Work Text:
“Beomgyu. Assignment just came in from Lea.”
Beomgyu sighed. He really should be used to Kai ordering him around like this by now, but something in him still smarted at the idea of someone younger than him bossing him around. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been working here for long, or maybe it was because Kai had such an attitude about it. Came with being the mob boss’ son, Beomgyu supposed. Kai and both of his sisters had the sort of no-nonsense vibe that Beomgyu really didn’t jive with.
“Yes, sir,” he muttered, setting down his half-eaten lunch and standing up off the sofa. They were currently hidden in some grimy basement underneath a convenience store, one of Kai’s many “safe houses” that he kept around the city. Didn’t seem very safe to Beomgyu– the amount of mold probably in these walls right now was enough to kill an elephant.
Kai took him into an adjacent room that doubled as both an office and a supply closet, stacked so high with boxes that Beomgyu nearly knocked over a hard-sided plastic cases full of weapons on his way to shut the door. He caught it at the last second and put it back in its place.
Kai was sitting in the chair behind the desk, arms crossed over his body. It made his ample chest look even more beefy, and Beomgyu tried hard not to stare. Kai was maintaining eye contact with one eyebrow raised.
Beomgyu gave a stilted bow. “Assignment, sir?”
“Yes. I got word from Lea that one of our shipments was interrupted,” Kai said shortly. “Lone actor. Not sure if he’s involved with any of the other gangs in the area, but he got away with an entire truck’s worth of goods.”
“Oh,” Beomgyu responded blankly. “That’s… uh, a bummer.”
Kai snorted. He pulled a file out of one of the many boxes sitting at his feet, marked with a red tab. He slammed it onto the desk, CCTV photos flying out everywhere. “Kang Taehyun.” The amount of venom in his voice was surprising to Beomgyu; Kai rarely showed this level of emotion. “I want that twink obliterated.”
Beomgyu hesitantly came closer to get a better look at the photos. He was admittedly pretty good-looking, even through the grainy camera footage. High nose, big eyes, lips that curled up prettily at the corners. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, and there was a large machine gun strapped to his back.
Beomgyu flipped through some more photos. Taehyun holding a gun to the truck driver’s head, and then dragging his limp body from the cab and dropping it in the middle of the street. One of the photos even showed him staring up directly into the security camera with a smirk. That look made Beomgyu’s stomach tilt, like he was on a seesaw.
He moved to the papers next. It appeared that they’d pulled his information from his former high school registration papers. His student ID photo was in the top right corner, though the boy in the picture looked significantly younger than the one Beomgyu had just seen. His little toothbrush bangs were weirdly adorable, considering Beomgyu had photographic proof that Kang Taehyun had killed a man without remorse.
To be fair, Beomgyu had also done his fair share of killing. It was why the Huenings had hired him. This assignment was just going to be a little different, that was all. He could do this one too.
Kai had given him the complete file for him to take home, so he leafed through the papers while laying in bed as he plotted out his strategy. The place was tiny, meant for students, but that fit Beomgyu just fine. He moved a lot anyway, so he never had much to put anywhere. He kept most of his necessities in a bag under his bed in case he ever had to make a quick getaway.
It seemed that Lea had been very thorough in her briefing, because the file included Taehyun’s home address and places that he’d been spotted on other security cameras. The reason that the Huenings had access to pretty much every CCTV camera in the city was still a mystery to Beomgyu, but that wasn’t his department. He mostly stuck to hired assassinations… and whatever this was. He knew better than to question Kai, though.
Beomgyu’s finger landed on the name and address of a bar. It was one that Taehyun frequented, apparently, at least often enough for it to appear on the list of locations in the file. Beomgyu pulled out his phone to see how far the place was.
Twenty-five minutes if he took the train. That wasn’t too bad, and it wasn’t often that he rode public transport on an assignment– it was too easy to be spotted. It would probably take him a couple of days to stake out the place. He got out of bed and stretched, yawning widely, before going to his closet.
There wasn’t much in there that wasn’t black. It was the easiest to wash blood out of, and also inconspicuous. He pulled out a pair of ripped jeans and a leather jacket. At least the jeans were more of a charcoal color instead of just plain black. He stooped down to check for shoes– black sneakers and black combat boots. Great. He really needed to go shopping.
He ran a brush through his hair and rearranged it into somewhat of a style after getting dressed. It wasn’t necessarily his best work, but that didn’t matter. Tonight was just to canvas the place and see if Taehyun himself would make an appearance.
