[super junior] the high cost of dying (6/7)

[fumerie]

So I was debating whether I should split this into 2 parts because it was getting pretty long... but then again my original intention was to post 50,000 words at once, so here you go, epic walls of text! One last part before the story ends. ;_;

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 - 6



The High Cost of Dying.

-

Kyuhyun let out a loud sigh as he opened his eyes to a familiar corner of a street in downtown Seoul. The breath of fresh afternoon air was an intense relief compared to the throbbing pain in the darkness of the real world. He knew the relief would be relatively short-lived though. The pain in the real world would edge into his subconscious in no time, so they would have to hurry.

“You know what to do, Eunhyuk.” Kyuhyn nodded towards the chemist.

“I’ll see you guys up there. Good luck.” Eunhyuk made a peace sign, hoisting up several large hold-all bags on his shoulders. Enough ammunition and bombs to blow up that six-floor building down the street, Kyuhyun knew. Eunhyuk ran across the street, disappearing into a small alley. Kyuhyun turned to his companion.

“Ready to go, Han Jaewon-sshi?” Kyuhyun’s lips twitched up in a smirk. Zhou Mi was shorter than him, again.

Standing next to him on the corner of the street was a man in his fifties, statue short and heavy, his hair unnaturally coal black and slicked up. The man patted his beer belly, bobbing his head. “Ready when you are, Mr. Haneda Shigure.”

For the record, Kyuhyun still looked exactly the same as he did in real life. He didn’t manage to gain forging ability in the one short week they had had in preparation for the job. The plan was for Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun to get into Kim Minyoung’s office as quietly and peacefully as possible, and to do that they had to bypass the security of the building with minimal fuss. Kim Minyoung had the defense training, and he must have been on edge for a while due to the investigation, so his subconscious would naturally be ultra sensitive to the slightest disturbance.

This was where Zhou Mi came in. For easy access to the building, he would naturally have to be someone who worked in there as well. The building where Kim Minyoung’s office was in was SM official corporate headquarter. It was just right across the street from the company’s operational headquarter, where Kyuhyun and the rest of the agents frequently visited and where Leeteuk’s office was located. Most people didn’t even know that operational office belonged to SM. The official corporate building was the face and voice of the company, which was precisely why SM’s main workforce had little to no chance of ever being seen inside said building. Everything had to be sparkly clean. This was where the hotshots reigned.

Naturally, the easiest way to get inside to the highest level where Kim Minyoung’s office resided was to be another member of the company’s Board of Directors. And so, Zhou Mi became Han Jaewon, Chief Officer of Commerce of SM Corporation. A man with relatively small speaking power in the company but in good relationship with everyone because he was seen as a harmless puppet. Kyuhyun then took on the role of “Haneda Shigure”, a Japanese associate from YGE - SM’s rival company who took an interest in Kim Minyoung’s rumoured resources.

The plan was more than smooth in motion. Hae Jaewon laughed and joked his way through several levels of receptions like a silly grandpa, all the projections smiling at him politely in fond indulgence.

“Ah, I need to see Kim Minyoung-sshi, I’m introducing him to this nice Japanese young man today,” the older man laughed, squeezing Kyuhyun’s wrist tightly. Kyuhyun tried his best not to wince, half hiding behind Zhou Mi’s form, trying his best to look professional and reserved. It wasn’t that hard to be honest, since looking dazed and quiet was practically his default state most of the time when he was out. Kyuhyun absently pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, glancing at his reflection in the sleek shiny metal counter. Yep, definitely professional and reserved.

It was sometime around the time the lift hit the thirteenth level that Kyuhyun was aware of a pressing pain spreading in his side. Kyuhyun slowly took in a deep breath. Just a little bit more, he noted to himself. The lift dinged open at the seventeenth floor, the floor of Kim Minyoung’s office. Kyuhyun let Zhou Mi walk out first, deliberately trailing behind the older man’s back, trying not to appear too stiff in his movement.

The projection of Kim Minyoung’s secretary look surprised to see them, but smiled warmly at Han Jaewon anyway. She buzzed them in without much fuss. Kyuhyun fidgeted with his cellphone in the pocket of his pants. He hit the “send message” button the moment the door opened to reveal their target - Kim Minyoung, awake and animated at his working desk.

“Oh, Jaewon-sshi, what brought you here today?” Kim Minyoung looked haggard and weary, even in his dream. He was going to be high-strung, Kyuhyun mused. He lightly pushed Zhou Mi forward to cover for him. “Oh, and who is this young man? Some new employee in your department?”

Han Jaewon laughed loudly, his movements turning awkward and clunky. “Oh, this. This is… Mr. Haneda Shigure …”

“Japanese…?”

With a couple flicks of the wrist, Kyuhyun quickly dismantled the security lock system on the door, effectively putting the whole room on total lockdown. He had spent an entire afternoon with the PASIV machine in the previous week to learn how to do this without even looking back.

“Hey, wait, what are you doing-“ Kim Minyoung surged forward as he heard the long beep signifying the lockdown. Kyuhyun immediately pulled out his gun from inside his jacket, sliding the safety off with a loud cracking sound, and digging the muzzle into Han Jaewon’s side. Kim Minyoung immediately froze in his step.

“I suggest you stay where you are, Kim Minyoung-sshi.” Kyuhyun spoke with a certain lilt in his words. Years working jobs here and there in Japan had taught him to perfect his Japanese accent. Most of the time he did it for fun, but sometimes it certainly came in handy.

Kim Minyoung slowly backed up towards his desk. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“My name is Haneda, as Han Jaewon-sshi here mentioned. I am a representative from YGE, sent here to talk to you about a possible deal with our company after we have been informed about… certain circumstances.” Kyuhyun pushed the gun harder against Zhou Mi’s ribs. The man was slightly tense but calm under his gun. Kyuhyun knew Zhou Mi’s face was a perfect rendition of horrified panic though.

