Reagents; Jonghyun/Taemin

[onew]

Reagents
11267 words. PG-13.
- SHINee; Jonghyun/Taemin.

author onew.
summary The hardest part of being a secret is being found out.
notes Originally wanted to edit this fic before posting is for real, but RL got in the way. For kpop_olymfics. Special thanks to Dan naegative, Serena pixeltoy and my sister yumeyana for the general hand-holding and beta. Also, thank you to all of the members of Team AU!


"I'm back."

Jonghyun slips into one of the alleys, one he deems as Kibum's hiding place. When he's well sure that he's safe from the police and other possible detractors, he calls Kibum out. "You can come out now, you know. The big bad wolves are gone." Stuttered steps are soon heard, and Kibum's features come into focus. He's got dark circles under his eyes - he's been working a lot again.

"Well that was fast," says Kibum who's smoking his second stick. Jonghyun holds out his hand as if asking for one, but Kibum only ever gives him the lighter. "No more smoking for you. You've already had three before we split up. At this rate, you're gonna die tomorrow."

"That's pretty brutal. Give me 'til the end of the week to survive." Jonghyun snatches the stick in between Kibum's lips and takes a long drag from it. "The stress is getting to me. I only have two choices - either I jack off here for the whole world to see or I smoke two cigarettes. I think the latter is the safer choice." Kibum rolls his eyes and shrugs, leaning against the wall. He sticks his tongue out just a bit at Jonghyun.

"Why are we doing this again?"

"Because we're fighting for something. Because we want to do something right." Jonghyun leans against the wall, looking up at the sky, and heaves a sigh. Kibum passes him his pack of cigarettes, much more willing than before. "Thanks."

"You think this will work?" Jonghyun doesn't have to look at Kibum to know that worry's written all over his face, so he just nods slowly, smiles a bit just to please Kibum.

"Maybe. Maybe not. We'll only find out tomorrow."

The sound of engine roaring to life echoes down the alley, and Jonghyun only keeps his eyes fixed on the sky and nowhere else because he knows he's already gone and probably driving at 99 mph. Beside him, Kibum's holding out a lighter, and Jonghyun indulges. A strike at the flint and there's light. Kibum sees the frown on Jonghyun's face for a while.

Then the light goes out.

---

It starts when Jonghyun is 23.

He starts working at Jungmo's House of Breads at age 18, but due to financial and familial problems, he decides to get another job, one that would earn him more money than what he's making at the moment. After getting wind of the recent opening at The Federation - an 'outsourcing agency', he decides to give it a shot. "We outsource potential agents here, Jonghyun. It's Jonghyun, right?" asks the interviewer, and he simply nods in affirmation. Two days later, he is sent a letter with no return address, and the letter reads, 'You have been hired. You know what to do.'

Except he really doesn't, so the wisest thing to do would be to go to their so-called office, which turns out to be exactly the right thing to do.

Cue the series of trainings he has to go through to be deemed fit for more complicated and riskier 'jobs'. After a year of working with The Federation, he is promoted to Senior Agent and is thus given more assignments, ridding him of his free Saturday nights. Sometimes, Jonghyun thinks his friends take it against him, his being busy, and the only time he's able to be with them is when he doesn't have missions.

"Hey, Hyun," one of his friends calls out, "are you free this Saturday?"

"Nah. A man's got to earn some money," he simply replies, and heaves a sigh. "You guys have fun without me." He bites back all the bitterness and chokes sadness. This is his way of life now.

That is how he, at the age of 19, loses contact with his friends and starts drowning himself in work.

The family problems get out of hand, so in order to get a rest from the added stress and generally escape from everything, he moves out. His father goes to another country, dragging his 'female acquaintance' with him; his mother drowns herself in alcohol. His sisters get themselves pregnant to be able to survive - good thing their supposed husbands take them in without question. So the need to work even harder increases - for his own sanity and to sustain his needs - and he spends the rest of his dawns working for The Federation, reporting to Jungmo's House of Breads at eight in the morning.

In all honesty, this is the kind of work he wants to be engaged in.

Jonghyun's shift at the bakery is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.. He's normally in charge of the short breads, but he's started dabbling in making cakes. He's just not the man for making cake decorations, really, unless his boss wants him to make doodles that will qualify as the drawing of a Grade 1 student. "Seriously, Jonghyun - this is a rice field?"

