back at Jaehyuk. "There’s a good coffee shop nearby."

Wonwoo gave in and went with Jaehyuk; it had been years since he’d seen the boy, and in the end... he could compete another day. As long as the café Jaehyuk was taking him to wasn’t the same one he had just left... and of course, Jaehyuk took him to the same café Wonwoo had just left.

"Are you in college now?" he asked Jaehyuk when the young man had finished ordering and sat down at the same table where he had been sitting minutes earlier with Joshua and Seokmin. The boy looked every bit like a student, carrying a backpack slung over one shoulder, wearing loose clothing, and having a face that seemed like he wanted to cease existing.

"I’ll start later this year," he replied. Wonwoo nodded, unsure of what else to say. I mean... what could he talk about with him? When he was working at the other station and saw that kid almost daily, he could at least listen to Jaehyuk's life troubles and give some advice, but now that it had been years since he last saw him, no conversation topics came to mind. Apparently, Jaehyuk didn’t feel the same way and had a lot to say. "You know they found my uncles' remains, right?" his expression turned somber. "All these years, I kept hoping they just left the country, that they decided to disappear voluntarily... although everyone in the family quickly accepted they were dead..." the young man's voice broke. "Everything fell apart in our family when they decided to move to this city... if they had stayed in the town, my cousin would never have met that monster. Everyone would be alive."

"Jaehyuk..." Wonwoo sighed, looking at the boy with pity. Another thing that hadn’t changed was the tragedy in his life. Wasn’t he too young to suffer so much?

"Prosecutor Lee gave me a box of my uncles' belongings," the boy continued. "But most of the things were my cousin's. I know it’s not right to go through other people's things, but the owners of all those things are dead, so I thought: why not? Why worry?"

Wonwoo would have laughed at that if Jaehyuk weren’t crying uncontrollably. He really wanted to give the boy some comfort, or at least pay for some therapy sessions. Since he met him, Jaehyuk had seemed like a careless young man. How was it possible for a fifteen-year-old boy to have no friends his age and only have a friendship with an older cousin? Sure, it was possible, and he didn’t doubt that the relationship between Jeonghan and Jaehyuk was genuine and similar to that of an older brother with a younger one, but Wonwoo still found the immense affection the younger one had for the older one strange. It was as if Jaehyuk had never received love until Jeonghan came along.

And if that’s what happened? What the hell was going on in the Yoon family?

"But why did the prosecutor give you those things? No... how did he get all that stuff in the first place?" Wonwoo didn’t want to turn his conversation with Jaehyuk into an interrogation, especially not when the boy was opening up, but there were simply details he couldn’t overlook.

"I don’t know, he just came to my apartment and handed me a box with their stuff. There were objects I remember seeing at my uncles' house the last few times I went, and other things I also remember seeing at Jeonghan's house," he paused to wipe his tears with a napkin. "There were some notebooks; they were like my cousin's diaries. The dates ranged from when he moved to this city to shortly before he died. I never thought an adult man would have a diary, but he..." Jaehyuk smiled a bit. "Ah, Jeonghan loved documenting his life in writing. I thought about returning the diaries to the prosecutor, maybe they could contribute something to his investigation-"

"Don’t do it!" Wonwoo almost shouted, startling Jaehyuk. "Sorry... just don’t, Lee Taemin isn’t what he appears to be; he’s totally different. You shouldn’t trust him too much." Jaehyuk seemed to accept this quickly and nodded. "I... sorry if it bothers you, but can I know what was the main content of the diaries?"

"See for yourself," he pulled a notebook from his backpack and handed it to Wonwoo. He took it with some hesitation, feeling like he was disrespecting Jeonghan by reading private things, but as Jaehyuk had said before, there was nothing to worry about anymore.

He flipped through some pages, seeing how Jeonghan's handwriting became more disordered and unstable with each diary entry.

"I hate myself. I hate myself for hating myself but I can’t stop. And I don’t just hate myself, I hate everyone too."

Well, that was a strong start. Wonwoo raised an eyebrow and looked at Jaehyuk, trying to understand a bit, and the boy moved seats to sit next to him and explain everything in detail.

"The date on this is from fourteen years ago... he was seventeen," Jaehyuk indicated, and Wonwoo understood a bit more about that Jeonghan. It was normal for a teenager to say those things, especially after going through a big change he was just experiencing.

"In this disgusting city, everyone is a pretentious piece of shit. People only want me for what I can offer, not for who I am. Most only talk to me because I’m good-looking, but no one cares about what I say. When I say something they don’t like, they just say, 'don't talk, Jeonghan, you look better when you’re quiet'... I look better when I’m quiet? Well, I should kill myself then, right? Or no... then they’d be very sad because the prettiest person they’ve ever met died so young. What a shame."

“How did Lee Taemin get this?” Wonwoo flipped through some pages until he found another entry from a few months later.

"I hate them all, I hope a tractor falls on everyone who is mean to me. Especially my parents. I don’t like wishing harm on others, but my parents could be swallowed by a shark and I wouldn’t care. In fact, I would even pay a shark to eat them. They’re bad, really bad, so bad that the villains in dramas don’t compare. Or am I the bad one for thinking this way about them? No… or maybe? I don’t know. First they drag me to this horrible city and away from my grandparents, Jisoo, and my other friends, and then they don’t let me visit my aunt and Jae. I hate them so much."

Another entry from a few days later:

"I haven’t seen Jae in two years… he’s probably grown a lot, who knows? Maybe he knows how to read and write now. What if he forgot about me? It’s impossible, I promised him I would be his big brother even if we live far apart. But it’s still possible he forgot me. It can’t be. I refuse to be forgotten. I don’t want Jaehyuk to forget that I will always be his big brother, I don’t want Jisoo to forget that I will always be his best friend, and I don’t want my grandma to forget that I’ll be the best grandson she’ll ever have. If they forget me, what’s the point of living? Even if you’re alive, if you’re forgotten, it’s the same as being dead.”

“Jeonghan wasn’t okay,” Jaehyuk said.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Wonwoo replied, flipping through the pages. Damn, he didn’t know Jeonghan, but just reading those pages made him want to give him a hug and tell him he had a bright future ahead. Although well…

"Suicide is off the table: I met the love of my life. Why hadn’t I noticed Seungcheol before? He’s beautiful. So beautiful that I want him all to myself. I don’t know what I’ll do if he's dating someone. No, he’s a loser, why would he date someone? He should be the one worrying, I mean, what will he do if I'm dating someone? Will he get jealous? No… does he even care about me? Well, he said he feels sorry for me, so he must have some feelings for me. I think. I don’t care, now I’m sort of his friend. And also Jihoon’s. He’s very adorable”

That was an abrupt change in Jeonghan, Wonwoo thought.

“What about his adult diaries?” Jaehyuk pulled out another notebook from his backpack and handed it to Wonwoo. This notebook looked newer than the previous one, but at the same time, it showed signs of wear, confirming it had been kept for some time.

Most of the writings in this notebook were much shorter, but no less heartbreaking.

"Cheol told me it’s impossible to love someone if you don’t love yourself. I don’t agree with him. After all, I love him more than anything and hate myself more than anything."

"I thought that as I grew up my relationship with my parents would improve…”

"Why do I only feel life is worth living when I’m with Seungcheol?”

"I can’t stand this. I can’t stand being separated from him. Every time I’m alone, I feel like I might do something bad.”

“A week before his death, he started writing about Jisoo, his best friend from the village, and how they were slowly rekindling their friendship, but then…”

“His mother died and Jeonghan planned a visit that never happened,” Wonwoo finished, and Jaehyuk nodded, somewhat surprised. “You see, Jaehyuk, this Jisoo you’re reading about is one of my best friends,” he said proudly. There were few pages with written content left, so he skipped ahead to the last few.

“This was three days before,” Jaehyuk told him.

"Good things seem like an illusion, or a dream, while bad things feel like stabs. Everything is so ephemeral, and although they say that’s what makes things beautiful, I don’t believe it. Why can things go from good to bad so quickly? Can’t good things last longer? I’ll go for a walk with Seungcheol this afternoon. And everything will be fine as long as I’m with him, but why do those moments have to be so short? If I could spend my whole life by his side, I wouldn’t hesitate to do so. And he wouldn’t hesitate to be with me; he promised me eternity. Even so, although we’ll enjoy the afternoon, when I get home everything will be the same. That emptiness will return the moment Seungcheol goes to sleep. Why does it have to be this way? Why can’t my happiness be more lasting? Nothing is eternal, you can’t be happy forever, so what’s the point of being alive? If suffering is constant, it’s impossible to enjoy a good life. With death lurking at every moment, why should we go on? Isn’t it simply better to cease to exist? My only motivation to stay alive is Seungcheol, but sometimes…”

“Hey, Jaehyuk… do you think that he…” Wonwoo didn’t finish, but Jaehyuk seemed to understand and sighed.

“I don’t know… I’d like to think he didn’t, but reading these things…” and again his face had that expression of sadness that Wonwoo knew all too well. “I want to believe it was an accident, it would hurt less to think that way.”

“According to medical records, it was an accident,” Wonwoo confirmed. “Or at least, it was categorized as such, but… well, it’s not like I’m a mental health expert or anything.” He moved to the last written page.

"Yesterday I told Seungcheol that I planned to visit Jisoo for a month; he got very angry about this and left the house for hours. Why did he react that way? I just want to help my friend. And I want to stop being alone. It’s not easy for me to be alone all day at home. If I’m with Jisoo and my cousin, my mind will be occupied. But it would be better if Seungcheol came with me… Today I’ll tell him again. I hope he doesn’t get angry. If he gets angry, I’ll get angry too, and we’ll say horrible things to each other like yesterday. If that happens again, I don’t know what stupid thing I might do."

Wonwoo frowned. If that had been the last thing Jeonghan wrote, what could have happened later that day? Had he had another argument with Seungcheol?

“I don’t know the details, no one ever told me anything,” Jaehyuk’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “All I know is that in the early hours of the next day, the monster he was engaged to took him to the emergency room and Jeonghan… he passed away, my uncles donated his organs, and that was it. Neither I nor anyone else in our family knows anything more. And most of the things we know are because of the news. If my cousin took his own life, or if Choi Seungcheol took his life… I don’t know if I could bear it.”

Wonwoo doubted a bit that Choi Seungcheol was capable of physically harming Jeonghan. After all, he had killed people for Jeonghan, even though that didn’t make sense. The relationship between Seungcheol and Jeonghan seemed stranger with each new revelation, and although Wonwoo and the others didn’t doubt that the love began as something pure, over time, it had drifted far from that definition. The dependence they seemed to have on each other was odd, and reading Jeonghan’s diaries, Wonwoo only wondered how no one noticed. Was Jeonghan too good at hiding all his dark feelings, or did no one care? Did Seungcheol even know that Jeonghan’s entire life since he moved had felt like a disgrace to him? Apparently, Jeonghan only had brief moments of happiness before sinking back into a pit. It was unfortunate.

“Jaehyuk, can I take these diaries to Lee Jihoon in prison? I’d like to hear his opinion on this.”

“Can’t you make them public, Officer Jeon?” the boy questioned. “If the content of the diaries reaches Choi Seungcheol wherever he is, it might affect him and make him turn himself in. If he knew he hurt Jeonghan unconsciously, maybe… maybe the little humanity he has left would come to the surface, and he’d decide to face the consequences of his actions.”

To Wonwoo, Jaehyuk lived in a fantasy world. How could he still see any goodness in Seungcheol?

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to make the content public, Jaehyuk. Many people out there hate Jeonghan for absolutely nothing. They blame him for what Seungcheol did, and although technically, he committed those crimes ‘for Jeonghan,’ the responsibility shouldn’t fall on him.” He closed the notebook and placed it on top of the other. “They call your cousin a manipulator, and some people say it was all a plan by both of them… something ridiculous.”

“Why do they say those things!? Jeonghan was a good person! He’s not to blame for anything,” the young man exclaimed, upset. Not knowing how to console him, Wonwoo simply gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

“You knew him, the people following the case didn’t. The wrong ideas they have about what Jeonghan was like could increase if they read his diaries. That’s why it’s better that no one outside Jeonghan’s circle reads them.” Jaehyuk nodded with a lost look in his eyes. Wonwoo watched him closely, feeling even more pity for him. “Lee Jihoon might know something we don’t. Is it okay if I let him have the diaries for a while?” he asked again, and Jaehyuk finally agreed.

“Do whatever you think is necessary, officer.”

Wonwoo took those words very seriously.

Chapter Text

A USB memory stick was on Joshua's desk that morning. He had arrived early, as usual, encountering Chan making coffee at the coffee machine and Minghao beside him, having a conversation. After greeting them, Joshua sat at his desk and there he found the small purple USB memory stick. His first thought was that it belonged to Wonwoo, but he immediately dismissed the idea because the officer wasn't one to leave his things lying around. He was really curious about what the memory stick contained, but at the same time, he couldn't trust it. It could be some malicious file that would ruin his computer if he plugged it in, or it could simply be something that someone else had lost at the station.

He decided to ignore it for the rest of the morning and started catching up on his pending work. He got lost in the paperwork, in all the reports he had to review and all the investigations he had to conduct, that he didn't realize hours had passed and that Chan had been trying to get his attention for a few minutes until the officer got fed up and yanked his ear.

"Joshua!" Chan yelled at him, and Joshua immediately moved away, bringing his hand to his aching ear. The young man gave him an exasperated look. "Finally, you're paying attention! Were you asleep with your eyes open or what?"

"I was just really focused," he replied, still rubbing his poor ear. "What do you want?"

"I was asking if a USB memory stick also suddenly appeared on your desk, because Hao and I each received one," Chan said, dragging his chair closer to Joshua. "Both memory sticks have a single document, and both documents are brief investigations into shady dealings involving Lee Taemin. The document on the memory stick I received is about an investigation into the prosecutor's alleged connection to a drug trafficking network, and the document on the USB Minghao received outlined an investigation against the prosecutor for corruption."

"Oh... yeah," Joshua murmured, dazed, searching the desk for where he had tossed the memory stick to show it to Chan. When he finally found it under some papers, he handed it to the younger man. "This was here when I arrived this morning."

"Did you connect it to your computer? What was the document like?"

"Uh, I haven't connected it yet," Chan just looked at him, as if he were calling him an "idiot" in every language that existed. Joshua smiled, a little embarrassed, and took the small purple USB back from his hands to finally, after much hesitation, connect it to his work PC. A folder with a single document titled "Lee Taemin is..." loaded. Joshua double-clicked to open the document.

"Oh... it's much longer than the others," Chan mentioned, getting even closer to Joshua to see the computer screen better.

The document contained some evidence implicating Taemin as "the Fox." It seemed to be an old investigation that went nowhere after someone else was arrested for supposedly being the real criminal. Some of the evidence were text messages, which had yet to be verified as actually belonging to Lee Taemin, as well as security camera recordings showing a blurry but somewhat recognizable figure in some of the locations where "the Fox" allegedly met with his associates and delivered his goods. The figure looked a lot like Taemin, and those images were definitely never shown in Yeonjun's trial when he was convicted of being "the Fox." Other pieces of evidence were anonymous testimonies that Joshua wasn't going to read at that moment.

"What is all this?" the detective asked aloud, frowning. "Where did they get all this information?"

"The most important question is: who sent us this information? I mean... besides us, who else knows we want to dismantle everything Taemin has built on lies? No one!" Chan exclaimed.

Minghao opened his office door and poked his head out, calling the other two inside.

"It's better if we talk in here," he said once Chan and Joshua had settled on the office couch. "I found out the cameras outside have microphones. That's how Commissioner Im knew we secretly opened the Seungcheol case in the first place," he explained. "Honestly, we were stupid; we should have met at Wonwoo's house from the start, but well, that's not what I want to talk about now," Minghao cleared his throat and looked at them quite seriously. "The only other people who might guess what we're planning against Lee Taemin are him, of course, and Commissioner Im. And we know neither of them would help us ruin Taemin's career, so who is helping us?"

"It clearly can't be Taemin, and that only leaves the commissioner, but at the same time, it makes no sense," Joshua said. "She told us to stay out of this!"

"It could be a trap," Chan spoke up. "Maybe she's giving us information to see what we do with it..."

"You mean she wants to keep us under surveillance?" Chan nodded at Minghao's question, and he tilted his head slightly, stroking his chin. "That would make some sense, but it's still strange..."

"Hey!" Seokmin suddenly appeared in the office, and the three agents looked at him in surprise, not expecting to see him there. "My assistant handed me an envelope when I got to my office this morning. Inside was this," he showed them the USB memory stick in his hand. "It has a document attributing some murders to Taemin, along with some evidence."

Minghao asked for the flash drive and connected it to his computer; the others gathered around him to see the screen. The document on Seokmin's USB was even longer than the others, with many more pieces of evidence and written testimonies.

“Was there anything else in the envelope besides the flash drive?” Joshua asked his boyfriend, who shook his head.

“The information looks legit, should we proceed with our plan?” Everyone looked at Minghao, who was looking back at them expectantly. Chan glanced at Joshua, who looked at Seokmin, but he just shrugged, and Minghao sighed. “We have to do something!” he exclaimed. “We can see this as a gift from some deity so we can finally lock up Lee Taemin.”

Chan still looked reluctant but said nothing.

“If Seokmin received a USB, it’s likely Wonwoo did too. When he arrives and checks what he received, we can decide together,” Joshua said, and everyone nodded in agreement, finally stepping away from Minghao’s desk. “For now, let’s get back to work.”

Chan returned to his station, and Minghao settled into his chair to “rest his eyes,” which was an excuse to nap. Joshua accompanied Seokmin to the station's parking lot, walking beside him with their hands intertwined.

“Let me know when Wonwoo arrives,” Seokmin said, turning to face Joshua. The older man nodded briefly, and Seokmin took a few short steps to get closer to him. Joshua squinted because the sunlight hit his face directly, making Seokmin laugh at the cuteness of his expression. “Ah... I don’t want to go,” the lawyer complained, pouting. Joshua gently kissed his lips.

“You have to work, Seokmin,” he whispered, then kissed his cheek. “Let’s not waste more time, we’ll see each other later anyway,” he assured him, but Seokmin still wore that sad expression, as if he was saying goodbye to Joshua forever. Too dramatic and clingy; he and Joshua were a perfect match. Joshua cupped Seokmin’s face, placing his hands on his cheeks, and kissed his forehead, smiling as he pulled away.

“Don’t you want to come with me to my office for a few hours?” Seokmin almost pleaded, and Joshua laughed, shaking his head.

“I have to work, and so do you,” he said firmly, laughing even more when Seokmin huffed. “Goodbye, Seokmin, see you in a few hours, okay?”

“Yeah...” Seokmin murmured, disheartened, but he still didn’t let go of Joshua’s hand. They stayed silent for a few seconds, just looking at each other, until Joshua smiled, ready to turn back to the station. That’s when Seokmin, as a farewell, brought Joshua’s hand to his lips and planted a kiss on the back. “Goodbye, Shua,” he sang, and Joshua rolled his eyes, wearing that affectionate smile he usually had around Seokmin.

“You’re so cheesy,” he gave Seokmin a light tap on the shoulder before heading back to the station without looking back because if it were up to them, they’d spend all day saying goodbye in the parking lot.

Seokmin smiled and watched Joshua until he saw him enter the station. Humming a song, he walked to his parked car and searched his pockets for the keys. When he looked up, Lee Taemin was there, leaning against his car with a crooked smile.

“Hey, cousin.”

“Gosh, you scared the crap out of me!” Seokmin jumped back and placed a hand on his chest. “What are you doing here?” he asked, trying to control his breathing. Taemin exhaled a laugh and looked at him.

“I’m always around here... the strange thing is seeing you here, you hadn’t come for months,” the prosecutor pointed out.

“Of course not, I come every night to pick up my boyfriend,” Seokmin replied, frowning when Taemin feigned surprise. “What do you want? You never talk to me unless you want to mess with me.”

Taemin walked around the car until he stood beside Seokmin. He placed his hand on the hood and seemed to think for a moment before answering his cousin.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Seokmin, and let me tell you something: don’t even try,” he said menacingly, looking directly into his eyes. Seokmin shifted uncomfortably. “You won’t get anywhere anyway,” he added, patting Seokmin’s head as if he were a dog.

Seokmin got into his car and started it, lowering the window. Taemin stepped away to let him drive, but before doing so, Seokmin asked him to come closer to the window, and he did.

“We’ll see about that, cousin,” he smiled brightly and sped off. Taemin just watched the car leave and smiled, putting his hands in his pockets and rocking on his feet.

Seokmin was... interesting.

Chapter Text

When Wonwoo arrived at work, just as night was beginning, a scene quite similar to what Joshua had experienced that morning played out. However, unlike Joshua, who had left the USB drive in his desk, Wonwoo immediately plugged his it into Chan's computer without asking the younger man. He wouldn't risk his own computer with a potentially dubious device. He sat in Chan's chair as if it were his own while Chan was in the bathroom, and when he returned, he crossed his arms upon seeing Wonwoo invading his workspace.

"What do you think you're doing with my computer?" Chan asked. Wonwoo tapped the USB drive connected to the computer with his index finger, directing Chan's attention to it.

"This was in my desk, so I want to see what's inside," Wonwoo said, opening the document that had loaded: "Lee Taemin is...". He raised an eyebrow and began reading the document quickly, Chan leaning over and placing a hand on Wonwoo's shoulder to read along.

"Ah, yes, we all received USB drives with a document titled the same way, including Seokmin. All the documents are different; the one I got, for example, was an investigation linking Lee Taemin to a drug trafficking network."

"I see..." Wonwoo nodded, still reading the document. "You don't know who left us this nice gift?"

