Chapter Text
Mingi was always careful.
He did his missions with perfection. Not a slip-up insight within his movements. Feet as quick as the wind and as silent as a leaf that falls to the ground beneath him. His blade remains in the holster of his hips. This heavy and comforting weight settles beneath his bones and allows warmth to settle over him as he remains as stealthy as ever with knees bent and eyes closed as he waits for a certain signal and one glance at the moon to tell him that the target has been seen. A silent murmur is near his ear as red flames vanish within the night sky.
Mingi was always careful.
And that included his life outside of what he does for a living. It means sheltering his friends and family from the dangers that lurk behind Mingi every second he breathes and walks upon this earth. Sometimes it means keeping himself away, saying nothing at all. Sometimes it means being misjudged - but that’s okay. Because at least he was careful.
That’s what he tells himself every mission. Including now as he makes it inside the building without being noticed. Into the room where a meeting was being held and further along until he bursts in and within a minute two men are lying on the ground while he holds his blade in one hand and the other remains on the holster where his gun is.
Mingi was always careful.
The man before him - Mingyu - does not move. He simply sits at the desk with a glass of whisky in his hands and a smile hanging from his lips. It unnerved Mingi, but he couldn’t let himself show it on the outside. Usually by now anyone who sees Mingi, or comes across him, would be trembling with fear. Yet here this man is without a trace of sweat beading down his hairline. Instead, he’s relaxed - almost as if he knew he was coming.
“I’m surprised to see you here.” These are the words that leave Mingyu’s lips. Mingi simply raises an eyebrow. Why wouldn’t he be here? But more importantly, how did he know? Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge, hyperaware of his surroundings.
“Oh don’t give me that look! Everyone knows how one can be when someone special comes into their lives.”
Mingi was always careful until he wasn’t.
The bloodshed on his hands was perfectly calculated. His precision was sometimes careless. But it was the battlefield - things were never bound to go too perfectly and even then - Mingi knew he was fine. His life behind the lenses though, was a different story and wasn’t as sheltered as he had thought. He notes this as he realizes why Mingyu had said that - because he knows Mingi doesn’t just have friends and family to protect, but also someone more incredibly special. Someone Mingi tried so hard to keep away from all of this.
The calm that was once settled inside his veins turns ice cold until hot water pours over him and in a flash, it seems a quarry of fires had overcome him. He sucks in a deep breath and he freezes, going numb.
Except when he hesitates with what to do next and how to answer, the number one rule not to do on a mission, everything crumbles in his hand.
That moment of hesitation had been a mistake. One minute everyone was at a stand still and the next he could feel the pain rippling throughout his body as his clothes darkened with the scent of iron filling his nostrils. It was enough to have lost his rhythm - the cuts and bruises continuously forming as he fought off who he could before making a run for it. Mingi knew one more slip-up could make the fifty chance of leaving here to almost nothing, and he couldn’t have that.
And so without another thought he abandoned the mission. His body screamed in agony but he couldn’t care less until he was out of there and away from harm’s way. It was out of pure luck on his part that he had found an opening, but alas it seemed that he was too lucky. He doesn’t risk a glance back as he sprints left and right to find a way out of here. It seemed that he should have though because within the next second, he heard yelling and then he was taking excruciating slices to the back that left him almost blacking out before he was out in the night air.
Every breath he takes punctures his lungs and every step he takes brings him closer to collapsing to the ground. He skids between alleyways and darkened corners until he can’t hear footsteps following him from behind. Mingi curses himself for being so damn careless, especially for a mission like this. It was a simple one too; acquire the stolen documents that held information regarding the Android Guardian’s Bunker and get out. Mingi didn’t think it’d be such a shit show in the end and now he knows why it was important to not possess such longing feelings when there was a chance that information could be leaked and turned against you.
But that’s the thing with Mingi; he couldn’t not feel. That warmth within his fingertips and skips in his heartbeat intertwined with the flips of his stomach - he couldn’t set those aside when it was what made him feel alive. The same reason he was a flame burning with the stars. What started with the pin prickles of needles turned into a soothing hand upon his own. Shy smiles turn into secret glances. Confident teasing turned into hurried kisses between shifts. Everything mixed until Mingi could only see blurred lines falling into something deeper.
