Work Text:
Night 1:
The lush lobby was quiet and dimly lit by the few exquisite light fixtures and the burning fire. Kihyun stood behind the counter and watched at the corner of his eye as the day manager packed up his stuff up.
“Kihyun we have a group of important guests arriving this evening. Be sure they get settled. They’ll be staying for a week.” He reminded the young man.
“Of course, sir. Everything will be handled.” Kihyun assured him.
“Good have a quiet evening.” The day manager left and Kihyun started to look over a list of current guests staying. Hoseok walked past and Kihyun stopped him.
“Can you make sure there is still food being made in the kitchen; we’ll be having late guests tonight.” Kihyun asked.
“I’m on it.”
Kihyun went back to his papers. The doors creaked open and a group of well dressed men walked in flanked by guards. Kihyun was alert as the lead man came up to the desk. Kihyun made a quick scan of the men and his eyes were caught on the inside of one of the men’s coats. A black holster and a gun strapped in. Who were they Kihyun wondered.
“Son party.” The man that walked up, said quietly.
“Son Hyunwoo and party.” Kihyun nodded.
Kihyun checked the men in and Hyungwon escorted them upstairs. All of them left but one that came over and leaned against the desk.
“Are you always the night manager?” He looked around the desk.
“Yes sir, I’m here every night.” Kihyun nodded.
“We're night owls so we’ll be up a lot in the later hours. I can expect the utmost discretion regarding our activities right?” He asked.
“Of course, that’s the policy here.” Kihyun smiled.
“I know but whatever you over hear or see you’ll keep quiet right?” The young man gave him a sweet smile and Kihyun couldn't lie that he was charmed but also a bit scared.
“You have my word. Our loyalty is to our guests, sir.” Kihyun reassured him.
“Thank you so much. I’ll be seeing you every night then.” The young man looked Kihyun up and down.
“Anything you need just call down to the desk.” Kihyun explained.
“I’m Lim Changkyun, and I think I prefer an in person request. Especially if you’re the one taking them”
“Anything that you need, Mr. Lim.” Kihyun smiled nervously.
“I’ll remember that gorgeous.” Changkyun grinned and disappeared upstairs
Kihyun let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. His face was flush from Changkyun’s last comment. It was only a week then those men would be gone and they would take their holstered guns and intimidating auras with them.
Hoseok came back from the kitchen just as Changkyun left.
“The kitchen is making some fresh food if any of the guests are hungry.” Hoseok informed Kihyun.
“Good, also be sure to let everyone know that these guests like privacy so let’s give it to them.” Kihyun instructed Hoseok.
“Ok, They must be really high profile. Like Politicians or company executives" Hoseok smiled.
“Maybe.” kihyun nodded absently.
In the back of his mind Kihyun knew they were definitely not something so mundane.
Night 2:
The next night Kihyun was back behind his desk and the door to the conference room off the lobby was open. Some of the well dressed men from the night before came down and were walking into the room
“Hoseok, did they book that room for something?” Kihyun leaned over to Hoseok who was next to him.
“Yes, the boss said they needed it for a meeting with a business partner. I wonder what business they’re in.” Hoseok looked back down at his task.
Kihyun had a feeling he knew exactly what business these men were in and he didn’t want anything to do with it. Before he could look away Changkyun came walking out of the room over to the desk.
“Can I help you, sir?” Kihyun said pleasantly
“Yes you can gorgeous! I need you to get us a couple bottles of pinot noir. It’s the boss’s favorite.” Changkyun grinned.
“Um...um well…I can bring the bottles in right away.” Kihyun stuttered. Changkyun walked away.
“Oh my god.” Hoseok laughed.
“Shut up.” Kihyun growled.
He went to the kitchen and got the bottles from the wine storage. He entered the meeting room and began to pour the glasses. As he did he overheard the conversation.
“I don’t care what it takes I want those goons out of our territory.” Son Hyunwoo sighed.
“It’s not that simple.” The platinum blonde insisted.
“Why, Minhyuk.” Hyunwoo sighed.
“They’re armed and reckless. We might want the least amount of casualties but they don’t care.” Minhyuk explained.
Territories and casualties all sound like mob activity to Kihyun.
“Will that be everything gentlemen?” Kihyun turned to the men and smiled.
