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Chapter Text

Cast and Information:

The Onyx Eight are high and large the most dangerous and cunning gang in South Korea. Feared by many, and known by none, these men run the deep underground of Seoul. 

HongJoong- The Leader

Wise and strong, Hongjoong leads the Onyx Eight in all of their illegal activities. He cares deeply for each and every member, no matter what the circumstances.

Mingi- The tattoo artist and right hand to Hongjoong

A brilliant artist, whom created the gang logo. He is also second in command. He and Hongjoong are super close, Hongjoong sometimes deferring to him for advice.

 Jongho-The Bodyguard

Jongho uses his incredible strength to protect his hyungs. He needs no weapons, his bare fists are enough to cause massive amounts of damage.

Seonghwa-The Doctor

Soft and caring, Seonghwa learned as much as he could about medicine to help his gang. Though there are always two sides to the coin. Not only does he have the skills to heal his friends, he also has the know how to traffick drugs to earn them more money.

Yunho-The Weapons Specialist

Yunho is adept with all forms of weaponry, big or small. The other members know better than to cross him, because he can kill you in the blink of an eye if he put his mind to it. His favorites though, are daggers and knives, things that are easily hidden but hard to miss when they're deep in your skin.

San-The Street Racer

San is a speed demon, quite literally. San loves to join the undercover street racing groups for 'fun'. He loves baiting them into thinking he could never win a race and then completely blowing them out of the water. He is proficient in hotwiring vehicles, and will sometimes steal cars to sell, if they don't end up in his personal collection of course.

Wooyoung-The Arsonist

A spitfire in all forms of the word. He loves to watch the world burn, and isn't afraid to send things up in pillars of flame and ash. He is especially useful in helping cover up some of the gang's activities.

Yeosang-The Hacker

Whether it be computers, security systems, or passwords, Yeosang can hack it. He can bypass any firewalls easily and has an arsenal of tricks up his sleeve to maneuver around any and all types of security and cameras.

The Onyx Eight Symbol

Each member has this symbol tattooed somewhere on their body.

Yeosang- Behind his ear
San- Right side of his neck
Wooyoung- Right side of his ribs
Yunho- Left back of his shoulder
Mingi- Left arm just below the shoulder
Seonghwa- Upper Thigh
Jongho- Right wrist on the inside
HongJoong- On his collarbone, right above his heart.

Chapter Text

The loud clang of metal on metal rang through the night air as the door to an underground bunker flew open. Six of the Onyx Eight entered their hideout,  followed quickly by a slew of murderous shouts and rage.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?"

Yeosang recognized that voice well. It was Song Mingi, and he sounded like he was about to kill the next person that crossed his path. The peachy haired male immediately looked up from his laptop, eyes widening in horror at the scene in front of him.

Yunho had stumbled in, left eye black and blue, lip dripping with blood, leaning on Mingi as he limped along. Wooyoung was holding onto San for dear life, his hand pressed hard to San's right shoulder. The white shirt that was beneath the crimson haired male's typical black leather jacket was soaked in blood, and he looked pale as a ghost, Wooyoung never leaving his side, worry wrought on his face.

Jongho and Hongjoong had followed shortly behind, Jongho looking like the only unscathed member of their group. Hongjoong's head hung low, eyes dull, shoulders drooped. Yeosang could feel his blood run cold, jaw dropping in disbelief.

"Seonghwa, little help!" Wooyoung yelped, eyes glittering with the oncoming tears forming in the back of them.

The blonde male sitting across the room beside Yeosang shot up, racing to their side, moving to the the opposite side of San, taking some of his weight from Wooyoung. San let out a soft grunt as they moved, reaching down with his free hand to ruffle Wooyoung's hair.

"Agh Wooyoung ease up a little will you? You press any harder you're going to dislocate my shoulder. I'll be alright...ah...I trust Seonghwa." He groaned, pulling the smaller male over to the old leather couch in the corner and sliding to a sit.

The blonde sprung immediately into action, grabbing up his supply kit and sitting opposite the pair on the couch.

Mingi helped Yunho to a lone chair, blood pumping in his veins. His hands curled into fists and the loud sound of skin on metal now silenced everyone once again.

"I...I don't understand. What happened to you all?" Yeosang finally mustered up the courage to sputter out. This was supposed to be such an easy heist. All they had to do was disable security, take out the guards, crack the vault, take their prize and make a break for it. It was supposed to be an in and out job.

Hongjoong finally lifted his head at Yeosang's sudden inquiry, bangs falling in his face."Did you disable the security or not!?" His words came out harsh, causing the peach haired male to flinch.

Yeosang's gaze quick moved back to his monitor, almost unsure for a moment due to the leader's sudden outburst.

"What are you talking about!? Of course I did! Look!" He swung his laptop toward the group, showing the intricate screens, all overlapping one another. Tabs upon tabs of coding were strewn about the computer, the topmost tab, in bright red capital letters, reading; ALL SECURITY PROTOCOLS DISABLED.

Hongjoong paused, trying to make sense of it all.

"Then explain to me how in the hell Yunho tripped an alarm when he cracked the safe? If you REALLY disabled everything that shouldn't have happened, should it Yeosang!?" Mingi growled, racing forward and grabbing him up by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off of his feet. "Want to enlighten us hmm?"

"Mingi let him go." Hongjoong spoke once more, still utterly baffled.

Yeosang gulped as the tall male hesitantly released him, feeling his feet touch down gently to the ground.

"FOR FUCK SAKES SAN GOT SHOT! HE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" Mingi paused after his sudden outburst, chest heaving hard as he tried to calm his nerves.

"Yeosang, we got in just fine, but Yunho tripped some alarm when he opened the safe and a hoard of gun toting men came flying out of nowhere and opened fire." He tried to remain cool as he explained the situation, eyes landing on Wooyoung whom was now helping to remove San's jacket and shirt, and Seonghwa whom was prepping some alcohol swabs to gently clean San's wound with.

"Ok, so how the heck did San even get shot? Jongho alone should have seen to that not happening." Seonghwa now was curious, asking while eyeing up the nice hole San had in the center of his shoulder.

"Maybe we should do this on the gurney. I'd hate to get that much blood on the couch." He frowned, rising from his seat and wheeling over a gurney. Wooyoung followed suit, helping San gingerly move to sit on the side of it.

Jongho grumbled at Seonghwa's sudden question, a sudden sadness flickering in his eyes. "Well, I was helping them, but I got blindsided by some punk in the shadows and he nailed me in the back of the head with the butt of his gun." He paused, reaching up to gently rub the spot, wincing a little as he did so.

"Hurt like hell, and needless to say dazed me. You try getting hit hard in the back of the head while trying to avoid gunfire and tell me how that would work out." The others could see on his face he wasn't proud of the fact he got knocked around. "Trust me it's not like rock paper scissors with a squeaky hammer and a pan at all." He moved to lean against the wall, hands shoving themselves into his pockets.

"I know I disabled everything. There's no plausible explanation for that alarm." Yeosang's mind was spinning a mile a minute, trying to figure out where he could have went wrong. His hands ran back to the laptop, clicking as fast as he could. "I just reran the software. It's showing all protocols disabled. I don't...I don't understand. I'm not seeing any advanced firewalls or hidden files either." His brow furrowed, head now buried in his computer.

"Did you end up salvaging anything?" Seonghwa asked, though he didn't really want to. His attention turned back to San as he waited for the answer.

"Well, looks like the bullet went through and through." He looked down at his brother with a reassuring smile. "You're lucky I don't have to cut the bullet out of you. We just need to stitch you up and stop the bleeding. Though...I'm not sure how much use you'll have of that arm until the wound heals."

Wooyoung reached over to take San's hand, giving it a soft, comforting squeeze.

"That doesn't matter..." Hongjoong took the floor again, feeling all eyes on him. "We're empty handed yes, but we're all alive. That's all that matters to me."

"I still can't believe you drove the whole way here with a gunshot wound to your shoulder." The silver haired male spoke through a weak smile, praising his partner. "You're amazing Sannie."

San tried to grin, but the sudden feeling of Seonghwa's needle entering his skin made him bite his lip, hard.

"Oh please, you deserve credit too. I mean tossing a huge wad of bills on the ground and lighting them on fire as a diversion was brilliant." Yunho praised from his seat, holding a cloth to his bloodied lip.

Wooyoung grinned, pulling out his lighter with his free hand and clicking it. "Haha yeah, but I just got lucky Mingi happened to have his flask on him. Alcohol is one hell of an accelerant." He teased, watching the flame of his lighter sway gently.

"You owe me a bottle of whiskey for that!" Mingi chimed in, the smile returning to his face as he watched Wooyoung pull out a cigarette and light up, before stuffing his lighter back in his pocket.

Seonghwa had finally finished patching San back up, placing some gauze over both sides of his shoulder, taping them down and then wrapping it up with an ACE bandage to keep it clean and dry.

"Alright San that should do it. Just...take it easy for me for a while ok? If you need pain meds I have plenty here." He placed a hand on his shoulder gently, before moving back to clean up his mess.

"Thanks hyung, I owe you, but the words Choi San, and take it easy are never seen in the same sentence." His soft laughter filled the air, only to be stifled by the sudden pain he'd forced upon himself by laughing too hard.

He stood up from the side of the gurney, taking his usual spot sitting on the arm of the couch once more. "I have to make the gang money the only way I know how...with my racing skills." San grabbed up his jacket and slung it over his bare shoulders, just to cover his arms.

"Listen, we all should call it a bust, and call it a night. I know that ordeal was rough, but we should just take our losses and keep moving." Hongjoong had sprung back into his leader demeanor, looking each one of his brothers in the eye. "We're tired and weakened, there's no point in trying to continue anything in this state."

No one dared argue that point with him.

Yeosang looked up from his computer, eyes in a daze from staring at the screen for so long. "I'll go make us some tteokbokki and ramen." He stood up, his legs even feeling numb from the immense amount of work he'd been doing. "Oh and a steak for Seonghwa." He shot the blonde a wink before heading off to the kitchen.

The remaining group began to spread out about the bunker without another word. Wooyoung headed out towards the small balcony to smoke, San lingering behind him, the pair passing the cigarette to each other between puffs. Jongho took off toward the direction of the room they designated as a gym, wanting to punch out his aggression a little on the makeshift punching bag Yunho had crafted out of a couple of sandbags he stole tied to the ceiling with heavy rope.

Yunho took his duffle that was dragged in of their weaponry off to the storage room, dropping it off before heading toward the direction of his room. Seonghwa was too focused in cleaning his tools now to pay attention to the fact that Hongjoong and Mingi were the only two left in the room.

The leader shot the tall dark haired male a look, starting to take his leave. Though Mingi noticed, just as he had passed Seonghwa, he shot him a tiny little signal. He had grabbed his coat, sticking all of his fingers under it, except his pointer and his pinky, those two sitting gracefully ontop of the soft fabric. Mingi knew that sign well, after all it was a signal only meant for him, and it meant Hongjoong wanted to speak to him privately.

Mingi shot Seonghwa a quick wave, making off for the direction of his room, but as he rounded the bend, his hand dipped into his pocket, pulling out the secret cellphone he kept on his person. On it already was a text from the leader, just as he figured:

Hongjoong: We have a serious problem on our hands Mingi, something that could jeopardize everything we have.

Chapter Text

Mingi rounded the bend, still trying to make sense of the leader's sudden text message. Nothing about it made any semblance of sense, and it was eating away at him slowly.

"Something that could jeopardize everything we have..."

Those words played in his head over and over, gears clicking in an attempt to decipher what that could possibly mean. The sudden grip of a hand on his leather jacket was enough to snap him from his thought process, tugging him hard into the room just to the left, the click of the door lock quickly following behind. "Yunho do you really have to be so...sneaky?" He chuckled, hand reaching up to ruffle through his bangs. The ebony haired male grinned sweetly, walking over and plopping himself down on his bed.

"Sorry, I just didn't want Jongho seeing. You know how he gets when he sees you coming into my room." He shoots Mingi a shitty little wink as if to say 'you know exactly why he gets that way'. The taller male pauses to ponder the thought, slinking into the chaise opposite Yunho's bed.

He did have a very valid point though. Jongho, while usually being a softie, seemed to have a strong distaste for the pairing. Mingi was unsure whether it stemmed of jealousy or because they reminded the maknae of times long past, but either way, it seemed to leave him with a bitter taste in his mouth that he made sure everyone was well aware of.

He pushed the thought aside, gaze moving to meet Yunho's, now laying on his side, head propped up on his right arm.

"How's your lip?" The words came almost too seamlessly from Mingi, as he stared at the dark, bruised spot that remained on Yunho's slightly puffy skin. It looked rather painful, but he seemed unphased at least.

"A bit swollen, and rather sore, but I'll live. Why, did you want to kiss it and make it all better?" The tease was followed by a cute little wink, as Yunho rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. Mingi felt his cheeks warm just so, but quick brushed it off, hand lingering on the phone in his pocket.

"As if." He scoffed, propping his long legs up on the table nearby. Yunho's brow furrowed a little at the sudden sharpness in his tone, rolling over to his stomach and frowning. He didn't like it in the least. His heart gave a lurch in his chest as he eyed up the male, trying to read him. He could sense the indifference hovering now in the air, and a soft sigh passed his lips.

"Mingi..." Slowly, Yunho rose from his bed, making his way over to him, leaning down and placing his head against Mingi's. He could feel the shudder of the latter's body against his own, that tension from earlier still lingering in the tattoo artist.

