Work Text:
Drip……….
Drip....
Drip..
---drop
Blood was gradually pooling and leaking out from what connected Joongi’s knife to the target. The attack was clean, precise, and measured. All went as well as could have been according to the plan. The target was ordered to be killed the previous day with orders coming from above; Seonhee. The target: an approximately 45-year-old businessman who had gotten too comfortable with speaking of his work. Information security is not to be trifled with and when working with people that have associations with the Geomijul – it is imperative if you value your own life to do and say as you’re told. Regular civilians that find themselves fallen out of the good graces of the organization while actually having no clue just how they’ve managed to evade any legal consequence are unable to know when their demise is coming.
When a target is selected and the plan is created – all factors of the target’s life that are known are ripe for being exploited. Like picking berries from a vine, the speed and ease in which such plans are determined and launched becomes trivial. The murder was going to be framed as a suicide in which the target’s social media accounts had already been compromised and all that was needed for the right posts to be made was the signal from Joongi’s burner phone. Just one text to the number of the operative assigned to wait on him and another signal would be sent off to the one hunched in front of a computer screen inside a dilapidated abandoned cybercafe.
Being a hitman for a day-job, moving the bodies is never any less tiring or less precarious but as he does his job with skill, precision, and pride – there’s never been anything that could be traced back to him. He knew he would want to be in and out of the target’s hotel room as quickly as allowed so as to not alert anyone to his secret entrance and not be caught; there were people waiting on him at “home” – the loves of his life. Sending the signal that the target’s life had ended, he quickly set to work in creating the perfect scene.
****
I’ll bake you strawberry pie
Clean the blood and never ask why
I’ll be your alibi
Hide the bodies, change your hair dye
****
Drip……….
Drip....
Drip..
---drop
Rain gently tapped on the roof of You Tian, Zhao couldn’t sleep. He knew Joongi had to be out for his work but it didn’t make his presence any less missed. His sleeping form wasn’t always but typically he would be in the middle of the three-person sleep pile. There were many days where Zhao and Joongi would wake up first before their lovely [Name] did and quietly laugh about the cat they had. You were acutely aware of the lines of work both Zhao and Joongi were in, even if Zhao had still taken a step back; he was just as entrenched as he was since his childhood. You never loved them any less and never questioned it. You understood and the loyalty you had for them was doubled over and returned by both.
Once he knew the opportunity to invite the both of you up to the loft he called “home” above You Tian could present itself – he invested in ensuring the bed was large enough that it wasn’t hazardous for anyone’s backs to sleep. Tight squeezes were fine but it would be all fun and games until someone woke up on the floor. Likely him, likely him – Zhao mastered the art of falling to avoid injury but all of that knowledge and reflexes wouldn’t reflect in sleep.
Being restless wasn’t good so he gradually unhooked his leg from where it had hooked with yours as you shifted in sleep and gently pulled himself down to the wood floor – leaving his blankets over you. The faint lantern from the kitchen counter gave him enough light to orient himself to where he sat his glasses at. His painted jet-black nails had chipped away indicating that it was time for them to be redone. Getting out the rubbing alcohol and finding where he left his color on the bathroom counter; he was getting ready to kill time at the dining table – there was a soft knock at the door. The smell of nail polish had just begun to mingle with the chamomile incense.
It was Joongi. He had begun carrying keys to get into You Tian during the off-hours so Zhao or the poor manager wouldn’t be the only ones that could let him in if you weren’t there too. Unlocking the loft entrance door, Zhao was greeted with the sight of his silver ashen hair now slightly overgrown and already begun to visibly spackle with black. Joongi would have to redye his hair before going out again. He was hungry and he was tired. The bottom of the sky fell out during his escape; drenched in rain he still smelled of blood. Some of it -clearly not his - was still on his cheek.
Holding the door for Joongi to slide in and discard his boots at the entrance before any greetings could be exchanged – there was rustling and shifting of the last weight covered up by blankets on the mattress. Arms outstretching it was clear it was more than just readjusting.