His phone rings and startles Mingi as he slows to a stop and leans against the nearest wall. He doesn’t look at the caller ID and simply answers it, his breathing still ragged.
“Hello?”
“Where the fuck are you? And how come you’re so far away from where you are supposed to be?” Wooyoung immediately starts scolding Mingi and if he wasn’t five seconds from fainting he would have bickered back. But he can’t, and all he wants to do is go home, shower, and pass out.
“Mnigi?” Wooyoung asks this time worry clear in his voice. "Did you have to abort the mission? What happened?” Mingi lets out a sigh as he looks around his surroundings. Bright gleaming lights showcasing the tattoo parlor catch his attention. He hadn’t realized how he had run all the way here without even thinking. That, or his mission was just close by. Which was also worrisome but Mingi didn’t have time to dwell on any of that at that moment. He just thinks about how he couldn’t have that warmth taken away from him, even with his phone up to his ear he still can’t find it in himself to stop wanting that. It was addicting and he thought for a moment that he would never get enough of that blazing adoration. The firmness of the string that was wrapped around his heart and tied tight enough for it to not give up. He wanted it, needed it for as long as the print of his art was marked upon his skin.
“ Mingi?” Wooyoung’s voice rings again in his ear through the phone. He was still waiting for an answer yet his focus was only on the sight before him.
Suddenly his mind was already made up.
“I had to abort. My report will be turned in tomorrow.” He hears Wooyoung sigh in relief and Mingi knows he is rolling his eyes at that last statement. “I’ll let Seonghwa know. Try not to bleed out wherever you are.” Don’t you dare leave us, were the words are left unsaid and he knows Wooyoung will put him on rest once he sees the amount of damage Mingi’s body had taken, but that was for then, and right now he has other important business to take care of.
When the line goes dead Mingi lets out a pained hiss and a puff of air. He thinks straining himself throughout the call wasn’t the best idea, then again going here of all places wasn’t the best idea. But it was the closest building to his mission and it made Mingi wonder if the universe loved seeing him suffer to the point they thought it was better to leave him dead on the streets.
Nonetheless, he shoves it all to the side as he crosses the street (more like limps,) and he’s thankful that they’re abandoned by civilians around this hour. It makes it easier for him to not be so noticeable as he collapses against the door, trying his best to not get it dirty with the blood that still soaks through his battered clothing.
He raises a bruised fist to knock and as soon as Yunho’s eyes meet his, Mingi feels warm once again.
“Mingi? What are you doing here? I thought-” he cuts off mid-sentence. His eyes wander downward and Mingi realizes how much he hates seeing that smile suddenly downturn into a frown.
“Oh my god.” He whispers as a hand tugs him fully into the parlor, letting go quick enough to pull down the metal covers for the parlor then returning to settle Mingi down on one of the couches set in the lobby.
“Yunho, wait, the couch-”
“Do not say a damn thing about getting it dirty,” Yunho hisses out. “Just stay right there.”
Mingi lets him go, knowing it was useless to argue with Yunho once he was already set on something. He smiles small at the thought of him always being so kindly stubborn and overly sweet; sometimes to the point it made people question if he was being truly genuine when in reality Yunho just had a golden soul and was set on his beliefs; something you couldn’t drag him out of unless you wanted to go down with a fight. It was what made that small spark flicker for the first time. He had drawn Mingi in without the intention of doing so and now Mingi thinks maybe the lines were never set in the first place.
Yunho returns shortly after rustling in the back for supplies. He has towels draped over his arm while he carries medical supplies in the other. The first time Mingi saw the medical supplies he had always wondered why a tattoo parlor would need one, but now it seems it can come in handy. Yunho’s expression hasn’t changed one bit and Mingi wishes he could wrap him in his arms that instant. To tell him everything was fine. That it was just a run-in fight with a bunch of no-good scoundrels.
But then he’d be lying. Not fully, because he did technically have to get with people that he had to at some point lay off, but he didn’t magically run into them on the way here. That was his job, not a problem that happened on a stroll late out at night.