"But it does look like a rice field! Look - that's the hut, and there's the little farmer and-"

"A stick drawing for a farmer. Jonghyun, you're 21! You're supposed to be an art major and you draw a farmer with sticks?"

"Sheesh." Jonghyun slumps in his chair. "You're so hard to please." He takes pleasure in successfully baking a cake that isn't too fluffy, though.

Jonghyun is just about to let loose a series of complaints when a customer steps inside. There's the customary greeting - "Good morning! Welcome to Jungmo's House of Breads!" - the customary bow and the ever-commercial smile. This is their first customer for the day, so he's in his best behavior.

"May I take your order, sir?"

"A dozen shortbread fingers, please," comes the soft voice of the customer. The customer's hanging his head low, eyes shifty and taking quick looks at Jonghyun. From where Jonghyun stands, he can only make out some of his features, what with the customer's bangs covering most of his face. Something about this person comes across as shady to him.

Trying hard not to think of unnecessary things, Jonghyun scurries to get the order, absentmindedly placing an extra shortbread in the paper bag. For a moment, he wonders if the customer is indeed a boy, what with the tone of his voice, but the masculine tones in the customer's features far outweigh the feminine ones, so he assumes that the customer is a man.

What catches his eye is the customer's eyes that look away just as soon as he looks right into them. The image of the customer becomes clearer. The void look in the eyes of the customer catches Jonghyun's attention. The customer sticks out his hand and places the money on the counter.

"Here."

The customer quickly takes the bag of breads from Jonghyun, his fingers brushing just slightly against his. Without another word, he turns around and leaves, and Jonghyun almost forgets to give the change.

"Ah, wait! Your-" Jonghyun calls out, but the customer doesn't even look back.

"I just met a guy with the loveliest pair of eyes."

"Uh huh," Kibum replies uninterestedly. He's checking his mail which translates to 'Don't talk to me' time, but Kibum figures Jonghyun won't let on. With a heavy sigh, he urges the other to continue. "Tell me about your boy."

"Well, his hair's all over his face," Jonghyun starts, shifting in his seat, "and he's got thin lips. He's got sharp angles in his jaw, a scar on his left cheek, no markings other than that. And of course, the pretty eyes, really round ones." Jonghyun rubs his chin, trying to add to the description he's just given. He must admit, he's pretty amazed at himself for being able to notice all those details. "And he's slim?"

Kibum rubs his temples. "Slim as in skinny or slim as in just right?" He accesses the database where the profiles of all the citizens are stored, entering keywords to make the search easier. Jonghyun seems all too enthusiastic about this, much to Kibum's dismay because Jonghyun knows next to nothing about navigating through the database, and he has to do all the dirty work for him. He squints his eyes a bit as the search results are narrowed.

"Skinny, almost bony. I hopes he eats all of the shortbread."

"Hmm. This is all I've got." Kibum then shows a detailed profile of a person in his laptop. "You have the basic, non-stalker stuff here, and it says he likes eggplants." Kibum squints hard. "Is this the guy?" Jonghyun stares at the image long enough before he gives an answer.

"I'm not sure. Who knows, he might be disguising himself as someone or something."

"You're just paranoid. Also, hacking the database in search of your shortbread boy isn't part of my job description, you know." Kibum then shoves his laptop in Jonghyun's direction, a disgruntled look in his features. Jonghyun smiles because he knows Kibum wants to help, but doesn't exactly know how to show his enthusiasm for these kinds of things; The Federation has taught him how to hide his emotions, like any agent should. "There; stare at him all you want. I'm going out. I have a mission."

"He is not mine-" When Jonghyun turns to Kibum's direction, he's not really surprised to find out that Kibum's gone because Kibum has this tendency to disappear all the time, leaving pieces of him behind. Looking at the picture more intently than ever, he begins to think of ways and means to hunt this person down, if only to know why he's shady, and why he looks all too familiar for someone who forgets faces easily.

"Eggplants, eh?" he says to himself almost inaudibly. As if on cue, his phone rings, and he brings the receiver close to his mouth hesitantly, almost unwillingly. "Hello?

"Mission time, Jonghyun. Report to the HQ at 23:00."

Jonghyun exits the database, closes Kibum's computer and hides it in the drawer for the spoons and forks. He grabs his coat, a pair of sunglasses because he's accustomed to wearing them at any point of the day, and slips his shoes on. He closes the door behind him, making sure to lock it.

"Yes, boss."