“Yes, thank you.” Hyunwoo nodded.
As Kihyun left he heard the tail end of the conversation.
“Call the dealer and tell him to get me the big stuff. I want real fire power.” Hyunwoo instructed.
Kihyun hoped whatever was going down wouldn’t go down in the hotel. His boss would kill him if the lobby got destroyed of course that is if the fire fight doesn’t kill him first. Kihyun shivered at the very morbid thought.
Later in the night he was alone in the lobby and Changkyun came down and sat in front of the fireplace.
“Do you need anything, sir.” Kihyun came over.
“Sit with me.” Changkyun smiled but his voice was stern. Kihyun didn’t have a choice.
Kihyun was hesitant at first but then he sat in a chair next to the couch.
“Is something wrong, sir?”
“You heard the boss earlier.” Changkyun sighed.
Kihyun stiffened in his seat. The younger man was boring holes in him. Was he going to kill him for hearing about the war they were planning to have.
“Anything my guests discuss isn’t my business.” Kihyun assured him.
Changkyun looked him over and then pushed aside his jacket. There was a gun in a holster on his belt. Kihyun stared at it in shock.
“Do guns scare you?” Changkyun smirked.
“As much as any other person.” Kihyun tried to laugh it off.
“Do I scare you?”
Kihyun didn’t understand where this conversation was going but he wasn’t sure he liked it. Changkyun had this dark look in his eyes but it also almost lascivious.
“Should I be scared, sir?”
“No, I like you.” Changkyun laughed covering his gun again.
“I’m happy to hear that.” Kihyun smiled.
“Have a good night, gorgeous.” Changkyun got up and disappeared up the grand staircase. Kihyun sat and watched the fire for a moment. He’d never been that close to a gun before. He’s been close to more guns in these last two days than in his whole life. Kihyun didn’t like that but Changkyun’s smile on the other hand was very inviting.
“Kihyun why do look so spooked?” Hyungwon appeared next to him.
“Huh? It’s nothing I was just lost in thought. This shift is so boring that I do it a lot.” Kihyun laughed.
“I know what you mean. I always catch Hoseok spacing out but sometimes I wonder if that’s just his natural state of being.” Hyungwon scoffed.
“That’s very possible.” Kihyun nodded.
“I heard my name, what is it?” Hoseok popped his head out of the office.
Kihyun and Hyungwon froze for a second and then put on fake smiles.
“Nothing, it was nothing.” Kihyun insisted.
“You must have heard wrong.” Hyungwon explained.
“Oh.” Hoseok slide back inside.
Night 3:
The meeting in the conference room continued into its second night. Kihyun wondered what these men did during the day but he knew better than to ask the day manager. He would chew him out about invading customer privacy.
“What are you thinking about so hard?” Changkyun appeared in front of the desk. “Me I hope.”
“Hardly, I was just thinking about work.” Kihyun shook his hard.
“That’s boring.” Changkyun pouted.
The hotel doors opened and Kihyun stood up straight to greet the person who came inside.
“Welcome to Estella Hotel, sir. I can help you here at the desk.” Kihyun greeted and bowed.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” Changkyun hissed and put his hand on his gun.
“I just came to talk.” The man chuckled.
Minhyuk, Hyunwoo, and another man came out with their guns drawn. Kihyun felt his blood run cold at the sight.
“What’s going on?” Hoseok came out of the office and froze.
“Kihyun just take your co-worker and go back inside the office.” Changkyun gave kihyun a serious look.
It was the first time Changkyun had called him by his name. He nodded his head and pushed Hoseok back inside. He shut the door behind them. Hyungwon was in the office and looked shocked to see them.
“What’s going on?” Hyungwon stood up from the computer.
“That’s what I want to know.” Hoseok looked at Kihyun.
“Come on you guys haven’t noticed?” Kihyun looked confused.
“Noticed what?”
“They’re the mob.” Kihyun almost shouted.
Hyungwon and Hoseok looked at each other shocked and then at Kihyun again. Another moment of silence passed before anyone spoke.
“So are we accomplices now?” Hyungwon asked panicked.
“Are we hostages?” Hoseok suggested.
“Oh my god.” Hyungwon gasped.
