Trust Who (1/1)

They stood for what seemed like minutes and everything seemed to be going by in slow motion to Xiumin, but he knew it was not. Casually he took the gun from Kyungsoos’ hand. Making it look as though this were his gun and he was just taking it back. He smiled mischievously as he reloaded the gun, trying to seem like he knew what he was doing. “I’ll do it.” The look on the Doms’ face showed surprise at first but then he smiled and it made Xiumin feel a jolt of coldness run down his spine. The Dom was obviously enjoying this too much. But at this point Xiumin didn’t care. He was preventing Kyungsoo from becoming a killer and that was all that mattered to him. Once again he dawned the small smirk as he once again aimed the gun, but at the next man down the line. He hated this so much, but he knew he had no other choice. If they were going to get out of this alive then he’d have to play the part; the keyword was if. He had hoped that Sehun hadn’t sold them out. This time Xiumin let his mind wander as his finger pulled the trigger. Thinking of anything else would be better than living in the moment right now. This was the last place he wanted to be at this very moment; but right now he was playing the game and he was obviously somewhere in the middle with no way to know how to win. He looked the man straight in the face, tears rolling down his cheeks, eyes watery and chin shivering. Xiumin didn’t have a choice; his mind immediately going to the side to justify the reason he was doing it. A gangster would always be a gangster, they’d never change; yeah… that was it. With this as his final thought he pulled the trigger. Everyone giving a slight twitch at the sudden sound, everyone except him. He watched the man fall to the ground. His open eyes now lifelessly staring at the floor. If Xiumin hadn’t been a murderer before; he was sure that he was one now.  “Excellent.” The Dom clasped his hands together. Eyes shining as if he were watching some kind of show and not watching people die. “Only two more.” Xiumin looked down at the other two; fear evident in their faces as they had seen those other two go before them without mercy. He geared himself up to collect himself and put down the other two when suddenly he heard footsteps and two shots from a gun that was not his own. Before he knew what happened he realized that Sehun had casually walked over behind the two, putting a bullet in each of their heads.  When Xiumin looked over at the Dom he seemed less than amused. Not angry, just sort of disappointed that his play time was over.  “Oh come on Sehun, you take the fun out of everything.” His voice almost sounding like that of a child getting his toys taken away. But in a way he wasn’t wrong. “Sir we don’t have time to play around like this, we have more important matters to attend to.” Sehun replied, simply polishing his gun and placing it back inside his jacket pocket. Did he always carry that with him? Xiumin wondered.  “Alright, have it your way.” The Doms’ voice was back to his usual growl as he made his way back over to his seat. Sehun walking over to let the guards in; pointing to the mess on the floor and telling them to clean it up. Xiumin and Kyungsoo watched as the men did so, only leaving the blood splatters and puddles for a later time, seeing as how the Dom was having a meeting. Closing the door firmly Sehun walked back over to stand behind the desk, motioning for Kyungsoo and Xiumin to sit. They followed quietly and did so; neither looking at each other as they sat down. Was the Dom finally going to tell them that he knew what they had been up to the whole time and that they were no longer needed in the mob.  Xiumin and Kyungsoo sat still, their expressions unwavering as they waited. Finally turning their attention to the Dom who began to speak. “Thanks to Sehun I’ve heard about some rouge members in our area. We’ve decided that it be best to keep up our usual trade without any change. We’ll use this as an advantage to get into the other territories and befriend some of the other members.” So basically the Dom was telling them to put themselves in danger all for the sake of learning information. This wasn’t surprising in the least, what was surprising was the fact that he was putting his top mobsters in a more low-ranking job.  It made him wonder if the Dom was feeling not as trustworthy of the lower ranks or he wanted the higher tiers to do this because they had the most experience and knew what they were doing. “Anyway, the point is, I want you three to make as many allies as possible and get them to join with us.” For a moment Xiumin thought back to their little party of deserters, this conversation sounding all too familiar.  Kyungsoo and Xiumin both nodding as he continued. “With this I believe that we can improve our ranks and expand our knowledge of the other mobs.” From What Xiumin was hearing it just sounded like he was just trying to expand the mob to over throw the others and take their territories; but that was only because he and the other two in this room had other information. Of course any other lower mobster would just be blindly following their leader with whatever he said. The Dom smiled and sat back in his chair, holding his palms together as he tapped each finger against the opposing hands’ fingers. Xiumin assumed that since he was seeing his minions not questioning him in any way made this a much easier job. “How else do you want us to gain new members.” Xiumin spoke suddenly, surprising the other two; or atleast that’s what it felt to him. “Any way you want, just make sure that they won’t desert once they join.” Xiumin nodded but ultimately said nothing more. The Dom stood, Sehun taking a step back as Xiumin and Kyungsoo stood as well. “That is all for now, continue with your current missions and make sure to get the best results.” He gave a simple nod and a flick of his wrist before sitting back down. The two in front of the desk immediately walking towards the door, closely followed by Sehun who opened the door. “And Sehun, get the others in here to clean up this mess.” The Dom motioned to the blood still on the floor, sounding almost disgusted; the sound of his voice completely different from that of when he was watching the other men being murdered. “Yes.” Sehun bowed slightly, opening the door as the three exited the room; a couple quick hand motions and the men down the hall watching him; followed his pointing into the Doms’ office. They said nothing as they passed by the three and went into the room, the door closing firmly behind them.  A moment of silence passed before Xiumin and Kyungsoo watched Sehun begin to walk away from them and down the hall towards the exit.  