[fic] Minho/Key - SHINee - Never Say Goodbye - Chapter 6/7
Title: Never Say Goodbye
Author: fonulyn
Rating: NC17 (overall)
Warnings: mentions of violence (nothing very graphic) and prostitution. also I quite possibly made up half of the stuff when it comes to the police force so some factual inaccuracy.
Pairing: Minho/Key (plus ninjaing!Qmi)
Characters: Minho, Key, Ryeowook, Jonghyun, Kyuhyun, Sungmin, Onew, Donghae, Heechul
Disclaimer: I own no one, only my dirty imagination.
Summary: It's been over two years since Minho lost Kibum, lost him without knowing why. He never expected to see him again. He definitely never expected to see him again like this. (aka Minho is a policeman and his job brings him much closer to his past than he ever thought possible.)
Comments: next chappie! \o/ enjoy~
Previously: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
The exhaustion runs bone-deep as Kibum slumps to sit down in one of the plush chairs they have in the common lounge. All he wants is his own bed but he told Ryeowook he’d wait for him here until he’s back from his show, and he doesn’t intend on breaking that promise. It’s been one of those days that are packed with customers, one after the other, and Kibum just thanks his lucky stars those don’t happen often. He would’ve lost it a long ago otherwise.
The worst part isn’t what he has to do for a living to keep up his cover. It’s just sex and he knows it’ll end soon enough, he can deal with it and box it into a part of his mind to ignore. What wears him out the most is how he isn’t allowed to be himself for even a second. Sometimes, during one of those long talks he’s had with Ryeowook, he’s gotten close. Or sometimes with Jinki, since at least he knows the truth, knows the operation.
Otherwise it’s all an act. He feels like he should get the fucking Oscar for all this acting, for living a life that’s not his own.
At the end of the day, Minho visited him too. There was only time for quickly exchanging a few words before he sent him on his way, eager to get some rest as well. This is the first moment he has for himself all day, and he curls up in the large chair until he feels like he could almost drift off if he stays still long enough.
“So your loverboy left?”
The words startle Kibum out of his half-asleep state and he blinks, trying to focus his eyes as he straightens in his chair. Heechul is standing right there with that typical little smirk gracing his lips, looking at Kibum as if he knows all the secrets in the whole wide world. It is a very unsettling thought and Kibum grimaces, running his fingers through his bleached hair. “…who?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.” Heechul flicks his wrist as he approaches with swaying steps, sitting down on the wide armrest of the chair. “I might be pretty, but I’m not stupid.” As there’s still no reply Heechul huffs, poking Kibum’s temple with his index finger. “The guy who runs here every day to get a piece of your ass. Loverboy.”
“Oh, him,” Kibum tries to appear nonchalant. Inwardly his heart is beating a million miles an hour and he dearly hopes his nervousness isn’t visible. It could ruin him. “He’s sort of a regular.”
Heechul gives him a pointed look. “He is, isn’t he?”
The words make Kibum swallow and he closes his eyes for a second, hoping for the earth to open up and swallow him so he’s spared from answering. Heechul isn’t bad, he and Kibum are actually friends in a twisted sort of way. But not enough for Kibum to trust Heechul. He doesn’t trust anyone in this place. “Look, I’m tired,” he begins to dismiss Heechul but he doesn’t get the chance to before he’s interrupted.
“I have my regular too,” Heechul begins and flips his hair back. He’s examining his fingernails next, as if that’s the most important thing in the world. “Much like yours. But I keep it under wraps.”
Kibum can’t believe his ears. Is Heechul trying to… warn him? He’s certain that his surprise is visible this time, but he can’t help it.
That’s when Heechul turns to look at him again. “Tell him to control his lust for a while. I know we’re irresistible, but they just have to learn to keep it in their pants.” Despite his grin, his eyes are serious.
Kibum only manages a solemn nod.
Coincidentally it’s the same night that Ryeowook brings the matter up. They’re finally crashing in Kibum’s room, too tired to even open a bottle of wine as they curl up on the bed. Kibum is practically asleep when Ryeowook’s voice lures him back and it feels like it’s a replica of the moment with Heechul earlier.
“What was that?” Kibum slurs, blinking at his friend as he tries to bring his mind back to function. It’s hard to fight away the fogginess and he vaguely registers that he’s not exactly thinking straight.
