Chapter Text
Mark Lee is neither the type to get worked up over jealousy nor is he the type of person who holds grudges. He has a rather even personality, evidenced by how he takes all kinds of shit from his superiors without a word, but oh my God does this one Wong Yukhei find ways to get under his skin.
Mark gives everyone a second chance, he really does. He knows that first impressions aren’t always accurate, so he’s always willing to reconsider his initial opinion of someone’s personality after getting to know them better. In the case of Yukhei, he’s decided that his first impression was incredibly precise—his subsequent contemplation of the man hasn’t done much to change how he feels about him.
Wong Yukhei has been on the force for close to two months, easily taking over Mark’s title of “rookie”—except he doesn’t. He’s the newest member on the team and should rightfully be thrown the baton for running trivial errands and taking the brunt of the boring office work, but it’s not what happens. Mark is still referred to as the rookie of the team, even though his career and position is neck-on-neck with Yukhei’s.
They’re even the same age, so if anyone has to be lowest in the hierarchy, it should be Yukhei.
Mark spent his last year in Seoul’s 127th Precinct while Yukhei’s only been here two months. Yukhei is his junior and that’s that.
“Wong Yukhei?” The precinct’s captain, Johnny Seo, had repeated when Mark mentioned that to him. “Come on, Mark. You know all this rookie talk is a joke, right? Yukhei’s case closure record is flawless, I couldn’t possibly call him a rookie.”
Mark knows for a fact that his case closure rate for the past year has been perfect, too. He closed all 67 cases that he was assigned and most of them were even cases that he worked on alone. He’s been handling most of his cases solo, even finishing the reports and filing them in record time. Yukhei may have 12 more felon arrests under his belt (not that Mark went and checked) but Mark’s a star himself.
There’s been an unsaid wager going on between the two of them ever since Yukhei’s arrival. It’s not like they’re rivals—oh no, they’re not. There’s no competition in that aspect because Mark’s definitely the better detective between them. He actually submits his paperwork on time and he follows every regulation down to the last letter. Yukhei, on the other hand, utilises unorthodox means to crack his cases and Mark’s pretty sure that he’s used unlawful methods to get his suspects talking.
No one’s really keeping track of how many arrests they’ve both made for the last two months but Mark’s been ahead of the race with four more than Yukhei so far. Not that Mark’s counting. He really isn’t.
Jung Jaehyun called him petty when he offhandedly pointed it out last week, but Mark’s just trying to be systematic about his career record. He’s not comparing himself to Yukhei in any way at all. They’re two detectives with completely different approaches, except Mark’s work ethic is way better.
Back to Mark’s impression of Yukhei—as far as appearances go, Yukhei is handsome. That’s a well-established fact. Mark isn’t blind to how Yukhei’s height gives him the golden proportions of a model and how Yukhei’s face looks like it was carved by angels (Johnny’s words, not Mark’s). Yukhei has huge, expressive brown eyes and this really nice, straight nose, framed by a pair of pouty lips.
Objectively, Yukhei is gorgeous.
Subjectively… Yukhei is good looking. That’s about all Mark is going to let slip from his mouth regarding the matter.
In terms of Yukhei’s abilities as a detective, Mark has a lot that he’d like to put up for discussion if only people were willing to listen. Yukhei is brash, loud-mouthed, and sloppy when it comes to paperwork. He might look like Prince Charming come to life but his rationale is warped and he seems to only be doing this job for the thrill of it.
Yukhei jumps at every opportunity to enter the field but half-heartedly writes up his case reports. Mark’s only ever seen him show any kind of enthusiasm whenever he has a gun in his holster while practically begging to be assigned to stakeouts. Yukhei acts like it’s torture whenever he’s cooped up within the four walls of the precinct because the other detectives were assigned the available cases.
Plus, there have been rumours floating around regarding Yukhei’s swift transfer from Precinct 116, which happens to be one of the best performing stations in the nation currently. Yukhei was the ‘ace’ detective there on top of being the youngest and there were supposedly talks considering him for a promotion. Regardless, Yukhei applied (or so they say) for a transfer here, which is basically self-sabotage if one were to ask Mark.
There’s no way that Yukhei would voluntarily start over anew in a whole other precinct unless he has something to run from in Precinct 116.
Thus Mark thinks Yukhei is shady, irresponsible, and he doesn’t deserve the coddling the rest of the detectives in the precinct give him just because he’s supposedly a star. They all act like Yukhei’s detective royalty just because he broke the record for most arrests in a year since the record was established in 1984.
Mark would probably be able to do it too if Precinct 127 had as many cases to handle as Precinct 116.
However, all in all, this is not jealousy or envy. Mark’s displeasure with Yukhei’s presence mostly boils down to the fact that he doesn’t deserve the credit that he’s given. His status as an asset to the precinct is overrated and everyone should treat him the way that they treat Mark.
Mark’s still told to do coffee runs every once in awhile and he’s even had to get coffee for Yukhei once. Mark’s unofficial junior had the nerve to make an order for an iced caramel macchiato without an ounce of shame or guilt on his face, not even a “sorry” tacked onto the end of his sentence.
That happened almost three weeks ago and Mark’s still bitter about it.
Mark may be the youngest on the team, but he doubts that the rest of them know that because Mark’s barely a few months younger than Yukhei who was born in January. They agreed to be friendly with each other so the age hierarchy system shouldn’t apply. The senior detectives just like to pick on Mark because they see him as the little brother they love to tease.
Mark’s still waiting for the day when someone—anyone—will wake up and realise that Yukhei technically holds an equal rank to Mark’s. He’s not even as impressive as they all try to make him seem.
Like Mark mentioned previously, Yukhei’s arrests tally stands at four lesser than Mark’s from last week—
“That makes 26!” Yukhei announces happily as he pushes past the double doors with one of his hands, holding a man in handcuffs by the shoulders.
This effectively shakes Mark out of his internal “Why’s Yukhei so special, anyway?" monologue. Mark gapes as he stares down at the sticky note plastered on his desk. “M: 25, Y: 21” it reads. He blinks, realising that he hasn’t been assigned to any cases in the past three days because he’s been reorganising files with Chittaphon “Ten” Leechaiyapornkul, Johnny’s secretary and assistant.