"No," Chan replied. "We were waiting for you to finally decide what to do; whether to use these investigations to our advantage, since they have everything we need to go after Taemin, or let it go, as it could be a trap from Commissioner Im."

The fifth document, the one Wonwoo had received, was the longest of them all and contained absolutely all the evidence proving Taemin was a liar. All the work done by Wonwoo and the others was there, including how Taemin had taken credit for the investigation they had done on Seungcheol. The document gave credit to everyone who had actually investigated and confronted Seungcheol and Jihoon, even mentioning the incident where Seungkwan had been threatened at the restaurant. Most importantly, the document contained strong evidence that Taemin had helped Seungcheol escape. While it didn't provide the current whereabouts of that man, it did include high-quality images from all the security cameras tracking the car's route. The evidence that Taemin had "eliminated" was all there.

They read through the document multiple times, "hiding" in Minghao's office, even Seokmin was there again. Then they compared the documents each of them had received. Minghao was at his computer, with Chan and Seokmin practically hovering over him, theorizing beyond what was written in the documents. Wonwoo and Joshua, on the other hand, were standing in a corner trying to organize the documents, which they had printed out, in chronological order, arguing in the process because they couldn't agree. They concluded that all the documents had too many similarities, starting with the fact that the title of all of them was the same, and the writing style was also similar, which could mean that one person had done everything.

And that person was waiting for them all to be gathered at the station to reveal themselves.

"I see everyone has read the documents," Chan almost shrieked at the sudden voice and quickly turned towards the office door.

"Should we act surprised or what?" Wonwoo muttered, earning a light smack on the head from Joshua.

Yoona let out a delicate chuckle and shook her head at his comment, finally stepping into the office.

"I understand you might be confused about receiving those USB drives," she said, pacing around the room, turning her back to them to straighten the slightly crooked frames on the wall. "I always insisted that you stop investigating and getting into trouble..."

"And what made you change your mind now, Commissioner?" Wonwoo interrupted, and Yoona smiled. She observed the frames now straight on the wall and turned to face the group.

"I realized that you were right all along. Besides, you have every right to want to expose Taemin," Yoona said, sounding honest. Still, they looked at her with distrust. "I made a mistake by believing and defending him. That's why these past few months I've been gathering information about him and compiling those reports," she took a few steps closer to them, looking at them fondly. "You are all very dedicated, and you've worked very hard..." she looked at Joshua as she said this, causing him to look away, feeling both uncomfortable and embarrassed. "I made many mistakes and didn't act as I should have, letting myself be swayed by a friendship that in the end... was fake. Feeling betrayed is the worst, you know that, and I was betrayed by someone I thought was my best friend. More than a colleague or ally, Taemin was family to me," she sighed, looking somewhat lost but then seemed to compose herself. "I don't want you to feel betrayed by me. On the contrary, I want to be a source of trust. And although I have let you down, I would like you to give me a second chance and really let me show you that I can be a good boss."

Yoona hoped she had touched their hearts with her words, and it seemed she had, because they all stopped looking at her strangely. Chan was even smiling at her; no... Chan looked like he was going to cry. Wonwoo had even stopped frowning, which was incredible, and the detectives seemed to be analyzing what she had said. The only one who looked and felt out of place was Seokmin, who seemed to have an invisible question mark floating around him.

"Excuse me, ma'am... but how exactly did Taemin betray you?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"In many ways, Mr. Lee, starting with helping such a dangerous criminal escape. That goes against my principles," Yoona replied. "I know in the past I've done things I'm not proud of, and that's why I would like to apologize and make it up to you with all that material. I won't hold you back anymore, you have permission to do whatever you want with that information."

Everyone agreed, and Yoona showed them a genuine smile. For the first time, Commissioner Im seemed human and approachable.

“But why don’t you expose Taemin yourself, ma’am? I mean, whatever you say would carry much more weight than anything we say,” Wonwoo asked.

“I don’t think it’s my place to do that. Not after helping him so much and putting so many obstacles in your way,” Yoona replied. “You’re some of the best officers and detectives I have... I’m sorry for underestimating you.”

“Thank you for trusting us, ma’am,” Joshua bowed, and the others followed suit from their spots. Yoona smiled one last time and whispered, “Good luck” before leaving the office. As the door closed, Joshua leaned against the wall and exhaled all the air he had been holding in. “Damn, she’s clever...”

“Ah, so it turns out the commissioner is also a good actress,” Wonwoo laughed, leaning against the wall next to Joshua. Minghao looked at them and sighed, wondering why they didn’t sit on the empty couch.

“A good actress? More like a good liar,” Chan scoffed. “I think I managed to fool her with my charming face,” he batted his eyelashes exaggeratedly, making Seokmin burst into a loud laugh.

“We can’t complain either, she practically gave us what we were missing. Now we can start with this,” Minghao said.

“Taemin’s downfall has already begun... I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited!” Seokmin squealed. “I’ll finally have some peace; I think I need to thank Commissioner Im with a dinner or something for this great help.”

“Oh, please, you piece of crap, don’t be stupid,” Wonwoo snorted. Seokmin rolled his eyes and looked at him, crossing his arms, but nobody missed the little “hey!” from Joshua and the stomp he gave Wonwoo to defend Seokmin. “That woman is just using us to get something. In any other situation, she wouldn’t have lifted a finger.”

“I think we’re all aware of that, Wonwoo,” Seokmin continued, trying to ignore Wonwoo’s mocking. “Anyway, she’s helping us, and we’re helping her... indirectly,” he smiled broadly again, looking really like a sun, or so Joshua thought as he watched him and also smiled like an idiot. “It’s a win-win situation. She doesn’t interfere, and we don’t interfere, done.”

What Seokmin said was true. Maybe it was time to take the easy path. They had gone through a lot because of Choi Seungcheol and now Prosecutor Taemin. That help was very welcome.

“I’m still curious about what she is plotting,” Minghao leaned back a little in his chair. “As long as it doesn’t affect us, it’s fine, I guess.”

“Well, I guess it’s time to overwork Jun without pay,” Wonwoo said, then exclaimed something like “Yay!” or “Hooray!” and Minghao joined in, clapping with a face that seemed like he wanted to laugh but didn’t quite manage to because he was embarrassed. “If Lee Taemin doesn’t fall with this, I don’t know what will make him fall.”

“The ultimate way to stop him would be to kill him...” Chan murmured, looking perhaps a bit too serious. When he realized everyone was looking at him like he was crazy, he laughed and waved it off. “Just kidding.”

“Umm... yeah... anyway, what should we start with? There are too many accusations,” Seokmin walked over to Wonwoo and Joshua’s corner, looking at them expectantly.

“Should we drop the light stuff first? Or should we drop a bomb right from the start?” Wonwoo suggested.

“Lee Taemin letting Choi Seungcheol escape, that will be the first release,” Minghao spoke again. “Seokmin could finally get the testimony of the kid who was arrested for being ‘the Fox,’ but keeping everything anonymous, plus the images of the car and the information Commissioner Im added to the document.”

“Jun should get ready for the job,” Wonwoo said excitedly, “and you too, Hao, you’ll have to listen to him complain twenty-six hours a day for helping us.”

“A day has twenty-four hours...” Chan said in a low voice.

“I’m not an idiot, Chan, thanks,” Wonwoo cut him off and looked back at Minghao. “Remember to be a good husband and give him oral support, I mean moral support.”

“Gross...” Seokmin and Joshua said in unison, along with the disgusted face Minghao made.

“Don’t pretend, we all know what you all do at home,” Wonwoo attacked them, as usual. “Except for Chan... Chan only has himself... how depressing,” Wonwoo made a face as if he were sad for Chan, and the latter opened his mouth, offended, about to shout something stupid. But he didn’t; he wasn’t going to humiliate himself any further.

“Why do ninety percent of conversations with Wonwoo turn into something sexual?” Joshua sighed and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Are you very frustrated? Is that what’s happening?”

“Aren’t you the frustrated one? Be honest, Joshua,” and suddenly, the brave detective Hong was scared. Maybe he shouldn’t have spoken to Wonwoo in the first place. “How long has it been since Seokmin fucked you?”

And there was silence... for about three seconds.

“Who says Seokmin fucks me?”

Oh...

“Oh...” someone said. Maybe everyone said it at once, who knows; Joshua was too busy chasing a very embarrassed Seokmin out of the office, yelling, “Honey, wait, don’t leave without me!” to know who it was.

“Did you see their ears? They were red.”

Chapter Text

The first bomb had been dropped, and it was only a matter of time before it exploded. Sure, the process would be facilitated by the bots Jun had created, but they wouldn't get far if real people didn't interact with the posts.

"Prosecutor Lee Taemin... is he a fraud?"

Joshua smiled, looking at the post, which compiled some of the information from the original case and the evidence provided by the commissioner. "... Prosecutor Lee Taemin vilely stole the case from four agents directly related to Choi Seungcheol: Officer J., Officer L., Detective X., and Detective H." That part had definitely been written by Wonwoo. "Not to mention the great efforts of Lawyer L., who..." and that part had definitely been written by Seokmin. With every fragment he read, Joshua realized that the entire post had been written by his partner and his boyfriend.

«But this is just the beginning. At eight o'clock tonight, we'll reveal more juicy information about the prosecutor's corruption. Stay tuned!»

The bot comments were a gem; some were quite extensive and made sense, while others were surprise emojis or things like, "What!? No way!", "I can't believe it! How could the prosecutor be so treacherous!?" and "I always got a bad vibe from him." Joshua just hoped all this would be enough for the public to open their eyes and for Taemin to be locked up.

He closed his laptop and left it on the desk in his room just as his doorbell rang. He wasn't expecting anyone, so he was even more confused as he went to see who it was. His expression softened when he opened the door and saw Seokmin leaning against the door frame.

"Hi!" Joshua smiled at the greeting and stepped aside to let Seokmin in, who leaned in for a kiss before entering. Joshua closed the door and followed Seokmin to the living room. "Did you read the post yet?"

"Yeah," Joshua replied, laughing, "I think Wonwoo and you could have taken it a bit more seriously instead of using it as a venting session, but I still think it's enough."

Seokmin smiled, a bit embarrassed, and held Joshua's hands in his.

"We tried to be as blunt as possible," was his silly excuse, and Joshua laughed again. "Whatever Hao and Chan write will probably be similar," Seokmin pouted, and Joshua looked at him, endeared. "I'm serious; no one has more to say than those two."

"Sure... anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming today."

"I told you I was coming!" the younger exclaimed, playfully punching Joshua's shoulder. "Were you not paying attention or what?" he gave him an accusatory look. The detective shrank a little.

"Of course I pay attention to you, I just... I don't know, maybe I was too immersed in the article thing," he excused himself, clearing his throat. "Anyway, I needed to talk to you." Seokmin looked a bit surprised by the abrupt change of topic but nodded slowly and sat next to Joshua on the couch.

They didn't say anything for a few seconds, just looking at each other, trying to decipher what the other was thinking. Seokmin was really scared by this; he started to think he had made some mistake and that Joshua now hated him and wanted to break up with him, which was ridiculous because everything was fine a second ago. So... what did Joshua want to talk about, and why was he suddenly so serious? Could it be something work-related? Though that didn't convince Seokmin much either, because they had just had a conversation somewhat related to work. Joshua seemed to be searching for the right words before saying something, and he even leaned back against the couch, thinking. Seokmin's desperation increased with each passing second. What the hell was his boyfriend going to tell him? Feeling a bead of sweat roll down his forehead, Seokmin placed his hand on Joshua's knee to get his attention.

"What is it about?" he asked, desperate. His anxiety was slightly calmed when Joshua looked at him with confusion.

"It's nothing very serious, calm down." Seokmin didn't get the chance to sigh in relief because Joshua didn't allow it with his next words. "Well, it is something serious..." he pressed his lips into a line, looking away at the ceiling for a few seconds before returning his gaze to Seokmin. "What do you consider 'something serious'?"

"Uh..."

"Now I'm starting to regret this a bit," Joshua let out a nervous laugh and ran his hand through his hair, "how about you forget this and... we kiss or something?"

"No!" Seokmin exclaimed, surprising Joshua and surprising himself by rejecting kisses. He didn't want to reject the kisses, he really didn't, but now he was anxious and curious. Though curiosity killed the cat... well, Seokmin thought at least the cat died satisfying its curiosity. "Whatever you need to say, just tell me, don't be afraid."

Joshua didn't look convinced. His expression screamed, "I don't believe you," and that made Seokmin's poor chicken heart beat wildly, desperate, scared, excited...

"No, I've thought about it, and I don't think it's a good idea," upon hearing this, his beautiful boyfriend looked angry. His mere look felt like a threat to Joshua's health and integrity, so after swallowing all the fear that this unusual side of the "human sun" he had as a partner gave him, he was ready to speak. "Uh... do you want to move in with me?"

Really? That's it?

Wait... that's it!?

"What?"

"What? Don't you want to move in with me?" Joshua also asked. Still stunned, Seokmin mumbled a few things before organizing his thoughts and responding.

"Really?" he asked in a small voice. Joshua nodded, and Seokmin felt his eyes sting. The older immediately worried and leaned in to hug him, still sitting. Seokmin pouted and gently hit Joshua's chest with his fist. "So soon? Are you sure?"

"Yes, why not?" he cupped Seokmin's face in his hands, caressing his cheeks with his thumbs. "I think it would be better if we were together in one place, don't you think?"

"I mean... what will you do if you stop liking me?" Seokmin felt embarrassed saying that; a tear slid down his cheek, and he laughed, wiping it away with the back of his hand.

"Don't say that, I love you," he kissed the young man's forehead, whose crying intensified. "It's been that way for years, Seokmin, I won't stop loving you." He released him only to hold him in his arms, Seokmin resting his cheek on Joshua's shoulder.

"It's just that many couples fall apart when they move in together, I don't want that to happen to us," he murmured, closing his eyes when he felt Joshua's hands stroking his hair.

"That doesn't mean the same will happen to us, darling," Joshua said, soothingly. "But if you don't want to move in with me, I'll accept your decision; everything will be fine as long as you feel comfortable."

Seokmin pulled away from Joshua enough to see his face while still being hugged by him. His cheeks were red and wet.

"Why are you so good? What did I do to deserve you?" Joshua laughed and kissed his lips. "I do want to live with you, I just don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"You won't."

There was no way Seokmin could ever make Joshua feel uncomfortable; to him, Seokmin was perfect. Seokmin's tearful eyes closed a bit as he smiled and melted back into Joshua's arms, letting go of all the anxiety he'd built up in the last few minutes, instantly relaxing in that position. Both of them felt such fullness and warmth in their chests that it seemed almost unreal. How was it possible to feel so good with someone? Wasn't this just a dream? Loving someone so much and feeling so loved wasn't just a silly fantasy created by movies, was it? It simply felt like they were destined to be together; nothing in their lives had ever felt so right. Just looking at or touching each other was enough. And maybe they were moving too fast or too slow, but they didn't care. They felt good being together, and that was all that mattered; the time they had spent together meant nothing.

•••

Minghao stared at the scheduled post on his screen, his fingers itching, craving to click the "publish" button right then, and it was taking all his self-control not to. There were only two minutes left before it would be automatically posted. Even so, the urge to post early wouldn't go away.

The plan was working somewhat well. The forum had reached real people, and although the opinions in the comments and reposts were divided, thanks to the bots, the comments against Lee Taemin were more than those in his favor. Some people were very confused, while others claimed it was all a malicious article aiming to slander Taemin. Which wasn't entirely untrue, but the prosecutor deserved that and much more. Besides, they were just starting with the defamation, and they wouldn't stop until the man's career and life were in shambles.

Jun was having fun creating the bots, even though he had thrown a half-hour tantrum because, according to him, "it was too much work." He changed his mind when Minghao threatened to hire a nurse to take care of him and watch over him during all the hours he was out working. Anyway, from where Minghao was, sitting on his bed with his laptop on his legs, he could hear Jun's laughter from the next room, which was his office, while he made up more stupid things for the bots to say. Either that, or he had simply abandoned his responsibilities and was browsing social media. If that was the case, Minghao would hire the nurse, and nothing in the world would make him change his mind, not even Jun's pleas. But, well, he'd deal with that later because the most anticipated post (at least for him) had just been published.

"Prosecutor Lee Taemin: Wolf in sheep's clothing"

That title was clearly not his idea but Chan's... that wasn't relevant at the moment.

«Solid evidence of Prosecutor Lee Taemin's corruption has been revealed. Recently provided documents from an anonymous source show that the prosecutor not only helped Choi Seungcheol escape but also manipulated evidence to cover up his actions.

As stated in the previous post, Prosecutor Lee Taemin directly intervened in the case, usurping the work of four agents closely related to Seungcheol. With this move, he not only stole the credit but also manipulated the narrative of the case for his own purposes.

But this is not all. The documentation includes security camera footage detailing the route of the car in which Seungcheol escaped from the place of his escape to his disappearance. These images, of surprising quality, were supposedly deleted by Taemin, who ensured they never saw the light of day. However, these 'deleted' files have been recovered and are now available, showing an unprecedented abuse of power.

The most alarming aspect is the clear manipulation of evidence. It has been discovered that the prosecutor deleted key evidence and created a false trail to divert attention. Among the deleted evidence are call records, video recordings, and official documents, all of which will now be exposed by us.

Although the current whereabouts of Choi Seungcheol have not yet been determined, these revelations make it clear that Prosecutor Lee Taemin has been operating with impunity and corruption. We eagerly await possible legal action against Taemin, who, until now, had been seen as a defender of justice.

It would be satisfying to end everything with this and wait for him to be arrested, but apparently, the prosecutor never has enough of his criminal acts and always feels the need to commit an even worse one. On Monday at five-thirty in the afternoon, we will bring to light more shocking information about Lee Taemin—don’t miss it!»

The post also contained all the images and some excerpts from the original document provided by Commissioner Im, which could increase the credibility of the people who came across the forum.

Views were rapidly increasing, as were the comments from both bots and real people. There were so many interactions in such a short time that Minghao could no longer tell which comments his husband had created and which were from people eagerly awaiting the new post.

Not even fifteen minutes had passed when Minghao received a call from Seokmin. Somewhat excited, he answered:

"What do you think of the post?" he asked without greeting or waiting for his friend to say anything.

"It's excellent... what’s not so excellent is that now my cousin is very angry and wants to meet with all of us as soon as possible."

That damn prosecutor.

Chapter Text

They opened the door to Taemin's office and entered one by one. The prosecutor's smirk irritated everyone. He looked so carefree, as if his career wasn't on the line. Seokmin knew it was all an act because during the call he had with his cousin an hour earlier, he had dropped his mask of indifference. Wonwoo was the first to take a seat. Joshua, Minghao, Seokmin, and Chan remained standing, hoping they wouldn't have to stay there long.

“What do you want?” Wonwoo broke the silence, but Taemin didn't even flinch. He simply gestured towards the four black chairs in front of his desk and waited for the others to sit down before speaking.

“What do you think you're doing?” The boys looked at each other, confused. The prosecutor laughed at their reactions and then turned completely serious. “I'm not playing. What do you think you're doing? No... the question is: do you really think you're going to achieve anything?”

“Apparently, we are. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so desperate, prosecutor,” Wonwoo said. Taemin fixed his gaze on him, his fingers tapping on the desk.

“You don't actually think you have more influence than me, do you?” He tilted his head, looking at each one of them for a few seconds. When he received no response, he smiled. “If you tell me who gave you the information, I'll be more lenient with you…”

“Are we fucking criminals for you to be ‘more lenient’ with us?” Wonwoo asked, then let out a mocking laugh. Joshua, sitting to his left, rolled his eyes and discreetly stomped on his foot, but it didn’t stop the officer. “We don’t want anything from you. We just want to get back what’s ours, and if we have to ruin your career to do it, don’t doubt it.” He stood up, glaring at Taemin. “We won’t waste our time with you.”

“You should work with me,” Taemin stood up as well, maintaining eye contact with Wonwoo. “I will do whatever it takes to keep my position. Don’t think I won’t get rid of a few useless bugs.”

“Are you threatening us?” Seokmin asked, still seated. Taemin glared at him. “I think you don’t understand, Taemin. You’re already ruined. Nothing you do or say will change what the world thinks of you. You made a mistake thinking we were your only enemies.”

Taemin examined them, crossing his arms as he pondered what to say for a few seconds.

“Was it Yoona? Did she help you?”

“Do you really think the other person responsible for us losing our investigation would help us?” Minghao was convincing enough to save the situation before the silence of the others could give them away. “You got carried away with your skills and thought you erased all your traces, but you didn’t, and now we’re exposing you. It’s not hard to figure out, prosecutor.”

For the first time in a long while, Lee Taemin seemed truly embarrassed. His ears turned red as he tried to maintain his composure, though his anger and humiliation were evident. Swallowing his pride, he nodded a few times before collapsing into his chair again.

“I see…” he said, pulling something from his desk drawer; it was a folder filled with papers. “If you had cooperated, I would have given you everything you needed to find Choi Seungcheol’s whereabouts. But since you refused…” he sighed, disappointed. “I can’t help you. You will never solve the case without my help.”

“It’s not necessary, but thanks for your concern, prosecutor,” Chan said before the others could even think of a response. He stood up and waited for the others who were still seated to do the same. Without taking his eyes off Taemin, Chan smiled and bowed. “We’ll see you at your trial, sir.” With that, he left the office, and the others followed under the prosecutor’s watchful gaze. Wonwoo was the last to leave, and before closing the door, he waved goodbye to his enemy. Taemin looked at him expressionlessly until the door was fully closed.