Ryeowook smiles and shifts a little bit closer. “I just asked you if that new guy is nice. The one that keeps coming back.”
Oh, Minho. Kibum stifles a yawn and manages a sleepy smile. “Yeah he’s nice.” He could get a lot more dramatic than that, list all the things he loves and hates in the man and how it all twines into this huge mess of emotion that leaves him helpless. Now is not the time for that, though, not the right place.
“He just appeared from nowhere and now is here all the time,” Ryeowook says. “When he first talked to me, it… felt like he knew you. From before.”
That brings Kibum only the slightest bit more awake and his brain is still hazy. He’s so exhausted he doesn’t feel like he can move a single muscle. “Well,” he says, “he did know me.” A part of his mind is screaming at him for that, he’s not supposed to give out honest answers here. But it’s Ryeowook, and that makes him feel like it might not be that big of a mistake after all. He doesn’t even realize he’s contradicting what he’s told Ryeowook before. “He was… we were together, before I… before this.”
Ryeowook makes an acknowledging sound, his lips pursed thoughtfully. The following words are merely a whisper in the darkness. “Are you glad to see him again?”
The question makes Kibum stop. Is he? Despite all the hours he’s spent trying to convince himself otherwise, he knows there’s only one real answer to that. “Yes. I am.” He shifts, finally awake enough, and meets Ryeowook’s clear eyes in the darkness. “Wook, he is - was - the one I wanted the whole deal with. You know, from holding hands to a house and a mortgage.”
There’s a brief silence before Ryeowook gently takes Kibum’s hand in his and gives it a soft squeeze. “Hey, he’s here, isn’t he? You might still get that.”
Unable to stop it, Kibum snorts.
Ryeowook just laughs. “No, seriously! Stop being so pessimistic. You’re entitled to a little bit of stupid dreams, too! There are worse things to wish for.”
Even after Ryeowook falls asleep, Kibum keeps playing those words in his mind, again and again. He’s here, isn’t he? Minho is still here. That makes Kibum feel like everything might not be wasted yet after all. Maybe, just maybe, they have what it takes to rebuild what they had. That hope is what he keeps clinging on to, what he puts all his faith in.
Minho has never in his life seen his brother this angry. Already the fact that Siwon is truly angry is a rarity in itself, and to see him practically seethe with it borders on frightening. Still Minho stands his ground, doesn’t budge even an inch. If his brother is stubborn, so is he.
“I can’t believe you!” Siwon raises his voice, throws an arm into the air in sheer frustration. “What in the world made you think it’d be a good idea to interfere with a secret operation you’re not even supposed to know of!? You are jeopardizing not only the mission but every single agent we have undercover!”
It’s the truth, and there’s no way Minho can deny it. Yet he feels he has earned his right to be included during these past weeks. “If it wasn’t for me, the whole operation would still be in a standstill and you know that,” he says. “Why are you so bothered by this?”
“Why? Let me tell you why,” Siwon growls. “You just think it’s all fine and dandy to plunge headfirst into an operation you only assume might be taking place? It’s all good to go in there and endanger the safety of our contact persons? It’s absolutely perfect to start an affair with the only link we have to their side?”
“He’s not a link. It’s Kibum we’re talking about!” Minho raises his voice for the first time during their whole confrontation. “And I need to get him out of there as soon as I can. I don’t care about your links and operations and busting the goddamn cartel. If I was the one to call the shots I would’ve dragged him out of there the first thing. So you-”
“So I what?” Siwon steps even closer until their chests are almost touching. They’re practically the same height but it still seems like he’s looming over Minho threateningly. “If only you would think with your upstairs brain sometimes.” There’s so much disappointment in his voice it slashes right through Minho and all he can do is stare right at his older brother. Siwon is unrelenting. “Now we need to cut the whole operation.”
The next second he spins around. Minho doesn’t get a word in before Siwon is gone.
The argument is still fresh on Minho’s mind when the door to the police station falls shut behind him. He realizes that Siwon has a point and that he’s been running into the mission without a second thought. He doesn’t even know how many people are involved in it, sans Kibum, Jinki, Siwon and his partner. Yet if he’d get to turn back time, he wouldn’t do anything differently.
Except maybe preventing Kibum from leaving, to stop this whole mess before it even began.