If what Yukhei said is what Mark thinks he said, that means Yukhei is ahead of the count.
Yukhei smugly pushes his felon towards the uniformed officers who escort the man into one of the cells for holding. “26 arrests so far for Xuxi, the unsung hero of Precinct 127!” Yukhei singsongs, referring to himself with his name in Mandarin.
His name sounds rather cute in Mandarin, that Mark will give him. But the unsung hero of the precinct? Please. Everyone knows that Yukhei is an overrated celebrity in the detective world. Mark watches as some of the detectives walk over to clap Yukhei on the back, congratulating him for making two arrests today.
Mark’s ready to strangle Ten for roping him into administrative work when he could’ve been out in the field, maintaining his lead in this unspoken race. Now he’s one arrest behind Yukhei and that knowledge is gnawing at the edge of his mind, threatening to drive him crazy.
Mark’s not going to get much sleep tonight, he can already tell that he’s not going to sleep well if he’s losing.
“How’s the day going for you, Mark?” Yukhei asks as he approaches, sauntering smoothly towards Mark’s desk where two large stacks of folders are set down. Yukhei lets Mark’s name roll off his tongue exaggeratedly as he smirks with mirth.
Mark wants to wipe that smirk off his pretty little face. “It’s going… good,” Mark replies, trying to hide how uncomfortable he feels about losing to Yukhei.
“I missed you out there today,” Yukhei says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cola-flavoured lollipop. He sets it onto one of the stacks of paperwork. “That’s for you. You like cola, don’t you?”
Mark snorts. “If this is consolation for what you think is me losing to you, you should know that I won’t be handling filing forever.”
Yukhei retracts his hand slowly, his expression becoming one of puzzlement as his eyebrows knit together. “What?”
“I said…” Mark trails off, taking a deep breath instead. Be the bigger person, Mark. “Nothing. I said nothing.”
“Uh, okay.”
Mark snatches the lollipop from the top of the papers, roughly pinching at the wrapper in an effort to rip it off in his frustration. He ignores the way Yukhei continues to look at him incredulously as he does so.
Yukhei reaches over and gently takes the lollipop from Mark’s hands, unwrapping it in one attempt with his long fingers. “There.” He offers the lollipop to Mark, smiling when Mark quickly swipes it from him with a mumbled “thank you”. “I won’t bother you anymore, I guess. See ya, Mark.”
Mark huffs. “Yeah, whatever.”
Mark doesn’t look to see where Yukhei goes and he sucks on his lollipop angrily as he flips through the file in his hands.
“Harsh, much?” Ten comments as he slides his chair over from his desk towards Mark. “Xuxi’s such a sweetheart and you’re always being so cold to him. That’s not going to help your boner go down, Mark.”
Mark turns to glare at Ten, who flinches in response. “You’re one to talk. If you’d do your job, we wouldn’t be in this situation because I’d still have the upper hand.”
“Are you really still competing with Xuxi in your head?”
Mark rolls his eyes, snapping the file shut. “Oh my God, Ten, just leave me alone. I want to get this shit done by tonight so I can start taking cases by tomorrow, okay?” Mark says, exasperated. “Do you have any other favours that you want to cash in? Do you want a coffee from the pantry? Doughnuts from Krispy Kreme? A fucking pedicure?”
“Actually, a coffee does sound quite ni—”
“For fuck’s sake, I was being sarcastic!”
Ten holds up both his hands in surrender. “Whatever, drama queen. They say that I’m the crazy one in the precinct but look at you,” he laughs and it sounds more like a cackle. “You’re doing amazing, Markiepoo. Thank you and I love you.”
Mark wants to open his mouth to tell Ten to leave him alone again when the latter leans over in his swivel chair to give Mark a quick peck on the cheek before speeding off in the other direction back towards his own desk. “What the fuck,” Mark mumbles under his breath as he licks around the cola-flavoured candy in mouth.
Lollipops are supposed to taste sweet but this one in particular tastes bitter.
Mark works twice as hard that day, making sure that the files are put away in an orderly manner by the end of the night. He’s going to make sure he cracks at least one case tomorrow if it’s the last thing he does in this lifetime.
Yukhei’s not going to be the top dog forever and that’s fact.
Mark reminds himself again and again that he’s not the kind of man who will badmouth someone else without valid reason. He’s not a gossipmonger by any means, on the contrary, he hates discussing matters concerning others because he doesn’t like the thought of betraying someone else’s trust, whether the trust is explicitly stated or not. However, all of Mark’s logic and reasoning can go fuck itself when it comes to talking about Yukhei.
Mark will talk about Yukhei to any and everyone who will listen.
In this case, the pitiful victim is Lee Taeyong, who is the sergeant of the precinct, but somehow doesn’t act like one because he’s friendly and informal about most matters. He lends a listening ear to all the detectives in the squad regardless of the topic and he’s basically the next best alternative to attending therapy.
Mark has been unloading his displeasure with Yukhei onto Taeyong for as long as he can remember. Taeyong happens to be quite friendly with Yukhei, having unofficially “adopted” the latter, but Mark was Taeyong’s very first “son” so there’s no reason why Taeyong wouldn’t listen if Mark were to complain about Yukhei to him.
Taeyong has tried to chalk Mark’s impression of Yukhei down to prejudice, but Mark knows that it’s not quite it.
“Have you ever, and I’m saying ever, heard me talk shit about anyone here?” Mark half-yells and half-whines. It’s a strangled sound, coming off as pathetic even to his own ears. “On my first day here, Jaehyun offered me hand cream that was actually Greek yoghurt and called it hazing.”
“You have to admit that it was kind of funny. You were rubbing your hands together and when the white cast wouldn’t disappear you asked, ‘Am I too moisturised or what?’”
“Shut up!” Mark snaps without heat, slapping Taeyong’s shoulder. “Also, remember when Yuta sabotaged me so he could work with Sicheng from 116? I barely even breathed a word about it.”
