Happy Birthday (1/1)

Xiumin woke up the next morning to the feeling of warm sunlight on his face.  When he opened his eyes he looked over to see the sun slowly rising. He stretched and yawned, feeling sore all over. Had they really fallen asleep on the roof? Turning his head to the other side he saw Sarah curled up with Furgus in her arms. She looked so peaceful, even when she was sleeping in an uncomfortable place such as this one.He didn’t realize that a blanket covered him until he sat up; it felt as if every vertebra in his back popped in the process. He groaned, cross sleeping on an uncomfortable roof off his list of things to do.Running a hand through his hair he looked over at Sarah again; the sun had risen farther in the sky, shining on her hair, making it glow in the sunlight.He reached over, gently shaking her arm; Furgus waking almost immediately, crawling out of Sarah’s arms and waddling over to his backpack, looking at Xiumin before sitting down beside it and waiting.“Sarah.” Xiumin said softly, gently shaking her arm again.Sarah stretched out her arms and legs, putting a hand to her mouth as she yawned and sat up; slowly opening her eyes. “Did you make me breakfast?” she joked.“Well, we’ve got a half-eaten sandwich and an empty soda can, bon appétit.”  He smiled.She snorted in amusement as she sat up. “Which I made thank you very much.”“You make better breakfast than I do, we both know that.”“Then how bout I make breakfast and you help me.” She lightly punched his arm.“Alright, deal.”Xiumin helped Sarah pick up all the stuff, folding the blanket into a square and placing the small telescope inside the basket. This time when Furgus climbed into his pack Xiumin slung it on his back and climbed down the ladder.When he was finally on the ground he called up to Sarah, receiving the blanket square in the face because he wasn’t expecting it.“Sorry.” She leaned over the edge and giggled as he pulled the blanket down so he could see again.“No worries.”Sarah then climbed down the ladder, picnic basket on her arm. She hopped down, skipping the last few steps; then taking the ladder and propping it on its side against the house.Xiumin followed Sarah into the house, taking the backpack off and setting it on the floor by the door as they walked in, Furgus crawling out and following behind them into the kitchen.Sarah set the basket on the counter; reaching inside and pulling out the trash inside. She took the half-eaten sandwich, tossing it to Xiumin who shot it like a basketball player into the garbage; they both cheered and high fived each other.“So what are your plans for today?” Xiumin asked Sarah.She shrugged. “We’ll see. You?”“Dunno, maybe pester Kyungsoo a little, or bug Luhan and Tao at the sub shop since I haven’t seen them for a while.”“Sounds like a plan.” Sarah smiled.Suddenly Xiumin heard his phone beep in his pocket. He pulled it out, opening it and seeing that it was just a warning for low battery. He was just about to close it again when he saw that he had a missed call.Without thinking about it he pressed the button to listen to the message. He didn’t know why but he was surprised to hear Chens’ voice.“Hey Xiumin, its Chen…Come help me in the office again tomorrow, see you then…bye.”‘Well shit. ’He closed his phone and ran a hand through his hair. Should he go to work or should he not? It was so tempting to say no and just stay home.“Work calling?” Sarah asked.Xiumin nodded.“Are you getting scolded for being late?” She chuckled.“Nah,” He put his phone back into his pocket. He looked over at the clock, realizing just what time it really was. He huffed.“Why don’t you go get ready while I make us breakfast.” She began to make her way around the kitchen. “Better late than never.” She added.With that he nodded, taking off to look for a change of clothes before jumping in the shower.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~When he came back into the kitchen he found food already set out on the table; the sweet smell wafting through the house. He took a deep breath. “Mm, that smells good.”“Thanks.” Sarah looked up from the plate she had just set on the table, “Not much for something quick but it’s still something.”Xiumin nodded as he sat down across from Sarah, not hesitating to dig in. The food tasted just as good as it smelled.It took him no time at all to scarf down his food and hurriedly grabbing his things and pulling on his jacket. “Are you gonna go out today?” He asked.“I was thinking about it, I might just have a look around the markets and such.” She shrugged.“Okay, be careful alright.” He hugged Sarah.“I will,” she hugged him back. “Have fun!” She smiled, waving to him as he waved quickly while running out the door.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Xiumin stopped by Baeks’ stand, grabbing a coffee for Chen and one for himself, all the while being ridiculed by Baekhyun that he was actually late to work for once.“Tell Chen I say hi!” Baekhyun called as Xiumin walked away.“We’ll see!” Xiumin called over his shoulder with a smirk as he took off for the office building.The elevator ride up to the floor seemed very fast and he felt as though it had teleported, more so than climbed the cables like all elevators did.When he walked in a couple people greeted him, others looking confused and some doing a double take as though he was just a figment of their imagination.It was understandable to Xiumin, seeing as how the people at the office always saw him there before them or leaving and coming back at a later time.He walked up to Chens’ door, noticing that it was closed. He was just about to knock when he heard voices on the other side, it was Chen and Chanyeol.