He vacillated between the combat boots and the sneakers for a while, but ended up picking the boots. He threw the jacket on over his shoulders and headed out the door, listening for the lock clicking behind him. He double-checked his phone in the elevator for directions. No point in going out tonight to find out more about Taehyun and accidentally getting himself lost instead. The station was an eight-minute walk away.
The train wasn’t too crowded, which was nice. He managed to get himself a seat, and put in his headphones as he rode. They were the shitty kind, the one that made the music sound like it was coming out of a tin can, but they were also just shitty enough that Beomgyu could still hear everything going on around him. A woman was murmuring something to her child in the seat opposite, and there was a drunk man arguing with another guy around his age in the corner. The guy was holding his drunk friend up by the elbow without saying a word.
Beomgyu chuckled to himself. Friends were hard to come by in this industry. He supposed that Kai was sort of his friend, when he wasn’t busy being all sassy and stuffed up with the I’m-the-one-in-charge-around-here attitude. Beomgyu respected him, and Kai respected him back. He was actually kind of funny, too, and his laugh was so jarringly different from his mafia-boss persona that it made Beomgyu giggle to himself just thinking about it. In another world, Kai would’ve been something different. Kinder, sweeter, not roughened by all the hardship and loss that went along with this line of work.
The disembodied voice overhead announced Beomgyu’s stop. He got out and looked around for the right exit, following a girl who was so busy texting on her phone that she almost tripped up the stairs. Beomgyu put his arms out to catch her, but she managed to steady herself at the last second and carried on.
It was pleasantly cool outside the station. Beomgyu was glad he’d chosen the leather jacket tonight. He spun around in a circle for a second, trying to get his bearings, and then started off down the street in the direction of the bar. There were more people out here than there were in his neighborhood. He dodged a couple that were too busy staring at each other to watch where they were going, and kept walking towards the bar.
It was a pretty average-looking place, all things considered. There was a neon sign outside that said Skipping Stones, which matched the name that was listed in Taehyun’s file. With a discreet glance, Beomgyu caught sight of the very same security camera that had filmed Taehyun at this location.
Beomgyu pushed the door open and went inside. It wasn’t packed yet, but there were a fair number of people sitting at tables or standing around near the karaoke booth in the corner. It was dimly lit, which meant that Beomgyu had a hard time identifying people at first glance. He needed to be subtle about this– staring creepily at every patron in the bar would certainly be a bad start.
He decided to get a drink. It was better-lit near the bar, and at least if he had a drink in his hand he’d have a better excuse to mill around and check the place out. The bartender was pretty; sleek and slim, with fox-like eyes and plush lips. His hair was a shock of bright ginger-orange that should’ve been off-putting, but somehow made him more handsome.
“Hi, what can I get you?”
“Uh– a tequila sunrise,” Beomgyu said, picking the first thing that stuck out to him on the menu above the bartender’s head. He smiled, and then ducked behind the counter to what Beomgyu assumed was a fridge. He reappeared after a second.
“Babe! Can you get me another jug of orange juice?”
Beomgyu looked around for this “babe,” surprised to see a tall, round-eyed man holding a rag near one of the tables. He put the rag in his pocket right away and disappeared through a door that said Employees Only.
“Soobinnie will be right back out with the orange juice, and then I can get started on your drink,” the bartender said warmly. “What’s your name?”
“Beomgyu,” he replied, figuring it wouldn’t much matter if anyone knew his name once the assignment was complete. “What’s yours?”
“Yeonjun,” the bartender answered. “Nice to meet you.”
Yeonjun turned away to make another drink, but then Soobin came back with a massive jug of orange juice and sidled into the bar beside Yeonjun. He left it sitting on the counter, patting Yeonjun’s arm affectionately before going back to wiping down tables. It was a good thing this bartender was clearly taken, Beomgyu thought. Even so, Soobin must have a hard time fending off all of Yeonjun’s admirers. There was something about him that seemed magnetic. There was a pair of girls sitting at the end of the bar with cocktails in hand giggling at his every word.
Yeonjun called Beomgyu’s name and pushed his drink towards him. Beomgyu took it gratefully, bringing it to his mouth for a sip. Pretty good, he thought. Yeonjun didn’t make his drinks too strong, but it wasn’t entirely orange juice either. At least Beomgyu wasn’t going to end up staggering home tonight.