When Minho gets to his desk everyone else is already there. Jonghyun is perched on the edge of the table, with Kyuhyun, Donghae and Sungmin standing in a half-circle around him. Their heads are bowed and they’re talking in hushed whispers. That’s already enough to make Minho suspicious, and the way everyone falls silent when they spot him just confirms that.
“What’s going on?” Minho asks, stopping only a couple of steps away.
The pause is awkward but then Jonghyun clears his throat. “There’s gonna be a big operation. Soon, might’ve already started. The whole station knows it.”
“We’ve all been requested as ‘backup’,” Sungmin adds, making air-quotations with his fingers, “but no one really knows where and for what. The chief only said we’ll have to be ready to bolt the second the command comes and that we need to make sure our guns are in proper order.”
Minho’s blood runs cold. He barely even notices the way he’s gripping the strap of his bag, knuckles white.
“Sounds like it’ll be bad,” Kyuhyun sighs. “Even the IT department is alerted. And we’re never on standby.”
“They’re saying it’s some sort of a big drug-cartel we’re supposed to be busting but why hasn’t there even been any kind of an operation prior to a big showdown?” Sungmin frowns.
Donghae shrugs. “Maybe they figured we’d take them by surprise?”
They launch into an argument about the possibilities, whether an operation has been possible or not, and even Kyuhyun interferes to drop in his two cents. Jonghyun stays uncharacteristically silent though, just peering at Minho from beneath his lashes. Minho doesn’t know what to think, although he tunes out the bickering completely there’s nothing else on his mind either. It’s just empty.
Suddenly Jonghyun jumps off the table and grabs Minho’s elbow. “Let’s get coffee.”
They barely make it out of earshot and Jonghyun stops, fixing his partner with a stern gaze. “You do know what this means?” He asks, as if to emphasize the situation. “They’re already there. If they go in by surprise, this soon…”
…Jinki and Kibum might not even have been warned. Minho knows. And that is why he panics. Quickly his mind snaps into action and he finally finds his ability to speak. “Jonghyun, I need to-”
“Just go, go!” Jonghyun practically pushes the other man away. “Before it’s too late. I’ll handle this.”
Minho doesn’t even have the time to thank Jonghyun before he bolts.
The door clicks shut with a soft thud but it’s enough to startle Kibum out of his thoughts. He’s sitting on his bed, waiting for Jinki as the other man let him understand there was something urgent they’d need to discuss. He has no idea what that could be but the badly masked nervousness in Jinki’s eyes wasn’t anything to help him calm down in the slightest.
It isn’t Jinki though. It’s a tall, lanky man Kibum has only seen a few times during the time he’s spent here. He knows the man goes by Hawk and is one of the leaders behind the whole business. That, already, is a bad sign. As if the three bulky bodyguards weren’t already hint enough.
Slowly Kibum straightens, trying to calm his erratically beating heart. He tries not to blink as he watches the man approach, tries not to show his nervousness. It might make or take his life.
“You do know that they’re on their way now,” Hawk says evenly, his voice barely audible. It’s hard to imagine him having as much control and power as he does, not with his almost timid appearance. But it’s clear that only one word from him and one of his bodyguards will snap into action in a split second.
Kibum’s voice cracks only just noticeably. “Who?”
“Who?” Hawk’s laughter is high-pitched in a way that sends unpleasant chills down one’s spine. “Oh, Kibum. Your cop friends. They’re here.”
Run. The first thought that hits Kibum’s mind is to flee as soon as he can, as fast as he can, to run as far as his legs will take him. This man obviously knows who he is, what he is, and there is no scenario in Kibum’s mind where he gets out of this alive.
Kibum barely manages to jump up on his feet before there’s a hand fisted in his hair, his head bent back at a painful angle. A thick arm winds around his throat and instinctively he grabs a hold of the wrist to try and pry it away. Darkness swims at the edges of his vision as he wheezes for breath, struggles weakly in the iron grip.
“It’s such a shame,” Hawk sighs, “really. What a waste.”
It’s the last thing Kibum hears before everything goes black.
Minho breaks at least three traffic regulations on his way, but barely even notices. He simply knows he’s got to get there before the shit hits the fan and the shooting starts. By the time he reaches the building there are several cars there he recognizes as ones from the force, even if they’re parked in an attempt to make them blend in and not arouse any suspicion. It doesn’t take him long to spot Siwon, either, and he’s certain there are more agents around than actual regular people.