Yuta Nakamoto takes this as the perfect timing to step in, his ears perking up from having heard his name said in passing. “What? What did I do this time?” he asks, a paper cup filled to the brim with coffee held tightly in his hand. “If this is about the gum under your desk, Taeyong, I had nothing to do with it.”
Mark watches as Taeyong’s jaw falls open to speak, but he ultimately decides against it and sighs. “Great, now I’m going to have to look under my desk,” Taeyong mutters dejectedly, popping a chocolate-covered almond into his mouth.
The pantry is the common place of common places in the station. Heck, every room is a common place because there are members of the team everywhere—it’s practically impossible to find a corner of the precinct uninhabited. Someone’s always somewhere and that doesn’t even exclude the toilets. Mark always thinks that he’s the only one there only to hear flushing come out of one of the cubicles.
The pantry is a place where he expects people, though, so it’s less harrowing to be spoken to here. The endless supply of food and snacks (haphazardly left by every single member of the squad like a potluck) is a plus.
Mark knew that he shouldn’t have been talking in such an open space if he didn’t want to be caught, anyway. Yuta’s intrusion is the least of his worries.
“Mark’s whining about Yukhei again,” Taeyong replies after awhile, likely having recalled Yuta’s question from earlier. This earns him a loud smack from Mark. “What? You were.”
There is an unsaid swear of secrecy that Mark expects from Taeyong so it’s surprising that Taeyong immediately volunteered this key piece of information Yuta’s way. Yuta is one of the strongest supporters of Yukhei’s reign that this precinct has seen, so Mark mentally prepares himself for the battle ahead.
“Mark? Complaining about Yukhei?” Yuta asks. The offence rolls off his tongue like venom, as if it’s impossible that someone could ever think negatively of the station’s prince.
“Again?” comes another voice from the door, and lo and behold, it’s Yukhei himself.
Mark glances at his wristwatch, noting that it’s the time of the day when everyone starts getting peckish and begins to flock into the pantry for midday snacks. More people are bound to follow behind Yukhei and his expectation is met when he sees three or four men attempt to squeeze into the room with Yukhei’s frame blocking the entrance.
Yuta scoffs loudly, ripping open a bag of Cheetos lying on the couch not far from where Taeyong and Mark are seated at the dining table. “Yeah,” Yuta supplies, popping two or three pieces of the snack into his mouth and crunching carelessly. “Mark’s complaining about you.”
“What did I do this time?” Yukhei asks, echoing Yuta’s question uttered just a few minutes ago. “I’ve been a good boy!”
“He has,” Jaehyun agrees, strolling in alongside their fellow detectives Moon Taeil and Kim Doyoung, both of whom look equally as confused that Mark’s upset with Yukhei. “Yukhei’s been the best boy around. Haven’t you, Xuxi?”
Yukhei doesn’t look pleased to have Jaehyun speaking to him like a dog. “I impersonated a puppy one time,” he hisses, swiping some Cheetos from Yuta. “Anyway, Mark. What’s up, buttercup? Did I do something?” Yukhei is addressing him directly now and that makes Mark sweat.
Just a little bit. Mark’s not going to let it show but he feels himself squirm in his seat slightly.
Taeyong takes it up to himself to answer. “Your little competition is really upsetting him,” he says to Yukhei, adopting a slightly more authoritative tone than usual. “Whatever this contest is that you two have going on, it’s really killing the morale in the station. You’re both great detectives, there’s no need to act like children because you want to one-up the other person.”
“I’m not being childish,” Mark argues, but Taeyong shushes him by pulling him towards his chest by the shoulders. “Let me go, Taeyong.”
“Hush, my baby. We both know that you’re unhappy.”
Mark can’t see Yukhei’s reaction because his face is buried in the material of Taeyong’s shirt, the soft silk muffling his threats for Taeyong to set him free.
There’s never been an outright announcement of a competition between the two youngest detectives on the team. It’s going to be really awkward if Yukhei expresses that he’s never seen Mark as his rival, because for one, Mark’s been vocal with expressing his annoyance whenever Yukhei gets ahead of the count, and two, Yukhei’s going to get what’s coming for him if he dares to insult Mark in that manner.
In what world isn’t Mark capable of being Yukhei’s rival? Certainly not this one.
Taeyong eventually lets Mark go after whispering words of encouragement into Mark’s hair. He jumps into heated conversation with Yuta and Jaehyun about a new series showing on Netflix directly after he releases Mark, leaving Mark to look around slowly to process the mess of a situation that’s unravelling in the pantry.
Mark’s eyes land on Yukhei, who has now taken a seat comfortably next to Mark at the table. Yukhei has his gaze trained on him intently, and Mark deduces that he’s not going to look away any time soon. “What?” Mark asks haughtily, reaching forward for an opened pack of Sour Patch Kids.
Yukhei helpfully pushes it towards him. Damn him and his freakishly long limbs. “They said you were talking about me,” he starts, tilting his head to one side.
“And what if I was?”
Yukhei laughs quietly, plucking the piece of candy from between Mark’s fingers as Mark is about to lift it to his lips.
Mark almost snarls at him.
“Taeyong mentioned that you’re upset with me because of a… competition?” The word hangs heavily in the air after Yukhei says it.
Mark feels the room quiet down as everyone turns to watch their exchange, clearly intrigued by what’s bubbling underneath the surface. “Don’t act coy,” Mark says icily, retrieving another piece of candy that he makes sure Yukhei can’t steal this time. “You’ve been keeping count too. Every time you surpass my arrests you make sure to announce it at the door.”
“Maybe I have,” Yukhei admits. He winces briefly when the sour candy hits his tongue. “And I think it’s best that you learn that I’m three ahead right now, and counting.”
Mark truly snarls now. “Oh yeah? If Ten… what’s-his-last-name didn’t ask for a favour, maybe you’d be three behind and counting!”
Ten’s voice yelling a time-out is shrill as he runs through the door, physically keeping Yukhei and Mark apart with his arms even though they weren’t close to begin with. Ten is out of breath as he speaks. “Come on, boys. Play nice. Johnny’s not going to like this.”
