Work Text:
“I have the file for your next assignment ready.” Donghun looked up from his coffee in surprise as a heavy folder was dropped onto his desk. Byeongkwan, standing beside the desk with his hands on his hips, nodded in the direction of the folder. “This one’s an interesting one.”
Donghun glanced at the file skeptically. “I usually don’t trust you,” he stated, “And the look you’ve got right now is making me trust you even less than normal.”
“What look?” The amused smile slipped off Byeongkwan’s face and was replaced by an expression of feigned innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Can I not get someone else to handle my briefing?” Donghun asked, and Byeongkwan shook his head in response.
“Nope, you’re stuck with me! I’m offended that you’d even consider asking for someone else.” The bright grin on Byeongkwan’s face indicated that he wasn’t offended in any way. Donghun sighed, and pulled the file closer to look at it.
“Okay, fill me in. What am I doing this time.” Donghun knew that the file could contain anything- four years of working as an agent had taught him to expect anything from delivering messages to assassinating a target. Nothing was too extreme- or too difficult- for the agency to ask him.
“It’s a partner assignment- you’ll be working with Junhee on this one.” Donghun groaned inwardly; things were already going against him. “It’s also a fairly simple assignment: you’ll be done with it in the space of a night and there most likely won’t be any violence involved” Byeongkwan continued.
“I thought you said this was going to be interesting?” Donghun questioned, curious as to why a seemingly simple assignment would require such a large file of information.
“I’m getting to that part- be patient.” Byeongkwan seated himself on the edge of Donghun’s desk and reached over to open the file to the first page, which displayed a photo of a middle-aged man and a set of personal details. “This is Park Sangchul, he’s the head of a fairly big finance company that has been gaining a lot of attention over the past few years. However we’ve been contacted by a group of former employees of the company with evidence that Mr. Park has committed multiple acts of fraud to get to where he is now, and that the company itself is generally a corrupt and unfair organisation- something the agency wants you to investigate.”
Donghun nodded, taking in the information and scanning the page of information about Sangchul as Byeongkwan read out the assignment details. “How are we going to be getting information from him?” Donghun questioned, and Byeongkwan reached out and turned the page again.
“We’ve booked you and Junhee in for dinner with Mr. Park and his wife tomorrow night. You’re going to be playing the role of the head of a smaller business looking to sign a partnership deal with Mr. Park’s company. All you need to do is talk to him and try and get an idea about how he runs his company, and the sort of corruption that could be going on within it.” Byeongkwan explained. “It’s going to be a piece of cake, really.”
“If that’s all I’m going to be doing, then I don’t see why Junhee needs to come along too.” The moment Donghun spoke, the amused grin crept back onto Byeongkwan’s face.
“You see, this is the interesting part.” Byeongkwan flipped the page in the folder again. “We needed to keep both Mr. Park and his wife occupied, because while you’re out dining with them, Seyoon will be breaking into their house and accessing Mr. Park’s personal computer to look through his emails and files, and we need them both out of the way in order for him to do that- you and Junhee are more of a distraction than an actual source of information. But you see, it would be a little suspicious for you to request dinner on business-related terms with Mr. Park and his wife, so instead of a business dinner, we arranged a double date instead.”
“I don’t like the direction this seems to be going in.” Donghun stated. Byeongkwan only smiled in response.
“So while you’re going to be an aspiring businessman, Junhee will be playing the role of your husband of two years. That’s the-”
“No, I refuse.” Donghun cut Byeongkwan off, much to the shorter man’s amusement. “I’m not acting like I’m married to Junhee even for an assignment.”
“Oh come on, it’s not that bad.” Byeongkwan prodded Donghun with the end of a pencil he had picked up from the surface of the desk. “The two of you already bicker enough to pass off as a married couple anyway.”
“Junhee can’t have agreed to this.” Donghun scanned the contents of the folder in front of him, making sure that Byeongkwan wasn’t lying about the details of the assignment.
“Actually, he was more than happy to go along with it.” Donghun wasn’t sure if he should feel surprised or betrayed. “He’s my new favourite agent to brief- he complains a lot less than you do.”
“Can you not just find me another partner to do it with? Anyone but Junhee?” Donghun figured it was worth asking, even though he already knew the answer.