"I could have lost you..." Mingi's voice wavered, his dark eyes moving to stare at the random flecks of gold woven in the carpet beneath his feet. He was supposed to be the strong one, but that thought, it made him feel so...helpless. The thought of Yunho not being around was almost too much for him to bear.

"You didn't though." He reaffirmed, giving his shoulder a soft squeeze. "Don't be so damn hard on yourself. You're not weak just because your heart feels so heavy." The peck on the forehead that followed eased Mingi's mind a little. That was the kicker with Yunho; no matter what, he could make Mingi smile.

The ebony haired male stepped back, turning on heel and heading for the doorway. "I'll be right back though." He paused as he spoke the words, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small stiletto dagger. "I forgot to put this back in the weapons closet. Heh, heaven forbid something happen to good ol' Snape here." Mingi chuckled at the comment, shaking his head at Yunho's blatant Harry Potter reference.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Well....for starters, don't get in my way when I'm trying to cover your ass next time. And you wonder why you have a banged up knee and some bruised ribs right now." He opened the door, grumbling to himself as he made his exit with flair.

"If you would have just let me do my job we both would have been fine, but nooo Song Mingi has to try and play the white night card, like always." He watched as Yunho dissappeared, feeling his pocket vibrate once again. Quick fishing in his pocket, he was greeted once again by another text:

Hongjoong: Are you even paying attention to what I'm telling you!? 

Mingi:Yes geezus! Yunho pulled me into his room a minute. Relax will you? 

Hongjoong: Relaxing is vulnerability. I can't afford to let my guard down

Mingi: You can't afford...Hongjoong what are you talking about? You're making no sense whatsoever.

Hongjoong: That backfire in the heist wasn't coincidental. There is no explanation That would make any semblance of sense, expect one.

Mingi: Hongjoong...

Hongjoong: I don't like it either Mingi, but let's face facts here, it was an inside job. They all had their orders. We went over everything with a fine tooth comb, multiple times. Someone...someone went AWOL from the plan.

Mingi: We're a team, none of them would put the group in harm's way like that. 

Hongjoong: My instincts never lie. 

The click of the door forced Mingi to shove the phone back into his pocket, but this time it wasn't Yunho entering the room. "The tteokbokki is ready." Seonghwa murmured, a rather sheepish look on his face as he leaned in the doorway. "I uh...thought you were Yunho, sorry." The blonde's shoulders shrugged, Mingi immediately standing up to follow him out the door.

"He went to the weapons closet a moment. Did you want me to go fetch him for you?" Mingi offered now, trying to ease some of the awkwardness in the situation. He shook his head, rounding the bend toward the kitchen.

"Nah it's fine. He'll make his way to the kitchen eventually." Hongjoong's words lingered in Mingi's head a little as he trailed beside Seonghwa. How could any of them have been behind the bad heist? They were a family.

He watched as San and Wooyoung leaned casually on the outside deck railing, smiling happily at one another as they smoked, and watched as Jongho entered the main room from the gym, looking a little less stressed as well, wiping some sweat from his brow. No, he refused to believe the leader's sudden implication.

Yeosang made his way over to the table, hands full of a large tray worth of deliciously smelling foods, setting it down carefully, an accomplished grin twitching across his lips.

"HEY GUYS CHOW TIME!" His chocolatey voice boomed in the silence, snapping Mingi once again from the hurricane of thoughts swirling in his mind. Yunho's adorable laugh followed shortly after, the dark haired male pointing outside.

"I think those two already started eating!" He teased. San and Wooyoung were locked in a tender kiss, completely oblivious to the japing they were receiving inside.

Hongjoong now had entered, and seeing the group laughing, walked up to the glass door and gave a gentle pound with his fist. It was enough to startle the pair, both jumping away from each other, flushes of embarrassment washing over their faces as they came inside.

"It's not funny!" San growled, shooting a death glare in Yunho's direction. "You are all such assholes." Without another word, he slunk down into a chair at the table, grabbing up his chopsticks and helping himself to the food without another word. Wooyoung ruffled his silver hair, giving Jongho a tiny shove.

"What was that Wooyoung? A make up kiss maybe? Or did you forget you're ticked off at San for stealing your favorite honey butter chips?" Yeosang smirked, a sudden snarkiness in his tone, taking his own seat at the table.

"Enough guys, leave them alone." Hongjoong finally spoke up, defending the pair like the good leader he was. "Just enjoy the meal and turn in for the night, and I mean in your OWN bedrooms for once." His eyes rolled at that statement as he took the seat beside Seonghwa, whom was digging into the steak that was made just for him. The blonde shot him a worried glance, reaching into his pocket and pulling out four small red pills, setting them beside the leader's glass.

"For your headache. Joong I can see the pain all over your face. Take them...please, it will help." His voice came out soft and concerned, hand reaching over and patting the top of the leader's. Hongjoong remained stonefaced, shaking his head no as he dug in.

"Oh and Mingi..." His hand removed itself from atop Hongjoong's, gaze now focused on the tall male now sitting across from him. "Before you turn in tonight, I want to examine your ribs. Jongho mentioned in passing that you got kicked pretty hard in the chest, and I'd feel better knowing you aren't going to bed and accidentally puncturing your lung."

"Sure thing." Mingi's eyes darted over to catch Hongjoong's gaze, the leader kneading against his forehead, chopsticks twirling a little bit of rice around his plate. It was rather evident that he was far from alright at this point, and Seonghwa taking notice did him no favors. He was trying so hard to be strong, to not show that weakness or vunerability that wavered behind those dark eyes of his.

To Mingi though, it felt like the man across the table was a totally different Joong entirely. Only he could see it, the others were so lost in their chatter, they had no idea the inner turmoil that was brewing inside him. How could they know? That alone, was enough to make him torn. He wasn't sure who or what to believe in now; his leader, or the only family he'd ever had.

Hongjoong: An honest enemy is better than a false friend...

Chapter Text

The next morning had swung by in a flash, the warmth of the sun's rays shining through the window, landing on Mingi. He shuffled a little under the covers, feeling a tightness on his chest.

His eyes fluttered opened, and he went to stretch, only to feel more movement against him. Eyes finally shaking themselves into focus, he sighed softly, looking at the dark mess that was the top of Yunho's head, rested on top of his bare chest. "Hongjoong is going to kill me." He muttered softly to himself, finally managing to wrestle an arm free of the other male's grasp.

Mingi could still feel his ribs cracking as he took soft breaths, but it wasn't as bothersome as the night prior. Seonghwa had seen to it and wrapped his ribs tight with ACE wrap and it was relieving some of the pain, well a little anyways. The fact Yunho was basically half on top of him wasn't doing him favors though.

Grumbling under his breath, Mingi reached down, hand ruffling through Yunho's hair, giving him a gentle push with the other hand. "Yunho-ah...Yunho...wake up would you?" His drowsy, deep, half awake voice called out, getting more impatient by the second. The dark haired male stirred, eyes opening and looking up at Mingi, a cute grin twisting across his lips.

"Well good morning my sleepy sunfish. Did you get enough rest?" Yunho's voice came out in a sweet coo, hand reaching up to caress at Mingi's cheek. Mingi quickly took his hand, giving it a soft squeeze.

"You need to get out of here before anyone sees. For all we know though, Yeosang could have already happened past your room and noticed you weren't there." Yunho giggled, shaking his head a little at the sudden remark.

"I shut the door when I snuck out last night. Yeosang knows to leave me be when the door is shut. Just let me cuddle with you a little longer please?" His plea was hard for Mingi to deny, especially with bits of his ebony hair sticking up here and there on his head, and the pout now forming on his lips. Mingi though knew that he shouldn't tempt his luck much longer.

"Yunho please. I don't want you to get in trouble over me." He started out soft, still running his hand through his hair. "Later on we can cuddle all you want ok? Just give me some time to calm Hongjoong down a bit so he's not so...strict."

Yunho merely nodded, rising from his comfortable spot with him, making sure to cover Mingi back up with the covers. He paused a moment, leaning over the tall male with a weak smile, before leaning down and placing one featherlight kiss on his lips, pressing his forehead to Mingi's.

"You promise?" How could he possibly say no to such a soft question? He flashed Yunho a sweet grin, reaching up to cup his chin, closing the gap once more and pressing his lips to Yunho's.

Mingi always loved the taste of those lips. They were sweet, like berries, freshly picked from a branch drenched in warm sunlight, so plump and juicy. A soft sigh slipped through Mingi's mouth as he pulled away, finger still tracing the profile of Yunho's jaw.

"I promise, now go." Yunho smiled, releasing himself from Mingi, turning to head out of the room. He couldn't help but notice his butt in the pale blue pair of boxers he was wearing, and that gorgeous, spiraling dragon, on the back of his shoulder, with one scale subtly tattooed in the shape of a heart, the one he inked onto Yunho himself. The permanent mark of their love story. He couldn't help but grin as he watched him leave, feeling an overwhelming sense of warmth fill him as he thought back to that night.

~~~

"Come on in!" Mingi had called out from his room, while sterilizing his tattoo needle.

In walked Yunho, with a slightly nervous look plastered all over his face. The color had faded from his skin as he hesitantly entered, closing the door behind him and standing just at the door frame.

"Are you...alright?" Mingi finally dared to ask, gaze lifting from his equipment up to the dark haired male. Yunho shuddered at his words, reaching up to ruffle the hair on the back of his head.

"I uh..am not the biggest fan of needles to be honest." He stammered, his eyes moving from Mingi's to the floor. He could hear the soft chuckle escaping Mingi's lips as he had said it, and that only made him more nervous.

"Hey relax a little ok? I kind of figured that's what the issue was. That's why I requested you go last for this." Mingi started, patting the side of his bed for Yunho to sit on. "Come, sit, let's talk a minute." His words were reaffirming and soft, and Yunho obliged, taking a seat.

"Hongjoong expects all of us to get this tattoo, and I don't want to disappoint him but..." Yunho's voice slowly trailed into nothingness at the thought.

"I'll make this as easy as possible for you alright? I decided the best place to give you this tattoo is going to be the back of your shoulder. It won't hurt as much, and I think you'll be a lot less antsy if you don't have to look at the needle, does that sound good to you?"

Yunho merely nodded, eyes still flickering softly with reservation.

"Alright, take off your shirt and lay down on your stomach on the bed then." Mingi watched as he followed the order, shrugging off the grey shirt that hung so loosely off of him. Now, he was staring at Yunho's bare chest, and he couldn't help but hide his blush. He was fit, but not too fit. There was a small amount of tone in his muscles, but it was very delicate. Nothing like Wooyoung, whom was lean and defined, much to San's liking. No, Yunho...he was perfect in Mingi's eyes.

Yunho laid down on the bed, close to the edge, letting his hands come to rest under his chin.

"Is this ok?" Yunho's question snapped Mingi from his thoughts, nodding in response, before quickly coming to the realization Yunho wouldn't be able to see it.

"Yeah that's perfect. Now I'm going to quickly disinfect your skin and apply the stencil. It'll just be a little cold." The air was suddenly silent, all except the sound of Mingi opening an alcohol swab. He took a seat at the side of the bed, leaning down to swirl the wipe over the back of Yunho's shoulder. He felt the sudden tension in his muscles, and frowned a little, tossing the wipe in the bin. "Yunho...I promise you I won't hurt you." His hand gently patted Yunho's soft skin, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

"Do you trust me?" He was afraid to even ask him such a question, but it needed to be posed. Yunho's muscles loosened underneath Mingi's touch, as he turned over, now laying on his back, staring straight up at him with an expression that was hard to read. It was somewhere between contemplative and knowing, his brow slightly furrowed as he moved his hands once again behind his head.

"You always ask me that. Why?" The question threw Mingi for a loop. Why did he ask that? Blinking a moment, he opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off. "I mean think back, you asked me that exact question right before you brought me into this gang. Or do you forget you're the one whom suggested to Hongjoong I join?"

"I didn't forget..." Mingi stammered now, stumbling over what to say. "You're my closest friend Yunho, and I only want what's best for you, even if it doesn't really seem like it at the moment. I want you to be happy." The pounding in his chest had only quickened as he spoke, setting the stencil back down on the side table. Yunho's lips twitched into a weak smile, shaking his head, dark bangs swaying in his eyes a little.

"Be all in, or get all out. There is no in between or halfway." Those words hit Mingi like a lead brick. This whole time all he'd ever wanted was to help Yunho, to keep him close, and keep him safe. That was the whole reason for bringing him into the gang, to give him a better life, or die trying. Mingi knew the gang life wasn't the best, but at least they had a shot, some minuscule bit of a chance to live the life they deserved, the life Yunho deserved, free of all the hurt, and stress he'd been living with for oh so long.

His hand had since found its place now atop Yunho's chest, even though he didn't remember how it got there. In the silence, Mingi could feel it, Yunho's heart, beating just as fast as his was. Feeling his face warm, he leaned down a smidge more, hand moving from it's spot on his chest to cup his cheek.

"Then please...trust me one more time." The words slipped from Mingi's lips like fine wine, and before he knew it, he could feel the entire room fall away, his lips pressed tight to Yunho's.

He didn't have a care anymore. Yunho's words rang true; Mingi was all in. He just hoped Yunho was too. Yunho didn't seem to fight it, rather he was frozen a moment, trying to shake the sudden shock from his body, and that caused Mingi to pause, pulling himself from the dark haired male, even though he really didn't want to. "I...I'm sorry...I-" Yunho's pointer finger reached up, pressing to his lips, still silent.

"Shhh...don't apologize. I've always trusted you." His finger moved from Mingi's lips, hand moving to the back of his head, licking his own lips a little. A wide grin crossed his face as he pulled him back down into him. His lips were barely brushing against Mingi's now as he murmured; "I just need you to trust me too," closing the rest of the gap with a sigh.

Mingi's heart kept missing beats, and his hands couldn't seem to bring Yunho close enough to him at this point. He'd kissed before, but he'd never been so lost in a kiss as he was in this one. He'd finally tasted Yunho and he realized, he'd been starving for such a long time.