There’s a loud crunch that comes from Yuta as he continues devouring his bag of Cheetos. “Johnny’s not going to like this because he’s going to love it,” he murmurs, soft enough for only those in the room to hear.
Taeil snickers loudly. “True.”
Johnny steps in now and all of them straighten up a bit with the arrival of the captain. “What’s up, kiddos?” Johnny greets them all with a curt nod of his head. He stands at the doorway with both hands resting of his hips as he strikes a pose. “I smell trouble.”
Ten tries, and fails, to hide the supposed conflict brewing between Yukhei and Mark. “There’s nothing to see here, Captain Seo,” he says. It makes Mark wonder if Ten is actually trying to help them or if he’s trying to set them up to be disciplined by Johnny.
No one calls Johnny “Captain Seo” unless one of the higher-ups is around. Johnny’s title holds as much of a significance to the rest of them as a can of Dr. Pepper.
The atmosphere is a little bit awkward before Johnny tells everyone to loosen up. “It’s break time! This is an informal space.”
After he says that, the room erupts into noisy chatter once more because they’ve been given the green light to horse around with no punishment in sight. Truthfully, they’re always playing around, but most of them (sans Yukhei, because he’s the devil incarnate that Johnny somehow dotes on) actually make a show of pretending that they don’t.
“So, what’s happening?” Johnny asks Mark now. He raises an eyebrow. “What’s this talk about being sworn enemies with Xuxi?”
Ten nudges Johnny in the ribs, hard. “I told you that in confidence, John,” Ten hisses, glaring at his boss after for good measure.
Mark, in turn, glares at Ten. He should’ve known to keep his feelings to himself knowing what a huge gossip Ten is. Ten keeps a secret for an hour at the maximum. The only time anyone voluntarily tells Ten anything is when they want the entire precinct to know, and when they want the message to be spread fast.
“I’m starting a betting pool on who has the most arrests by the end of the year!” Doyoung shouts from a corner.
After that announcement, Mark hears choruses of “$50 on Yukhei!” followed by Taeyong’s quiet, “$50 on Mark and… $50 on Yukhei.”
“You can’t bet on us both,” Mark exclaims, whipping his head over to stare at Taeyong in disgust. He’s offended and he’s not going to hide it. “It’s either you believe in me or you don’t.”
“Honey, I’m just protecting my financial interests. You’re not going to get any support if I don’t bet on you.”
Mark groans. “You guys are wrong. I was ahead of the game until Ten roped me into doing his dirty work! I swear. You’re going to regret not betting on me.”
Yukhei finally speaks up, standing up to rest an arm over Johnny’s shoulders. “What do you think, boss?” he asks Johnny, passing him a gummy snake that he knows is Johnny’s favourite. “We’re all aware of my perfect case closure rate, right? I’m not one to brag, but…”
Johnny hums, biting off the tail of his gummy. “I’m not going to say anything. I shouldn’t get involved in personal matters.” He clears his throat. “But off the record, I’d put my money on Xuxi. He closed a fucking case from his desk today. Like, who does that? Only gods, maybe.”
Yukhei gives him a fist bump of appreciation.
“Why don’t we challenge each other for real, then?” Mark suggests from his seat, keeping his gaze steely as he looks up at Yukhei. “Let’s make a bet.”
Yukhei’s face lights up. “Really?” he asks, holding his hand out for Mark to shake in agreement. “Let’s do it.”
Mark takes Yukhei’s calloused palm in his and he makes sure his grip is tighter than Yukhei’s when they exchange a handshake. “Since I suggested it, if I win, I want…” he tries to think of something that Yukhei holds especially dear to him.
There’s Yukhei’s desk, which is situated in a rather strategic location not far from the pantry and locker rooms, but the condition of the desk leaves much to be desired. Yukhei keeps scraps of food in his drawers and there have been complaints of termites hiding in between the cracks of the table, so maybe swapping desks with Yukhei isn’t the smartest thing to do.
Then there’s Yukhei’s gun, but their guns are registered under each of their names for identification purposes, so Mark couldn’t ask for it even if he wanted to.
Lastly, Yukhei has a car. It’s a flashy drive for a rookie detective—a black Audi A5 Sportback with tinted windows. Yukhei comes from a background of money and rumour has it that the car was his 21st birthday gift from his parents. He’s kept it in near-perfect condition even though the car’s almost three years old now. It’s a known fact that Yukhei’s the type of guy who jokes about his car being his wife.
Mark can’t wait to see the look on Yukhei’s face when he pries the keys to the car out of Yukhei’s cold, dead hands.
“I want the Audi,” Mark states without emotion.
There’s an audible gasp that comes from Yuta.
Yukhei, on the other hand, only lets his surprise show on his face. There’s a brief widening of his eyes and Yukhei’s lips part slightly, but he composes himself and shrugs. “Deal,” Yukhei agrees.
“No!” Yuta argues on his behalf. “How could you, Xuxi? That car is 90% of the reason why people even want to sleep with you. Why would you give such a valuable asset up?”
Silence befalls the room as everyone settles into contemplation.
Mark doesn’t even know where to begin to explain how wrong Yuta is. Is he seeing Yukhei? The Audi is an added bonus, surely. Not saying that Mark would ever think of going near Yukhei’s privates, but if he were to be a stranger that Yukhei were to proposition, the car would be the last thing on his mind.
“I don’t think that’s it,” Taeyong whispers to Yuta, pursing his lips after. “The car’s… not… never mind.”
“It’s cool, I’ll put my car on the line,” Yukhei interrupts to say. “I’m not going to lose anyway. But Mark… you should think carefully about what you’re going to bet. You’re playing a losing game here. Don’t bet something you’re not willing to lose.”
Mark snorts in contempt. “I’m confident about winning too. Name your price. What do you want?”
Yukhei considers this for a moment. “What’s your biggest fear?”
Mark presses his lips together as he thinks. There are a few things that he’s rather afraid of, among them being failure, the inability to succeed, and, well, losing. He’s not about to say that out loud, though. “My biggest fear?” Mark repeats, smiling without sincerity. “I fear becoming one of the brainwashed zombies worshipping the ground you walk on.”
It’s a low blow aimed at everyone in the room and he hears some of them protest weakly.