“Just kidnap him.” Chanyeol stated. Xiumins’ eyes grew wide, ‘kidnapping?!”“I can’t do that! He’ll freak out and probably think that I’m going to kill him.”“But he’d be more compliant that way.” Chanyeol laughed.“You can only kill them if they aren’t compliant with anything. I’m sure he’ll at least listen to me. I might just torture him a little.” He could hear the smile in Chens’ voice.“That sounds like a good idea.” Chanyeol agreed.Not wanting to hear anymore Xiumin knocked on the door, how could they talk about something like that so openly with other people just on the other side of the door.“Come in!” Chen called.When Chen and Chanyeol both looked up they smiled as Xiumin walked in. “Ah, you brought me coffee.” Chanyeol held out his hand as if waiting for Xiumin to hand him the cup.“Ha.” Xiumin rolled his eyes, his sassy side immediately coming out with just the presence of Chanyeol in the room. He took a sip of the coffee in his left hand, walking over and holding out the other to Chen; smirking at Chanyeol as he took another sip.‘Take that giant. My coffee.’Xiumin non-chalantly sat down on the couch against the side wall, sitting comfortably in a half slouched position.  He drank his coffee slowly as Chen and Chanyeol talked about how to better run the firm and what revenue they were earning through the business with every case.Suddenly he felt his cell phone go off in his pocket. He reached inside, retrieving it and answering it without noticing Chen and Chanyeol stop talking.“Yeoboseyo?”“Xiumin, can you hang out later on today?” Tao asked from the other end of line.“Uh, I think so. Whatcha need?”“Well, I wanted to throw Kris a birthday since we were too busy at the time it was actually his birthday.“We?” Xiumin asked.“The sub shop.”“Ohhh, okay.”“So, can you?”“Sure,” Xiumin smiled. “Do you need help setting anything up?”“Uhhh, maybe. Just call me when you’re free okay.”“Alright, talk to ya later then.”Xiumin hung up, placing his phone back into his pocket. Chanyeol excused himself, saying that he had some other stuff to do.“Hey Chanyeol, why don’t you go get me another coffee.” Chen called, Chanyeol poked his head back in the office with a smile as he saw Chen shake his empty cup. They all knew what this meant, a chance to see Baekhyun.“What kind?” Chanyeol asked.“Tell Baekhyun that it’s the one I buy every day, he’ll know exactly what it is.” Xiumin stated.Chanyeol nodded, his head disappearing from view.“And take your time!” Chen yelled after him, not getting a reply.Chen shook his head with a smile; Xiumin mentally shaking his head also. Chanyeol was totally whipped by Baekhyun, a beautiful stranger.Xiumin sat down in the chair that Chanyeol had just been occupying.“So you finally made it.” Chen shot his empty coffee cup into the garbage can.“Yeah, I was thinking about calling in sick, but since I know how much you love your coffee.” Xiumin smirked, setting his cup on the desk.“Yeah. Coffee, my only weakness.” He reached forward, taking a sip of Xiumins’ coffee.‘Only?’  Xiumin quirked an eyebrow that Chen didn’t see. ‘Well I’m here,’ He thought. ‘So that technically makes me your weakness AND your downfall.’ Maybe he was jumping to conclusions but assuming how it was Chen who invited him to work with him in the office this morning Xiumin presumed that he had the upper hand in this situation.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Xiumin worked with Chen for the next couple hours, Chanyeol finally reappearing with not one coffee, but two. His excuse for being so late was that the coffee maker broke and they had to fix it. Chen and Xiumin looked at each other in amused skepticism, knowing better than that. So his idea to make up for it was to buy another coffee for Xiumin.“Aww, thanks for thinking of me first.” Xiumin said sarcastically.“Well I was going to get you one, but then when the machine broke I decided to get you the most expensive one.” Chanyeol handed Chen his coffee and then Xiumin his, looking sorry.“Hey, as long as you keep Baekhyun company I’m happy.” He shrugged, taking a sip of the coffee and instantly spitting it out. “HOLY HELL THAT’S HOT!” Xiumin felt as though he had just scalded his tongue. The coffee had been hotter than he initially expected.Xiumin heard Chen laughing almost hysterically at what had just happened. He glared at Chen, ‘I hope you choke on your coffee.’  When he looked at Chanyeol; Chanyeol stopped laughing when he saw Xiumin glaring at him. He knew better than to laugh because he knew that the short one would not refrain from hitting him.“Well, I think I’m going to go now.” Chanyeol excused himself; letting himself out of the office and shutting the door behind him, leaving Chen and Xiumin alone.When Chen had finally calmed down enough to stop laughing he took a drink of his coffee, having almost the exact same reaction as Xiumin. But this time it was Xiumins’ turn to laugh.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Xiumin found himself enjoying the time he spent doing paperwork with Chen in the office; it seemed very laid back and calming, they talked about many things, including judging the people of the higher class for being rude and prudish, and the other half of the time they made fun of the idiot giant.When it was time for him to go he packed up his stuff, bidding Chen farewell before taking off for the Black Pearl.