~~~

The soft buzz of his tattoo needle piercing Yunho's skin after that moment of euphoria played through Mingi's mind, the grin that had unknowingly taken across his lips widening just at the thought of it.

"Wait..." The buzzing in his mind was a little too loud for comfort, and that made him jolt out of his daydream the rest of the way. He shook his head, trying to alleviate the sudden drowsiness from his mind, that buzzing just continuing to grate at his head. Groaning, he turned to his side, and when his ear hit the pillow, he realized it wasn't him daydreaming of tattooing Yunho, but once again, it was his phone:

Hongjoong: Today we get down to business.

Hongjoong: Every jungle has a snake, and it's about time we cut the head off of ours.

Hongjoong: I have a plan to lure out the traitor, but I need your help.

Hongjoong: Mingi, you're the only one I trust. Remember that, and just play along with everything I say today, ok?

Mingi: You don't even need to ask, I've got you.

"EVERYONE LISTEN UP! FAMILY MEETING IN THE LIVING ROOM....NOW!" Hongjoong's voice suddenly boomed through the silence, piercing the calm of the air.

Mingi jumped up from his bed, sliding on a pair of black jeans, and his favorite black hoodie, quick fixing his hair and following the sudden command. He exited the room, to be met by Wooyoung, whom was doing the same from his room, which was opposite Mingi's. He shot the tall male a concerned gaze and turned toward the living room.

"What do you think this meeting is about?" Wooyoung finally mustered up the strength to question, hands digging into the pockets of his white jacket with the grey fur at the neckline. Mingi shrugged, pulling his hood up over his head.

"Who knows? Hongjoong is unpredictable. We all know this." Reaching over, he quick patted the silver haired male's shoulder. "Don't worry too much, I'm sure whatever it is, it will be fine." Wooyoung seemed a little relieved at his reassurance, giving him a weak grin as they reached the main room.

Seonghwa was helping Jongho hand out coffees and teas, a large fruit platter sitting on the center table, with bagels and jams set beside it.

"Hey you aren't going to attack those apples are you Jongho?" San teased from his spot, buried in the corner of the L shaped couch, hands cupped around a mug of oolong tea.

Yeosang growled in annoyance of the question, rubbing hard at his temples. His hair was stuck up in places on his head, and he looked as if he hardly slept at all.

"Hwa, if you don't want me reaching over this couch and slugging San into next week, I suggest you hurry up and give me my americano." Wooyoung quick jumped in between the pair, almost leaning into San's lap, laying his head on his shoulder, as Seonghwa handed Yeosang his coffee.

"Geez Yeosang ease up a little." Mingi paused at the sound of Yunho's voice, feeling him tug gently at his hoodie and pull him over the smaller couch to sit with him.

"It's not his fault Yunho." Seonghwa interjected now, sitting beside Yeosang and sipping from his Earl Grey tea. "Caffeine is a drug too, and it's very addictive. Withdrawal symptoms are very harsh with it. Besides we all know not to bother him unless he's had at least one cup."

Yeosang had already swigged at his coffee, and hearing Seonghwa speak, his expression softened into a grateful one. "Also, he didn't sleep well at all last night, so cut him a little slack."

"And how exactly do you know that?" At that moment, Hongjoong had entered the room. Seonghwa jumped back up to his feet, setting his cup down and grabbing up a coffee, making his way over to the leader and offering it to him. Hongjoong took it, giving the blonde an angry glare, taking a seat in the lone recliner at the head of the room.

"I know because he told me, how else would I have known?" He explained, an almost terrified look washing over him. Hongjoong's nostril's flared at the remark, his feet coming to rest on the table, just below the food.

"You know damn well how else you'd know Seonghwa." He hissed, before pausing to take a sip of his drink. Seonghwa slowly took his seat once more, the room still deadly silent. Mingi could feel Yunho shaking slightly beside him, and placed a hand on his lap to calm him.

Hongjoong peered up from his cup, shaking his head, before speaking once more. "Fine then. You're probably wondering why I've gathered everyone here." As he spoke, the room was on bated breath. "We don't need to revisit what happened last night, we need to move forward. That being said, I've decided that our best course of action will be to split everyone into groups of two for the day. Each group will be given a set task to fill, by nightfall. Does that sound alright?"

The entire room merely nodded, afraid to speak up. "Good good. So here are the teams. San, you and Seonghwa are going to spend the day doing drug runs to make up for our lost finances."

"Hongjoong, San is in no condition to..." Wooyoung tried to interject, but was met with daggers and quick swallowed back his words.

"Wooyoung, you and Yeosang will stay here, and go over all the footage from last night. We need to make sure that we can't be tied to that heist. We don't need them tracing us back here." His gaze now turned to Mingi and Yunho, sitting together. "You two, you're on recon. Go back to Panacea Financials and see how bad the hit was for them. See if they're actively trying to find us." Mingi nodded, remembering what Hongjoong had just texted him.

"Lastly..." His gaze finally landed on Jongho, and he rose from his chair as he eyed him up and down. "Jongho, come." He turned on heel and started out of the room, leaving not another word or order.

Chapter Text

The air was cool and Jongho blinked in utter confusion as Hongjoong exited the living room. After a moment more of silence, Seonghwa cleared his throat, rising from his spot on the couch. “We'd better not dally here. He seemed rather...set on this stuff getting finished.” The blonde ruffled a hand through his bangs before offering San a hand up to his feet.

“Point well taken…” Jongho added, a sudden hesitation in his tone which was peculiar for him. The maknae wasn't afraid of anything, but Hongjoong, he seemed to have shaken him, even if only a wee bit. He headed toward the direction of where the leader went, pausing a moment to turn his head back to the rest of the group. “Yeosang, Wooyoung, if you don't run into me in a few hours, send help alright?” He chuckled, teasing the group before giving them a wave and heading off again.

“Sannie, please be careful out there.” Wooyoung had called now from beside him, placing a hand on his arm. San patted his hand with his free one, leaning over a little so his head could rest against Wooyoung's.

“I will. I'm not planning on taking the motorcycle this time. I'm just going to drive the Tesla.” His gaze moved back to his new partner, pulling Wooyoung from him, which was more or less like yanking a sticker from paper, and making his way over to him.

“Do you have the goods, or do you need a minute to prepare?” Seonghwa quick rushed to his cabinet, taking a duffle and quick filling it with copious amounts of narcotics, zipping it up and tossing it effortlessly over his shoulder.

“Ready to go when you are.” Mingi now jumped up, scooping Yunho's hand in his and following behind the pair. “We'll follow you out. Yunho, why don't we take the 911?” Yunho's eyes lit up at the thought of getting to ride in it again. He loved the speed that car gave off. Seonghwa chuckled, shaking his head at Yuho's sudden excitement as they headed toward San's garage.

“Ooo can I drive!?” He cooed, bouncing up and down with a childlike glee.

“Yunho you know the rules. I don't let anyone drive the Porsche but me. You can drive the Corvette though.” San raised a brow at the conversation, shaking his head.

“Mingi is partial to a car? I thought I'd never see the day.” He shot the taller male a smirk as he made his way over to the shiny black Tesla with the dark red racing stripe, opening the passenger side door for Seonghwa. “You guys be careful alright? I want you back in one piece.” His eyes were suddenly were more serious and honest as he leaned against the open driver side door.

Yunho nodded, shooting the pair a finger heart. “You guys too. If you need anything, let us know and we'll come running.” There was a mutual understanding between the four as they all entered their respective cars and took off. Though back in the hideout, unbeknownst to them, things were only about to get more tense.

Yeosang had pulled Wooyoung over into the main room, to the impressive setup in the corner. Three large computer monitors sat on a medium sized table, along with a custom keyboard and mouse. They were both black, and customized so that the keys and the trim of the mouse glowed. Yeosang loved every bit of it. It was currently set to glow red, and he grinned, pulling up a second chair for Wooyoung to join him.

His fingers gracefully grazed the keys, getting into focus as he quickly typed in his login info. “Alright, first thing is first, getting in to the buildings database and erasing any trace of my hacking. While I'm in there, I can access up the camera footage and pull that over to our private server, just in case Hongjoong needs to go over that again.” He explained, setting down his coffee beside him and getting right into it.

Wooyoung sighed, leaning in, resting his head gracefully on his hand. “I don't get why Hongjoong needed me to help you with this. I'm hardly computer savvy.” He griped, eyes trying to follow what was happening on the screen closest to him.

Yeosang paused briefly, turning in his chair to face the silver haired male. “You don't need to be computer savvy Woo. I'm going to pull up a tab for you to go over. All I need you to do is read through and if you see any data that relates to us, let me know. I'll handle the software, you just lend me your eyes.” He shot him a reassuring glance, patting the top of his head and quickly moving a window to the screen for him to look at.

“After we get done with this, I can firewall their system so that even if they try and look up the Onyx Eight, it'll send a virus to their computers.” The mention of fire was just enough to excite Wooyoung, and he grabbed the spare mouse, starting to scroll.

Yeosang's gaze softened a little, watching Wooyoung work. He knew this wasn't his cup of tea at all, but he was honestly grateful for the extra help. “Hey, do you want me to play some music while we work?” That felt like it was the least he could do, make the task less insufferable for him.

Wooyoung peered up from his screen with a weak smile, moving his bangs from his eyes. “I'd...I'd like that a lot. Thank you...”

Yeosang nodded, clicking another tab on his own screen and pulling up Wooyoung's Spotify playlist. The first song started through the speakers, and Yeosang's eyes widened a little. He recognized the voice singing gently:

This is how I feel about you Twilight.

It's like Twilight yeah…

Oh baby I just wanna see that Twilight, Wanna see that with you…

He watched as Wooyoung’s whole body had relaxed at San's singing. His eyes twinkled and the lines of his face softened, like the light from a half opened door. Yeosang never knew exactly how deep the bond Wooyoung and San had ran, but now he could see it, clear as day. It made his own heart flutter a wee bit in his chest. If they could have that kind of closeness, then maybe, maybe he could have that with him too.

Jongho meanwhile, had rounded the bend, seeing the back of Hongjoong's head as he entered their makeshift gym. He quickly followed, shutting the door behind him and stepping inside. “Good good, come in.” The sudden sound of his voice made Jongho flinch a moment, but he obeyed, meeting the leader, who was standing in the middle of the room.

“Are you going to explain to me why we're in here or what?” Jongho finally asked, a little bite in his tone, ruffling a hand through his bangs.

Hongjoong's gaze suddenly turned cold as he took two steps toward the maknae, eyeing him up and down, head cocked to the side just so. “Fight me.” The words slipped through his lips almost too effortlessly, causing Jongho to pause.

That kind of request had thrown Jongho, and hard. His head shook almost without willing it himself, stuffing his hands deep in his dark jeans.“You really think I'm going to do that? Why? What purpose would me attacking you accompli-”

“Did I stutter!?” His voice boomed and his eyes narrowed, hands slowly curling into fists.“I'll say it one more time, slowly, so your childlike brain can comprehend better. I-want-you-to-raise-your-fists-and-face-me.”

Jongho growled at the sudden jab, foot now tapping at the floor.“You're insane.” His eyes rolled and he spun on heel, turning toward the door once more. “If you think for one second I'm going to follow that order, then you don't know me at all.”

“Maturity comes when you stop making excuses Jongho, you need to learn that lesson and fast.” He spat, taking another step toward the black haired male. “Maybe you'll just have to come to that realization the hard way.”

“Why are you doing this?” Jonho whined, shaking his head. “It's pointless, you're wasting your time here Hongjoong.” His shoulders shuddered a moment, but he refused to turn back around to face the leader. “I get that you're stressed out, and you're hurt, but this, this won't solve a damn thing and you know it.”

“Oh Jongho, sweetie, there's always a meaning to my madness.” The deep contrast between the sickeningly sweet tone of his voice, mixed with such a deep bite underlying it made the floor spin beneath Jongho’s feet.

“Problem is, my strongest ally doesn't know when to grow a pair, man the hell up and do as told.” Hongjoong now shook his head, though Jongho wouldn't see it. Hongjoong could see the subtle outline of his hands curling into fists in his pockets. He knew he was poking at a bear, and he didn't care. He just wanted to sit back and watch as he snapped, and the mauling started.

“You don't get to speak this way to me! I've done EVERYTHING in my power to help you. All of my life is dedicated to the Onyx Eight, to this gang, and for you to stand there and…” He paused a moment, feeling his blood starting to boil as his voice rose. “....talk down to me like this….that's a low blow, and you know it.”

"Clearly though Jongho, you don't know how to follow orders. I've done nothing but give you a simple task, and yet you STILL refuse to disobey me, to disobey your leader. How does that show your loyalty hmm? It doesn't. It just shows me that loyalty is only skin deep.” Jongho growled, stepping further toward the door, eyes rolling at his comment.

“I'm out of here. I don't need this. I don't deserve to be treated this way. Why don't you come find me when you finally get the stick out of your ass?” He reached for the door, hand white knuckling the handle.

“It’s rather ironic, you're leaving this time, when it's always others leaving you....” Those words burned like fire in Jongho's chest. Hongjoong, he knew exactly how to get under his skin, and he despised it. A malicious cackle filled the air as Jongho's hand lingered on the doorknob.

