[super junior] the high cost of dying (5/7)

[fumerie]

The High Cost of Dying
super junior // kyuhyun/zhou mi (+ minor mimin, kyumin) // r // 50,000+ words (total)
[inception!AU] In which Cho Kyuhyun, international corporate spy and part-time assassin, is sent to China on a bizarre mission involving famous popstar Victoria Song with the assistance of Chinese MC slash fashionista Zhou Mi, whom he had never met before. Along the way they discover shocking secrets, unexpected attraction, and how to make edible pancakes.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5



The High Cost of Dying.

-

“…Sungmin. Oh.”

If Kyuhyun were in any way more sober than he was, he would have noticed the strange way Zhou Mi had said Sungmin’s name, his voice clearly shocked and hesitant. A smile lit up on Sungmin’s face, and Kyuhyun was almost annoyed to realize Sungmin didn’t really reserve that smile for anyone in particular.

“Is Kyuhyun your friend?”

Zhou Mi nodded mutely, and Kyuhyun frowned, feeling something burn low at the pit of his stomach. “Co-worker,” he bit out, and was glad to see Zhou Mi’s tentative smile falter. If Sungmin noticed the tension, he never commented on it.

“Wow, what a coincidence. Were you with him? I was going to bring him back to his place.” Sungmin nudged him a little, and Kyuhyun clung to his jacket, partly because he was starting to get a little dizzy and didn’t want to let go of his human pillar, but partly also because he didn’t really want to be passed on to Zhou Mi like a ragged toy.

Zhou Mi really did reach out, as if expecting Sungmin to just hand him over. “It’s okay, I’ll take him from here.”

Kyuhyun gripped Sungmin’s jacket tighter, and he knew the other man felt it because Sungmin took a step back and subtly pushed Kyuhyun a little backwards. “No, it’s okay. His place is just around here, I’ll drive him back.”

“Oh.” Zhou Mi fidgeted, looking awkward. “You really don’t have to go out of your way. I currently live with him, so…”

“Oh.” Sungmin blinked, and Kyuhyun could practically hear his thoughts rushing two hundred miles a minute and ending up in the completely wrong lane. “Oh. Then. I see. Did you walk here?”

“Um, yeah.” Zhou Mi looked abashed, and Kyuhyun suspected Zhou Mi knew exactly what Sungmin thought he had just said.

“Oh, if that’s the case then I’ll drive you two back to your place. He isn’t exactly in the right condition for walking.” Sungmin smiled, and Kyuhyun couldn’t even drag it up in himself to be affronted that they were talking about him as if he wasn’t even there nor able to speak for himself. He settled for glaring at Zhou Mi instead, but suspected he just looked sullen and pathetic.

When they got to Sungmin’s car, Sungmin really did slide him over to Zhou Mi’s hold so they could get into the backseat. Kyuhyun stared at Sungmin with a betrayed glare as Sungmin slid into the driver’s seat in front. Zhou Mi’s arms were all bones, but they were long and wrapped around him like an octopus. Kyuhyun’s eyes fluttered shut when the car started pulling out of the parking lot, the motion of the car making the world inside his head spin a little. Kyuhyun never did drift off to sleep though, but Zhou Mi didn’t know that.

“You two know each other.” Zhou Mi’s voice was quiet, a clear attempt not to wake Kyuhyun up from his supposed sleep, but in the silence of the car, it could be heard clear as bells.

“Yeah, Kyuhyun is a regular at my bar. He lives around here. But you know that.” Sungmin’s voice was also quiet, but even in his inebriated state, Kyuhyun could detect a different current of restrained emotion. He wanted to ask how those two even knew each other, whether Zhou Mi just knew everyone in Korea and China, but decided that just listening to them talk would probably give him more insight.

“Are you-“

“So you-“

Both of them spoke at the same time, paused, and broke into small laughter. Their laughter sounded comfortable meshed with each other, a ritual rehearsed and well loved.

“You first,” Zhou Mi said, a smile in his voice. The muscles in his body felt much more relaxed.

“So you and Kyuhyun?” Sungmin said, and Zhou Mi stilled again, his fingers lingering on the strands of Kyuhyun’s hair.

“Um, no.”

“No?” Sungmin sounded surprised, “You live with him, no?”

“Yes, but it’s only for work. We are just co-workers, really.” Zhou Mi said the word ‘co-worker’ the exact same way Kyuhyun had said it, his voice clipped and closed off.

“Oh.” Sungmin was silent for a beat. “When did you get here?”

“Only this morning.”

“For work?”

“For work.” Zhou Mi confirmed.

“It’s a surprise. I never thought you two would be working in the same job. You are really different. I know he travels around a lot, but… Aren’t you in the media or entertainment business or something in China? I always thought Kyuhyun was more the corporate type.”

“Um, Kyuhyun is… in the corporate… business side of the company?” Zhou Mi stumbled over his own words, and it sounded dubious even in Kyuhyun’s ears.

“Ah… When are you coming back to China?” Sungmin’s voice sounded almost… hopeful, Kyuhyun thought.

“I don’t know… whenever my job here is finished.”

“Were you going to call me?” Sungmin’s voice was light and playful, almost as if he was joking, but not quite.

Zhou Mi went silent, and Kyuhyun suddenly realized these two had a much longer history than he had thought. “Of course,” Zhou Mi answered after a few beats, but the air was already different.

The car slowed down, making another swerve, and slowly coming to a stop.