***Chen rolled over in his warm bed to look at the time on his phone; five minutes until his alarm was going to go off. He sat up and stretched out his arms, feeling sore. He might as well get up now rather than go back to sleep and sleep through his alarm.Sluggishly he gathered his clothes, making his way to the shower and standing under the cascading warm water. It took him a while to finish his shower due to his half-awake state and sluggish movements.He stepped out of the shower, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He brought a hand up to touch the bags under his eyes. Even though he had slept the entire night he looked as if he hadn’t slept for days.As he dressed his brain finally caught up with him and he remembered that he was going to see Xiumin at the office today, or at least, hoped to.He had a sudden burst of energy, noticing his excitement he found himself smiling as he grabbed his stuff and went out the door.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~He strolled along casually in the cool morning air. It was beginning to get more overcast with the coming of winter. He assumed that it would snow soon.He puffed out a breath as he got onto the bus, watching as it materialized into a light mist where the warm air came in contact with the cold air.These were the times when he wished he had his car back; no to mention, the bus usually didn’t have internal heating. When he looked around as the bus began to take off he realized that there were about five people on it, not including himself and the driver. There was an elderly woman with a small child, probably about six or seven years old, two men dressed in suits stood near one of the doors talking to one another, they were probably headed to the same place Chen assumed.  The last person was a girl, probably about the age of a highschooler, judging by the uniform.The bus seemed to take forever in comparison to when he drove to work. When he finally arrived at his stop he all but jumped out of the bus.When he strode into his department he received the normal greetings and simply nodded his head in response as he made his way down the hall.When he walked into his office he found Chanyeol already inside, lying down on the couch with a magazine over his face, it was obviously apparent that he wasn’t reading it.Usually Chen would be annoyed at Chanyeol invading his space, but today he didn’t mind.“Hey,” Chen walked over, giving the couch where Chanyeol was sleeping a gentle kick, he didn’t want to ruin his couch after all. “Wake up you lazy giant.”Chanyeol grunted and sat up, pulling the magazine from his face and setting it on the side table. “Don’t tell me you slept here.” Chen added, setting his stuff on his desk.“Nah,” Chanyeol stretched, getting up from the spot he sat on the couch and came to sit in the chair across from Chen.“Did you go out on a late date with Baekhyun last night?” Chen chuckled.“If I had do you honestly think I would be here right now.” Chanyeol ran a hand through his unruly hair.Chen raised an eyebrow, “After that statement any other employer would have fired you right on the spot. Lucky for you I’m not just any other employer.”“Yeah,” Chanyeol suddenly looked like a scolded puppy and Chen felt slightly bad, but only slightly.“So, why are you here Chanyeol.”  Chen asked.“I just got here early, felt like taking a nap, so I did.” He shrugged. “Oh!” he sat up straighter as if suddenly remembering something.Chen quirked an eyebrow.“Speaking of dates…” Chanyeol smirked. “Did you ever take Xiumin out?” He inquired, sitting forward.“Well… not exactly.”  Chen thought back. He assumed Chanyeol didn’t count meeting up by accident as a date. “I don’t even know how I would ask, or much less, how he would react.”“Just kidnap him.” Chanyeol shrugged.“I can’t do that! He’ll freak out, and probably think I’m going to kill him.” What was Chanyeol thinking, was he stupid. Not only was that illegal, but that would probably have the exact opposite outcome of what he wanted.“But he’d be more compliant that way. Chanyeol laughed, seeing Chens’ confused face.Now that Chen thought about it Chanyeol had probably already tried this out on Baekhyun, who seemed non-compliant to anything not dealing with Chanyeol.“You can only kill them if they aren’t compliant with anything. I’m sure he’ll at least listen to me. ‘Somewhat.’  “I might just torture him a little.” Chen smiled.“That sounds like a good idea.” Chanyeol nodded in agreement.Suddenly there was a knock on Chens’ door. “Come in!” He called.Chen and Chanyeol both looked at the person who came through the door. It was Xiumin. Chen smiled.“Ah, you brought me coffee.” Chanyeol held out his hand.“Ha!” Xiumin rolled his eyes as he took a sip of one coffee as he walked over, handing the other to Chen.They watched Xiumin walk over and sit on the couch Chanyeol was previously sleeping on; slouching as he sipped his coffee, not looking anywhere in particular, but just not in Chen or Chanyeols’ direction. ‘Wow,’ Chen thought, ‘so sassy.’ It was quiet for a moment before Chanyeol began talking about the firm; getting Chen caught up in a conversation how to better the company. Chen all the while stealing glances over at Xiumin who didn’t seem to notice.Chen found himself zoning out as Chanyeol kept talking, only being pulled out of his trance when suddenly a cell phone rang. They both looked over to see Xiumin answer his phone.“Yeoboseyo?”  He answered his phone, not noticing that Chen and Chanyeol had stopped talking and were silently listening to his one sided conversation.“Uh, I think so. Whatcha need?”  There was a brief pause. “We?” he looked confused for a second. “Ohhh okay.” Realization washed over his face.Chen felt himself enjoying the different facial expressions that Xiumin was making, they were entertaining.“Sure, do you need help setting anything up?” Chen couldn’t keep himself from smiling as he watched Xiumins’ eyebrows raise and lower as he spoke.