“Whoa,” Ten, who has mostly been silent up to this point, remarks. “Good one, Markie Mark.”
“That’s no good for the bet, though,” Johnny points out, scratching the back of his head. “There’s no tangibility in that.”
“I know! If Mark loses, he has to go on a date with Xuxi in the Audi. We stop the count at the end of the year, so we’ll close the year with either a bonfire party or a date.”
Mark pales at that suggestion. “What?”
He’s about to open his mouth to argue when Yukhei laughs. Yukhei actually laughs. “There’s nothing to worry about if you’re so confident,” he mocks, picking up the bag of Sour Patch Kids to search for a red piece. “Are you afraid that you’re going to lose?”
“No, you’re on,” Mark sneers, narrowing his eyes at Yukhei who still has an infuriating smirk plastered on his face.
“Then it’s settled!” Taeyong announces, standing up and shooing everyone outside. “Can all of you get to work? There are civilians running in the streets in fear as we speak!”
Just as Mark is about to take his leave too, Yukhei leans over and passes Mark an orange Sour Patch Kid. “I hope you don’t expect me to put out on the first date,” he teases, bursting out into laughter once more when Mark only flinches from him in disgust.
“I hope you’re ready to come to work on foot,” Mark shoots back, but it’s a weaker comeback than he expected.
Well, whatever. He’ll work on his insults next time.
Mark can’t escape the pantry quick enough without Yukhei’s grin engraving itself into the back of his mind, ruining the rest of his day at work because he can’t stop thinking about it.
Mark is going to win this stupid bet if it’s the last thing he does. Even if it costs him his life.
And costs him his life it does. The bet starts to consume every fibre of Mark’s being until he’s only alive and functioning because of it—he wakes up only for the sake of seeing this through and he lets caffeine flow through his veins to power himself through the day. All in hopes that he’ll be able to pummel Yukhei into the ground, ego and everything.
It starts off smoothly enough. Mark gets a nice number of arrests to close his first week, only to realise that Yukhei has the exact same amount. The next few weeks are the same. Yukhei somehow matches Mark’s number regardless of what it is.
There’s a whole official score board displayed in the middle of the precinct. There’s no way that Yukhei is cheating because everyone’s keeping score. It’s ridiculous how Yukhei isn’t losing because Mark’s been working twice as hard.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and so Mark resorts to asking for favours from the other detectives. In hindsight, this idea is terrible. It’s one of the worst ideas Mark has ever had, only second to starting this stupid bet with Yukhei. His favours open up a floodgate for everyone in the precinct to abuse him—figuratively or not.
Mark offers to help the other detectives with their dreaded paperwork as long as they let him tag along whenever they’re assigned cases. It’s not an exaggeration to say that everyone agrees because typing up the case reports at the end of the day is literally the worst part of the job. Mark’s sacrifice means that everyone else gets to enjoy their work without having to suffer in an uncomfortable swivel chair for the remainder of their office hours.
Mark, however, is the poor bastard who has to do exactly that.
Jaehyun is especially willing to take Mark along whenever he’s due to enter the field. “Wanna come with?” is Jaehyun’s easy invitation to Mark, as he feels around his waistband to make sure that his gun is in place in its holster.
Mark, being all too eager to get his arrest count up, always complies.
“Don’t work yourself to death, Marcus,” will be Jaehyun’s bid of goodbye to Mark at the end of the day after he passes his case files over for Mark to complete. He at least has the decency to look guilty about it, but Mark’s not angry at him because he kind of asked for it.
It’s the little bit Mark has to give in order to take what he deserves. The win that will finally cement his place as Yukhei’s senior in this God forsaken precinct.
Johnny is not too happy about Mark working overtime in order to finish up not only his own, but Taeil’s, Jaehyun’s, and sometimes even Yuta’s case reports. Johnny chides Mark about the cons of missing out on a social life when their job is already burdensome enough. “You’re hot and young, Mark, why do this to yourself?” Johnny will ask almost every other night.
“I’ll rest when evil is defeated,” Mark will say right back.
The both of them—Johnny and Mark—will then turn to look in the direction of Yukhei’s desk, where Yukhei is often seen slouching over his computer, his eyebrows knit together in concentration as he scrolls through a Reddit forum.
To be fair, Yukhei doesn’t need to stay after hours. He usually has his case reports done by the end of his shift because he hasn’t been taking the brunt of the others’ work to keep up with his arrest count. Johnny’s asked him about it before passing over the night shift to the next captain, but Yukhei always said that he likes the smooth WiFi connection in the station.
Yukhei must live in a sewer dump because the WiFi here is absolute bullshit.
“You want me to make you a coffee before I go?” Johnny asks as he pats Mark on the back, having packed up to leave for the night. “Want a Twinkie? Some candy?”
Mark shakes his head. “No, I’m good, Cap.”
Johnny smiles his signature Johnny-smile, one that’s only reserved for members of the squad who are seriously making him proud at the moment. It makes Mark feel special. “Don’t dig yourself an early grave, Mark,” Johnny says once more before he goes.
Mark sighs, slumping over his desk the moment Johnny steps out the door. The rest of his squad from the morning shift left long ago, leaving Mark with two unfinished case reports that require dire attention. He took up two extra cases with Jaehyun earlier.
Mark glances over at the scoreboard set in the middle of the station. “(God) Yukhei: 34, Mark: 35” is displayed on the top corner of the whiteboard with multiple slashes across the numbers before it reaches their current count.
Ten appointed himself as the unofficial keeper of the numbers, happily putting aside the actual workload Johnny passed on to him.
“How many more cases do you have?” Mark hears a deep voice ask from behind him before a man is invading his personal space, looming over him to look at the files on his desk. It’s Yukhei.
Mark sits up immediately, his shoulder bumping against Yukhei’s chest and surprising the latter. “What are you doing here?”
Yukhei wasn’t at his desk the last time Mark took a peep in that direction. Mark did it out of curiosity to scope out the competition, not out of genuine interest. It’s close to 8pm now anyway, so if Yukhei were any other sane person, he’d have left at least two hours ago.