“What has our Chief Officer of Commerce got to do with this?” Kim Minyoung’s eyebrows narrowed, and Kyuhyun could see him inching backwards to his desk. Too bad he already knew too well what was there.

“He was just the easiest vehicle for me to ride inside this place,” Kyuhyun shrugged. That was practically the truth. It really had been too easy. The week he had spent researching the SM’s corporate building’s security structure, he had been mildly impressed and surprised that no one had ever attacked the building before, given the number of enemies and rivals the company had.

“I don’t think you understand the magnitude of what you have just gotten yourself into, Haneda-sshi.”

“On the contrary,” Kyuhyun smirked. As if on cue, a loud explosion shook the ground. The older man immediately jerked back to stare out of the window. Kyuhyun didn’t need to look to know the building across the street, SM’s unofficial operational centre, had just burst into flame and exploded into a pile of rubber. Eunhyuk’s timing had always been impeccable.

“Now, Kim Minyoung-sshi, I would suggest you step away from that desk to the sofa set we have over there, and have a long decent talk over this very important matter.”

Kyuhyun sighed inwardly as the man swirled back, scrambling towards his desk and slammed his hand under the wood panel.

“Nice try, but it isn’t going to work.” Kyuhyun could hear people shouting and running outside, no doubt trying to figure out what had just happened just across the street. “Unfortunately right now all securities and professional personnel of the company are running across the street to deal with what’s going on out there. The operational centre under attack? That’s bold. All normal administrative employees by now have likely run off in fear of being under attack in this building as well, no doubt.” They could hear distant gunfire outside the window. Eunhyuk was still out there, holding out on his own. He was good. They still had time.

Kim Minyoung looked increasingly nervous and pale, but his voice was still sharp and demanding when he spoke. “Okay, fine, we talk.” He glanced at the pudgy man who was still under his line of fire. “He hasn’t got anything to do with this though.” Kyuhyun snorted. He knew Kim Minyoung wasn’t kind enough to worry about his colleague’s safety. He just didn’t want a witness to know what illegal information he actually had in hand and what he was going to deal with the rival company. Even under the threat of fire, Kim Minyoung’s greediness and ambition would still be revealed as what they actually were.

“Okay, fine.” Kyuhyun discreetly brushed a hand against Zhou Mi’s back in reassurance, then pushed the man forward. Zhou Mi stumbled over his feet, falling down to the sofa chair. Kyuhyun didn’t wait for him to get up before firing three shots into his back. The man made a croaking noise and promptly slumped down, sliding off the chair, blood smearing in his wake. The carpet was quickly stained dark red.

Kim Minyoung shouted a particularly vicious curse, jumping back in fear. He slammed his hand on the table, eyes glued to the very dead body on the floor of his office.

“What do you think you just did?! Fuck, what.”

“You said you didn’t want him here.” Kyuhyun shrugged, silently hoping Zhou Mi would not get too hung up over this when they woke up in the real world. This was just a necessary move to accommodate the plan. “Don’t worry, our company will foot the cleaning bill for your precious leather sofa and off-cream wool carpet if the talk turns out to be successful. Now show me what you have.”

They really needed to speed this up, Kyuhyun thought. Eunhyuk wouldn’t be able to hold out for too long anymore. The old man’s subconscious was surely getting more vicious by the minute. Then it would just be him and the target left. Not to mention it was starting to get hard for him to keep a straight face and keep his movements fluid. The pain was quickly going from vaguely achy to throbbing to overwhelming. He even thought the blood was starting to seep out, but he couldn’t check. They had no time.

Kyuhyun waved the gun, motioning the older man to go back to his chair behind the computer. Kim Minyoung glared at him but briskly made his way there, sitting himself down obediently. As a Chief Officer of Finance, he obviously didn’t have a lot of experience with firearm. Kyuhyun kept the gun strained on his head as he moved behind Kim Minyoung’s chair, peering at the computer screen.

“You know what we want.”

“Then you should start talking about the price I would get in return.” Kim Minyoung bit out, clearly bitter about being at a physical disadvantage for the negotiation he had been hoping for.

“Half a million US dollars, life-long protection from SM’s special taskforce, ensured steady position as a personal consultant in our company YGE, opportunity to be head of our Japanese branch in the next two years.”

The older man’s hands hovered over the keyboard, still looking apprehensive. “How would you be able to guarantee protection from SM’s special taskforce? The company has got some horrifying people, I’ve heard.”

Well, thank you for the sparkling compliment, Kyuhyun smirked inwardly. “You don’t agree, you’re fucked either way, working with us or not. I know SM has started to suspect your embezzling and fraud business in the company. We are offering protection plus a million dollar job and you still want to refuse? That’s your problem.”

Kim Minyoung frowned, hesitating for a few beats, and just when Kyuhyun was starting to think he should up the ante on manipulative violence, the old man’s fingers started flying across the keyboard. Several folders and files opened up in quick succession. Kyuhyun leaned closer, quickly committing the links to his memory. The reason why he had been excellent in the special architecture training program and why the company had handpicked him was that he had excellent photographic memory.

A locked file flashed on the screen. The older man paused, staring at the password box. Kyuhyun shifted on his feet, allowing himself a quick grimace. He was starting to feel faint. If this was affecting him this much in the dream, he wondered how his body in real life was faring. Obviously still alive and that was good enough, but he had a job to wrap up here and he couldn’t afford to fuck up.

“What? Don’t tell me you forgot your own password.” Kyuhyun snapped.

“No. I. I don’t know about this.”

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. Several years of embezzling and fraud, working for the company, and this man was suddenly having an ethical crisis now? He really didn’t have the time for this. He pulled a thin folder from inside his jacket and threw it on the table.

“Right, look at this.”

Kyuhyun could see the older man freeze up as he looked at the pictures in the folder. A smiling woman and a young girl having dinner in a kitchen.

“That’s your wife. And your precious daughter. This was taken last night. You do the math. I believe I don’t need to say anything else.”