“We are here.” Sungmin announced, and Kyuhyun heard the sound of seatbelts clicking off. He was debating whether he should just open his eyes and get the hell out by himself when he felt Zhou Mi carefully pull away from him and gingerly lean him against the seat as the older man opened the door and got out by himself. Kyuhyun frowned slightly as he heard Zhou Mi close the door of the car. He surreptitiously opened his eyes a little to take a glance at what was going on.

They were in front of his apartment building. Zhou Mi and Sungmin were right outside the car, talking. They were both smiling, the smiles soft and personal. Kyuhyun’s eyes widened as Sungmin opened his arms and Zhou Mi reached down, pulling him into a tight hug. They looked practically squished again each other. The height difference was a little ridiculous, Kyuhyun sourly noted. Then they pulled away, and Kyuhyun could see Sungmin’s lips clearly form the words “Call me.” The way their fingers lingered on each other’s arms was more than a little obvious.

He quickly fluttered his eyes shut as Zhou Mi turned towards the car. He heard the door open, and the cold air rushed in. Zhou Mi tugged at his shoulder, pulling him out. Kyuhyun deliberately fluttered his eyes open in slow motion, blinking blearily, his movements sluggish.

“Do you need help taking him up?” Sungmin asked, and Kyuhyun resisted the urge to bite out that they might as well rent the guest room in his apartment for the night if they wanted.

Zhou Mi said he could take care of it though, so Sungmin eventually drove off, and soon there were only the two of them left. Zhou Mi leaned closer to support him, but Kyuhyun pushed him away. He was considerably more awake than half an hour ago. Both of them were quiet all the way up to his apartment, and by the time they were back inside, Kyuhyun felt his head had pretty much turned sober.

-

Kyuhyun wandered over to the couch - papers were still strewn all over the place - and dropped down. This apartment felt less and less like his by the hour. He looked at Zhou Mi who was busying himself with hanging up his coat and scarf and a bazillion of other clothing articles.

“You know Sungmin.” It wasn’t quite a question. Kyuhyun stared in curiousity as Zhou Mi stilled.

“Ah, yeah, we met a while back during one of my Korean trips.” Zhou Mi’s answer wasn’t exactly an answer either, but Kyuhyun saw more than enough in the jerky movements and the way Zhou Mi was looking away, flushed and awkward. Kyuhyun wondered why - it wasn’t like there was anything to be embarrassed about. Sungmin was a good catch.

“So who broke up with the other?” Kyuhyun slid down the couch, blaming it on the alcohol. Zhou Mi whipped around to stare at him, wide-eyed, but mumbled his answer after a few beats.

“Sungmin did.”

“I see.” He nodded, images of Zhou Mi and Sungmin together flashed by in his mind. Kyuhyun shook his head. It was none of his business.

“So you…” Zhou Mi’s voice was quiet and tentative, but Kyuhyun was bitter enough to be a vicious asshole about it.

“Before you ask, yes, I did sleep with him.”

It would have been hilarious to see Zhou Mi gape at him in shock if it weren’t for his very unamused mood for the evening. To be fair though, that was obviously what Zhou Mi wanted to know from him. They might as well get it out in the open right then. Technically, yes, he had, once, or maybe twice. It had been nothing serious, just a casual thing that happened along the way, nothing more nothing less because he was away too often to make it stick anyway. Sungmin had never really commented on it, so neither had he.

Kyuhyun looked around the apartment, deliberately ignoring Zhou Mi’s imitation of a stunned gold fish.

“What happened to Donghae and Eunhyuk?”

Zhou Mi took a few shallow breaths, opening and closing his mouth, then shaking his head as if to rid himself of the trance he had been in. “Oh. I briefed them on what we had so far, then we worked on the plan a little together.” Zhou Mi’s voice was strange, sounding slightly muted somehow. He slowly moved away from the living room. “When it was clear that you were not coming back any time soon from your grocery trip…” Kyuhyun blinked, remembering his reason for going out that evening in the first place. “Eunhyuk told me you were probably going to a bar. They left around midnight. I was worried so… I went to look for you.” Zhou Mi fidgeted, wandering into the kitchen as if looking for some food to pop out of nowhere.

“You were worried.” Kyuhyun repeated, his tone dubious.

“You didn’t take your car key, so… I just walked around the nearby bars.” Zhou Mi looked abashed, as if he didn’t really comprehend why he had done what he had done either. “Kyuhyun…” Zhou Mi started, the look of worry with a hint of pity was back on his face. “Do you… want to talk about it?”

He didn’t need to ask to know what Zhou Mi wanted him to talk about. And he had no reason to, not really. It had been too long in the past already, he had been doing a fine job pretending it had never happened in his life. Yet somehow, his mouth opened, and words came spilling out. He blamed the countless shot glasses of whiskey he had consumed in the last few hours. Not enough for sleep, but apparently enough for him to start babbling.

“Well, what do you want to know about it? I’m sure my file dictated quite clearly what had been going on at the time. Maybe even more than I knew. Because let’s face it, I was obviously out of it for the better half of the evening.”

“Kyuhyun…”

“There… just isn’t much of anything exciting to talk about, okay. It was just a car accident. Even the file said it, right? A car accident. Unknown cause.”

It had been his first job after his final assessment to be accepted into the company. He was much too young at the time, Leeteuk always said. Much too young for a fractured hip, pneumothorax, and too many broken ribs, or even a brief coma. It was ironic, he always thought, that he died over and over in the dreams, yet nothing had ever come close to that night when he thought he was dying on the side of the road in the real world. Death never felt quite the same after that. Or at least until the next time he died by being run over with a car.