“Sorry, I can’t do that. Mr. Park already knows that you two are the ones attending, and it would be a little suspicious if you showed up with a completely different partner.” Byeongkwan wasn’t trying to hide his amusement towards the situation. “Anyway, it’s only for one night. You and Junhee can just complete the assignment, then go right back to your usual unresolved sexual tension afterwards.”
“Me and Junhee do not have unresolved-” Byeongkwan waved his hand dismissively.
“Sure, Sure. Okay now do me a favour and fill in the paperwork at the back of the folder so I can take it and go home.” The shorter man flipped the file to the back pages, where a stack of paperwork sat. “You can take the rest of the folder home with you and memorise the information inside of it. It contains your background as the head of your business, details of your relationship with Junhee and the pocket at the back contains a fake ID. You need to be back here by 10am tomorrow morning so Yoochan can fix you up with some necessary self defence and so you can clarify assignment details with Junhee.”
“I guess I don’t have a choice of whether I accept this assignment or not.” Donghun picked up a pen and started reading through the paperwork- all insurance and cost related. He sighed, boredom setting in quickly despite the fact that he knew from experience that assignments always involved filling in forms. “If I’d known being a secret agent would involve this much paperwork, I probably would have chosen a different job.”
“You’re lucky- all you have to do is fill in some boxes. Think of me; the poor soul that has to authorize all of this.” Donghun ignored Byeongkwan’s complaints and finished reading through the paperwork, unclipping it and handing it over, tucking the file under his arm and getting out of his chair.
“I’m going to head home to read all of this.” He picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder.
“10am tomorrow, remember. Although feel free to come earlier if you want to meet up with your new husband sooner!” Byeongkwan’s last few words rose to a shout as Donghun left his office and closed the door in the shorter man’s face.
Donghun had to rely on coffee to keep himself awake the following morning, having stayed awake till 2am memorising the details in the file Byeongkwan had provided him. As much as he disliked the assignment, he valued success and efficiency, and knew that messing up would reflect badly on himself and the agency.
He walked into the agency headquarters to the sight of Yoochan bouncing off the walls and Junhee sitting on a table drinking something pink and far too sugary for 10 in the morning, and considered turning around and walking back out again.
“Hey, Donghun!” Yoochan shouted across the room at him. “You’re late!” A glance down at his watch told Donghun that he was in fact early, but he apologised anyway, walking over to where Yoochan and Junhee were waiting by the elevator.
“We were just about to go down and get equipment sorted- you have great timing.” Junhee grinned widely, and Donghun looked away, hating how the other agent could be so bright and unruffled even in the morning. The three of them piled into the elevator as it reached their floor, and headed down to the basement of the headquarters, a staff only area which was home to most of the agency’s weaponry and equipment. As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Yoochan ushered them over to his workstation, where a collection of items had been laid out ready to be picked up.
“There’s not a lot of equipment you’ll need for this one, seeing as you’re only going to be gathering information.” Yoochan pushed a large amount of the items to one side. “Most of this is for Seyoon, who’s going to be doing the majority of the breaking and entering.”
“I’m assuming Seyoon hasn’t come to collect his things yet?” Junhee asked, and Yoochan shook his head.
“No, he’ll be dropping by later to get everything. Byeongkwan just wanted you here early so he can test you on the information for the assignment.” Donghun tried to keep his distaste internal, but Junhee seemed to catch on and shot him a sympathetic smile. Yoochan ignored the silent exchange between the two agents and continued speaking. “Most of the stuff I have for you here is just precautionary. You’ll be carrying guns, obviously, but I’ll only be giving you each a Glock 26 9mm because it’s small and easy to conceal. You shouldn’t really have to use it though.” Yoochan picked up the two guns that sat on the workbench and passed them over to Donghun and Junhee.
“Where should we get the ammo for these?” In response to Donghun’s question, Yoochan pointed in the direction of the two suit jackets that lay folded up on the workbench.
“Already in the pockets. I thought ahead.” Yoochan moved onto the next item, a set of phone cases. “You’ve used these before- they block anyone from overhearing calls and intercepting emails and text messages. Again, just a precaution. And then we’ve got these.” Yoochan gestured to a pair of simple rings that sat on the bench. “The marriage act needs to look believable, so you’ll need wedding rings.” Junhee picked up one of the rings and grabbed Donghun’s hand.