To celebrate the beginning of the end of Taemin’s career, they all went to Wonwoo’s house for dinner (against his will). They forced Mingyu to cook and also invited Jun and Soonyoung. The doctor seemed happier and more relaxed these days; Chan suspected he had reconciled with Jihoon. Speaking of Jihoon, Chan really wanted to visit him and thank him for cooperating so much over the past months, but he was too embarrassed to do it. Everyone had visited Jihoon, even Wonwoo, who brought him some of Jeonghan’s diaries that left the prisoner crying for hours and mumbling things to himself like, “Why couldn’t I help you?”... poor guy. The thing is, if Chan had seen Lee Jihoon’s face after he was imprisoned, it was always for case-related matters, but now he wanted to visit him as a “friend.” This felt strange to him because he never had a close relationship with that man and limited himself to admiring him from afar. Soonyoung sat next to Chan and confirmed what the younger man was thinking.

“I got back together with Jihoon,” he said in a low voice. “After you lectured me, I thought things through and realized you were right.” He smiled, ruffling Chan’s hair with his hand before taking the bottle of soju that Minghao offered him.

Chan angrily put his hands on his head, trying to fix his hair with his fingers, but as he watched Soonyoung drink and laugh at some nonsense Wonwoo said, he smiled, happy for him.

“I’m glad, doctor,” Chan replied belatedly. Soonyoung looked at him again and smiled, also happy.

Seokmin entered the kitchen, putting on an apron and ready to help Mingyu cook. The young man looked him up and down and shook his head, holding a wooden spoon in his hand.

“Don’t come into my kitchen.”

“Excuse me!? I’m going to cook too!”

“You don’t know how to cook, Seokmin!”

Seokmin snatched the spoon from him and pointed it at him, looking quite determined… and threatening.

“Let me make noodles... you'll regret saying that.” Mingyu laughed, mocking him, but nodded, stepping back with both hands up so his ex wouldn't hit him with the spoon.

“Fine, I’ll let you embarrass yourself,” he left the kitchen cautiously, not turning his back on Seokmin. The lawyer continued to threaten him with the spoon until they were far enough away, then Seokmin started to take out ingredients to cook and finish what Mingyu had started. The nurse sat at the table next to Wonwoo.

“What are you doing here?” Minghao asked, opening a bottle and placing it in front of him.

“Seokmin insisted on cooking... I couldn’t even finish the stew I started because he threatened me with a spoon,” he replied. Everyone laughed at him for this.

“You're really an idiot...” Minghao muttered, sitting next to Jun, across from Wonwoo.

“You let yourself be threatened by a spoon?” Soonyoung asked Mingyu, his words slurring a bit. He already looked a little drunk, with his cheeks turning color and his smile not fading.

“Seokmin is scary,” Mingyu said seriously. Everyone laughed at him again. “I'm serious!” he looked at Wonwoo, expecting him to defend him, but his husband just kept laughing. Mingyu sighed, “I hope you all laugh at Seokmin when he brings his food.”

“Actually, Seokmin is a good cook,” Joshua said. All eyes turned to him, incredulous. “It's true, he usually cooks at home.”

“Ooh, ‘at home,’” Chan teased. “You’ve only been living together for, what, three hours?” Joshua's smile faded, and he gave Chan a dirty look, but Chan just smiled back sweetly. The news of Seokmin and Joshua moving in together had spread quickly because, on their way to Taemin's office, Joshua had excitedly said he had asked his boyfriend to move in with him. Wonwoo joked that Seokmin had probably started crying, and when Minghao said, “I assure you,” from his driver's seat, Seokmin admitted it. Now that event was another joke for the group of friends, and it would be a long time before they stopped teasing the couple about it.

“Seokmin hasn’t even moved in yet... they're just living together in name,” Minghao added.

Joshua rolled his eyes but smiled again, amused. Very happy to be there among everyone, feeling that closure was finally approaching. Although catching Choi Seungcheol was still everyone's plan, the target now was Taemin, and they were already where they had longed to be.

“By the way, what happened when you met with the prosecutor? You haven't told us anything,” Jun asked, curious. “Did he say anything about my bots?”

“He didn't say anything about your bots, unfortunately, Junnie,” Wonwoo replied. Jun pouted; then his cute bots hadn’t gotten the recognition he wanted for them, what a shame. “But, what he did do was threaten us and ask us to work with him.”

“To work with him?” the doctor repeated, slurring his words again, surprised. The bottle in his hands slipped, but Chan caught it before it fell to the floor and placed it on the table, away from Soonyoung's trembling hands.

“Yeah, he even rubbed it in our faces that we'll never find out where Seungcheol is without his help,” Joshua said. The doctor scoffed, shaking his head.

“If you still haven't found him, that means he's dead.” Although what Soonyoung said could be just a comment from a half-drunk guy, the others really took it into account.

“Could be,” Jun said, nodding. “If he's dead, we'd be more at ease, right, Chan?” the officer also nodded.

“Although I don't think Choi Seungcheol died so quickly. He must be planning something from his hideout,” Minghao grimaced at what Chan said, and suddenly, there was silence. The only thing they could hear was Seokmin moving around the kitchen, possibly making a mess, or at least that's what Mingyu thought.

They remained silent for long minutes, each thinking that what Chan had said made some sense. What were they going to do with Seungcheol? If even the FBI was now involved, searching for him by land and sea, they couldn't do much as mere agents in an ordinary police station. Minghao took a sip from his bottle, ready to say something to break the awkward silence, but Seokmin beat him to it, coming out of the kitchen with a big bowl.

“I’m here!” he placed the bowl in the middle of the table. “This is the stew Mingyu started... honestly, it didn't have much flavor, so I fixed it.”

“Liar,” Mingyu scoffed, serving himself a bit. He filled his spoon with stew and looked at it for a few seconds with doubt before bringing it to his mouth, hoping not to be poisoned. The taste was surprisingly good, so much so that he couldn't control his expression, and Seokmin smiled, satisfied.

“Didn't you say I couldn't cook?” he crossed his arms, expecting an honest apology from the young man.

“You've learned a bit,” was all Seokmin got from him, and then Mingyu continued eating. Seokmin chuckled and shook his head, going back to the kitchen to make noodles and who knows what else.

“I know we agreed to ignore this, but... aren't you still curious about what Commissioner Im is planning against Taemin?” Minghao finally said. Still eating, the guys looked at him, giving him their attention. “Apparently, it doesn’t affect what we’re doing in any way; still, I’d like to know what it’s about.”

“From how things are going, I suppose we’ll find out soon,” Joshua told him, convinced of this.

“Can you imagine if it turns out to be something that puts us at a disadvantage or ruins what we’ve achieved?” Chan asked. Absolutely everyone, even Seokmin, who came out of the kitchen just for this, looked at him wearily. “What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“You’re too negative!” Jun complained, kicking under the table.

“Chan, don’t talk again,” Wonwoo sentenced, to which Chan could only smile innocently, shrinking a bit in his chair.

Chapter Text

An hour before the next article was set to release, Lee Taemin would be making a statement to the press in a conference room. And of course, Joshua and Wonwoo would be there to hear his lies. The others decided to watch the conference from the station.

“Does he think he’s a celebrity?” Wonwoo asked Joshua, arms crossed, watching the podium where the prosecutor would speak, behind all the journalists and cameras focusing on him. The conference room was packed, making it a bit difficult for them to get in, but they had managed and were now waiting for Taemin to show up.

“It’s somewhat similar,” the detective replied to his partner, watching as Taemin walked to the podium, looking completely serious and even a bit angry. Joshua smiled; he had a feeling that afternoon would be quite entertaining.

“Good afternoon everyone,” Taemin began speaking into the microphone with a firm voice. The murmur in the room ceased and the camera flashes intensified. “I am here today to address all the allegations that have been circulated over the past week about my supposed involvement in Choi Seungcheol’s escape.” He paused and glanced over the journalists waiting expectantly. “I want to be clear and unequivocal: all the allegations against me are completely false. I have not committed any acts of corruption nor have I manipulated any evidence in any case.” He took a deep breath. “I have dedicated my career to the pursuit of justice and serving the community with integrity. The allegations that have been published are nothing more than malicious attempts to defame my name and divert attention from the real criminals.”

A murmur of conversation began to spread among the attendees. Joshua watched as Wonwoo covered his mouth to hide his laughter, which made Joshua chuckle quietly as well.

“I wonder who these ‘real criminals’ he mentions might be,” the officer murmured, “or how he plans to refute evidence as clear as what we have published.” Joshua shrugged, turning his gaze back to the prosecutor who was raising his hand to ask for silence in the room. When all the murmurs ceased, Taemin cleared his throat before continuing with his statement.

“I also want to emphasize that the ‘leaked’ documents and the supposed security camera images that have been presented in the media have been fabricated.” The sound of camera clicks filled the room as journalists captured every gesture of Taemin. “I will not be intimidated by these attacks, and I will continue to work tirelessly to serve justice. I am now ready to answer some questions.”

Immediately, several hands went up. Taemin pointed to a journalist in the front row. The woman raised her microphone towards him, with a young assistant next to her frantically scribbling in a notebook.

“Prosecutor Lee, how do you respond to the accusations that you personally intervened in the collection of evidence in the Choi Seungcheol case and his escape?”

“As I mentioned, these accusations are completely false,” Taemin responded. “The accusations of evidence destruction are unfounded and will be refuted with facts.”

“What facts?” asked the journalist next to the first woman. Taemin’s gaze turned to him. “Prosecutor Lee, what facts?”

Taemin sighed.

“The facts are supported by the official records of all the evidence collected in the Choi Seungcheol case,” Taemin replied, remaining calm. “These records show that all evidence was handled according to established legal protocols. Additionally, I have documents and witness testimonies that corroborate the integrity of the process.” He pointed to another journalist.

“What do you have to say about the statements from the officers and detectives mentioned in the articles? Has there been any retaliation against them?”

“There has been no retaliation against any officer or detective. These rumors are part of the same smear campaign. We have worked together on numerous cases and have always maintained a high level of professionalism and ethics.”

Both Joshua and Wonwoo struggled to contain their laughter. Noticing this, they both turned to look at each other.

“Oh? We’ve worked on numerous cases with Lee Taemin? Why can’t I remember any?” Joshua asked sarcastically, making Wonwoo laugh discreetly to avoid drawing attention.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because we’ve never actually worked with him,” Wonwoo continued. “His statements are giving us quite a bit of material for future articles, don’t you think?” Joshua agreed with a nod. “Though he’s well-prepared, we have to give him that.”

“No matter how well-prepared he is, what we have is enough... and he keeps talking about having evidence to support his claims, but why doesn’t he present it? It’s his word against the concrete evidence we’ve provided in the articles,” Joshua spoke just for Wonwoo to hear. “He’s already lost, he just doesn’t want to admit it.”

“Prosecutor Lee, don’t you think holding a press conference an hour before a new article against you is published reflects poorly on you?”

Taemin took a moment before responding, his gaze fixed on the journalist.

“I understand how it may appear from the outside,” he said. “However, the reason I decided to speak with you now is to directly confront the lies before they cause more confusion. My intention is to be transparent and face these accusations as they arise, not to hide.”

“But it took you a week, why not declare on the day the first article was published?” asked the same journalist. Taemin looked at her for a few seconds before answering.

“The time I took was necessary to gather all the information and evidence needed to counter the accusations,” Taemin responded firmly. “I wanted to ensure that every statement I make today is backed by verifiable facts. Acting hastily without proper evidence would have been irresponsible on my part.”

A journalist further back in the room raised his hand, and Taemin pointed to him.

“Prosecutor Lee, what measures are you taking to protect your reputation and the integrity of your office in light of these accusations?”

“We have initiated an internal investigation to identify the source of these defamatory attacks. We are also working closely with the authorities to ensure that those responsible for fabricating false documents and spreading misleading information are brought to justice. My office and I are committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethics and transparency,” Taemin replied. With that, he stepped away from the microphone, indicating that the Q&A session was over. “Thank you all for your time and attention,” he said before turning and leaving the room, leaving behind journalists who continued to murmur and take notes frantically.

Joshua and Wonwoo also left and returned to the station; Minghao was no longer there, as he had to accompany Jun to a hospital appointment, and Seokmin had to go to work. So when Wonwoo and Joshua arrived, only Chan was there, who greeted them with a small preview he had posted just ten minutes before the new article was published.

«Prosecutor Lee, why don’t you provide more details about these documents and testimonies you mentioned? When will they be available for public review?»

The comments under that short post were more than they had imagined. Hundreds of people were mocking Taemin and his statement, pointing out that many of his claims lacked foundation, just as Wonwoo and Joshua had discussed during the press conference.

“I’m glad to see that there are people with their eyes open,” Chan said, scrolling through the comments. “God, I can’t wait for the article you wrote with the lawyer to be published,” he told Joshua, who glanced at his wristwatch.

They heard footsteps approaching, and everyone looked toward the entrance to their workspace. It was Commissioner Im, smiling.

“Hello,” she greeted, walking up to Chan. “Did you see Taemin’s statement?”

“Yes… what do you think, Commissioner?” Chan asked, curious.

“Honestly, it was amusing… I really never thought Taemin could lie with such confidence,” she replied.

“And are you going to do something about it?” Joshua asked, trying to clarify his doubt. Yoona looked at him and seemed to seriously consider her response before answering.

“Yes, but don’t worry, before I act, I’ll let you finish what you’re doing,” she admitted.

“What will you do, ma’am?” Wonwoo asked this time.

“It’s a secret,” was her reply. Wonwoo sighed and nodded, resigned. “You’ll find out soon enough anyway… well, I just wanted to see you for a moment. I’m leaving now,” she said as she departed from the area.

“Well, that’s a relief, isn’t it?” Chan looked at the others.

“Yes, it is… I still want to know what she’s going to do,” Joshua said.

“Maybe it’s something crazy,” Wonwoo speculated. “The commissioner is really a box of surprises.”

•••

“Is Lee Taemin ‘The Fox’? Yes.”

«We have identified Prosecutor Lee Taemin as ‘The Fox,’ the criminal behind numerous offenses, including fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking, murder, and arms trafficking.

Suspicious dialogues have also been discovered, implicating Taemin in coordinating criminal activities. Although these messages have not been fully verified, their content is highly incriminating. Because… why would Prosecutor Lee Taemin be talking to the person who was already arrested as ‘The Fox’? Why were there so many calls to this young man in prison in the days leading up to Choi Seungcheol’s escape?

Does this mean that Choi Yeonjun is a scapegoat? At twenty-three, he was sentenced to seventy-two years in prison for a list of serious charges. However, doubts arise about his true guilt. Could Yeonjun have been just a cover, taking the fall for the crimes of someone more powerful and cunning like Lee Taemin? The evidence presented suggests a disturbing reality, questioning the integrity of Prosecutor Lee Taemin and raising suspicions about possible manipulations in other cases under his supervision.

We now show images of Taemin in key locations linked to the criminal activities of ‘The Fox.’ These recordings were mysteriously omitted in Choi Yeonjun’s trial. Also, statements from people who claim to have seen Taemin at clandestine meetings and participating in criminal activities.

It is sad that someone so beloved by our country could be capable of doing all these things. What will Prosecutor Lee say now? How will he defend himself when the evidence is so clear? Please, readers, don’t be swayed by whatever he says. These pieces of evidence are real and proven by the authorities.

And there’s more, much more, but sadly, we can’t show it all in a single post. So, wait until Wednesday! You’ll see that Lee Taemin might disappoint you even more.»

Chapter Text

The months seemed to fly by for Seungcheol, and while he felt his life was changing with every passing second, his desire for revenge remained, beating somewhere in his mind. He tried to ignore these thoughts, but doing so would also mean ignoring Jeonghan, and... achieving Jeonghan’s eternal rest was his only motivation to stay alive. There were days when Seungcheol didn’t even have the strength to get out of bed and go to work because he missed Jeonghan so much, which was ridiculous because even though his fiancé was always on his mind, since he went to Barbados, it was even harder to distract himself.

Especially after doubts about Jeonghan’s death had arisen. He hated to imagine terrible things, but... what if Jeonghan had really taken his own life? It seemed impossible. His Jeonghan would never be capable of causing him such pain. Ridiculous. All Jeonghan had wanted was to marry Seungcheol and spend the rest of his life with him. He wouldn’t be capable of...

“Thinking about Jeonghan again?” Jimin’s voice brought him out of his trance. The young woman was fixing a fishing rod, sitting beside him on the sand. Seungcheol sighed and nodded, lying back and covering his eyes with his forearm. “I’ve never seen someone with such unresolved grief.”

“You talk too much, Jimin,” he told her.

“I hate silence,” she replied, “and I hate you calling me Jimin... for heaven’s sake, respect my new name!”

“Whatever, I don’t care,” Jimin cursed at him and threw the fishing rod on top of him. He heard her get up and leave, and he stayed lying on the sand until he remembered that he had to work that afternoon at a local restaurant.

It was a very beautiful and touristy place, so, as a precaution, he always took jobs that weren’t in the public eye because the fewer people who knew him and Jimin, the better. A week before, he had secured a job at a well-known restaurant; it wasn’t the best pay, but compared to his occasional jobs, it was like a small fortune. Seungcheol had been used to living well all his life, and being in these conditions now was not his favorite thing, so he would get enough money to at least make the beach house a more comfortable and pleasant place.

At the restaurant, he only had to help with some renovations, which was excellent because he wouldn’t have to interact with too many people or talk much. He arrived in comfortable clothes and immediately joined the other two men with whom he would be working on replacing some wooden floors on a terrace. The other part of the terrace was still occupied by some tables with customers, and it was there that he heard something he didn’t like very much. People speaking in Korean. He tried to hide his face as much as possible with his cap and continued working, but he couldn’t help glancing occasionally at these people from his country. Seriously, how fucked up did his luck have to be for those tourists to come to that restaurant on that particular day? He could only hope that if they saw his face, they wouldn’t recognize him. Though he doubted it, because the last he had heard was that the FBI was starting to search for his whereabouts, so he could be sure that hundreds of thousands of people knew what he looked like.

He breathed, trying not to panic, and moved as far away from the tourists as possible. He convinced himself that these people were probably not aware of the case, and so he continued working calmly.

“Jihoon, we need you inside,” one of the men came to him, speaking in English. Seungcheol nodded and stood up, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants before following the man inside the restaurant. To enter, he would have to pass by the table with the people he wanted to avoid, so he was very cautious. But damn his luck, because as he was passing by, one of the people got up from their chair and bumped into Seungcheol; he tried to keep his balance but couldn’t and fell to the floor.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” an older lady approached him. The others at the table also looked at them, and a young man tried to help him up. Seungcheol didn’t allow it and got up on his own, trying to escape as quickly as possible, but the lady blocked his way. “I'm sorry, young man…”

“It’s okay,” Seungcheol replied, keeping his gaze on the floor, hoping his cap was hiding his face.

“Did you hurt?” the lady asked, with a strong accent in the language, similar to Seungcheol’s. He shook his head and quickly entered the restaurant.

“Didn’t that guy look familiar?” The last thing Seungcheol heard was the man from before asking the people at the table.

He didn’t need more to escape from the place and return to the beach house. Jimin was sitting on what could be called the house’s “porch,” writing something in a small notebook. Seungcheol watched her for a few seconds and crossed his arms, waiting for her to move so he could finally enter the house. Seeing that she didn’t move, he sighed in resignation and sat down next to her.

“What are you writing?”

“A letter,” she replied. Her brown hair was blowing in the wind, and her black roots were showing. Seungcheol thought it was about time she had a haircut again, and he too, because their hair had started to grow. “I’ll go to the village later to send it.”

“Really? Can you do that?” She nodded, not taking her eyes off what she was writing. Seungcheol leaned in a bit to read. There wasn’t much of importance, it was just Jimin telling someone that she now lived in a very beautiful beach and some other things about her job. “Who are you sending it to?”

“To Taemin. I haven’t sent him one since that day.” Seungcheol didn’t want to hear more. Angry, he snatched the notebook from her hands and ran to the edge of the beach, where he threw the notebook into the sea with all his might. Jimin had come running to his side and just stared at the sea, furious, where her notebook was now somewhere; then she turned to look at Seungcheol, pushing him forcefully. “What’s wrong with you!?” the young woman shouted, consumed with rage.

“What’s wrong with you!?” he responded in the same way, holding Jimin’s arms when she tried to hit him again. “Don’t you know they can find us with that shit!?”

“They won’t!” She freed herself from Seungcheol’s grip, stepping back a few steps while continuing to glare at him. “I don’t understand you, Jihoon, everything I do or don’t do is wrong... you’re never satisfied with anything! It’s suffocating to live with you! I need to vent to someone, and Taemin is the only person—”

“Taemin abandoned you,” he interrupted her, saying each word harshly. “He left you with me on an island thousands of kilometers away, with no money and no resources.” He stepped closer to her threateningly, but Jimin did not back down and kept her head high, narrowing her eyes. “No matter how many stupid letters you send him, he’s not going to respond. Do you know why, Jimin? Because he doesn’t give a damn if you’re okay or not!” Something seemed to change in the girl’s expression. Seungcheol grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her roughly towards him. “In fact, he doesn’t care about you. If he sent you to this place with me, it’s only for one reason: he wanted to get rid of you.”

“Shut up...”

“Jimin, today I was seen by Koreans,” he let go of her and turned his back, listening to the girl take deep breaths behind him. “If that reaches the ears of more people, we’re screwed... even more so if you were sending your damn letter.”

He turned around to face the girl again. Jimin averted her gaze to the beautiful waves gently crashing against the shore and did not speak to him for the rest of the day.

This troubled Seungcheol quite a bit.