They just stood for a moment before Xiumins’ brain suddenly remembered that he was going to ask Sehun a while ago about him working at Chens’ company. “Ah! Sehun.” Xiumin began to chase after the other who had made it almost halfway down the hallway due to his long walking strides; Kyungsoo struggling to keep up with the others. “Hey, I wanted to ask you a question.” “What’s up.” Sehun didn’t look as the other spoke, the casual walking now bringing them to the exit of the building. Xiumin waiting until they were out of hearing range from the others on the compound. Kyungsoo still following closely behind. “When did you start working at Che-” Suddenly Sehuns’ phone rang and he picked up immediately. “Yeah? Okay I'll be right over.” As quickly as the phone call started it ended. Sehun turning to Xiumin for a second, “Sorry Min, That was Luhan, I’ll see you guys later.” Without saying another word Sehun took off in another direction, leaving the other two to stand there bewildered by Sehuns’ very aloof attitude today. To Xiumin something just didn’t seem right, but then again maybe he could just be having a bad day. “What’s with him.” Kyungsoo turned to Xiumin, a slight frown adorning his face. Xiumin just shrugged in return as they began making their way back to the city.  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ When they were far enough away Kyungsoo spoke. “He’s been acting weird all day.” At first Xiumin was confused, ‘who? Who is he talking about.’ Then suddenly it hit him. Kyungsoo was still referring to Sehun. “What do you mean.” Xiumin asked, not knowing how else to better understand what he meant. “Well… today when he called me he was… blank? I don’t know. He just didn’t seem like he wasn’t all there, as if something was occupying his mind.” Xiumin nodded as Kyungsoo continued, “just like a while ago in the Doms’ office… he never counteracts the Dom, but he did just now. I understand that he is the right-hand man, but still… You saw it didn’t you?” Kyungsoo looked over at Xiumin who was deep in thought. Now that he thought about it, yeah Sehun had looked as if he were there in body but not mind. His eyes fixed on something that was not in the room with him, but something far away and somewhere else. Something was definitely up and he wanted to find out what.  “Kyungsoo, we’re going to go on a special mission, just you and me.” He turned to the latter who stopped to look back, an expression of puzzlement on his face. “We’re going to stalk Sehun.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Xiumin knew immediately where he was going to go first. Sehun had said that Luhan had called him so the first place they would be stopping by would be the sandwich shop.  As they waited outside the shop for any sight of Sehun Kyungsoo shifted nervously. It had been an hour and there was a still no sight of him.  “This is pretty sketchy.” Kyungsoo finally piped up. “Tell me about it.” Xiumin peeked around the corner once again as he watched another person walk into the shop. “Not this,” Xiumin stopped and turned to look at Kyungsoo as he made a circle motion with his finger, “this” he pointed back and forth between Xiumin and himself. When xiumin only raised a confused eyebrow Kyungsoo continued. “It’s just weird. We’re literally spying on our superior, someone we had never questioned before. But suddenly here we are.” He knew what the other was getting at. “We’re not spying, we’re gathering intel.” “About what.” “Our good friend Sehun.” Xiumin smirked and he saw that Kyungsoo couldn’t help but smile in return. “Oh yeah, because friends stalking their friends isn’t weird at all.” He smirked and rolled his eyes as Xiumin chuckled.  “Absolutely not.” Xiumin agreed.  They watched for another hour and there was still no sign of Sehun. Xiumin was about ready to give up when suddenly he saw the familiarly tall thin figure that was Sehun.  He looked calm and casual, as if today had been another day like every other. Sehun smoothly walking up to the shops doors and walking inside. Immediately Xiumin watched as the other made his way over to Luhan, giving the other a peck on the lips as he smiled. It was still weird to Xiumin that Sehun smiled at all.  Sehun then took a seat in front on the counter, making himself comfortable as he said something to Tao who Xiumin could tell, said something akin to a smart-ass remark before walking away.  It was weird. This was almost like watching a movie. He was here yet he wasn’t. Kyungsoo in the background almost left forgotten to him until the latter spoke quietly. “Seems pretty normal to me.” “Yeah, except for the fact that he said he was going to meet Luhan right away. That would’ve put him here before us.” “True.” There was a moment of silence before Kyungsoo continued, “Luhan could’ve asked him to go do something before we arrived.” “Yeah…” Xiumin didn’t like the possibility of being wrong.  An hour later and there was still no other progress. Xiumin giving up and throwing in the towel. “Well that’s it, I quit. Looks like you’re right Kyungsoo.” The other laughed, “I always am.”  “Pft whatever.” Xiumin smiled and rolled his eyes. Suddenly stopping when he heard the bell to the shop ding.  They both turned around to watch Sehun wave to Luhan before walking out the door. Xiumin watching his smiling face change immediately to his usual plain expression. They watched him walk down the sidewalk and turn into a back alley. “Well Kyungsoo, let's go.” Xiumin shrugged and was just about to walk away when suddenly Kyungsoo grabbed his arm, stopping him from going any further as his eyes were trained on a spot in the direction Sehun had gone. Xiumin didn’t know what Kyungsoo was doing as he pulled his arm, signaling for the other to follow him. “Come on, follow me.” Xiumin let himself be pulled along behind Kyungsoo who seemed to know exactly where he was going. He followed the other silently as they pressed themselves to the outside wall of the alleyway. Kyungsoo gave a shushing sign and then pointed around the corner, pulling Xiumin to lean with him.  He didn’t know what the other was trying to portray to him but he still followed along anyway, he trusted Kyungsoo.  What surprised him wasn’t the fact that Kyungsoo had a sneaking suspicion that was dead on, but the fact that he had picked up on something Xiumin hadn’t. There were a group of about seven people standing together shrouded in shadow. All of these people were familiar to the both of them. It was Sehun, Kai and the rest of the rogue reds gang. But why were they all together, it just didn’t make sense; since Sehun didn’t seem like he wanted to have an association with the other people after their last encounter.  As they watched, Xiumin saw that Kai and Sehun were speaking quite casually, the others also putting in whatever they had to say whenever is seemed to be relevant to the conversation. Just what was going on. Should they intervene, should they say nothing at all and pretend it didn’t happen? Before he could make up his own deductions Kyungsoo was already walking towards them. Xiumin couldn’t believe it; Kyungsoo was taking the lead, maybe he was the fearless one. So what did that make Xiumin, the reckless one? He didn’t want to admit to that one if it was true.  As they neared the group of people Xiumin saw Kai tense as the others approached, obviously on the defensive of intruders on their conversation. But Sehun on the other hand, just stood as normal, having already assessed the situation; he immediately recognized who the two ever familiar figures were. Although seemingly not surprised by their presence; Xiumin could tell that they were not part of this agenda in his mind. “K-Kyungsoo.” Kai stuttered, “what are you doing here, I thought you had work.” Xiumin watched as the others who had been visibly tense before were now relaxing at the familiar faces.  “I did.” Xiumin watched as Kyungsoo caught Sehuns’ eye, both saying nothing, and the exchange being completely missed by the others standing around. “But I’m off now.” He beamed his fakest grin but Xiumin could tell that Kai was melting on the inside regardless. It was almost laughable.  He thought back to chens’ smile. The one that made him look like a cat that you’d want to cuddle forever. Suddenly he brought himself back to reality, mentally smacking himself for letting thoughts like that even enter his brain. He needed to focus on the task at hand and not the task of the future. “What are you guys doing.” Xiumin was almost appalled at how shamelessly Kyungsoo was acting completely unabashed; but then again he could tell that Kai wouldn’t lie to Kyungsoo. Not without good reason atleast. Oh how he would kill for a relationship like that. “Sehun is helping us out.” Kai spoke simply. Kyungsoo seemingly not wanting to pry but a curious stare was evident. “He’s telling us how to stay safe.” Kai smiled at Sehun who basically gave a half smile before letting his face return to its normal expression. There was a moment of silence before Kai spoke up again. “Well, I think that’s all for now. See ya ‘round Sehun; come on Soo.” Xiumin watched as Kai grabbed Kyungsoos’ hand and pulled him along while the rest of the reds crew joined them, Kyungsoo looking confused but saying nothing as he was pulled along by the other walking down another alleyway and disappearing around the corner.  Xiumin and Sehun stood silently as they stared at the place where the others had disappeared. Finally Sehun spoke, a cold undertone in his voice. “Why did you follow me, if I had wanted you to come I would have invited you.” The crisp cut of his voice was sharp enough to cut the air. Xiumin smirked and returned with his smart-ass remark, “who said I wanted to follow you.” The inflection in his tone easily giving way to exactly where Sehuns’ brain was. The latter turning to Xiumin as he turned to look at Sehun. “Did he send you.” “No,” Xiumin put his hands in his pockets and began to walk down the alleyway. “But there’s always a possibility, what with the betrayals going on and all.” Suddenly he felt himself being pulled back by his collar, Sehuns face inches from his, looking far from happy, “why did you come here.” “I should be asking you the same.” Xiumin could feel tension between the two of them. Sehun keeping quiet as he let Xiumin go and looked away, taking a step back before answering. “If your friend was in trouble wouldn’t you do everything to help them out.” The sincerity in Sehuns’ tone caught Xiumin off guard. But the question did make him think.  ‘Friends? Who were the important ones and who weren’t.’ He had never stopped to think about it, seeing as how the mob basically owned him since he was a teen and that really prevented relationships. But then again he had been in a relationship with Lay and that had worked out… whatever that was exactly. He didn’t know if he was going to count that one since it was a little bit of a mess. Mentally he scratched that off of his list; he didn’t want to think about that right now, or ever again. When Xiumin didn’t answer Sehun turned around and looked at him. “Wouldn’t you.” Again silence ensued. Sure he’d do anything for Kyungsoo. But he also paid attention to who he knew could take care of themselves and used his deducting skills to choose those friends. That meant other people in the mob like Sehun and Kyungsoo. Although he didn’t really have to worry about Sehun.  “I suppose.” The look Sehun gave him was questioning and Xiumin could tell that he was trying to figure out who the traitor really was. Be it him, or someone else in the mob. But at this point Xiumin knew that they were on the same side and he felt that Sehun knew it as well. Xiumin watched as Sehun peered at the corner of the alleyway. “Come on, we shouldn’t stay here.” Sehun spoke softly as the latter shrugged and followed him. Their silent walk being interrupted by the sounds of people and businesses in motion around them. “Don’t worry,” Xiumin finally spoke. “I won’t tell anyone anything.” Xiumin made a zipping motion to his lips when the other looked at him. “And don’t worry about Kyungsoo.” He smiled, “He’s just worried about Kai.” Sehun nodded but ultimately said nothing. From the look on Sehuns’ face Xiumin could tell that there was a lot on his mind; he assumed that a couple of them were probably his job, his friends, and most of all… Luhan. Obviously Sehun valued one over the others, and that would be the last of the three. Xiumin didn’t know how to do that, since he had always valued the mob over everything else. Xiumin followed Sehun to the nearest café; the two silently sitting down, a cup of coffee sitting before both of them as they said nothing. Xiumin almost felt like this was an interrogation, even though the other was not speaking.  Finally breaking the silence Xiumin spoke first. “How important is Luhan to you.” At first Sehun didn’t say anything, just shifted his coffee from one hand to the other. His eyes seemingly searching for something on the table that he wasn’t finding. His eyes didn’t even move from the table as he spoke up, “very.” So he had been right. Luhan was one of Sehuns’ top priorities and he assumed that the latter didn’t even know it. All the things that Sehun was probably doing to keep Luhan safe and Luhan had no idea. “What about you.” Sehun finally asked, looking up from his coffee that lay untouched in front of him. “With Chen, I mean.” For a moment Xiumin thought he heard Sehun stutter, but when he looked up the meet the others eyes they just stared at him in return. Did it seem like he liked Chen? He had been so focused on playing his part that he hadn’t even stopped to think or pay attention to how it looked to the others around them. “I’m not sure.” He let out a sigh as he broke eye contact with the other and looked back down at his cup dejectedly. He had answered truthfully. Chen was … well… he was something alright; kind, caring, sweet and smart all in one package; but those things didn’t really matter when he wasn’t going to be living much longer anyway did it.  He wished internally that it hadn’t come down to this; but the mob is the mob and once the target has been chosen, there’s no way of stopping their decision. From his simple answer he saw Sehun stare at him for another minute before looking back down. He could tell that Sehun was probably categorizing his feelings the way that mobsters did. The place in their mind telling them that the job came first and then love; Xiumin was aware that Sehun could tell he was struggling with the choice because of his years of dedication to the mob, but Xiumin didn’t mind. Better safe than sorry. “What are you going to do now.”  Xiumin took a sip of his coffee as he looked around the shop, people moving around to find a seat and drink their beverages or take it with them as they were on their mission to get to their next destination.  “I don’t know.” He looked over to see Sehun take a drink of his coffee as he leaned his head on his palm. A look that Xiumin never saw on his face as he once again stared into his cup; the look being that of utter internal confusion. They sat in silence, the sounds of the world around them not breaking their moment as they both got lost in their own thoughts. “What were you going to ask me earlier.” Sehun suddenly spoke, his gaze slowly coming up to meet Xiumins’. At first he forgot what he was originally going to ask but then he suddenly remembered, “Oh! Yes. I was going to ask you how long you’ve been working for the Che-” Before he could finish Sehuns phone rang again; the other holding up a finger to tell him to wait while he answered the phone.  “Yeoboseyo.” Sehun and Xiumin made eye contact as he continued speaking. “What? Luhan, I can’t hear you. You’re moving what? No no... yeah I’ll be right over to help, don’t do anything until I get there okay... Yeah, love you too.” After his short and one-sided sounding conversation ended he immediately stood up.  “Sorry Min, I gotta go help Luhan, let’s finish this conversation later.” Xiumin pursed his lips but nodded; when it came to Luhan, Sehun would always drop anything for him. It almost made him sad with the fact that his own relationship was a lie. Waving at the other as he walked out the door Xiumin once again looking down at his coffee, Sehuns’ coffee just inches away from his, half-finished and getting cold. Xiumin let out a deep sigh as he slumped back against his seat. His question was never going to be answered it seemed.  It now looked like all his focus would be on his target and recruiting new members to the mob. None of that really seemed like a difficult job since he had been doing stuff like this for many years. Of course he didn’t have a time limit...atleast according to the Dom, but for some reason he still felt like he was behind and losing the time that he needed for something important. He just didn’t know what that was. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ An hour later and Xiumin finally finished his half cold coffee. Picking up both cups and throwing them away as he headed out the door. He casually walked down the street, listening and watching the people around him as he aimlessly made his way through the city. His thoughts were a jumbled mess but also blank at the same time. There were so many things to process all at once and he just didn’t know where to start. As he turned around one of the corners suddenly he saw an ever familiar figure walking his direction. It was Chen. The latter of course hadn't seen him yet but that was okay. Xiumin internally fought with himself whether or not he should run away or step up and talk to him.  Before he got a chance to decide he saw another person join Chens’ side, that person being none other than Chanyeol. Quickly Xiumin bolted around a corner in order to not be seen by them. He slowly peaked his head around the corner and watched as they chatted happily while they continued their walk. Xiumin could see the slight irritation in Chens’ face as Chanyeol continued to speak, most likely making fun of the latter for one reason or another. As he continued to watch he saw Chens’ more stern face as it seemed that he was changing the conversation and informing Chanyeol about something of importance. Chanyeol smiling and nodding in return when Chen made eye contact with the latter. It made him wonder what they were talking about. There was so much going on but he was just caught up in the whirlwind of it all. His eyes followed the two as they kept getting closer, their speech drown out by the crowd around them.  Finally they were close enough and Xiumin caught a little bit of their conversation; Hiding around the corner as they passed. “But yeah, you should totally come this weekend, and bring a friend.” Chanyeol winked and elbowed Chen as they walked; Chen rolling his eyes in return. “And besides, it’d be good to see you at the races anyway. You need to get out more.” Chanyeol chuckled and Chen smacked him. Xiumin waited until they seemed like they were far enough away before he moved out of the alleyway he was hiding in and walked the opposite direction of them. He hoped that they wouldn’t turn around and see him. Sure he would approach Chen, but not Chanyeol too. Chanyeol was just too much for him and he really didn’t wanna deal with that obnoxiously loud giant right now. ‘So the races huh.’ Maybe he would just show up too, plus it meant spending some time with Chen and that would help him with his current mission on getting closer to the latter. He ran a hand through his hair as he made his way down the street and turned the corner. There were so many things to do at once and not enough time it seemed; but for now, he was going to focus on one thing at a time; and right now, his number one priority was gaining Chens’ trust. ***Chens’ head slowly nodded off as he sat at his desk, the papers in his hands falling when he jolted back awake. He hadn’t gotten enough sleep the previous night and he knew he was feeling it today. The extreme tiredness kicking in while he sat still. He rubbed his eyes and he sat back as he gave a deep sigh. Looking up and around his office before standing up and walking around for a moment because he was trying to wake himself from his half-asleep body and brain. He couldn’t believe that the many files that he had been looking through as the cases of more and more gang members being killed piled up right before his eyes. This only seemed to be getting worse and he honestly didn’t know where else to turn. Sure, a couple people from the others sanctions had tried to give him any information they had, but none of it ever seemed to be enough and it was getting to the point where almost a body a week was turning up at random. Of course, these cases just seemed to stop because of the tactic for moving the bodies and leaving no evidence behind. Whoever the killers were, they were smart and always on top of their handiwork. He wished he could say he was impressed but because of the circumstances he could only be off put.  Chen sat down again, running a hand through his hair. He almost wished that the committee meeting would come sooner so that they could get this whole situation under control. As if on cue his phone rang; immediately answering it without even needing to say a word. “Mr. Kim.” It was of course Choi Siwon. “Mr. Choi, how are you.” “Fine thank you. I was just calling to check up on how your compiling of information has been going.” “Ah yes...” He looked down at the mess that lay across his desk and now some on the floor. “It’s going very well.” of course he was allowed to lie in this situation, what Mr. Choi didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, and it wasn’t like he wasn’t trying anyway. “Good good. How many members of your sector are you going to be bringing, have you figured it all out.” God what was with all the questions all of a sudden, he was almost feeling a bit overwhelmed by the never-ending stream.  “I decided to only bring one person with me, if that is okay.” “Yes, that is fine. I assume that they have also been well informed about all that has been happening.”  “Yes, very much so.” Atleast he hoped that Chanyeol had been doing his side of the work rather than just focusing all his time on how to woo Baekhyun. Chen tried to keep himself from laughing as he thought back to some of the times that he had ran into the other while on his ‘dates’ with Baek and they were some of the most interesting run-in's he had ever had. “I see. Very well.” There was a moment of silence before Siwon spoke again, “I will be keeping up with you until the meeting; until then...Goodbye Mr. Kim.” “Goodbye.” Chen slowly hung up his phone, feeling a little dumbfounded and confused. Maybe he was just tired but it felt weird having someone else basically checking up on him. He was not used to this and maybe that’s why he felt so weirded out by it all. Suddenly his door slammed open and Chens’ head shot up to see Chanyeol happily striding his way through the door as it slammed closed again behind him. “Wow Chen, your office is a disaster.” He watched the other look down at his desk and see the papers scattered everywhere, including the ones on the floor.   “Shut up Chanyeol.” Chen rolled his eyes and began to gather up the papers off the floor and set them on his desk. Chanyeol laughed and casually took a seat. “you should take a break, you look tired.” Chen just ignored him and began to refile the papers and pictures back into their rightful places before putting them back in the filing cabinet. “Chen-.” “Yeah I heard you, what do you want.” “What do you mean.” Chanyeol crossed one leg over the other as he sat back trying his best to look innocent.  “You only come to me when you want something.” Chen crossed his arms as he sat back down across from Chanyeol. “That's’ not true.” Chen just raised an eyebrow in return. “okay well-” “I knew it.” Chen chuckled and ran a hand over his face. “No, I was just thinking that, since you’ve been working all day you should just take the rest of the day off, not that the last two hours of being here would make a difference.” Chanyeol laughed. “And what do you have in mind for me then.” “I was just going to invite you to go out to eat.” “Aren’t you supposed to be working too.” Chen knew they had the same working hours. Was this Chanyeols’ way of trying to get out of doing his work. “I have been, but my boss’ wellbeing is obviously more important.” Chen couldn’t believe how Chanyeol seemed to value different things in his life as long as it benefited him.  When Chen didn’t say anything Chanyeol started his whining, “Come on Chen, come oooooon.” Finally getting sick of his shit Chen gave in and stood up, slamming his palms on his table to shut Chanyeol up. ”Okay! Okay...fine. Let’s go, wherever you want, just be quiet.”  Seeing that he won Chaneyol smiled and stood up. “Awesome! Let's go.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Now here Chen was, sitting at a casual sit-down restaurant that Chanyeol had decided would be the best for their little break. He claimed that is wasn’t very busy but from what Chen thought, that was the complete opposite. People hustled and bustled here and there. Although very busy the overall sounds around them didn’t seem all that loud. Chen sipped his tea as they waited for a waitress to come over and take their order. He lightly drummed his fingers on the tabletop as Chanyeol quietly hummed to himself and bobbed his head to imaginary music that he was hearing. Finally the waitress came over and took their order. She looked young but was very sweet. Chen couldn’t help himself from smiling to himself as he watched while the young waitress continuously watched and smiled at Chanyeol as he ordered and it was obvious that she found him attractive. Chanyeol on the other hand seemed to not even have a slight inclination seeing as how he ordered and then immediately looked away as the waitress walked away. “Dude.” Chen leaned forward. “What.” Chanyeol turned to look at Chen with surprise as he turned to find the other staring at him unwaveringly. “She was totally into you, it was so obvious.” Chen smiled as he sat back. “No way. She was way too nice.” This took Chen aback. Did Chanyeol just assume that people liked you if they were mean to you. Obviously he had been doing it wrong this whole time. But that would explain he and Baekhyuns’ relationship. Not that Chen was exactly a good example for relationships either. “That doesn’t mean she doesn’t like you.” Chen Chuckled. Chanyeol crossed his arms and rolled his eyes with a smile. “As if it matters, since I have Baek anyway.” Well it was good to know that Chanyeol was a faithful one; even for being as dumb as he was. “And what about you.” Chanyeol sat forward. He didn’t need to say anything more but Chen knew exactly what he was hinting at; his eyes intent on the latter sitting across from him. Chen rolling his eyes and looking away to try to avoid the subject. “What about me.” Chen didn’t look back, but instead looked past the people and out the window. His eyes followed those who passed back and forth in front of him, doing anything to not look at Chanyeol. “How’s your relationship going. I haven’t really seen you on many dates.” He chuckled.  Chen finally looked back. “dates are overrated.” of course he didn’t mind going out on dates, but it seemed like his significant other was a little more cautious and not so sure about things like dates. But Chen could understand due to the latters’ past relationship that still seemed to plague his mind. “What? No way man, they’re the most fun.”  “Says you, since you’re always going off on them.” “You can go out on them more now that you have a significant other.” Chanyeol smirked and Chen once again rolled his eyes. “Yeah and if I did, then who would take care of business in the office; obviously not you.” Chen joked back, knowing full well that Chanyeol hated being in charge unless absolutely necessary. Chanyeol of course stayed silent and only looked away when Chen stared him down with a mischievous smile. “Yeah, thought so.” He whispered under his breath. Just then their waitress came back with their order; smiling sweetly as she slid their plates to them.  Once again Chen noticed the waitresses unwavering gaze at Chanyeol as the other once again didn’t pay any attention to the waiting staff. Chen decided to take this opportunity and tease the poor girl since he wanted to break it to her softly that she wouldn’t have a chance with Chanyeol. Leaning forward Chen watched out of the corner of his eye as the waitress moved over to the next table, pouring coffee for the other patrons. Chanyeol leaning forward as well, noticing when Chen gave him a different look. “So yeol, what’s baek’s favorite place to go.” Chen spoke loud enough to know that he’d get her attention but not enough to disturb other guests. At first Chanyeol looked confused but answered after he took a drink. “Well... he likes all kinds of places but...” Chanyeol trailed off and smirked, “his most favorite is probably my bed.” Chanyeol raised his eyebrows as he sat back.  Chen could tell that the latter was trying to weird him out, but instead Chen could see the girls’ eyes widen a little before she took off for the kitchen at a very quickened pace. Just as Chen had thought, she had heard; and obviously not been happy with what she heard.  