Alas, Yukhei is very much here.
“I work here,” Yukhei replies easily, giving Mark a look that screams duh.
“Yeah, but you’re not supposed to be here anymore. You’re supposed to be home.”
“Why can’t I be here when you’re here?”
Mark feels his facial features scrunch up in confusion. What? It might be the sleep deprivation clouding his thought processes, but he’s not sure about what they’re talking about anymore.
“I asked how many cases you have left,” Yukhei repeats himself, crossing his arms slowly. Mark sees the lean muscles of his arms flex under the material of his button-up shirt.
Mark swallows. “Two.”
Yukhei nods, turning to walk towards the pantry, but not before saying, “I’ll drive you home after you’re done.”
Mark gapes at him. “What? I drove here, I can get home by myself.”
Yukhei doesn’t seem to hear him and continues to walk into the pantry for whatever reason.
Looking back at the opened files on his desk, Mark gets back to work. His computer is an old Windows PC that runs about as quickly as his grandma. Thankfully, typing up documents doesn’t take up too much RAM, but Mark can only do one thing at once instead of procrastinate with a YouTube video or two.
He wants to finish up quickly today and hopefully get a better night’s sleep, so he shuts the Internet browsing windows and focuses on his task.
There’s a thud at the edge of his desk and Mark looks to the corner to see a mug with freshly brewed coffee in it. It’s his mug, too, so it’s undoubtedly meant for him.
“Drink up,” Yukhei says to him, gently. “Before you make a big deal out of it, I put some Baileys in there so it’s a little boozy. It should give you a good boost, though.”
“I can’t drink on the job.”
“It’s after hours,” Yukhei states as a matter of fact. He has a protein shake in his hands. “I’ll drive you home after, so no worries about breaking any traffic laws.” He reaches over to take one of the closed folders from Mark.
“Hey, that’s confidential,” Mark protests, not motioning to get the file back from Yukhei. He picks up the mug of coffee and takes a long sip. He’s had at least five servings of coffee today.
Yukhei takes it to his desk. “I’ll finish it for you.”
“That’s not going to add it to your count, you know.”
Yukhei laughs, setting himself down into his workspace and cracking his knuckles. “I don’t need it.”
They work in silence after that and Mark, being the perfectionist he is, checks over Yukhei’s work to make sure it’s up to his own standards. It is, surprisingly. He’s read a few files with Yukhei’s notes in them and they’ve always read like they were hastily written, but Yukhei’s work in this file is rather immaculate.
Mark didn’t even know that Yukhei paid enough attention to others’ cases to be able to write their reports so accurately.
After putting the files on Ten’s desk for him to sort out the next morning, Mark throws on his sweater and pulls out his car keys. He yawns, readying himself for the short drive to his apartment as he runs on three hours of sleep from the night before.
It’s barely 10.30pm now, so if he cleans up quickly enough he’ll probably get at least six hours’ worth of sleep tonight.
“Let’s go,” Yukhei says as he falls into pace alongside Mark, bumping his shoulder against Mark’s. “I’ll drive you.”
“I think I’m good to drive,” Mark argues lightly, unable to stifle another yawn that creeps up on him. He yawns as he speaks. “There wasn’t much alcohol in the coffee.”
“Yeah, but you look like you’ll fall asleep behind the wheel the moment you get on the road. Trust me, it happens. I’ll drive. It’s more for everyone else on the road than for you.”
Mark’s too tired to continue arguing, so he does as Yukhei tells him to.
It’s his first time riding in Yukhei’s car. The interior is surprisingly clean and much neater than Mark expected. Yukhei even has a small Thor figurine tacked onto his dashboard, the bobblehead of the figurine moving side to side as they drive along.
Mark doesn’t realise how exhausted he really is until Yukhei is gently nudging him awake. “Huh?” Mark mutters, rubbing at his eyes. “Whoa, sorry. Didn’t know I fell asleep.”
“It’s cool.” Yukhei has a hand on the steering wheel and another on the gear stick. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow since your car’s still at the station.”
“Nah,” Mark mumbles, picking up his bag. “I’ll get a lift from Taeyong. He lives, like, three blocks down. We carpool sometimes.”
Yukhei nods, his gaze following Mark’s form as Mark climbs out of the car groggily, the sleep still heavy in his system.
“Thanks for the ride, or whatever,” Mark mutters awkwardly, resting his hand on the handle of the car door. “Uh, goodnight.”
Yukhei smiles—it’s a slight tilt of his lips, followed by a tilt of his head. It’s kind of cute. Like one of those pictures of a Golden Retriever puppy looking at its owner curiously. “Goodnight, Mark,” Yukhei says, and his voice is softer than Mark has ever heard it.
Mark nods once more before shutting the door, walking towards his apartment complex. He tries to ignore how he hears the ignition of Yukhei’s car thrumming until he reaches the entrance, which is when Yukhei finally drives off.
When Mark collapses onto his bed after taking a shower and brushing his teeth, he doesn’t even have time to truly ponder how Yukhei even knows where he lives.
Mark doesn’t have much time to change his mind about Yukhei being a not-so-bad-guy-after-all because two weeks after the night Yukhei gives him a ride home, Mark learns just why Yukhei isn’t struggling to keep up with his arrest count.
Yukhei, probably having been the privileged brat his entire life, has been bribing the other detectives. Okay, maybe the use of the term ‘bribe’ is an exaggeration on Mark’s end, but what Yukhei does can technically fall under that category.
Yukhei has been buying everyone at the precinct meals in exchange for their cases with the highest number of potential arrests. This, apparently, has been going on for awhile now, only not to Mark’s knowledge because Mark isn’t one of the people Yukhei needs to suck up to.
Although Mark has been receiving brown paper bags containing sandwiches and fruit juice every other morning, he always thought that the meals came from Taeyong. Not from Yukhei’s deep pockets that he uses to manipulate everyone in the station with. Mark only learnt the true origin of his quick breakfast when he thanked Taeyong that morning.
Taeyong had looked at him with a frown etched into his features. “What?”
“Thanks for breakfast,” Mark had repeated, clueless and naïve to his own ears now that he thinks about it.