★

Seokmin's eyes widened in surprise.

“You must be joking!” he exclaimed excitedly. Joshua shook his head, feeling the same way but hiding it a little better, and hugged his boyfriend.

The cause of their excitement? The police were about to start investigating Taemin. They had finished publishing all the articles, and with so much public evidence, it would be foolish not to take legal action against Taemin. The first thing they wanted to find out was who was helping the prosecutor cover his tracks, so the first person they had put under the microscope was Commissioner Im. She didn’t seem nervous at all and cooperated fully; Joshua and the others suspected she had everything under control.

Taemin had disappeared from the public eye for weeks, and some people speculated that he was planning to flee the country. Others even claimed that the prosecutor would go to the same place where Seungcheol was.

“I was told that... ugh, why are you all like this in the middle of the station?” Minghao had returned with a coffee in his hand and looked at them with distaste. Joshua and Seokmin separated from their innocent hug and turned to Minghao, who took a sip of his coffee. “Why were you hugging? What’s the good news?”

“I was just telling Seokmin about the official investigation and all that,” Joshua said, now hugging Seokmin around the waist with one hand. Minghao noticed this and made another face of disapproval. Joshua cleared his throat. “And, what was it you were going to tell us?”

“Oh, right; I was told that they requested a search warrant for Taemin’s offices and home,” Minghao replied. “I think they’ll approve the request quickly because the case has become huge.”

“Yes, and I’m sure Taemin has much more evidence at his house,” Seokmin said. “Maybe they’ll even find a clue about where Choi Seungcheol is now!”

“That would be great...” Chan murmured, appearing out of nowhere with a steaming cup of coffee in his right hand. He looked exhausted, as he often did when working.

“And where were you?” Minghao asked the officer. Chan didn’t answer, just laughed. “And where’s Wonwoo?”

“Can we go into your office, Minghao?” The young man ignored all of Minghao’s questions and headed toward the office, leaving the three older men looking at each other in confusion. Seokmin shrugged and followed, with Joshua behind him. Minghao looked around once more, trying to spot Wonwoo but not seeing him, so he also went into his office. Chan had sat down on the couch without putting down his cup, and after taking a long sip, he placed it on the table and faced the three men who were watching him with curiosity, waiting for an answer. “I think Commissioner Im has already done her part.”

“What are you talking about? Is that why Wonwoo isn’t here?” Joshua asked. Chan nodded.

“Wonwoo is currently looking for her to ask her…”

“Chan, stop beating around the bush,” Minghao sighed. “What happened?”

“Wonwoo and I were patrolling and right in front of us, a terrible accident occurred,” the young man recounted. “We went to do our job, and the ambulances arrived very quickly, almost as if they were waiting for it to happen…” He shook his head. “Ah, everyone was dead…”

“Chan,” Seokmin sat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Can you explain yourself better?”

“A van collided with a car. Inside the van was a married couple, and in the car was Lee Taemin with his assistant.” Everyone gasped in surprise and exchanged looks.

“So, Taemin…” Seokmin began, trailing off.

“That accident… wasn’t an accident,” Chan said. “Both vehicles failed right at that moment, and the couple in the van were Choi Yeonjun’s parents.”

“What!?” Seokmin exclaimed. “But what do they have to do with this? Those people haven’t done anything wrong.”

“That’s why Wonwoo wants to talk to the commissioner… he wants to know if this is really what she was planning from the beginning,” Chan threw his head back, letting out a frustrated grunt. “Everything is a mess… more and more work when we thought we were getting out of this.”

Joshua looked at Minghao with concern, who returned the gaze.

“Do you think she would be capable of involving innocent people?” Joshua asked quietly.

“I think we all know she’s a bit crazy.”

Chapter Text

Wonwoo was sweating cold and his hands were trembling as he knocked insistently on the glass door of the commissioner’s office. He knew she was inside, just as he knew she wouldn’t open it.

“Commissioner Im, please open the door!” He cursed and stepped back a little. He felt nervous, angry, but above all, powerless because innocent people had lost their lives due to Yoona’s revenge. “Just explain to me why... why those people and the assistant? Did they do something we didn’t know about?” he asked. To his surprise, the door opened, but instead of letting him in, the woman stepped into the hallway to meet him.

“Unpaid debts,” she replied in a somewhat chilling tone.

“Ma’am, what you did… was wrong,” Wonwoo stopped, struggling to maintain his composure. “It’s not much different from what Prosecutor Lee used to do,” Wonwoo said, feeling too many things at once, but nothing positive. Yoona curved her lips into a strange smile.

“I do things my way, Wonwoo. It’s not always easy to decide what’s right.”

“I understand, but… justice was about to be served soon!” he exclaimed. “Ending the lives of the prosecutor and three innocent people in such a cruel way seems like a terrible decision.”

“Well, I only planned for it to be two innocent people. I had no idea Taemin’s assistant would be with him,” she shrugged as if she had only made a small mistake in a children’s game. “It was collateral damage, I suppose.”

“This goes against all the principles of our organization, Commissioner. It’s—”

“And what will you do about it, Wonwoo?” she interrupted, stepping toward him, causing Wonwoo to step back. “Turn me in? After all I’ve done for you? Do you really want to do that?”

“You promised that what you did wouldn’t compromise my work and the guys’,” Wonwoo’s anger started to rise. Despite being much smaller than him, the commissioner had a way of intimidating that he couldn’t ignore.

“And it doesn’t have to,” she said with a smile. “But that will depend on the decisions you guys make, especially you, Officer Jeon.” Yoona looked at Wonwoo, waiting for any reaction from him. “I haven’t been the only one who has acted ‘unprofessionally’ to solve a case.”

“This isn’t about solving a case, Commissioner! You killed three innocent people!” Wonwoo raised his voice slightly, and Yoona’s eyes widened, a warning for him to lower his tone. He cleared his throat before continuing. “Even the prosecutor had the right to a trial and to be sentenced.”

“Yes, you’re right, this is more personal,” Yoona admitted. “So, don’t get involved... I already have too much pressure from my superiors believing I helped Taemin,” she sighed. “Now, your team and you will have one less concern and can focus all the time on the search for Choi Seungcheol. How does that sound?”

Wonwoo shook his head, still not believing the commissioner’s audacity and hating not being able to do anything.

“Tell me the truth, why did you help us? How did that benefit you?”

“Do you want me to be honest?” she asked, almost mockingly. “I had Taemin keeping an eye on me and needed to get rid of him. It was fair; I gave you what you needed and you helped me distract Taemin and make him lower his guard with me. There’s nothing wrong with what happened. Taemin is no longer around to make your lives miserable, why don’t you just be glad?” Wonwoo didn’t respond. The commissioner chuckled softly and finally stepped back, allowing Wonwoo to breathe a sigh of relief. “Go on, tell your teammates the good news. Even though he’s dead, his offices and home will still be searched, and I’ll let you lead the investigation of everything,” she said. As Wonwoo was about to speak, she silenced him with a hand gesture, signaling him to wait. “That will be another gift of gratitude from me, okay? I hope you use it wisely,” she winked at the officer and re-entered her office, leaving Wonwoo speechless outside.

Wonwoo felt a knot in his stomach as he headed to Minghao’s office. Each step felt heavier than the last. He wasn’t wrong in thinking that the others would be gathered there, and when he entered, they greeted him, including Seokmin, who jumped up from the couch to go to him. He grabbed Wonwoo by the shoulders and shook him a little.

“How is Taemin dead!?” he asked. “And why did Yeonjun’s parents also die?”

“Commissioner Im…” Wonwoo sighed, brushing Seokmin’s hands off him. “She said they owed her something, I don’t know what it’s about.” Seokmin and the others looked at him, completely confused. “But she said she’ll let us lead everything related to the evidence found at Taemin’s places.”

“What will we do about it?” Minghao asked, running a hand over his head, showing some frustration. He looked at Wonwoo, who had a look of wanting to disappear from the world, and then searched for Joshua with his gaze for help.

“Nothing,” the older man said after a torturous silence. “We’ll do whatever Commissioner Im wants.”

“But innocent people died! Should we just leave it like that?” Chan protested. “She promised to take revenge on Taemin, not on people who have nothing to do with what he did.”

“And what do you suggest we do, Chan? We can’t do anything for those people; they’re already dead! We couldn’t do anything to prevent it because we didn’t know it was going to happen,” Joshua said nervously. “We have to do what she asks to avoid more problems.”

“We’re supposed to be seeking justice… this isn’t it!” Chan continued.

“Yes, Chan, but it all started with wanting to save your life and Jun’s,” Wonwoo intervened, going over to the younger man and sitting next to him. “Right now, the one who threatened your lives is missing, so you’re safe… I think Joshua is right this time.” Chan seemed to be having an internal conflict, and Wonwoo put a hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention again. “We don’t know what she might do if we contradict her.”

Seokmin quietly approached Joshua, who was standing and staring at the wall, lost in thought.

“So, is this it?” he asked. Joshua turned, giving a sad smile and nodded.

“I think so.”

Two days later, Lee Taemin's funeral had become a media spectacle. A tangle of cameras and microphones crowded together, capturing every gesture and whisper. The faces of the family, pale and full of sadness, contrasted sharply with the frenzy of reporters. Outside the hall where they were giving a final farewell to the corrupt prosecutor, there were hundreds of protesters demanding justice for all those who had suffered at his hands. Commissioner Im was putting on her pathetic act of a grieving friend, crying in a corner and wiping her tears with a handkerchief, while news cameras focused on her. Her statement regarding the accusations that she knew everything about Taemin and helped cover it up was: "Although we were almost like siblings, he never told me anything," thus earning the sympathy of thousands and being considered another victim of the prosecutor. If they knew she was the one who killed him, would the public’s view of her change much, or would she be seen as a brave heroine? Wonwoo had no idea, nor did he particularly want to.

"This is the most hypocritical thing we’ve done," Chan murmured, sitting on the floor with the others around a small table. Their black suits matched the somber atmosphere of the room. Seokmin showed his support for Chan’s words by giving a thumbs-up.

"My parents made me come here," complained the lawyer, loosening his tight black tie just a little.

"You’re an adult, why do you listen to your parents?" Minghao teased.

"And why are you guys here?" Seokmin countered. Minghao muttered "touché," causing everyone to laugh quietly, and after receiving a few disapproving glances, they quieted down. After a few minutes, Seokmin spoke again: "Even though Taemin was a piece of trash, he was still family; I didn’t want to see him dead." He looked toward his distraught and tearful uncles mourning the loss of their son. "I didn’t want to see him dead," he repeated, "even though I hold more resentment toward him than toward his killer."

"You resent a dead man more than a living one?" Seokmin nodded in response, and Joshua scoffed. "Babe, that means he won and not you," Joshua said with an impassive voice. "He’s gone now and won’t be a bother to you anymore; stop worrying about the bad times he once put you through."

"Joshua is learning to give good advice; I never thought I’d witness this," Wonwoo said, only to get a tug on his hair from Joshua.

"It didn’t turn out as we expected, but..." Minghao began his reflective speech, with some pained complaints from Wonwoo in the background. "In one way or another, we got what we wanted, don’t you think? All that’s left is to find Choi Seungcheol and see that he serves his sentence."

"Oh, yes, I hope things turn out as we want this time," Chan said. "And where do you think Seungcheol is? Dr. Kwon insists he’s dead, but I really still maintain my stance that he’s hiding somewhere in the world."

"He better stay here," Wonwoo said, referring to the country. "Because it would be very difficult to find him, and even harder to get him out of wherever he might be if that turns out to be the case."

"Come on, think positively. We’ll find him, I know we will," Seokmin encouraged. "We’ll find something; Taemin was never good at covering his tracks, as we’ve seen."

"Yes, you’re right! The day he threatened us, he pulled out a folder when he mentioned Seungcheol," Chan pointed out. "Although it might have been a trick to deceive us, there could be documents or some evidence inside that folder that could help us start tracking him."

"I had forgotten about that," Wonwoo said. "Next week the searches will begin. Minghao and I will go to the office one; can you guys go to the house one?" he asked Joshua and Chan, who agreed. "Perfect... we can wrap this up once and for all."

They all thought the same way. At first, they had disagreements, but at this point, what choice did they have? Commissioner Im had won, and had given them the opportunity to play her game as well. In short, she had used them, trapping them as her accomplices without them even knowing or wanting it. But Yoona wasn’t Taemin; it wasn’t easy to go against her, especially without another "powerful" person lending them a hand, because truth be told, they wouldn’t have been able to expose Taemin on their own. Feeling indebted and at the same time fearful of the actions the commissioner might take against them, they chose to side with her. It was the easiest, most convenient, and smartest thing to do.

When the cameras finally stopped recording every move and the reporters decided to interview other people, Yoona fixed her gaze on the table where her subordinates and Seokmin were. She smiled, remembering the words her dear friend Taemin had once said to her: "You always do a good job, Commissioner Im." Just as she had expected, he had not been wrong; she had done an excellent job removing that thorn in her side from the face of the earth. Yoona detested violence and getting her hands dirty, but there were cases that warranted it, which is why she deeply hoped her favorite team of agents would always remain this way: loyal and obedient.

She would not tolerate betrayal. Not again.

Chapter Text

He placed the box full of documents on the table and sighed, removing the glove to wipe his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. Wonwoo was off to the side taking inventory of everything found in Taemin's office after the raid, so Minghao didn’t want to disturb him. Taemin's office was large; it had gray walls, and at first glance, it seemed like a boring place, but it had several bookshelves, a round glass table surrounded by chairs, and on one side, there was the desk, which made it, the more you looked at it, like a rather cozy place. The desk was elegant, with drawers on both sides, topped with a huge computer, decorative artificial plants, and a photograph of Taemin as a child with his parents. On the wall behind it were all his certificates and recognitions earned throughout his disastrous career. Feeling like he had nothing better to do, Minghao decided to secretly eavesdrop on two officers who were still searching for incriminating evidence against the prosecutor. “Eavesdropping” sounded vulgar, so Minghao preferred to call what he was about to do "supervising those under his command." He just didn’t want to admit that he was nosy. Walking quietly and pretending to be looking for something, he listened closely to what the two officers, who had their backs turned to him, were whispering.

“...I can't find anything else,” said one of them. “Ugh, seriously, why are we even doing this? This is the most unnecessary thing ever,” one complained, flipping through a notebook on the desk before putting it back in its place. “The prosecutor is dead already; there’s no need to continue this case.”

“You’re right,” replied the other. “No one else can confirm or deny what he did… I get that Commissioner Im wants to do everything in her power to clear her friend’s name, but it’s pointless. Hardly anyone thinks the prosecutor was innocent.”

“Yeah... if she was so eager to keep up with this investigation, she could’ve just sent her favorites,” the officer sighed. “But no, we always have to be dragged into all this nonsense. I’m sick of it. Whatever we find, no one’s going to get arrested for it.”

Minghao pressed his lips together and quietly stepped back just as he had approached. So, the other officers considered them the Commissioner’s "favorites." If only they knew what Minghao and the others had gone through at the hands of that woman, maybe they would think differently. He glanced at Wonwoo, who was sitting in one of the chairs around the table, and not wanting to stand idly by, Minghao went over to him and sat down beside him. Wonwoo was studying the box on the table, as if debating whether or not to open it and go through everything inside… and of course, he opened it and checked everything because he couldn’t wait for someone else to do it, but he was very careful not to mess anything up, always using his gloves.

Most of the contents were folders, which Minghao knew because he had been the one to organize the box. There were also many folded sheets that he hadn’t checked, but it seemed that Wonwoo was willing to do so right then and there, so he leaned in a little to see.

The sheets seemed to be letters, though the strange thing was that none of them had an envelope indicating where they came from or who had sent them. The only thing left to think was that Taemin had gotten rid of the envelopes. The letters seemed like the typical ones teenagers sent to radio shows with their problems, only instead of being exactly that, they were letters from someone named "Karina" to Taemin, recounting her challenges and adventures living on the "island" and her constant fights with someone named "Jihoon"; she said she was sick of being his sister and sometimes wished she could turn back time so she would never have met him.

“Who could she be?” Minghao asked Wonwoo, taking one of the sheets that the older man hadn’t yet read. Wonwoo shrugged and kept reading the sheet in his hands.

«You said you didn’t want to hear complaints from either of us, and I’ve been sending you mine for a while now. Is that why you’re not responding? Are you even reading my letters? What would you do if you really took me seriously? Did you ever really care about me, or did you just say all those things and worry about us those few weeks to look good? There are great days and horrible days, but every day I miss you. I just wonder, why did you abandon me? I hope my next letter is more positive than this one. And I hope you actually respond next time. Karina.»

“Could she be an ex-girlfriend he left behind?” Wonwoo asked after finishing that letter, then picked up another. In some letters, "Karina" seemed happy, in others angry, and in others sad, but no matter whether what she was writing was positive or negative, she always emphasized how much it hurt that Taemin never responded to her. “Why did she keep sending him letters?” Wonwoo mused aloud. Minghao put everything back in the box except for the folder Taemin had handed them the last time they spoke to him.

“This might have something,” Minghao said, opening it. There were so many pages that Minghao got tired of it before reading a single one and handed the folder to Wonwoo. “I’m not reading all that.”

Wonwoo looked at him, disappointed, but not for the reasons Minghao might think. Oh, definitely not.

"Neither am I" he handed the folder back to Minghao, who took a deep breath and put it back in the box.

"Maybe Chan..." they said in unison after a few seconds of staring at the closed box. They turned to look at each other and burst into laughter, surprising the other two officers in the office, who just watched them from a distance, wondering if these people who were suddenly laughing like maniacs were really their respected superiors.

The search at Taemin's residence was proving to be a bit more interesting. Chan was taking pictures with a camera of all the evidence they were collecting and pulling out from the most random places. Taemin might have imagined that it was possible for his house to be searched one day, which is why he had hidden documents and important devices behind the pictures on the walls or under the floorboards in the bathroom. What Taemin hadn’t considered was that by the time his house was being raided, he would be dead and one of the people in charge would be Chan, who had a fascination with searching for things in the most unimaginable corners.

Even when he had gone through the entire house and there really were no more places to search, Joshua was still feeling all the floors and walls, trying to locate more of the prosecutor’s secret hiding spots. While in the living room, Chan let go of the camera, which hung from his neck, and looked at Joshua with a disapproving frown, though he didn’t notice, too engrossed in his search, looking totally ridiculous on the floor and desperately running his hands over the floorboards.

"You're not going to find anything else; we checked everything," he said to the detective, who didn’t stop his strange movements despite the remark.

"If you found documents under the bathroom floor, it's possible we’ll find something here too," he continued crawling on the floor. Chan laughed, partly mocking him, and partly because it was simply funny to see Joshua in that position.

"I have a talent for this, and if I say you won’t find anything else, it's because you won’t..." Joshua ignored him and knocked twice on the floor where he was. The sound it made was different from the previous knocks.

"Oh?" he knocked twice more on that spot and looked up at Chan, who looked just as surprised as he was. "Didn’t the bathroom floor sound like this too?"

"Yes," Chan replied, kneeling beside Joshua and helping him lift the wooden floorboard. There was a small hole, narrow but a bit deep. This was another of Taemin’s hiding spots. Chan stood up and searched his bag, which was lying around, for a flashlight and a pair of latex gloves, then returned to Joshua. He shone the light into the hole while Joshua, with the gloves on, reached his arm inside. He felt around the bottom, which felt empty, and after moving his arm from side to side, his fingers brushed against something. He managed to drag the object until it was in his hand, then pulled it out. It was a small transparent bag with white powder inside. Powder that both of them knew all too well what it was.

"Didn’t you say I wouldn’t find anything?" Joshua teased Chan, shaking the bag. The officer scoffed and leaned over the hole in the floor with the flashlight, taking a better look inside.

"There’s a lot more in here," Chan informed him, handing the flashlight to Joshua and taking the camera to take pictures of the interior.

The entire team searching the house, consisting of about five officers, gathered in the living room to help remove the bags from the hole, and also to classify them into boxes that would later be taken to the station and to laboratories for further analysis. That small spot Joshua discovered turned out to be a storage for various drugs that Taemin trafficked, and the prosecutor certainly left many clients with pending orders before he died.

Back at the station, the group gathered in their area, and Wonwoo, without saying a word beforehand, handed Chan the folder full of things neither he nor Minghao wanted to read.

"What’s that?" Joshua asked, while Chan, a little puzzled, just sat in his chair and opened the folder to skim through it.

"Don’t you remember? It's that folder Taemin pulled out when he was trying to recruit us or something like that," Minghao replied. "It’s too much text, and I'm too tired to read it... Wonwoo doesn’t want to read it because... uh..." Minghao looked at Wonwoo, waiting for him to finish his excuse. The officer cleared his throat before looking at Joshua.

"I can’t strain my eyes, you know?" Minghao hissed, disappointed by the nonsense his partner had said, while Joshua pretended to smack Wonwoo’s head with his palm, making the younger one cover himself with both arms.

"You two are ridiculous," Joshua told them, snatching the folder from Chan and sitting next to him at his desk to read the documents. The first pages didn’t contain anything very interesting, just bank transfer receipts and purchase receipts that apparently had no significance; they seemed to be purchases that only someone with the money that Lee Taemin had would make. Until he came across something strange. "Hey, do you know this girl from somewhere?" Chan moved closer to Joshua with his chair, and both Minghao and Wonwoo leaned over behind him to look at the page. It had the complete profile of a young woman, with a small photo of her beside it. Her full name, date of birth, even where she was born, raised, studied, and the names of her parents were listed.