“Alright, talk to you later then.” He hung up; stuffing his phone back into his pocket. Chen quickly looked away as to not be caught looking.Chen looked over at Chanyeol as he suddenly stood up and walked to the door, saying he had a couple things he had to do. “Hey Chanyeol, why don’t you go get me another coffee.” He yelled, watching Chanyeol poke his head back in the office with a smile as Chen shook his empty coffee cup. He knew that Chanyeol would like getting him coffee because this meant he would be able to see Baekhyun.“What kind?” Chanyeol asked.“Tell Baekhyun that it’s the one I buy every day, he’ll know exactly what it is.” Xiumin looked up at Chanyeol as he interjected.Chanyeol nodded, his head disappearing from view.“And take your time!” Chen yelled after him, smirking when he didn’t get a reply.Chen shook his head with a smile.Xiumin came over and sat down in the chair that Chanyeol had just been occupying.“So you finally made it.” Chen shot the empty coffee cup into the garbage can.“Yeah, I was thinking about calling in sick, but since I know how much you love your coffee...” Xiumin trailed off as he smirked setting his cup on the desk.“Yeah. Coffee, my only weakness.” Chen reached forward and took a sip of Xiumins’ coffee.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Chen had Xiumin work on more of the paper work with him for the next couple of hours, enjoying their peaceful time together, making small talk here and there. Chanyeol finally came back, explaining that he had taken so long because the coffee maker had broken.He looked over at Xiumin and they smirked at each other. They both knew that he probably just wanted to spend more time with Baekhyun. “Aww, thanks for thinking of me first.” Xiumin said sarcastically , taking the coffee cup from Chanyeol which he had gotten to make up for the long wait.“Well I was going to get you one, but then when the machine broke I decided to get you the most expensive one.” Chanyeol leaned over to hand Chen his coffee.“Hey, as long as you keep Baekhyun company I’m happy.” Xiumin shrugged, taking a sip of the coffee. “HOLY HELL THAT’S HOT!” He all but practically spit it out onto the floor.Chen couldn’t help himself as he began to laugh, not being able to stop. He was laughing so hard it was almost gasping. This was the highlight of his day. “Well, I think I’m going to go now.” Chanyeol excused himself; casually exiting out the door, shutting it behind him, leaving Chen and Xiumin alone.Chen finally caught his breath, taking a drink form his coffee as he began to cough from laughing to hard. When he did he almost spit it out because of how hot the coffee was. He looked up to see Xiumin now laughing at him.

***Xiumin said goodbye to Chen and headed on his way to The Black Pearl. Although it was sunny the day was still cold, proving true to the fact that it was getting closer to winter with every passing day.He pulled his jacket closer as he shivered, watching his breath crystalize in the air before him. Tao had asked if he could hang out earlier as they set up for the surprise birthday party, he assumed Tao wouldn’t be angry if he showed up early.When he arrived at The Black Pearl he found Luhan and Tao setting up a banner that was surrounded by balloons which said happy birthday.“Hey Min!” Luhan turned around just as he finished clipping the last section of the banner, managing to lose his balance and fall off the ladder.Xiumin rushed forward, catching Luhan just before he fell to the ground.“Careful Han, that could have been dangerous and ended very, very badly.”  He cautioned, Tao walking over to join them.“I know I know,” Luhan chuckled, “I have really bad balance sometimes, that’s why I’m terrified of heights.”“Just be careful next time okay.”“I will.” Luhan waved it off with a smile as he moved on to his next task.“Hey Xiumin, help me move a couple tables will ya?” Tao beckoned him over with his hand, standing near some of the larger tables against the wall.“Sure thing.”They moved four tables in sets of two near each other in front of the peninsula, covering them with brightly colored clothes. They stepped back, Tao looking over the tables in satisfaction with his hands on his hips.“Hey Tao… Why are there two different tables?” Xiumin asked, wasn’t the party for just Kris?“Well, you see—”“I’m here!” Suddenly the front door flung open with a loud ‘bang’, Xiumin and Tao turning around to see Baekhyun galloping through the door with what seemed like a hundred balloons; stopping to catch his breath once he was inside.“Jesus Baek, were you planning on flying away after the party?” Xiumin took in all the colorful balloons of all shapes and sizes, making up a shiny rainbow as they were pulled along behind Baekhyun.“No, I wanted to get more but obviously,” He held up his hands where he held the balloon strings, a couple attached to his wrists, “I couldn’t fit anymore in my hands.”Tao walked over, taking some of the green balloons and tying them to one of the tables while Baekhyun took the black ones and began tying them to the other table. “I made sure to get Kris and Chanyeols’ favorite color so they wouldn’t be confused which table was theirs.”“Chanyeol?  I thought this party was for Kris.”“Well it was, then I was talking with Baekhyun the other day and he mentioned about how he had wanted to throw a party for Chanyeol, but didn’t know what to do, so I offered to help; and in the end we just decided a joint party was best.” Tao explained.“And Luhan said that we should have it here because we could make the cake here and not have to transport it anywhere else.” Baekhyun added.Xiumin nodded. That seemed sensible.“Plus,” Luhan walked out with a giant cake on a rolling cart, Tao walking over to help him lift it onto the counter, showing through the space between the tables in front, “I made the cake.” He beamed, wiping his hands on his jeans before taking the rolling cart back into the adjoining kitchen.“Wow,” Xiumin looked the cake up and down; it was probably half his size. “How many people were you planning on feeding? A hundred?”“Just whoever shows up.” Luhan reappeared with plates and eating utensils; setting them down beside the cake.  “Hey Baek, did you bring your present by the way.” He asked.