It’s not as if Yunho would ask, but if he did Mingi knows he’d see through his lie. Yunho couldn’t know about it though, couldn’t know of the dangers that lurk from even knowing about him alone. He was already a target in and of itself without Yunho being informed of the fact that Mingi was a part of one of Seoul’s biggest mafia groups, so what would happen when he had the full run down? To get roped in even if Mingi does his damned best to not get him involved? Once the truth is out the more Yunho would be in jeopardy and Mingi would never forgive himself if something happened to Yunho because of him.
“Mingi,” Yunho softly calls out his name and Mingi slowly returns to the situation at hand. “Stay with me okay? I’m gonna start patching you up,” he says and Mingi could only keep that same smile on his face as he nods his head.
Yunho sits in front of him on a random seat he pulls up, slowly pulling apart the now dirtied white button-up to reveal the wounds upon Mingi’s chest. Mingi winces as the fabric is peeled from already dried blood and the cool air hits open wounds. Yunho swallows the lump in his throat at the sight and Mingi can hear the gears turning inside his head.
Yunho starts cleaning up the wounds as the silence continues. Mingi could only sit there and grunt now and then at the sudden zips of pain. He keeps his breathing under control as best as he can and he pats himself on the back for getting it together. Mostly for the sake of Yunho.
By the time a good ten minutes have passed Yunho finally breaks the silence.
“What happened?” He whispers. A silent plea does not go unnoticed as his hands shake from the constant pressure of his injuries. Mingi wheezes out a laugh. “Just a minor fight is all.”
Yunho, as Mingi expected, isn’t convinced. His crestfallen expression has his heart drop to his stomach and Mingi can feel his control slipping even if he knew it’d happen. That he had an itch Yunho wouldn’t let this go until he had a solid answer.
“You’re bleeding out, Mingi, please . Please just tell me what happened.”
Mingi stares at him a while more. Watches as he continues to force shaky hands to finish bandaging his chest and waistlines up to his sides. The same ones are held steady in other carefree times as he puts all his attention into new designs. The way his silver hair falls and frames his face while the necklace around his neck (he takes note of how he’s wearing the one Mingi gifted him,) dangles and stares right back at Mingi.
When Yunho is done and looks back up at him, his eyes are full of a glazed mist that threatens to pour over. A million stars and gems dare to dim just from Mingi alone, from the way Yunho couldn’t bear to see him the way he does now. All he wanted was for Yunho to shine as brightly as he did, but if he wanted that to happen then he had to give in to what he so badly doesn’t want to say.
He makes a silent promise to himself that no matter what is to come he’d gladly sacrifice the world and himself to keep his precious jewel safe.
Mingi goes to sit up, ready to tell Yunho of all that’s happened until he cries out from the searing pain in his back and that’s when he realizes with a heavy heart that what was once a masterpiece of vibrant colors and a solid place of home to Mingi was now scarred and torn beyond repair.
It hurt worse when the creator of it was now hurriedly checking for other injuries. Pulling away the fabric and taking it off completely to reveal the mess of Mingi’s backside. The gasp doesn’t go unnoticed and he wishes he could start a war with the universe.
Yunho doesn’t have to speak for Mingi to know what he’s already thinking, to know what he’s going to say.
“I know, it was my favorite too.” He says solemnly. Yunho hovers over the multiple indents and wounds that are sickening enough to make the once beautiful tattoo nothingness. What was once the picture of a dragon surrounding moon phases with its stars was now unable to be seen from the gashes of whoever wanted Mingi to not see tomorrow.
But despite that Yunho isn’t disgusted. To the people who wronged Mingi, yes, saddened that such an important piece was now destroyed, but he’d never be sickened by Mingi himself. And as he slowly gathers himself up and gets to work on the new set of wounds; he could only think of how it’s still beautiful. How Mingi would remain ethereal as ever.
“You are too, sweetheart.” Yunho doesn’t realize he said it aloud until the words leave Mingi’s lips. His cheeks flush both from the comment and slip up of having it said aloud at that moment before he could even compose himself further.
He clears his throat then. “You still haven’t told me anything.”
Mingi hums. “Have you heard of the Paradigm Mafia?”
Yunho’s movements come to a slow halt. His stomach churns from the sudden pause in his actions, but Mingi expected as such from the question alone. He could only wonder if Yunho already had a hutch; or if he’d kick him to the curb when he realized he’d been seeing an assassin. Would he be seen as only a murderer to Yunho’s eyes then? Someone whose hands have been stained and a list of sins on strings hanging around him.