"I think I’ve seen her before," Chan said. "‘Yoo Jimin’? I’ve heard that name," he tilted his head, trying to remember. He pushed himself back to his desk and turned on his computer to start typing immediately, under the watchful eyes of the three elders. "Oh, it’s that fugitive girl; the one who was accused of killing lawyer Park."

"Could it be that Taemin helped her escape too?" Joshua continued flipping through the pages, briefly reading some paragraphs. He stopped at another interesting page: Choi Seungcheol’s profile. It was organized in the same way as Jimin’s, including a small photo of him. Joshua read everything, not caring much if his companions were reading along or not, and when he finished all the pages summarizing Seungcheol’s life and everything he had done, he saw the cover of the next section, titled: "Coast."

"That Taemin was a scoundrel, but at least he organized his documents well," Chan commented, making everyone pause their reading to look at him. "What? It’s true..."

"If you want to say that Wonwoo makes a mess with his reports, just say it," Joshua said, smiling.

"Who’s talking about Wonwoo?" the young man muttered. Joshua’s smile faded, and Wonwoo laughed, throwing himself on top of Chan to hug him and ruffling his hair with his hand.

"Aw, Chan, I love that you’re so honest," Wonwoo praised him before being pushed away by the younger one, who immediately started fixing his hair.

"Why are you always messing up my hair!? Can’t you just not touch my head!?" Chan exclaimed, annoyed. Minghao rolled his eyes and tapped Joshua on the shoulder to turn the page. Wonwoo remained squatting on the floor, resting his arm on the armrest of Joshua’s chair and leaning a bit to get a good view of the pages in the folder.

The header on the next page was "Dock House." These pages described a house near a dock, including an address, and also receipts for food purchases and some clothing for both women and men. The next page was titled "Trip," and it had a sort of itinerary organizing a trip to Barbados. In a small text box, there was the contact information and address of a person, who was not named and was simply referred to as "driver." Although it could all be about a trip the prosecutor had planned to clear his mind for a few months, everyone knew that wasn’t it. Joshua read as fast as he could and flipped through the pages until he reached another with a different header: "Barbados." There was a lot of information about the island, focusing on the city of "Holetown." The prosecutor’s interest in that island was more than suspicious, and the details he was collecting were strange, almost as if he wanted to move there. The information was so detailed that it would have been impossible for Taemin to forget any of the things he had in there, making it obvious that the man hadn’t taken into account that he would soon be murdered.

"So, what Taemin is telling us with this is that Seungcheol is in Barbados, right?" Wonwoo said, getting up from the floor and immediately grimacing because his legs hurt.

"I guess?" Minghao responded, unsure. "If that’s the case, what we feared would be true."

"There’s no extradition treaty between Korea and Barbados..." Wonwoo murmured. The atmosphere changed suddenly, the agents’ concern almost palpable. Joshua closed the folder and tossed it onto his small desk, on top of his computer keyboard.

"Extradition can be negotiated, it’s not impossible, let’s stay calm," Chan said. "Let’s talk to Seokmin before making any hasty decisions, what do you think?"

"First, we need to confirm that he’s on that island," Joshua said. "We have the address of that supposed dock house, and we can also contact that ‘driver.’ Let’s check all that out, and then... well, then we can lose our minds trying to find Seungcheol."

At the same time this was happening, in Barbados, Jimin was throwing every object she could find in the house at Seungcheol, who was chasing her. She violently knocked over a dresser and ran around it to escape the small house. Seungcheol got distracted when he heard a faint metallic sound on the floor, and fearing the worst, he crouched down, searching for the fallen object. Anxiously, he swept his hands across the floor, his fingertips brushing against some powder.

“No, no… please, no,” he muttered as he continued searching the floor. Then, he saw it, glinting in the light filtering into the house. The locket containing Jeonghan’s ashes was broken, the few ashes scattered around it. Seungcheol gasped, his heart stopping for an instant. All the anger he felt towards Jimin returned in a rush. He stood up from the floor and stormed out of the house, searching for her outside. He spotted her standing at the shore, her feet in the water. “Jimin!” he called out, striding towards her. She turned around and met his gaze with a defiant look. When they were face to face, separated by just a few inches, Jimin spoke with her head held high.

“If you keep acting like this, I’ll kill you,” she said, her voice calm despite the anger in her eyes.

“Will you?” Seungcheol taunted. “I don’t think it’ll be necessary, sweetheart. Thanks to you, they’ll find us both and—”

“They won’t find us!” she shouted, cutting him off. “Taemin isn’t stupid enough to let them catch us!”

“He’s a bastard; the moment he’s under pressure, he’ll do anything to turn us in,” Seungcheol said, stepping even closer to her until their bodies were almost touching. “You shouldn’t have sent those letters, Jimin…” She took a deep breath before replying.

“I already sent them. There’s nothing I can do.”

Seungcheol sighed. “Yes, there’s nothing you can do…” Jimin crossed her arms and moved past Seungcheol, heading back to the small house. “Wait, we’re not done talking,” he said, turning slowly to watch her walk away.

“What do you want?” she asked without turning around.

“You broke the locket,” he said. She didn’t respond, didn’t even acknowledge his words, and kept walking. That was a grave offense to Seungcheol, but more than that, he felt it was an offense to Jeonghan’s memory. And he wouldn’t tolerate that.

He had already tried to kill her a few minutes earlier for sending the letters, and now his anger had transformed into something more; now it was hatred. He hated this young woman, who was not only putting him and herself in danger but had also disrespected Jeonghan. It was completely unacceptable. Jimin had made too many mistakes that day.

Yes, what Seungcheol did to her was her fault. If only she had been more cautious, if she hadn’t sent multiple letters to Taemin detailing everything happening on the island and in the small house, and if she hadn’t knocked over the dresser where the locket was, she might still be alive. But no, she made bad decisions.

It was very late at night when Seungcheol returned limping to the small house, drenched in blood and sweat. The worst part was that much of the blood was his own because Jimin had managed to injure him quite a bit. She had even stabbed him a couple of times during their fight. She was a very strong woman; it was a shame Seungcheol’s rage had blinded him in those moments. Who knows? In another situation, she might have actually killed him. But thinking about that now was pointless; there wasn’t a trace of her left in the world, Seungcheol had made sure of that. When he entered the house, he didn’t even bother cleaning up the mess and just sat on the floor, leaning his back against the wall. His whole body ached, and he was probably bleeding from more than one place… but that didn’t matter to him right now; he just wanted to sleep for a while. If he woke up the next day, he’d tend to his wounds, but for now, he just wanted to sleep.

Chapter Text

The sun had risen. The discomfort in his eyes became apparent as he blinked, trying to adjust to the light. When he was fully conscious, the pain throughout his body greeted him with a harsh "good morning". Seungcheol let his head fall back, resting it against the wall where he had slept. So, he had survived. Great.

The dresser was still on the floor, exactly where Jimin had thrown it, and so was the locket. The ashes were still scattered across the ground. Seeing this, he felt a sting in his eyes. With a heavy heart, he stood up, staggering a little as he got to his feet. His gray shirt had dried bloodstains in various places, making him feel filthy. So, he took it off, rolled it up, and threw it away. He glanced down at his torso, noticing the bruises, cuts, and the small but painful wound near his navel. He looked disgusting, covered in sweat and dried blood, though he couldn't tell if it was his, Jimin's, or both. Everything seemed to spin as he started to walk out of the house toward the bathroom. He cursed Taemin and everyone who had contributed to his pathetic and disgusting situation, vowing to get revenge. When he was free of all judgment, he would take revenge on everyone. If it were possible, he’d get revenge on the entire world.

He turned on the old, rusty shower faucet. The pipe made a strange noise before spurting out a stream of cold water. Seungcheol shuddered but quickly adjusted to the temperature and began washing himself, still wearing his blood-soaked pants. The pain was so intense that bending over to take them off was impossible; he'd do it once the pain in his upper body had subsided a little. He let out a laugh and ran his cut-up hand through his wet hair, pushing it back.

"Oh, but Jeonghan is the reason," he murmured, realizing, laughing again. "I can’t get revenge on him." He turned off the faucet and stepped back to get out of the tiny makeshift shower. He looked at his reflection in the glass attached to the wall that served as a mirror and scoffed again at how haggard and pathetic he looked. When had been the last time he’d looked good or "normal"? He couldn’t remember.

With the same difficulty as before, he returned to the little house, his bare, wet feet getting covered in sand on the short walk back. He needed the first aid kit and a shirt, but they were in the drawers of the dresser, and Jimin had thrown it down with everything scattered on the floor. Seungcheol had probably never been angrier at someone he’d already killed, and in fact, he was glad he’d killed Jimin because she had only caused him problems.

And company... whispered a little voice in his head that he chose to ignore. He didn’t have the strength to lift the dresser or even throw himself to the ground to pick up the locket. Groaning in pain, frustration, exhaustion, and who knows what else, he stepped out of the little house again, determined to seek help outside. Though he was far from town, if he walked in a straight line along the shore for a while, he’d probably find someone. Dragging his feet through the sand and feeling the occasional waves wet his feet as they came in from the sea, Seungcheol hoped he wouldn’t pass out before finding someone to help him. But the sun, the heat, and his exposed wounds were not the best combination. He didn’t know how many minutes had passed before he collapsed face down in the sand.

Jihoon frowned, twisting in his bed as he heard the guards' alarms. The cell was somewhat spacious, with a bunk bed on each side and a toilet next to a sink at the back. There was also, near the sink, a small table with some books and other belongings of his and his cellmates. He heard the other three getting up from their beds and grumbling quietly as he sat up, rubbing one eye with his hand. He yawned just as a guard opened the cell door, and his cellmates got ready for the morning roll call. He was the last to step out, standing next to one of his cellmates. The tall man glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and grimaced in disgust. Jihoon sighed, resigned, pretending not to notice. Then it was time for breakfast. Jihoon always sat alone in the corner of a bench at the back of the cafeteria. In a few minutes, the table filled with other inmates, but none of them even glanced at Jihoon. Deep down, he appreciated this. He had no interest in making friends or enemies.

He had already gotten used to the tasteless food, the noise of the other inmates, and the constant feeling of exhaustion. Breakfast passed more quickly than he would have liked, but Jihoon started feeling uncomfortable. He didn’t recognize the symptoms as the onset of an illness, and nothing hurt, but he felt a strange pressure in his chest, like a bad omen. As the hours passed, he grew more and more anxious, convinced something terrible was about to happen. During shower time, he kept glancing at the other naked inmates around him, trying to spot something out of place.

"What are you looking at?" a very intimidating man beside him growled. Jihoon flinched and mumbled an apology, embarrassed.

Immediately after leaving the shower, each inmate headed to their workshop; Jihoon had chosen the ceramics one. All his workshop companions were quiet people, they made no noise and didn’t talk to each other, simply following the instructor’s steps. Jihoon was so focused on creating his vase that he didn’t realize he was being called until the young man sharing the table with him touched his shoulder, smudging his uniform slightly with clay.

“He's looking for you,” the guy pointed to the room’s door with his head and said nothing more, returning his full attention to his vase. Jihoon, confused, looked at the guard waiting at the door and sighed audibly, wiping his hands a bit before walking toward him.

“You’ve got a visitor,” the man said in a bored tone. Jihoon couldn’t help but show his surprise and opened his small eyes as wide as he could, without saying anything. He nodded, and the guard began to walk, leaving Jihoon with no choice but to follow him.

“Who is it?” he ventured to ask, knowing he’d likely be ignored. As he suspected, there was no response, but they had already reached the visiting room. It was empty, both on his side and the visitors’ side, except for one chair on the other side. Everything clicked for Jihoon at that moment, and he suddenly felt relieved. He smiled and rushed to sit down. “Hey,” he greeted excitedly.

“Hello, love,” Jihoon’s smile grew wider upon hearing the nickname. “Sorry for not coming more often.”

“No, it’s okay, don’t worry,” Jihoon hurried to reassure Soonyoung, who only gave a shy smile. “How have you been? Is everything going well at work?”

“Yes, but I need a vacation,” the doctor replied from the other side of the glass, laughing a little. “You seem happier. Has something good happened?” Jihoon shook his head, still smiling. “Then?”

“You being here is reason enough for me to be happy,” he answered honestly, enjoying Soonyoung’s immediate blush. “And why did you come? Is something wrong?”

“Hey! Do I need a reason to visit you? You’re my boyfriend!” Soonyoung exclaimed. Jihoon shyly looked away, and Soonyoung cleared his throat. “Actually, yes, there are a few things I think you should know... Prosecutor Lee is dead.”

“What? How?”

“In an alleged accident,” he replied. “I’m not sure if you heard, but all his crimes were exposed, and an investigation had begun against him. They even found out he helped your... friend escape. And a few days after all that came to light, he died.”

“You mean he was killed, right?” Jihoon asked, to which Soonyoung nodded. “Ah, interesting... and what else? What’s the other thing?”

“Did you really not hear about it?” Soonyoung muttered. Jihoon gave him a questioning look. “Your... friend... he’s in Barbados. The search started there last week.”

Jihoon couldn’t hide his surprise. Really? How on earth did Seungcheol get to Barbados?

“Have someone seen him?” he asked. “Is he alone? Is he... okay?”

“Are you still worried about him?” Soonyoung asked, looking a bit annoyed.

“Are you jealous?” Jihoon shot back. His boyfriend rolled his eyes before answering.

“No, why would I be jealous?” he huffed. “Anyway, several people have seen him there. The guys told me the government is trying to make a special deal with the authorities in Barbados to get involved and help catch him.”

“And what will happen if they catch him?” Jihoon wanted to slap himself for sounding so concerned. Soonyoung looked him up and down. “I know they’ll imprison him again, but his sentence? What will it be?”

“I’m a doctor, not a judge, sweetheart,” he replied. “But anyway, I told you what I wanted you to know, now tell me about yourself... how have you been?”

“I’m in a ceramics workshop,” Jihoon responded, somewhat distracted, his worry creeping back. “Today... I woke up feeling strange.”

“Are you okay? Do you want me to check on you? I have some materials in my bag.” Soonyoung stood up, and Jihoon looked at him, still sitting, with a tired expression.

“How? There’s literally a glass separating us, Soonyoung,” he pointed out, feeling touched by his boyfriend. Soonyoung pouted and sat back down, ready to keep asking Jihoon questions, but Jihoon interrupted him. “Don’t worry, I don’t feel physically bad, just like... a bad feeling.”

“Are your cellmates still bothering you?” Jihoon shook his head in response. “Other inmates?”

“No, I don’t talk to anyone... I just feel anxious today. The feeling went away when I saw you, but when you mentioned Seungcheol... oh no... did something bad happen, and you’re not telling me?”

“Of course not... well, I don’t know. They still haven’t found him, Jihoon.” Soonyoung preferred not to say that he and many others thought he was dead in Barbados. “Don’t worry about him; worry about yourself. You’re in here because of him.”

“You always remind me of that...”

“It’s the truth.” Jihoon didn’t respond, only looked at his hands resting on his lap. Soonyoung didn’t take his eyes off him for a second. “I’m sorry, don’t feel sad.”

“I’m not sad,” Jihoon looked back at him. Soonyoung’s expressive eyes scanned him. “Come on, stop looking at me like that,” Jihoon laughed softly. “When they find something, anything, will you tell me?”

“Of course, that’s what I’m here for,” Soonyoung said with a smile, which Jihoon returned. There weren’t enough words in the world for Jihoon to express how grateful he was to Soonyoung. They looked at each other for a few moments, not saying anything, just feeling at peace, until the same guard who had brought Jihoon there entered to inform them that the visiting time was over. “Ah, it’s a shame we can’t talk more... make sure to call me!” Jihoon nodded, though he knew he would probably forget to do it. “I love you, see you later.”

Jihoon blushed and waved goodbye.

“I love you too...” he said quietly, hoping Soonyoung had heard him. Or hoping Soonyoung hadn’t heard him. Either one was fine for him.

Soonyoung left the prison, meeting up with Chan at the exit.

“How did it go?” the officer asked, putting his phone away in his pocket.

“He worried a lot about that man,” Soonyoung answered, somewhat discouraged. Chan laughed, not subtly at all.

“Well, they’re best friends... or are you jealous, doctor?” the young man teased, poking his cheek with his index finger. Soonyoung frowned but didn’t push him away, just started walking toward his car, which he had finally replaced with a nice, modern one.

“I’m not jealous! Why does everyone think I’d be jealous of Seungcheol?!”

“Because you are,” Chan continued. They got into the car and fastened their seatbelts; Chan turned to face the doctor. “And Jihoon, is he okay? Does he have any bruises again?”

“No, thank goodness. He looks very healthy,” Soonyoung smiled, turning on the car. “I can’t wait for him to get out so we can start fresh.”

“I love your patience,” Chan said. Soonyoung glanced at him in disbelief, but the young man just smiled like nothing had happened.

“And you, Chan? Don’t you have anyone special?” Soonyoung asked as he started driving. He briefly glanced at the officer, who had never given him such a disgusted look before. “What’s wrong?”

“Someone special? Please, I’m my special someone,” he replied. “No one has the patience to deal with me.”

“You’ve got a point,” Kwon murmured, and Chan’s indignant gasp didn’t go unnoticed. “I mean... yeah...”

Minghao was about to fall asleep while waiting for a call from Counselor Min, who would be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' envoy to Barbados. Although Minghao had already sent him all the possible reports on the case, the Counselor still wanted to make a call to resolve any remaining doubts before his trip to the island. The detective wasn’t particularly thrilled about this, having been overwhelmed with work for weeks, and all he longed for was his -not so near- break. He had almost considered being irresponsible and leaving all the responsibilities to Joshua, but another complex case had landed in his hands, so now it was up to Minghao to handle everything related to Seungcheol's escape.

When his eyes couldn’t stay open any longer and were almost closed, the desk phone rang, startling him a bit. He answered, expecting it to be the Counselor, but it wasn’t. It was Joshua.

"Hao!"

"Why are you calling my office phone?" he said, not very kindly, and then hung up. His cell phone rang a few seconds later, and knowing it was Joshua again, he hesitated to answer but did so because of the persistence. "What do you want?"

"Don’t hang up on me!" Joshua demanded. Minghao pulled the phone away from his ear and was about to press the red button just to mess with his friend. "Minghao, don’t you dare!" Joshua squealed, as if he knew what the younger was about to do. Minghao sighed and brought the phone back to his ear to listen better. "I wanted to let you know that Counselor Min landed in Barbados last night, and tomorrow he has his first meeting with the authorities. It seems the Barbadian authorities have agreed to arrest Choi Seungcheol after learning about his crimes, and now it’s just a matter of negotiating the extradition treaty."

"Really? Then why has he had me waiting for his call since the day before yesterday?" he feigned a sob. "Damn it, I should’ve let you handle everything from the start. Is it too late to switch cases?"

"Yes, it’s too late," Joshua laughed on the other side of the line. "The Counselor will probably get in touch with you soon, I guess. Anyway, he's in constant contact with Commissioner Im, so you can talk to her too."

"No, thanks, I’m fine like this," he immediately replied. "So... the Counselor won’t be calling me today?"

"No, it's already the middle of the night over there; he must be exhausted."

"He's not the only one who’s exhausted," Minghao muttered under his breath. "Well, thanks for letting me know and for stopping me from wasting more of my time, Joshua. By the way, where the hell are you?"

"See you," Joshua said, as if he hadn’t heard him, and hung up, leaving Minghao stunned. Did Joshua really dare hang up on him? On him?

He was probably evading his responsibilities while Minghao was suffering, waiting for a call that, in the end, wasn’t going to come, at least not that day. Minghao had been completely alone during the entire workday because Wonwoo had returned to working night shifts, Chan had left hours ago with Dr. Kwon, and it had just occurred to Minghao that he hadn’t seen Joshua’s face all day. Since he had been so focused on his phone, he hadn’t even noticed. Joshua would pay dearly for leaving him to work alone (although he had planned to do the same, but things didn’t turn out as he expected), Chan would pay for abandoning him in the middle of his shift, and Wonwoo would pay just for existing.

Gathering his fighting spirit, Minghao stood up and marched decisively toward the door. He was going to find each of his colleagues and torture them with his complaints for hours until their ears bled, and they promised never to do that to him again. For God's sake, Minghao was the one who most needed to be at home—he had a sick husband! And yet his friends, who unfortunately were also his co-workers, left him there at the station, abandoned and overworked, doing overtime, while they were off doing who knows what.

As he stepped out of the office, he bumped right into someone.

"Where are you going?" Minghao looked up to find a very smiling Joshua. Minghao wanted to wipe the smile off his face.

"I was going to find you to beat the sh—"

"Don’t be like that," Joshua turned him around by the shoulders and guided him back to his office. "I was out solving very important things," he said excitedly. "I want to tell you now, but I’d rather wait until the others are here."

"Oh, really? What could be so important that you knew I was waiting for the Counselor’s call and still didn’t tell me anything until a day later?" he asked, angry.

"Sorry, so many things have happened that I just forgot to tell you," the older man assured him. "When I tell you, you’ll see that your anger will go away... or maybe not... well, it doesn’t matter, I just hope you get as happy as I am."

Minghao sighed heavily and threw himself into his chair again. It was going to be another long day.

Chapter Text

"That was it?" Minghao asked, feeling a mix of emotions. He was so exhausted that he couldn’t even find the strength to get up from the couch and hit Joshua, though the desire was certainly there. Chan, sitting beside him, clapped, but not with excitement—more like he was disappointed.

"Congrats... I guess," the younger man said.

"So soon? But you guys just moved in together like a month or two ago," Wonwoo said.

Joshua, who had been standing in front of everyone expectantly just a few seconds ago, crossed his arms and frowned.