His night job involves taking valuable things from people for other people. It's not really stealing since he's just returning those valuable things to their rightful owners, but it can't be considered a nice deed, either - it's still theft, no matter how you look at it. He'd rather call himself a hunter than a thief; that way, he won't seem like such a bad guy. And tonight, he watches a Chinese family from the rooftop of the family's neighbor.

"They will leave in ten minutes to attend a play. Be ready to search the premises." He replies with a low grunt, and the call ends. True to the prediction, the family does leave after ten minutes, and he carefully goes down the roof as soon as the family is out of sight.

"Enter through the window to your right; there's a dog guarding the front door - he'll bite your leg off." Jonghyun chuckles. He's tempted to ask, 'Oh really, he will?', but then he might just get his leg bitten off and it will be impossible for him to do all those backflips and weird body twists anymore. So he replies flatly, "Roger," and proceeds as planned.

Whoever built the house sure made it hard for people to find their way to the rooms, what with the twisted connecting rooms and doors and passageways. After a couple of minutes, he's able to locate the room he's supposed to be in. At the far end of the room is a shrine of sorts, and he can see a golden sword at the center of the shrine. "I'm seeing a golden sword and some Chinese balls; this is the one, right? I can't read the inscription from here - it's in Traditional Chinese," he says in his mouthpiece as he squints hard, commanding his eyepiece to focus on the sword's inscription, and the navigator gives a confirmation. "Awesome, I'll grab it-"

He doesn't know how it happens, but he collides with something - someone - when he takes a step forward. His first instinct is to say, "Shit," his second is to freak out - he's dead sure no one followed him inside. "Who's there? Who are you?"

"No. Who are you?"

"Hey, I got here first!" Jonghyun's grip on his gun becomes tighter than the usual. "What group are you from? Are you Chinese? What are you? What-" Jonghyun squints hard - the stranger's wearing a mask, making it unable for Jonghyun to make out his face. Even with the moon on his side, shining a bit of light on the stranger, he doesn't have an idea of who this person might be. "Answer me!"

"I'm not answerable to you. Get out of my way." The stranger brushes him off and Jonghyun, taken aback, grabs the stranger by the wrist. He pulls the latter close to him and attempts to take his mask off, but the stranger is quick to kick Jonghyun in the stomach and away from him. In a swift move, the stranger is gone, but the sword is still there.

"Fuck." Jonghyun gets up slowly. "That guy's sick." 'Who is?' asks the voice at the other end of the line. "Some person. Agent. Whatever. I'll get the sword and go back to the headquarters. Be there by 01:00." 'Roger.' Jonghyun grabs the sword as fast as he can and escapes through the back door, to the roof and eventually into the darkness of the alley not so far away.

"Well, you're home late. Or too early for the following day."

"Kibum!" Jonghyun almost jumps when Kibum greets him. It's almost two in the morning when he returns; he had to run some errands for the company before sunrise. "Well, you're early." He pads to the couch and dives into it. After a while, he looks up at Kibum. "I got into a bit of trouble. Got an extra stick?"

"Yes, but I'm not giving it to you. And I thought you were a top agent already? Getting into trouble is for noobs."

"Boobs? What boobs? I said I need a stick." Jonghyun sits up from his position and Kibum just rolls his eyes, ignoring the other.

"Get your own pack; this is mine."

Jonghyun just grumbles, too tired to even fight it out with Kibum. He begins to narrate what happened in his mission and Kibum does the same, but only after Jonghyun tells his story because that's his way of appeasing the other - by listening, and not by giving him more cigarettes to smoke.

Jonghyun starts stalking people when he is 23. Or so Kibum thinks.

Jonghyun sets out for another mission a couple of days after, and this time he's assigned to retrieve information pertinent to the recent bombing in the city. The government has decided to work with The Federation - under the name of 'Investigative Society of Korea' - in investigating on the recent event, and Jonghyun is tasked to get as much information as he can.

He sees familiar faces, some of them former agents of The Federation. There's the nod, the handshake, the occasional exchange of smiles, and the standard misleading of information. "I just arrived from Hongkong," Jonghyun begins, adjusting his fedora, "and I got wind of the event from the government." He flashes an imaginary badge, one designed by another agent of theirs. "I was just sent by the government to retrieve all pieces of evidence at the scene of crime, thus the gloves." He holds his hands up and the other people laugh heartily. "Anyway, if you'll excuse me..."

He slips from the crowd and starts the investigation. He finds a gun, a baseball cap, a pair of glasses, and a pack of gum. He fights the urge to trace the lengths of the objects because that's what he always does, and is surprised to find switches hidden inside the pack of gum.