Thankfully Minho knows the area well enough. At least something good came from his frequent visits. As silently as he can, he sneaks into one of the alleys to go around the house, to one of the multiple smaller entrances. It’s eerily quiet there and he thanks his luck, completely certain he made it on time and unnoticed.
Until a hand lands on his shoulder. “Stop right there.”
There’s something familiar in the lilt of those words, in the accent they’re spoken in, and when Minho obediently freezes his mind is working in overdrive to figure out why. It’s not until he’s spun around he realizes who he’s faced with, a small sigh of relief spilling from his lips. “Han Geng, it’s me.”
The man - Han Geng, Siwon’s partner on Special Forces - looks surprised, his eyes widening, and he doesn’t loosen his iron grip on Minho’s shoulder. “What are you doing here?”
There are two alternatives, and Minho is not going to opt for telling the truth. So he resorts to the only option he has left. “Didn’t Siwon tell you? I’m in this operation.” Partly, it’s true, he did weasel his way into the cover operation so technically he’s not even lying. “I’ll have to get inside, now!”
“Minho, we’re waiting for the firing command. You can’t go in there before the team does.” Han Geng frowns. It’s something that simply isn’t done. Especially not when Minho isn’t a trained agent, he has no idea about the system outside his actual job.
Still, it’s the only thing Minho can think of and he needs to get inside. Needs to. “I know, and they know I’m going to be there. Jinki gave me strict orders to be in the second floor when it starts.” His hands are sweaty and he’s certain it’s obvious he’s not being completely honest, with the way he’s trying hard not to fidget underneath the stern gaze he’s being fixed with.
Either the mention of Jinki’s name does the trick, or something else miraculously comes to Minho’s aid. Han Geng still looks suspicious but he lets go of Minho’s shoulder finally, stepping aside. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Thank you,” Minho breathes.
Just when he reaches out to open the door, there’s a loud crash behind them.
The first gunshots echo off the walls.
---> Next part
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(2887 words)
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it took me longer than I’d hoped to update but I’ve been insanely busy! I started in a new job yesterday and I’ve been in the process of moving, so things have been quite hectic.
only one more chappie to go after this! \o/
@DW.
Author: fonulyn
Rating: NC17 (overall)
Warnings: mentions of violence (nothing very graphic) and prostitution. also I quite possibly made up half of the stuff when it comes to the police force so some factual inaccuracy.
Pairing: Minho/Key (plus ninjaing!Qmi)
Characters: Minho, Key, Ryeowook, Jonghyun, Kyuhyun, Sungmin, Onew, Donghae, Heechul
Disclaimer: I own no one, only my dirty imagination.
Summary: It's been over two years since Minho lost Kibum, lost him without knowing why. He never expected to see him again. He definitely never expected to see him again like this. (aka Minho is a policeman and his job brings him much closer to his past than he ever thought possible.)
Comments: next chappie! \o/ enjoy~
Previously: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
The exhaustion runs bone-deep as Kibum slumps to sit down in one of the plush chairs they have in the common lounge. All he wants is his own bed but he told Ryeowook he’d wait for him here until he’s back from his show, and he doesn’t intend on breaking that promise. It’s been one of those days that are packed with customers, one after the other, and Kibum just thanks his lucky stars those don’t happen often. He would’ve lost it a long ago otherwise.
The worst part isn’t what he has to do for a living to keep up his cover. It’s just sex and he knows it’ll end soon enough, he can deal with it and box it into a part of his mind to ignore. What wears him out the most is how he isn’t allowed to be himself for even a second. Sometimes, during one of those long talks he’s had with Ryeowook, he’s gotten close. Or sometimes with Jinki, since at least he knows the truth, knows the operation.
Otherwise it’s all an act. He feels like he should get the fucking Oscar for all this acting, for living a life that’s not his own.
At the end of the day, Minho visited him too. There was only time for quickly exchanging a few words before he sent him on his way, eager to get some rest as well. This is the first moment he has for himself all day, and he curls up in the large chair until he feels like he could almost drift off if he stays still long enough.
“So your loverboy left?”