"Is this really how you’re going to react? What kind of friends are you? I thought you’d be happy for me!" he protested.

"It’s just that... we’re in shock," Chan nodded along with his own words, trying to convince himself of what he was saying. "We didn’t see this coming—"

"I did," Wonwoo interrupted him. "Knowing Joshua and his impulsiveness... ah, wait, was this Seokmin’s idea? That wouldn’t surprise me either. Anyway, shouldn’t you two try to get to know each other better before making such hasty decisions?" he asked Joshua.

Detective Hong couldn’t stand being on his feet any longer and collapsed into Minghao’s chair, disheartened.

A few hours ago, he had kissed Seokmin goodbye when he dropped him off at the station, and while walking through the building towards Minghao’s office, he had planned out exactly what he would say to his friends. Every word. Sadly, nothing went as he’d expected. Minghao was furious with him, Wonwoo was trying to give him advice, essentially telling him that it was a bad idea, and Chan... well, he was doing his best to be nice. Joshua had simply hoped for a more enthusiastic reaction to his marriage news. He was so excited and happy—Seokmin too, especially now that the case was coming to an end. Sure, he knew it was a little, maybe even way too soon, but he didn’t care! He was sure he loved Seokmin, and Seokmin loved him the same way. That’s why he hadn’t thought twice about buying the rings and proposing on a whim that very afternoon. No one could convince him that he and Seokmin would ever break up. Not after all they’d gone through to be together. It was impossible. Besides, he believed they knew each other well enough to be ready to spend their lives together. They had been dating for less than a year, that was true, but they had known each other for much longer and had been in love for even longer. The idea of getting married made sense to Joshua, and to Seokmin too. But why didn’t it make sense to his friends?

"I know everything I need to know about him," he answered Wonwoo. "I really love him, so why doesn’t our engagement convince you?"

"It convinces me..." Chan tried to reassure him. "I guess it’s just natural... you’re at that age now, getting married, moving into a bigger house, having kids..."

"You talk like you’re way younger than me, idiot."

"I’m trying to be nice!" oh, he actually said it. "I just didn’t want to tell you that I think getting engaged now is a terrible idea because you’d feel bad..." Chan’s eyes widened when he realized what he had just said. "Well, now I’ve said it. Sorry."

Joshua looked at him, sad, and then gave the same pitiful look to Minghao and Wonwoo. He looked like he was about to burst into tears right then and there.

"Why do you all think this way? What’s wrong with me wanting to get married?" he asked, genuinely waiting for some kind of response. Minghao turned to look at him from where he was sitting.

"I think you should take it easy, Joshua," for the first time that day, he didn’t sound angry when speaking to him. "You’re so excited because Seokmin is your first serious relationship... or your first relationship, really." He cleared his throat. "You think if you don’t do things now, you won’t have time later, but there’s no rush. Now that you’re living together, take a few more months to get to know each other better, like Wonwoo said. Learn each other’s habits, and when you both feel ready to take the next step, then you will."

"It’s surprising to hear this from a guy who fell in love on a first date," Wonwoo muttered; Minghao glared at him. "But Hao has a point. We’re not telling you to break off your engagement, just... give the relationship more time. Rushed things usually end in failure."

A strong urge to cry overcame Joshua as he listened to them. It could have been due to the relief of knowing they actually cared, or from the tenderness he felt hearing that his friends were genuinely worried about him and his relationship with Seokmin. He smiled.

"Thanks," he said with a voice full of affection, and he truly meant it.

"Just because I spoke to you with love doesn’t mean I’m not still furious with you, got it?" Minghao said in a threatening tone that contrasted with the smile on his face. He was trying to maintain the grumpy and annoyed expression he’d had at the beginning, but he couldn’t. Not when Joshua suddenly looked like a teddy bear begging to be hugged.

"Oh, really?" Joshua laughed, a few tears escaping from his eyes. He quickly wiped them away with his thumbs, but that didn’t stop the guys from all saying "aww" in unison, nor did it stop Chan from getting up off the couch to hug him, practically throwing himself onto him in the chair. "And why did you think getting married now was a bad idea?" he asked Chan while in his arms. The younger one raised his head to look at him.

"My fear of commitment doesn’t just apply to me," was his response, and Joshua rolled his eyes.

"I want to know how Seokmin reacted," Wonwoo said. Joshua pulled away from Chan a little to look at him. "You two are a pair of drama queens; I’m sure there were lots of tears involved."

"We did cry," Joshua admitted, "but not because we’re dramatic, it was just a really special moment for both of us."

"Oh, please," Chan muttered as he finally separated from Joshua. "You’ll cry even more when you tell him you’re not getting married soon." Wonwoo let out a chuckle and gave Chan a thumbs-up as if to say, "Nice job."

Joshua was about to defend himself and his now-fiancé, but then he remembered the conversation they had earlier, about a minute after he proposed:

"When do we get married?" he asked Seokmin, who was still staring at his ring, his eyes and nose red.

"Next week, if you want," Seokmin replied, perhaps without thinking too much.

"Sounds great, but... can we really plan a wedding in such a short time?"

"I have connections, don’t worry," Seokmin said with a big smile, before letting out a squeal of excitement and hugging Joshua. "Why don't we get married tomorrow? I can't wait!"

His chest tightened with sudden concern. How was he supposed to tell Seokmin that they would have to postpone the wedding? He couldn’t bear to crush his fiancé’s excitement, not when Seokmin had been so happy and had started planning everything right away. Joshua realized he had rushed things maybe a bit too much. He didn’t regret proposing to Seokmin, but he was starting to regret not talking to his friends first, who in situations like this acted as “the voice of reason” or something like that. It was strange seeing Joshua being the one who needed advice instead of the other way around, but in his defense, both Minghao and Wonwoo were already married, and Chan… well, Chan was Chan.

"I think Joshua is overthinking..." said Minghao, and Wonwoo nodded.

"I don’t think he can even hear us," the officer continued, looking at Joshua, whose gaze was distant, his face showing clear distress. "We’d better tell Seokmin ourselves."

"Yeah, Joshua looks like he’ll die if he has to do it," Minghao agreed. "Ugh, they’re so alike... Why do they make decisions without thinking?"

"No, no... no!" Joshua exclaimed, standing up.

"He’s lost it," Chan declared. Joshua turned to him, indignant. "Why are you looking at me like that? You’re the one talking to yourself!" the officer retorted, but Joshua gestured with his hands for him to be quiet.

"Shut up, all three of you. You’re not telling Seokmin anything, I’ll do it," he took a deep breath. "I’m the one who proposed and agreed to the quick wedding. I have to face the consequences..."

"Seungcheol couldn’t kill you that time, but Seokmin might," Wonwoo teased him. "Good luck, and hopefully, when you come back to us, you won’t be single."

"Seokmin would never leave him over something like that," Minghao added. "Or at least, I think..." and with that, Joshua's nerves only intensified. He was slowly realizing that his friends were about as useful as a pen without ink, which was saying a lot. "Don’t get too nervous, Shua, you just need to be honest. Tell him you rushed into things, and that while you love him, you’re not sure you’re ready to get married just yet."

"But I do want to get married now," Joshua replied.

"Wanting to isn’t the same as having to," Chan said seriously. "Maybe getting married is what you 'want' the most right now, but is it something you 'must' do? Is it an obligation?" Joshua put a hand to his face as he thought, staring at the floor. He never expected something remotely coherent to come out of Chan’s mouth. "And if you and Seokmin are that desperate to get married, I’d at least recommend waiting until Seungcheol is found in Barbados and brought back here."

Joshua nodded, finally feeling at peace. As strange as it sounded, Chan was right. Who would’ve thought that Chan would give the best advice of all? Or maybe Joshua was just an idiot, and Chan had opened his eyes by telling him the truth. Either way, both things were true.

"That’s basically what Hao and I have been telling you," Wonwoo said. "Anyway, sort out your relationship issues today because tomorrow’s going to be a busy day, and we all need to be ready for whatever Counselor Min says."

"You’re the last person who should be talking about that, you know..." Minghao murmured. Wonwoo looked from Joshua to Minghao a few times, then gave Chan an inquisitive look. Chan shrugged, not understanding why Minghao had been upset with them, especially with Joshua, all day. Trying to brush it off, Minghao spoke again, "To sum it up," he said, seeing that Joshua was pretending to be oblivious and slowly walking toward the office door to sneak out, and that Wonwoo and Chan still weren’t aware that, just a few hours ago, Minghao had been minutes away from giving them the beatings of their lives, "I’m very angry with you both for disappearing all day."

"I’m not even on duty in the morning!" Wonwoo defended himself, cutting him off. Minghao sighed.

"And with Joshua for wasting my time," he finished, paying no attention to Wonwoo’s complaints. "You left with the doctor to do who knows what, and you didn’t even bother to tell me!" he complained directly to Chan. The officer feigned innocence, as always.

"It’s not my fault I wanted to keep my friend company," he answered. Minghao chose not to say anything more, because if he did, nothing but insults would come out of his mouth, maybe with a comment like: "Do you think we have so little work that you can disappear for hours with your little friend?"

"I don’t get paid enough to deal with this," was what Minghao said after organizing his thoughts and keeping his anger to himself. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and opened them again, staring at the office door that was now closing. "Damn idiot..."

"Who are you talking to?" Chan looked curiously at the now-closed door, then began searching the office with his eyes. "Where’s Joshua?"

Joshua was walking quickly through the station, trying to leave as fast as possible. He called for a taxi, which luckily arrived almost immediately, and in a matter of minutes, he was home. From the entrance, he could hear movement in the kitchen, indicating that Seokmin had already arrived, making him smile before he remembered that he had to tell him they should postpone the wedding. He started to feel even more nervous than when he proposed.

"I’m home!" he announced his arrival with a shaky voice. Seokmin replied cheerfully, "Hi!" Joshua headed to the kitchen, watching Seokmin with his back turned as he washed the dishes. He approached and hugged him, resting his chin on the younger man’s shoulder. From there, he could see Seokmin’s profile and the smile adorning his lips. "I thought I’d get home before you."

"I managed to escape... it seems like you did too," Seokmin responded, laughing. "So, tell me, did the guys get really excited?" Joshua opened his mouth and then closed it, unable to find the right words to not sound too harsh. Seokmin could feel him tense up and stopped doing the dishes for a moment to turn and face his fiancé. Joshua let go of him and took a step back, not taking his eyes off Seokmin’s face. "Is something wrong?" the lawyer asked, concerned.

"No... well, yes..." and suddenly, all the objects in the kitchen became more interesting to look at than Seokmin’s face. Joshua was slowly feeling like the worst person who had ever existed. "Seokmin, I think we won’t be able to get married..." he blurted out, almost wanting to run to his room and hide under his blankets from the world.

"Why? Did I do something wrong? Do you regret it? What’s going on?" Seokmin began his barrage of questions, placing his hands, still covered in water and soap from washing dishes, on Joshua’s shoulders. "Do you not want to marry me anymore?"

"No, that’s not it," he immediately responded, stepping closer and placing his hands on the lawyer’s waist, trying to ignore the growing discomfort of having his shirt and shoulders soaked. "I do want to marry you, it’s just that the guys made me realize it’s too soon. But there’s no broken engagement or anything, I love you, and I truly want to spend my whole life with you."

"Oh, that was it?" Joshua had a feeling he had already heard that today (because he had). Seokmin laughed, either because the situation seemed silly or because he was teasing Joshua... or both. "You scared me! For a second, I thought you suddenly started hating me."

"I could never," Joshua said, pressing his lips to Seokmin’s in a brief kiss.

"I can’t believe you took me seriously when I said we could get married next week or tomorrow," Seokmin pulled away, eyeing the obvious wet spots on Joshua’s shoulders. "Hmm... sorry about that."

"It’s fine," Joshua began unbuttoning his shirt as Seokmin went back to washing the dishes. "Wait, what do you mean you weren’t serious? You started planning everything right away!"

"Of course! But that doesn’t mean I was planning it to be so soon; I’m not an idiot."

Had Seokmin indirectly called him an "idiot"? Yes. But there was something good, something Joshua would rub in his friends' faces, and that was the fact they thought Seokmin was just as much, if not more, of an idiot and as sensitive as he was. It turned out to be the complete opposite. Joshua clutched the shirt in his hands and sat on one of the kitchen stools, wanting to keep Seokmin company. He then thought about how being in love had really loosened a few screws in his head, but it made him happy. He still couldn’t believe that just a little while ago he had been on the verge of tears thinking Seokmin would get mad at him and feel sad, and in the end, he had made up a whole silly story in his head.

He heard the front door open, and both he and Seokmin looked at each other in confusion.

"Didn’t you lock the door?" Seokmin asked him.

"Didn’t I lock the door?" Joshua asked himself out loud, quickly jumping to his feet and cautiously stepping out of the kitchen, signaling Seokmin to stay inside. He peeked his head into the hallway and saw Wonwoo taking off his shoes and putting on one of the guest slippers from a small drawer.

"I came to give you guys some support," he said, walking in as if it were his own house, and once he was in front of Joshua, he looked him up and down. "Though I suppose you've already worked things out, haven’t you?"

"Yeah, we did, but not in the way you're thinking," Joshua headed back to the kitchen with Wonwoo following behind. "The intruder is Wonwoo," he told Seokmin, who greeted the newcomer. "How the hell did you get in?" he asked the officer, who was already sitting on the stool Joshua had just vacated.

"I have keys," Wonwoo responded matter-of-factly. Joshua didn’t remember ever giving him keys.

"Why the hell does he have keys to our house?" Seokmin questioned his boyfriend, but Joshua just shrugged.

"No idea... Anyway, it was all a misunderstanding; Seokmin and I aren’t getting married tomorrow or next week."

"What do you mean, a misunderstanding? Weren’t you both eager to get married as soon as possible?" Seokmin chuckled softly, and Wonwoo looked at Joshua, waiting for an answer.

"Long story short, I got caught up in Seokmin's excitement and believed everything he said was true," Joshua replied after sighing, feeling a bit embarrassed. He could already see the mockery in Wonwoo’s face.

"And does any of this have to do with why you're not wearing a shirt?" the officer suddenly asked. Joshua glanced down at his torso and then back at Wonwoo, confused.

"... No?" Wonwoo's expression clearly said that he was about to make one of his out-of-place remarks, and Joshua wasn’t in the mood to deal with him, so grabbing his arm, he forced him to stand up from the stool and led him, as if he were a small child, toward the door. He even opened it for him. "Go home, Wonwoo."

Chapter Text

Seungcheol woke up because of the unbearable pain. He opened his eyes for a few seconds before closing them again, squeezing them shut as he tried to adjust to the pain hammering throughout his body, from head to toe. He inhaled and exhaled a couple of times until he felt ready to open his eyes again, slowly sitting up in bed.

Bed?

He looked around, finding himself in a cozy room with white walls and wooden floors. The room had a large window next to the bed and two doors, one of which was slightly ajar. Seungcheol heard voices behind it, realizing he wasn’t alone in the place. He glanced down at his body and noticed that all his wounds were bandaged, and he was even wearing pajama pants that definitely weren’t the same pants he had before collapsing on the sand. The door opened fully just as Seungcheol was trying to get to his feet.

“Oh? You’re awake! I was afraid you had died,” a burly man, around forty years old, entered the room and immediately moved to help Seungcheol stand. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

“No... What happened? Who are you?” Only then did he notice the awful pain in his throat. He grimaced and sat back down on the bed, with the man helping him.

“I found you on the beach,” the man replied. “I thought you were dead, so I called the police.” Seungcheol’s eyes widened, and he started feeling anxious. The man, unaware of this, continued talking. “Since they were taking too long to arrive, I brought you to my house when I realized you were still breathing... I’m a doctor; I couldn’t just leave you there,” he chuckled softly. Seungcheol didn’t understand half of what he said—or didn’t pay attention—his mind stuck on “I called the police.” “Some fancy-looking foreigners came with the police. They said they’d wait for you to wake up, but honestly, I had very little hope that you’d survive.”

The man kept rambling, but Seungcheol could no longer hear him. He started looking around the room for a possible escape route, but there was none. Behind the closed door was likely a bathroom, and the other door probably led to some part of the house where the officers were waiting for him. He looked toward the window; the green grass shone on the other side. So, he was on the first floor. He tried to stand up again, and once more, the man helped, asking where he wanted to go.

“I need to get out of here,” Seungcheol muttered to himself, hopping toward the window and trying to open it.

“What?” the man asked, not having understood what he said. “You want fresh air? I’ll help you open it.” He unlocked the window and slid the glass open. Seungcheol sat on the windowsill and sighed, the pain in his abdomen throbbing. “I’ll let the police know you’re awake. Don’t move too much,” the man said as he left the room. Seungcheol watched him go and then used the opportunity to climb to the other side. His bare feet touched the grass, and he leaned against the exterior wall of the house to help himself stand fully upright. He looked around, realizing he was in a fully fenced yard. The fences were made of wood and painted white, not very tall, but in his condition, it would be difficult for Seungcheol to climb over them. The more he observed the place, the more he realized something: there was no way out.

He ran a hand through his face, completely exasperated, and started muttering every curse that came to mind under his breath. Figuring there was no harm in trying, he limped toward the fence and placed his hands on it, attempting to hoist one of his legs over. As expected, the pain wouldn’t allow it. Even so, he tried a few more times, at one point glancing down at his abdomen and noticing that the bandages were starting to stain with blood.

“Choi Seungcheol, are you going to keep trying?” He felt a chill run down his spine at the sound of his name and turned around, seeing a stranger standing on the other side of the window he had just climbed through. The man didn’t seem very tall and had a feline-like gaze; he reminded Seungcheol of Jihoon, except this man was looking at him with such hatred that it became chilling. Despite knowing that everything was already lost, Seungcheol wouldn’t allow himself to be intimidated, so he held his head high, watching as the man easily climbed through the window as he had just done and calmly walked toward him, his hands in the pockets of his fine suit. “I'm the Counselor Min, nice to meet you. So... ready to go back home?”

“No,” Seungcheol answered curtly. “Even if you drag me there, I’ll find a way out.”

Counselor Min chuckled softly.

"Is that so? Tell that to the judge," he motioned with his hand, and two Barbadian officers appeared out of nowhere. No, they had probably been there the whole time, hiding as they watched Seungcheol's poor attempt to escape. He let one of the officers put handcuffs on him while another listed his crimes and repeated the same things they had said the first time he was arrested; it felt almost like déjà vu. Seungcheol never took his eyes off the Counselor.

"Was it Taemin who told everyone where I was?" he asked. For the first time, the man in front of him looked puzzled.

"Lee Taemin? He's dead."

"What?" One of the officers nudged him to start walking; Seungcheol groaned in pain as he did so.

"It was concluded that you were here along with the fugitive Yoo Jimin," Counselor Min continued talking as Seungcheol was led out of the house. The man who had helped him was staring at them, mouth agape. "Where is she?" he asked directly. Seungcheol smiled.

"What do I get if I cooperate?"

"Do you really think you're in a position to ask that?" The Counselor also gave him a fake smile, slightly exasperated by Choi's carefree attitude.

"You're right. If I don't gain anything, why bother telling you?" the criminal replied. Min sighed audibly. "Ah, good luck finding her… if you manage to," Seungcheol said as the officers finally escorted him toward a patrol car parked in front of the house, while the Counselor got into another car with his assistants. Seungcheol was going to be taken to a hospital to treat his wounds before being transferred back to his country. How considerate of those people who were also going to throw him in jail. He leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes.

Was everything going to end like this? So easily? Why? So many things had been his fault, starting with not giving up and letting Taemin help him, who in the end turned out to be a scammer. Seungcheol didn’t believe for a second that the prosecutor was dead, or could it be possible that someone hated him even more than he did, to the point of killing him? Because the only way that man could cease to exist was by being killed. It was true what they said, "a bad penny always turns up," unless someone else puts an end to it. That saying could easily apply to Seungcheol, right? He briefly opened his eyes to look at the bloodstain that now covered almost the entire bandage. If "a bad penny" always comes back, then he wouldn’t die either, not from these wounds left by Jimin. Or maybe he would. If he died… could he reunite with Jeonghan? Surely, Jeonghan would be very happy that day and would thank Seungcheol for avenging him, for getting rid of his parents and almost all those people who never let him rest in peace. But could Jeonghan ever truly rest in peace if his heart was still beating in someone else’s body?

He always ended up thinking about Boo Seungkwan and the heart that he had but didn’t belong to him. Maybe now that he was going back to his country, he could find a way to finish Seungkwan once and for all. He wouldn’t be able to do it in prison, but if he escaped again… or better yet, if he managed to get close to Jihoon again...

He really hoped to see Jihoon again when he returned to Korea. If they placed him in the same prison, he could find a way to get back the only person he had left. Jihoon would want to reconcile with him; he was sure of it. After all, Jihoon had no one else either. Dr. Kwon might stick around for a while, but then he’d get tired and leave him behind. Seungcheol was the only one who would stay by Jihoon’s side for life. He had abandoned him once, but he wouldn’t make that mistake again. Separating from Jihoon was what had led him to where he was now, all because he listened to Taemin’s nonsense. Whoever had killed Taemin had done him a favor, although because of that, they had somehow tracked him down and caught him. 

He fell into a deep sleep, only to be awakened when they arrived at the hospital where he would be treated. They weren’t gentle with him, not that he expected them to be. He simply acted on autopilot, waiting for the moment they would take him back to his country to be imprisoned again. What would his new sentence be? He didn’t care; now he had a new purpose, which was to win Jihoon back. He would do it.

Minghao stared intently at the phone, hoping in vain that it would ring.