He had thrown up on his feet the moment he woke up from that dream. He didn’t write it in his report that time, but it started happening over and over. He hadn’t even been aware of it, how he had started to seek out deaths that involved a moving vehicle, until a chemist who had gone on a couple of jobs with him commented on it. Leeteuk, being Leeteuk, had finally caught on and forced him to go see a therapist. Obviously it had gone on to his psych eval. Which Zhou Mi had obviously read.

The therapist suggested that his subconscious was trying to make sense of what had happened by replaying it over and over. They never knew what had happened in that accident. They were on a job, all four of them - Leeteuk when had still been a field agent, Eunhyuk, Shindong, and him - hooked up on the PASIV machine with the mark. Kangin - their driver - was in front. The van had skidded and flipped while they were still dreaming. Kangin had died before anyone could ask what had happened. Investigations were carried out, tension ran high as there were obviously worries about an attack, but nothing abnormal ever came up in the reports. No one could figure out what had happened, and so they brushed it under the rug. Kyuhyun had always suspected the company had kept something from in, but now that he knew even the confidential file didn’t know, there was no point anymore.

They were silent for a while, Kyuhyun staring blankly at his black TV screen, feeling the alcohol sing in his blood. “What time do we start tomorrow?” He suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

“Oh, Donghae and Eunhyuk said they were coming around nine tomorrow morning.”

Kyuhyun nodded, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. He needed to sleep. They were going to have a full day of work tomorrow. Yet he was now steadily on the way to becoming sober, and he knew his head was going on full overdrive soon. Kyuhyun reached out to grab his bag that was still lying on the floor at the feet of the couch. He shook it opened and pulled out a familiar white bottle. He was just sluggishly uncapping it when a hand grasped his wrist.

“Kyuhyun, what is that?”

Kyuhyun stared at the grip on his wrist. It was really going to bruise after today. He looked up and was mildly surprised to see Zhou Mi’s grim expression.

“What? It’s just my sleeping pills.” Kyuhyun was perplexed. It wasn’t like he was taking illegal drugs. Had Zhou Mi never seen sleeping pills in his life?

“You just drank a lot, Kyuhyun. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to take any other kind of chemicals into your system right now.” Zhou Mi’s grip was unrelenting, and it was starting to bother Kyuhyun.

“What is your problem? I take them all the time even after I drink, nothing has ever happened yet.” Kyuhyun wrenched his hand away. “All this baby-sitting business is getting pretty damn tiring. I am not your responsibility.” He popped the cap open, and shrugged the pills out of the bottle. Without counting, he popped them into his mouth and swallowed them dry before Zhou Mi could react.

Kyuhyun suddenly leaned forward, pressing his body flush against the angles of Zhou Mi’s, his lips milimetres away from the other’s. The air felt hot and humid. He could feel Zhou Mi take in a shuddery breath against his lips. His hands had somehow came to rest on Kyuhyun’s hips, and he had to smirk. Zhou Mi’s thigh was between his own, hot and familiar.

“You might still have the luxury of natural sleep now, but a few years down the line, you take what you can get.” Kyuhyun tilted his head, letting his lips brush against Zhou Mi’s jawline, and then brushed Zhou Mi’s hand away, standing up and stumbling his way towards the bedroom. Zhou Mi looked shocked, but didn’t stop him. Kyuhyun could feel his brain starting to get hazy, his eyelids getting droopy and heavier, his tongue thick and clumsy in his mouth.

“Sweet dreams, Zhou Mi.”

And with that he slammed the door shut, collapsed on his bed, and promptly passed out.

-

The next few days passed by in a blur of hotel floor plans and PASIV test runs. Donghae distracted them every three hours for food and drinks, but among the four of them, work was quick and efficient. Kyuhyun surrounded himself with blue prints of Kim Minyoung’s office and house, provided by Leeteuk. He built Escher-esque stairs and endless looping hallways into the design, perfecting every corner down to the smallest details. Sometimes his insomnia came into good use, Kyuhyun said, as he pored over secret exits and trap doors and security systems. After that first night of drinking himself to a stupor, he had stopped sleeping. At least not without the help of the PASIV machine, thought it was technically still working.

At least Zhou Mi had no other chance to make disapproving face at him for taking his damn pills, because he wasn’t taking them and he wasn’t sleeping any time soon. By the thirty-ninth hour, Kyuhyun’s mind was a constant whirring of metal staircases and walls sliding into place, the ground grumbling faintly under his feet even when he was awake. He was always awake, Kyuhyun thought. By the forty-third hour, the real world felt less real than the dream world. In the dream world, his head was clear and his eyes weren’t blurry or aching.

Kyuhyun was vaguely aware of the others talking about him, but he had tuned it out after Donghae started going on about the many stages of sleep deprivation. By the third day, Eunhyuk sneakily upped the somnacin dosage for him in one of their test runs, and Kyuhyun passed out for seven hours. He woke up at seven in the morning on Friday, feeling furious and better than he had been for days.

“What is wrong with your system,” Eunhyuk looked up blearily from his toast and the steaming cup of coffee in Kyuhyun’s kitchen. Zhou Mi had taken it upon himself to restock his entire kitchen the day before. Kyuhyun suspected Zhou Mi went shopping when he was stressed, whether it was for food or clothes. The sight of fresh toast and fresh fruits on his dining table was definitely jarring. “What I had in that vial was guaranteed to put out the average five foot eight male for at least twelve consecutive hours. You practically halved the expected result.”