The words startle Kibum out of his half-asleep state and he blinks, trying to focus his eyes as he straightens in his chair. Heechul is standing right there with that typical little smirk gracing his lips, looking at Kibum as if he knows all the secrets in the whole wide world. It is a very unsettling thought and Kibum grimaces, running his fingers through his bleached hair. “…who?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.” Heechul flicks his wrist as he approaches with swaying steps, sitting down on the wide armrest of the chair. “I might be pretty, but I’m not stupid.” As there’s still no reply Heechul huffs, poking Kibum’s temple with his index finger. “The guy who runs here every day to get a piece of your ass. Loverboy.”
“Oh, him,” Kibum tries to appear nonchalant. Inwardly his heart is beating a million miles an hour and he dearly hopes his nervousness isn’t visible. It could ruin him. “He’s sort of a regular.”
Heechul gives him a pointed look. “He is, isn’t he?”
The words make Kibum swallow and he closes his eyes for a second, hoping for the earth to open up and swallow him so he’s spared from answering. Heechul isn’t bad, he and Kibum are actually friends in a twisted sort of way. But not enough for Kibum to trust Heechul. He doesn’t trust anyone in this place. “Look, I’m tired,” he begins to dismiss Heechul but he doesn’t get the chance to before he’s interrupted.
“I have my regular too,” Heechul begins and flips his hair back. He’s examining his fingernails next, as if that’s the most important thing in the world. “Much like yours. But I keep it under wraps.”
Kibum can’t believe his ears. Is Heechul trying to… warn him? He’s certain that his surprise is visible this time, but he can’t help it.
That’s when Heechul turns to look at him again. “Tell him to control his lust for a while. I know we’re irresistible, but they just have to learn to keep it in their pants.” Despite his grin, his eyes are serious.
Kibum only manages a solemn nod.
Coincidentally it’s the same night that Ryeowook brings the matter up. They’re finally crashing in Kibum’s room, too tired to even open a bottle of wine as they curl up on the bed. Kibum is practically asleep when Ryeowook’s voice lures him back and it feels like it’s a replica of the moment with Heechul earlier.
“What was that?” Kibum slurs, blinking at his friend as he tries to bring his mind back to function. It’s hard to fight away the fogginess and he vaguely registers that he’s not exactly thinking straight.
Ryeowook smiles and shifts a little bit closer. “I just asked you if that new guy is nice. The one that keeps coming back.”
Oh, Minho. Kibum stifles a yawn and manages a sleepy smile. “Yeah he’s nice.” He could get a lot more dramatic than that, list all the things he loves and hates in the man and how it all twines into this huge mess of emotion that leaves him helpless. Now is not the time for that, though, not the right place.
“He just appeared from nowhere and now is here all the time,” Ryeowook says. “When he first talked to me, it… felt like he knew you. From before.”
That brings Kibum only the slightest bit more awake and his brain is still hazy. He’s so exhausted he doesn’t feel like he can move a single muscle. “Well,” he says, “he did know me.” A part of his mind is screaming at him for that, he’s not supposed to give out honest answers here. But it’s Ryeowook, and that makes him feel like it might not be that big of a mistake after all. He doesn’t even realize he’s contradicting what he’s told Ryeowook before. “He was… we were together, before I… before this.”
Ryeowook makes an acknowledging sound, his lips pursed thoughtfully. The following words are merely a whisper in the darkness. “Are you glad to see him again?”
The question makes Kibum stop. Is he? Despite all the hours he’s spent trying to convince himself otherwise, he knows there’s only one real answer to that. “Yes. I am.” He shifts, finally awake enough, and meets Ryeowook’s clear eyes in the darkness. “Wook, he is - was - the one I wanted the whole deal with. You know, from holding hands to a house and a mortgage.”
There’s a brief silence before Ryeowook gently takes Kibum’s hand in his and gives it a soft squeeze. “Hey, he’s here, isn’t he? You might still get that.”
Unable to stop it, Kibum snorts.
Ryeowook just laughs. “No, seriously! Stop being so pessimistic. You’re entitled to a little bit of stupid dreams, too! There are worse things to wish for.”
Even after Ryeowook falls asleep, Kibum keeps playing those words in his mind, again and again. He’s here, isn’t he? Minho is still here. That makes Kibum feel like everything might not be wasted yet after all. Maybe, just maybe, they have what it takes to rebuild what they had. That hope is what he keeps clinging on to, what he puts all his faith in.
