Work Text:
Patterns of characters run across the screen unceasingly, a never ending stream of information Minkyun needs to absorb into his brain. Every so often his eyes blink closed for a little too long, and he has to shake himself awake.
He acts as a man in the middle, an easy game, watching the communication between two parties and altering their words to benefit him. His keyboard is simply an extension of his body, and his fingers fly over the keys as second nature, intercepting and manipulating in mere seconds. This is dire, he needs to make sure everything works in his favor. Getting distracted would only set them back, and salvaging any misstep would take him too much precious time.
“Kyunnie,” a voice calls, and his focus snaps. The tension in his body dissipates almost immediately, which he resents only for the loss in imperative productivity he’s about to have.
Slowly he turns his head to meet eyes with Seungjun. The older man had been working at cracking through passwords and firewalls for hours, an even easier task than Minkyun’s, and clearly he’s grown bored. There’s the stick of a lollipop poking out from between his thin lips, newly unwrapped, which he claims helps him focus but Minkyun finds it distracts him more instead. Seungjun takes it out with a grin and comes closer, carding a hand through Minkyun’s hair as he watches the data on his screens over his shoulder.
“You look like you’re doing well,” he praises. Minkyun preens, unable to hide how much the other’s words affect him, and Seungjun laughs at him. The botnet he had established did most of the work for him, but Seungjun doesn’t seem to care as he gets himself settled on Minkyun’s lap.
The kiss is sweet—tastes sweet like the cherry stains on Seungjun’s tongue. Minkyun lets himself melt into it, if only for a moment. Seungjun is clearly proud of himself when he pulls away, having successfully distracted him. The man was a genius, but his work ethic was truly questionable.
“You’re doing this on purpose,” he complains and Seungjun kisses him again.
“Mhm,” he hums against his lips. “I’m bored.”
“I know,” Minkyun grumbles, “but I’m supposed to be looking.”
“He said he’d be fine, messages won’t show up this early anyway.”
“Jun,” he sighs, “you don’t know that.”
Seungjun sits back from nuzzling at the point where Minkyun’s neck meets his shoulder and pouts. “Hyojin will be fine. It’s just a flash drive, there’s nothing to worry about, honey.” He plays with his hair affectionately.
Minkyun scowls, eyes going back to his screens. Seungjun is warm against him and he doesn’t move, but he lets him go back to messing with communications. A few minutes pass in silence before he sits up again.
“Is he doing it there?”
“We agreed he’d come back. There’s too much at stake if he stays exposed like that.”
“Surely they wouldn’t notice him.”
I don’t want to risk that, Minkyun thinks. “I just want to watch in person.” Something familiar flashes across the screen as he finishes speaking, and he jolts in his seat.
“Look!” he hisses, and Seungjun whips around right as the message disappears. “He’s okay.”
“Of course he is dumbass, it’s Hyojin,” the older laughs, but another coded message appears and vanishes almost as quickly.
“He isn’t,” Minkyun realizes. “Oh my god he’s not— He needs help.”
The lazy glee that had stuck to Seungjun’s demeanour vanishes along with the smile that had stretched at his lips. In half a second his expression is laser sharp focus, all business as he slides out of Minkyun’s lap. Minkyun is already tracking where the signal had come from, pulling up camera feeds as he takes over the mainframe where Hyojin’s located in a panic. It’s a stupid move, will probably fuck them over later, but he’s desperate to see him.
Hyojin is surrounded.
Seungjun gasps from where he stands beside Minkyun’s chair, “Fuck, fuck fuck fuck, how did this happen?”
Hyojin’s arms are up in surrender, and in his grasp is the flash drive.
“He has it,” Minkyun breathes. “Jun—oh god—What do we do?”
Seungjun bites his lip. “He has to get out of there himself. Pull out, don’t give us away.”
“What?!”
“Do as I say. He’ll be fine, we’ve been in worse situations before.” Seungjun’s gaze is far away as he pats Minkyun’s head again and turns to cross the room.
Minkyun listens, lingering for only a few seconds longer as he watches Hyojin crack a smile at his pursuers.
Several hours later he’s still pacing, unable to bring himself to look at his screens and be inevitably disappointed at the lack of information. He fears the worst, crushes all hope in his chest to the smallest of pieces and doesn’t let himself hurt.
The door opens with grandeur and Minkyun turns dejectedly. But—against his initial thoughts—in strides Hyojin, blood dripping from a cut on his cheek.
“Hyojin!” he wails, and the smaller man grins as he walks past him and straight to Minkyun’s setup.
“Hyo,” he complains in complete disbelief, and the other turns and laughs at him, pulling him into a chaste kiss.
“I’m fine, lovebug, just a misunderstanding. You know how it is,” he dismisses, patting Minkyun’s cheek and turning back to the task at hand.
“Wh- just?”
“Mhm.” He doesn’t give him anything to go off of, instead typing even faster than Minkyun ever could as he strips the drive of its data. Seungjun comes sauntering in about halfway through the process, clinging to Hyojin this time instead of Minkyun.
“Do you know what happened?” Minkyun whines to the blond, who laughs and pulls him into his arms so he’s mashed between Seungjun’s front and Hyojin’s back.
“Just got into a little catfight with the wrong group of people. I told you he’d be fine. The guys that were chasing him? Actually used to work with us, nothing to worry about.”
“Fuck,” Hyojin swears, and their attention is drawn back to the screens. He clicks through some files, each one causing him to swear more, until he opens one and an image appears.
Minkyun’s mouth drops open in shock. The pair had been causing trouble far longer than he had without him, but he didn’t truly know how wanted they were. It was rare they talked about it, mostly they brushed it off with laughter and nostalgic smiles, but this business was dangerous. Minkyun was lucky he had gotten out of his own scrapes just fine, but Seungjun and Hyojin were an entirely different story. He wouldn’t be surprised if the bounties over their heads were weighty.
Hyojin enhances the image, and for a moment they all stare in silence at a Seungjun that is most definitely not theirs.
“They’ve cloned you,” Hyojin whispers.