“Well, sorry for skewering your research data graph with my weird metabolism.” Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, sitting down at the table and picking up a piece of toast. “Though you probably shouldn’t have used me to test your chemicals in the first place.”

“Well, don’t blame me for granting you some precious hours of sleep before you pass out on the job,” Eunhyuk grunted, pushing the pot of coffee towards Kyuhyun. Donghae looked like he was still half-asleep over his cereal, while Zhou Mi was quietly and efficiently gobbling down his toast with mandarin marmalade.

Kyuhyun had to admit it was hard to get mad at them for practically drugging him. His head felt clearer than it had been for days, and his mood was refreshingly mild for once, instead of the strung-out tension he had been stuck in. The sense of urgency was surprisingly more subtle. Their operation would be carried out in the evening of the next day, and by then they had pretty much done all they could have in preparation.

The moment he opened the laptop on the table, everyone immediately perked up and blinked awake. Kyuhyun rubbed at his eyes, trying to remember what he had been working on last night before his co-workers had kindly decided to drug him into oblivion.

“Has anyone booked a car for tomorrow evening?”

“Yeah, I’m going to the garage this afternoon. We can immediately start loading things in then.” Eunhyuk nodded, pulling out his phone and typing away with his touch screen. “Any specific requirement in particular? High horse power? Premium sound system?”

“He collects cars,” Donghae said in explanation to Zhou Mi, looking both half asleep and unreasonably excited. Zhou Mi tentatively smiled back. Kyuhyun rolled his eyes.

“We need high level of invisibility, so we would have to do our best to blend in with the vehicles in the area.” Zhou Mi spoke up for the first in the morning. His face looked haggard, the angles sharper than Kyuhyun had imagined possible. They had never mentioned what had happened that night again. Zhou Mi seemed tense the first day, but after that their tension slowly bled away, channeling into their focus on the job. It was good enough, he supposed.

“He’s right. We are going to blend in, so we’re most likely going to pick up a black Mercedes SUV. It’s pretty much going to be the most common vehicle in the area, easy to slip under the radar. Three quarter of the cars there are probably going to be black Mercedes SUVs.”

“Why don’t we ever go for an Audi?” Donghae complained, crunching his cereal loudly. “Audi is popular, too. I’m so sick of staring at hundreds of Mercedes on Seoul streets every day.”

“I don’t like the logo for Audi.” Kyuhyun deadpanned. “So yeah, Eunhyuk, a Mercedes ML, black, tinted windows, take out the third row backseats to leave space for our shit.”

Eunhyuk nodded, typing furiously into his little screen.

“Zhou Mi, how are our covers for the night?” Kyuhyun turned to look at the other man, trying not to wince at tired downward curve of Zhou Mi’s lips.

“Well, Kyuhyun and I are going to get in as guests for the night. I have prepared the necessary papers. If anyone asks, we are co-founders of an internet-based consultant agency. Donghae is going in as members of staff -casual labour for the gala, since his job is to get the mark to the bathroom unconscious. Eunhyuk, you are the designated driver so you are going to be stationed outside in the car, taking care of coordination and communication channel.”

“No problem,” Eunhyuk made an a-okay sign.

“Okay, good. Anything else?”

“You and I are going to need to go for suit fittings this afternoon.” Zhou Mi turned to stare straight into Kyuhyun’s eyes, completely deadpanned.

“What?”

“Well, do you have any formal suits in the $1000 price range?”

Kyuhyun made spluttering noises.

“We would just draw attention to ourselves if we go in anything worse than that, so the best bet is we rent the suits.” Zhou Mi calmly explained, and Kyuhyun quietly cursed his life as Donghae and Eunhyuk murmured their agreement and lamented the fact that they were not going to wear one-thousand-dollar suits.

-

Kyuhyun suddenly strongly regretted leaving Eunhyuk with the car renting part of the job. He would rather be looking at cars than being a complete flaily idiot in a high-end rent shop with the ever fashionable Zhou Mi. Kyuhyun stared at the endless rows of silk cocktail dresses and velvet evening tail coats in half awe and half dread. The chirpy shop assistant and Zhou Mi had been chatting non-stop in rapid fire Chinese ever since they entered the shop, leaving Kyuhyun alone to wander aimlessly amidst fabrics and sequins, looking as lost as a child in the supermarket.

Kyuhyun was ogling a bright yellow feather shrug when all of sudden Zhou Mi reappeared in his vision and threw a pile of fabrics on him.

“Here, try these on! I’ve been looking around, there’s so much good stuff here! I’m sure you’ll look great in any of these numbers.”

Zhou Mi got amazingly animated and cheery once they got to the shopping district, a complete contrast to his haggard weary image that morning at the breakfast table. Kyuhyun sort of felt like the real Zhou Mi was only brought out in a shopping mall. He didn’t even want to know how Zhou Mi had found this hole-in-the-wall place hidden deep inside an alley in Myeong-dong, home for a bazillion high-end brand name clothing and accessories for rent. He had lived in Seoul his entire life and he had never even heard about this. Then again, he wasn’t a shopaholic and there was no reason to be.

Kyuhyun wearily dragged himself into the changing room with his pile of jackets and trousers. Zhou Mi had picked out for him at least five choices, from black to grey to off-white to subtle pinstripes. There was even one blazer in fiery red that had Kyuhyun staring blankly for a few seconds. Deciding that it was probably Zhou Mi’s idea of a joke to make fun of him, Kyuhyun threw that blazer aside and started trying on the others.