“Oh Jongho, I should have dropped you like a lead brick a long time ago...” There was a sudden pause of dead silence for a moment, the leader's lips contorting into a malicious smirk. “just like Yeosang did…” Hongjoong's tongue was sharp as a knife, and his words took that blade and jabbed it deep into the maknae's chest.

Jongho instantly swung around on his heel, taking four huge striding steps toward the leader, grabbing him up by the collar of his jacket.

“YOU GET YEOSANG’S NAME OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MOUTH RIGHT NOW!” His voice was so loud, it echoed against the walls, the pure rage in his tone and on his face loud and clear.

Chapter Text

The ride back from their deal was thus far a silent one for San and Seonghwa. San was almost hyper focused on the road, hand tight on the wheel. Something had been eating at him since the morning, and he couldn't seem to shake the thought swimming around in his mind. Without Wooyoung not around to be his rock, this only exacerbated his perception of things. Turning toward a back road, his nails tapped at the wheel, and his head shook, trying to move the bangs out of his face.

Seonghwa kept constant watch, not wanting him to injure himself any further than he already had been. A soft frown twitched across his lips as he observed the stress flying across San’s face as he drove.

Usually, driving was one of the few things that was relaxing for San, but now, it only seemed to bring him tension. Seonghwa could see it, in the way he gripped the wheel, the way his muscles were tensed and closed off, and in the way his eyes were dim. “San ar-”

“Seonghwa, can I ask you something?” San's voice came suddenly, cutting through Seonghwa's soft murmur. They'd since come to a stop at a red light. The blonde blinked a second, trying to recollect himself enough to respond.

“Of course you can. What's on your mind?” His tone quickly grew reassuring as he reached over to pat San’s shoulder. A sigh slipped delicately from San's lips, and he looked down at the wheel for a brief second, before his gaze moved back to meet Seonghwa's.

“Do...you think Hongjoong has been...off recently?” It was as if he almost couldn't bring himself to ask, but he needed to know. He needed to figure out if he was going crazy, or if someone else noticed it too. His hand moved from the wheel, raking through his hair. “It's like...something changed in him, and now...he’s...unstable.”

“You mean over the past few days right? No, I've noticed too. He's been rather irritable. He snapped at Yeosang and I when we were preparing breakfast this morning…” His eyes closed, and he spoke once more. “Stop feeding the snake around your neck...it will one day grow strong enough to strangle you…”

“How can we keep this up? I'm tired of walking on eggshells around him. We can't function as a team if he's going to undermine us at every turn Seonghwa, you know this as well as I do.” Foot hitting the gas, he continued their trek, trying to keep his mind off those thoughts, and on the drug run.

“San just breathe ok? When things get rough, what do I always tell Yeosang? You remember right?” The calm, soothing tone of Seonghwa's voice breathed, now rather close to his ear.

“When things get tough, tie a knot in them and hang on.” San chuckled, feeling a wee bit better. “Sorry, I'm not Yeosang though, I don't think that's going to work here. Thank you though…” He paused to look over at the blonde a moment. “....for listening to me.”

“Anyti-”

“Hold that thought!” San interrupted, cutting Seonghwa off. “Do you see that?” His gaze was now on his rearview, a wavering look in his eyes. The sudden, brief shine of bright lights cut into both of their eyes, answering San's question for him. Seonghwa flinched, his eyes closing so as not to impair his vision.

“Headlights...San, this is a back road...there shouldn't be anyone here…” His voice faltered a moment as his eyes snapped back open, trying to assess the situation.

San growled, turning his head now to look behind him. The lights hit his face once more, but this time, it was closer, and still inching up on them. “You don't think someone followed us after the deal, do you?” He was racking his brain now at this point, trying to prepare himself.  

“No, we took a side street and besides, those idiots were so blazed they wouldn't be smart enough to-” Metal crunched against metal, a strong collision shaking through the Tesla on San's side. The crimson haired male’s body jerked hard with the impact, Seonghwa reaching over to steady the wheel for him. Quickly correcting himself back to the road, San's eyes grew wide, suddenly aware of what was happening.

“Someone just...someone hit my car!” San was furious, looking at a black van that was inching once again closer to them on the left side. “This isn't good…” His foot floored the gas instinctively, shaking his head. “Hang on Seonghwa, things are about to get dicey…”

Another strong jolt of the car rattled through them, San wincing as his injured shoulder was jostled around by the impact. “Is that...it's a Panacea Financials van….fuck...they know we tried to lift their building….” His voice faltered as he whipped the wheel, trying to slip free of the now constant barrage of the van colliding with them.

“They must not be happy we burned up half their building trying to get into their safe.” Seonghwa groaned, rubbing the back of his neck, now throbbing from San's quick maneuvering. “Drive faster!”

“I'm going as fast as I can, they just won't let up!” It was as if he shook one van, and another one just appeared out of thin air. Every time he'd take a turn, there would be another van closing in. Seonghwa frowned, there had to be a way out. “THEY'RE FUCKING UP MY TESLA!”

“San, listen to me!” A light clicked in Seonghwa's mind as he quickly glanced out the rear window. It was a risky maneuver, but they had to take it. “Slow down.”

“What? Are you insane? We ca-”

“SAN FOR FUCKS SAKE JUST…” Annoyance clear in his tone, his foot moved over, smashing down hard on the brake. The car started to almost tailspin, but San quickly recovered it, coming to a complete stop. The vans that were after them blew past, full speed, not expecting the sudden stop of the Tesla.

“MAKE A U TURN AND GO, HURRY!” San didn't dare argue this time, and whipped the wheel, the car blazing back the opposite direction. His chest heaved with his rapid breaths as he put the pedal to the metal once more.

“Seonghwa that was...genius. I'm sorry I didn't listen…”

“No time, we need to get a hold of Yunho and Mingi, and fast. They're in grave danger.”

~~~

“Or else what Jongho, hmm? What are you going to do about it?” Hongjoong's words came like venom, not one ounce of himself afraid of the man gripping him by the shirt.

Jongho snarled, slamming him once more against the wall, eyes burning like a volcano about to explode. “That’s right, you can't do anything, because all I'm speaking...is the truth. Jongho, when will you realize that pure strength alone will get you nowhere?”

“You shut the hell up! You have no place to speak about him!” Jongho could feel the twitch of his eyelid as he stared down his leader. “You..you don't understand…”

“Oh, but I do. I absolutely do. This, this right here, it's exactly why he left you. You're intense, too intense.” The nasty smirk never left Hongjoong's face, head tilting just so. “You think you can just force a situation to fit your liking, but you can't. You can't just brute force emotion, you can't brute force loyalty either. That my friend, is your weakness. You...you're just too strong. You're so strong you break everything you touch, even your own happiness.”

“OH PLEASE, save your stupid analogies for someone who gives a damn.” The grip on his collar only grew more tight as he spoke. “I know when to back down, unlike you. You want to know your weakness there, leader, you're a pushover. You let yourself be so blinded by anger, and by your loyalty that you can't see when things are going to shit!”

“If you knew when to back down, you'd still be with Yeosang, now wouldn't you?”

“POT MEET KETTLE! Or did you forget the OTHER reason Yeosang dumped me, hmmm?” He could feel the tears threatening to come, but he swallowed them back. He wasn't about to let Hongjoong see them. No, he didn't deserve it.

Hongjoong's eyes suddenly glassed over at those words, and Jongho smirked. He knew he got under his skin now. “Oh, did I hit a nerve...hmm Joongie? Does it bother you that the ONE person you love more than anyone in this cruel world, doesn't want you either? It hurts, doesn't it? You know what else hurts?” He wouldn't allow for Hongjoong to answer, no, he would rather greet his jaw with his fist.

~~~

“YOU LEAVE YEOSANG'S NAME THE FUCK OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!” The sudden boom of Jongho's voice made both Yeosang and Wooyoung jump. Wooyoung quickly slid back in his chair, looking over to the peachy haired male with utter confusion in his eyes.

“Yeosang, what the hell is going on?” The peachy haired male's eyes glazed over at the sudden shout of his name, muscles already starting to tense. He knew that voice, and he knew it well. He heard it in his dreams, every...single...night.

“Yeosang?” He could hear Wooyoung calling his name, but his body couldn't even react to it. He was frozen, was it in fear, or maybe sorrow? Either way, he was paralyzed where he sat. His mouth dropped open after a few minutes, and he muttered the only words he could muster the strength to say.

“Can you...Can you give me a few minutes Wooyoung? Please.” The silver haired male stared at him with apprehension, but nodded nonetheless, rising from his chair, hand stuffing itself in his pocket.

“Now's as good a time as ever for a smoke break yeah?” He tried to cut some of the unease in the air, free hand reaching to rub at the back of his neck. “I'll be right back alright? If you need me, come get me.”

Yeosang blinked unconsciously, head managing to move enough to give Wooyoung the go ahead. He watched in silence as the silver haired male disappeared from view, trying to ignore the thoughts now gnawing at him from the inside. His eyes snapped shut, head placing itself neatly on the cool wood of his computer desk. He could barely make out bits of the conversation happening nearby, but what he could hear, only made him feel worse.

“You can't brute force emotions…”

~~~

“I...I can't do this anymore...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry…”  

“What!? Don’t say that! Please don't say that!”

“I…Jongho...”

“So that's it huh!? You're just going to throw away everything we had? Just like that?”

“.....”

“ANSWER ME!”

~~~

Yeosang could feel his whole body start to shudder, and he dared not even lift his head. He hated this, he hated feeling so weak like this, he hated that he couldn't control how he felt, he hated everything.

“POT MEET KETTLE! Or did you forget the OTHER reason Yeosang dumped me, hmmm?”

“Oh, did I hit a nerve...hmm Joongie? Does it bother you that the ONE person you love more than anyone in this cruel world, doesn't want you either? It hurts, doesn't it?”

Those words hit Yeosang like a slap in the face. Hot tears slid down his face, stinging at his cheeks and pooling under him on the desk. He could feel his breath pick up as he sobbed, heart drumming in his ear. He was tired, so tired of all of it, tired of being swallowed up by the hurricane of thoughts in his head.

“Hwa...please...please come back...I can't handle this alone…”

Taking a deep breath, Yeosang forced his head up.He could feel weight resting entirely on his chest, and the dryness of his mouth. He could feel himself being pulled down and drowned in the darkness.

He needed to do something, anything, to get his mind off of Jongho, to battle his way back to the surface, and he had an idea of exactly what he should do. His hands briskly ran across the keys, albeit shaking, pulling up a file folder with the camera footage of the camera just above his head. Vision slightly blurred from the tears still falling, he accessed the files from the night of the heist. At least he could kill two birds with one stone here. He could review the footage, and get at least a glimpse of Seonghwa's face. Maybe, just maybe that would be enough to get him through.

With one click of the media player, he immersed himself in data once more. He watched as Seonghwa had walked up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder a moment, before patting his head and turning on his heel, headed toward the kitchen. A sniffle escaped him as he wiped a little of his tears on his sleeve and watched him go. It did help a bit to see his face, but with Jongho still yelling nearby, that feeling would quickly wash away.

Shaking his head, he leaned in more, laser focused on his computer. He fast forwarded a little in the footage, but something caught his attention. A quick pause of the video was shortly followed by Yeosang backing up the feed. His eyes widened in horror at what he saw.

“This…..this can't be....”

Chapter Text

Yunho and Mingi were now perched on a hillside behind the thick cement wall of Panacea Financials. Yunho’s eyes peered around the building, trying to get a good scope of the area. “It looks like they're relatively vulnerable, I spotted maybe two or so guards, up in the third floor wing.”

Mingi leaned up a little to meet Yunho, gazing around the shimmering glass windows. “That's a good sign. right? Less guards means they aren't trying to figure out who messed up their building.”

A smirk crossed his lips as his gaze landed on the small section in the back that was charred and black. “Woo sure did a number over there. I don't see anything worth looting left.” He chuckled, placing a hand behind his head.

“Heh, look there.” Yunho pointed to a tall man in a very high end black suit, holding a thick black briefcase, headed through the front entrance, followed by three muscular men. “That must be their CEO or something.” He could feel Mingi inching closer to him, peering over his shoulder at the man.

“He must be here to fire some scabs for allowing his precious investment to get ruined. Sucks to be them. Either way, maybe we can snatch up that briefcase he's holding. It probably has some valuable assets in it.” At this point, Mingi's hand had come to rest on Yunho's shoulder, half his body weight leaning against his back.

“Wait ...did you see that?” His eyes were wide, and worried, laser focused onto a computer just in view in the lobby. “On that monitor...I swear I saw ...our symbol..” Pulling back, he stepped around the dark haired male, taking off.

“Mingi wait! Where are you going!?” Yunho hissed through his teeth as he took off in a sprint behind him. “Mingi stop, you need to stay low!”

“I have to get closer! I need to find out if I really just saw our symbol on their computers.” Mingi stopped just before the cement wall, head turning back just a moment to meet his gaze. “Yunho, this is important.”

“Fine...but-” At that moment, a shiver shot down his spine. For a brief second, he had caught a glimpse of a red light flickering across Mingi's chest. The color washed from his skin as he watched it once more, hairs standing up on the back of his neck. Mingi though, was none the wiser, hands now gently placed on the wall, gazing over half way hiding his face, trying his best to view the monitor.

Yunho's blood ran cold, and he could feel his legs pumping with all their might. “Get down!” Yunho's voice cracked as he tried his best to keep his tone down, grabbing Mingi by the side of his black hoodie, yanking with all of his might.