After paying for his drink, he decided to get up and walk around a little. The place wasn’t huge, but he noted a fire exit in the back in addition to the Employees Only room. The restroom was only a single-occupant one, apparently, because there was a steady line of people going in and out one at a time as Beomgyu watched. The seat he was currently occupying near the window was immaculately clean. It seemed Soobin was doing his job well, and he didn’t even look the slightest bit annoyed when someone accidentally knocked a glass off of their table. He just went back into the Employees Only room and brought out a mop.
After half an hour he decided to get a second drink. Yeonjun gave him that same charming smile when he came up to the bar, and Beomgyu ordered a vodka soda this time. He brought the drink to his lips and winced a little. Yeonjun laughed.
“I made you a stronger one since that tequila sunrise didn’t even make you blink,” he chuckled. “Too much?”
“No, it’s– it’s good,” Beomgyu replied. “Just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”
Yeonjun hummed and went to make another customer’s drink. Beomgyu was debating just asking him, since Yeonjun would likely recognize Taehyun if he was a regular. Was that too suspicious? Maybe, but it wasn’t like this had to be the best stealth operation in the world. Beomgyu could afford to be a little messier than usual. Before he got the chance, though, Yeonjun shot him another question.
“What brings you in? You kinda seem like you’re looking for someone.”
Beomgyu nodded. “This place was recommended to me by an ex-coworker a while back,” he lied easily. “I don’t know, I was kind of wondering if he still comes here. We haven’t seen each other in a while.”
Yeonjun hummed again. “Ex-coworker, huh? Were you guys close?”
“Kind of,” Beomgyu answered. “Not really. We were good friends while we were at work, but it wasn’t much more than that. I was just kind of wondering… how he’s doing.”
Yeonjun gave him a look, eyebrow raised. “You seem awfully interested.”
“Well… maybe a little,” Beomgyu said, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. It didn’t even seem like that much of a lie; from the photos he’d seen, Taehyun was good-looking.
“What’s his name? I might be able to help you find him.”
“Taehyun,” Beomgyu replied. “Kang Taehyun.”
Bingo. Yeonjun’s face lit up with recognition, and he put down the glass he’d been drying with a dish towel. “Oh, yeah! I know him, he’s here all the time. Funny, though, he never talks about work. I almost thought he didn’t have a job,” Yeonjun joked.
Beomgyu shook his head. “No, he does. I’m glad to hear that he’s still around, though. You think he’ll come in tonight?”
Yeonjun shrugged. “Maybe. He doesn’t really have a schedule, at least not as far as I can tell. He just kinda comes in whenever he feels like it. You know, it’s weird. He’s been coming here for years, but I feel like I know almost nothing about him. He hardly talks, and when he does it’s plain, casual stuff. You said you guys were friends?”
“Yeah, but he’s pretty introverted and shy around people. It took me a long time to get him to open up. Don’t worry, it’s not just you.”
“He never brings anyone here, either. It’s always just him. I kinda get the impression he’s lonely, you know? Maybe it’ll be good for him to see an old friend,” Yeonjun mused. “Anyway. I hope he comes in.”
“Me too,” Beomgyu said. “By the way, if you see him… Could you not tell him I’m looking for him?” He tilted his head a little to let the pinkness in his cheeks from the alcohol show, an embarrassed expression on his face. “I don’t know, I just wanted to– surprise him or something.”
Yeonjun gave him a cheesy wink that mostly just looked like he was blinking really hard. “You got it. Your secret’s safe with me. Get the guy, Beomgyu! Soobinnie and I will be cheering for you.”
“Thanks, Yeonjun.” Beomgyu left another bill on the counter and then went back to the window. It was starting to get more crowded now as the evening wore on, but the seat near the window was still thankfully empty. Beomgyu sat down with his vodka soda. The last thing he really needed was an audience, but Yeonjun sent him another aggressive blink of support through the throng of people. Beomgyu really hoped that he wasn’t going to have performance issues. He was nervous enough as it was, considering that this was the first time Kai had asked him to do anything like this.
He was just considering giving up and trying again tomorrow when the bell at the door jingled. Beomgyu looked up and had to hold back a gasp. It was Taehyun, certainly. He was instantly recognizable, and in Beomgyu’s opinion the CCTV footage did not do him justice. He was shorter than Beomgyu by just the smallest amount, but well-built beneath his zip-up hoodie and sweatpants.