The air was slightly but noticeably colder free from the warmth of the bed. Waking up alone only made it easier to notice the coldness as it was always harder to leave if not just one but two people were still lying alongside. They rubbed the sleep from their eyes and pushed up from the bed with eyes adjusting to the dim light. It was 3’ A.M in the morning and the rain only threatened to continue pouring outside. With a swift movement, they were already up to greet the returning partner by the door. No words needed to be exchanged, Joongi’s coat was already unzipped and handed off to Zhao. Joongi never would go out in public with any of his natural hair color visible and given the lateness of the night, it was easier to step in and assist without any protest – if there ever were any it was simply because he never wanted anyone to go out of their way for him. Pulling Zhao in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek, they clasped a hand around Joongi’s and began to guide him in the direction of the bathroom.
Pulling a box of his dye, towels, and facial wipes from under the sink, Joongi was already directed to sit on the bathmat; freshly laundered from the evening before he could fall asleep on it and not complain. “Shirt”, his love’s voice brought him back to attention. Looking over to his left, he quickly averted his gaze back towards the shower on his right. On warm nights, especially in the humidity of the summer it wasn’t unusual for all three of you to be sleeping shirtless in the same bed to make the arrangement work and remain bearable for everyone else – even if he was the only one who had to use not just one but two blankets. He still was surprisingly prone to embarrassment and shy about it with the light flushing forming on his cheeks making a less jarring contrast between his skin and the blood that dried there. Not knowing how to respond to the soft remark of “Cute” that could have missed his ears earlier, he complied. A gray towel was quickly draped around his broad shoulders before his shoulders could be exposed for too long. His face was gently wiped to clean it off with the scent of witch-hazel reaching his nose.
With the hairbrush Zhao had picked out for him to use when staying over (Zhao purposely would buy the cute ones for everyone, if it had a cute design it was in the cart), Joongi’s hair was softly being brushed and divided up with clips to hold them in place. Massaging his scalp while doing so, his love smiled as the tension could be both felt and seen leaving his body with each exhale. Applying petroleum jelly to prevent staining to his face was another way to help ease tension with focus being applied on the temples and the forehead. With all of the necessary steps completed, the mixture of hair dye begun.
At this point, it wasn’t the first time either you or Zhao had helped him dye his hair but keeping the box handy was a good failsafe just to ensure that the job was done right and Joongi wouldn’t have to do it all alone or pay extra for a stylist. Taking the care and time to focus on each strand and section as it was being dyed and developed was one way the three of you could alternate between who was spending time with whom – although there were also times where dying Joongi’s hair became a fun three person activity in which the less active one would focus more on idle conversation or making jokes to see who would crack first if any. In a way, an unofficial system had been set-up where in most instances whoever got the opportunity to help with the dye job split off almost equally unless time and energy allowed. Quiet Sundays were one such instance where it was among one of the most fun times of the day besides meals together. All Joongi had to do was dry his hair and style it to his usual one once all was said and done.
****
While the two were busy working on the hair dye – Zhao took his restless energy to focus on the kitchen – he could paint his nails while he waited for his two favorite lovebirds to be ready to get some sleep but knowing how Joongi’s day likely had been – fixing something to eat would take priority. The freezer didn’t have a lot of space but frozen strawberries had been on sale and there had been enough hinting around that (Name) was trying to see if he had ever baked any pies. He wasn’t someone who made a lot of desserts that were considered Western but the premade pie crusts he found in the fridge were a quick-start. All he had to do was boil down the strawberries with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch to make the filling. He knew Joongi was someone who appreciated less sugar heavy recipes so when it came to desserts – there were times where he would either reduce the sugar or cut it with artificial substitutes; learning how the differences compared and stacked up against one another. As a chef, experimenting with different ingredients kept him on his toes and there had been a growing trend of customers looking for a sweet fix that were trying to monitor their sugar intake. He didn’t quite understand it but if there was someone who could make something taste the best without having all of the standard or traditional ingredients – it was going to be him.
Whisking together his sugar mixture and cornstarch in a bowl – pouring it over the strawberries that had begun to heat in the pot on the stove top – all of the dishes that could wait until later to be washed were out. He was so glad the manager he hired and the rest of the staff were competent enough to be trusted to run the restaurant if he ever needed to take a step back because he definitely was not going to be up by the evening if he went to sleep now. Turning on the kitchen radio he was lucky enough to have that came pre-installed below one of the cabinets, he turned on the pop radio station and turned up the music loud enough that it could still be heard far enough to the bathroom. Tapping his feet to the rhythm and pacing kept him from falling asleep while waiting for the oven to preheat as the filling began to finish up. With an idea in his head, he took the top pie crust’s lattice and transformed it into hearts.