The little details, all thanks to Zhou Mi’s thorough research. Zhou Mi would have frowned at him and for doing this and stayed icy for a whole week, but Zhou Mi was not there. He had picked up the pictures simply as a back-up, he told himself, but these things… families, they always worked.

Kyuhyun’s smile was a little hollow as the old man unfroze and furiously punched in the password. His eyes went over the motion, committing the letters and numbers and sequences to memory as well. The file flashed opened. He had gotten what he had come for.

Kyuhyun leaned heavily against the back of the chair, one hand holding himself up on the edge of the table. He tried to pretend like he was just leaning closer to look at the list.

“Scroll down the list,” Kyuhyun commanded, his brain trying to take in the letters and numbers but his eyes were blurring around the edges because of the burning pain spreading down his body. He could vaguely hear the commotion outside the door of the office. Eunhyuk was out, he surmised. The crowd of projections had finally sniffed out the last intruder in this office and they were coming for him. Time’s up, Kyuhyun thought, a vague sense of relief penetrating the hazy fog of pain clogging up his brain.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Kim Minyoung-sshi. I promise this will be painless.” Kyuhyun cocked his gun, and before the older man could whip his head back to protest, he had already had a bullet splintering his skull. Blood splattered the screen, and Kyuhyun didn’t even bother to wipe it from his face. He could hear the pounding and gunshots outside. A job well done, Kyuhyun thought, bringing the gun to his own head, and pulled the trigger one more time.

-

When Kyuhyun’s eyes blinked open, the pain that stabbed him when he jerked upwards to rip out his IV line was a shock to the system. “Eunhyuk!” He hissed, teeth grinding though the pain, and it was a relief to see Eunhyuk immediately understand him and plunge the syringe he had in hand into Kim Minyoung’s arm. He made quick work of emptying the light golden liquid, and the body slumped further down the seat as Eunhyuk finally pulled the needle out, wrapping it carefully in a plastic bag and putting it back to the suitcase. When Eunhyuk looked up though, he was glaring fiercely at Kyuhyun.

Someone grabbed his hand, and Kyuhyun startled at the slippery touch. When he looked down, he realized his hand was soaked in blood, and Zhou Mi’s long fingers were pressed against his.

“Fuck you, Cho Kyuhyun.” Donghae hissed from the driver’s seat in front, and Kyuhyun blinked at the uncharacteristic vehemence in Donghae’s normally cheerful voice.

“What- What’s wrong?” He tripped over his words, “I got the information, the password. The job went off without a hitch.” Kyuhyun’s brain raced as he tried to think about what could have happened that had made them so angry. The only thing out of plan was the shooting when they were getting out of the Chosun hotel, but that wasn’t anything he could prevent, right…?

His bloody hand twitched in Zhou Mi’s tight grasp. Kyuhyun jerked in surprise and pain as Zhou Mi’s large hand sneaked under his jacket and pressed against his side. His flesh throbbed hot and searing under Zhou Mi’s touch. Kyuhyun bit down on his lower lip to keep a groan from escaping, his eyelids fluttering shut briefly.

“Kyuhyun, why didn’t you say anything?” Zhou Mi’s voice was harsh and shaky, and his breathing was loud over Kyuhyun’s head. Louder than his own struggling breath even.

“Say what?” Kyuhyun mumbled, clawing at Zhou Mi’s wrist.

“You got shot, Kyuhyun! Why didn’t you say anything?!” Zhou Mi was starting to sound a little hysterical - Kyuhyun winced.

“It’s no big deal. We were in a hurry, we had to act fast before-“

“Do you have any idea how terrifying it was to wake up and see you bleeding out all over the fucking backseat?” Zhou Mi’s voice was loud, and the car was hushed to utter silence. The only sound was the sound of the engine and the roads rushing past.

Only then did Kyuhyun realize he was practically cradled in Zhou Mi’s lap. The silence dragged on.

“…Where are we going?” Kyuhyun blurted out.

“To the hospital to get you to the emergency room.” Zhou Mi’s voice was clipped.

“What? We can’t go to a fucking hospital,” Kyuhyun exclaimed, trying to straighten himself up and failing because of Zhou Mi’s tight grip around him.

“You need a hospital, Kyuhyun-“

“We are not going to the hospital when we’ve got a fucking dead body in the car!” Kyuhyun shouted, “What are you, crazy?”

Everyone immediately stilled again.

“Wait. What. A dead body in the car?” Zhou Mi’s voice was so small and unsure that Kyuhyun wanted to tear his hair out. He could see Zhou Mi’s eyes flicker over to the slumped body next to Eunhyuk and making the connection. Zhou Mi reached out with one hand, hovering over the man’s face, and after a few seconds, he dropped his hand, his expression slowly turning frozen.

“He’s dead? That was… the syringe… Why.”

“What? You mean you didn’t know? You didn’t expect the company to let it go so easy with such a high-profile issue, did you?” Now it was Eunhyuk’s turn to stare at him in bemusement. “That was why we were brought in.”

Zhou Mi fell silent, his body rigid against Kyuhyun’s.

“You still need immediate medical attention though, Kyuhyun.” Eunhyuk turned to him, his expression grim and weary.

“Get us to Sejong. They will take care of everything.” Kyuhyun said tiredly. He was going a little numb on the side. The pain had slowly lessened. He knew what this meant.

“Sejong… is a little far though.” Donghae’s voice was hesitant. Sejong was a private hospital on the outskirt of Seoul, owned and managed by the company.

“That’s the only option now. You can’t bring us to a normal hospital. Too many questions.” Kyuhyun mumbled, his eyes flickering. He was starting to get really tired. The accumulated stress of the whole week and the last three missions in general was starting to hit, he supposed.

“Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun?” Long fingers were tapping his cheek. Zhou Mi’s. “Don’t sleep, Kyuhyun. We will get there soon. Hang on a little longer.” Zhou Mi’s whispers were soft and hot against his forehead. Kyuhyun’s eyes fluttered open for a brief moment as another hand slid into his own.