“Will you let me do the honour?” Junhee’s voice was teasing, and Donghun pulled his hand away quickly, picking up the ring left on the table and placing it on his own finger.
“No.” A look of mock hurt passed across Junhee’s face at Donghun’s blunt response.
“That’s no way to treat your husband!” Junhee folded his arms and pouted, and Donghun turned away in the hopes that the other agent didn’t notice his ears turning red with embarrassment.
“Good Morning!” A shout sounded from by the elevator, and for once Donghun was glad for Byeongkwan’s sudden appearance. The shorter agent swept breezily over to the workbench that Junhee, Donghun and Yoochan were gathered around, a stack of files and paperwork balanced in his arms. “Do you mind if I steal these two to run through information for the assignment?”
“Go ahead- Seyoon should be dropping around soon anyway so I need the space free to sort through his stuff.” Yoochan ensured that Donghun and Junhee had picked up all of their equipment, then let Byeongkwan lead them out of the workshop and back into the elevator. The three agents made their way up to the 3rd floor, where the offices of the agency’s information specialists resided, walking along the corridor to Byeongkwan’s office.
“Okay, I’m just going to ask you some questions to make sure you don’t mess up with the stories and background, then you’ll be free to wait around till we need to take you to the restaurant to meet with Mr. Park.” Byeongkwan informed them, before sitting down heavily in the chair behind his desk and opening one of his files.
“Do you want to go and get something to drink after this?” Junhee leaned over to Donghun while Byeongkwan was sorting through his papers.
“Yeah, sure.” Still in need of coffee, Donghun couldn’t bring himself to turn down the offer. The grin Junhee gave him in response was almost blinding.
“I want you to get into character now.” Byeongkwan interrupted. “What are your names?”
“My name is Lee Yoojae and I run a small business that is looking to sign a partnership deal with Mr. Park’s corporation.” Donghun spoke first, and Byeongkwan nodded.
“I’m Lee Jeongho, I married Yoojae two years ago. I help out at his business sometimes but the rest of the time I work as a guide in a museum.” Junhee listed off his information.
“Good, Good. So, how did the two of you meet?” Byeongkwan turned a page in the folder.
“Yoojae visited the museum I work at and walked into me while I was travelling down one of the corridors.” Junhee spoke first, motioning for Donghun to continue the recount.
“I made a bad pick-up line and Jeongho threatened to kick me out of the museum. I offered to buy him a drink as an apology and he accepted.” Donghun thought that the story Byeongkwan had put together about how the two characters had met was a little cliche, but he went along with it for the sake of the assignment.
“That all matches up.” Byeongkwan ran them through a few more questions- about Yoojae’s business, about Jeongho’s work in the museum, some trivia about Sangchul’s company, before dismissing them, seemingly satisfied.
“That was all good- I think this assignment is going to be simple. If you can stop complaining about the whole married part.” The look Byeongkwan shot in Donghun’s direction indicated who the final statement was aimed at. “Meet back at my office for 5pm. You’ll have half an hour to get ready before I take you to the venue, so try not to show up too late.”
“Should we head to the cafe along the street?” Junhee asked as he and Donghun left Byeongkwan’s office. “They do some really nice cakes and frappuccinos.”
“Do you only eat sweet things?” Donghun thought back to the sugary pink colour of Junhee’s drink earlier.
“I have a sweet tooth.” Shrugging nonchalantly, Junhee pressed the buttons of the elevator to the ground floor. “I haven’t tried it myself, but Seyoon told me they do nice coffees too.”
“We’ll go there then.” Donghun and Junhee walked along to the cafe without speaking, the silence between them a lot less uncomfortable than Donghun was expecting it to be. They ordered their drinks- an Americano for Donghun and a Strawberry frappuccino for Junhee- before settling down at a small table in the corner of the cafe.
“I don’t see why you’re so against working with me on assignments.” Junhee spoke after a long stretch of silence, looking up from his drink.
“You’re unreliable.” Donghun hesitated before speaking. “Remember the assignment in LA?”
“That was months ago, and that’s pretty much the only time I’ve messed up. My record is perfect otherwise.” Junhee protested.