"What the hell-" It turns out, the pack of gum was used to trigger the bomb that set off the explosion. "This is fucking ingenious, not gonna lie."

"It has 75% of the power of the MOAB, contained inside a metal tube, and the slightest turbulence will set it off." Jonghyun quickly turns around, alarmed by the sudden appearance of a person. His eyebrows furrow. The contours of this person's face and the way his hair falls on it seem familiar.

The stranger's standing a few feet from him, body seemingly in a relaxed state. Jonghyun takes note of the small yet confident smile on the stranger's lips, lets his eyes travel from his head to his toe, taking in the image of the person standing before him. The stranger walks to him, slowly yet surely, as if anticipating traps.

"Who are you? And how did you know?" Jonghyun asks as he stands from his position and slips the evidence in his pouch bag. The stranger seems to be evasive, avoiding Jonghyun's eyes like the plague even if he's talking to him. He doesn't answer until a couple of seconds later, throwing the question back at Jonghyun.

"How do you think would I know?"

"Sorry, but I don't talk to strangers." Thoroughly bothered by the entire encounter, Jonghyun readies himself for the great escape. No more than a second after, he's running to the nearest opening and jumping from one roof to another, proof of the explosion in his pouch bag, and even more pertinent information in his mind.

For the past five missions Jonghyun has been handling, he's been encountering other agents who are, if his memory serves him right, not part of The Federation. "Are you hiring new agents?" he asks he chief of operations one day, "It's okay, you know, that Kibum and I don't get to screen the applicants, but it would be nice if you at least introduced-"

"We don't need new agents, Jonghyun." The chief looks up from his cup of coffee and smiles at him. "We have a pool of twenty agents who are more than capable of taking on missions and taking out people at least twice a day. Why should we be asking for more?"

Jonghyun nods thoughtfully in response.

"Normal people don't know how to make bombs like the MOAB."

"Normal people don't spend so much time on something that can be consumed so fast. It sounds stupid." Kibum stretches on the couch, burying his face in the pillows. "Maybe those are abnormal civilians who are too nosy? Oh, I don't know. I just want to sleep..." It comes out garbled but Jonghyun seems to understand, reacting quickly to Kibum's argument.

"But to come across them in every mission? That's too coincidental, not to mention freaky." Jonghyun stares at his hot chocolate as if it holds all the answers to the questions of the world. When a bubble pops, he snaps back to reality. "Yeah, freaky."

Kibum looks up from the couch. "But what if you were destined to meet that person? Assuming he's the same person, only with different identities. Y'know, like us." Jonghyun looks at Kibum intently. Kibum drops back on the couch.

What if?

But then Jonghyun's a practical person - he doesn't believe in destiny. Being an agent has taught him a lot of things, and one of them is that there's a reason for everything, even tummy aches at 3 a.m.. Confused and tired all at the same time, he fights for space on the couch with Kibum until they're too tired to even budge, and both resolve to sleep on their respective beds.

They still have to get up at six for their day jobs.

They still have to pretend.

---

"Good morning! Welcome to Jungmo's House of Breads!"

It's nine in the morning and Jonghyun's just finished baking the third round of shortbreads when a customer comes in. "Coffee, please. Americano," says the customer quietly, and Jonghyun looks up from the counter to see who it is.

"Kibum?" Jonghyun asks, voice barely above a whisper, "What the hell are you doing here?" Kibum gives him that look that says 'I just ordered coffee; are you stupid?', so he follows up with, "Aren't you supposed to be at the lawfirm?" Kibum scratches the back of his neck and takes a deep breath.

"We need to do something."

"Oh no. No." Jonghyun then signals to Junsu to take over for a while. "The shop's just opened. Well not really, but I can't ditch the bakery for The Fed. I thought we agreed on that already."

"It's been confirmed: there has been interference with our missions, which explains you bumping into various agents at work. As the agency's top agents, they're expecting us to do something."

Jonghyun takes a deep breath and exits through the side of the counter, moving to an unoccupied table where he and Kibum can discuss things better. He shoots a glance at Junsu, gesturing him to bring Kibum's coffee to their table. "Thanks," Jonghyun mumbles, and turns his attention back to Kibum.

"Interference as in," Kibum pauses, looking around if there's anyone listening. He then continues, "there's another agency in existence, one like ours, and we have to eliminate it fast." Kibum nods thoughfully and prepares his coffee. Jonghyun rubs his temples.