Mingi stumbled, not at all prepared for the force of his pull, turning a little to try and adjust and failing. He could feel Yunho tripping beneath him, and reached down, wrapping an arm around him and steadying him, pulling him into him as they tumbled to the ground. Breathing heavily, he looked down. He was now on top of Yunho, and his face instantly grew hot.

“What the heck was that about!?” Mingi huffed, hand feathering across Yunho’s cheek as he stared deep into his eyes. Yunho paused, feeling his breath hitch in his lungs.

“Laser sight...Mingi...they were going to shoot you…” He breathed, a wave of relief hitting him. Mingi was ok, they were both ok, and that was all that was important now. He watched as Mingi giggled, leaning down to press his forehead against his.

“Look who's white knighting now.” He shot Yunho a wink, pressing his body tight against his. “My hero.” He smirked, kissing his forehead before rolling off of him. “Are you alright? I didn't crush you too badly did I?” His tone grew caring as he asked, offering him a hand.

“I'm fine, you know Mingi…” His eyes glistened mischievously, keeping low as he pulled him back to their car. “You're a great catch, quite literally.” He grinned, leaning into him a little, sliding around a bend to the Porsche. “I'm sorry you didn't get to look at the computer.”

“I did though.”

“What!? How could you possibly have been able to look with me yanking you down?” Yunho yelped, buckling in. Mingi pulled out from the side road, shaking his head.

“You so easily forget how tall we are. I had enough height on the wall to see it, albeit briefly. We're good. I don't think it was our logo, but just my eyes playing tricks.” Yunho sighed in relief, leaning back a little in his seat.

“Still, if one of those guards had a sight on me, then there's a chance they knew who we were. We should get back and let Hongjoong know what we found.”

~~~

The sound of the balcony door closing made Yeosang's head swing up from his monitor, quickly closing off the tab of camera footage he'd been looking at.

Wooyoung had re-entered the room, the last little bit of smoke slipping from his lips in tiny little wisps, relaxed grin plastered on his face. “Ah that's better! Why don't we get back to..”

He paused, noting the puffy red eyes on his hyung. “Yeosang, are you crying? Why are you crying?” His tone softened and he walked up behind him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in close. “Don’t cry Sangie, everything is going to be alright.” Wooyoung reached down to swath away the last few tears from his lids with his sleeve, when the door was flung open once more.

Yunho and Mingi came flying in, huffing from running so fast from the parking lot. “You...you good Yunho?” Mingi puffed, bending over to place his hands on his knees a second. His gaze moved up to Yeosang and Wooyoung, both looking at him in utter confusion.

“Why are you two running?” Yeosang finally asked after a moment, tearing the silence. Yunho fell backwards, landing on his rear with a thud, trying to catch his breath.

“Panacea...they were after us. They had a sight on Mingi…” He explained, hands now raking through his hair. “They know we were there, but I'm not sure they know who we were. Either way, it's dangerous. Yeosang, you firewalled their system right? Mingi thought he saw our logo on a computer in there.”

Yeosang blinked, trying to collect his thoughts after hearing all of that. Of course he firewalled their information, but that wasn't what had his attention. “Are San and Seonghwa with you!?” A sudden panic took over Yeosang, his eyes flickering nervously as he posed the question.

Both Yunho and Mingi shrugged, looking at one another for a moment. “No? I thought they'd have been back by now.” Mingi spoke in a sheepish tone. He honestly hadn't even thought about the other two in the scramble to get back.

Yeosang could feel himself shudder, instantly jumping to his feet.

“It...shouldn't have taken them this long to do a simple drug run.”

His brain was whirring a million miles an hour, turning to Wooyoung with wide eyes. “This isn't good. Something must have happened to them.” Wooyoung’s hand jumped up to cover his mouth, fear flickering in his own eyes.

“You don't think….” Yunho sputtered, not wanting to speak the thought into existence.

Yeosang ignored him though, pushing past Mingi to the cabinet behind him. Swinging it open, he was greeted by his favorite toys, his drones. He yanked a larger one from it's stand, moving back to Wooyoung and placing it in his hands.

“Hurry up, go outside and hold that up a little for me. I'm going to try and track them down with the onboard camera.” His words came out in a scrambled rush, as he slid back down into his computer chair and began frantically typing. “Wooyoung go!” He yelped and the silver haired male jumped to it, heading back out onto the balcony.

Yeosang pressed with purpose, the drone lifting off gently from Wooyoung's hands, and taking off with his control. He threw up a tab of the camera feed from his drone, motioning for Wooyoung to join him. “If Panacea is on to us..there's no telling what could have happened to them.” He paused, hyperfocused on his screen.

“How could you just come back without checking on them!? Are you both dense!?” He howled loudly. His heart was drumming in his ear now, lightheadedness threatening close behind, but he couldn't let that affect him, not right now, not when he could be in danger. His anger did not go unnoticed, as the remaining two members entered the room.

“What is all the commotion for!?” Hongjoong boomed as he entered, his right eye dark and a tad swollen, and his lips cracked open. Jongho followed shortly behind, not saying a word. His hands were stuffed deep in his pockets, eyes still raging with the fury he'd had just prior.

“Joong we've got a problem.” Mingi started to explain, only to be cut off by Yeosang snapping back at the leader.

“These...idiots, got spotted by Panacea, and now San and Hwa are nowhere to be found!” His voice cracked as he spoke, head still buried in his screen. The overwhelming panic was starting to rip at Yeosang, and Jongho could clearly see it.

Hongjoong’s jaw dropped at the revelation, eyes moving to glare that the pair standing just beside him.

“YOU LET YOURSELVES GET SPOTTED!? HOW FOOLISH ARE YOU!?”

He paused to catch a breath, hands moving to tug at the sides of his hair. “Yeosang tell me you have a lock on San and Seonghwa.” The leaders anger was replaced by anguish, as he sat in a chair close by.

Yeosang merely shook his head no. He could feel his chest tightening, and the slow drip of a tear slid down his face, but he shrugged it off. He had a job to do, he had to find them.

Yunho looked to the floor, now feeling rather defeated for not thinking quick enough on his feet to warn them. “I...I'm sorry. We got rattled and..thought we should tell Hoongjoong first.” He explained, Mingi dropping down to sit beside him, pulling him close and letting his head come to rest on his shoulder.

“Yeosang, please find them.” Wooyoung begged, trying to help him watch the screen.

Jongho sighed gently, watching Yeosang work. It was like his mind was in complete overload. He could sense Yeosang’s panic, the negative thoughts that were firing off in his head like a machine gun. Sweat was starting to form at his brow, and Jongho noticed the slow shake of his hands as his slender fingers tapped away at the keys.

Jongho hated this. He hated seeing him this way. Shaking his head, his mind was made up without him even thinking about it. Making his way over to the computer, he sat down on the opposite side of Yeosang, leaning in a little to watch the screen. The streets were buzzing past almost in a blur, and he wasn't exactly sure how Yeosang was able to see them properly, but he had to help him, in the only way he knew how.

Jongho felt the squeeze of his heart in his chest, hesitating just a brief moment before reaching over, and taking up Yeosang's free hand, lacing his strong fingers with his.

“Yeosang…”

His voice came out a little almost inaudible, giving his hand a squeeze. “You've got this, ok? Take a deep breath, and focus yourself. You'll find them, I know you will.”

The peachy haired male paused a moment, not saying a word. Slowly, his gaze turned to meet Jongho's and the maknae instantly felt his heart panging in his chest. It was almost ironic, how times of trouble always seemed to bring him closer to Yeosang, and he honestly didn't want to fight it. He could see his face softening after a few more seconds, a weak, thin smile creeping over his lips as he stared at him with those deep blue eyes, like crystal clear oceans.

“I'll be right here with you the whole way. I…” His words were cut by the warmth of his hand suddenly on his cheek, featherlight. Jongho felt himself unconsciously flinch, and his face warm.

“Jongho...thank you…” His words were quiet, and murmured, but he heard them nonetheless, and like the snap of fingers, Yeosang was back to working, like the whole thing didn't just happen.

An hour passed by silently in a flash, and with no sign of the pair, the air in the room was quickly becoming dry and tense. “I...I can't seem to get a lock on them...I…” Yeosang groaned, tears threatening once more. “Why can't I-”

The sudden sound of the door made the six startle. Yunho and Mingi sprung to their feet, Yunho reaching under his coat, hand gripping tight at his pistol he'd yet to return. The sound of footsteps filled the air, and just like that, around the bend had come San and Seonghwa.

San was rubbing at his injured shoulder, looking rather miserable, and Seonghwa had limped in behind, hair disheveled and feeling like he'd been run over. Wooyoung's eyes lit up, and before he even had the chance to, San had made his way over to him, leaning into him with all his weight.

Yeosang instantly sprung to his feet, dropping Jongho’s hand like a lead brick. A wall of relief hit him, and he sprinted over to Seonghwa, throwing himself into his chest. The tears he'd been fighting back so hard came crashing down, staining Seonghwa's grey shirt as he sobbed hard.

“Hwa...I...I'm so glad you're alright…I was so worried..” He sniffled, looking up with sparkling eyes. Seonghwa blinked a moment, thrown by what had happened, but quickly regained his composure, wrapping his arms around the peachy haired male, and stroking the back of his head.

“Yeosang...shh it's alright. We just got ambushed by some Panacea vans and had to shake them before coming back.” He explained.

Jongho was paralyzed now. A sadness gripped at him as he watched Yeosang in Seonghwa's embrace. His hand felt so empty now without his. It felt like a set of frigid hands were now tracing his soul, mocking him. The light behind his eyes dimmed, and he couldn't take it anymore. Without a word, he slipped away from the gaggle of his hyungs towards his room, his only escape from his feelings.

~~~

With everyone now back at the base, things had died down. Now it was very late in the evening. Everyone was in their rooms, sleeping away all the craziness that was the morning, well almost everyone.

With one more click, Yeosang was finished with what he'd been working on, moving the file back into the folder containing the video footage from the night of the heist, and closing it.

He couldn't sleep. No matter how hard he tried. His hair was stuck up all over the place from laying in his bed, waiting for everyone to doze off so he could sneak back out to his computer. He could feel the weight of sleep on his chest, but he couldn't sleep.

Yeosang's thoughts began to drag into slow motion as he pulled up a game on his computer. He might as well work on his rpg character a bit since he had nothing better to do.

He watched as his mage swung around, tossing fireballs at a large snake enemy, but his brain wasn't exactly comprehending it. “You know...I always loved when your hair stuck up all over the place like that…” A soft whisper made him turn his head, seeing Jongho standing in the doorframe, wearing his grey pajamas.

“Oh Jongho, I'm..sorry..did I wake you up?” Yeosang slurred, sliding further into his chair. The dark haired male shook his head, moving over to the side of him.

“No no, you didn't. I just...got up to use the restroom and noticed the light on. Are you alright? You seem rather out of it.” His hand reached out to touch his shoulder, but quickly pulled back. Jongho wasn't ready for the grip of darkness to take over him once more.

Yeosang opened his mouth to answer, but the question was fielded by another.

“His insomnia is acting up again.”

Jongho mentally rolled his eyes. Why the hell did he always have to show up? Groaning under his breath, he turned to see Seonghwa entering the room.

“He’s rather dazed.” A frown twitched across his lips as he moved to Yeosang's side. “I need to get him to bed. Even if he can't sleep at least he'll be more comfortable. Jongho we don't need him to start hallucinating. Insomnia is a harsh thing to comba-”

“You don't need to lecture me what medical conditions my boyfr...Yeosang has! I'm already well aware!” Jongho snapped, feeling the burning come back to his veins. Who was Seonghwa to barge in and lecture him about Yeosang, like he has no clue of his issues?

Seonghwa merely shook off the jab, leaning down to Yeosang and helping him to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist to steady him. “Either way, he needs to go to bed.” Seonghwa shoved past the maknae, not giving him a second of thought.

Yeosang stumbled along beside him, almost at the movement of a drunkard. His body swayed hard as he tried to put one leg in front of the other, but the drowsiness was making it hard.

“Yeosang, you know better than to be on the computer at this hour. I'll make sure you are comfortable before I go back to bed myself.” He stroked the top of Yeosang’s head reassuringly.

Yeosang looked up at him, eyes glazed over and dazed. A soft chuckle escaped his lips, and he leaned in super close, resting his head on Seonghwa’s chest. A delicate pout crossed his lips, and he shook his head wearily.

“Seonghwa, I want to sleep in your bed. Pleasssee?” His voice came out in a tender coo, and he leaned up a little, face now dangerously close to the blonde's. Seonghwa chuckled, steadying him once more.

“You know how strict Hongjoong is being.” He tried to politely decline, but Yeosang was not having any of it. He leaned further into the blonde, frown crossing his lips.

“You're the only one who can get me to sleep. Seonghwa, I need you...please. I promise if you let me spend the night in your room, I will sleep.” His words came out in a rushed slur.

Seonghwa sighed gently, stroking the top of Yeosang’s head as they closed in on his door.

“You promise?”

His words lit up Yeosang's face, and he nodded hard. Quietly, Seonghwa swung open the door to his room, and lead him inside. He guided Yeosang to his bed, pulling back the covers and letting him crawl in.

Yeosang grinned ear to ear, stretching to get comfortable as Seonghwa moved to the side of the bed to click off his lamp.

Pausing a moment, he turned back to Yeosang, leaning over the bedside to look him in the eye. “Alright now you get some sleep. I'll be right here if you need me.” He couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked all wrapped in a cocoon of his blankets.

Leaning down, he placed the tiniest of kisses on his forehead. He could feel Yeosang warming up underneath him, and he pulled back, just about to straighten back up, but his hand was gripped tight to his pastel blue night shirt.