“I have yes.” His movements resume. This time more calculating and careful. Mingi opens and closes his mouth. Words were something he was always decent with and yet, at this moment he couldn’t bring himself to find any flowing out of his lips. Was there a way to back out of this instead even if the answer was left in the open air? Even if Mingi already said he was ready to say everything?
Yunho hurriedly finished off the rest of the bandages when Mingi didn’t speak for another few minutes. Making sure that the bleeding wasn’t as bad as before then moving back to his original spot in front of the injured male. He carefully places a hand on Mingi’s own and he looks at him with widened eyes at the gentle gesture. It was so small yet managed to wrap him in a blanket to feel safe enough to continue. He intertwines them then, placing a soft kiss on each knuckle.
“By this reaction, I’d say you already know.” Yunho shrugs. “But I'd like to hear the actual truth confirmed by you.” Mingi sighs, although not mad or upset. He still didn’t exactly know how to lay it all out. He figures he was still shaken up, and now having to tell his one true love everything scared him even more. But he had to remind himself this was Yunho and that he was perfectly fine where he was.
“When we first met I had said to myself how beautiful you were. A chance meeting that somehow led to us being here right now,” he pauses to take a breath. “I had also said how I was merely an assistant for Kang Enterprise when in reality I’m an assassin for one of the most ruthless organizations. I told you that because the more I kept coming back to you the more I wanted you safe and sound. I wanted to see you with that same playful personality and burning passion…” he trails off as he brings their intertwined hands to his chest. Until their foreheads knock against each other and rest there. His heart lurches and Yunho’s breath stutters for a mere moment.
“Because I didn’t want to lose what I’ve finally found after running for so long.” Yunho’s eyes widen as they fill with wonder and awe. Mingi could only stare back with the same amount of emotions, wanting Yunho to know how much he’d go to the ends of the earth to protect him and keep the jewel shined enough to rival the sun.
He lets go of one of Mingi’s hands to bring it up to his cheek, the brown-haired male following the movement to cup over his hand. He didn’t want to be away from Yunho at this moment - wanted him here where he could still hear and feel him. “That still hasn’t changed, in fact even after all of this it makes those feelings only grow stronger.”
Yunho shakes his head in disbelief. “Still look at what position this got you in. If it wasn’t even about me-”
“It was.” Mingi cuts him off, unable to hold it back any longer. Yunho freezes at the words.
“What do you mean?” He asks silently. Mingi doesn’t have it in him to deny Yunho the answer. “They managed to find out about you and although it was only a dirty trick to distract me…” Mingi trails off and Yunho’s expression changes so quickly it makes his heart sink again.
He thinks he’s never seen Yunho so broken and angry all at once. “You went through that because of me ?”
Mingi is quick to retaliate. “I did not go through that because of you, I got injured because of myself, Yunho. I let my guard down.”
Yunho doesn’t believe him even if his heart and mind tell him Mingi isn’t lying. He said himself that he would want Yunho safe but if it meant going through this again - whether it was because of letting his guard down or not - Yunho would rather Mingi never see him again than be knocking on death’s door. Only the universe knows if this is even the worst it’s ever been for Mingi and what other scenarios could have caused something worse.
“Sweetheart,” Mingi says softly. A luring sound that has Yunho glancing back up even if he wants to hide away from being so open and vulnerable at a time when Mingi needs him instead. “Get out of that thick head of yours hm?” Yunho only shakes his head.
“Look at you Mingi,” he whispers. “Look at what they did. You can’t expect me to be okay with this-”
“I’m not expecting that, Yunho.” Mingi cuts him off once more and he continues before Yunho can retaliate. “You wanted to hear the truth and what happened. That’s what I have told you.” Yunho wants to argue more but the sudden fight leaves him at the words because Mingi was right. Yunho wanted to know what led to him being roughed up and that’s what he got. Mingi had said how much he adored Yunho on top of that - nothing more than what he wanted to expect out of Yunho because he probably already knew.
Yunho slumps forward, Mingi’s arm circling his waist to bring him closer as their hands are still gripping tightly to one another. “I just don’t want to lose you either, not when I’ve also stopped running when I found you too.”
Mingi turns his head slightly to press a soft kiss against his forehead. “You won’t, I promise.”