"Shit just got real."

"Watch your back, Jonghyun. I'm going this way."

"What- Wait!" Before Jonghyun can even react, Kibum's walked off to the other direction, leaving him to tackle the warehouse, a.k.a. the supposed hideout of the other agency. From Jonghyun's position, he can see at least seven people, all in suits, roaming the place. Some are carrying guys, some are carrying tasers. Near the entrance, he sees a girl carrying some blades. He gulps down hard.

This operation is more dangerous than it seems.

"They have tasers and guns, K," he says to his mouthpiece, voice low and hushed. "And blades. Don't forget the blades." Kibum laughs a bit.

"They'll cut your balls off when they catch you," Kibum kids, and Jonghyun swears he'd be hitting Kibum on the arm if Kibum was beside him.

"Fuck off, loser. I'm penetrating the quarters. Turn on your contacts so you'll see where I am."

"Roger."

In a swift move, Jonghyun takes out one of the agents and dresses himself in the agent's outfit. He messes his hair up a bit, wears some make up so as to disguise himself, and puts some scars on his face. He snatches the agent's ID from his back pocket. "Thanks, buddy." He looks at the agent lying on the ground, grabs a shot of poison and injects the body with it. He then turns around and enters the quarters, fitting in like the rest of them - an enemy of The Federation.

"Welcome to The Company."

Jonghyun pushes back his glasses with his index finger, carefully examining the place. "Take pictures," he hears Kibum's voice in his ear, so he does, blinking a number of times to capture images of the location. "We're transferring the images to the HQ now," says another voice, and he nods subtly, smiling at the agents passing him by.

"Excuse me, are you new here?"

"Oh yes, I am." Jonghyun turns around and sees a familiar face. The agent is wearing glasses, but he's pretty sure that this is the same boy who bought shortbread from the shop a few days back. He could be anyone, though; one can never trust an agent. He looks at the agent closely, blinking a few times to get a picture of the agent. "I just got... recruited. Yeah." He smiles rather sheepishly and the other agent just nods thoughtfully.

"Very well. This way."

He follows the agent like a good five-year-old, but looks around if there are any traps set for intruders like him. If this agency is as good as theirs, it will take no more than a minute to know that the base has been penetrated - if this agency is as good as theirs. He squints hard, trying to focus on the other features of the agent - a mixture of sharp and soft angles on his face, thin lips, round eyes that are accentuated by his glasses, and his hair that's shabbily cut in all the wrong places. He blinks a few more times.

"Why are you here?"

"To serve The Company. Why else would I be here?" Jonghyun laughs a little, feeling his heart race a bit. Cocking his head to the right, he hopes the agent will buy his excuses, but the latter doesn't let on.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be baking bread, Mr. Kim?"

Jonghyun's eyes widen a bit, but he quickly masks the look, not letting any emotion show in his features, feigning nonchalance. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but all this talk about bread is making me hungry." He takes a deep breath and tries to telepathically send a message to Kibum that says, 'Dude, it's time to save me'. The agent stops in his tracks and turns around to face Jonghyun.

"Get out of here while you can. Bake your bread and steal the swords; I don't care. Just don't meddle in The Company's business." The agent's face is stern, his eyes unyielding. "I have no business with you anymore. Didn't you notice I've stopped following you?"

Jonghyun scoffs. "So that was you. Stalker."

"Which is why you should stay away from The Company from now on. We got what we needed from you. Best be on your way now."

"I wish I could, but your company started it. You've been meddling in our projects."

"We're not doing anything!" The agent's fists are balled, his hands shaking a bit. "We've got our own projects; we're not taking anything away from you! Now, get out!"

"That's what you think!" Jonghyun bites back. He keeps his tongue in check, careful not to say anything that will divulge information. "If you've got your own projects, why did our paths cross during that sword retrieval operation? Why were you there during the MOAB investigation, huh?" The agent's eyebrows furrow and he bites his lower lip, taking quick and short breaths. "Tell me, smart kid, because if I'm wrong to say that The Company is stealing information on our operations and acting on them, feel free to shoot me." Jonghyun throws his hands up in the air. The agent draws a gun from his back.

"You fool."

It's a clear shot, Jonghyun thinks, and would have been deadly, had it not been for Kibum quickly getting him out of the way, pulling his leg in the process. Jonghyun falls flat on his butt and he scowls in pain. "That hurt, you know." He frowns a bit and mumbles, "Thanks." Kibum punches him lightly on the arm.