“Kyuhyun, you can’t do this to me again, you little brat.” That was Eunhyuk. His voice was getting choked up. He was going to bawl like a baby again, Kyuhyun sighed inwardly. Five years down the road and he had not changed at all. It was comforting though, he supposed. Some things just didn’t change. Kyuhyun’s eyes slid close again, his body concentrating on getting air in and out of his lungs.

“Kyuhyun?” Someone shook him again, jarring the injury, shooting hot pain up his side, and Kyuhyun’s eyes snapped open.

“Stop it god dammit! I’m still alive, I’m not going to die! The wound is not even that serious. Just let me sleep for a moment!” Kyuhyun paused to take a shaky breath. He probably wasn’t supposed to be shouting, but this was getting really annoying. “You were all so anxious to drug me to sleep just the day before, now I want to sleep and you are not letting me?”

Seeing that everyone had been effectively stunned into silence, Kyuhyun huffed loudly and closed his eyes. After a short while, he felt lips pressing a kiss against his cheek, the wet sensation oddly familiar and comforting.

“Next time kiss me when I’m not on the verge of passing out…” Kyuhyun mumbled, or at least that was what he thought he said before his mind drifted off to oblivion.

-

The next time Kyuhyun opened his eyes to a white room and beeping noise, it took him half an hour to determine whether this was the real world or just some really bizarre dream as an effect after too little hours of sleep on his brain. Half an hour, because Zhou Mi was asleep next to his bedside for precisely that amount of time before his eyes fluttered opened and widened when he realized Kyuhyun was awake and staring at him as if he was some rare specimen in a lab.

Kyuhyun’s brain was still incredibly foggy and sluggish, and he kept staring at Zhou Mi who was fussing over him, asking him if he needed water, food, painkiller, extra pillow, extra blanket, anything. The real world felt disconnected. He wasn’t even feeling the pain, or anything for that matter. His body felt heavy and floating at the same time.

“Zhou Mi,” the words rolled off his tongue heavy and awkward, cracking around the edge, and Zhou Mi paused in his frenzies. “Does someone want to see me?” He didn’t really feel the muscles on his face move with the words. His mouth was stuffed with invisible cotton balls.

Zhou Mi’s smile looked frozen. The reluctance and disdain was clear in every drip of the words, even through the haze of drugs in Kyuhyun’s head. “Leeteuk said he would need to see you the moment you wake up. For the password. But I am keeping them out.”

“What?” His brain was surely waking up pretty fast.

“Don’t worry about it, Kyuhyun, just rest. They won’t be coming in here any time soon.”

“Zhou Mi…”

“Do you want something to eat? Or just something else to drink? Just tell me, I’ll bring it in for you.”

“Zhou Mi. Call Leeteuk-hyung.” Kyuhyun’s voice was hoarse and small, but it was enough to send the room into silence. Zhou Mi’s fingers brushed his hand, not quite holding it, just touching.

“Are you sure?” Zhou Mi sounded tired, and he looked it. Kyuhyun could see the bruised shadows under his eyes and the sharp lines of his cheekbones. It occurred to him that he had now idea how long he had been out of it. It must not have been too long. He was sure the injury he got was nothing that critical.

“There is a reason this was an emergency job, Zhou Mi. I should have noted down the information in the car before I passed out, but I forgot.” Because the others were all mad and bitching at him for bleeding all over the backseat of the Mercedes. “Just call him.”

Zhou Mi stared at him but said nothing. Zhou Mi might have looked sad, but Kyuhyun was not very sure. He finally nodded, slipping his hand away from Kyuhyun’s and walking out of the room. Kyuhyun’s hand was tingling with warmth where they had touched. He closed his eyes briefly. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

After a short while, a doctor came in to check on him, looking pleased and surprised to see he was already awake. “You should have been out for another five hours,” he said. Kyuhyun learned that he had just been out of surgery for six hours, and it was not even eight in the morning of the next day yet. Kyuhyun rolled his eyes - someone should have told the doctor to up his dosage if they wanted him out for half a day. This should have been written in his medical file or something. Still, it flooded him with a sense of relief. He hadn’t been out for so long that all the information he had gotten would be obsolete. Or so he hoped.

The doctor confirmed with him what had basically been his assumptions from the start. It was just a flesh wound, no major organ was damaged. Very lucky, the man said. Still, he would need to be in the hospital for at least three weeks under supervision. Kyuhyun blanched, fervently hoping for Leeteuk’s rescue.

Leeteuk came in sometime after the room was bright with sunlight. He looked harried and haggard, as if he hadn’t slept the whole night. Kyuhyun suspected he really hadn’t. To his mild surprise, Kyuhyun hadn’t seen Zhou Mi ever since he had woken up.

“Kyuhyun, congratulations, you have a two-month vacation after this.” Leeteuk said this with a scowl on his face, and Kyuhyun wasn’t quite sure he was supposed to feel happy or chastised about this.

“Why is everyone mad at me?“ Kyuhyun pouted, hoping a little cuteness would abate the upcoming storm. No such luck though.

“Just don’t, Kyuhyun. I’ve heard the report from the other three.” Leeteuk let out a loud sigh, his expression softening as he stepped closer to the hospital bed. Kyuhyun’s expression turned serious as Leeteuk leaned close. “No recording devices, no cameras, no bugs. We checked thoroughly.” Leeteuk’s voice was low under his breath.

Kyuhyun pressed his elbows against the hard bed, trying to levitate himself to a sitting position, but was immediately pressed down by Leeteuk. “Don’t even think about it,” Leeteuk glared at him. He pulled out a touch pad from his work case, handing it to Kyuhyun. The younger man quickly typed out the long string of number and letter sequence he still remembered from the previous night, his hands slightly shaky. They both stared intensely at the screen, and both let out a sigh of relief as the light on the screen blinked green. Leeteuk gently took the touch pad from Kyuhyun’s hands, staring down at it for a few seconds, and then turned it off, putting it back into his bag.