“Oh,” Taeyong exclaimed. “That wasn’t me. It was Xuxi’s treat again.”
Mark was shocked, to say the least. He had a half-eaten chicken and egg sandwich in his hands that he thought came from his friend only to learn that it came from his enemy. His morning was shaping up to be a perfect one.
Mark finished his sandwich anyway because food is food. Doyoung then helpfully filled him out regarding Yukhei’s recent plan of buying out everyone’s hearts.
Mark thinks that Johnny ought to hear about this.
However, when Mark knocks on Johnny’s door, he sees an identical sandwich in Johnny’s hands and he realises that this is it—he’s lost. Evil has triumphed in the precinct and there’s nothing he can do about it because Yukhei is charming and slick and everything Mark is not. Which is why Mark is still called the rookie of the team even though he’s been here four times as long as Yukhei has.
“Did you need something, Mark?” Johnny asks, chewing slowly. He’s scrolling through some documents on his computer.
Mark, knowing that he has to play his cards right now that he knows that Yukhei is no easy foe, backs down. “Nope, just checking in on my favourite captain this morning!” he says, far too enthusiastic to his own ears.
It probably sounds fake to Johnny too, because Johnny only offers him a smile that looks more like a grimace.
Mark goes back to his desk, opting to flip through his files to have a look at the cases that he’s going to be working on today. He notices Yukhei’s eyes trained on him as he walks towards the other end of the room where his desk is but he promptly ignores him in favour of making a beeline for his own space.
“Talked about anything interesting?” Yukhei asks, not one to cower in the presence of a challenge. He has a half-eaten bagel in one hand and a cup of coffee in another as he approaches Mark, looking as carefree as ever.
“Nothing as interesting as the food you’ve been bribing him with,” Mark hisses, keeping his voice low to avoid attracting attention to himself.
Yukhei guffaws. It’s loud and Mark can physically feel the noise bouncing from the walls as Yukhei laughs. This effectively attracts all the attention that Mark previously tried to avoid. “It’s called networking, Detective Lee,” he states unhelpfully. “I’m sure you found your breakfast satisfying as well.”
“It was a chicken and egg sandwich. Who doesn’t like chicken and eggs?”
“Vegans, probably.”
Mark rolls his eyes, glaring at Ten who’s watching them with bright eyes from across the room, eagerly awaiting an imminent catfight. He only looks back at Yukhei when Ten pretends to look somewhere else. “Whatever. I can’t believe you’d stoop this low to get more arrests.”
Yukhei holds a hand to his heart with the hand holding his bagel. “That’s hurtful,” he pretends to be pained. “As long as it keeps me in the lead, though, right?” Yukhei gestures vaguely to the middle of the room with his bagel.
Mark’s gaze follows in the direction Yukhei is pointing at until his eyes fall on the scoreboard. Oh my God, Wong Yukhei surpassed him again. This time with three more arrests than him even though Mark’s been in the lead for the past two days with two more than Yukhei.
That means Yukhei managed to bag five people since the morning began, and it’s only 9am.
Is this man Satan himself or what?
Mark takes a deep breath, shutting his eyes tight as he feels his temples throb with this newfound knowledge. “How?” Mark asks, more to himself than to Yukhei.
Yukhei lets him know anyway. “Cracked down on a heist this morning,” he supplies without any real emotion behind his words. “Just off the corner here, actually. The Citibank branch. I even cuffed most of them myself to make the whole experience more authentic.”
Mark wants to rip his hair out of his own scalp. It’s infuriating. Yukhei is infuriating. How can he take control of a bank heist before noon and still look completely put together?
There’s not one hair out of place on Yukhei’s head, and if Mark didn’t know better he wouldn’t have even guessed that Yukhei had already been out in the field. People usually sweat, people usually look disheveled, people usually show an indication that they’ve been in action—but not Yukhei. He looks fresh, clean, and he even smells fresh and clean.
The world is so unfair.
“Don’t worry, Mark. I’m sure you’ll find something worthwhile to do before the day ends,” Yukhei consoles him, but it sounds more patronising than it does soothing.
If there is a God out there, and if the God doesn’t happen to be Yukhei himself, Mark hopes that Yukhei gets what’s coming for him.
“Break it up, boys,” Taeyong calls, waving a granola bar in his hands as he comes to stand in between Yukhei and Mark. “We have a long day ahead with lots of cases.”
“Yeah,” Jaehyun agrees, coming to link one of his arms with Yukhei’s to drag the latter off. “We can play with each other’s balls later. For now, let’s get to work.”
“Not… Not what I meant,” Taeyong splutters, taking a big bite of his snack. He pats Mark on the back slowly. “Are you doing okay, Mark?”
Mark hasn’t been sleeping much, granted he’s bitten off more than he can really chew with this whole bet, but he’s doing alright. He’s not at the brink of death, thankfully. He’s a little bit out of his depth, but it’s manageable. He just has to find a way to throw Yukhei off his high horse before the year ends. Simple. Mark hums an affirmative.
“If you need any help, any help at all, you know where to find me.” Taeyong ruffles the back of Mark’s hair. “I’ll pass you your case for the day later, son.”
“Mhmm, sure thing, dad.”
Taeyong giggles in response before running off.
Mark opens and closes his fists that are resting on his desk as he considers how he’s going to map out the rest of his day. He’s going to have to step his game up if he wants to get in the lead again, and it’s not going to be easy if he’s only relying on his own cases.
He peers over at Taeil in the neighbouring desk who’s idly blinking at the lit screen of his computer.
Mark sighs. He’s going to have to do a lot of work again today.
If Mark knew that Johnny would be this unhappy with his growing sense of competition when it comes to the bet with Yukhei, he probably wouldn’t have started it to begin with. This current situation is disconcerting because Johnny was one of the people who actually egged them on to start this whole thing in the first place.
Johnny is seated behind his desk, leaning back in his leather swivel chair. He has both his arms crossed and the look on his face spells out ‘serious conversation’.