"Staring at it won’t make it ring," Junhui said to him, pressing the buttons on the game controller beside Wonwoo, both sitting on the couch in the Wen-Xu home playing video games on the TV. Minghao was sitting on a small armchair next to them, holding the phone, and glanced at Jun.

"Aren’t you supposed to be focusing on your game?" At that moment, a big red "Game Over" flashed on the screen, and both Junhui and Wonwoo cursed under their breath, frustrated. A few seconds later, Minghao’s phone rang.

"Detective Xu Minghao," he answered.

"Hello, Detective," Counselor Min greeted him. "I’m pleased to inform you that the flight to South Korea departs tonight. I’ll call you when we land."

"Alright, thank you very much, Counselor." After a few more formalities, Minghao hung up. "What were you saying, Jun?"

Wonwoo, still sulking over the lost game, stopped complaining to mock his best friend, nudging him repeatedly on the shoulder, while Jun raised both hands in surrender.

"Your stare really did make it ring, love. You’re magical," Jun replied, rolling his eyes and handing the controller to Wonwoo to change the game.

"You’re sleeping alone tonight," Minghao said, standing up and grabbing the car keys from a table before leaving the house, looking a little angry. Or very angry.

"But—" the door closed with a soft thud, "—did I say something wrong? Why is he mad?" He looked at Wonwoo, somewhat bewildered. The officer stretched to grab his water bottle from the floor, took a sip, and then replied:

"You’ve forgotten the basic rules… poor thing."

"What are the basic rules?" Jun asked, playing along.

"Don’t try to be funny at all when Minghao is waiting for important information, like today," Wonwoo said, scrolling through the menu for a new game that piqued his interest.

"But you guys and the rest are always talking nonsense and joking around, whether Minghao is stressed or not… why doesn’t he get mad at you too?!"

"He does, sometimes, but I guess… he prefers our jokes over yours," Wonwoo selected the easiest game he could find to avoid Jun’s complaints later. "We have the right to tease him because we’re his friends and suffer alongside him at work, but you, as his husband, should support him and say sweet things."

"Hao hates it when I’m overly sweet," Jun said, pressing the game buttons as if his life depended on it. Wonwoo chuckled and played half-heartedly at the silly racing game.

"You know… nobody minds a bit of pampering and attention on a stressful day like today," Jun won the round and squealed in excitement, and Wonwoo smiled, setting the controller aside on the couch. "You need to understand him; the last week hasn’t been easy with Choi Seungcheol’s arrest, and now they’re bringing him back. Today was supposed to be the day for you two to be together and celebrate that everything is finally coming to an end. Your life is safe from a killer, and Minghao's workload won’t be as heavy anymore." Wonwoo sighed dramatically. "How have you two survived so many years of marriage?"

"If you knew today was so important, why the hell did you come over to play games at my place?!"

"Mingyu’s out of town, and I also want to celebrate that Seungcheol is finally going to the place where he belongs!"

"Because of you, Hao is now mad—"

"Because of me? You’re the one who opened your mouth!" Jun didn’t even try to defend himself because Wonwoo had a point. Pouting, he looked for the next game.

Minghao took the phone away from his ear when he saw that Mingyu wasn’t answering. He had called him like ten times, and his best friend hadn’t answered a single time. What kind of best friend was that?! He wasn’t even working; Minghao knew his schedule very well. He also called Chan, but he was covering another officer’s shift at the station. He called Joshua too, but like Mingyu, he didn’t pick up either. Seokmin was his next option, and within minutes, Minghao was filling a glass of wine, sitting in front of the lawyer at the dining table in his home.

“And that’s why you’re mad?” Seokmin asked, looking at him, disappointed.

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“No.”

Minghao made a face of disgust and then took a sip from his glass.

“Honey, I’m home. The line was huge,” they heard Joshua say as he arrived. Seokmin immediately got up to greet him and help him with the groceries he had brought. Minghao remained at the table, holding the glass between his fingers. “Oh, what are you doing here?” Joshua asked, placing the bags he was carrying on the table, and then Seokmin did the same.

“I called you many times, and you never answered,” Minghao replied, his gaze distant. “I’m not sleeping at home tonight.”

“What? Did something happen with Jun?” Joshua sat beside him, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about that drama king,” Seokmin said. “He’s like this because Jun made a dumb joke while he was waiting for the Counselor’s call.”

“You don’t understand!” Minghao exclaimed. “I’ve been stressed out all week, waiting for news… and he just made fun of me. Instead of supporting and helping me, Jun mocked me.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t making fun of you; he probably just wanted to relieve your stress with a joke!” Joshua said, patting his sad friend’s back as a gesture of support.

“I think Minghao is jealous because Wonwoo stole all of Jun’s attention,” Seokmin teased, singing his words. “Don’t be so childish, Hao, for goodness’ sake.”

“Shut up,” Minghao looked away, embarrassed, his cheeks and ears starting to take on a slight red hue. He finished his drink and was about to refill it when Seokmin and Joshua stopped him. He sighed in surrender and rested his head on the table. “Anyway, can I sleep here?”

“No,” the engaged couple answered in unison. “Go home,” Joshua insisted. “I’m sure Jun already realized his mistake and wants to apologize.”

“I told him he would sleep alone tonight, and I always keep my word. So, pick: bed or couch?”

And so, when night fell, the homeowners were sitting on the couch in the living room while their guest had locked himself in their bedroom to sleep.

“Why did you let him stay in our room?” Seokmin questioned his fiancé. Joshua smiled and gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

“He’s exhausted; he needs a big place to rest alone.”

“We’re both not going to fit on this couch!”

“You sleep on the couch; I’ll sleep on the flo—”

Joshua cut his sentence short when Seokmin got up from the couch and stomped towards the bedroom. A few minutes later, Minghao came out, wrapped in a blanket with his hair all disheveled, and sat next to Joshua.

“Seokmin kicked me out of the bedroom,” he said, “and told me to tell you he’s not sleeping with you tonight.” Joshua and Minghao sighed simultaneously, defeated.

Chapter Text

The investigation into Lee Taemin had come to an end, and it was determined that he was guilty of everything he was accused of. That was great, but he was no longer around to pay for what he had done, so the only ones imprisoned were a few of his accomplices, although many others managed to escape the country or hide very well and still hadn’t been found. Commissioner Im was very pleased with the result, so much so that, as a gift, she helped expedite Choi Seungcheol’s case.

As expected, Seungcheol was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of appeal. At the request of her "favorite agents," Yoona did everything possible to have Seungcheol imprisoned in a different prison from Jihoon’s, as a precaution to prevent them from communicating. He was given a solitary confinement cell, from which he could only leave for a few minutes a day. Having recovered from his injuries, Seungcheol never stopped complaining about the place he had been put in, and when he realized he wouldn’t be heard, he began trying to negotiate with the guards for at least one phone call with Jihoon; he just wanted to let Jihoon know that he was fine, that he was back, but the chance was denied.

Either way, Jihoon found out soon enough thanks to Soonyoung and his "monthly report of what’s been going on in the world." The news left Jihoon speechless; on one hand, it calmed his heart to know that his best friend, or ex-best friend, or whatever Seungcheol was to him at that point, was okay, and at the same time, it unsettled him a bit to know that he had returned. Due to all the memories he had with Seungcheol, whether good or bad, Jihoon couldn’t hate him, no matter how hard he tried. He had already left behind the notion of trying to hate Seungcheol. He wasn’t going to lie to himself; Choi would always have a piece of his heart, and he would never be able to forget him. Letting go was different, and he had been doing it little by little, but the anxiety of knowing about Seungcheol’s current situation didn’t disappear until he finally heard everything from Soonyoung.

"I guess I'll never see him again…" Jihoon murmured, head down. Soonyoung, sitting on the other side of the glass, nodded, his expression filled with concern as he saw how downhearted his boyfriend looked.

"It’s for the best for both of you," Soonyoung assured him. "You can finally have peace."

Seungcheol was incredibly bored in his cell. He paced in circles, lay down on the mattress, and then paced in circles again. Remembering many things. He felt like he was going to go crazy in there, but there was no way he could escape. He had taken for granted that he would regain contact with Jihoon, and not doing so had deeply disheartened him. He thought he had failed Jeonghan; nothing he had done made sense if he had ended up in there. He had failed Jihoon when he left his side, but above all, he had failed himself because he had set a goal and didn’t achieve it. Being alive was beginning to feel heavy, each day was the same as the last, and he didn’t realize that a year had passed. There, in his cell, without seeing anyone he knew during all that time. A wasted year. Another year without Jeonghan and his first official year without Jihoon.

Outside the prison, a lot of things did happen during that year, the most important being Joshua and Seokmin’s wedding. Contrary to what all their friends had expected, it was actually a quiet and very small Western-style ceremony. The guests were a few family members from both sides, coworkers, and of course, their friends, who acted as the groomsmen.

The hall where it was held was impeccably decorated, with the dominant colors being white, pastel pink, and beige. The dress code matched those colors, so all the guests wore suits or dresses in those tones, while Joshua and Seokmin contrasted with them by wearing pastel blue tuxedos. The tables had beautiful floral arrangements, and the wedding arch was adorned with vines and some white and pink roses. The grooms had their emotional moment when saying their vows, and of course, the guys, especially Wonwoo, teased them and pulled out their phones to record and immortalize that sweet moment.

"You finally got married," Wonwoo had said after the ceremony and the newlyweds’ first dance, side-hugging Chan. Joshua was on the other side of the hall, forcing Junhui to take "aesthetic" photos of him. "With all the back and forth you went through, I thought you’d stay engaged for all eternity."

"We didn’t go back and forth that much!" Seokmin exclaimed. "We were just waiting for a time when neither of us was so busy."

"Not really, you won’t even get to have a honeymoon," Chan muttered. Wonwoo covered his mouth with his hand to keep his laughter from sounding too loud, while the newlywed just rolled his eyes.

"A honeymoon isn’t very compatible with our lifestyle and professions. It’s not like it’s strictly necessary to have one, you know?" Seokmin replied, and Chan shrugged.

"I honestly don’t know, I’ve never been married. But thanks for the info."

"You should stop hanging out with Wonwoo so much… he’s turning you into a mini version of himself," the lawyer muttered. Wonwoo laughed at this and looked at Chan with pride, as if he were his masterpiece.

"I don’t think so," Minghao, who had been fetching drinks for him and Wonwoo, appeared out of nowhere, apparently having overheard part of the conversation. "Chan’s always been like this. Sometimes he’s even worse than Wonwoo."

"I don’t know if I should be flattered or offended by that," Wonwoo said, taking a sip from the mojito Minghao handed him. "Ah, whatever, is Joshua still taking pictures?" He looked around for the detective until he spotted him posing by a window, pretending he didn’t know someone was taking a photo of him, while Jun awkwardly twisted his body trying to capture the shot and nearly fell to the floor. "See? This is what happens when you don’t hire a professional photographer."

"It’s not that we didn’t want to hire a professional photographer," Seokmin said, turning to also watch his now-husband being photographed. "It’s just… it slipped our minds."

"How does 'hiring a photographer' just slip your mind?" Minghao asked with a teasing tone, and Seokmin shot him an annoyed look.

"Stop criticizing what we did or didn’t do for our wedding, the goal was to get married, and we did! So cut us some slack," he snatched the drink from Wonwoo and downed it in one gulp. "Damn… I do want to have a honeymoon," he sighed, then pouted. "Why did I decide to be a lawyer? This damn job doesn’t let me breathe."

"Aww… poor thing," Minghao patted his head sympathetically. "You two should take at least a five-day vacation, Seokmin. It wouldn’t hurt you."

"But we’re both really busy this month," he replied, wearing a sad expression he tried to mask when he saw Joshua approaching them, cheerfully chatting with Jun. Joshua immediately noticed that Seokmin didn’t look too happy and went over to him, looking concerned.

"What’s wrong, love?"

"Nothing—"

"Seokmin’s sad because he wants to have a honeymoon," Chan ratted him out, and Seokmin was seconds away from lunging at him to hit him, but the youngest used Wonwoo as his shield. "Why are you mad!? It’s the truth!" Chan shouted at Seokmin, who just tried to hit him again, failing once more.

"Are you really upset about that?" Joshua cupped Seokmin’s face in his hands. The younger man huffed, and after shooting daggers at Chan with his eyes, he replied:

"I’m not upset, it’s just… something I’d like, but I know it’ll be impossible for us, so it’s not even worth mentioning." Joshua pouted and caressed his husband’s cheek with his thumb, thinking of a solution. "Forget it, Joshua, it’s not a big deal."

But now, for Joshua, it was a "big deal." It broke his heart to see Seokmin disappointed. He forced himself to forget the issue so as not to make his husband uncomfortable and enjoyed the rest of the wedding with him and the other guests. After a few hours, everyone started heading home, and after saying goodbye to the last of the guests, Joshua and Seokmin did too. Seokmin was driving while Joshua was using his phone in the passenger seat; a notification from Wonwoo popped up while he was browsing through the photos Jun had taken of him earlier.

"Shua, you're in luck because Seungkwan invited us to his house in Jeju next month. He wants to celebrate with us the fact that it’s been a year since Choi Seungcheol was arrested. He even invited Dr. Soonyoung (and that's saying something, considering they don't get along well)"

"Great." 

"But why would I spend my honeymoon at Seungkwan's house?" 

"Seokmin and I aren't degenerates like you."

"Did I tell you to go fuck around at his house? Idiot." 

"HEY, WHO ARE YOU CALLING A DEGENERATE?"

"I'm just telling you to take a few extra days off work. After celebrating with Seungkwan, you and Seokmin can spend a few days exploring Jeju."

"For God's sake." 

"And you call me the degenerate with those kinds of thoughts?"

"Ohh, thank you so much, Wonu." 

"I love you, you saved my life."

"I won’t forget you called me a degenerate."

"Deal with it."

Joshua smiled and looked at Seokmin, who was humming along to some song playing softly on the radio.

"We will have a honeymoon, babe" Joshua said. Seokmin, surprised, glanced at him for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the road. "Seungkwan invited us to his place, and Wonwoo suggested that after we visit, we could stay a few more days in Jeju. What do you think?"

"Amazing!" Seokmin's wide smile lit up Joshua's night. "When is it? This week? Should I start packing my bags?"

"It's next month. Wonwoo didn’t tell me the exact date. I’ll ask him when we get home."

Seokmin nodded, still visibly excited. Joshua never thought he'd be so grateful to Wonwoo for something, though technically he should thank Seungkwan... either way, seeing Seokmin happy made Joshua happy too.

The month passed in the blink of an eye, and suddenly, everyone was in Jeju, welcomed by Seungkwan and Hansol at their large house. Seungkwan gave a tour to those who hadn't been there before, while Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Hansol arranged the luggage in the rooms. Since there were only three rooms in the house, Wonwoo, Mingyu, Jun, and Joshua would sleep in one, and Seokmin, Chan, Soonyoung, and Minghao in another. Wonwoo’s idea was that no one should sleep in the same room as their partner to avoid any awkward moments, but then he made Chan switch rooms with Mingyu because, according to him, "I can’t sleep well without Mingyu." Seungkwan also placed an inflatable mattress in both rooms to make it easier for the guys to divide the space when it was time to sleep.

"Aren’t you two having your honeymoon on this trip?" Seungkwan asked Joshua the day after they arrived, helping him set the table for breakfast. "Why did you sleep in separate rooms?"

"It was all Wonwoo's idea" he replied, letting out a sigh. Seungkwan chuckled quietly; Wonwoo’s silly behavior didn’t surprise him. "But tomorrow, Seokmin and I will go to a hotel and have the next four days just for us, so it’s no big deal."

"If you need any recommendations for places to visit, don’t hesitate to ask me" Seungkwan offered.

"Alright, thanks—"

"Boo! What are we having for breakfast? I’m hungry!" Wonwoo entered the dining room, interrupting Joshua, and hugged Seungkwan like a stuffed toy. Seungkwan, unfazed, carried him into the kitchen, where, as expected, Mingyu was cooking alongside Jun. Joshua took the chance to go look for Seokmin, the only one he hadn’t seen that morning. Nearby, on a balcony off the dining room, a heated ping pong match was taking place between Minghao and Hansol, with Soonyoung and Chan cheering separately for each of them. Joshua leaned against the doorframe to watch for a few minutes, but he didn’t have to wait long because, just then, Hansol hit the small ball off the balcony. Joshua laughed when he saw the four guys run to the railing, frantically searching below for the ball with their eyes and blaming each other for losing it.

He turned and continued down the hall toward the room where Seokmin had slept, only to run into him coming out of the bathroom. The lawyer smiled and hugged him.

"Good morning" Joshua greeted him sweetly. Seokmin kissed him on the lips. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept well, but I missed you a lot" Seokmin sighed dramatically as they began walking together toward the dining room. "Wonwoo is such a jerk. I won’t listen to him ever again."

"You don’t have to" Joshua reassured him with a smile. When they arrived at the dining room, they found everyone sitting down, so they took the two chairs saved for them, side by side.

Breakfast was filled with laughter, and after eating, they spent a while chatting. Gradually, the conversation shifted toward Choi Seungcheol and how, even though he wasn't free anymore, he still lingered in their minds, having nearly ruined their lives more than once.

"I really thought I wasn’t going to survive" Seungkwan said as they talked. "Two years ago, I got sick and thought it would be best to give up until he contacted me, and not long after, Joshua did too. Knowing Seungcheol wanted me dead made me want to live." he finished with a small laugh.

"You should write a book about that experience and become a millionaire," Soonyoung said. "Although it seems like you don’t need the money."

"You should write a book about your story with Jihoon," Chan continued. Minghao and Joshua exchanged surprised glances.

"Doctor, are you still with Jihoon!?" Joshua exclaimed, and Soonyoung nodded proudly. "I can see that your relationship is very strong."

"I think all of your relationships are very strong; I mean, I could never put up with so much," Chan said, then pointed at Joshua. "Seungcheol almost killed you, and even though you were nothing, Seokmin stayed by your side." He pointed at Wonwoo next. "You’re unbearable, and for some reason, Mingyu has tolerated you all these years. The same goes for you," he pointed at Minghao, who gasped indignantly. "You all have a high tolerance for everything life throws at you; I commend you."

"Ah, do you remember when we were the ones humiliating Chan?" Wonwoo asked with a nostalgic smile. "Now he’s the one humiliating us."

"We should reminisce about the good old days," Minghao proposed, finding the idea excellent. Everyone at the table laughed at this, as if what Minghao had just said was a joke. It wasn’t. Whenever he had the slightest chance to mock Chan, he would gladly do it.

"Don’t be hostile; it’s only nine in the morning," Jun, sitting next to Minghao, said in a playful tone. The detective rolled his eyes and looked at Chan across the table, resigned, and the younger man returned the gaze, just with a hint of mockery. Well, Minghao would get back at him someday.

"Is there a specific time to be hostile?" Hansol asked.

"Not for them," Chan replied, feigning exhaustion, even though he had been the one to start everything. "Hey, what if we do something together tonight?" Everyone’s attention turned to Chan, encouraging him to continue. "Since we’re gathered here to celebrate, why don’t we all go out to eat or drink?"

Chan looked at each of them with expectation in his eyes; his bright gaze could convince anyone. But the others began to complain and give reasons why they didn’t want to leave the house.

"Why go out when the house is so big?" Minghao complained.

"We can order drinks and drink until dawn if you want, but going out? No, thanks," Wonwoo grumbled.

"We can have a bonfire in the backyard; there’s no need to go out," Seungkwan proposed, and everyone applauded.

"Aw, I want to go out," Mingyu said, and Chan made a heart with his hands, showing it to Mingyu affectionately.

"Then you two can go out alone," Seokmin declared seriously, then looked at Seungkwan, smiling again. "Can we have the bonfire without those two, right?"

"Of course," Seungkwan replied. Both Mingyu and Chan looked at him, shocked. "What? You’re not trapped here; you can go out if you want."

Finally, against Chan and Mingyu’s wishes, they set up the bonfire in the backyard as night fell. Some wore jackets, while others huddled together under blankets, like Seokmin and Minghao, who were shivering as if the temperature were below zero. Joshua got fed up watching Hansol and Jun struggle to light the fire, so he did it himself, then sat next to Seokmin, who moved from huddling with Minghao to huddling with him. They had dinner sitting in chairs around the fire, chatting about anything, joking, with Minghao taking the opportunity to mock Chan and his desire to go out on the street.

Amidst this, Wonwoo scanned each of them, happy that everyone had made it to this moment alive. He saw Seungkwan passing his plate to Hansol so he could finish eating, recalling the days he spent at Seungkwan’s house when Seungcheol was still a threat. On the other side were Minghao and Junhui; the detective continued to "fight" with Chan, while Jun looked at him with lovestruck eyes, laughing at everything. Wonwoo smiled too. His best friend no longer looked like a zombie; he seemed healthier and happier, and so did Minghao. The past year had brought significant changes to everyone’s lives, changes that Wonwoo greatly appreciated. Joshua and Seokmin were in their own bubble, whispering sweet nothings to each other; Seokmin rested his head on Joshua’s shoulder, and Joshua’s hand rested on his thigh. They looked so comfortable together, very different from how they used to be. Wonwoo was genuinely happy for them; Joshua had gone through so many existential crises thinking his life would only consist of watching Seokmin from afar, and seeing him now happily married to him taught Wonwoo that even the clumsiest person out there could achieve their goals, even if it took years to gather the courage to fight for them. Chan stood up from his chair to go over to Minghao, but Soonyoung easily pulled him back by his shirt and sat him down again, telling him not to act like a child. Wonwoo laughed at this, and Chan turned to look at him, frowning.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked.