Zhou Mi knew his measurements, Kyuhyun realized. The suits fit like they were tailored specifically for him. The pants would need a little re-hemming, but that was to be expected. Kyuhyun smoothed his hand over the lapel of his suit jacket. The fabric was black, thick, and incredibly soft under his hand. Some kind of expensive cashmere, Kyuhyun guessed. It felt rich and luxurious. He had looked at the label, and it was some Italian brand name he had never heard of. The cut was classy, subtle, and sharp. Kyuhyun had never been one to pay too much attention on the luxury of clothes, but he had to admit Zhou Mi had very good eyes.

“Kyuhyun? Are you done?”

Kyuhyun startled. Zhou Mi’s voice was right outside the door of his cubicle. Kyuhyun suddenly realized Zhou Mi wanted him to come out and show him, as if he was doing a parade for his boyfriend at the mall. Kyuhyun grimaced, but still pushed the door open in the end. And took a sharp inhale at the first sight that greeted him.

Zhou Mi had also changed into his suit of choice. It was a three-piece number, the colour was washed black with subtle pinstripes, the fabric light and flowing along the lines of Zhou Mi’s body. Zhou Mi really had legs that went on forever, Kyuhyun thought in a daze as his eyes followed the legs of his pants.

When he was finally able to tear his eyes away and look up, Zhou Mi was staring at him with a weird expression. Kyuhyun flushed, shifting awkwardly as he remembered what he had on. He must have looked like a drag next to Zhou Mi. The silence dragged on for a whole minute, and Kyuhyun cleared his throat.

“Oh.” Zhou Mi blinked rapidly as if he was coming out of a trance, “Um. That looks… really good, Kyuhyun.” He stepped closer, and Kyuhyun had to restrain the urge to step backwards. Kyuhyun held his breath as Zhou Mi’s hands reached out, tugging on his lapels, fixing and smoothing them down. If Zhou Mi were just half a step closer, their hair would be brushing against each other’s. As it was, Kyuhyun could once again see all the lines on Zhou Mi’s lips in startling proximity.

“I knew this would suit you. Double-breasted, two button rows, classy but also very young and trendy.” Zhou Mi’s lips were twitched up into a pleased little smile, and Kyuhyun tried hard to lean away as subtly as possible.

“Thanks, I guess. You look good, too.” Kyuhyun mumbled under his breath, and then suddenly realized what he had just said. “I mean, yeah, that… suits you as well. Yeah.”

Zhou Mi let out a small laugh, and Kyuhyun was more aware than ever that Zhou Mi’s long fingers were still curled around the lapels of Kyuhyun’s jacket, and his own hands had moved to hold onto Zhou Mi’s elbows. And that they were in the middle of a store.

Kyuhyun coughed, stepping back. This was definitely not the time for… whatever this thing between them was. Zhou Mi would go back to China after this job, and they would deal with it then. Which was to say they would not deal with it at all. In any case, they had an important job in front of them, and Kyuhyun’s brain was too fried to deal with any emotional baggage. And so he turned away, resolutely not looking at Zhou Mi.

“Let’s go then. We don’t have a lot of time to waste,” and he all but ran back inside the changing cubicle, slamming the door shut. When he came back out, Zhou Mi was already back to his normal clothes, and waiting for him at the register.

There was a smile on Zhou Mi’s lips, but Zhou Mi’s eyes were looking at him in a way that said “I understand you,” and it prickled at the back of his neck, this feeling that made him feel naked and frozen. He wasn’t angry, not really. Kyuhyun guessed he was just afraid. Zhou Mi knew, the inside of his head hissed.

It almost scared him that someone cared enough to know.

-

Other people, especially new trainees in the new programs and university students, usually thought working for SM was a glorious job. Chasing marks, building dreams, kicking ass and taking names. Except when it wasn’t. The four brightest talents of the company were then all hunched over in the dark in a black Mercedes SUV, waiting endlessly for the start of the event and the signal that Kim Minyoung had even started moving out of his house yet. Kyuhyun was perfectly content with gaming on his computer until Zhou Mi decided he would use this dead time to slap foundation on Kyuhyun’s face, of all things.

“Why are you doing this?” Kyuhyun squirmed, batting at Zhou Mi’s hand, trying to be his most manly and not shriek in horror as the sponge flew closer.

“Stay still, Kyuhyun. Everyone is going to be at their sparkling best is all.” Zhou Mi was practically in his lap by then, the older man was next to gripping his head by the neck to keep him down.

“I’m not at my sparkling best? You don’t like my face? What’s wrong with my face?” Kyuhyun hissed, flailing helplessly as he struggled in Zhou Mi’s grasp. Donghae and Eunhyuk kept snickering from the front seats. Kyuhyun wanted to strangle someone and throw them down the Han river.

“No, your face is perfect, Kyuhyun!” Zhou Mi tilted Kyuhyun’s face up with a hand cupping under his jaw, and he felt embarrassment burn his cheeks as Zhou Mi’s earnest eyes caught his own.

Kyuhyun could hear gagging noises and not-so-manly giggles from the direction the front seats. Maybe he should attach a few gigantic rocks before throwing them down the river.

“Okay girls, no more time for playing dress up, Kim Minyoung is out of the house and on the way.” Eunhyuk called out as his tracking system on the computer burst into life, and Kyuhyun pushed Zhou Mi away sullenly. Zhou Mi reluctantly packed away his make-up kit with a slight pout. Kyuhyun didn’t even want to know why he had packed a make-up kit in his bag for a job in the first place.