“Oh, Taehyun, hey!” Soobin high-fived him as he scooted by. He must be a regular, then, if Soobin knew him too. Taehyun edged his way through the crowd and went straight to the bar.
Yeonjun made some sort of sound between a “hey” and an enthusiastic squawk as he spotted Taehyun, and started making a drink before Taehyun could even ask. Beomgyu couldn’t really see him well through the throng of people, but then a group of guys went to one of the booths. Beomgyu now had a perfect view of Taehyun’s back perched at the bar.
He was sort of worried that Taehyun was going to stay at the bar for the rest of the evening, chatting with Yeonjun or occasionally Soobin, but he didn’t seem to be in much of a social mood tonight. He took his drink and went to the second seat by the window. He was now sitting directly across from Beomgyu, in one of the cushy chairs that had probably seen way too many spilled drinks in their lifetime, nursing a glass of whisky.
Beomgyu didn’t really know what to do. The perfect opportunity had just landed in his lap, but now he was freezing up. Should he say something? Taehyun’s face was drawn, and he didn’t do so much as glance in Beomgyu’s direction. Would it be weird if he said something? Now he was overthinking this. He was a professional with training and a protocol– he could do this.
“Do I have something on my face?”
Beomgyu jumped a little at the sound of Taehyun’s voice. It was higher than he was expecting, but not in an unpleasant way. “S-sorry, what?”
“You’re staring.”
“Oh, right, um… sorry. It’s just that you’re– um, I like that hoodie.”
Taehyun lifted the corner of his plain grey zip-up and raised his eyebrow. “This?”
Beomgyu mentally facepalmed. Taehyun was making him feel weirdly nervous in a way that none of his other targets had done before. This was different, he reminded himself– not the standard assignment.
“Sorry. I just– I thought you were cute,” Beomgyu mumbled, feeling his cheeks flush against his will this time.
Taehyun laughed. Beomgyu looked up, startled, suddenly charmed by the tilt of his mouth and the dimple on his cheek. “That’s a bold admission.”
“’S true, though,” Beomgyu said, feeling embarrassment and an odd thrill in his veins in equal measure. “I saw you when you walked in and thought you were pretty.”
“Maybe I chose this seat because I was thinking the same thing.”
Beomgyu really didn’t know what to say to that. Taehyun thought he was cute? That was sort of the whole point, to gain his trust and all that. But still. The thought made Beomgyu blush even more.
“I… You– uh?”
Taehyun leisurely swirled the ice around in his drink, clearly waiting for Beomgyu to come up with a coherent sentence. Beomgyu downed the rest of his vodka soda before managing to gather up the courage to speak.
“You like karaoke much?”
Taehyun chuckled. “That’s what it took you so long to ask?”
“Well, I was thinking I should ask if I could buy you a drink but then you already had one, so I was like well this is kind of weird–“
“Sure,” Taehyun said, standing up from his chair. “We can do karaoke if you tell me your name first.”
“Beomgyu,” he responded, sort of breathless in the excitement of it all. “Choi Beomgyu.”
“I’m Taehyun. Come on, then, Beomgyu. Let’s see how good of a singer you are.”
Beomgyu was a decent singer, at least when he wasn’t a little tipsy. Taehyun, on the other hand, was a fantastic singer. Beomgyu could feel the entire bar staring at them as they performed some duet from a drama OST that his mother used to listen to in the car. The entire time, he couldn’t keep his eyes off Taehyun. He was a siren, something about him drawing Beomgyu in with inexorable power.
“It’s your line,” Taehyun said into the microphone, making one of the girls sitting behind him giggle. Beomgyu started a little but picked up in the middle of the line, singing the man’s part with a fair amount of accuracy. When Taehyun came in with the woman’s part, though, Beomgyu could hear sighs and claps from the bar. He really was amazing.
“Hey,” Taehyun said, bumping his shoulder into Beomgyu’s after a couple of songs. “You can buy me that second drink now, you know.”
Beomgyu nearly stumbled in his haste to get to the bar and pull his wallet out of his pocket, Taehyun hanging onto his arm so as not to get lost in the crowd. Yeonjun grinned when he saw the two of them.
“Whiskey on the rocks? What can I get for you, Beomgyu?”
“Um– a tequila sunrise again. I kind of thought you were trying to kill me with that vodka soda.”
