Surprise Surprise (1/1)

With the assistance of the kind person helping him up, Xiumin slowly made his way over to the group of other people who stood with concern around his cohort who looked a bit worse for wear. “Thank you.” He nodded to the blonde haired man who gently removed his arm from around Xiumin so that he could lean against the wall. He could feel a tightness in his ribs every time he took a deep breath, hoping that maybe he wouldn’t have sustained any broken ribs.  “Ah fuck man.” Sehun slowly rubbed his leg where there must have been an injury, “those bastards sure know how to hit.” He grumbled.  “Kyungsoo are you alright.” Finally Kai, who was kneeling in front of Kyungsoo looking slightly dazed and discombobulated; pulled his bandana down to reveal his face. “Kai I- kai?!” Kyungsoos’ eyes seemed to widen themselves further than Xiumin had ever seen before. The other finally realizing who was in front of him as he sat on the ground covered in dirt, a busted lip providing a line of blood that dripped down his chin. Xiumin looked over at Sehun who also, albeit his inability to portray any excessive emotion looked surprised too by this revelation. When Xiumin looked up he found the other five people wearing the red bandanas looking at him as if to wait for his reaction. He assumed that he must have been void because they all just stared for a moment then turned back to the others. “Kai what are you doing here.” Kai chuckled a little, “saving your ass it looks like.” The others chimed in with a couple light laughs. If Xiumin hadn’t known any better he’d say that Kyungsoos’ cheeks right now were red from blushing, and not from the extreme physical activity they had just endured. Sehun looked up as Kai stood, “so who are these people.” He asked blatantly, chin jutting out to motion towards the others that stood behind him.  “Ah, this is Minho, Taemin, Onew, Jonghyun and Key.” He motioned from his right to his left, the tallest being on the far right, then the one next to him with the beanie, after that the person standing next to Kai with the bandanas around his wrists; on his left were the shortest with dark brown hair and lastly, the blond who had helped Xiumin up and over here.  They looked a bit scruffy around the edges, but he put that together with the fact that they were just fighting. All in all they didn’t look like they were all that bad of people; take away the gangster clothing and violà, you had prominent members of society.  “I’m kinda surprised Kai, I wouldn’t expect you to be in a mob.” Xiumin stated outright. “Yeahhh…” he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “I only joined because this one here pulled me along with him.” He motioned towards the boy in the beanie with his thumb. “I just happened to meet these guys along the way and we became close.”  “So why were you fighting your own kind.” Xiumin motioned with a tug of the collar of his shirt to indicate the bandana around Kais’ neck. “Well, you see,” the member with the two wrist bandanas stepped forward. “We’re kinda what you’d call outcasts. We didn’t want to follow protocol of the reds and hurt the blacks gang members who they deemed ‘unfit’ to live; which was ultimately everyone.” “There’s some kind of feud that we’re not being told about from the inner circle but it just doesn’t seem right.” The shortest chimed in. “So we were kicked out and we’ve been trying to protect those of the blacks gang that are innocent… well, as innocent as a mob member can be.” The blond chuckled at his own joke. All the others looked at one another and nodded in agreement. Now that Xiumin thought about it, maybe these people were the ones the gang had been on high alert about, except they didn’t know they were actually on their side.  “But honestly, Xiumin, Kyungsoo, I’m surprised that both of you would be in the mob, you don’t seem like the type.” Xiumin all but rolled his eyes, ‘you’re one to talk,’ “Well, not all of us skipped in thinking it was all fun and games.” He stopped himself just before he could scoff, but he knew he had already caught everyone’s attention with the dramatic change in his tone of voice. “Not that anyone thinks that the mob is anyway.” He chuckled awkwardly, trying to lighten the mood. “Yeah,” Kyungsoo reached forward weakly and lightly punched Kais’ shoulder, “it’s no place for a child like you to be playing without an adult.” This made Kai smile. “Sehuns’ younger than me.” Xiumin tried not to laugh as he looked over and saw the look on Sehuns’ face. An obviousness of him feeling that regardless of his age, he was superior to the other. And, in a way; if Kai wasn’t the reds boss’ right hand man, then technically that did make Sehun superior. “Yeah yeah.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes with a smile. Xiumin was honestly surprised at how calmly Kyungsoo was talking to Kai, usually the other would have been so timid and jittery when Kai was brought up as a topic; maybe he had gotten knocked in the head when Xiumin hadn’t been looking. From there Kyungsoo slowly stood up, an obvious pain running through his side as his hand held onto an area that seemed to discomfort him the most. With the aid of Kai, Kyungsoo started to hobble off in a  direction opposite their little congregation, “Come, we need to talk.”  No one said anything as they walked away, Kais’ friends turning and talking quietly amongst themselves as if this were an everyday situation. Xiumin and Sehun exchanging glances but ultimately saying nothing to one another.  “So…” finally one of the other group members spoke, the orange haired man asking, “how long have you been in the business for?”  Not even blinking Sehun replied, “five years.” Xiumin sat quietly, hoping that they’d just overlook him so he wouldn’t have to answer. But sure enough, they waited for his reply. “Eight years.” He spoke quietly, staring at his feet as he answered then finally looked up at the others. They all looked surprised, no one saying anything, or needing to because it showed on their face. “What about all of you?” Xiumin asked, “how long.” The tallest spoke first, “about a year.” Followed by the shortest, ”three years ,” then the one in the beanie, “two and a half years.” The orange haired man speaking next, “three years,” and the blonde finishing with, “four years.”  