Donghae was going to slip in as a banquet server first. He fixed his bowtie, then leaned over to plop an exaggerated kiss on Eunhyuk’s lips. Eunhyuk returned the sentiment by fisting a hand in Donghae’s collar and pulled him into a deeper kiss. Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. Girls.

“Play nice, be safe!” Eunhyuk called out as the two finally pulled apart and Donghae slipped out of the car with a wink and an air kiss. Kyuhyun made gagging noises as retribution for earlier and Eunhyuk had the decency to flip him off.

“Let’s start moving,” Kyuhyun turned to look at Zhou Mi only to stop short as he noticed the odd look Zhou Mi was throwing in his direction. “What? Something on my face? Told you, make-up is not a good look on me.” Kyuhyun reached up to touch his face, feeling suddenly self-conscious and frowning in suspicion.

“No, no, you look perfectly fine.” Zhou Mi blinked, his gangly limbs started moving about in a haste.

Kyuhyun flipped off Eunhyuk’s smirk as they got out of the car.

-

Zhou Mi looked like perfection personified in the light of the crystal chandelier. He blended into the environment like he belonged there the moment he stepped in. The Chosun Seoul Hotel was everything that screamed luxury and pretension - sparkling marble floor, high ceiling, twinkling chandeliers, artsy impressionist paintings of swirling muted colours, giant flower bouquets in high-neck vases. The beautiful people were milling about in silk cocktail dresses and cashmere suits, all accompanied with bubbly champagne, the latest news on the stock market, golden watches and golden smiles.

Zhou Mi fit right in. Hair parted just the right way, suit buttoned up just the right notch, silk tie tightened with a fashionable twist. Tasteful silver cufflinks, quicksilver smile. The way he held himself was different - the change was subtle but it was there. Zhou Mi held himself straighter, owning to his entire height. Normally he was all over Kyuhyun even when they went out, but this time not even his privacy bubble was invaded. The cheery smile had transformed into a slight smirk. He was beautiful and confident, Kyuhyun thought as Zhou Mi handed him a delicate glass of champagne with a slight incline of the head.

He must have looked a mess next to Zhou Mi, Kyuhyun mused. He surreptitiously smoothed down his suit jacket, eyes sweeping over the crowd. He wondered if he really should have just accepted Zhou Mi’s offer of make-up earlier. If anyone asked, he was the geeky technical side of the investment. All in all, it wasn’t that far from the truth.

It was fifteen minutes until the mark got there, Eunhyuk informed them over the comm system. Kyuhyun scanned the crowd, this time for the location of the bar. He had gulped down his champagne too quickly. Kyuhyun touched Zhou Mi’s wrist lightly, indicating that he would be back soon, and slipping away without really looking at Zhou Mi’s reaction.

As he wandered over to the bar, Kyuhyun noticed Donghae lurking around near the drink station. He was already chatting it up with some other server, Kyuhyun noticed. As he caught Kyuhyun’s eyes, Donghae sent him a wink. Kyuhyun chuckled, moving on.

Surprisingly, the bar wasn’t that crowded. Perhaps because they came in an hour late to the official opening time, and perhaps because the servers were using tray services as well, an army of well-dressed young men and women weaving through the crowd with an endless supply of champagne. Kyuhyun was just scrutinizing the bottles of red wine they had on a small hanger to show the guests when a familiar voice startled him.

“Kyuhyun?”

Kyuhyun jerked his head up and immediately came face to face with a more than familiar face.

“Sungmin.” He blinked, staring in shock at the other man who was standing behind the bar, dressed in an impeccable black suit. “What are you doing here?” Kyuhyun blurted out. He wouldn’t say it was the last place he would expect to see Sungmin in, but seeing him in a different context from Sapphire Blue was definitely jarring.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Sungmin grinned at him brightly, the smile crinkling around his eyes. “Though I guess it’s obviously for business. I’m here today because Sapphire Blue actually takes care of the catering for beverage in the event.” Sungmin tugged at his striped red bowtie, waving at the entire bar station.

Kyuhyun nodded mutely. He didn’t expect to bump into anyone he knew on the job since this was definitely more high-profile than his usual gigs, but it was no reason to start freaking out and worrying about nothing. Sungmin and he would just exchange a few pleasantries, and then he would get on with what he had come for.

“You want something to drink? The wine quality is not really as excellent as what I reserve for you at Sapphire Blue, you know, since this is in mass quantity and all.” Sungmin wiggled his eyebrows at the crowd. “Still, the Saint-Émilion is quite decent to pass the time.”

Kyuhyun laughed, rubbing at his wrist consciously. “Okay then, just one glass.”

Sungmin expertly poured him a glass of the young Saint-Émilion, handing it to him with a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Is your chaperone with you here today though?”

Kyuhyun’s hand stilled for a millisecond on the way to his lips as it sank in what, or whom, Sungmin meant. “Oh. Zhou Mi, you mean?” His mind flashed back to what had happened that night and the conversation he had overheard in the car. “He is… here actually. Around. Somewhere.” Kyuhyun’s eyes darted over the crowd to look for the top of Zhou Mi’s head.

“I was just checking if someone would come swooping in to cart you off from my evil grasp again.” Sungmin’s voice was amused. Kyuhyun turned back, meeting the other man’s mischievous eyes and ducking his head in embarrassment as he remembered how he had been practically plastered against Sungmin that night, clinging to Sungmin for dear life before Zhou Mi dragged him off.