With one strong tug, Yeosang pulled Seonghwa back down on top of him, pressing his body to the blonde's. Their faces were dangerously close, and their eyes locked. Seonghwa could feel the warmth of Yeosang's hand, cupping his cheek, as he finally spoke.

“Seonghwa-ah…” He mumbled, eyes never leaving his. "Seonghwa I love you.”

Chapter Text

"Wooyoung! San!" Hongjoong's voice came out in a drowsy growl as the group convened for breakfast. The pair jumped, turning toward their leader with semi worried stares. "What did I tell you about the noise level?"

He rubbed his eyes as he spoke, shaking his head. "I don't care that you two do...whatever it is you do in the late nights, but I don't need to be able to hear the moaning from my room." Both males now blinked, the worry on their faces replaced with utter confusion. 

"Hongjoong it wasn't us. You told us to sleep in our own beds, and we followed your command." Wooyoung quickly chimed in.

The leader's eyes widened a little, gaze snapping to meet Mingi's, whom had since been relaxing, draped across the couch. The taller male chuckled, running a hand through his bangs. 

"Don't look at me like that Joongie. It wasn't me." His gaze lingered a little too long on Yunho in the corner of the room, cataloging their weaponry for what seemingly was the millionth time. "I know better than to tick you off."

Jongho had emerged from the kitchen with a coffee and and apple in his hand. "It wasn't me, I can promise you that." He spoke softly, eyes red and puffy, taking a long swig of his drink and sitting down in the chair beside Mingi.

"Mingi do you think that briefcase was something really important?" He started, trying to switch the focus off the now rather obvious answer to Hongjoong's inquiry. "If that CEO was clutching onto it, it could be worthwhile to try and make a play for it."

The light in Hongjoong's eyes instantly dimmed as Seonghwa and Yeosang entered from the hallway. Yeosang looked refreshed as ever, eyes glittering contentedly. 

"You want your usual Americano?" Seonghwa's question slipped from his lips sweetly, the warmth in his gaze almost too blatant.

Yeosang merely nodded, leaning in a little and tapping the tip of Seonghwa's nose with his finger. 

"...and you want a steak." He teased, pausing as he felt everyone's eyes now searing through him. "U-uh good morning everyone." He stammered, reaching back to ruffle the hair on the back of his head a little.

Jongho's gaze moved away from the pair, and down to his drink. He couldn't bring himself to look at Yeosang right now.

Hongjoong broke the silence with an all too fake clearing of his throat, taking the opportunity to field Jongho's question. 

"Anywayyyy…" He made sure those words came a bit sharp as he took a seat. "Jongho has a good point. That briefcase might just be our retribution for the heist. We have no idea what was in it, but for him to be guarded so carefully, it's important."

A weak smile crept across the maknae's lips hearing this, happy the leader was on his side for once. 

"That was exactly what I was thinking about last night!" Yeosang now chimed, rushing over to his laptop and turning it on. "So while everyone was asleep, I was doing some research on Panacea, and look what I found." His fingers tapped quickly at the keys and soon enough on his screen was an advertisement, in gold, elegant lettering: 

PANACEA FINANCIALS INVITES YOU TO IT'S 10TH ANNUAL ELXR GALA, HOSTED BY RENOWNED CEO MIN KEONHEE. 

"Turns out, Panacea is going to be holding a fundraising gala tonight at the Utopia. I figured it might be a good idea if we 'attend'." He explained, smiling happily at his handiwork.

Hongjoong's eyes lit up a little at the screen, already starting to formulate a strategy in his head. "Yeosang, you're brilliant. We sneak in there, we can get that briefcase, and whatever other funding those bastards have under their sleeves. There's only one issue."

He paused, hand moving under his chin as he moved over to Mingi. "If they saw you two, they would recognize us. We need to be extra careful. Jongho, do you think this idea is plausible? I trust your judgement on this." The dark haired male jolted, thinking a moment. 

"Well, with a company as renowned as Panacea, there will be a lot of guards, but in the same right, there will be a lot of people in general there. It would be kind of easy to weave in and out of the crowds undetected because of the sheer number of bodies alone."

His lips twitched into a small smirk as he spoke. "We can handle it, as long as we're careful and we don't stay too clumped together as a group." Mind made up, Hongjoong swiped up a chunk of sweet bread from the table. 

"Then it's settled. Tonight, we dress to kill and show Panacea we mean business. And this time, for the love of god, let's not mess this up ok?" 

~~~

Nightfall had slowly began to arrive, and the Onyx Eight were finishing up getting ready for the Elxr Gala. Mingi stood at the mirror, trying to get his tie to sit right, but it wasn't happening and all it did was frustrate him more. "Do you need help with that?" Yunho's voice called, sneaking up behind him. He popped up from behind as he finally reached him, and Mingi's eyes widened a little. 

"What...what did you do to your hair?" He questioned, spinning around to face him. Yunho's usual ebony hair was now a soft shade of light blue. It wasn't that Mingi thought it looked bad on him, he was just surprised was all. Yunho giggled, reaching over to fix his tie as he spoke. 

"Well, I figure if they did indeed see us, I should play it safe and change my hair to throw them off. Great plan, right?" Part of Mingi wanted to tell him no, that they could probably still spot him if they did see them by his face, but he couldn't bring himself too. Yunho looked too good to even argue with him about it, so he merely nodded, giving Yunho a sweet smile.

"We should head to the garage. San is waiting." Without another word, Mingi scooped up Yunho's hand, leading him out of the room toward San's extravagant garage.

San was already there, his dark red and black hair slicked back, raising an eyebrow seductively as Wooyoung entered behind the pair.

"So what are we driving in tonight?" Mingi questioned, releasing Yunho's hand and leaning on the tailgate of the large truck beside him.

Seonghwa and Yeosang appeared next, both looking dapper in their suits. "Come on Mingi, obviously we're taking the limo." Seonghwa chuckled, shaking his head at Yunho.

"Nice hair."

Yeosang leaned into Seonghwa, ruffling his hair. "Ok so where is Joong?" Yeosang no more got the words out when Hongjoong and Jongho appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Everyone now paused though, eyes darting to the leader. His sandy brown mullet was gone, and now, his hair was shorter, a deep shade of red, and his eyes ice blue instead of those soft pools of brown they were accustomed to. Seonghwa's mouth dropped a little at the change, shocked. 

"H-Hongjoong!?" The leader merely smiled, hand feathering through his now crimson bangs. 

"Having a mullet at a high class event like this would have screamed suspicious, so I did what I had to do. Besides, I actually like this color." He started, his tone rather content, for once. "Either way, everyone knows the drill right?" The entire group nodded, San moving to open the back of the limo. "Let's go make our grand entrance." 

~~~

Pulling up to the Utopia, San stopped the limo, jumping out and whipping his keys at the valet with a snarky grin. "If this comes back with any sort of mark on it, you're paying for a new one." He scoffed, opening the door so his family could exit. His hand quickly found it's place, laced in Wooyoung's, waiting for the go ahead.

Hongjoong lead the way, making sure to hand the doorman the invitation that Yeosang so expertly forged, and he waved them inside. He hung back afterwards, matching Seonghwa's pace, leaning in a little closer to his ear. 

"Meet me at the bar alright?"

He whispered, giving the remaining group a quick little hand gesture behind his back to tell them to scatter.

Yunho's eyes widened seeing the waiters running around with elegant glasses of wine, and he instantly took off after one. Yeosang shot Seonghwa a soft smile, before disappearing off into the crowd. Wooyoung and San headed toward the direction of the dance floor, and Jongho went toward the tables and tables of wagyu steak and shrimp cocktail.

Mingi waited a moment, eyeing the crowd before heading off, leaving Hongjoong and Seonghwa alone. "Alright perfect, now, I'll see you in a bit." He patted Seonghwa on the shoulder, excited smile stretched across his face as he waltzed off, stopping to mingle with a random crowd of party goers.

The blonde scanned around, making sure to keep an eye on each of his group as he walked over to the bar, sitting down and ordering a glass of champagne. Soft jazz music filled the air along with the scent of overly expensive cigars, and before he had the time to think, Seonghwa felt someone sliding into the seat beside him. 

"Done mingling already?" He teased, turning so his gaze now meet the leaders. Hongjoong chuckled, waving the barkeep over and ordering a whiskey and Coke, leaning in to hear him a little better. 

"No, I just wanted to pause for a little liquid courage is all." Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, bringing his glass to his lips once more. "Is everyone in position?" The blonde nodded, watching carefully, trying to spot Keonhee, to no avail. 

"I don't think the guest of honor has arrived yet." He started, looking Hongjoong up and down with a fine tooth comb. "That's not a bad thing though. It just allows everyone time to blend in a little more." Though that would be easier said than done.

While Hongjoong and Seonghwa were at the bar, Jongho was eyeing up the room carefully, a piece of chocolate hanging from his lips as he observed the crowds mingling. His eyes though, ended up landing on Yeosang, almost making a circle around the outer edge of the dance floor. He was obviously surveying, trying to keep a keen eye on Wooyoung and San for the time being without being too close.

Jongho couldn't help but feel his heart lurch in his chest as he glimpsed at him. It felt as if a red hot coal was now perched in his chest. It glowed at the sight of Yeosang, and yet it burned him all the same. Except, unlike coal it wouldn't cool down quickly no, it would continue to throb and torture him.

Jongho shook his head, trying to keep himself focused, but it was so hard to. He adored how Yeosang's eyes lit up when he was deep into a job, like they were now, and in that suit, he looked gorgeous. His head swarmed with half-formed regrets as he sat there quietly observing him.

Turning his attention back to the food, he snatched up a shrimp to eat, trying to quell the thoughts swirling in his head. That was, until he noticed a man in a grey suit. He was seemingly following a little too close to Yeosang for comfort, and that made Jongho a tad nervous. Yeosang was so focused on his work he hadn't noticed the man at all, whom had reached his hand up toward his ear to fix his hair, or so it seemed.

The music had changed to a slow dance, and Jongho moved with purpose. He wasn't about to risk Yeosang or the operation on a guess. Making his way over to him, Jongho did a quick bow in front of him.

Yeosang paused, raising an eyebrow in confusion, trying to nudge Jongho back toward his position, but he wouldn't budge.

"Excuse me sir, may I have this dance?" He asked eloquently, offering his hand and shooting Yeosang a slightly concerned look.

The peachy haired male froze a moment, realization suddenly hitting him that something was amiss, and quickly nodded, letting Jongho take his hand. 

"Of course you can." He smiled all too sweetly, and Jongho almost flinched at the sheer sound of his voice, leading him to the middle of the dance floor. His arm gracefully wrapped around Yeosang's waist, and Yeosang followed suit, resting his head on the maknae's shoulder. 

"There is a man in a grey suit following you. It was too fishy not to get you out of there."

He whispered gently into his ear as they slowly swayed along. Yeosang instantly lifted his head, eyes widening a little in horror. 

"Are you sure?" He murmured, only to be cut off by Jongho's finger pressed tight to his lips. The grey suited man had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and was right behind them, eyeing Jongho up now. They swayed in a circle and the man followed suit, eyes now back on Yeosang.  

"Shit…" 

Jongho had to think and think fast. The longer he stared at Yeosang, the better a look he could get at his face, and if he was indeed a guard for Keonhee, their cover would be blown. Feeling his heart thump in his chest, he locked eyes with Yeosang.

He didn't have time to hesitate now. Reaching up with his free hand, he gently feathered across the peachy haired male's cheek, a weak smile twitching across his face, before his lips came plummeting down to meet his. This was the only idea he had to keep their cover, and he hated and loved it all at the same time. 

~~~

"Seonghwa can I ask you something?" Hongjoong now murmured, swallowing back the rest of his drink. "What do you see in him?" He raised an eyebrow in Yeosang's direction, watching as he and Jongho danced along.

Seonghwa paused a moment, blinking at the suddenness of the leader's question.

"Oh come on…" Hongjoong now chuckled, ruffling his bangs. "...we all know what you two were doing last night so don't try to hide it." 

"I..I.." 

"I'm curious is all. I just wouldn't have pegged Yeosang as your type." He smirked, grabbing up his second glass and taking a swig. "He's just so quiet and reserved and you're a lot more out-"

His words were cut short as he watched Jongho pull Yeosang into a kiss. "Oh...well then…"

Seonghwa's eyes instantly grew dark, watching the pair as well. It didn't hurt him that badly, that was until he watched Yeosang pull the maknae in closer and kiss him back. That felt like a bullet through the chest.

Seonghwa turned to the barkeep and ordered a long island ice tea, and as soon as he set it down he threw it back, trying to numb the sudden pain in his chest.

"Seonghwa, listen to me. We need to focus on the job at hand. Don't let him get to you."

The blonde heard the words Hongjoong had said, but they didn't register. His gaze shifted from the dancefloor, unable to keep watching. Seonghwa's eyes glazed with a glassy layer of oncoming tears, and his lower lip quivered just so as he shook his head, finally able to form the words. 

"I...I know…"

Hongjoong sighed softly, reaching over and placing a hand atop the blonde's. He really didn't have time for this, but he wasn't about to sit there and let Seonghwa be upset either.

"Seonghwa...I'll stick with you tonight ok? I'll be here for you, but we have a job to do as well." His words were sincere and soft, shooting a glare the direction of the dancefloor.

Now was absolutely not the time for these sorts of shenanigans, and he wasn't at all thrilled at the pair right now. He needed all of his crew for this, and all of them to be in sync, and Yeosang and Jongho were messing with said sync. 

~~~

While the rest of the gang was about, San and Wooyoung had been dancing at the opposite end of the dance floor. They were swaying along to the slow dance, enjoying this little bit of time they had to be close to each other.