“Thank you. That was perfect. The Board would be very happy about this in the morning meeting today.” Leeteuk’s mouth was curved up in a sardonic smile. His expression softened as his hand reached out, brushing through Kyuhyun’s locks of dark hair. “Get better soon, Kyuhyun. No paperwork yet for you this time.”

Kyuhyun laughed, breath hitching as there was a twinge on his side. He was on the good stuff, he knew, but apparently still not good enough.

“Loads of paperwork for me though. Who is going to replace our most valuable tech guy now?” Leeteuk smiled, poking his forehead with a finger.

“What? Good architects are a-plenty, you could just pick whomever from the training program. My jobs are mostly all technical jobs anyway. It’s not going to be the company’s loss.” Kyuhyun shrugged, except it wasn’t very effective because his body was weighed down and heavy from the medication.

“But you are good at what you do.”

“There’s nothing outstanding about what I do.”

Leeteuk was silent for a moment, the smile fading. “Are you… Do you still take what I said that time to heart?”

“No, of course not. It’s just a fact, you didn’t need to say it. Nothing I hadn’t heard in university either. Good at imitating real life, but holding no chance for a research project because there’s nothing original about me.”

“I’m sorry I said that. You were new. I was selfishly defensive and I was an ass.” Leeteuk gripped his hand tightly. "I'll always regret it being the last thing you heard before that accident."

“Hyung…”

“No, I’m sorry. I said it before but I’m saying it again, you are the best we have in the company.”

“That’s a lie,” Kyuhyun smiled, patting Leeteuk’s hand lightly, “but it’s okay. Thank you.”

Leeteuk couldn’t stay for long. He promised to get him everything he wanted transferred to the hospital room, but rolled his eyes when Kyuhyun asked him to get him out of the hospital sooner. Leeteuk finally had to leave for the board morning meeting though, so Kyuhyun was left alone in the empty room, bored out of his mind. He contemplated sleeping, but despite the drugs making his body heavy and his mind hazy, sleep was still a luxury he couldn’t afford. Kyuhyun was left staring at the off-white wall. The nurse brought him some magazines, but really, how long would that last? Kyuhyun settled for ripping the pages out of the magazines and folding them into complex structural shapes. What he did to pass the time in architect lectures back in school, basically. He wondered what happened with Zhou Mi. He was starting to miss Zhou Mi. He was starting to miss the whole world, actually.

After a lovely lunch of over-cooked grey beans (they possibly used to be green, but he wasn’t so sure) and some indefinable fish tartar, he finally got a visitor. Expectedly, it was Zhou Mi. Not so expected, there was someone else with Zhou Mi.

“Kyuhyun, wow, what happened?” Sungmin all but breezed into the room and squeezed the hell out of him. Okay, so not exactly, he just swooped in and cupped Kyuhyun’s face, but it was rather uncomfortable nonetheless, especially with Zhou Mi hovering behind with an unreadable expression. He was even having his black-rimmed glasses on.

Kyuhyun awkwardly patted Sungmin’s arm, not exactly sure how he could answer the question. It was not like he could just say “oh, I kidnapped a man and got shot by his bodyguard in a back alley last night”. Fortunate for him, it seemed like Zhou Mi had already got the explanation down.

“I mean, obviously I heard from Zhou Mi that you got into a car accident, but what happened? I just saw you last night. You weren’t driving under the influence, were you?” Sungmin stared at him suspiciously, and his expression was really kind of cute. And that pout was really close to his face.

“Of course I would never. You know me.” Kyuhyun shook his head, smiling a little. “A friend was driving. But it was the other driver’s fault, seriously.” Technically it was rather close to the truth. He obviously hadn’t shot himself. Well, not in real life anyway. “Not that I don’t appreciate you coming to visit, but why are you here?” And that was the important question, wasn’t it? Why Zhou Mi had decided to come in with Sungmin in the first place. He was shot on a job, it was as serious business as it got. It seemed a bit risky to let an outsider visit the place. Sungmin wasn’t even that close with him… right?

“Oh, Sungmin called me this morning,” Zhou Mi chirped in from behind. He had been silent the whole time. It was only then that Kyuhyun took a proper look at Zhou Mi. He looked better than he had in the morning. Zhou Mi had obviously gone back to his place to take a shower and a change of clothes, or at least freshened up a little. It was still apparent that he hadn’t slept much if at all though.

“I told him about your accident… and I said I was going to go back to visit you this afternoon, so he insisted on coming with me.”

“I don’t have anything to do in the afternoon anyway,” Sungmin shrugged. “Sorry, I was in a hurry so I didn’t have time to get you any present or flower. If you tell me what kind of food you want, I can totally bring you the next time though. I know what kind of crap they feed you in hospitals. I’m not exactly a five-star chef but I’m willing to help.” Sungmin laughed sheepishly, and Kyuhyun had to admit the naive cheerful nature of an outsider felt good. It sort of made him think he really had been in a normal car accident instead of being shot in the gut.

“You know, actually Zhou Mi offered me the same thing this morning. Did you two go to cooking class together?” He was just saying it as a joke, but then suddenly the nature of the question came to him. Kyuhyun sort of wondered if Sungmin had called Zhou Mi out in hope of a date, and then upon hearing the news, decided that a date to the hospital was better than no date at all. Kyuhyun wondered if he should feel bitter about Sungmin and Zhou Mi getting together now, or whether there was even a valid reason for him to be bitter because it was rather obvious that they had a history.

It was confusing, no lies. What he had with Sungmin was casual and no-strings-attached, and they had both had an easy unspoken agreement going on for a while there. Sungmin was nice but Kyuhyun knew he was away too often and way too engrossed with his job for anything to happen, and Sungmin never said anything about it, so they just went on with it. They were both happy with the arrangement, if any.