Yeonjun laughed brightly, already pouring whiskey from a fancy-looking glass bottle. He handed it to Taehyun without saying a word, and then started on Beomgyu’s drink.
“Cocktail, huh?” Taehyun said, tilting his head in a way that made Beomgyu’s brain feel stupid. “I would’ve taken you for a beer kind of guy, at least.”
“I can have beer at home,” Beomgyu replied, sliding closer to Taehyun as a couple passed behind them. He could smell Taehyun’s cologne from this distance. That was bad. He smelled delicious, and Beomgyu’s brain was actively losing mental capacity the longer he stared at the shorter man.
“Fair point,” Taehyun said, blinking at Beomgyu through his lashes. “Whiskey just tastes better when Yeonjun hyung pours it, for some reason.”
“Ah, you flatter me too much!” Yeonjun trilled, clearly listening in on their conversation. “Drink, Beomgyu.” He pushed the tequila sunrise across the bar and gave Beomgyu another enthusiastic blink as Taehyun turned and started to lead him away.
He took Beomgyu to a corner of the bar that wasn’t as crowded. Three guys had taken up the karaoke machine and were belting girl group songs terribly, but Beomgyu couldn’t even bring himself to be bothered by it when Taehyun was holding the sleeve of his jacket like this. His pinky kept brushing Beomgyu’s wrist.
There were no chairs here, only a tall standing table, so Taehyun was sort of leaning against the wall as he sipped his whisky. He still hadn’t let go of Beomgyu’s sleeve, two fingers wrapped around his wrist now. He was staring up at Beomgyu expectantly.
“Is… it good?”
Taehyun blinked. “The whisky? Or the singing? The singing is bad, but I think you can hear that.”
“No– I, um…” Taehyun was clearly wanting Beomgyu to do something, but Beomgyu didn’t know what it was. It was just the two of them in this corner, and Beomgyu could smell Taehyun’s cologne again. He set his glass down on the table.
“Beomgyu,” Taehyun sighed. “I didn’t bring you here because I wanted to talk.”
“O-oh. Sorry?”
The next thing Beomgyu knew, he was being pushed against the wall in the corner of the bar. Taehyun was kissing him, holding him by the collar, muscular legs caging Beomgyu in. Beomgyu was stiff at first, not expecting it, but then he started to kiss back. He could taste the whisky on Taehyun’s tongue. The feeling of Taehyun’s hands in his hair was addictive, and Beomgyu traced the line of Taehyun’s tiny waist beneath his sweatshirt with his thumb. Taehyun pulled away.
“Sweet,” he breathed. “Tequila sunrise.”
“I thought you didn’t come here to talk,” Beomgyu shot back.
The smirk on Taehyun’s face was practically feral as he leaned back in, putting his hands under Beomgyu’s shirt. Beomgyu knew that in the job sense he’d succeeded– he’d earned Taehyun’s trust. Right now, though, that thought was very far away in his brain. He could feel Taehyun’s tongue on the rim of his bottom lip, smell that intoxicating cologne beneath the scent of expensive whisky–
He got a smack with a wet rag on the side of his head. Apparently Taehyun felt it too, because they jumped apart. It was Soobin, standing there with his hands on his hips and the table cleaning cloth sticking out of his pocket.
“Sorry, Tyun. Yeonjun hyung says he loves you, but he draws the line at fucking inside the bar. Pack it up.”
Taehyun rolled his eyes, hands still on Beomgyu’s chest. “Yeonjun hyung can suck my dick.”
“Um, no, he absolutely cannot,” Soobin said with a frown, raising the wet rag. “Do you want another smack? Because you’re asking for another smack.”
Taehyun flipped Soobin the middle finger and looked up at Beomgyu, that smirk tilting his kiss-red mouth. “Wanna take this back to your place?”
“God, do I ever,” Beomgyu whispered, voice a little wobbly from the adrenaline and something else in his veins. Taehyun was worse for him than any poison he’d ever accidentally drank– which had happened. Twice. Kai had bailed him out both times.
They abandoned their half-finished drinks on the table, Taehyun leading Beomgyu out into the cooling night. It wasn’t cold with Taehyun’s hands on him. They were kissing even while they waited for the cab, Taehyun’s hold on Beomgyu’s body and mind insistent and irresistible.