Wooyoung rested his forehead against San's, eyes glittering happily. "You know it's been quite a while since we've been able to have some time for just us." he cooed, leaning in to place a delicate kiss on San's cheek. 

"That may be so, but keep your wits about you ok? We've got work to do." He shot the silver haired male a sweet grin, hand feathering across the skin of his cheek.

The soft music made Wooyoung relax, enjoying the embrace of his partner. He loved San, and when things were like this, he never wanted to leave.

There was a sudden flicker in the crimson haired male's eyes though as they swayed along the dance floor his gaze focused out into the crowds. The look in San's eyes was now something far from contemplative, and Wooyoung froze.

"San?" He called gently, but the male wouldn't answer. Whatever it was, he was transfixed on it, and that concerned Wooyoung. "San."

Without a word, San pulled away from him, giving his hand a strong squeeze. 

"I have to go."

Wooyoung's eyes widened a bit, confused. San leaving was not a part of their plan or given orders, and he didn't like it one bit. He could feel the hairs stick up on the back of his neck, and a sudden chill run down his spine, apprehension gripping at him like a set of claws. 

"Sannie please don't." His words were a desperate plea that would go unheard, as

San just shook his head no, reaching up to cup Wooyoung's chin with an all too delicate touch. "Go find Yunho, you'll be safe with him." He started, pausing a moment more to gaze deep into his eyes, albeit hesitantly. 

"But-"

Wooyoung's words were cut short by San's lips pressed firm to his, knocking the wind straight from his lungs. His eyes snapped closed, savoring the sweet taste, feeling San murmur against his lips.

"I love you, remember that." 

There was the sensation of his cheek being squeezed, and that was enough to make Wooyoung's eyes snap back open. San, though, he was already gone, lost in the crowds once again. 

Chapter Text

Yeosang pulled away from Jongho after a few moments, eyes soft and sparkling, but not in the way Jongho wanted. No, his eyes weren't shining blue hues, the envy of any summer sky, they were frozen over, like the surface of a winter puddle, robbed of any and all of their warmth. The despairing chill they conveyed made Jongho's heart burn in his chest.

Jongho looked away, he couldn't bare to stare into those eyes any longer. What was usually strength, now showed weakness. A tear rolled down Yeosang's cheek. Jongho didn't see it, but he could feel it in his chest that the peachy haired male was crying beside him.

"Why...why did you…" Jongho's voice slipped out, the gears of his mind spinning trying to reason out why Yeosang would kiss him back like that. Did he still have feelings, or maybe it was a sick joke to him? Either way, the man in the grey suit was gone now. Yeosang shook his head, lip quivering a little. 

"I...I don't...I don't know ok!?" Yeosang's words came with a bite, as his eyes snapped closed. "Just...leave me alone Jongho…Why is it your door is always open, and I'm always walking back in..?" He murmured now, gaze moving to his feet.

"So what else do we need to fix, hmm? Why are you doing this to me?" Jongho turned to face Yeosang once more, the words coming in a desperate plea as they spilled from his lips. All the things he'd been bottling up were finally bursting through, like a cork from a champagne bottle after too much pressure. "How can you like more than one person?" 

Yeosang shuddered at Jongho's words, feeling the thud of his heart in his chest. He couldn't possibly expect him to answer that question, could he? He didn't think he had to justify his feelings at all.

So what if he still, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he wanted to, couldn't stop feeling some sort of love for Jongho? So what if he loved Seonghwa too? Jongho shouldn't be allowed to chastise him for it. Yeosang's eyes fluttered back open, those frozen blue pools gazing straight through the maknae. "What does it matter if I love two people? You don't get to force me to choose." 

"If I'm not the only one Yeosang, well then...get lost." Jongho was spouting in pure rage now, not realizing or meaning anything coming out of his mouth. He'd tried so very long to hold it in, but he couldn't, not anymore. "Just go! Get away from me!" Yeosang froze in place, jaw almost to the floor. 

"You can't just tell me to leave, we have a job to-" 

"Do you think I'm jealous Yeosang? Hmm?" He took two steps closer, feeling his heart racing in his chest. "Do you think I'm jealous of the fact that all I heard last night was you and Hwa fooling around?" 

"Jongho…I didn't know you..." 

"Ok fine! You win...you win Yeosang….I'm jealous...now just...leave me alone…" Jongho's eyes dimmed, like a snuffed candle, and he turned on heel, trying to move somewhere, anywhere to be away from Yeosang right now. The peachy haired male took chase, reaching forward to grab his hand. 

"LET GO OF ME!" Jongho whipped around once more, ripping his hand free of Yeosang's. His face suddenly was more stern, and he got dangerously close. His cool breath wisped across Yeosang's face, and he growled once more, voice deep and gravelly.

"You can like Seonghwa all you want, but remember, no one , not him or anyone else, will ever love you like I did." The strength of his gaze betrayed him and he pushed past Yeosang, making his way as far away from him as he could. 

~~~

San meanwhile, had pushed his way through the crowds, until he'd finally reached his destination. His hands reached up to fix his hair, and then down quickly adjusting his tie, before he made his way to the bar at the very exquisite wine room in the gala hall.

"Um excuse me ladies, do either of you mind if I sit here? I don't mean to be a bother." His voice came out smooth as silk, leaning in a little toward the pair of twins he'd approached. Both ladies turned their heads to him, gazes moving from him to each other, and then back, before finally speaking. 

"I guess that's alright, as long as it's fine with you, sister." The girl closest to San spoke first. Both women had long, gorgeous flowing locks of burnt caramel, draped across their shoulders. The only difference in the pair was in their eyes. The one that had addressed San had honey colored eyes, and the other, her eyes were light, like the suns rays bouncing off of pebbles in a clear lake. Those eyes almost caught San off guard as they now stared right through him, calm but analytical. 

"As long as you don't interrupt our wine and bonding time you can stay." Her words were on the surface sweet, but still held a small annoyed bite. The bartender had arrived, and produced two dark red Cabernets for the pair, each in a shimmering gold rimmed wine glass. 

"Thank you, I appreciate it. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of introducing myself yet though, my name is Yohan." He stood up a moment to give the pair a short bow to cement his lie, before asking the barkeep to bring him a glass of Moscato. 

"Not interested." The woman with the lighter eyes spoke coolly, taking a swig of her wine, but the other shot her a short glare. 

"Oh come on Ji-ah you don't need to be so uptight!" Her gaze moved back to meet San's, shaking her head. "You'll have to forgive her, she's had a rough day today. You can call me Regina." She grinned as she spoke, taking a long sip of her wine. 

"Ah your names sound familiar. You must be Keonhee's daughter's yes? Your dad is a wonderful man and a genius businessman I must say." San smiled sweetly, taking a swig of his wine as he kept his attention now on Regina. 

"Brilliant businessman? More like brilliantly good at stomping on people till he gets to the top." Regina cackled, leaning further back in her chair and flipping her hair over her shoulder. "How much money did the old man swindle your clown ass out of?" 

"Gi.." Ji-ah chimed in now, slight concern wrought on her face. "Manners, we have appearances to keep here." San blinked a moment, collecting himself. There was a lot of information flying suddenly, but everything was making more sense to him. 

"Ah, so Regina doesn't seem too fond of her old dad. Noted. Ji-ah is a tad more reserved. Hmm this should be fun."

"Swindled? No no dear, you've got it all backwards." He started, placing a soft hand just above Regina's wrist. "I just made a...meager donation to Panacea is all. Nothing to be concerned of. I'm sure your father sees it as mere pocket change." He smirked, licking his lips as he leaned in closer.

"Besides, this chat is well worth the donation. I wasn't expecting such a little spitfire to be here at the gala." He watched as Ji-ah now giggled, running her hands through her bangs. 

"Spitfire is an understatement." 

San now chuckled, bringing his glass back to meet his lips, taking another long swig. "That's quite alright, I rather like a challenge." He shot Regina a dirty little wink as the words slipped from his lips, leaning in a little closer. "Especially a gorgeous one." He watched as Ji-ah gazed down at her phone, brow furrowing a tad and discontent smearing across her face. "Something the matter over there?"

Regina would be the one to field that question though, shaking her head as she spoke up. "Oh come on sis, he'll show up I promise. Don't be so uptight over it. You know how full his schedule is."

Ji-ah pouted softly, crossing her arms over one another and leaning into Regina a little, resting her head on her sister's shoulder. "Gi he's my fiancé, and him not showing up to daddy's gala is making me look bad. He knows how important this is." Her gaze betrayed her and her eyes darkened, causing San to raise an eyebrow. 

"I do know how important this is to you." A male tenor suddenly cut through the silence, both sister's gazing up from their drinks a moment. "That's why I took the first plane back from Tokyo."

Ji-ah jumped from her feet, making her way over to the man and throwing herself into him. "Eden! It's about time you showed up!" She gently elbowed him in the side, but he just grinned, ruffling the top of her hair and wrapping a strong arm around her.

Regina turned back to San, shaking her head. "Yohan, I'd like to introduce you to Kim YongHwan, CEO of Edenary, and my sister's financé."

The male pulled away from his betrothed, offering a hand happily. "Regina, you know naught a soul calls me by that name. Eden is just fine. Either way, a friend of the twins is a friend of mine! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

San shook his hand, chuckling a little at his forwardness. The male was average height, with long, straight black hair that he tucked neatly behind his ear. He had a soft face, and soft cheeks, and as far as San could tell, he seemed to be a bit older than him. 

"Now now brother, I don't know if we can call him a friend just yet!" Regin cut San's thoughts with her sudden remark and soft giggle as she leaned in closer to him, elbowing him gently as she grabbed up another glass of wine and downed a long swig. "Though he is rubbing off on me a little bit."

San's lips twisted into a cheeky grin, eyes glittering excitedly as he looked on at Regina. "Well Eden, either way, it's a pleasure. You've got yourself a wonderful fiancé." He watched as Ji-ah's face softened a little, a weak smile twitching across her lips as she rested her head against Eden's shoulder. 

"Babe we should really get going and find daddy. He needed to talk to you about some sort of business merger down the line and was being rather impatient about it." She paused a moment to look at her twin, whom was now working on a third glass of wine.

"I trust you'll be alright here with our new little acquaintance sister?"

San nodded, waving a hand in front of him. "Don't you two worry, I'll keep an eye on her. I promise. Go, enjoy yourselves ok?" He shot Eden a mischievous wink, and the pair headed off, hand in hand back toward the main hall. With the pair gone, San turned his attention back to the remaining twin. 

"You...you're something else, you know that?" Regina cackled, reaching up and brushing a few tiny strands of his bangs from his face.

San smirked, leaning in as close as he could, his hand gently placing itself on her thigh as he spoke, in a tone smooth as silk. "I hope you mean that in a good way, my dear." He paused, brow furrowing a little.

All that was left between them was the loud boom of the main hall's elegant dance music. "I just wish there was...somewhere more quiet we could chat. I'd love to have a deeper conversation with you, but I'm worried it would be lost to the sounds of celebration."

Regina now grinned, swallowing back the last of her glass, and rising to her feet elegantly. "Well, I do know of one place we could go, but we'd have to be hush hush about it. Come, I'll show you, but only because you're intriguing to me Yohan. I'm curious to hear what exactly you have to say." Her small hand reached down, lacing with his, pulling him to his feet and guiding him along towards the back of the Utopia. There was a single, elegantly adorned elevator right at the very back, and Regina quickly called for it for them. 

"A secret elevator hmm? Classy." San leaned in, placing his hand on the wall behind her as they waited. 

"It's only classy if you make it classy." She chuckled as the door opened, and she stepped inside. Once in, she hit a button for the top floor. Turning to face him though, she lost her footing, the wine finally starting to hit her, and she stumbled.

San quickly moved, gripping her shoulders and catching her, helping her steady herself a bit. "Be careful there dear. We wouldn't want anything to happen to that pretty face of yours." One hand reached up to cup the side of her face, finger feathering across her cheek, his warm breath wisping across her skin as he spoke.

There was another pause between them, but this time there was nothing but silence. His hand slowly drifted to her hip, pulling her closer. She could feel his breath pick up against her, and before she had the time to process it, he had begun nuzzling her neck with delicate kisses, so faint, almost like whispers.

Her body trembled a little, watching as his lips came closer and closer to hers. Before he could reach them though, she reached up, placing a delicate hand under his chin and lifting his head so his eyes would meet hers. "I-I'm sorry did I-" He stammered, only to be met with her finger pressing to his lips.

"Shh, elevator door." She smirked, and as if on cue, the door swung open. "I'd rather be safe than sorry." Her voice came out in a soft coo and she exited, pulling him along. "You don't need to apologize." She took his hand once more, leading him down the hallway to another large door.

Reaching into her clutch, she pulled out a key card and quick swiped it, opening the door and yanking him inside. "Welcome to the penthouse suite!" She grinned ear to ear, kicking off her heels to the side.

"Now, give me just a minute to freshen up, and we can talk all you want." Turning on heel, she headed toward the direction of the restroom.

San took a seat on the couch across from the California King sized bed, trying to take in everything, trying to see exactly what he could steal, and if that briefcase was in the room. He wouldn't have much time to do so though, before Regina returned, making her way over to him.

"Now, where exactly were we?" She shot him a wink and San took her hand, pulling her down to sit with him. She though would not be having that, and just sat straight down in his lap. San shuddered, arm snaking around her waist, and grinning. 

"Oh I don't know, why don't you tell me where we were?" He winked, leaning in and placing another delicate kiss on her neck. He could feel her shudder against him and that made him happy. He was getting to her, and that's exactly what he wanted. Placing two more kisses trailing up her collarbone, he pulled away, making sure to leave his lips inches from hers.

Their breaths mingled and Regina found her own lips parting as they both closed the gap. His lips brushed hers, not innocently, like a tease, but fiery, passionate. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she kissed back, lost in the moment.

After a few minutes though, there was a loud clang of the doorbell, and Regina pulled away. "That must be the room service I ordered for us when I went to freshen up. I'll get it, but in the meantime, could you mix me up a whiskey and coke?" She spoke sweetly, rising to her feet from his lap and motioning to the mini bar behind her.

San rose as well, not wanting to disobey her, and headed there, turning his back to her and starting to mix her drink. "Oh and could you answer me one thing?" Regina's voice called out to him as she opened the door.

"Of course dear, anything." San replied, putting the finishing touches on her drink.

There was a sudden loud thud that snapped San from his thoughts, and as he turned back around, he was instantly frozen in place. Wooyoung was on the floor, with a large guard standing over him, gun pointed at his head.

Regina's lips twisted into a malicious smirk as she looked him over, finally posing her question.

"Did you really think you could pull one over on me, Choi San ?" 

Chapter Text

~Earlier~

A soft sigh passed through Yunho's lips. He was so...very bored, sitting alone in the corner of the hall keeping an eye on everyone. He was bored, but he was slowly becoming more intoxicated with each sparkling glass of champagne he'd sneak from the trays of the servers passing by. He'd rather be anywhere than stuck on cover duty. He'd rather...be with Mingi.

He watched as Mingi networked, standing in the center of a group of at least six people. The females in the circle were wide eyed, taking in his every word like fine wine, gazes locked on him in an almost trancelike way. It made Yunho almost want to vomit. His attention though was pulled off of the scene when he heard Jongho's voice off in the other direction. 

"No one, not him or anyone else, will ever love you like I did."

"Oh boy, what happened now?" 

Yunho only managed to see the maknae storming off, leaving Yeosang standing there frozen a moment before Yeosang himself started running toward the restrooms in the opposite direction. Shaking his head, he took another long swig of his champagne.

Now was not the time for their deep seated issues. Not when they were on the job. He rose from his seat about to intervene, but before he could take a step, a blur of silver came rushing over. 

"Yunho-ah, please tell me you know where San went." Wooyoung spoke now breathlessly, worry wrought on his face. Yunho didn't even have time to think, before Wooyoung inched closer, gripping tight to his suit jacket, tears threatening to fall. 

"Wha-what are you talking about Wooyoung? He was supposed to be with you on the dance floor." He hissed, feeling his stress level starting to rise. How was he supposed to keep an eye on everyone and cover everyone when NO one, except Mingi was in their assigned place?

"He...he took off. He didn't tell me where, all he said was to find you, that you would keep me safe. Please...tell me he told you what he was up to." 

"How in the world would I know what he-" Yunho quickly cut his words short, noticing  their valet coming flying over to the pair.

"Oh for fucks sake." 

"I'm terribly sorry sir, but I parked your group's limo correct? I think another valet just hit it with someone's Mercedes." The valet was rambling, head bowed in apology. Wooyoung froze, running a hand through his bangs. 

"Are you kidding me!? How bad is the damage!?" He growled, releasing his grip on Yunho and moving a step toward the valet. San would not be happy if one of his vehicles was totaled. 

"It's got a few large dents. I can show you if you'd like. The other valet is waiting so that if we need to we can exchange insurances. Again, I'm very sorry."

Wooyoung groaned, turning back to Yunho with an annoyed look, one that Yunho wasn't even going to argue with. He too knew how angry San could get over his vehicles. There was an unsaid acknowledgement between the two, before Wooyoung turned back to the valet. 

"Ok, let me go check it out, but if it's beyond repair you're dealing with my partner, not me." 

Yunho watched a moment as Wooyoung and the valet left, trying to focus again on where the others were. Hongjoong was still at the bar at least, and Mingi was still talking, now with a slender dark haired female practically draped all over him.

Yeosang, Jongho, and now Seonghwa though had slipped his field of view. His gaze met Hongjoong's a moment and he watched as the leader shake his head, annoyance clear in his eyes. 

"Why can't we have just ONE night go right?"