Zhou Mi… Zhou Mi was different. Zhou Mi was interested, that much he knew - it wasn’t like he didn’t have eyes. However, Zhou Mi didn’t even want to be casual. There was something that told him Zhou Mi would be all-consuming and fiercely dedicated in whatever relationship he had, and apparently Zhou Mi knew that, too. It was probably why Zhou Mi didn’t want anything to do with their attraction in the first place.

And then suddenly there was this unexplained thing between Sungmin and Zhou Mi that toppled all his world views.

Sungmin went home to prepare for work in the evening after he wrestled from Kyuhyun a list of dishes he would want to have on the menu for the next upcoming days. Zhou Mi stayed.

He had barely even talked during the whole time, just letting Sungmin and Kyuhyun chat it up as he hovered in the background, blending into walls. Kyuhyun wasn’t quite sure what to make of this. Eunhyuk and Donghae popped by for a visit a little later as well. Kyuhyun was glad that both of them had at least gotten over their being mad at him for whatever reason. Eunhyuk brought him even more magazines. Of various kinds. Zhou Mi might have or might have not frowned at them.

When everyone left, it was already late afternoon, and there were only Zhou Mi and him left. Kyuhyun fiddled with the magazines, feeling a bit awkward at Zhou Mi’s silence. Zhou Mi wasn’t a silence person. Something hard suddenly dropped to his lap, and Kyuhyun blinked as he looked down.

“Oh my god.” Kyuhyun gasped in shock. “You are a life-saver, Zhou Mi.”

“I thought you would get bored.” Zhou Mi smiled, the curve of his lips more genuine than Kyuhyun had seen all day.

Kyuhyun caressed the little device, feeling an immense gratefulness to Zhou Mi. He had brought Kyuhyun his hand game device.

“You still need your rest though.”

Kyuhyun grunted, eyes already fixed on the little screen.

“Kyuhyun… I’m sorry.”

Kyuhyun blinked and paused. “Huh?” He looked up only to see Zhou Mi sitting on the chair beside his bed with his head turned away, the set of his shoulders tense. “What for?” Kyuhyun frowned, taking in the way Zhou Mi’s fingers were woven tight against each other as if afraid he would reach out and touch.

“The job… you said I was unqualified for it since the beginning, yet I still insisted. I didn’t realize the risk fast enough… You were shot trying to get me out of the way. I didn’t even have the decency to realized you were injured.” Zhou Mi’s voice was quiet, the tiniest hint of shakiness present.

“Zhou Mi, it wasn’t-“

“I was really terrified, Kyuhyun. When I woke up, I went to check on you. You were grimacing even in your sleep. The blood was running down your hand. You were bleeding to death and there was nothing I could do because you were the only one left in the dream and we had to finish the job. I didn’t even know how bad your wound was, all I knew was that your blood soaked my hands. For a moment I thought something had happened in the dream, but then I realized that was impossible, and you had gotten shot in the scuffle without saying anything about it. I asked if you were okay and you just said ‘get on with it’.”

“Zhou Mi…”

“Now that I think about it, I wasn’t mad at you, certainly not for not telling us about it. I’m sorry for snapping at you. I was mad at myself for not realizing right away that you had been hurt.”

Kyuhyun opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Zhou Mi raised a hand to stop him.

“Even Eunhyuk was scared. Your breathing was getting worse. We didn’t know what to do.” Zhou Mi bit down on his lip. “And you even had the decency to say the job had gone off without a hitch when you woke up. Would you say that if it was Donghae who had gotten shot?”

“No, of course not!”

“See?” Zhou Mi’s hand suddenly shot out to grasp his hand. “You don’t count yourself into the cost of the operation. Why?”

Kyuhyun fell silent, unsure how to answer the question. It wasn’t like he was unfamiliar with this kind of conversation. He had heard it several years ago after his car accident, different versions from Leeteuk, Eunhyuk, and Shindong. All sorry for something out of their control, where the choice of risk taken had not been anyone’s but his. Yet somehow there was something different about Zhou Mi’s.

“I’m not exactly an important percentage of the cost.” Kyuhyun’s eyes flickered away.

The grasp around his hand tightened, and Kyuhyun looked up. Zhou Mi was staring straight at him now, the gaze intense. Kyuhyun stilled. He had a feeling he knew what was coming, and he was nowhere near prepared for it.

“Kyuhyun, I-“

“No.” Kyuhyun blurted out, eyes wide with apprehension. “Don’t say it. Leave it.”

Zhou Mi was silent for a beat before he opened his mouth to continue, his face set on a determined expression. “Kyuhyun, I love you.”

Kyuhyun wrenched his hand from Zhou Mi’s grasp. “I said no,” he hissed, turning away. “That’s pretty damn unfair, Zhou Mi. You can’t say the word love after a near-death experience. It wasn’t even a near-death experience for god’s sake.”

“Why is that unfair?”

“Because you are clearly confused. It’s like being on rebound, you don’t know what you are feeling. You are just glad I’m alive and/or you are just guilty about whatever it is that you shouldn’t be guilty about.”

“I think I am supposed to know what I am feeling, not you.” Kyuhyun didn’t even need to look to know Zhou Mi was frowning at him.

“You don’t know that. You can’t be objective about yourself. There is a chance for bias.”

“My bias is you, Kyuhyun.” Zhou Mi enunciated slowly, as if he was talking to a stubborn child who refused to believe brushing teeth was good for him.

“What is your problem? You were all panicky and in denial about it after that one time!” Kyuhyun scowled, a little bemused to feel his heartbeat pick up pace.

“When was I ever in denial?”

“That one time you said we could just forget all about it? You sounded pretty damn sorry about having sex with me. You said it would never happen again. Or did you retcon that as well in your denial?”

“That time.” Zhou Mi paused, “I just wanted to apologize for taking advantage of you. I meant that my taking advantage of you would never happen again. I was wrong and I said sorry.”

“What.”