“Shit.” Baekhyun smacked his forehead.  “I have to call Suho, I think I left it at his place.”Just then the doorbell rang and two people stepped inside. It was Suho and Lay.“Hi everybody, we’re here.” Lay announced.Xiumin found himself rooted to the spot he stood, all the way across the room from Lay. He internally glared at his ex but smiled as Suho came over to greet him with a hug; his hands cold, cheeks rosy and a giant smile. Well, at least someone was happy.“Baek you left this at my place.” Xiumin watched as Suho pulled over a large present, which looked to be wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper with a giant bow on top, the present took up suhos’ entire upper body as he handed it to Baekhyun who seemed to lift it effortlessly; whereas Suho struggled.“Oh crap,” The realization hit Xiumin as they placed presents on the two tables; he hadn’t gotten them anything. “I’ll be right back; I need to go do something real fast.” He exclaimed as he practically ran out the door.  He huffed when he was outside, far enough away so that they those inside could no longer see him. Inside was to suffocating. He shook his head as he walked along, looking through the windows of various shops. They always say ‘one’s company, two’s a party and three’s a crowd’. Well for Xiumin one person could be a crowd, and he much preferred no crowds.  He shuffled along, hands in his pockets while narrowly avoiding people who seemed to be in a hurry. What would Kris and Chanyeol like. He liked Kris, he seemed like a really easy going person, intimidating maybe, but nice overall. Chanyeol on the other hand; the annoying giant that he was, well…there wasn’t much to say about him when his weirdness did all the talking for itself.He stopped mid step, back tracking a couple steps and looking through the window of the shop that he had almost completely passed. It was a watch shop, one that had new and repaired old watches too. Xiumin nodded to himself, this looked like something that Kris might like; he looked like a man who could appreciate a nice watch.When Xiumin walked in he stood in awe at all the watches that covered the many shelves and adorned the cases all around the shop. It was like walking into a garden of golden flowers that were placed ever so perfectly so they would catch the light from the sun shining through the window and reflect its transparent beams around the room.He took his time to wander around the shop, making sure to look for a style with a statement that had ‘Kris’ written all over it. He wasn’t going to look at the price because he knew none of them were cheap and that the more intricate the designing was, the more it would cost.Finally he made a decision between two of the watches he deemed worthy enough for Kris. In the end he chose a silver watch with gold trim that had many other special small features that he thought Kris might enjoy.“Will this be all?” The clerk asked as Xiumin set the watch gently onto the counter. He nodded, pulling out his wallet. ‘Goodbye money, I’ll miss you’.  He thought to himself, watching the clerk typing the price into the register.Mentally his jaw dropped. The watch was more expensive then what he had originally thought. “Can I get that specially wrapped and put in a special bag please.” Xiumin tried his hardest to sound like this was an everyday situation and that he wasn’t blown out of his mind on how much just one watch could cost. The clerk nodded, following his request; wrapping the watch with skilled hands and placing it into a small silver bag before handing it to Xiumin.When he exited the shop he heaved a breath. Why anyone would purposefully buy overpriced watches was beyond him. He pulled himself back together with a shake of his head as he carried on with his journey for what kind of present he should get for Chanyeol.He wandered around the little shopping area, seeing nothing of interest until suddenly his eye caught a small stand all by itself. His face broke into a smile as he saw what it was selling. “Perfect.” He exclaimed, walking towards the shop.

***When Xiumin left Chen began shuffling through some older files that he had been looking at previously in concurrence to the mob and their activities. How many people had died from the mob was unknown, but the rate that they knew of now with how many had been found after they were killed seemed to be increasing with each passing day. Wasn’t a mob supposed to be like a brotherhood or something; they were supposed to stick together through thick and thin right? If any outsider looked upon the cases they would assume it was a sacrifice or something akin to that of a cult; but Chen knew otherwise. The way the people had been killed was obviously not in a sacrificial way. Was this new leader killing off those that were a weak link in their chain, or was it something else? Distrust maybe?He shook his head, his hands numbly aligning papers in which the victims were of the same groups. There were definitely a variation of a couple groups, but the ones that stood out the most were from the same association, the Blacks gang. What made these different from the rest were that they were not just a random street killing; these people weren’t left at the crime scene where they had been murdered, no, the bodies had been placed there. Different locations, same nonexistent blood trails, and furthermore, one or two gun shots straight to the head; and from the looks of it, at close range.What kind of gang leader murdered this many of their own kin at point blank range. A cold hearted killer, that’s who. He’d come across people like this before; they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted, regardless how many people it killed in the process or what drastic measures they had to go to in order to achieve their goal.Chen ran a frustrated hand through his hair. How on earth were they going to catch this man and bring him down, and with such little information to go on apart from the dead victims that were already left behind.He sat back in his chair, unsure where to go from here. One door always leads to another, and sometimes that next door leads you to a brick wall.There was a quiet knock at the door and Chen looked up to find Chanyeol standing in the doorway.“Yeah?” Chen asked, sounding slightly annoyed, but accidently so.