They ate in silence for a while until Chen spoke again. “So-“ immediately Chanyeol raised his head, a mouthful of food completely noticeable with his untidy eating.  “The head corporation is doing a meeting between all sanctions for the cops and we’ve been told that we will also be participating.” Chanyeol finished his bite and swallowed. “How many members have to attend from our corporation.” “Well, they said since we’re smaller we can bring less members; but since we’re the largest area affected we must be there.” The latter nodded, “so who are you taking.” He took another bite as he waited for Chens’ answer. “Just you and me.” Chanyeol said nothing, only raising and eyebrow in turn at this statement. “I thought it’d be easier for just us to be involved because we can keep ourselves together and it’s easier to deal with people who are already involved in all of the top secret information.” “True true.” Chanyeol nodded, “it is easier to have a smaller group of people for sure. And you never know what the people in the lower ranks are doing.” With this last statement Chanyeol raised his eyebrows for a second before continuing to eat his food. Chanyeol was right; you never knew what another person would do if you weren’t really close to them and knew their each and every weakness and strength. Maybe that was why Xiumin was so standoffish with Chen. Since he didn’t know how the other would react, and not knowing these things seemed to deter the other from being involved in anything.  “When is the big meeting.” Chanyeol asked. “About a week and a half, make sure your schedule is cleared so that you won’t miss it.” “Of course of course,” Chanyeol waved the others statement away as if that’s what he normally did, rather than put his personal life first. Chen rolled his eyes and continued his meal until finally they were both done. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  “So Chen,” Chanyeol began as they finished their drinks and got up. “are you busy this weekend?” “Well I mean, I-” “You’re not now.” Chanyeol immediately cut Chen off as he barely began his sentence; making the latter give him a death glare. “The races are this weekend. You should go.”  “Chanyeol, you know I have a lot of work to do, we literally just talked about this.” “Yeah but you can still use a break from work; too much work and no play will makes you think too much and lose your focus.” Sadly Chen knew exactly what he meant but he didn’t really want to lose the leads that he had been following, what little leads he did have atleast. “I don’t know Chanyeol, I’m just really busy and I don’t wanna get off the leads that I’ve finally gotten to.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He knew that Chanyeol did care but he was annoying as well; but Chen didn’t blame Chanyeol for Chens’ workload being all over the place within this last year. They walked along in silence for a while; Chen taking in the warming air along with the bustle of people who seemed to be enjoying the sun. He didn’t think that he had been focusing on nothing else but work but maybe the latter was right about losing his focus after trying too hard to work his brain on something that was going absolutely nowhere.  Of course Chen was never going to admit to Chanyeols’ face that he was ever right. He mentally chuckled to himself; happy knowing that he wasn’t the only one that Chanyeol also seemed to annoy. After a while more Chanyeol seemed to not be able to stay quiet anymore and spoke again. “But yeah, you should totally come this weekend, and bring a friend.” Chanyeol winked and elbowed Chen, the latter rolling his eyes at the other. “And besides, it’d be good to see you at the races anyway. You need to get out more.” Chanyeol chuckled and Chen smacked him; Chen knew exactly what he was hinting at but tried to ignore it as much as possible. Chen gave a deep sigh and once again rolled his eyes as the giant kept nagging at him about the races that he wanted him to attend this weekend.  “I don’t know Chanyeol.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes for brief moment. “I might go, but I’m not completely sure.” The other seemed satisfied with this answer and Chen knew that Chanyeol would bother him later anyway even if he did say no; but he knew when no meant no. The sad part was that Chen wasn’t very good at the saying no part. From there Chanyeol and Chen made their way back to the office, the couple hours having passed and the work hours being officially over. Chen saying goodbye to his staff as they headed home and he made his way to his office.  Chanyeol stopped at his door, “Well Chen, I’m going to leave now. I’ll see you later.” “Where are you going, I thought you were going to hang out with me longer than this. Why did you make me go out when you’re just going to ditch me two hours later.” Chen could see that Chanyeol couldn’t hold back a mischievous smile as he looked down, almost as if he were embarrassed. “I just wanted to get out of work.” Chanyeol chuckled and Chen just wanted to set him on fire with his eyes.  Sometimes Chen liked Chanyeol for the good friend he was, and other times he could just kill him for being himself. “Get out then!” Chen waved him away with one jerk of his hand and turned around to gather his stuff before he was going to head home; seeing out of the corner of his eye as Chanyeol didn’t even skip a beat as he casually made his way over to the elevator with a smile on his face, Chen was pretty sure he knew where the other was going anyway. Stupid Chanyeol. He should have guessed that he would do something like this. Chen let out a deep sigh as he gathered his things and headed home. ***Xiumin awoke to the morning sun shining down on his face. The house eerily silent compared to what he was accustomed to; Sarah usually moving around or making breakfast while Furgus ran around the house.  He sat up slowly, stretching his tired limbs before standing up. “Sarah?” He called, rustling a hand through his mussed hair as he barely opened his eyes while walking into the other room. Of course there was no answer. The house seemed ultimately empty. His feet carrying him to the kitchen where he saw a note on the fridge with cute magnet holding it. He smoothly pulled it out from underneath the magnet, quietly whispering the words scribbled on the paper. “Gone out with the girls, will be back later. Stay safe, have fun!”  Huh, that was weird. Although he wasn’t surprised with the note seeing as how he had come home after she had already gone to sleep and he knew that she liked to let him rest. Anyone else and he would have questioned it, but it was Sarah, and he trusted her with his life. He went over to the fridge and smiled as he opened it. A portion of what looked like breakfast foods sat neatly wrapped and with his name on it. Even when she had her own agenda she was looking out for him. From there he warmed up the food and headed into the living room where he sat down and turned on the tv, mindlessly watching whatever movie was playing as he enjoyed his breakfast meal.  