Xiumin almost couldn’t believe it when he realized just how long he’d been in this for. To him, his mind was still telling him that he was straight out of high school and nothing had changed. But in all reality; hearing that these kids, whether they were older or younger than him, had been following the same path but for a shorter amount of time meant that everything had changed. The other surprising thing was that their group member who had been in this the longest out of them still had a shorter amount of time of involvement than Sehun did, and Xiumin was pretty sure that they were all older than he was. They all stopped speaking for a moment, the silence letting them overhear what Kyungsoo and Kai were talking about. Kyungsoos’ voice speaking first with a, “Why didn’t you tell me you were part of the mob,” followed by a “I didn’t think it’d be an important issue to discuss, and what about you, you’re in one too.” Followed up by a “yeah but that’s not what’s important.” “Well it is important now.” They all turned to look at kai who spoke loudest, everyone in the group finally acknowledging the fact they they could all hear them. The two both looking slightly embarrassed before turning back to each other and speaking in a hushed whisper. "We should probably get out of here soon, ya know, before they wake up and someone else finds us all together. It'd be a bad rep for everyone" Xiumin spoke as he kicked at the dirt on the ground. Having mixed groups like this from different mobs without a reason for business was always seen as treason and no group took that lightly; he knew this all too well. Thinking back on Sarahs' family; nothing had seemed to work out even though they themselves seemed like good people. Not to mention that this specific group of people were now seen as delinquents from their own gang, and a threat from his own. Finally he looked up and saw the others all nod here and there, not really actively in the conversation but listening.  Silence following his statement as they were unsure of how to break apart the people who were now questioning each other. "Kyungsoo." Sehun finally spoke, his voice sounding loud in the confined space of the alley surrounded by nothing but silence. Kyungsoo immediately looking up as the younger stood. "it's time to go." Without saying another word, he began to walk towards the way the three had come from, nodding slightly to those of the reds gang which he passed. Xiumin watched as Kyungsoo gave one last look toward Kai before following after Sehun, Xiumins' eyes catching the small hand movement from Kai that looked like he wanted to grab the others hand and hold him back, but refrained.  Quietly thanking the other people Xiumin nodded to each member respectfully before taking off after his extremely battered counterparts. "So," he began to speak as he came up beside Sehun who hobbled from one leg to the next, being supported by a struggling Kyungsoo who held onto his left side every time Sehun put his weight on him. "What are we going to say." "Ya know, if it had been anyone else I would have reported back immediately..." He was quiet for a moment, the look of inner turmoil showing on his face as he stared at the ground while they walked forwards. "But It's Kai man, he wouldn’t lie..."  This time Kyungsoo looked up, hope shining in his eyes as he watched Sehun for his next statement. "What do you think." Kyungsoo added. Sehun pursed his lips for a moment, frowning as he looked up once again; looking as if he had finally made his decision. "We won't say anything, just that we were ambushed and it was too dark to see who the assailant was." He looked down at Kyungsoo and Xiumin who were now both supporting him so that he didn't have to walk on his injured leg. Both nodded silently, they felt the same way. It didn’t seem right to rat the other group out when they had been going out of their way to help those who didn't even know it; also that they were risking their lives for people they didn't know, rather than booking a one way ticket and leaving the country like many others before them had done.  ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Xiumin was starting to feel exhausted as they walked toward the run down building all the mobsters called home. He could tell that the others were also reaching their limit as Kyungsoo was beginning to droop and Sehun was gritting his teeth even when he wasn’t walking.  Letting the others go before him; Sehun walked first, followed by Kyungsoo and him bringing up the rear. It was an unspoken subject but they all knew that if the mobsters were helping one another, and the cases weren’t dire, then they would be seen as weak, and seeing as how these three were in the top tier right under the boss; that meant they had to keep up their strong personas.  He couldn’t ignore all the staring they received from other members as they walked towards the door. He assumed they looked bad, but some of the faces they were making seemed like they looked very much less than pleasant.  With Sehun in the lead they walked past all the various guards set up, they seemed to have increased since the last time he had been here. He looked over at Kyungsoo but the latter didn’t seem surprised.  The guards at the door confirmed with Sehun that the boss was not currently busy and that they could go right in. Not really looking up as they entered the boss began to speak when he recognized the familiar tall and lanky Sehun walking in. “Ah Sehun, just the man I wanted to speak t-“ he stopped as he looked up, his face suddenly serious. “Report?” “We were checking the perimeter near norther blacks region and were ambushed.” Sehun stared blatantly. The boss motioned for them to have a seat, watching as they all shuffled over in an ungraceful fashion. “How many.” The boss spoke again. “Only about three I think, I thought we weren’t going to make it.” Kyungsoo casually integrated himself into the conversation, the boss nodding as he listened to the new information.  “How did you escape.” If Xiumin hadn’t known any better, and the fact that the boss depended on these three the most; he would have assumed that the boss had been trying to off them just from how he said that one phrase. “We got lucky,” Xiumin began, “a couple people came to our aid.”  “And how many of those were there.” The boss asked. “About three, maybe four, it was so dark it was hard to see anything.” He lied. This felt so weird, for the first time in his life he was lying to the boss, a man he had worked under for so long and never questioned him, and yet here he was, withholding information just for his own personal benefit.  He stared down the boss, as he always did when they spoke, watching out of the corner of his eye to see if Sehun or Kyungsoo glanced at him. But, knowing what they had all agreed on, none took their eyes away from the boss. In order to be convincing they’d have to be confident in whatever the others said.  At his statement Sehun nodded and added, “There were a couple of large bystanders who happened to pass by and helped us out.” “Did they see you.” “No,” Xiumin answered, “we took off before they could see us.”  “Good good.” The boss nodded and leaned back seeming satisfied by what he heard. “It seems that we’ll have to take action after an incident such as this.” They all sat still for a moment, their outward appearances not changing, but Xiumin knew that internally that phrase made them all freeze.  “What do you intend to do sir.” Sehun spoke. “I’ll speak to you about that alone. I’ll need you to work out a tactic with me that won’t thin our forces but increase our patrols.” Sehun just nodded. Saying nothing as the boss stood up. “You all did well today, this information will help us a great deal. You’re dismissed.” They all stood up, making their way to the door, “Xiumin, stay; we have matters to discuss.”  Kyungsoo looked back for a moment, Sehun also sparing a glance before they both walked out the door, the heavy sound of it being closed echoing as Xiumin came back over to the desk.  “Your mission, how are you faring.” Without any other words Xiumin already knew what he was referring to.  “Slow sir, it’s been very difficult gaining trust of the companies boss; also the fact that I have had to lay low due to the second in command being slightly suspicious of me.” He was referring to Chanyeol, but Xiumin knew that Chanyeol had no idea what-so-ever what Xiumin was doing in or even out of the company, so he wasn’t worried.   The Dom nodded, “I see.” Folding his hands together in front of him, he leaned forward as if deep in through, looking away from Xiumin and somewhere else in the room. Finally he looked back, sitting back as he spoke, “lay low for now, I don’t want anyone catching onto our plan and finding out. We don’t want the police getting involved.” Xiumin nodded once. When it came to the mob, they never wanted to get caught up with the police, it was always messy. “Do Sehun and Kyungsoo know this person also.” The question almost seemed out of the blue and Xiumin hadn’t expected it. Sure they knew his target, but they didn’t know him. “They know of him, but apart from our casual association that they know him from, they are completely unaware.” Xiumin sat still, the Dom staring him down as if he were trying to stare into his soul and read his lies. Finally, after they stared at each other for a long time the Dom spoke again, “good good. We’ll keep it that way, no reason for them to know about it.” He was beginning to wonder what other missions the Dom had Kyungsoo and Sehun on that he himself didn’t know about. But seeing as they were all in different fields he probably had no idea where to begin. “That’s all for now.” The Dom stood up, followed by Xiumin, both slowly walking towards the door. “We’ll keep in touch.”  Xiumin nodded, the door opening after two taps from the Dom. He exited the room, eyes never leaving the gaze of the Doms’ until the doors closed completely.  He turned around, surprised to find it empty apart from the two standing guard at the door. Had Kyungsoo and Sehun ditched him? Making his way to the main entrance he found Kyungsoo and Sehun standing there, Sehun leaning more-so than standing. “Anything?” Kyungsoo asked. It was apparent that these two thought that the Dom had been talking to him about their mission. “Nothing of importance.” He shook his head, both of them visually releasing their tense state of being. “Shall we head off then Kyungsoo?” Xiumin turned to him and waited for his answer. “Yeah why not; you comin’ Sehun?” Kyungsoo looked at the other as he spoke.  “Nah, you heard the boss. We have important matters to discuss.” His usual facial façade once again resting upon his face as he spoke. Sometimes being a mob boss’ right hand man wasn’t always a good thing. “Alright.” Xiumin nodded, “We’ll see ya later then.”  Sehun nodded as Xiumin and Kyungsoo waved before taking off. Xiumin hated to leave Sehun there like that, but there was nothing he could do since the boss wanted to talk to him. The walk back to the inner city seemed to take forever, not only because they were exhausted from their earlier excursion but also because they both had ended up pretty tattered when they found themselves on the losing team for once.  Buying themselves some clothes seemed like the most logical thing to do at the moment, both laughing when they would choose something and comment something Sehun would probably say about it. For the next hour they enjoyed the calmness between them, knowing that they didn’t have to worry about anyone judging them for who they were. Once they bought something comfortable for themselves they changed their clothes from the worn and tattered material to that of sweatshirts and sweatpants that most people of their age would wear if they were lounging at home. Just as they were leaving their last store Kyungsoos’ phone rang. “Yeoboseyo?” He answered right away. “Kai? How did you get this number.” Xiumin stood and stared as the other listened to the reply on the other end of the line; Kyungsoo had turned his volume down before their mission so Xiumin couldn’t hear anything being said on the other end of the line.  “Uh, sure… yeah, we’ll meet you there.” With that Kyungsoo hung up, looking a bit puzzled. “What is it?” “Kai wants us to meet him at the pizza place downtown.”  “What? Why.” Kyungsoo shrugged. “I guess we’ll see when we get there.” Xiumin nodded, the night couldn’t get any weirder could it? Unless Chen was going to suddenly reveal himself as the ruler of the reds gang too, now that would make for a seriously weird night. Xiumin chuckled to himself. “What is it.” Kyungsoo asked, a small smile showing on his lips.  “Nothing, Nothing.” Xiumin shook his head. “Come on, we better go meet Kai.”  ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~About fifteen minutes later Xiumin and Kyungsoo found themselves standing in front of the small pizza parlor hidden between the buildings around it, bags in hand as they looked at one another.  Xiumin shrugged at Kyungsoo who shrugged back. If this had been anytime before earlier Kyungsoo would have gotten quiet and blushed with just the thought of meeting up with Kai, but now he just seemed normal, more as if he were meeting up with Xiumin, but with less sass towards the other. When they entered they immediately saw a group of familiar people sitting at a table, the ones who had helped them earlier, but now they were dressed like normal people, jeans and t-shirts of all colors.  “Ah Kyungsoo, Xiumin. Sit.” Kai motioned for them to take the two conveniently empty seats at the table. Now, instead of looking like a bunch of thugs off the street ready to fight they all seemed like a group of friends coming to hang out. The others greeted them, Xiumin finding himself sitting next to the blonde who had helped him earlier and Kyungsoo on his other side. It felt a bit weird being around these people, their carefree attitudes not quite befitting of what Xiumin would have assumed delinquent mobsters would have. Not to mention the fact that they didn't seem scared for their life, or trying to leave the country as soon as possible. But then again, maybe the reds gang weren't as prominent with the consequences of what happens to "deserters of the cause". "What's with the sudden meet up." Xiumin inquired curiously. Speaking to no one in particular, but they all knew who the question was for. "No reason really, apart from the fact that we are friends... aren't we?" Kai added the last part on questioningly as he looked at Kyungsoo. The latter nodding while Xiumin just stared. In a way he wanted to tell Kai that they weren't friends just because they were both mobsters, but that would seem a bit harsh seeing as how they had technically met before they knew the other was in the mob. “What’re all the bags for?” The blond leaned over and looked at the bags that held the twos shopping items. “His birthday.” Xiumin motioned towards Kyungsoo with his thumb. “Oh, happy birthday.” The blond smiled, congratulating the latter by leaning over and patting him on the shoulder. The others also congratulating him and smiling. “T-thanks.” Xiumin laughed internally as he watched kyungsoos’ cheeks slowly turning red as his voice got quieter when he thanked them.  ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~For the next hour they all had pizza, talking together;  and the two different gang groups finding how much more they had in common than they had originally thought. Xiumin felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and slowly pulled it out to look at the ID. It was Chens’ number again.  Excusing himself, he got up and made his way around the corner near the bathrooms as to be out of hearing distance from the others.  “Yeoboseyo?” He answered quietly. “Xiumin.” Chens’ voice coming through clearly from the other end of the line.  “Chen hey.” Xiumin altered his voice to make it sound a bit hoarse as if he had been coughing. “Are you alright? You sound sick.”  “Yeah, just have a bit of a cold.” He coughed. “I’m sorry.” “What did you need?” Xiumin asked. If Chen had called twice then it must be somewhat important. “Nothing nothing.” He could hear the awkwardness of the situation in the others voice. “If you were free I was going to ask if you were free- I mean, free to go out today… but since you’re sick, maybe next time.” Xiumin chuckled. That stuttering was killer at being cute. “Yeah, I think I’ll pass for today,” he coughed again, “next time, definitely.” He smiled. “Alright, get some rest and feel better soon.”  “I will, bye Chen.” With that he hung up, jumping when he turned around and suddenly found Kyungsoo leaning against a nearby wall watching him, arms crossed over his chest. “Lying again are we.” Kyungsoo chuckled, uncrossing his arms and making his way over to Xiumin. “It must be one of those days for you eh.” “No it’s not- I just… Well, I don’t really look fit enough to be meeting up with anyone right now. How would I explain this.” He pointed to his face, the cut still new and blood leaking whenever the scabbing cracked. “Not to mention you,” Xiumin chuckled, “you look worse than me, but atleast your boyfriend is in the mob too so there’s less judgement.” Xiumin saw Kyungsoo blush deeply at the term used for Kai, but ultimately said nothing. “Just-don’t tell chen… okay.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket. “As if I would.” Kyungsoo smiled and rolled his eyes. “We both know full well that telling people ruins relationships.” “True that.” Xiumin nodded in agreement. “Hey Kyungsoo!” They both looked over as the short brown haired member called to him, “are you finished yet, we’re winning.” “I’ll be right there!” The latter called. “Look,” Kyungsoo turned back to Xiumin, lowering his voice once again. “You and I have been through a lot together, you can tell me anything, I won’ tell a soul unless you ask me too.” “Thanks Soo.” Xiumin smiled, “I appreciate it. Now let’s go win that card game.” “Gladly.” Kyungsoo smiled back as they both made their way back to the table.  ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Finally it seemed that the other group was beginning to tire and Xiumin and Kyungsoo decided that they would take off. The others waving to the two as they were taking off down the street, Xiumin not missing when Kai gently grabbed Kyungsoos’ hand; speaking quietly to the latter before Kyungsoo pulled back to look at him for a moment before slowly releasing the others hand and coming over to meet Xiumin.  “What’d he say?” Xiumin inquired. “Nothing really.”he replied, not looking up from the ground as he walked. Xiumin pursed his lips but didn’t press the topic. He could tell Kyungsoo liked Kai, but for some reason; finding out that Kai was also a mobster had changed kyungsoos’ attitude from happy-go-lucky to more critical it seemed. He hoped that Kyungsoo didn’t want to give up on his happy ending just because it would be a bumpy road.  Xiumin took a deep breath. Atleast Kai seemed to like Kyungsoo as much as Kyungsoo liked him. Xiumin had wished that his ex had looked at him the way Kai looked at Kyungsoo… or atleast, had kept looking at him.  Although his past relationship hadn’t been all that great with its ending Xiumin was happy that Suho was there for the other. Suho was a good guy, and maybe, just maybe he could keep Yixing in his place. “Hey,” Xiumin spoke suddenly, his voice filling the silence that had accompanied their footsteps, “Let’s stop by the bakery.” Turning slightly to look questioningly at the other Kyungsoo replied. “Why.” Xiumin smiled, “every good ending to a birthday always ends with cake.” He chuckled, Kyungsoo not being able to keep himself from smiling. “Okay, let’s do it.” After stopping by the bakery, the two consumed the cake within minutes after they arrived at Kyungsoos’ house. Both flopping on the couch once they felt overwhelmingly full. "I'm stuffed." Kyungsoo let his hand rest on his stomach as if that would ease his feeling of absolute profusion. "Me too, I can't eat another bite." Xiumin took a deep breath. "Looks like you'll have to finish the rest yourself." He chuckled, seeing the look of despair in Kyungsoos' face only increase as he thought about trying to finish the superbly sweet cake. "Or you could invite Kai over and finish it with him." Xiumin chuckled and nudged Kyungsoos' elbow, earning a smack back and a blush from the latter. Kyungsoo seemed to be more himself now than he had earlier. Maybe he had been putting on a front for Kai so that he wouldn’t pick up on how much Kyungsoo actually liked him after all. It was cute, almost like a high school crush. Something equivalent to what you’d see on a romantic drama, only instead of your stereotypical female to male confession it was a male to male confession… and they were in the mob. Xiumin tried not to laugh out loud but failed and chuckled. “What now.” Kyungsoo looked at Xiumin, the blush still present in his face. “Nothing.” Xiumin smiled, “just that you and Kai are a funny pair.”  “Pfft, not as funny as Baekhyun and Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and smiled. Xiumin not being able to deny that. “Now remember, they’re not official yet.” “Only according to Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo laughed. “Yeah, because Chanyeol is such a sucker for Baek.” Xiumin agreed. Laughing Kyungsoo nodded. Usually it’d be the coffee boy going after a company man, rather than the other way around, but either way, their whole ordeal made for a pretty comical show. "Well," Xiumin stood up, pulling on his jacket that had been carelessly thrown over the back of the couch, "I better head home, I'm exhausted."  "Alright," Kyungsoo followed the other to the door, "Be safe okay."  "I will." Xiumin waved as he walked out the door, Kyungsoo waving back before closing it. Taking a deep breath Xiumin made his way home, surely Sarah would be waiting for him. ***The usual morning alarm rang once again and Chen reached over to turn it off.  He ran a hand over his face as he sat up, feeling groggy from his deep sleep.  He'd been working from the early morning until late at night on the many recent cases had had sprung up about the mob. For some reason mob activity had skyrocketed in the couple weeks following Christmas and Chen had once again found himself in the midst of a maze that seemed unending. No leads. No evidence. No anything. He had Chanyeol beside him just to see if another pair of eyes could help him, but that also hadn't helped, not that Chanyeol was very easy to deal with anyway.  Yawning, he stood up; tiredly making his way to the shower. Enjoying the warm water once he got in. He let his skin soak up the condensation, taking a deep breath as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Changing into something equally as comfortable he then went to his desk, unfolding the current case files and rearranging the same photos for what seemed like the hundredth time. Those pictures stared at him once again and he knew he would get the same progression out of it today as he did before, nowhere.  ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~For the next couple of hours Chen worked through his various files, linking the different smaller cases together and sending the information to his superiors in the SUJU corporation.  Time seemed to be passing ever so slowly as he once again closed his laptop and picked up his phone to call for delivery for lunch. Just as he picked it up it rang. "Yeoboseyo? "Ay Chen." Lays' voice spoke on the other end of the line. "Lay? What's up." "Well, We were having this little get together tonight at the races."  "We?" "Yeah, the regular lot of people who show up," he laughed, "although I can't guarantee Chanyeol will be there." This made Chen smile. "So I just called to see if you were up for it, it'd be fun if you could join us." For a moment he thought about it; what would he really be missing here other than some case files that lead to nowhere and his quiet apartment; the answer, absolutely nothing. "Sure, what time shall I meet you." "How does five pm sound." "Great, I'll see you then." "See you then." With that, Lay hung up. Chen smiled to himself as he stood up, a night out of fun didn't seem like a bad idea after all. Maybe he'd call Xiumin and invite him along too. He waited an hour or so before attempting to call Xiumin; but only received a couple rings before he hung up. He didn’t want to bother the other if he was busy. Setting his phone down beside him; he continued with his work. He could always call him back later.  ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Hours later Chen changed into something more befitting for the races than his casual clothes were. He wanted to stay home where he knew it’d be warm, but he also wanted to go hang out and have fun. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket, dialing Xiumins’ number as he got in his car.  He waited in silence as it rang, Xiumins’ voice finally coming over the end of the line. “Yeoboseyo?” The voice was quiet. “Xiumin.” For a moment he didn’t know how to start, but didn’t need to when a moment later Xiumin spoke again. “Chen hey.” Chen frowned as he heard Xiumins’ voice more clearly now, it sounded as if he had a sore throat or something of the sort. “Are you alright? You sound sick.” “Yeah, just a bit of a cold.” The reply came followed by a cough and then a light chuckle. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say at this moment. Usually those dating would bring the person who was sick soup or buy them cold medicine, but their relationship was a bit different and he didn’t want to seem like he was over stepping his bounds as a boyfriend, since they were still only recently dating. “What did you need?” Xiumin asked. ‘To see you? To hear your voice?’ He shook his head. Neither of those sounded anything remotely less than creepy. “Nothing, Nothing.” He replied He sat for a moment in silence before speaking again. “If you were free I was going to ask if you were free- I mean, free to go out today… but since you’re sick, maybe next time.” He smiled sheepishly, one step away from smacking his forehead at his inability to form sentences. He heard Xiumin chuckle. ‘Well, atleast someone’s getting some humor out of this.’ He thought to himself. “Yeah, I think I’ll pass for today.” Another cough, “next time, definitely.” Hearing this made Chen smile. “Alright, get some rest and feel better soon.” “I will,” Xiumins’ voice getting quieter near the end, “bye Chen.” The dial tone coming over the phone as the other hung up.  “Bye.” He whispered. He turned on the car and headed towards the races. Even though he would have loved for Xiumin to come along with him, he also wanted the other to get over his cold sooner than later. Not to mention that he knew how awkward things still were between Xiumin and Lay.  Chen hoped that in the future maybe the two could settle their differences and look forward to the future rather than dwelling on the past. Turning the final corner he saw the bright lights come into view, the many cars lined up along the road and the dj stand in the center of it all.  He smiled as he felt the bass of the music begin to vibrate through his car. Tonight it wasn’t about the mob or his cases; no, tonight was about being a person and having fun.  ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~“Chen!” He was immediately greeted by Lay who walked over to his car as he got out. “Glad you could make it.” “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Chen clasped his hand with Lays’, their shoulders coming to bump against one another in greeting. “That’s great!” Lay clapped him on the back as they walked to the bar that surrounded the dj stand. “Not wasted yet I see.” Chen chuckled. “No, but we’ll be there soon.” Lay smiled mischievously, grabbing the first glass that the bar tender slid over to him.  “Not if I can help it.” Suddenly Suho appeared out of what seemed like thin air, grabbing the drink from his unsuspecting boyfriends hand and drinking it in one swig. Chen laughed at the look of surprise that crossed Lays’ face. “I thought you were the designated driver”. Lay stated when he finally came back to reality. “I thought about it,” Suho smiled towards Chen, taking another drink from the bar tender and lifting it in a toast before bringing it to his lips, “but then I decided that I didn’t want you two being the only ones having fun.”  Chen nodded. He couldn’t argue with that. It was never fun to be left out. “Well then, let’s get this party started.” An hour later Chen found himself racing not only Lay but many of the other racers as well. They had both decided to opt out on the alcohol until later for when they would be over their adrenaline high. Chen grinned as he slid into his car once more, rolling up slowly beside his opponent. The other rolling down their window; Chen not being able to stop his laugher when he saw Lay, but in another car.  The other winked before rolling up his window again. Chen shook his head as he smiled, turning his head back to wait for the light to change. The wait had his blood pumping and his nerves on end, he was sure that there were goosebumps on his arms but he didn’t want to spare even a glance for fear that he’d lose his head start.  ‘Red… yellow… green!’ He thought to himself as the colors changed; his foot hitting the petal as soon as he saw the first flash of green.  The two cars keeping pace with one another with ease. Chen glancing over to Lays car as they made their way down the road, zig zagging this way and that as to avoid other obstacles and each other.  The sharp turn up ahead anticipated by the two who had just raced on it previously, both of them smoothly transitioning to slide their way around the corner. Chen couldn’t help but smile as they kept pace, the corner behind them barely a thought in their mind as the finish line screamed their names, quite literally.  Just before they came to the finish line Lay suddenly slowed down; Chen raising an eyebrow as he watched the other in the rear view mirror. When his own car passed the finish line he turned just enough to see out his passenger mirror as the other quickly jerked the car to one side, causing it to spin a couple times before coming to a smooth stop beside him. He shook his head and smiled as he got out of the car, being immediately greeted by his current fans as they cheered and ran over, the girls hanging on him and the guys clapping him on the back when they could. When he turned to look over at Lay as he exited his car he saw the other smirk before being surrounded by his fans.  Once the crowd finally cleared Chen walked over to the other. “Show off.” He commented. “Well, what else am I supposed to do when all I ever do is lose to you,” Lay slung an arm around his shoulder as they walked to the sitting area, “I have to do something to be remembered by, otherwise I’ll just go down in history as ‘the man who always lost to the city boy’.” Lay chuckled. Chen lightly punched his arm. “Well then it looks like you better step up your game.” This made the other laugh which in turn made Chen laugh as well.  As they sat down Chen saw the same ever familiar group of girls making their way over to where the two sat. “Chen! Welcome back!” The girl who greeted him right away was the ever so familiar Young Ja. She waved ecstatically as she made her way over.  “It’s been a while.” She smiled happily as she made herself comfortable by sitting in his lap, making it look as if this were an everyday occurrence. “Yeah, I’ve been busy.” He chuckled. “I asked Lay the other day where you had been and he just gave me the shrug.” She looked over at Lay and crossed her arms, crinkling her nose when he just smiled and rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you liked him.” Lay teased. “Oh course I like him, he’s the only one here who doesn’t treat me like I’m a trashy street walker.”  “But you are a street walker…” Suho interjected plainly, walking up with three beers in his hand; handing one to Chen, another to Lay,  and taking a drink from the last one he held in his hand that was already open.    "Yeah, but I'm not trashy." Young Ja said smartly, a hint of retort in her words. "I always dress like a lady." She motioned to her clothes that looked...less than lady-like. "Suuure suure." Suho widened his eyes as he took a drink. It was obvious to the group that they all agreed on the same idea of Young Ja's clothing, and none of them agreed with her. She rolled her eyes but didn’t move from her sitting spot atop the slightly awkward Chen who drank in order to not feel so weird with Young Ja clinging to him.  He wished that Xiumin had been able to make it, but with him being sick it was probably not the best idea for him to be out in the cold weather. Not to mention the fact that the only people here out of their group of friends were Suho, Lay, and himself. “What’s this.” Chen was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as suddenly Young Ja reached down and grabbed his arm, looking at the bracelet he had forgotten that he had put on today. He had been absentminded when getting ready because he’d been thinking about the biggest case that was still left unsolved and he wanted to figure it out so bad.  “N-nothing really.” He pulled his arm back a little just as an impulse.  Rather than taking this offensively Young Ja cracked a smile and started to tease him. “Ooh, from a special someone eh?” She bumped his shoulder when she noticed he was a bit embarrassed. “How cute.” She turned to Lay and Suho who sat in their own worlds casually sipping their beers. “I like him even more now, he’s so adorable.” She pinched one of his cheeks lightly. “Too bad you’re not his type.” Lay smirked. Young Ja scoffed but ultimately said nothing.  Chen took another drink; not knowing what to say after that. He hadn’t gotten to a specific point where he thought he had a type, but right now he’d have to say that his type was a red head with a fiery personality.   ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~ The next couple hours passed with the four drinking and playing games amongst themselves, Chen enjoying all the different games that drunk them could come up with. Although out of everyone he knew that he was probably the least amount drunk; Lay being the most, followed by Suho and then Young Ja.  Chen watched as slowly through the night Suho became more and more physically affectionate with his boyfriend until he was sitting in his lap whispering things in his ear.  “Hey,” Chen attention was turned to Young Ja when she suddenly nudged him and spoke. “I’m gonna head off, do you want me to get you anything before I go.” “Nah I’m good, but thanks.” He smiled appreciably. She was nicer than the others gave her credit for. “Alright, see you next time then Chen.” She waved as she began to walk off, Chen giving a small wave before she disappeared into the crowd of people near the bar. He took a deep breath as he slumped farther in his seat, taking another drink and looking around at all the people who gathered here and there, looking as though they were really enjoying themselves and the company around them.  About ten minutes later Suho stood, pulling Lay up by his hand to stand as well. Chen looked up as Suho turned to him, a wobble evident in his stance. “We’re going to head home, do you want me to call you a cab.” He asked.  Chen shook his head. “It’s okay,” he smiled, “You two go on and have fun.”  Suho gave him a look of concern before nodding and pulling Lay with him. Chen listening to them talk as they both staggered away. “Come on you drunk, let’s go home.” “I’m not that drunk.” Lay replied. Chen chuckled to himself at the conversations that transpired between those two. Downing the last little bit of his beer he stood up, pulling on his jacket and heading to his car.  He put his hand on the door handle, feeling a bit foggy as he took a moment to just stand there. Maybe he wouldn’t drive home. Pulling out his phone he pressed Chanyeols’ number.  “Yes?” Chanyeol answered immediately, a smirking tone in his voice. “Chanyeol.” Chen shook his head as he felt that foggy feeling coming to his mind again, his body beginning to feel fuzzy as the alcohol now started to really affect him. “Come pick me up, and bring Baekhyun.” “Where-“ He didn’t even let the other finish. “The races down town. I can’t drive.”  “Be there in a sec.” “And hurry up!” Chen added before hanging up. Sometimes that giant idiot could be reliable, too bad it was always only after bad choices.   ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~He didn’t have to wait long before the familiar black car pulled up, Chanyeol stepping out followed by Baekhyun.  “Ay.” He pushed himself from where he leaned against the car door, giving himself a moment to steady himself before walking toward the others.  “You could’ve atleast waited in the car.” Chanyeol chuckled. “I didn’t expect you to take so long.” Chen smirked. “Wow, someone’s sassy today.” Chanyeol grinned, opening the door for Chen as he walked over. Chen casually handing his keys to Baekhyun who looked at him confused for a moment.  “Follow us to my apartment, we’ll park it in the bottom garage.” He heard his speech beginning to slur more and more as a tiredness washed over him. Baekhyun just nodded before hopping into Chens’ car and staring it up. Chen followed Chanyeol, slowly sliding into the passenger seat and waiting for the other to take off.  He had to admit that right now was the time that he felt the most drunk; granted, the alcohol was now seeping further into his system.  “To home!” He stated positively, a cheeky smile crossing his face as he watched Chanyeol drive.  Two left turns and a right and Chen found himself dozing off while they drove, completely unaware that five minutes later and he’d be asleep. ***When he arrived at the house Xiumin found it almost pitch black apart from the television playing in the living room; and a sight all too familiar in front of him of Sarah sleeping on the couch with Furgus curled up on top of her with a blanket draped over both to keep the chill off. He smiled as he walked over and turned off the television. He loved how peacefully the two of them slept and it almost made him jealous that he had to sleep alone. Xiumin chuckled as he grabbed a blanket off the bed in the bedroom, along with a pillow and made himself as comfortable on the floor near the couch as he could.  He had hoped that he could be less busy so that he would be able to spend more time with Sarah, but as life would have it, that just wouldn’t happen. Silence filled the room apart from his and Sarah’s slow breathing, Furgus making a couple noises as he shifted to re-accommodate himself. In this part of town it was so quiet; peaceful to others, but very quiet to him.  It was much different from the other side of the city that never slept. If he had a choice he wasn’t sure which of the two he would choose. Out of all his friends only he and Kyungsoo seemed to live in the quieter parts of the city. But then again, when working for the mob it was easier to live somewhere it was always quiet because then you could hear your enemy’s coming.  Rolling onto his back he let out a deep breath. Even though things in his life were complicated, whenever he arrived at the house it all seemed to just smoothly fall into place. He wished that he didn’t have to hide Sarah from his friends, or the world it seemed for that matter.  He turned his head to look in her direction, her breathing moving a strand of hair that crossed her face every time she exhaled. He smiled to himself as he watched her sleeping face. Tomorrow would be a new day and he looked forward to it if he knew she’d be there to stand by him. “Goodnight Sarah.” He whispered. Pulling the blanket farther over him he rolled back onto his side and closed his eyes, his breathing getting deeper and slower until he finally fell asleep.  ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~“Good morning sleepy.” Sarah shook him gently to wake him, his body immediately feeling the soreness that came along with sleeping on the hard floor.  “Morning.” He groaned, ruffling his hair as he sat up slowly and half way opened his eyes; Furgus making his way over to attempt to lick Xiumins’ face only to be dodged by the latter.  “How’d you sleep.” Sarah stood up, casually picking the corgi up into her arms while doing so. “Like a rock, literally, I’m so stiff I could be one now.” Sarah laughed heartily. He smiled as he watched her big smile, he always enjoyed when she laughed, it made him feel good knowing she was having a good day because of him.  “Well then Mr. Rock, you better roll your way to the shower because it’s time for work.” She chuckled, making her way into the kitchen with Furgus still in her arms.  