“But then you just pretended like nothing ever happened. And you are saying I was in denial?”

Kyuhyun huffed out a breath. “Look, you know what, just go. Like, can you just leave? For now? I’m tired, I need to sleep.” He puffed up the flimsy bed cover, throwing it over his face and turned his head to the other side of the room where there was no tall Chinese man bothering him with this nonsense about love. It was childish, but he could care less.

A hand reached out to touch his shoulder and Kyuhyun jerked away.

“Kyuhyun, I know what you think, but you don’t-“

“If you say you know because you have read my fucking psych eval, god help me I will get up and sock you in the face.” Kyuhyun spoke from under the bedsheet. “Oh, that was a rejection by the way. You are clearly confused. Wait at least two months before you ever talk about it to me again.”

The hand was removed from his shoulder, and the room was quiet for a while except their breathing. Finally, there was a whisper near his ear, hot breath just separated from his skin by a thin layer of cotton.

“Sleep well, Kyuhyun. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Kyuhyun squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn’t until he called for the nurse and requested her to up the dosage for the drugs that he could pass out for what resembled as sleep.

-

They never mentioned it again. Zhou Mi came back the next day, bringing him some books and a pack of sweet mochi, the older man considerably brighter and more animated than the previous day. He laughed, made fun of Kyuhyun in his hospital gown, and Kyuhyun scowled but was relieved nonetheless. If there was something else tugging at the bottom of his stomach, and it wasn’t the gunshot wound, he ignored it.

Sungmin came time to time as well, sometimes with Zhou Mi, but most of the time by himself. It was surprising, but Kyuhyun wasn’t complaining when it gave him something to look forward to in an otherwise dreadfully dull day in a dreadfully dull place. Sungmin brought food, just as he had promised. Home-cooked food of various styles - bibimbap and pumpkin soup and coconut jelly. The food was more traditionally Korean than Zhou Mi’s cooking.

At least Sungmin showed no interest in ill-timed declarations of emotions. He was casual about it much of the time, and it would have been a normal healthy friendship if it weren’t for the kisses Sungmin started pressing against his lips every time before he left. Of course, it was only if Zhou Mi was not there.

It started out casual enough, just a peck on the corner of his lips, but soon in the next several visits, their lips were brushing hot and wet against each other’s, the tip of Sungmin’s tongue flicking against his. The last time it left him panting in aching pain from his side, but also adjusting himself slightly from the ache between his thighs under his hospital bedsheet. Each time was like an unspoken promise about the first thing they would do the moment Kyuhyun got out of the hospital. Kyuhyun kept on bitching at Leeteuk about his release date.

On the other hand, his relationship with Zhou Mi grew less strained. They were almost back to the casual carefree state at the beginning of their friendship in Beijing, only much closer. This was much better, he told himself, that nothing would ever become complicated. Zhou Mi would leave soon to go back to China anyway.

He asked Zhou Mi about Sungmin one day, partly out of curiosity and partly out of the realization that he still didn’t really have an idea what was going on there, now that Zhou Mi had suddenly decided to announce his… affection, and Sungmin was undoubtedly trying to get into his pants again.

“So… you and Sungmin.” He started, feeling a bit awkward now that he wasn’t sure how to continue.

“Yes?” Zhou Mi blinked at him, looking up from peeling a humongous apple.

“Just curious… are you guys still together?”

“What?” Zhou Mi spluttered, nearly dropping his knife. “No. Didn’t I tell you the other day-“

“Okay, okay, fine.” Kyuhyun quickly interrupted. “So you were together before?”

Zhou Mi hesitated for a few seconds before picking up the knife again. “Well, I suppose you could say that. We met through mutual friends a couple of years back. We… hit it off really well, you could say. But I guess some things just couldn’t work out. We are good friends now though.” Zhou Mi finished peeling the apple and set it down on the plate. His eyes were glued on the apple, seemingly concentrated on slicing the apple into small pieces. “Why are you asking? I’m pretty sure he’s single and available now, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Oh.” Kyuhyun succinctly said. “Why would I have to worry about it?”

“I have eyes, Kyuhyun. I know he comes to visit you every other day. And you are certainly not complaining. In any case, it was rather hard to be in the same space with you two and not feel the intense sexual tension.”

‘What about your sexual tension,’ Kyuhyun thought sullenly.

“I’m sure he likes you though.” Zhou Mi said, still not looking at him.

“What do you mean?” Kyuhyun’s eyebrows furrowed. “Of course he likes me. He wouldn’t have come visit some stranger in a hospital if he didn’t like the guy.”

“No, I mean… he looks happy.” Zhou Mi frowned, arranging the apple slices on the plate.

“What? Happy is like Sungmin’s default state.” Kyuhyun couldn’t really remember a time when Sungmin had looked upset about something in front of him. He was always unfailingly cheery and amiable with everyone.

“Not… exactly.” Zhou Mi handed him a piece of apple. “He was different back then. I wouldn’t say sad, but… he was more subdued? He looks genuinely happy when he sees you now.”

Kyuhyun fell silent, contemplating what Zhou Mi had just said. What he could conclude from it was that Zhou Mi sounded almost wistful.

“Would you go back to him now if you could?”

Zhou Mi folded his hands in his lap. “Not really, no.”

Kyuhyun turned away from Zhou Mi’s stare, unwilling to ask for the reason why.

-

Emotional baggage or not, Sungmin made good on his promise, and Kyuhyun appreciated that. The other man was pressed against him, trapped between Kyuhyun’s body and the wall of his apartment, his hands running up and down Kyuhyun’s thighs. Kyuhyun arched into the touch, Sungmin’s hands solid and warm against his skin, separated only by a thin layer of fabric. He nibbled on Sungmin’s plump lips, red and swollen under teeth and tongue. They were amazingly soft, the feeling almost addictive, and he couldn’t stop sucking on it. The bumps and gives of their kisses were almost erotic, and there weren’t even tongues yet.