They barely made it into the cab and up the elevator to Beomgyu’s apartment with their clothes still on. Taehyun kept trying to sneak his hands up Beomgyu’s shirt when the driver wasn’t looking. Beomgyu was well aware of the cameras in the hallway, but it was so hard to say no to Taehyun’s cat-like smile.
At the end of the night, just before falling asleep with Taehyun next to him, Beomgyu sent Kai a single-word text.
Success.
Kai, Lea, and Bahiyyih were all waiting when Beomgyu came in to give his report on the assignment. Kai had sent him the address to a random office building, and Beomgyu had nearly gotten lost navigating all of the tiny side streets to try to find it. The bottom floor was a seedy-looking massage parlor, but the top floor was nothing but empty cubicles.
Beomgyu bowed deeply to the three of them. Lea was sitting on top of one of the desks, and Kai was standing with his arms crossed. Bahiyyih was in a rolling chair and twirling a pen between her long fingers.
“Success?” Kai asked.
“Yes, sir,” Beomgyu replied, cognizant of the fact that both Lea and Bahiyyih were watching him carefully. He’d only interacted with them a handful of times each.
“And?”
“Um… He’s a pretty good lay, if that’s the intel you wanted,” Beomgyu said slowly.
There was a long, cold silence. Kai was frowning deeply, and Lea’s eyebrows were somewhere near her hairline. Bahiyyih had stopped twirling the pen and was now sitting there with her mouth open.
“A good lay?” Kai repeated.
“Yeah. That’s what you wanted me to do, right? ‘I want that twink obliterated’…?”
There was a burst of shrieking laughter. Kai pinched the bridge of his nose as Bahiyyih smacked the desk in her mirth. “You’re an assassin,” Kai said acidly. “When I said ‘I want that twink obliterated’, that is not what I meant.”
Beomgyu swore. “You wanted him dead?”
“Yes I wanted him dead!” Kai burst out. “He stole one of our shipments! You thought I wanted you to have sex with him?”
“You said twink!” Beomgyu cried. “What was I supposed to think you meant!?”
“Well, you can’t spell assassin without ass,” Lea said dryly, the first words she’d spoken the entire meeting.
“Twice, actually,” Bahiyyih piped up, wiping tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. “Oh, this is iconic. Beomgyu, this is the funniest thing that’s ever happened. Dad’s going to love this.”
“Wait, wait, please don’t tell him,” Beomgyu begged. “It was a mistake, just the one time, a teeny misunderstanding–“
“I’ll give you one more chance,” Kai said. “Kill him this time. Deal with it quietly, and no one else has to hear about this ever.”
Beomgyu felt his blood freeze. After having spent the night with Taehyun, after learning what it was like to wake up beside him, to make him breakfast in the tiny shitty kitchen in Beomgyu’s apartment– the idea made him feel sick.
“Kai.” Beomgyu looked the younger man directly in the eyes, pleading. “Not me. Not now.”
“Ohohoh,” Lea said, head cocked. “Someone’s caught feelings. You picked this one, Kai? Usually when I hire my assassins I choose the ones that are far above this sort of thing, but whatever floats your boat, I suppose. It’s you that has to report this to Dad.”
Bahiyyih had started twirling the pen again, heeled shoes propped up on the desk. “Hmm. I can think of another way.”
Beomgyu looked to her desperately, and he heard Kai sigh. “And what makes you think we can trust someone who blatantly steals our shipments in broad daylight, in front of the cameras and everything?”
“He’s bold,” Bahiyyih said, shrugging. “I like that.”
“I can do it,” Beomgyu said. “I can convince him. Please, Kai. I can get him to come with us, and then we won’t have to worry about him again.”
“I can think of a much more efficient way to never have to deal with this again. Noona, can you call up Yeji or someth–“
“Kai. Please. Just this once.” Beomgyu dropped to his knees, holding his hands up. “I swear on my life. He’ll be an asset, and I know I can do this.”
“And get the shipment back?” Kai asked.
“… Maybe. I swear my life on the first part, but the shipment might have to wait a little.”
Kai huffed. “Alright. One chance, you hear me? And you’re never living this down, by the way. Sleeping with him. Honestly, what were you thinking?”
“He was thinking with his dick,” Bahiyyih chortled.
Beomgyu flushed as he got to his feet. “Okay. He’s hot, there, I said it. You happy now?”
“Enough for you to risk your career?” Lea asked.