Xiumin groaned but ultimately got up, taking the blanket and pillow he’d been using and putting it back on the bed before hopping in the shower. The water was nice and relaxing for his sore muscles that had been friends with the cold floor for a night, and he had the urge to just sit down and let the water rush over him, but decided that since it was before work he’d save the relaxation time for later.  Finally finished with his shower; Xiumin got dressed and made his way to the kitchen, following the sweet scent of food being cooked as it wafted through the air and around the house. When he entered the kitchen the first thing he saw was Sarah balancing food on the end of the dogs nose as he sat perfectly still, his eyes trained on whatever she was placing there.  “Hold… hold… okay.” She snapped her fingers as she said ‘okay’; Furgus flipping the food from his nose into the air and catching it in his mouth. “Great job.” She smiled and clapped as the corgi wagged his tail happily, waiting for another treat from the breakfast selections. “He’s getting so skilled don’t you think.” She turned to Xiumin and smiled as she grabbed two plates with food on them. He already thought the dog was very talented and smart too but this was also something that not everyone’s dog could do. Nodding in agreement he grabbed the plate from her and sat down across from her at the table. Finishing his breakfast quickly he ran to the living room to grab his bag before making his way back to the kitchen to say goodbye to Sarah before he left; the sight he saw as he entered the kitchen making him laugh so hard he started coughing. The seat he had been sitting in was now being occupied by the corgi named Furgus. The dog casually glancing at him but not moving from where he sat, his sitting body looking like that of a miniature human rather than a dog. “I’m gonna take off now, I’ll see you later okay.” He almost couldn’t contain himself from laughing wholeheartedly at the dog.  “Oh alright.” Sarah stood up and walked over to give him a hug before sitting back down and finishing her breakfast. “Have a good day.” She waved. “Will do.” He waved back and took off for work. ‘First the coffee stand.’ He mentally spoke to himself. For some reason his morning routine had stuck in his head from these past years and he just couldn’t bring himself to stop it. “Morning Baek.” He greeted Baekhyun, putting money on the counter as he walked up, the other already knowing what he was going to order. “Heya Xiumin. Off to work I see.”  The latter nodded, taking the hot coffee from the coffee stand boy. “As always.” He chuckled, waving to Baekhyun and keeping on his way. He was surprised to find all the light on in the office when he arrived. Usually only the main area would be lit and then his office once he was actually in it, but to see the lights to Chen’s office on as well was not a normal sight for him. Making his way over to the office he tried to peek his way through the blinds to see if there were people there other  than Chen who he might’ve had a meeting with but ultimately he couldn’t see anything,  opting to just make his presence known because he had the coffee. He was slightly surprised when he entered the office and saw Chen staring down at a couple different open files while furrowing his brow.  Just then he looked up, a look of surprise crossing his face for a moment before he smiled. “Ah Xiumin, What are you doing.” “Bringing you your coffee.” He said plainly, holding up the cup for an indication.  “Oh! Good good, bring it over here.” Chen waved him over. “What are you working on today.” Xiumin asked, letting himself lean against the arm of the chair while he tried to spy at the files.  “Just some underground activities that are a bit worrisome, but overall, everything is fine.” He smiled sheepishly. “Is there anything I can help you with.” Xiumin asked. “Nah, chen shook his head, “I think we got it all figured out.” “We?” “Yeah, the company, but mostly Chanyeol and I.” He chuckled, “as much as I hate to say that Chanyeol has ever been helpful. Xiumin chuckled with him, he couldn’t disagree. After all this time of working for this company and Xiumin has seen that out of all people, Chanyeol probably worked the least. And now having introduced him to Baekhyun, that seemed to be the only thing on his mind.  “Well… in any case; I don’t have any other smaller cases at the moment, would you like to help me work on this one.” Xiumin looked up from the files on the desk to find Chen smiling sweetly at him.  “Sure.” Xiumin smiled back, casually taking a seat on the desk rather than pulling up another chair; but he assumed that Chen wouldn’t complain. “Where shall we start.”  ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~For the next couple hours Xiumin and Chen worked along side by side, both corresponding with the ideas of the other when there was an area they were unsure about. Xiumin couldn’t help but glance up every once in a while to watch Chen as he worked. His eyes focused with determination but his face showing no strain while he tried to piece together a part of the case that made absolutely no sense.  The more Xiumin looked at him the cuter he looked. Without realizing Xiumin found himself leaning forward until his lips gently met Chens’ cheek, slightly startling the latter who looked up suddenly. Xiumin smiled, “it’s lunch time, can I get you anything.”  A look of realization crossed Chens’ face. “Sure, something from Luhan and Taos’ sandwich shop sounds great.”  “Alright, I’ll be back in a bit.” He gently brushed his hand over Chens’, “don’t work too hard while I’m gone okay.”  Chen smiled back, “of course.” Taking this as his escape cue Xiumin grabbed his bag and made his way to the door, catching the elevator and taking it down. He pressed his hands to his cheeks which felt warm at the moment. Had the room been warmer than he had originally thought? Or was he was really focused and hadn’t realized that he was doing something to raise his body temperature. When he arrived at the ground floor he was surprised at who he saw standing there. Sehun. “Sehun?” He asked, almost surprised. “Xiumin hey.” The latter greeted casually, stepping his way into the elevator as Xiumin stepped out. “What are you doing here?” Sehun raised an eyebrow for a moment before replying. “I work here.”  The doors closed, ending their conversation, Xiumin just standing there staring at the door to the lift. The last person he had expected to work here was now headed upstairs, what else on earth had he not been told.  Gripping the strap on his bag he turned around and headed towards the sub shop. He had so many questions and not enough answers.    Happy update everybody! Also a merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah to you all. Best wishes to you in the coming new year!