“Lay asked if you wanted to hang out later, is that cool with you?” He walked over, peering down at the desk or scattered papers all over Chens' desk“Yeah sure, I guess, after work though.”Chanyeol nodded. “What’s all this?” He asked, leaning forward on the table.“These are all the gang victims of the mob murders” Sure there were other victims, but those were more according to random street killing than these ones.“Why are there so many of this one?” Chanyeol asked, pointing to the group of pictures involving the Blacks gang.“I have a feeling there’s some internal corruption going on that we don’t know about.”“Like what kind of internal corruption?”  He looked up at Chen.“The Inner workings of a deranged maniac trying to run a gang according to his own agenda.”“Oh…Do you need any help?”“No, its fine,” He waved Chanyeol off, “I’ll hang out later okay.”“Okay.” Chanyeol headed towards the door. “Just call me if you need anything.”Chen nodded and waved him off again as Chanyeol closed the door behind himself.He sighed as he looked down again at the pictures splayed across his desk, this was bigger than he had originally thought; maybe he would need the help of the SUJU corporation after all.After looking through many reports he closed the case file, only to suddenly hear his cell phone ring. He looked at the number. It was Lay. That was weird, what would he be calling for?“Yeoboseyo?” He answered.“Chen.”This wasn’t Lays’ voice. “Who-”“It’s Suho.” The voice on the other end of the line quickly cut in.“Hey, we’re doing a little something down here at The Black Pearl, are you free to come down in a couple hours?”“Yeah, although, I told Chanyeol that I would hang out with him and Lay later.”“Yeah that was part of my plan, except he’ll meet us later. Come down in a couple hours. But don’t’ tell Chanyeol where you’re going, and don’t let him come with you alright.“Yeah, uh, sure I guess.” Chen didn’t exactly know what he was getting himself into, but he trusted Suho.“Awesome, see you then. Just shoot Lays’ phone a text when you’re headed this way.”“Sure thing.” Chen assured.Without another word Suho hung up, leaving Chen a little confused at what was going on.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Chen spent the next couple of hours working on some simpler case files, taking notes and placing them back in their designated folders.He took a deep breath as he walked out of his office, locking the door and heading towards the elevator. He didn’t see Chanyeol anywhere in sight. He was probably off flirting with his other coworkers as per the usual. Chen wondered what Baekhyun thought about that, or, if he even knew at all.He hopped in the elevator, pressing the down button and rested back against the wall of the elevator, just taking a moment to close his eyes and relax a little bit from the stress of the huge problem that lay right in front of the entire police force and special units and was still a struggling process to find the answerFinally arriving at ground level he stepped out of the elevator, tilting his head to those who passed by and greeted him. Taking another deep breath he headed off towards The Black Pearl, pulling out his phone and texting Lay like Suho had said to.

***Xiumin arrived back at The Black Pearl, immediately noticing that there were more people in the shop than when he had left.When he walked back inside he noticed that now, along with the people who had been there before which included; Luhan, Tao, Baekhyun, Lay and Suho; it now also consisted of Kyungsoo and Kai along with Sehun and Chen.He didn’t know why he was surprised that everyone was here, but ultimately, he was. Even though he shouldn’t be surprised seeing as how they had all gathered together for Chens' birthday, even though some were practically strangers to one another, Xiumin included.Along with the increase of people Xiumin also noticed the new amassed amount of presents that sat on the two tables. As he stood looking at the scene it seemed like something very much out of a sentimental movie you would see where the main character was finally coming home and everyone had gathered for a party to celebrate their arrival. He was pulled from his inner thoughts as suddenly Tao linked arms with him. “You’re finally back, what took you so long.”Xiumin slowly lifted the bags that be held in each, one for Kris and one for Chanyeol.“Oh.” Realization showing on his face. “Just put them on the table, they should be here soon.”He nodded, doing as Tao had said; remembering which color table belonged to who before setting the selected present down on the right table.Everyone milled around, casually chit chatting with one another as they waited, some drinking what looked like a pink lemonade substance. He looked around and spotted a clear container sitting behind the counter and assumed that must be it.Xiumin looked over as Baekhyun quieted everyone down and they all stopped what they were doing to listen to Tao speaking over the phone. He smiled internally as he realized that Tao was speaking in Chinese so he assumed that he must have been talking to Kris.“Hey were you still going to be able to help me with the ceiling panels at the shop today? I mean, I don’t want to bug you if you’re busy—”He quietly heard Kris answer on the other end of the line with a “No no, I’m free until tonight.” “Awesome! And do you think that maybe you could ask Chanyeol to come too? There are some places that I don’t think I can reach and you might need someone else who’s tall enough”“I’ll ask Chanyeol. Call ya back in a sec.” They heard Kris hang up and a couple minutes later Taos’ phone rang.“So?” He answered after looking at the ID and knowing it was Kris calling.“He said he’ll help. We’ll be down in a moment.”“Thanks Kris!”“No problem.”  Kris replied in English before hanging up.Tao turned around as he put his phone in his pocket. “Now we wait.”~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~They didn’t have to wait long before a car drove up, parking itself in front of the shop; everyone finding a place to hide behind the counter.They heard the ding of the bell as the door opened. “Tao? Are you here?” It was Kris.“We’re here to help with the panels.” Chanyeol added.