"Thank me after we get out of this place."

The agent fires a shot at the sprinklers, setting off an alarm. Jonghyun reaches for a a pen bomb and throws it, setting of an explosion. "The intruders, get them!" the agent orders, and before the other agents can even catch up with Jonghyun and Kibum, they've already fled.

"So that was your shortbread-loving boy." Kibum reaches for the noodles-in-a-box. "Better teach him a thing or two; he almost got us killed."

"Shut up. I didn't know he was with The Company. And I had no idea that he's been ruining my life since the day he bought the shortbreads. Argh, dammit!" Jonghyun puts the last bandaid on a wound and grabs a box of noodles afterwards, slumping in the couch. "I mean, come on, did he look like the type of person who'd go into the secret agent business? The eyes, man, they can fool anyone!"

"Apparently. He fooled you." Kibum stares at him long enough to freak him out. "Didn't you say he seemed shady?" Jonghyun nods.

"But that doesn't automatically make him a candidate for being an agent of The Company."

"Point taken, but you can't really trust anyone anymore." Kibum places the empty box of noodles on the table and gets his water bottle, gulping down all of its contents. Through the bottle, he sees Jonghyun looking at him. He puts the bottle down and looks at Jonghyun inquisitively. "What?"

"Not even you?"

Jonghyun's got that smile on his lips that tells him it'll be drama time again, and, even if he wants to save it for another day, he can't, so he indulges. "There are exceptions, of course." Light breaks out from Jonghyun's features, and Kibum knows that he's done the right thing. "Come here, you." He puts and arm around Jonghyun's shoulder and pulls him close, ruffling his hair.

The thing about Jonghyun, Kibum thinks, is that behind that cool and generally douchey image that he puts up is a person who stalks for a living, is fond of drama and noodles-in-a-box after a long and exhausting day, a 23-year-old with a fascination for hugs and cuddles and affection. A kid who's lost his family and is trying to find a place in this world where he can belong. "You can always trust me... to pick on you." Jonghyun looks up at Kibum and punches him lightly on the cheek. Kibum punches him right back.

---

Jonghyun heads out for work early the next day since he's been given a day off at the bakery. He only ever leaves Kibum a note that says, "I'll be back with noodles", and sends an SMS to The Federation, saying, "Don't go looking for me; I need some private time." He slips from the crowd of people walking north and into an alley, working his way to the warehouse he's just been to the previous day. He wears the glasses again but doesn't bother putting on some make up - he's just here to observe from the rooftops to look for an opening.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away while you still can?"

Jonghyun almost jumps when someone walks up to him from behind - it's the agent from yesterday. How he wasn't able to sense the movement is entirely beyond him, even more so now that his gadgets are set up to alert him of any agent arrival. "Well, I'm a stubborn boy. It'll take more than that to make me stop." Jonghyun scratches the back of his neck. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"Stupid; do you think I'll let you off the hook so easily?"

The agent draws his gun but Jonghyun is faster this time around, snatching the agent's gun from his back and rendering the agent immobile by drawing him close and hooking his arm around the agent's neck. "And did you think I'll let you off the hook so easily after what happened last night? Don't be foolish." Jonghyun tightens his hold on the agent. "Tell me- Tell me who you are."

"I'd rather die!"

"Who the fuck are you?" Jonghyun's voice almost becomes loud, but then he's able to modulate it, the knowledge that he's in the enemy's quarters still fresh in his mind. "Why are you here? Why are you an agent? There should be a reason for this. You don't become an agent by choice!"

"What if I did, huh?" The agent smiles cheekily. "What applies to you doesn't apply to everyone, Mr. Kim. I'm different."

"Oh yeah, you're different, but you're still an agent like me." Jonghyun draws the gun close to the agent's head. "Now, if you'll tell me your name, things will be-"

"Taemin. Lee Taemin." A grunt and some hitched breathing. "I'm an Access Agent. I have your fingerprints on my paper bag and I can easily access your headquarters. Good enough?"

Jonghyun scoffs. "I know you have my fingerprints, which is why I requested for a change of the means of accessing files in the agency. I'm still smarter than you, kid." Despite his statement, he lets Taemin go, but still has the gun pointed at the latter. "Now why did you join The Company?"