“You did a bit more than mess up.” Donghun laughed bitterly into his Americano. “You shot the wrong person and let the target get away.”
“We still caught him later!”
“Yeah, a month after we were supposed to.”
“Still, that happened at least 6 months ago.” Junhee rested his head in his palms. “You can’t still be mad about that.”
“Well I am.” Donghun took a sip of his Americano, turning to look out the window of the cafe. (In reality, Donghun didn’t care about the incident in LA, but using it as an excuse was easier than admitting that he hated the way his heart-rate picked up every time Junhee so much as smiled.)
“It’s not like you’ve never messed up an assignment before.” Junhee frowned. “Do you remember when we went to Japan last year and you-”
“Keep it down, someone might overhear us.” Donghun hushed, and they both fell into silence again. After finishing their drinks, they headed back to the headquarters, Donghun announcing that he planned to do some training and Junhee deciding to join him. They took the elevator up to the Gym on the second floor of the building and Donghun chose to work on one of the punching bags suspended from the ceiling. Donghun tried not to let himself feel unsettled by the way he could feel Junhee watching him as he threw punches and kicks.
They managed to kill an hour in the gym, then moved on to sparring. Donghun always preferred testing out techniques on a moving target as it made the situation feel more real and allowed him to adjust things as appropriate, so he didn’t protest to going up against Junhee. The two agents were evenly matched, each with many years of training behind them, so they could spar for a long time before stopping to monitor their movements. At one point, a group of less experienced agents gathered to watch them as they dodged and twisted, before moving on to spar with their own partners.
Donghun left the gym as the time reached 1pm to get lunch, then headed back up to his office to finish filling in the report for his last assignment. Junhee showed up at the door to his office as the time neared 5pm, crowding into Donghun’s personal space and leaning over his shoulder to look at the screen of his computer.
“We should head down to meet Byeongkwan now, before he sends Yoochan up to come and get us.” Junhee warned him, and Donghun sighed, saving the changes to the document and logging out of his computer.
Seyoon was already sitting in the corner of Byeongkwan’s office when the two agents arrived, dressed in all black with a gun strapped against his leg and a bag slung over his shoulder. He nodded to Donghun and Junhee in greeting.
“Right, I’ll make this quick because Donghun and Junhee need to make themselves look presentable before we leave.” Byeongkwan was sitting on his desk, kicking his feet because they didn’t quite reach the floor. “I’ll be dropping them off at the restaurant for 6pm, then taking Seyoon to the Park residence, where he’ll be breaking in, accessing Mr. Park’s laptop, downloading the files on it and getting out as fast as possible. We’re aiming to be done in under half an hour. I’ll be on comms with Seyoon and waiting for him, so Donghun and Junhee, you’ll be on your own for about 45 minutes. After I’ve got Seyoon out, we’ll drive back to the restaurant and wait a few streets away. If you need extraction at that point, it should take less than 2 minutes. Got all of that?”
Donghun managed to get ready quickly, changing into the suit provided to him and ensuring his gun was tucked away out of sight, before fixing his hair slightly and heading back to Byeongkwan’s office. Junhee took a while longer, and when Donghun was sent to tell him to hurry up, he was still in the bathroom, applying products to his hair with a slightly stressed expression. Once they were ready- a few minutes later than expected- the four agents filed out of the headquarters and into Byeongkwan’s assigned car, an unassuming vehicle with blacked out windows and enough room for Byeongkwan to climb into the back and set up his laptop and communications equipment.
The drive to the restaurant passed mainly in silence aside from the quiet music playing from the radio and Byeongkwan’s occasional question fired into the back to make sure Donghun and Junhee remembered the information in the files.
“Okay we’re here. Get out quickly so I can take Seyoon to his location and get this over with as fast as possible.” Byeongkwan ushered them out of the car, driving off as soon as they were on the pavement outside of the restaurant. Junhee slipped his hand into Donghun’s and held onto it as they walked in, tangling their fingers together.
The restaurant was expensive, with large chandeliers casting soft light on the tables and golden-coloured decorations filling the room. They were greeted by a waiter who lead them to their table, where Sangchul and his wife- a short woman with long hair and a bored expression- sat.