He didn’t have to really go anywhere today apart from the races going on later that he was going to invite himself to. So he decided that he would just laze about until later on this evening.  It would be interesting seeing Chens’ surprised face when Xiumin showed up. He was actually excited for it. Catching himself smiling Xiumin stopped and contained his thoughts. He was not going to allow himself to be happy about something as trivial as surprising Chen. This was a job, not his personal play time. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ For the next couple of hours Xiumin lounged comfortably on the couch, the tv playing consistently as he moved here and there about the house before coming back to the couch.  He pulled out his phone and checked the time, it was barely even noon and he hadn’t done anything today. This was the most inactive he had been in a long time and it felt so foreign to him.  Just as he was about to place his phone back on the table it rang in his hands, causing him to jerk and accidentally drop it on the ground. He mentally cursed himself but didn’t think much about it other than being clumsy.  “Yeoboseyo.” He answered casually, not looking at the ID beforehand.  “Xiumin hey.” It was Kyungsoo. “Heya Soo, what’s up.” “Since we had the day off today I was going to go out with Kai to the market on the edge of town; and I was wondering if you wanted to go.” That was weird. Xiumin always assumed that Kyungsoo would want to be alone with Kai whenever he got the chance, he didn’t expect the latter to invite him on one of their dates. “Maybe…” He chuckled, “what’s in it for me.” “Hmm let’s see, oh, you know, my company.” Kyungsoo chuckled and Xiumin heard a laugh in the background from Kai. He must be on speaker phone. They really didn’t keep anything from one another did they. Except from before they both knew the other was in the mob. “Wow that sounds lame, no thanks.” Xiumin couldn’t keep himself from smiling as he once again heard a laugh from the background on Kyungsoos’ side of the phone.  “Wow, woooww… fine, I guess I’ll buy you some food.” “Now you’re speaking my language. When were you going to head out?” “In about an hour. Want me to come pick you up? Or…” “No! No.” Xiumin caught himself from speaking too loudly. He didn’t mind Kyungsoo, but he didn’t want Kai also knowing where he was living. The other thing was that Kyungsoo probably thought that Xiumin still lived in the house across the street that was basically on the verge of collapse. “I’ll meet you. How about the park in central.”  “Sounds good!” Xiumin heard Kai reply again from across the room. “Alright I’ll see you in an hour then.”  “Okay bye.” Kyungsoo hung up and Xiumin flopped back down in the couch. Maybe his day wasn’t going to be as boring after all. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   An hour later and Xiumin found himself walking up the park he said that he would meet Kyungsoo and Kai at. Of course they were already there, casually sitting together on a bench as they waited. It almost looked like one of those romance book covers that one would see by a popular author.  Immediately seeing him Kyungsoo stood up and made his way over, Kai following not too far behind.  “Wow, took you long enough.” The other teased.  “Excuse me, I’m-“ Xiumin pulled out his phone and checked the time, “right on time thank you very much.” He smirked, Kai giving a light chuckle in the background. He watched Kyungsoo roll his eyes. “Well come on then, let’s go.” Without missing a beat Kyungsoo turned around and started walking away.  Xiumin looked over at Kai who just shrugged and followed behind. At first glance if you didn’t know the pair you’d think that Kai was in charge in the relationship just based on his bodily presence, but looking closer, it was obvious to see that Kyungsoo was the one taking the lead. It seemed that Kyungsoo had become more comfortable with Kai, seeing as how they liked to do almost everything together now. Xiumin was jealous of course, but at the same time he was happy for them. They made their way across town, the three finally making it to the market on the edge of town. Xiumin was impressed at all the street vendors, the many colors and variations of things was astounding.  Walking along the various vendors spoke out to them of course trying to get them to buy their goods. Kyungsoo took the lead, the others just quietly following behind as he made his way around to what he wanted to see. This seemed more like shopping than a date, but then again, they had invited him to come along as well.  He would have assumed that Kai would be bored, but he seemed to enjoy just walking around with Kyungsoo; the latter occasionally grabbing his hand and leading him to something he found interesting.  Xiumin smiled to himself as he watched the others silently working together without a single thought to pass them.  They went around the entire area for what seemed like hours, all of them seeming to wear down until finally they decided to get something to eat.  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Kyungsoo let Kai pick the place to eat, since ultimately, his favorite place to eat was ironically where Kai worked his main job.  The place they went was much like The Black Pearl, but they also sold specialized drinks which Kai seemed to love. “This has been a really fun day so far.” Kyungsoo spoke between bites of his sandwich. “Yeah it has.” Xiumin agreed, looking over at Kai who just nodded in agreement while taking a bite of his sandwich. “We should do this again sometime.” Xiumin smiled, taking a long drink from his drink. “Yeah totally.” Kyungsoo agreed.  The three continued their meal, eating mostly in silence until they had all finished and were ready to go.   “Well, I think I’m gonna head home now.” Xiumin stopped as they came to a bus stop and looked at the other two. With only a couple hours left before the races, that gave him enough time to head home and change before going over. “I’ll see you guys l-“ Suddenly Kais phone rang. “Yeoboseyo.” They waited in silence for a second, Kai nodding his head once in a while as the person on the other end of the line spoke. “Yeah sure I’ll go, sounds fun.” Pause “Kyungsoo?” Xiumin watched as Kyungsoo perked up at the sound of his name. Both the others not on the phone trying to listen to the conversation but getting nothing. Darn Kai and his quiet phone volume.  “Yeah he might go… okay, see you then.” When Kai hung up they both looked at him as he slid his phone back into his pocket. “Sehun invited us to go with him and Luhan to the races on the edge of town tonight, wanna go?”  Xiumin looked at Kyungsoo who seemed to think for a moment before shrugging. “Sure why not.” He turned to Xiumin, ”You wanna go?” “I mean...” Xiumin drew out his sentence, he had to make it seem like he was really thinking about this. Yes he was going anyway but it’s not like he was going to tell them that seeing as how he had ulterior motives. “You’re already out, you might as well go with us.” Kyungsoo smiled cheekily. “Well I still have to go home anyway, but maybe I can meet up with you later?”  