With enough time passed and all was set to go in the oven – he finally turned his attention to the nail polish that had been left abandoned on the dining table. Using a fast drying topcoat and reusing the bowl from earlier he could speed up the drying process with an ice bath so he wouldn’t have to worry about the paint getting on anything else.
****
Within 30 minutes, the aroma of the pie baking in the oven had begun to fill the loft. By the time the pie would be done, it would be about 4’ in the morning. Nothing wrong with some pie for an early morning breakfast, right? Pulling out some red Bordeaux wine a customer had praised before and pouring three glasses – all he had to do was stay awake and find little things to do that could occupy time like already fixing up the “fancy” fine china of paper plates and plastic cutlery. He would splurge on the sturdy high quality disposable utensils and lived by using those before actual silverware if he was trying to cut down on dish usage, even if Joongi would look at him a little sideways. If it wasn’t for Joongi’s insistence on always using clean dishes – Zhao and the other lovebird would insist on reusing the same plates or bowls of it was just for themselves and no one else was around to question it. They would both joke he had been spoiled by living a life of luxury having to attend fancy dinner parties for his work from time to time for the sake of maintaining appearances. “Oh, come on doll, would Yeonsu have to worry about what others thought? They’re not gonna bite ya.” “No, I do think he would rather his beloved partners not run the risk of giving themselves food poisoning.”
That exchange ended with Zhao knowing he wasn’t winning this compromise and jokingly going “Tch.. as the Prince of Plates wishes, us commoners will follow by your lead”. With an exaggerated eyeroll, Joongi had gotten the last word, “I didn’t know the Prince of Plates washed dishes but I guess you get to be Chef Court Jester.” It took awhile before their third partner could stop laughing at the idea and mental images that had came to mind. The longer the three of you had been hanging around one another, the more comfortable and adept Joongi had gotten at participating in banter. Going toe to toe with Zhao wasn’t easy so it was a bonus if there was ever an additional ally.
By the time the timer cut the kitchen radio off and the pie had been pulled to cool from the oven – the shortest of the three was proudly escorting the freshly silver ashen-ed Joongi from the bathroom, “Tada! Our man’s brand integrity has been preserved!”.
That was about the truth of it – there had been the playful floating of ideas for other colors like pink or blue but they were all shot down quickly. Apparently, the second Joongi, Joon-gi Han was expressly not one to do other colors and that doing so would be jarring out of the blue but for the sake of temporary disguises or costumes maybe he could consider it had Zhao musing about how long it would take to do rainbow colors and what amount of time would make the process worth it. The frightening thing was he seemed to be giving it serious thought and joked that if Seonhee gave the order for him to dye his hair another color – he would have to oblige wouldn’t he? Zhao when determined was surprisingly thorough in going about seeing it through. He still talked to Seonhee given his semi-in and semi-out status with the Liumang under her control and participated in activities to say the least but him bringing up the idea to her without any prompting was something to picture. She was almost astonishingly receptive to the fact that Joongi had not one but two partners; Joongi wasn’t free from the jokes of there being a “political” marriage to link the Geomijul and the Liumang while also being secretly grateful that he had also found a partner who wasn’t as involved in the underworld. She thought they were interesting enough to enjoy spending time one-on-one that wasn’t spent with their two lovers hanging out as friends. Even the boss of the Geomijul needed a few hours of rest and play. Joongi while grateful they were both close to his boss, still silently prayed they didn’t go feeding her crazy ideas he would have to jump on. He already wasn’t safe from being teased in private about the relationship but her happiness for him was genuine even if it felt like she was more of a protective older-sister for the shorter of the three than him.
“Great job babe, now let’s get our favorite idol some food and into bed – breakfast? I baked a strawberry pie and cracked open this bottle of Bordeaux for us already while you two were busy”
“Day-drinking?”
“If you haven’t sleep isn’t it just about the same day Han-chan? I know you would like some food and the wine is supposed to be a good rec. It’ll keep ya asleep if you have a glass. Long day”
“I mean 4 am is about late at night if you mess with the wording, right?”
“See, they got the idea! Gold star to [Name]”
“Look, he even put hearts on the crust!” Pie and wine for breakfast it was, they couldn’t compete with the excitement on their lover’s face.
****
With dishes in the sink, three had finally retired to bed before the sun ever dared to rise. Zhao found himself in the middle of the sleep cuddle pile and knew he was both loved and appreciated.