"Oh, come on. Do you think I'll tell you the truth?" Taemin wears fatigue in his features - fatigue due to work and arguing, most probably, but mostly due to arguing. He hangs his head low, but the impossible smile on his lips is still visible. His hair is pulled back now, and Jonghyun can see his face clearly - no scars, no identifying marks, only the sharp angles of his jaw and his round eyes.

"Why wouldn't you? You're not a bad person."

"I'm not a bad person?" Taemin shakes his head. For a moment, he thinks Jonghyun has gone nuts, but the look on Jonghyun's face shows no trace of doubt or hesitation. "But I'm the enemy! The enemy is always the bad guy! You have a weird sense of judgment, don't you?" The look on Taemin's features is a combination of amusement and confusion - in his mind, he's probably thinking, 'Why hasn't this person killed me yet? He can take a clear shot' or 'Maybe I should just kill him, but I can't. Why can't I?'

Taemin's hands are shaking; he should probably escape.

"I just want to know who you are!"

"I said I'm Lee Taemin. That's all you have to know." Taemin freezes in his position, the statement striking him in all the right places. His lips are trembling now, and he feels the impending urge to just turn around and walk away - Jonghyun has no intention of shooting him down after all.

And so he does.

Taemin jumps off the roof, falling into the empty space and quickly getting back to his feet, running off to Lord knows where. When Jonghyun goes to see where Taemin has landed, he doesn't find Taemin and, instead, finds a piece of cloth on the floor - a handkerchief that probably held answers to his simple question of 'Why'.

So shortbread boy is Lee Taemin. He is the son of former top agent of The Purple Squad, Lee Taehyun. Taehyun was unfortunate to have died during a mission - he was shot straight to the heart, and it was futile for his fellow agents to rush him to the hospital since he had lost so much blood already. It is said that The Purple Squad never extended support to Taehyun's family, and closed down due to dispute among the agents that was sparked by Taehyun's death. A couple of years after, the squad was revived and went through a lot of changes, one of them being that change of name from 'The Purple Squad' to 'The Federation'.

"So you're saying Taemin is going against The Federation because the group never held itself responsible for Taehyun's death?"

"Probably." Jonghyun's eyes are fixed on the screen, and he gestures for Kibum to move closer to him as he points at a chunk of text on the screen. "It says here that the squad went downhill immediately after Taehyun's death, and his relatives are said to be part of the movement against the squad. Maybe that's the reason why Taemin is hellbent on bringing The Federation down."

Kibum fashions that impossible smile on his lips. "But that was years ago! The Federation is different now. We're under a different management, under a new name - everything's changed!" Kibum buries his face in his hands, voice dropping a few decibels lower. "Now we have this shit to take care of."

"We're almost alike, Kibum." Kibum notices the change in Jonghyun's tone, and he quickly shoots his friend a look. "We've got no family left - they can't be considered my family, at least - and are struggling to find our place in this world." Jonghyun chuckles bitterly, the contours of his face twisting as if he's conflicted with what he should be feeling. He talks about an enemy as if he's an old friend who he's shared memories with, but then anyone can sympathize with a boy like Taemin - one who's lost his father to an operation and wasn't given a proper burial. "Do we really need to eliminate him?"

"We have to. Call of duty." Kibum tries to smile a little; Jonghyun heaves a sigh.

"Fucking call of duty," Jonghyun echoes, and he falls back into the couch, startling the pillows and Kibum, as well.

Jonghyun returns to The Company's base the following day in the hope of bumping into Taemin again, and he waits on the same rooftop, shooting two birds with one stone by observing the base at the same time. He watches every movement of every agent entering the premises, absentmindedly wondering how it would have been had he joined this agency. "Different, very different," he mumbles to himself, and he takes a deep breath, sitting still in his position.

Half past three in the afternoon and under the burning sun, Taemin finally appears.

"I was wondering when you'd give up," he mumbles, and Jonghyun laughs a little. "You're quite the persistent one, aren't you? Or should I say obnoxious?"

"Hey, don't be overly familiar with me. We're still enemies, you know." Jonghyun looks through one of the telescopes, seeing if there has been a change in activity just behind the warehouse; not a bit. "For now, at least."

There's a bit of uncertainty in Jonghyun's voice when he brings up the topic of personal profiles and generic stalking. "From what I've gathered, you're the son of the Lee Taehyun, one of the former members of the sqaud. Does this have anything to do with you interfering in our operations?" Taemin looks away, features sharp yet his eyes soft, downcast. "Just answer with a yes or a no - I won't prod." Jonghyun almost calls the question off altogether until Taemin answers abruptly, concisely.