Sungmin’s breath was hot against his lips as their mouth moved against each other. They were both panting, soft moans and gasps falling from the kisses. Sungmin was so hot in his arm, his hips undulating and grinding against Kyuhyun’s every time their lips touched. Sungmin had his thigh between Kyuhyun’s legs, and he was practically riding it, his own thighs wrapping tight and hot around the other man’s, desperate for friction. Sungmin’s hands quickly moved to the globes of his ass, kneading and squeezing rhythmically with every roll of their hips. Kyuhyun let out a loud gasp as their hips aligned just right, and was instantly glad that Zhou Mi was out of the apartment… somewhere, probably for the rest of the day.

“Bed?” Sungmin whispered into his ear, his breath hot and loud. Those soft lips nibbled at his ear, and Kyuhyun groaned low in his throat. They stumbled their way to Kyuhyun’s bedroom, Sungmin’s mouth still attached to his skin all the way. Kyuhyun’s eyes fluttered close as teeth bit down on the nape of his neck, and he barely avoided slamming his head against the edge of the door.

Before he knew it, he was already spread out on the bed, Sungmin’s warm body pressing him down against the mattress as he attacked his neck and shoulders. Sungmin shifted him up to the head of the bed, and Kyuhyun let out a low moan as his wrists were grabbed and pinned down the bed by a strong hand. It hurt a little, but it felt deliciously good. Sungmin’s hand was surprisingly rough, inevitably bruising his skin. A thought briefly flashed across his mind - the feeling of Zhou Mi’s fingers tightening around his wrists so many times before. Kyuhyun shuddered, his body arching up into the warmth.

“Hm? That feels good?” Sungmin whispered against his jaw. “Are you imagining Zhou Mi holding you down?”

Kyuhyun gasped as Sungmin bit down on his jaw line. “What…? How do you…”

“He does that, doesn’t he? Wrapping his fingers tight around your wrists, pinning you down, devouring you…” He could feel Sungmin’s grin pressing against his skin, his teeth grazing Kyuhyun’s jaw. Kyuhyun let out a shaky breath as he let the words soak in.

“Would you thrash and move like this under him as well? Arching your back, pressing your body closer against him, just like you are doing right now?”

Kyuhyun groaned as Sungmin’s hips hitched against his crotch, but his cry was muffled as Sungmin surged up and plunged his tongue into Kyuhyun’s parted mouth. Soon the thrust of their tongues was in rhyme with the motion of their hips grinding against each other. Sungmin barely allowed him to gasp for breath, and Kyuhyun was dizzy with the heady sensation. So much that he only realized the clanking of metal for what it was when Sungmin abruptly pulled away.

“What…?” Kyuhyun’s whole body jerked up in instinct, following the warmth of the other body, immediately fell back down as something jerked his wrists back. Kyuhyun blinked, looking up blearily and saw… handcuffs? He jerked his wrists again. The handcuffs clanked loudly against the bed post, the dull metal cutting into his skin. He turned back, looking up at Sungmin who was kneeling straight up over his thighs.

“If only you could see yourself right now, Kyuhyun.” The other man smirked, looking smug as he slowly ran a hand down Kyuhyun’s chest.

“What is this…?” Kyuhyun’s thighs twitched, his hips still instinctively thrusting up to the pressure. He let out a strangled groan as Sungmin got up and climbed down the bed. “Sungmin? What the hell?”

He stared in shocked bemusement as Sungmin stood and started fixing up his clothes, re-buttoning his pants and smoothing down his hair. Sungmin walked over to his work desk and sat himself down without even glancing back at Kyuhyun just once. He opened one of Kyuhyun’s laptop - his work laptop - and turned it on.

“Hey! What do you think you are doing?” Kyuhyun yelled in indignation, yanking his hands hard against the handcuffs.

“Don’t hurt yourself, Kyuhyun. This will be quick.” Sungmin frowned at the screen, looking thoughtful as he started typing… and Kyuhyun could hear the familiar sounds of his operating system revving up. His laptops were always protected. There was something wrong about this.

“Sungmin, what are you doing?”

“Looking for a file.” Sungmin answered, almost like an off-hand comment as he started clicking around the folders in the system.

Something cold ran down the back of Kyuhyun’s spine. Realization was starting to set in as his brain cleared from lust.

“Whom do you work for?”

Sungmin paused, finally turning back to look at him, a tight smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I see you are slowly figuring it out. If you must know, I work for AVEX.”

Kyuhyun went completely still, blood draining from his face. His hands went slack in the handcuffs. “AVEX.” He repeated, his mouth moving but not really feeling the words. Jarring was an understatement. “You work for AVEX. What do you mean you work for AVEX?”

AVEX was a giant corporation based in Japan, specializing in the development of subconscious recording devices. This, of course, was as legit as SM’s consultant business. AVEX was the equivalent of SM in Japan. Its business in South Korea was still small, but its presence in the country automatically puts it into a rival position with SM as well. If Sungmin worked for AVEX, a Japanese corporation…

“You want the file from Kim Minyoung,” Kyuhyun blurted out, realizing exactly at that moment just what it actually meant. Everything was starting to slide into place, all the pieces of the puzzle he had never bothered to look at before. “Oh shit, you were there at the charity gala. You weren’t just there because you took care of the beverage catering, were you? You were there because of Kim Minyoung.” Kyuhyun’s eyes widened as his mind flashed back to that night.

“Of course I was. Too bad you guys got to him before I could.” Sungmin had turned back to the laptop, still typing furiously away with something.

“There isn’t going to be anything on that computer. I never copied down anything from Kim Minyoung’s files.” Kyuhyun glared.

Sungmin turned to look at him with an amused smile, “Of course I know that. Except this is not really your laptop in the real world.”

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened. Of course - of course. He worked for a goddamn dream sharing company.

“This is not the real world. We are dreaming.” The realization hit, and his blood ran cold. How long had he been dreaming?

-

Part 7