“We’re not hostages or accomplices. We’re the staff and they’re the guests. We don’t get to have a say in what our guests can and can’t do. We’re just here to make their stay a good one. Understand?’ Kihyun said sternly.
“Yes.” They nodded.
“Good.” Kihyun sighed.
The office door opened and all three of them jumped back against the desk. Changkyun peaked inside and they relaxed.
“Everything is fine. He’s gone now.” Changkyun reassured him.
“Who was he?” Hoseok asked loudly.
“Not someone you’d want at the the hotel.” Was all Changkyun said before disappearing and leaving the door open behind him.
“How could the boss let mobsters stay at the hotel?” Hoseok asked out loud.
“He probably didn’t know.” Hyungwon reasoned.
“But what if he did.” Hoseok suggested.
“Does it matter?” Kihyun frowned.
“I mean dangerous people bring danger wherever they go. Like what just happened, that guy was probably from a rival group and came here to cause trouble and we were in the middle of it.” Hoseok explained.
Kihyun had no idea what was going on but Hoseok was right and he was feeling more and more that there was no way he and his staff would be able to stay out of whatever Changkyun and his gang had brought with them.
Night 4:
The next night was disturbingly quiet as compared to the night before. Hoseok and Hyungwon were elsewhere in the hotel and the conference room across the lobby was empty. Kihyun was all alone at the front desk staring off into space. He didn’t get a lot of sleep during the day probably because he kept thinking about how close he was to being in the middle of a shoot out the night before. Things were getting wild ever since the mobsters came to stay. Did his boss seriously not know who these men were.
At the far end of the lobby the door that lead to the hotel bar opened and Changkyun came walking out. His steps were slightly off but he wasn’t stumbling around. Kihyun walked over to see if he could help.
“Would you like me to help you back to your room, Mr. Lim?” Kihyun approached the man.
Changkyun gave him a bleary look and smiled.
“Call me Changkyun, gorgeous.”
“Changkyun, sir. How about we go back to your room.” Kihyun insisted.
“Will you come back with me?” Changkyun smiled.
“Sir, that wouldn’t be appropri-”
Kihyun was cut off when Changkyun kissed him hard on the lips. It was rough and uncoordinated but eventually kihyun kissed back. When they pulled away Kihyun covered his mouth in shock.
“So how about now, gorgeous?” Changkyun smiled.
Kihyun doesn’t remember the rest of the night that well at least not the details but he does remember the pain and the pleasure. He remembers being slammed against the hotel room door and then against the bed. He remembered Changkyun’s face and also his own because at one point he looked to the side and the mirror on the closet door was staring back at him. He saw himself and he also saw the side table with cigarettes in the ashtray and the gun sitting out in the open. Kihyun also remembered who Changkyun was but he couldn’t find it in himself to care; not when Changkyun looked so amazing leaning above him.
Night 5:
Kihyun got into work and avoided eye contact with his boss. He knew the man didn’t know what happened but he couldn’t help but feel like he did. Kihyun had left Changkyun’s room before the sun came up. Meeting the day manager right on time to switch shifts. He hadn’t seen Changkyun since then and he wasn’t sure what would happen when he did.
2 hours into the night and Kihyun hadn’t seen Changkyun at all. He assumed the man was out and wasn’t coming back till later. If Kihyun was lucky he would never come back and Kihyun could pretend the night before didn’t happen. Not because he didn’t like Changkyun but because their prospects seemed bleak. The sound of footsteps on the stares broke Kihyun out of his daze. The men were coming down the stairs in a group. Kihyun was about to speak but it looked like they were one their way out.
Changkyun was the last one and he stopped before leaving walking right up to Kihyun. He grabbed Kihyun’s tie and kissed him.
“I’m going out for awhile so wait till I come back ok?” Changkyun smiled and kihyun felt a blush rise on his face.
“Be safe.” Kihyun whispered.
“I’ll try.” Changkyun left with the rest of the men the door closing softly behind them.
Changkyun had said he would be back but why did Kihyun feel like that was a good bye.
Night 6:
Changkyun didn’t come back the night before and Kihyun was convinced he died. He bled out on a street corner somewhere after a firefight and Kihyun was never going to see him again. He hadn’t slept at all and he stood at the desk eyes red and mind empty.
The doors of the hotel started to open.
“Welcome to Estella hotel.” Kihyun sighed.