Kyungsoo nodded, “okay but you better come,” He smirked, “or else I’ll come get you.” Xiumin held up his hands and took a step back, “okay okay, I’ll go. Please, just spare me.” Kyungsoo put his hands on his hips and smirked in satisfaction that he had won. “I’ll see you guys later then.” He smiled and waved at the two as he walked away, turning around finally as he passed behind someone and his friends were out of sight. Well now it looked like things were falling into place so smoothly. He wouldn’t even have to lie about not being invited because he just had been. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ When he arrived back at the house he was surprised to see Sarah and a couple of the other girls he had seen before sitting with her in the living room watching a movie and all petting Furgus who lay upside down waiting for his belly to be rubbed. They all turned slightly to see who walked in, turning back around and watching the movie once again when they saw it was the other person who lived here. Sarah getting up from her seat on the couch to come over. “Minny, you’re back awfully early.” She smiled. He couldn’t help but smile in return. “Well… work was cut short today, so I was going to go to the races with Kyungsoo and Kai.” “Wow, sounds like fun… but…” he saw her regarding him up and down, giving his clothes a judgmental stare. “You don’t look ready for fun.” “Hey now, what’s wrong with my wardrobe.” “It’s boring.” She chuckled, “come with me.” She pulled him along with her into the bedroom area and to the closet. “Here,” she pulled out a maroon T-shirt, black jeans and a leather jacket along with some nice shoes and threw them at him; laughing when he struggled to catch them all at once. “Put these on.” “Why.” He asked.  She rolled her eyes. “Just do it.” Without saying another word to combat her he waited for her to exit the room, which she did not. Instead she stared him down and crossed her arms in front of her, waiting for him change. “Ar- are you gonna leave?”  “Why, it’s not like I’m not comfortable around you, and I assume the same for you to me.” She chuckled lightly but turned her head away so give him his small inkling if privacy. “I mean… yeah I’m comfortable with you,” He spoke as he quickly changed his pants then grabbed for his shirt, slipping it over his head in one smooth motion. “I’m just… still getting used to it all.” He smiled at her as she turned back around to make eye contact, her fingers reaching over to grab the jacket off the bed and helping him put on. “It’s been a year Baozi, I’d think you’d be comfortable by now.” She joked, giving him a light punch on the arm, Xiumin feigning pain and holding his arm.  “Almost a year.” He teased back, watching her roll her eyes.  “Whatever,” she chuckled, “when are you going to meet them.” She asked, casually pulling him along with her to the bathroom. “In like an hour- what are you doing.” He gave her a questioning look when she pulled him to face the mirror.  She gave a small smirk when she turned him back to face her as she grabbed things out of the top drawer of the cabinet below the sink. “Just giving you a couple touch ups.”  He didn’t like the look on her face as she said this. She was obviously going to enjoy whatever torture she was going to relinquish upon him, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. “Close your eyes.” “Why.” He gave an unsure look toward the pencil like thing in her. “Just do it.” She forcibly closed his eyes and the next feeling he had was something being drug across the area above his eyelids gently, his hand getting slapped away when he reached up to touch his eyes. “Don’t! Touch!” He heard her grab something else off the counter and then felt another light brush above his eye lashes and one light brush under his eyelids. “Okay, open.” He did as he was told, her hand coming up to stop him when he tried to turn and look in the mirror.  “Not yet. Eyes up.” He followed her orders, seeing out of the corner as she took a small tube with an applicator. Mascara, he knew that one. She took the applicator and lightly went over his bottom lashes. “Look at me.” He looked straight at Sarah as the mascara wand went over his top lashes until she was satisfied. For some reason the mascara felt wet. Why did women do this every day, it felt so weird.  He watched her then grab a skin toned bottle, blotting it onto a little sponge and applying it all over his face. What was the point of all this. He trusted her completely, but he was questioning at this moment. “Okay, done.” Slowly he turned to look at himself in the mirror, being surprised at what he saw. He was hot. The eyeliner that she put on first was perfectly styled, along with a red orange eyeshadow and the mascara making his eyelashes look longer, not to mention that his skin looked flawless and smooth. He reached up and gently touched his cheek. The person in the mirror looked like him but at the same time didn’t. “Wah lah, a masterpiece.” She smiled happily. He could tell that she was enjoying the surprised look in his face. “You’ll be the prettiest princess at the ball.” She joked. He smirked and flicked her arm, earning a chuckle in return as she flicked him back. He did appreciate all she had done for him. “Now to show you to the girls.”  “Wait, wha-” Before he could fully comprehend what she had said he was suddenly pulled by the arm with her to where all her friends sat in the living room still watching tv.  “Guys look at my work of art.” Sarah held up her hands to gesture to Xiumins’ clothes and then face. All of the girls giving a thumbs up or a head nod as they agreed with her choice. He was feeling very much on display and he kind of didn’t like it.  The girl with long hair in a ponytail and bangs spoke up. “I especially like the bracelet.”  “Oh, I didn’t choose that for him.” She held up his wrist for the others to see. “He sometimes has good taste.” She chuckled, earning an eye roll in return. He quickly pulled his wrist back, immediately covering the bracelet, thankful that they didn’t see the engraving on it. That would be a lot of explaining he would have to do that he didn’t want to.  Amber, the girl he had seen many times before spoke after Sarah, “It looks good, go get ‘em tiger.” He saw everyone laugh and he felt himself become a bit embarrassed.  “uh, yeeaahh...” He turned around slowly and made his way back to the bedroom, Sarah followed along with him, handing him his satchel as he looked around the room, gathering all items that he deemed necessary.  “I might be out late tonight so don’t stay up okay.” He stopped in front of her and gave a small smile. He felt kind of like a parent leaving their child home alone for a day.  “Yeah yeah, okay mom.” She smirked and rolled her eyes. “Now get out.” He pulled her into a hug and gave a gentle squeeze before letting go. He wished that he could watch over her everyday, but of course what he was doing had to deal with his job, and they both knew which one overrid the other things in his life. “Okay! Now go!” She pushed him out the bedroom door and into the living room, finally returning to her previous seat on the couch. Giving a small wave to the others in the room he watched as they all gave a wave in return before turning back to the tv as he walked out the door.  ~ ~ ~Thank you to all who have subscribed!