“Happy Birthday!” Tao stood up; others following moments later, shooting off miniature hand poppers that released small strings of paper with a pop as the lights were turned on.Chanyeol looked at all the people and smiled. Kris on the other hand just stared, looking as though he didn’t know what to do. Had he never had anyone do this kind of thing for him before?Everyone steadily moved from behind the counter and joined around Kris and Chanyeol where they now stood not far from the counter and tables.Xiumin stayed behind, casually watching from behind the counter as Tao joined Kris’ side, giving him a hug and Baekhyun doing the same for Chanyeol. ‘Happy Birthday.’  He wished them both mentally, seeing as how he didn’t say it out loud like everyone else seemed to be doing.“This is so nice isn’t it,” Xiumin looked over to see Suho getting another drink of punch and coming to stand alongside Xiumin from where he watched the others from behind the counter, “friends getting together to celebrate another year together with someone.” Suho smiled, gazing across the room at the crowd of people.‘It hasn’t always been like this.’  Xiumin thought to himself, grabbing a cup and taking a sip of punch, sweet, yet tangy.There was a time when this group of people were not a group; some not even knowing another existed, while others knew some more than anyone had any idea about, or others knowing associations without knowing another association.“Yeah.” Was all his brain managed to form into words that his mouth would speak.From there the unwrapping of presents took place, Kris and Chanyeol casually unwrapping one gift at a time as they made conversation, thanking those who got them the item while in the process.Xiumin looked down as he swirled the punch in his cup, the pink liquid quietly sloshing around as he stared at the glitter of sunlight that bounced off the surface creating a sparkling effect.He looked up and out the window, noticing a familiar hooded red sweater someone walking by with a familiar small dog on a leash. Sarah looked over, smiling and waving as she proceeded on her route; Xiumin waving back as he watched her.“Xiumin hey.” Xiumins’ attention was suddenly brought to Chen who walked over and leaned on the counter on the other side from Xiumin. “Who’re ya waving at?” He inquisitively looked out the window where Xiumin had been looking mere seconds ago.Xiumin looked back, seeing no one. He craned his neck this way and that but still seeing no one. ‘Huh,’ he wondered. Was he just imagining things? Was that just a figment of his imagination?“Oh, uh, no one.” He lied, “Just thought I saw someone I knew.” “Oh okay.” They were both silent for a moment before Chen spoke, “So,” Chen awkwardly cleared his throat, “are you possibly free the week after next week, ya know, later in the evening?”“I uh,” He hadn’t thought about what he was going to do the week after next, much less what he was going to do next week, other than what he did on a normal occasion. “I think so. Why?”“Well I was thinking that maybe—” Chen was suddenly cut off as Chanyeols excited voice rose above everyone else’s’.“Oh my god this is the best present ever!” They all turned to look at Chanyeol as he held up the gift he had just opened. He ran over to Xiumin, picking him up and swinging him around as he hugged him tightly. “Thanks Xiumin, I love it!”Xiumin just smiled and nodded as Chanyeol walked away again, while he waited for the world to stop spinning so that he could see straight.He watched as everyone was inquiring about what the present was, then as Baekhyun finally saw what it was, his eyes grew wide. “How— where did you get this?” Baekhyun looked over at Xiumin who in turn just smiled.“What did you get him?” Chen asked.“Just a little something called a phone case with Baekhyuns’ face on it.”Chen chuckled. “Nice one.” He walked around and grabbed a cup, filling it with punch and taking a large gulp.“Oh, what were you saying earlier?” Xiumins’ brain finally catching up with him enough to remember Chen was in the process of asking him something before Chanyeols’ excited outburst.“Oh. I just wanted to know if you were free next next week.” He motioned with his hands along with his words.“I think so.”“Great!” Chen seemed excited, “I’ll text—uh, call you then” Xiumin nodded as Chen walked off, going over to talk with Lay and Suho who immediately greeted him with a smile. He poured himself another glass of punch, casually sipping on it as he looked over everyone chatting to one another.“Hey.” Xiumin turned, surprised to find Kris standing and looking at him, the box that Xiumins’ present had been in resting in his hand.“Hey Kris, what’s up?” He asked.“Thank you.” Kris replied.“For what?”“The present.” Kris shuffled his feet a little as if he were a nervous child talking to a parent. “I really appreciate it. I know gifts like these…” He held up the wrist that now displayed the newly bought watch, “are not cheap, so it means a lot to me that even though we aren’t close friends you got something for me.”“Anytime.” Xiumin didn’t know what else to say. Kris seemed like a chill guy, but they never really hung out together enough to get to know each other.“Tao thinks you’re awesome, and I think you’re pretty cool too; you should come down to the club more often,” He smiled. Xiumin almost dropped his cup as he saw they smile on Kris’ face. It wasn’t a flashy smile, just a casual, genuine smile, “We could hang and get to know each other better.”“Sounds good to me.” Xiumin smiled back before watching Kris admire his new watch as he walked back over to join Tao.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Soon party time was up and everyone started dispersing; some going back to work while others headed home or on other errands to run. Xiumin decided to stay behind and help clean up. “Hey where do you want this?” Xiumin asked Luhan, holding the giant platter where the cake had originally been sitting.