Minho has never in his life seen his brother this angry. Already the fact that Siwon is truly angry is a rarity in itself, and to see him practically seethe with it borders on frightening. Still Minho stands his ground, doesn’t budge even an inch. If his brother is stubborn, so is he.
“I can’t believe you!” Siwon raises his voice, throws an arm into the air in sheer frustration. “What in the world made you think it’d be a good idea to interfere with a secret operation you’re not even supposed to know of!? You are jeopardizing not only the mission but every single agent we have undercover!”
It’s the truth, and there’s no way Minho can deny it. Yet he feels he has earned his right to be included during these past weeks. “If it wasn’t for me, the whole operation would still be in a standstill and you know that,” he says. “Why are you so bothered by this?”
“Why? Let me tell you why,” Siwon growls. “You just think it’s all fine and dandy to plunge headfirst into an operation you only assume might be taking place? It’s all good to go in there and endanger the safety of our contact persons? It’s absolutely perfect to start an affair with the only link we have to their side?”
“He’s not a link. It’s Kibum we’re talking about!” Minho raises his voice for the first time during their whole confrontation. “And I need to get him out of there as soon as I can. I don’t care about your links and operations and busting the goddamn cartel. If I was the one to call the shots I would’ve dragged him out of there the first thing. So you-”
“So I what?” Siwon steps even closer until their chests are almost touching. They’re practically the same height but it still seems like he’s looming over Minho threateningly. “If only you would think with your upstairs brain sometimes.” There’s so much disappointment in his voice it slashes right through Minho and all he can do is stare right at his older brother. Siwon is unrelenting. “Now we need to cut the whole operation.”
The next second he spins around. Minho doesn’t get a word in before Siwon is gone.
The argument is still fresh on Minho’s mind when the door to the police station falls shut behind him. He realizes that Siwon has a point and that he’s been running into the mission without a second thought. He doesn’t even know how many people are involved in it, sans Kibum, Jinki, Siwon and his partner. Yet if he’d get to turn back time, he wouldn’t do anything differently.
Except maybe preventing Kibum from leaving, to stop this whole mess before it even began.
When Minho gets to his desk everyone else is already there. Jonghyun is perched on the edge of the table, with Kyuhyun, Donghae and Sungmin standing in a half-circle around him. Their heads are bowed and they’re talking in hushed whispers. That’s already enough to make Minho suspicious, and the way everyone falls silent when they spot him just confirms that.
“What’s going on?” Minho asks, stopping only a couple of steps away.
The pause is awkward but then Jonghyun clears his throat. “There’s gonna be a big operation. Soon, might’ve already started. The whole station knows it.”
“We’ve all been requested as ‘backup’,” Sungmin adds, making air-quotations with his fingers, “but no one really knows where and for what. The chief only said we’ll have to be ready to bolt the second the command comes and that we need to make sure our guns are in proper order.”
Minho’s blood runs cold. He barely even notices the way he’s gripping the strap of his bag, knuckles white.
“Sounds like it’ll be bad,” Kyuhyun sighs. “Even the IT department is alerted. And we’re never on standby.”
“They’re saying it’s some sort of a big drug-cartel we’re supposed to be busting but why hasn’t there even been any kind of an operation prior to a big showdown?” Sungmin frowns.
Donghae shrugs. “Maybe they figured we’d take them by surprise?”
They launch into an argument about the possibilities, whether an operation has been possible or not, and even Kyuhyun interferes to drop in his two cents. Jonghyun stays uncharacteristically silent though, just peering at Minho from beneath his lashes. Minho doesn’t know what to think, although he tunes out the bickering completely there’s nothing else on his mind either. It’s just empty.
Suddenly Jonghyun jumps off the table and grabs Minho’s elbow. “Let’s get coffee.”
They barely make it out of earshot and Jonghyun stops, fixing his partner with a stern gaze. “You do know what this means?” He asks, as if to emphasize the situation. “They’re already there. If they go in by surprise, this soon…”
…Jinki and Kibum might not even have been warned. Minho knows. And that is why he panics. Quickly his mind snaps into action and he finally finds his ability to speak. “Jonghyun, I need to-”
“Just go, go!” Jonghyun practically pushes the other man away. “Before it’s too late. I’ll handle this.”
Minho doesn’t even have the time to thank Jonghyun before he bolts.