Being one of the youngest captains—if not the youngest captain—in the field today doesn’t usually faze Johnny much. He does things with his own style and he doesn’t impart any form of hierarchy on his subordinates unnecessarily. In fact, Johnny is usually overly friendly with everyone at the precinct and any form of respect he receives is given voluntarily and not because he asks for it.
It’s just in Johnny’s nature to be the caring boss who gives his juniors ‘creative space’ to be themselves and to handle their work however they want to. As long as their ways are legal and somewhat ethical, Johnny doesn’t interfere.
The current look on Johnny’s face is one that Mark has only seen once ever since he started working in Precinct 127. The last time Johnny had this look on his face, it was because Ten imposed a ban on honey butter-flavoured potato chips in the precinct. Mark didn’t have much time to keep up with the story, but the ban was supposedly enforced because Johnny’s consumption of the chips was beginning to border on a strange addiction.
“Detective Lee,” Johnny starts, pursing his lips when he meets eyes with Mark. “Detective Wong.” He nods towards said man.
Yukhei is seated right next to Mark opposite Johnny. He shares a knowing look with Johnny before turning to look over at Mark. “Captain Seo,” he greets right back, looking back at Johnny to nod at him.
Mark swallows audibly.
“I’m sure the both of you know why you’ve been called here today,” Johnny continues, leaning forward to rest his hands on the surface of his desk. “But if you don’t, I gathered you here in regards to the… growing rivalry between the two of you.”
“It’s really not like that,” Mark replies, shutting up immediately when Johnny holds up a hand to stop him mid-sentence.
“I don’t care to listen to what you think it is versus what I think it is or whatever. All I know is that you’re not sleeping because you’ve been working yourself to death, Mark. You look like shit.”
Yukhei whips his head over to give Mark a once-over, his gaze falling just below Mark’s eyes. Yukhei whistles. “Whoa, he’s right. You do look like shit,” Yukhei adds unhelpfully. There’s no telling if Yukhei’s trying to bruise Mark’s ego or if he’s agreeing with Johnny for brownie points. Probably both.
Mark snorts.
“I say this as a concerned captain, detective,” Johnny adds. “Have you even been sleeping?”
“At least three hours a night, sir,” Mark responds, sitting up straighter. “I’m really not as tired as I look.”
Johnny shakes his head in disapproval. “This is unhealthy, Mark. The rest of them are heartless to let you continue to overwork yourself…” he pauses. “I’ve made my decision. The bet needs to stop.”
“What? Why?” Mark argues, blinking rapidly as he digests this information.
It’s taken him a long time to finally gain a lead on Yukhei again. If Mark was already working two times as hard in the past weeks, he’s been working three times as hard in the recent days. His count’s risen to surpass Yukhei’s by five people now, which is an amazing feat because Yukhei’s been handling at least two cases each day.
The gods are finally looking down on Mark and shining their light on him. There’s no way that this is how it ends.
“With all due respect, sir, I don’t think—” Yukhei tries to speak but he’s cut off by Johnny’s hand again.
“There’s another reason why I really need this to stop. This one’s more of a personal reason, so let’s keep it off the record,” Johnny explains, gesturing ambiguously. He looks out the glass panels of his office to catch the eyes of anyone attempting to read his lips. “Anyway, Xuxi, you need to stop buying everyone food. I’ve gained, like, five pounds.”
“What?”
“I said what I said. Stop trading food for cases. It’s wrecking my diet.”
Mark wants to laugh, but he knows better than to make Johnny revert to his ‘official’ demeanour. It’s better that Johnny stays friendly for now. “But Johnny,” Mark subtly attempts to whine. “Why don’t we come to an agreement then? You give us additional cases when you can and we stop taking the others’ cases. That way you can monitor my workload too.”
“No,” Johnny shuts Mark’s suggestion down promptly. “That’s not going to happen. Your relationship as colleagues is strained enough as it is without continuing this stupid bet.”
“Says who?” Yukhei asks, looking at Mark with his peripheral vision before flitting his gaze back to focus on Johnny. “We’ve never been closer.”
“I’ve actually never spoken to him much prior to this,” Mark concurs, wondering if he’s going crazy because it sounds like he’s supporting Yukhei. “Not that I’m agreeing with him, of course.”
Johnny massages his temples, shaking his head slightly. “I’m going to fix this for you two. Don’t worry about it. We’ll fix your friendship together.” Johnny reaches over with his hands, urging Yukhei and Mark to rest their fingers in his open palms.
When they do, Johnny places Mark’s hand over Yukhei’s.
“That’s one small hand,” Yukhei mutters lowly.
Mark pretends he can’t hear him.
“By the power vested in me, you’re both going to work together to mend whatever’s left of your relationship. You’re going to be partners for the remainder of the year,” Johnny announces, patting their stacked hands lightly. “Before you protest, this is final. My ears are deaf to your complaints.”
“You know I prefer working solo,” Yukhei grits from between his teeth. He doesn’t look angry, but he certainly looks unimpressed and annoyed with this development.
Mark withdraws his hand. “That’s… that’s crazy!”
“When your numbers tally, you’ll work together to patch things up. As friends,” Johnny explains, standing up to walk towards the door. He opens it, making a show of asking them to leave his room. “Now get to work, detectives. You’ll be getting more complicated cases now that you’re partners.”
Mark gapes at Johnny like a fish, but he does as he’s told anyway. He’s a bit too exhausted to even consider the consequences of being tied down to Yukhei in the workforce right now.
Could things be worse? Maybe, maybe not. Mark really can’t decide.
“What happened?!” Ten hurriedly inquires when Mark gets back to his desk, still shocked from Johnny’s ultimatum.
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit!” Ten snaps. “Johnny has an open door policy. He only ever shuts the door if he’s giving disciplinary action or something. What did he say to you and Yukhei?”
Mark licks his lips, unsure of how to word what just happened. “Ask Yukhei,” he firmly tells Ten, who rolls his eyes and sighs before running off to badger Yukhei instead.
The words on Mark’s computer screen suddenly look jumbled, the Korean characters twisting and turning to form psychedelic shapes instead of neat sentences. Mark ignores the concerned looks Jaehyun throws his way, instead gulping down the cold contents of the mug on his desk before flipping through an old case file to distract himself.