“Yeah,” Beomgyu said, without a shred of doubt. “He’s worth it to me.”
“He better be,” Kai replied darkly. “You’re staking everything on him right now.”
When Beomgyu arrived at Skipping Stones, Taehyun was already there. He was sitting in the same chair he’d sat from across from Beomgyu that night, his back to the door. Beomgyu ducked his head a little in greeting and sat down across from him.
“Beomgyu hyung,” Taehyun said, not sounding surprised in the slightest. “I thought I’d see you back here.” He took a sip from a glass of whisky he had in his hand. The music was loud tonight, as per usual, and Beomgyu had to lean in a little to hear him.
“Yeah, I– um. Just, you know. Really wanted to see you,” Beomgyu replied, feeling his cheeks burn. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
“I bet.” Taehyun reached into his jacket and pulled something out of the inside pocket. It was a piece of paper. He handed it to Beomgyu, who had to squint a little to see it in the low light.
His stomach dropped. It was one of the CCTV photos of Taehyun from the file that Lea had prepared when Kai first gave him the assignment.
“Where… did you find this?”
“A file,” Taehyun answered leisurely. “Under your bed. Dropped my phone down there and found a bunch of interesting stuff.”
His eyes were sharp, narrowed at Beomgyu. Beomgyu gulped. This was not the way that he wanted to start this conversation out, but then again he supposed there really was no good way. The only option was the one he least wanted to take– the truth.
“You took a shipment from my boss,” Beomgyu said quietly. “They wanted you dead.”
“But you didn’t kill me. You could have, easily, while I was asleep or even while we were waiting for the cab.”
“No,” Beomgyu said, feeling his face burn even hotter. “I… misunderstood the instructions.”
“Misunderstood?”
It took Beomgyu nearly twenty minutes to explain the situation, which was even worse now that he was looking at it in hindsight. The unimpressed expression of Kai flashed before his eyes, as did Lea’s curious stare and Bahiyyih’s laughter. By the end of it, Taehyun was sitting forward in his chair with his legs crossed and his chin resting on his hand. Beomgyu felt weirdly itchy under his gaze.
“So let me get this straight. They wanted you to kill me but you fucked me instead?”
“Can you not say it like that?” Beomgyu wheezed, the mortification consuming his body. “I fucked up, okay? I fucked up. But they told me either you join them or I have to kill you, and I really don’t want to kill you.”
Taehyun smiled for the first time the whole night. “Bold of you to assume you could kill me now.”
Beomgyu put his face in his hands. If he thought that there was anywhere he could go into hiding and disappear where Kai wouldn’t be able to find him, he would. The problem was that Kai knew everything and everyone.
“Please,” Beomgyu said, voice muffled by his hands. “I’m already embarrassed enough, and– and I like you, okay?”
“What was that?” Taehyun asked. Beomgyu could hear the shit-eating grin on his face. “Couldn’t hear what you said.”
“I like you,” Beomgyu repeated, removing his hands from his face and looking Taehyun right in the eyes. “I have a big fat gigantic crush on you, I think about you all the time, and if we ever had to fight I would be really sad and also maybe lose.”
“So you want me to be your coworker?” Taehyun looked like he was considering the offer, but the exaggerated pondering was giving him away– as was the tiny creases of a smile lingering at the corners of his eyes.
“No,” Beomgyu said. “I want you to be my boyfriend.”
Taehyun stood up. Beomgyu looked up at him, terrified for a second that he was going to leave, but then Taehyun pulled him to his feet. He put his arms around Beomgyu’s waist.
“Depends. What are the benefits? Job security? Pension?”
“Benefits are I get to look at you every day and be really gross and romantic about it, job security– it’s secure. No competition, you’re the hottest guy I’ve ever slept with in my life. Pension… I don’t even know what that is, but I’ll buy you stuff if you want.”
Taehyun grinned. “I accept your offer, then.”
He leaned up to kiss Beomgyu, one hand sliding up to the back of his neck to pull him closer. Beomgyu was immediately rendered useless by the smell of whisky and cologne. Taehyun nipped at his bottom lip, and then Beomgyu felt something sharp touching the side of his neck. Taehyun pulled away. There was a dagger at Beomgyu’s throat.
“Just so you remember for next time,” Taehyun said, smirking. “I will always win.”
“Yep,” Beomgyu said breathlessly, as Taehyun slid his knife back into the sheath at his thigh. “You got me good.”