“Hello, sorry we’re late.” Donghun spoke first, offering his hand for Sangchul to shake. “I’m Yoojae and this is my husband Jeongho.” The words felt foreign on his tongue.
Sangchul reciprocated the handshake with a firm grip, the sleeve of his jacket shifting to reveal an expensive-looking Rolex watch decorating his wrist. “Don’t worry about it, we haven’t been here for long. I’m Sangchul and this is my wife Hyesun.”
After sitting down around the table, Sangchul ordered wine for himself and the three others at the table. The conversation was easy to maintain, mostly simple small talk and details that were already covered in the assignment files so there was little need for improvisation; much to Donghun’s relief.
The first course of their meal arrived while Sangchul was talking about a vacation him and Hyesun took to Spain earlier in the year, and introduced a lull in the conversation as they ate. Donghun decided that he would start trying to probe details about Sangchul’s company during the main course in order to pace things. Junhee seemed to have the same idea, as he refrained from asking any business-related questions, simply keeping up conversation about the weather and the unnecessary cost of household appliances.
“Would you like some water, dear?” Junhee motioned to Donghun’s empty glass while they were waiting for their Main course to arrive.
Donghun gritted his teeth at being referred to as ‘ dear ’. “Yes, I would.”
As Junhee picked up the jug of water from the middle of the table and started filling Donghun’s glass, the ice cubes falling from the jug into the water caused it to splash over the edge and onto the tablecloth.After a quiet “Sorry, Dear.” from Junhee, Donghun kicked the other agent under the table, partially for spilling the water, and partially for his incessant use of pet names.
Junhee glanced across at Sangchul and Hyesun, then stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom, excuse me.” A minute later, Donghun felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, indicating that someone was messaging him- most likely the reason Junhee had walked off suddenly.
“Do you mind if I quickly answer some emails?” Donghun forced an apologetic tone into his voice. “I have some work things I need to sort out.” Sangchul nodded and continued the hushed conversation he was having with Hyesun.
[ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Jun ]
Dont be rude, dear
[ (´∀｀) Hun ]
Stop with the pet names
Then ill stop kicking you
[ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Jun ]
I think sangchul is concerned about our marriage
He keeps giving us pity looks
We’re not being romantic enough
[ (´∀｀) Hun ]
Well what do you want me to do??
Kiss you or something?
[ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Jun ]
……
Not a bad idea actually
[ (´∀｀) Hun ]
do N O T
Placing his phone back in his pocket, Donghun folded his hands on top of the table, hoping that Junhee would decide to just remain in the bathrooms for the rest of the evening. However Junhee announced his arrival back at the table a few minutes later by sitting down heavily in his chair and- guiding Donghun’s face with two fingers against his jaw- pressed their lips together briefly. Donghun attempted to suppress his surprise and sudden inner turmoil, but was unable stop his face from heating up. Sangchul and Hyesun both pointedly looked away, and Junhee smiled as if nothing had happened, shuffling his chair closer to the table and asking if anyone wanted to order more wine.
Upon the arrival of the main course, Donghun decided to start probing for information, trying to subtly coax information out of Sangchul over their plates of food. Seeming to catch onto what Donghun was attempting, Junhee started quizzing Hyesun on similar topics.
“Just out of curiosity, how many employees do you have at your company, Sangchul?” Donghun posed the question innocently, hoping that it wouldn’t raise any suspicions.
Sangchul responded casually. “Not too many actually. They’re all efficient and enjoy their jobs so the company doesn’t need that many people to run it.” Donghun noted that the response was a blatant lie according to the records in the file Byeongkwan had put together for him.
“I see. So you pay your employees well then, I’m assuming?” Donghun questioned further.
“Yes, definitely.” Another lie. Realising that he wasn’t getting information out of Sangchul, only confirming that he was trying to cover things up, Donghun changed the conversation topic to avoid being seen as suspicious. A glance over at Junhee told Donghun that the other agent had given up on questioning Hyesun relatively quickly and moved the conversation on to a different subject.
“Yoojae, dear, look at this photo I just got sent by the museum.” Junhee prodded Donghun’s leg urgently under the table a little while later, holding up his phone for him to read, a message from Byeongkwan displayed on the screen.