Kyuhyun was just opening his mouth to reply when his phone buzzed against his leg. He immediately straightened, pulling out the phone in a deceptively casual manner. “IN,” the text from Eunhyuk read. Kyuhyun calmly slid the phone back to his pocket.

“Anyway, I think I’ll have to run now. Social mingling and all that,” Kyuhyun made a face, and Sungmin laughed.

“Go on then, back to your faithful chaperone before he catches you here with me again.”

Kyuhyun flashed him an easy smile and turned on his heels. Suddenly remembering something, Kyuhyun turned back to look at Sungmin, eyes hesitant. “Do you… would you like to leave a message or something for the chaperone?”

Sungmin raised a dubious eyebrow at him, and if Kyuhyun hadn’t heard the conversation that night between the two of them, he would have thought he had been mistaken. As it was, he knew what he had heard, and Kyuhyun stared back in curious determination. In the end, Sungmin’s expression softened. He seemed to have realized that Kyuhyun knew.

“No, it’s okay. Nothing. No need for you to be the messenger.” Sungmin sent him a soft smile, and Kyuhyun nodded, turning on his heels. It wasn’t his business, Kyuhyun repeated to himself.

-

He met up with Zhou Mi just mere steps away from the bar, Zhou Mi had evidently run to look for him. Kyuhyun quickly disposed of the glass of red wine he had been holding on to a passing server’s tray.

“He’s here.” Zhou Mi murmured under his breath, his head subtly angling towards the entrance. Kyuhyun immediately scanned the crowd for the old man and Donghae’s position. He immediately spotted Kim Minyoung in the crowd, thanks to one whole week of scrutinizing his face, his entire history, family, and career. Kim Minyoung himself was tall, rail thin, but seeming sinewy and assertive. There was a guy following right behind him, a tall sturdy type in a smart dark suit. His personal assistant slash bodyguard, no doubt. It was just as they had predicted, Kim Minyoung didn’t go out without security anymore.

Kyuhyun tugged Zhou Mi’s sleeves towards the direction of the ballroom’s exit to the hotel’s hallway. He had spotted Donghae, slinking out from the far side of the drink station, a tray on his hand with only one glass of white wine. The white wine was laced with a special pill from Eunhyuk, creating mild side effects of discomfort. Low-key enough not to raise alarms, but strong enough to send Kim Minyoung running to the restroom for sure.

Donghae gracefully pulled up next to their mark in no time, his wide childish grin on full volume. Kim Minyoung didn’t even so much look at Donghae, he just took the glass and took a sip of the laced champagne. Donghae did a small discreet bow, and disappeared back into the crowd again.

It didn’t take long for the champagne to take effect. Kyuhyun kept an eye on Kim Minyoung as he started tugging at his collar, his hands fidgeting in clear discomfort. Five minutes passed, and the old man was dabbing lightly at the sweat on his forehead, rocking back and forth on his feet. He tried to smile and carry on the conversation with fellow guests, but Kyuhyun knew it was only a matter of time before he bolted.

Five more minutes, and Kim Minyoung abruptly turned on his heels, heading towards the door to the hallway. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi stepped back, out of the man’s vision, and smirked as the man rushed past, the bodyguard hot in tow. Donghae magically re-appeared on the other side of the doorway, this time no trays in hand. With a slight incline of the head, the three of them slipped out of the ballroom.

The hallway was quieter, only a low buzz of the party inside carrying out. They walked down the corridor, spotting Kim Minyoung’s bodyguard standing outside of the restroom, just as expected. Kyuhyun hung back around the corner, out of the bodyguard’s vision, standing guard in case anyone came from the other direction. Zhou Mi moved forward, schooling his face into a drunk and confused expression, his gangly limbs turning wobbly. Kyuhyun observed from behind the corner as Zhou Mi’s face brightened up when the bodyguard guy caught his eyes.

“Oh hey! I think I’m a bit… lost… It’s shiny in here.” Zhou Mi laughed, high and breathy. “Do you know which way it is back to the big room?”

Zhou Mi flailed closer, invading the guy’s personal space, and the bodyguard was just opening his mouth to voice his annoyance when there was a low buzz, and his eyes went wide, his body slumping over Zhou Mi’s arms. With one arm supporting the slack body, Zhou Mi yanked open the door to the closet nearby and dragged the unconscious guy inside, shoving him down gently and making quick work of administrating to the guy’s arm a vial of clear liquid Eunhyuk had given him. After patting the guy’s face a few times, Zhou Mi backed out and shut the door.

At the same time, Donghae strode in from the other direction in a cleaning attendant uniform with a dirty linen cart. He pushed the door of the restroom open, casually strolling in with Zhou Mi in tow. Kyuhyun quickly walked towards the restroom, pretending to be hanging out with his phone outside. Five minutes later, the door opened, Donghae pushing the cart out to the hallway with considerably more difficulty. Kyuhyun briskly walked towards the other two’s direction.

“All good?”

“Of course.” Donghae grinned, nodding his head towards the heavy linen cart. “Heavier than I thought though. His bones are pretty hard.”

-

They breezed down the hallway towards the back of house area. Kyuhyun loosened his tie and collar. The cold hit him square in the face when they pushed the backdoor open out to the back alley. Kyuhyun squinted, he could already see the SUV waiting for them right outside up the street. He signaled the others to go faster. The shorter they were out in the open the less chance someone would see and stop them.