“Oh I’ll take that.” Luhan took the platter and disappeared into the kitchen. Looking around the room Xiumin saw that all that was left to clean up was the banister. Tao was sweeping the floor while conversing with Kris who sat casually in one of the chairs and Xiumin knew that Luhan hated heights, so he just put himself up to the job of taking it down.Grabbing the ladder from the back wall he nimbly climbed up, balancing himself on either side of the top of the ladder as he tried to loosen whatever was holding the banister in place. Whatever it was was making it really difficult to remove. He began tugging at it, feeling the banister loosen, not realizing that the ladder was beginning to tilt until it was falling over.He quickly grasped the edge of the wood that held the banister, legs gripping the top of the ladder to keep it from falling over. He looked down over his shoulder. When had the ground gotten so far away.Feeling his fingers beginning to slip he decided to let ladder fall, the loud crash as it hit the floor gaining everyones’ attention, Kris standing up as he and Tao watched Xiumin, ready to run forward and catch him if need be, Luhan emerging from the kitchen.With one last tug Xiumin ripped the banister from its last place holder, watching it fall to the ground beneath him.  Silently cursing the ladder he took a deep breath and pulled himself up using only his arms for leverage.From there he climbed up on top of the beam; managing to stand, looking around for a way down and seeing no way from the place he stood at now.As he scanned his eyes finally locked on an escape route. ‘Ah ha.’ the beam nearest to the counter, three beams away.He held onto the upper beams as he walked across, finding the smallest space between beams before taking a literal leap of faith to the next beam;  catching himself with his arm around a beam to make sure he didn’t fall.Xiumin again made his way to the closest space between beams and jumped, this time having to catch himself with both arms around an upper beam as his foot slipping and gravity tried its best to take him down. He took a deep breath as he jumped to the last beam, mentally thanking the heavens that he didn’t fall to his death. Sure he had been in worse situations than this; but this time, he wasn’t dressed for it, and flat bottomed shoes didn’t make the best climbing gear.From there he swung himself onto the bottom of the beam so that only his hands held him as he began to swing himself for his final destination, the counter.With his last swing he let go, feet landing first on the counter beneath him, making him slide a bit before he stopped himself with his hands.  He climbed down, letting out a sigh of relief as Luhan ran over, worry clearly etched into his features.“Oh my god Xiumin are you okay?” He took Xiumins’ head between his hands as he looked him over as if he had actually fallen and had bruised his face.“I’m fine.” He rolled his eyes with a smile at Luhans’ motherly like ways of worrying, pulling his hands from his face. “Just, next time, get a lift and don’t use a ladder.” Luhan nodded vigorously as Xiumin wiped a hand over his face thankful that his little climbing adventure was over.‘Fuck ladders man.’  He thought to himself. This ladder seemed to have it out for everyone today.“Well, I’m going to head home. Be careful while I’m gone,” he looked at Luhan, “and no climbing the ladder.” He exclaimed to Luhan as he walked towards the door, waving at Tao and Kris as he left.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Xiumin slid his bag from his shoulder as he arrived home, immediately noticing different colored lights flashing from inside the living room.“Sarah?” He called as he walked further in. He saw her crouching in front of the small table with a miniature Christmas tree atop it. “What… are you…doing?”  He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion as he walked closer, noticing that she was playing with a switch for the lights on the tree.“I’m just,” She paused as she frowned, clicking a button on the switch and flipping the other side up, the lights immediately coming on, once again flashing in a random pattern of different colors, “Ah, there.” She sat back and smiled at him as she stood up. “Just putting up the Christmas tree, isn’t it pretty?” She glanced once again at the tree.“Uh yeah, it looks really good, but; why are you putting it up?” He questioned.“Because Christmas is in two weeks silly.” She laughed and lightly smacked his shoulder.‘Oh shit.’  His eyes grew wide as his brain finally caught up. He hadn’t even realized. “I – I completely forgot.” He ran a hand over his face.“It’s okay.” He followed Sarah into the kitchen where she began prepping food for dinner. “If you forgot to get me something you still have a week.”  She laughed again.“I’m going to definitely get you something you can be sure of that.” He moved around the kitchen after her, automatically grabbing for things she handed out to him.“Don’t worry, as long as it’s from you I’m happy no matter what it is.”He smiled. She was way too good to him.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~After finishing their dinner together they decided to curl up on the couch together and watch one of the Christmas movies that Sarah said was her favorite, even if it was in English and he could only understand it because of the subtitles.When the movie finished Xiumin carried Sarah to her bed seeing as how she had fallen asleep halfway through the movie. He chucked as he tucked her in, kissing her forehead as Furgus waited for him to leave so that he could take his rightful spot by his owner as he always did.Xiumin yawned as he grabbed a blanket, taking his usual spot on the couch and curled up reveling in its warmth as he sank deeper into it, burying his face in the soft fabric.Christmas was only a week away, how had the time passed so quickly. Even though he had forgotten he still had a little time to still get Sarah something, which made him happy. He breathed out deeply, shifting once more in his blanket before falling asleep.                                                                                                                                   ~ ~ ~

Happy update day guys! I know it's been a while since last update, sorry for that, I planned on updating sooner (last month) but I found myself doing other things. Anyway, I know this chapter seemed kind of repetative at some points (and maybe a bit filler), but I just really wanted to get a feel from both characters views. I actually didn't think I would be able to make the length the same as usual but somehow i managed to do it so I'm happy about that. Thanks for all those who have subscribed and those who are still supporting this fic, it really means a lot to me. If there are any spelling mistakes I'm sorry XD. I promise that next chapter will be much more exciting. (If there are any links that don't seem to be working please let me know and I will try to get them fixed as soon as possible)