Kihyun was answered by a gunshot blowing through the glass and men running inside. The screech of car tires and the flood of gunshots started outside.
The men who had been staying this week flooded the lobby. They moved the couches around and positioned themselves with guns facing the door. Changkyun came running in and right up to the desk.
“I need you to go up stairs.” Changkyun insisted.
“What’s going on?” Kihyun asked.
“That’s not important right now. What’s important is that you gather the staff and go upstairs.” Changkyun pushed.
"This is my hotel I deserve to know-” Changkyun caught him off with a kiss.
“I’ll explain later.” he promised.
Kihyun looked at him for another minute before running to the kitchen where the staff congregated at night.
“We all need to go up the employee elevator now.” Kihyun burst in.
“Why?” Hoseok stood up from the table.
“There are people with guns and they’re shooting at the hotel.” Kihyun explained quickly.
“Oh my god!” One of the maids nearly fainted.
“Your mobster boyfriend brought them here didn’t he?” Hyungwon frowned.
“Boyfriend? Who said he’s my boyfriend?” Kihyun was taken aback.
“Oh please, I was on the third floor two nights ago I heard you two fucking.” Hyungwon rolled his eyes.
“I’m sorry Hyungwon I don’t see how this conversation is more pressing than the fact people are shooting at us right now!” Hoseok shouted.
“Exactly, now let’s get in the elevator.” As Kihyun said that the power went out.
“They shot the generator outside.” Hyungwon shrieked.
“The stairs are fine now let’s go.” Kihyun pushed everyone to the back of the kitchen. As he entered the stairwell he heard the shouting and gunshots from the lobby. The staff ran up stairs as far from the action as they could get. On the top floor they all sat inside the break room in silence. The gunshots and shouts were faint for almost and hour and then everything went silent.
“Is it over?” Hoseok asked.
“Let’s hope.” The chef frowned. Then the sound of someone running down the hall outside made everyone flinch. They got as far away from the door as possible and waited in the dark room for the person to disappear. The running stopped right in front of the door. The door opened and Changkyun stepped into the light of the one candle in the room.
“Oh thank god it’s you.” Kihyun slumped into a chair.
“They’re gone you can come down stairs now.” Changkyun explained.
Down in the Lobby Kihyun nearly fainted at the sight of the space. Could were torn apart the chandelier was on the floor. The very expensive wood furniture was split and chipped by bullets.
“How the hell are we going to explain this to the boss.” Hyungwon gaped.
“He’s going to kill me. No, he’s going to kill me bring back to life kill me again and then throw my body out to sea.” Kihyun whined.
“No need to worry, I can pay for the damages.” Hyunwoo assured the staff.
“Your bill at check out isn’t going to be crazy.” Hoseok looked at the man.
“It’s only right for Mr. Son to repair his own hotel.” Minhyuk explained.
“His own hotel?” Kihyun looked confused.
“Yes, this hotel is owned by me and I promise none of you will be fired. What happened tonight was not your fault.” Hyunwoo assured.
“Oh my god we work in a hotel owned by the mob.” Hoseok looked at Hyungwon.
“That means we really aren’t accomplices or hostages. We’re the mob.” Hyungwon added.
“Oh my god.” Hoseok gasped.
Kihyun just sighed and slumped into one of the slightly intact chairs.
“So what now Mr. Night Manager?” Changkyun kneeled down to be at kihyun’s eye level.
“I’m going to get some sleep in the office because I wasted my time going sleepless since last night worrying over a crazy criminal who destroyed my beautiful lobby.” Kihyun growled.
“You were worried about me, gorgeous?” Changkyun smiled that ridiculously charming smile.
“Clearly a waste of my time.” Kihyun got up and started towards the office.
“Hey wait! How about you sleep somewhere more comfortable Like perhaps my room.” Changkyun pulled him close.
“I have a feeling you want to do more than sleep.” Kihyun frowned.
“And is that bad?” Changkyun smiled.
Kihyun was about to answer when he saw everyone was watching them.
“Upstairs now!” Kihyun huffed and lead the way up the staircase.
“Anything you say gorgeous.” Changkyun ran up the stairs after him.
“So does being in the mob come with dental?” Hoseok turned to Minhyuk.
“Shut up.” Hyungwon slapped him over the head.