When they approached the car, Eunhyuk gave them a victory sign as he climbed over from the driver’s seat to the backseat. They got the unconscious old man out of the linen cart easily with the support of Zhou Mi, and Donghae jumped into the driver’s seat. Just as Zhou Mi finished depositing the man into the backseat, a loud pop sounded, shaking the car. Kyuhyun startled, glancing to his right, and felt all the blood drain from his face.

There was a smoking hole embedded in the side of the car. The metal was caved in, the edge smooth and familiar. A bullet hole.

Kyuhyun turned in slow motion. Zhou Mi straightened up beside him, looking confused. He grabbed Zhou Mi’s jacket, jerking the taller man forward in front of him and shoving Zhou Mi in.

“DOWN!”

Kyuhyun shouted. Donghae and Eunhyuk had apparently also recognized the situation as they both cursed loudly. Another pop sounded and Kyuhyun practically hit Zhou Mi’s back as he stumbled forward.

“Oh fuck.” Kyuhyun cursed under his breath as he felt a cold sensation blossomed on his back.

“Kyuhyun!” Zhou Mi whirled back, his voice frantic as he pulled Kyuhyun up into the car, practically dragging his body by the arm.

“Cover the fucking mark, Zhou Mi!” Kyuhyun scrambled up, hissing loudly. “Donghae, start driving!” He shouted, slamming the car door shut the moment his found his feet on the floor, barely finding any relief as the engine revved up and the car rocked into motion. He jerked as the car did the same one more time, this time the impact coming from the back. “Faster!” The car swerved, Donghae skillfully maneuvering it out the alley into the larger street.

The car raced up to the main street, blending into traffic in no time. They kept a steady maximum speed, rushing traffic lights and bridges, everyone tense and periodically glancing around and backwards to check for any car that might be following them. After roughly ten minutes, Eunhyuk let out a loud breath.

“I don’t think anyone followed us.”

Kyuhyun twitched. Zhou Mi’s grip, tight on his upper arm, loosened a little. He was plastered against Zhou Mi’s side ever since he had been pulled inside the car, his body practically lying in Zhou Mi’s lap. Kyuhyun pushed at Zhou Mi’s thigh, slowly pulling himself up to a sitting position. He glanced at Kim Minyoung - the man was still completely passed out, his head lolling, pressed against Eunhyuk who was practically glued to the door on the other side of the car.

Kyuhyun bit his lower lip as the cold sensation in his back burst into searing pain when he sat up gingerly. No ribs felt broken and no organs felt burst though, so it must not have been that bad. Hopefully just a graze, Kyuhyun fervently thought.

“You okay?” Zhou Mi’s hand tightened around his arm again, and Kyuhyun looked up to see the shadow of Zhou Mi’s worried frown in the flashing lights of the passing cars and street lamps. It hit him then - Zhou Mi didn’t know he had been shot. The alley was dark, the car was dark, he was wearing a dark suit, everything was too fast and chaotic for anyone to notice. Kyuhyun’s hand reached up, removing fingers from their grip on his arm.

“I’m fine, let’s get started. We have no time. If someone knows we’ve taken him, god knows how long until his accomplices start taking action as well. He might be the only one who has access to the file now but we can’t be too sure. We have to be fast.” Kyuhyun jerked his head and Eunhyuk pulled up the PASIV machine from under the seat. Zhou Mi’s frown deepened but he finally turned away, helping Eunhyuk set up the device, pulling out the IV lines.

“Was that Kim Minyoung’s bodyguard? How is that even possible, I injected him with the vial you gave me.”

“What is wrong with everyone lately? Does everyone just have super metabolism these days? Are my research results actually working on anyone anymore?” Eunhyuk sighed loudly.

Kyuhyun’s eyes glazed over for a few seconds, watching them set up and connect the IV lines to their and Kim Minyoung’s wrists. It was going to be okay, he reassured himself, this would last half an hour in the real world at best. He could hold on until then. He was the architect, they relied on him to make the dream happen. Kyuhyun discreetly inched a hand inside his suit jacket, trying to regulate his breathing as his fingers touched the wet and warm fabric of his shirt. He had no time to assess it however, as Zhou Mi offered him the end of an IV line. Kyuhyun reached out, only to be stopped by Eunhyuk’s hand pushing Zhou Mi’s down. He blinked, looking up into Eunhyuk’s serious expression.

“Kyuhyun, are you sure? This wasn’t the plan.”

Kyuhyun could hear his heart beat louder in his chest. Had Eunhyuk seen…? Then the rushing street lights flashed in his eyes, and it suddenly hit him what Eunhyuk meant. It was not part of the plan to do this in a moving vehicle. They were going to do it in the car right in that back alley. The last time he had done an operation in the back of a moving car had been… the accident.

Kyuhyun glanced up, seeing Zhou Mi’s confused expression. He could not afford to let the past define him anymore. Kyuhyun reached out, snatching the IV line from Zhou Mi’s hand.

“Let’s do this. We don’t have time to waste.” His gaze was steady, and Eunhyuk visibly relaxed after a few beats, moving back.

“Donghae, you will be okay up here by yourself?” Eunhyuk called out.

“Have a nice death, Eunhyuk.” The grin could be heard in Donghae’s voice. Eunhyuk leaned over to scuff the back of Donghae’s head, chuckling lightly.

They leaned back, settling down, Kyuhyun cradling his side loosely with one hand, and Eunhyuk hit the release button on the PASIV machine.

-

Part 6