[ (☉‿☉✿) BK ]
Seyoon finished his part of the assignment we’re on our way back to the restaurant
He tripped an alarm while he was on his way out though so you might want to be careful
Sanchul’s security knows something is going on now
They probably wont connect it back to you but just be careful
(☞ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞ good luck dont get killed !!
Donghun faked a laugh as if he had seen an amusing photo on the screen, then stood up, excusing himself to go to the bathroom.
He sent a message to Byeongkwan as he entered the bathroom, stating that they would try and continue the dinner but exit as fast as possible if things started to go downhill.
Donghun was just putting his phone away when a tall man flung open the bathroom door, marched over to him and threw him against the wall. Combat training and instinct kicked in quickly and Donghun dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way before the assailant could pin him against the wall, jumping back to his feet quickly and regaining his balance.
Donghun guessed that was a sign of things going downhill.
A quick visual scan of his attacker told Donghun that the man was taller- and most likely stronger- than him, most likely a bodyguard of Sangchul’s, judging by his intent to slam Donghun into the nearest flat surface. The bodyguard swung towards him again, and Donghun attempted to dodge the blow, but slipped on a puddle of water that had splashed from one of the sinks, and the bodyguard’s fist hit Donghun square in the ribcage. In the brief moment Donghun spent trying to recover his breath, the bodyguard pressed him up against the wall again, arm against Donghun’s throat.
A kick swung at the bodyguard’s knees freed Donghun again and he dropped to the ground, picking up his phone and calling Junhee, tossing the phone to the side and throwing a punch at the bodyguard, the blow hitting him square in the head. He hoped that the noise of the brawl would be enough to indicate the situation to Junhee.
The bodyguard lunged forwards again, this time managing to sweep Donghun’s legs out from underneath him, and the agent found himself pressed up against the wall for the second time.
“Security cameras picked up one of your agents in the CEO’s house.” The bodyguard informed him. “Tell me who you’re working for and I’ll let you go.” Donghun tried to kick at the man’s shins again to get him off, not wanting to reach for his gun. The situation hadn’t reached that level of severity yet. When Donghun didn’t respond, the bodyguard pressed down harder on his throat.
“I can’t tell you anything if you crush my windpipe.” Donghun dug his nails into the bodyguard’s arm to try and prise it away from his throat, finding that he was unable to reach the bodyguard’s legs to kick them away this time.
“Need some help?” Before Donghun could register what was happening, a pair of arms wrapped around the bodyguard’s neck and pulled backwards, distracting him long enough for Donghun to force himself free. The arms retracted themselves from around the bodyguard and Junhee moved in beside Donghun, grinning. “I got your phonecall.”
“I was doing fine actually.” Junhee raised an eyebrow at Donghun’s statement in a questioning manner.
“You sure?”
“Positive.” Donghun ducked out of the way as the bodyguard regained his balance and tried to get him against the wall for a third time. The bodyguard was the one to stumble this time, and Donghun hooked out his leg to trip him, Junhee quickly moving to press his foot against the bodyguard’s back to keep him still the moment he hit the ground. After aiming a sharp kick to the bodyguard’s head, Donghun checked that he was unconscious, then pulled out his phone, messaging Byeongkwan to request extraction from the restaurant as soon as possible.
“Do you think they’re onto us?” Junhee questioned as he dragged the unconscious bodyguard into one of the stalls and closed the door.
“That might be a possibility.” Donghun responded, before silence settled between the two of them. Donghun tried not to focus on how good Junhee looked with his hair messy and his eyes bright with adrenaline. Junhee stood for a while longer, before taking a step closer to Donghun. His voice was quiet and breathy as he spoke.
“Tell me if I’m reading the situation wrong.” Junhee reached up, fingers pressing warm against Donghun’s jaw again, and guided Donghun into a kiss as his eyes closed.
The kiss wasn’t romantic- Donghun’s ribs still hurt from where he had been punched and they were standing in the middle of a public bathroom with an unconscious body a few feet away from them- but at least it happened.
The moment was broken by the sound of Donghun’s phone ringing and Byeongkwan yelling down the line that if they weren’t outside in under a minute he would pay Seyoon to hack their laptops.
Junhee reached for Donghun’s hand as they left, linking their fingers together- and this time Donghun didn’t feel the slightest need to pull away.