The door clicks shut with a soft thud but it’s enough to startle Kibum out of his thoughts. He’s sitting on his bed, waiting for Jinki as the other man let him understand there was something urgent they’d need to discuss. He has no idea what that could be but the badly masked nervousness in Jinki’s eyes wasn’t anything to help him calm down in the slightest.
It isn’t Jinki though. It’s a tall, lanky man Kibum has only seen a few times during the time he’s spent here. He knows the man goes by Hawk and is one of the leaders behind the whole business. That, already, is a bad sign. As if the three bulky bodyguards weren’t already hint enough.
Slowly Kibum straightens, trying to calm his erratically beating heart. He tries not to blink as he watches the man approach, tries not to show his nervousness. It might make or take his life.
“You do know that they’re on their way now,” Hawk says evenly, his voice barely audible. It’s hard to imagine him having as much control and power as he does, not with his almost timid appearance. But it’s clear that only one word from him and one of his bodyguards will snap into action in a split second.
Kibum’s voice cracks only just noticeably. “Who?”
“Who?” Hawk’s laughter is high-pitched in a way that sends unpleasant chills down one’s spine. “Oh, Kibum. Your cop friends. They’re here.”
Run. The first thought that hits Kibum’s mind is to flee as soon as he can, as fast as he can, to run as far as his legs will take him. This man obviously knows who he is, what he is, and there is no scenario in Kibum’s mind where he gets out of this alive.
Kibum barely manages to jump up on his feet before there’s a hand fisted in his hair, his head bent back at a painful angle. A thick arm winds around his throat and instinctively he grabs a hold of the wrist to try and pry it away. Darkness swims at the edges of his vision as he wheezes for breath, struggles weakly in the iron grip.
“It’s such a shame,” Hawk sighs, “really. What a waste.”
It’s the last thing Kibum hears before everything goes black.
Minho breaks at least three traffic regulations on his way, but barely even notices. He simply knows he’s got to get there before the shit hits the fan and the shooting starts. By the time he reaches the building there are several cars there he recognizes as ones from the force, even if they’re parked in an attempt to make them blend in and not arouse any suspicion. It doesn’t take him long to spot Siwon, either, and he’s certain there are more agents around than actual regular people.
Thankfully Minho knows the area well enough. At least something good came from his frequent visits. As silently as he can, he sneaks into one of the alleys to go around the house, to one of the multiple smaller entrances. It’s eerily quiet there and he thanks his luck, completely certain he made it on time and unnoticed.
Until a hand lands on his shoulder. “Stop right there.”
There’s something familiar in the lilt of those words, in the accent they’re spoken in, and when Minho obediently freezes his mind is working in overdrive to figure out why. It’s not until he’s spun around he realizes who he’s faced with, a small sigh of relief spilling from his lips. “Han Geng, it’s me.”
The man - Han Geng, Siwon’s partner on Special Forces - looks surprised, his eyes widening, and he doesn’t loosen his iron grip on Minho’s shoulder. “What are you doing here?”
There are two alternatives, and Minho is not going to opt for telling the truth. So he resorts to the only option he has left. “Didn’t Siwon tell you? I’m in this operation.” Partly, it’s true, he did weasel his way into the cover operation so technically he’s not even lying. “I’ll have to get inside, now!”
“Minho, we’re waiting for the firing command. You can’t go in there before the team does.” Han Geng frowns. It’s something that simply isn’t done. Especially not when Minho isn’t a trained agent, he has no idea about the system outside his actual job.
Still, it’s the only thing Minho can think of and he needs to get inside. Needs to. “I know, and they know I’m going to be there. Jinki gave me strict orders to be in the second floor when it starts.” His hands are sweaty and he’s certain it’s obvious he’s not being completely honest, with the way he’s trying hard not to fidget underneath the stern gaze he’s being fixed with.
Either the mention of Jinki’s name does the trick, or something else miraculously comes to Minho’s aid. Han Geng still looks suspicious but he lets go of Minho’s shoulder finally, stepping aside. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Thank you,” Minho breathes.
Just when he reaches out to open the door, there’s a loud crash behind them.
The first gunshots echo off the walls.
---> Next part
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(2887 words)
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it took me longer than I’d hoped to update but I’ve been insanely busy! I started in a new job yesterday and I’ve been in the process of moving, so things have been quite hectic.
only one more chappie to go after this! \o/
@DW.