"Can’t I laugh?" Wonwoo replied in the same tone. Chan muttered something and returned to his absurd argument with Minghao.

Wonwoo's right shoulder was touched softly twice. He looked to see who it was—Mingyu, smiling warmly at him.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, running a hand through Wonwoo's hair, slightly smoothing it down.

"That... I’m happy," he replied, looking at the bonfire and then back at Mingyu. "I’m happy because we’re together and alive." He intertwined his hand with his husband’s. "These past two years have been so difficult, but so many things have happened... it might sound strange, but I’m a little thankful to Choi Seungcheol."

"Thankful? For what?"

"For everything that happened; we all became closer. Joshua nearly died, and you were kidnapped, yes, but we became closer! We learned things about each other that had never crossed our minds, and... I don’t know, I’m happy about that, I guess."

"I’m happy to see you happy then." Mingyu brought Wonwoo’s hand to his lips and placed a kiss on it, making the older man’s smile widen.

Being happy felt so good.

Chapter Text

The cool autumn breeze was the first thing he felt when he stepped outside the prison. The weight of his backpack, slung over one shoulder, was barely noticeable due to the few things he had inside. It was as if he had never felt the sunlight on his skin before or the way his skin tingled from the sudden change in temperature. Every sensation felt so new, almost as if Jihoon had just been reborn. He looked around the empty street and saw him, walking toward him with his hands in the pockets of his coat. Jihoon froze there, with the massive prison gates closed behind him; he wanted to leap forward, to cry with joy, but he couldn’t do anything because his body refused to respond.

He had been released after serving 10 years of his sentence following his appeal. The jury considered his good behavior in prison, along with the cooperation he provided to help with the case, to be important factors. Additionally, his involvement in the crimes had been evaluated as secondary. It took 10 years for all of this to happen, but he managed to get out, and in the end, that was what really mattered. During those ten years in confinement, he hadn't seen Seungcheol even once; his face slowly faded from his memory, and he could no longer recall his voice. Sometimes, he couldn’t help but miss him, but he always reminded himself that staying away from him had been for the best. Soonyoung had been his main support throughout that time, so Jihoon was okay.

Finally, he had Soonyoung in front of him without a glass barrier separating them, for the first time in a decade. And the erratic beating of his heart told him that he still felt the same way about that doctor as he did before being imprisoned. He hoped Soonyoung felt the same.

"Soon-"

When Jihoon finally gathered the courage to speak, after they had just been staring at each other for minutes that felt eternal, Soonyoung moved, so fast that Jihoon was startled for a moment. The doctor's arms wrapped around his body in a tight, warm embrace. It felt so good that Jihoon could have melted right there. No hug he had ever had in his life compared to this one, not even close. Soonyoung’s hands started to roam over his shoulders, his head, his arms, and finally his face, which he stroked with deliberate care, as if he wanted to memorize every feature of Jihoon with his hands. It didn’t take long for the younger man to realize that his boyfriend was crying.

"I missed you so much," he murmured between sobs, not stopping his touches. Even though he had visited him frequently over the past few months, nothing compared to having him right in front of him. "I really missed you so much." He hugged him again, burying Jihoon’s face in his chest.

"I missed you too," Jihoon finally returned the hug. "Thank you for waiting for me, Soonyoung, and for coming to get me, and-"

Soonyoung interrupted him with a kiss on the lips.

"I’d do anything for you," he kissed him again. "I love you."

This time, Jihoon was the one who kissed him, squeezing Soonyoung’s cheeks between his hands. He could feel the heat rising to his face, but he didn’t care if he was redder than a tomato.

"I love you too," he wrapped his arms around Soonyoung's neck, "I love you more than you think." Soonyoung smiled, his cheeks just as red as Jihoon’s.

"Well, we won’t spend the whole afternoon here; let’s go home, love." Soonyoung took Jihoon’s backpack and slung it over his shoulder, then put an arm around the younger man's shoulders to lead him to the car. "Would you like to do something today?"

"No," Jihoon shook his head, getting into the passenger seat of the car. "I just want to be with you... unless you have to work today?"

"I’m all yours today," Soonyoung replied, "and always."

Seeing Soonyoung like this, so cheerful and smiling, filled Jihoon’s heart completely. The years had passed, and it showed a bit for both of them; they were no longer in their mid or late twenties. But what Jihoon was grateful for was that, even though their relationship before all the trouble had lasted little more than a year, Soonyoung had already decided back then that he would spend his entire life with him. And it was a good thing he did because, although Jihoon’s thought might be a bit selfish, he knew he couldn’t live without Soonyoung. For a brief moment, he hated himself so much for denying for so long that he really loved Soonyoung, and when he finally realized it, he couldn’t enjoy it for long before...

Jihoon shook his head, clearing those thoughts, and turned to watch his boyfriend drive. Now that they could be together without anything separating them, Jihoon would make the most of it.

Minghao took one last look at himself in the mirror, listening to Junhui rushing around the living room.

"Jun, are you looking for something?" he asked, moving closer to the mirror to get a better view of his makeup.

"I can’t find the gift, Hao! I swear it was on the couch!" Their eyes met through the mirror as Junhui passed behind his husband, who didn’t look too happy. Minghao turned around with his arms crossed, his expression a mix of challenge and disapproval.

"What do you mean you can’t find it!?" he shouted, and they both started looking for a small box wrapped in blue gift paper all over the house. After about twenty minutes of searching, Junhui remembered he had put the gift in the car. "I swear if we’re late..." Minghao threatened as he fastened his seatbelt once they were in the car. Junhui, sitting beside him with the gift in his hands, interrupted him, smiling.

"If we’re late, you’re going to cover my face in kisses, right?"

"Don’t count on it."

Jun snorted and then looked at the box fondly.

"I really hope he likes the gift, and that this makes me his favorite again." He sighed. "I used to be his favorite when he first arrived, but then Chan took my place." He made a strange face, as if he were suffering or something; Minghao wasn’t paying much attention since he was more focused on the road. "Wait... how many years has it been? Six, or is it seven?"

"It’s been seven," Minghao replied. "Damn, time flies."

"Yeah... he was only one year old when he arrived and could barely walk. Now he’s a little troublemaker." He let out a small laugh. "I remember when he spilled a glass of soda on my computer because, according to him, 'it was too hot and probably thirsty'... that kid..." Minghao laughed too, nodding at Jun’s words.

"It’s his way of showing he cares about you and your things." Jun gave him a mock annoyed look before bursting into laughter along with him.

Junhui was very healthy now; the first years after his liver transplant had been tough, and in the following years, he experienced small periods of recovery and relapse. However, over the past eight years, his health had improved significantly, to the point where he had returned to work as a cybersecurity agent. Minghao, on the other hand, had finally been promoted to Chief Inspector, so his job now mainly involved leading complex investigations, similar to Joshua, who had recently been promoted to Senior Inspector. Everyone’s careers had taken off significantly in recent years, and Commissioner Im, who was no longer a commissioner but rather Superintendent Im, had been so generous with them that on one of the anniversaries of the death (which she herself had caused) of Prosecutor Lee, she revealed to everyone who had really investigated Choi Seungcheol from the very beginning.

Wonwoo was still in the toy store, searching for the perfect gift for his nephew—his only nephew, actually, and his favorite. He wandered through the huge aisles, looking at the shelves nearly bursting with toys, but nothing convinced him. That's when he remembered he didn’t have much time, so he ran to the section with bicycles, cars, skateboards, and things like that.

"Inspector Jeon?" a young voice called. Wonwoo turned to see the young lieutenant Yang, Chan's new assistant, holding a small bicycle on display for sale.

"Hey... do you have kids?" he asked, looking at the bike. The young man shook his head multiple times.

"Captain Lee sent me to buy this while he finishes his work," he responded. Wonwoo nodded; so Chan had decided to buy a bicycle, interesting... In that case, Wonwoo would buy a remote-controlled car that looked like some kind of luxury vehicle.

"I see... but that one's too small, I recommend you take that one," he pointed to a slightly larger bicycle, and the lieutenant thanked him.

After paying and having the beautiful car he bought wrapped as a gift, Wonwoo hurried to the new home of Joshua and Seokmin, which luckily wasn’t far from the toy store. On the way, he called Mingyu.

"Yes?"

"Are you coming to the party or not?" Wonwoo got momentarily distracted and almost crashed into the car in front of him, but managed to avoid it, earning a series of angry honks from the surrounding cars.

"I'll try to come, but I can't promise anything, I'm really busy. Doctor Kwon is sorry he can't make it, he'll bring the gift to Seokmin's office tomorrow," Mingyu’s voice sounded a bit down, even through the car speakers.

"Okay, I'll let everyone know. I hope you can come; the kid really misses you. Oh, by the way, I bought him an awesome car; Chan's gift won’t even compare to it," he smiled smugly even though no one could see it. Mingyu also laughed on the other end of the line. "Anyway, I won't bother you anymore, goodbye."

"Goodbye, love you."

"Yeah, love you too," Wonwoo pressed the button to end the call, which was right on the steering wheel, and at that moment, he arrived at the lovely house of the intense couple... of Joshua and Seokmin. As soon as he parked, another car pulled in behind his, which he immediately recognized as Minghao’s. He got out along with the large wrapped gift and greeted his colleague and best friend who were getting out of their car.

"What the hell is that?" were the first words Jun said to him, approaching with a small box in his arms.

"Did you leave your manners at home?" Wonwoo teased him. Jun rolled his eyes, and Minghao smiled, moving ahead of them to knock on the door and announce their arrival. "It's a car," he finally answered, "so the baby can play all day in the yard and learn to drive like his uncle."

"I hope by 'uncle' you don’t mean yourself, because you drive like crap." The door opened, and the first thing the three adults saw were the large, expressive brown eyes of the child.

"Hi! You're late," he greeted them with a sweet smile, although he had just scolded them in a way. Behind him came Seokmin, who also greeted them and invited them inside. "Where are the other uncles?"

"They'll be a bit late," Minghao told him in a soft tone, ruffling the dark-haired child's head, who responded with a giggle. The house was fully decorated; the living room was filled with balloons of many colors, and there was a large table with all the presents on or under it, next to another table with a beautiful white cake that had "Happy birthday Soomin" written in blue letters. On the plastic chairs arranged around the room were some adults, either using their phones or chatting with each other, whom Minghao assumed were the parents of the invited children who were running and squealing all over the place.

"Will Gyu make it?" Seokmin quietly asked Wonwoo, helping him place the car in front of the gift table. The older man shrugged.

"Maybe not," Wonwoo glanced at the child, who was excitedly talking to Jun about something. "Wow, I can't believe he's already eight."

"Right?" Seokmin also looked at his son with teary eyes and a smile, and Wonwoo realized he was about to start crying at any moment. He gave the lawyer a pat on the shoulder as he started wiping his tears with his fingers. "In seven years, he'll be a teenager, and in fourteen, he'll be in college... What will we do when our little one leaves the house?"

"I think you're getting ahead of yourself, Seokmin," Wonwoo continued consoling him, looking at him with a playful smile. Soomin stopped talking to Jun when a girl approached him and grabbed his hand, running with him toward the open glass door that led to the yard. "Kids have so much energy," he sighed; from where he stood, he could see all the children running around the yard, rolling on the grass, playing some strange game that only they understood. "Anyway, where’s your husband?"

"He's probably in the kitchen," Seokmin replied. "You can go look for him there, I'll be in the yard watching the kids." Wonwoo nodded and followed Seokmin with his eyes until he disappeared from view. He didn’t have to head to the kitchen because Joshua came out of it at that very moment, wearing a floral apron. He approached Minghao, Wonwoo, and Junhui, greeting them with a tired smile.

"When all the guests leave and Soomin goes to sleep, we can celebrate for a bit, what do you think?" was the first thing he said, taking off the apron and throwing it on a dining chair. They all noticed the dark circles under his eyes and his slightly disheveled appearance.

"We'll do whatever it takes to cheer you up," Minghao looked at him both apologetically and amused. "Being a parent is still hard, huh?"

"I had no idea organizing a party could be so..." he sighed, not finishing his sentence. He sat on a chair around the dining table with the others and continued speaking, "Seokmin insisted so much on helping me because it was the first time we were throwing a party from scratch, and I refused because I thought it would be easy to organize this from one day to the next... I regret it so much," he rested his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands, letting out a groan of frustration. "Did the decoration and everything else turn out okay?"

"Yes, of course," the others reassured him immediately. "It looks like it was done by professionals," Junhui added. "Like the parties from previous years. I think you should quit your job with the police and start an interior decorating business, you've got talent."

"No need to lie so much, Jun," Wonwoo said, and Joshua laughed, still with his face hidden in his hands.

They had only been talking for a few minutes when the doorbell rang, and almost at the same time, the little birthday boy ran into the house, heading for the front door. Everyone around the table exchanged looks; they knew who it was.

"Uncle Chan!" they could hear Soomin squeal from their seats.

Chan left the bike leaning against the door frame and caught Soomin in his arms as the boy wrapped himself around his neck with excitement. When he stood up, the child didn’t want to let go, so Chan kept holding him with one arm as if he were much younger than he was. With his other arm, he brought in the bike, which had a red ribbon on one of the handles, and then nudged the door closed with his foot. He greeted the people in the living room and placed the bike where Soomin indicated, next to the wrapped car that Wonwoo had brought, and then he headed to the dining room, still holding the child.

"Soomin, did you leave your friends alone in the yard?" Joshua stood up, walking toward Chan and the boy with his arms on his hips. Soomin nodded slowly. "Do you think that makes you a good host?"

"They're not alone... Dad's with them!" the birthday boy excused himself. "Besides, I had to greet my uncle."

"Yes, you're right, Soomin. Don’t listen to your dad," Chan defended the boy, making Joshua sigh in exhaustion. "Why don't we go to the yard and say hi to Seokmin?"

"Okay!" the boy exclaimed.

"And what, you're not going to greet us?" Minghao shouted at him, but the man just turned and stuck his tongue out playfully, which the child in his arms copied, and Minghao looked at them, completely offended and indignant. "You let your son do that?" he yelled at Joshua, who shrugged and sat down again.

"Sometimes I think he loves Chan more than me," the father admitted, defeated. "Do you guys want to start drinking now?"

"Wait until your son's party is over, have some decency, please," Wonwoo said. Joshua slowly slid down until his head rested on the table, and in no time, he fell asleep. He had even started snoring.

After an hour, and after distributing the cake, the party ended, and Soomin waved goodbye to all his friends, swinging his hand from side to side alongside Seokmin on the porch of their house. Both he and all the children were exhausted; some had given up and were being carried by their parents. After saying goodbye to the last friend, Soomin rubbed his eye with the back of his hand and yawned.

"Are you sleepy?" Seokmin asked, and Soomin nodded. "Take a bath and brush your teeth, okay?" He patted the boy on the shoulders, and Soomin went to his room to do as his father had told him. The lawyer finally took a breath and went back into the house, looking at the small mess in the living room, which he would clean up later, and then headed to the dining room, where Joshua, now awake, was placing some drinks on the table.

"Babe, are you joining us?" he asked when he noticed his presence. Seokmin wanted to say no, and he should have, because he had to work the next day, but… once a year wouldn’t hurt, right?

Yes, it would.

Seokmin was the first to pass out, followed by Chan and Wonwoo. Minghao didn’t drink much because he wanted to supervise Jun to make sure he didn’t drink, and Joshua, who was the most eager to drink, didn’t do so much either.

"I need to put Soomin to bed," was what he explained to Jun and Minghao when they asked why he wasn't getting drunk. Anyway, Soomin had appeared in the dining room a few minutes later, looking for either of his parents, and with Joshua being the only one still conscious, the boy took him by the hand and led him to his room. Soomin lay down in his bed and waited for Joshua to tuck him in and give him a kiss on the forehead; after that, he really seemed ready to sleep. "Good night, Soomin."

"Good night, Dad," the boy replied, sleepy. Joshua waited for him to fall asleep before turning off the light and leaving the room, but just as he was about to do so, Soomin spoke again. "Are you and Dad going to have a sleepover with the uncles tonight?" It was then that Joshua remembered the three drunk men passed out at the dining room table. He smacked his forehead, unable to believe he'd allowed his son to see his "uncles" and dad in such a state.

"No, your uncles... they're just really tired, that's why they're sleeping, but they’ll go home soon," he replied. "Well, don't worry about them and just sleep, okay?"

"Okay… I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Soomin." He finally turned off the light and slowly closed the door, trying not to make any noise. As he came out of the hallway leading to the bedrooms, he saw everyone, including the drunks who had been asleep minutes before, walking toward the living room. "What are you all doing?"

"We’re going to clean everything up. You can sit down," Seokmin told him, walking over to plant a loud kiss on his cheek before staggering away. Joshua followed and caught him just before he fell to the floor, and Seokmin let out a silly giggle. He was still drunk. "Sit down," he ordered, weakly trying to push Joshua toward the nearest couch. "We’ll take care of everything..." he slurred, swaying from side to side, "you just stay seated, got it?"

"Yeah..." He looked at Minghao, who waved his hand dismissively, then started collecting the trash into bags alongside Junhui. Chan and Wonwoo came up with the brilliant idea of popping the balloons to get rid of them.

“What are you doing!?” Joshua shouted, though in a whisper, if that makes sense.

“Cleaning up the balloons,” Wonwoo replied matter-of-factly. He looked a little more composed, but still drunk.

“Popping them!? You're going to wake the kid!” Joshua tried to get up, but Seokmin placed a finger on his lips, hushing him to stay quiet. Seeing that he couldn't stop them, Joshua gave up and let them do whatever they wanted, silently praying Soomin wouldn't wake up. Once everything was cleaned up, they all sat around the living room, except for Seokmin, who flopped down on top of Joshua and fell asleep there.

They were old friends reminiscing about their lives in the early hours of the morning after having a few drinks, something that had become a regular ritual over the last few years. It was a tradition they had to repeat at least once a month at someone's house. Minghao smiled as he looked at all the frames neatly arranged on the largest wall in the living room—photos of Soomin as a baby, pictures from Joshua and Seokmin's wedding (each one taken by Jun and Wonwoo), and a slightly larger portrait of Joshua and Seokmin in the center, holding Soomin, who must have been about two or three years old, with Wonwoo, Minghao, and Chan standing beside them.

Noticing the time, Joshua called Mingyu to pick up Wonwoo. The poor nurse had just finished his shift and took a taxi to the couple's house to collect his husband, who, while appearing somewhat sober, still couldn't drive. Minghao and Jun were the next to leave. Thanks to Chan, Minghao had to drive him home in Chan's own car. The downside was that Chan hadn't moved out of the awful huge building where he lived—the one where the elevators always seemed to be broken. Somehow, Minghao managed to drag Chan all the way to the top floor where he lived, despite the man's protests that he didn’t need help and wasn’t drunk anymore. Luckily for Minghao, when he finally made it back down, completely exhausted, Jun was there waiting for him, and they headed back to their own home.

Joshua carried Seokmin to their bed and then headed to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. His entire body ached, and it was moments like this that reminded him he wasn't as young as he used to be. When he came out of the bathroom, Seokmin was sitting on the bed, looking wide awake.

“I don’t think I’m sleepy anymore.”

“You think?”

“I’ll take a shower,” Seokmin said, bouncing out of bed, full of energy. He walked past Joshua to the bathroom, and before closing the door, added, “You’d better be asleep when I come out. You’re exhausted.”

Joshua couldn’t fall asleep either. And sleep didn’t return even after Seokmin came back from the bathroom, nor when he got into bed, nor when he gave him a goodnight kiss that lasted a little longer than usual. Joshua’s hand slid down Seokmin’s thigh, still covered by his pajama pants, never stopping their kiss, feeling Seokmin tense up at his touch.

“Should we?” he asked Seokmin, their breathless words mingling from the closeness.

“Should we?” Seokmin echoed the question with a mischievous smile, kissing Joshua's lips slowly. Their hands roamed over each other’s bodies desperately, and of course, it had been a while since they’d touched each other this much. Joshua climbed on top of Seokmin, pinning him down on the mattress with his kisses. Seokmin’s hands pulled off the loose shirt Joshua had intended to sleep in and tossed it away. Just as Joshua was about to do the same with Seokmin’s shirt, the bedroom door swung open. Still on top of Seokmin, Joshua turned his head toward the door and saw Soomin, looking very sleepy.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Joshua got off his husband and climbed out of bed, walking over to the little boy and crouching down to his height. “Can’t sleep?” he asked, brushing a hand through Soomin’s messy hair.

“No... I just want to open the presents,” Soomin said. “Can I?”

Seokmin, who had sat up on the bed, sighed.

“Yeah, sure, just don’t take too long and go back to sleep,” he told their son, who smiled excitedly and turned to leave. “Goodnight, Soomin!” he called out before Joshua closed the door. They exchanged glances for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. Joshua turned off the lights and settled beside Seokmin in bed, wrapping his arms around him.

“We’ll save it for tomorrow,” he said with an amused tone, finding Seokmin’s lips in the darkness to kiss him again. “Though technically, tomorrow is today, so-”

“Yeah, I got it, love,” Seokmin interrupted.

Joshua smiled and, with his eyes closed, pulled Seokmin even closer, gently stroking his head and feeling his husband’s breath on his chest. Every night he came to the same conclusion, and that was that no matter how much they had gone through to be together—and for him and his friends to survive a damn serial killer who wanted them dead—Joshua wouldn’t mind going through it all again. Once, twice, even a thousand times; as long as it led him back to this point in his life, he’d go through it all and more. Because he loved his life as it was right now, and after so much darkness and being trapped in mortal bonds, they deserved to have normal, peaceful lives.

They were okay now. There was nothing more to worry about.

At last.