~~~

Yeosang swung the door to the restrooms open with such force that it caused an audible slam as the door collided with the wall. Thankfully for him, it was vacant. Leaning over the bowl of the sink, he turned on the water, splashing a little on his face before staring back at himself in the mirror. He was a total wreck.

Yeosang could barely recognize the man staring back at him. This new Yeosang was so very pale, and his face was littered with stress marks. His eyes were bloodshot and he could hear his heart thudding in his chest. He looked...hollow. What happened to him? Why was he so torn apart like this? 

"Jongho...he did this to me." 

Why in the world would Jongho just kiss him like that? What was he thinking? Why would he put him on the spot and yell at him like that? The more Yeosang thought about it, the more it angered him. All Yeosang could feel in that sudden moment, was rage. His body started to flush and he could feel the blood boiling in his veins.

After a moment more, he raised a fist, slamming it hard into the mirror, the glass shattering around him into a thousand glittering pieces. He didn't want to see himself anymore. He couldn't even feel the pain of the shattered glass slicing at his bloodied knuckle, all he could feel at that point was his anger. 

He stared a moment at his reflection in the remaining pieces of the cracked mirror, taking another deep breath. At least the mirror now was reflecting what he really was...broken.

He turned away from the mirror after a moment more, unable to force himself to keep looking at such a miserable reflection, stumbled sluggishly over to an open part of the wall, and slid down it to a sit, burying his face in his knees.

The adrenaline rush he'd felt had finally subsided as he sat, and he could now feel the pain in his knuckle as he stared at the blood dripping from it to the floor. He tried his best to ignore it, but the sudden throbbing was enough to make his head spin a little. 

After what felt like an eternity to Yeosang, there was a small click of the bathroom door opening once more that killed the silence of the room. Yeosang wouldn't even acknowledge it, he didn't care to anyways. 

"Yeosang…?" 

That concerned tenor call was enough to snap the peach haired male's eyes open.

Seonghwa was now leaned against the door, looking at all the shimmering glass pieces in and around the sink, eyes wide, sparkling and puffy.

"Just leave...please Hwa." Yeosang managed to sputter out a desperate plea. He couldn't face Seonghwa, not now, not after what happened on that dance floor with Jongho. His plea though, would go unnoticed.

Seonghwa, without missing a beat, moved around the glass shards to the first aid kit on the wall, pulling it down and moving to a kneel in front of him. "You're bleeding, did you break the mirror?" Seonghwa spoke so gingerly, reaching down and gently taking his bloodied right hand into his own.

Yeosang merely nodded, not able to bring himself to meet Seonghwa's gaze. He felt horrible.

Seonghwa remained quiet, pulling out a few gauze squares and some rolled gauze from the kit. He gingerly began to pull the remaining glass from Yeosang's knuckle, a frown twisting across his lips as he worked. 

"I...I'm so sorry…" Yeosang eventually whimpered out, wincing a little as the glass was removed. He had to apologize for kissing Jongho, even if Seonghwa wouldn't accept it. He had to at least try. "Seonghwa I..never meant for it to happen...please believe me.."

Dead silence filled the air once more, Seonghwa still focusing on patching Yeosang up. He was meticulous that way. He reached for the first aid kit once more, pulling out some alcohol wipes and disinfecting salve.

The silence was eating Yeosang up. Why wasn't Seonghwa saying anything? He forced his head up, eyes finally meeting with Seonghwa's dark ones a moment. Seonghwa's eyes were...relaxed, yet...contemplative, and his gaze quickly shifted back to his work. 

"You're sorry? For what, breaking a mirror in a multimillion dollar establishment?"

Seonghwa's words ripped the air clean from Yeosang's lungs. How could he ask that so...calmly? Did he really not see? Was he just pretending not to have seen? Yeosang gulped, feeling his body start to shake at the thought.

"Yeosang, don't sweat it alright? We'll just blame it on the restroom attendant. Call it a little payback on Panacea." Seonghwa chuckled lightly, putting the final touches on wrapping his knuckles. He kept his hands gently on Yeosang's injured one, a reassuring look in his eyes, leaning down and placing a tender kiss on the top of it. "I'm more worried about you than a mirror. Why did you even punch that thing in the first place?"

Yeosang paused, eyes glimmering as he leaned in, burying his face now into Seonghwa's suit jacket.

Seonghwa sighed gently, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in close. It felt as if all of the weight that was resting on Yeosang's chest was instantly lifted in that moment

"It doesn't matter." He murmured, looking back up into Seonghwa's soft eyes, and reaching up with his good hand, cupping his cheek. It was as if Seonghwa somehow had come at just the right time to staple and bandage Yeosang's heart back together once more.

Yeosang couldn't help but feel relaxed in his arms, just listening to the sound of his heartbeat, strong and steady. When he was with Seonghwa, Yeosang could feel like a person and not a broken shell, and that was all that was important to him anymore. 

"Seonghwa, I love you. I will always love you." 

~~~

"Wooyoung…forgive me..."

San was frozen in his spot, eyes wide, watching his partner pinned down by the large bodyguard.

Regina smirked, looking at her handiwork with glee, but San couldn't give up that easily.

"I don't know who that is, but let him go. Your business is with me, not him." His words were firm, hoping to god that Wooyoung would understand enough to play dumb.

Wooyoung's lips though, twisted into a frown, confusion wrought on his face. 

"What is going on? What is this?"

Wooyoung sputtered, only to be silenced by a hard kick to the side from the bodyguard. San flinched as he watched Wooyoung crumple under the sheer force, grabbing at his ribs.

"Ah ah ah pretty boy, it's not your turn to speak!" She shouted in Wooyoung's direction, racing her way back over to San, eyeing him up like a lion about to pounce it's prey. "As for you, don't you even dare play stupid with me. I know damn well you know who that is San!" She motioned back to the bodyguard, who removed the safety from his gun before pointing it back on the now defenseless Wooyoung. 

"You do realize I have access to every single file in Panacea's computer database right? I have to keep an eye on my future assets of course. Daddy is leaving Panacea to me after all, so I wouldn't want anything happening to my soon to be business. I know just how important that man is to you, and unless you want something terrible to happen to him, I suggest you quit with the act, and start playing ball."

Wooyoung froze at her words, remembering back to Yunho's the night San got into the scuffle with the Panacea vans. 

"They know we were there, but I'm not sure they know who we were. Either way, it's dangerous. Yeosang, you firewalled their system right? Mingi thought he saw our logo on a computer in there.”

"Ok ok…" San broke the silence, eyes glazed over, looking dejected. "What do you want from me? I'll do anything you please, but under one condition. Let him go." San's gaze moved to meet Wooyoung's, full of worry and regret. "I don't care what you do with me, but unless he gets to leave here, unscathed, I won't play ball understand!?"

Regina was about to retort, but the door to the suite swung open once more.

Eden and Ji-ah had stepped inside, locked in a passionate kiss, oblivious to what was going on for a moment, until Eden had pulled away. 

"What the hell!?" He gasped, keeping a hand firm around Ji-ah, protectively. "Regina what the fuck do you think you're doing?" He demanded, the firmness in his tone evident.

Regina groaned under her breath, jumping up from San and shaking her head. 

"I thought you were told that the penthouse was off limits!?" 

"Sister, I don't understand, please, talk to me." Ji-ah spoke, her calm nature taking over the room.

Regina scoffed, flipping her long locks over her shoulder. "Sis I'm protecting what's rightfully ours! These...thieves were going to take everything from us! They're the very same men who burned the Panacea building! I'm going to make them pay."

Ji-ah had remained silent, taking in her sister's words a moment, hand moving under her chin as she stared from San to Wooyoung. "No Regina, you don't need to make them pay. I have a better idea of what to do with these two." Her usually logical light eyes had turned a little more malicious as she spoke, and that excited her sister. 

"Let them free." 

Those words made San feel a pang of relief. Thank god there was a good cop to Regina's bad cop. Maybe, just maybe he and Wooyoung could get out of this mess after all.

"What!? Did you not hear a damn thing I just said!?" Regina shouted, confused and angered.

Ji-ah though, wasn't phased in the least. She merely grinned, looking up at her fiancé. "You misunderstand me sister. I'm not just saying to let them free without consequence. No, the exact opposite."

She made her way over to San now, staring straight through him with those crystal clear eyes. "We'll let you both go, but I have conditions of my own. You two, you belong to us now. More specifically, you belong to Eden." Eden lit up at her words, smirk flying across his face.

"Ji-ah, you're just going to give them to your husband!? That's no fair, and no fun." Regina pouted, sitting on the arm of the couch. 

"Listen to me Regina. It's too risky if they were to work with us. Daddy could find out. But, if we use Eden as our middle man, no harm no foul, and dear old dad will be none the wiser. Then, we can use these little punks for whatever we need them for, even the more dangerous jobs."

Her attention now moved to Wooyoung on the floor. "What I'm saying is, you two are free to leave here if you'd like, but if you do, Eden OWNS your asses. He calls for you, you jump. He gives you an order, you obey, no matter what the consequences. Understand? The choice is yours after all, but know this, you refuse your freedom, I am in no way responsible for whatever fresh hell Regina will drag you through as punishment." 

San internally groaned, trying to weigh the options, but both were practically death sentences. Wooyoung's gaze met his and his heart sank. This was his fault. Wooyoung got pulled into this mess because of him, but San would be damned if he let something happen to Wooyoung because of his mistakes. 

"So boys, what's it going to be?"