"That's just one of the many reasons."

"Many? You mean there are others?" A trace of confusion is written on Jonghyun's features, eyebrows furrowed. Taemin nods slowly, thoughtfully, as if carefully processing what he's telling Jonghyun. There is silence for a while, and Jonghyun plans to keep it that way as he leans in to look through the telescope for a second time, the crumpling of his clothes serving as the only disruption to the silence. When Taemin parts his lips for a while, Jonghyun holds his breath in anticipation.

"My education is on loan," Taemin says flatly, eyes not blinking. "You know, the classic drama story where protagonist is broke and works his ass off just to graduate."

"Except you're not working as a prostitute."

Taemin quickly looks at Jonghyun, seemingly taken aback. "Yeah, except I'm not working as a prostitute."

"You'll make more money with us, though." Jonghyun looks away, knowing he'll earn a weird or surprised look from Taemin. "You can always work for The Federation; the pay is higher."

"And how would you know how high our pay here is?"

"Simple - I hacked your system, even the payroll one."

"I must say, I'm impressed. But then our system's still unstable and generally crappy. Even a novice can get through it." Taemin smiles a bit, a teasing glint in his eyes, and had the circumstances been different Jonghyun will definitely attest to being attracted to him, to a boy he knows only through a database file.

"Give it some thought," Jonghyun says, turning to Taemin, and proceeds to gathering his equipment and packing them. "Join us and I'll pay for your education."

"So you're saying you can buy me now? That's a pretty low blow."

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean-" His voice trails off and he blinks twice; what did he mean by that? "I mean you can work with us instead of them! We're more known and trusted by clients all around the world. That can do your career good."

Taemin rolls his eyes and Jonghyun notices the drastic change in atmosphere. He gulps down hard.

"I'll never side with the group that killed my father. Now get out of my sight."

Jonghyun sighs in resignation and hauls a couple of bags over his shoulder. Taking the fastest way out, he evacuates the premises of The Company, with the promise of another day written on those two fingers that brushed against Taemin's the day they met.

He returns the following day, still with the same equipment and same goal. He's already jotted down some new observations about The Company when Taemin arrives, hands in his pocket and looking at him with something akin to disgust.

"I can't believe you're still here."

"It's part of my job description, spying on my enemies and annoying the hell out of them." Jonghyun's eyes don't meet Taemin's, even when the latter walks closer to him. He opens his notebook again, this time covering what he's writing. When he looks over his shoulder, he finds Taemin crouched behind him.

"It will be polite if you don't look at what I'm writing, you know."

"Enemies don't do polite, just so you know." Taemin then moves to his side and settles there, eyes looking straight ahead. "Are you here to convince me again to join you?"

Jonghyun chuckles and shrugs. "That's just one of the many reasons."

Taemin shakes his head and just remains seated beside him for the next few minutes, occasionally glancing at Jonghyun to see what he is doing. When he sees Jonghyun place the notebook inside his bag, Taemin decides to pose a question.

"You said the pay's higher in your company, right?"

"Yeah."

"Are the work hours flexible?"

Jonghyun laughs lightly. "Not so much if you're a senior agent already, but they'll be easier on you if you tell them you're a student. It worked for me."

Jonghyun's smile at the end of his statement is toothy, and Taemin finds himself nodding thoughtfully. The offer doesn't sound so bad, but the fact that his father died in a mission for The Federation - The Purple Squad, he corrects himself - still remains to be true.

But then it has been years since that happened and The Company's under a new management now.

"Oh well. I don't know." Taemin turns his heel and leaves. Jonghyun just watches him walk away, smiling to himself and thinking - just a little more and Taemin will budge.

Just a little more.

Taemin starts asking for information on agent divisions and salary increases when Jonghyun goes to the warehouse for the third time, beginning to acquire the habit of hitting Jonghyun in his side when Jonghyun jokes around. "Do you expect to hire potential agents if you don't give straight answers?" Taemin exclaims, hands on his hips.

Jonghyun holds his hands up in defense when Taemin almost hits him again. "Fine, fine. We have quarterly bonuses and 13th month pay, if that answers your question. Does that sound good now? Is that good enough an answer to acquire a potential agent with, huh?"

"Must you really make side comments?" Taemin eyes twitch and he looks away, standing from his seat. "Don't you come back tomorrow if you're still going to make side comments, otherwise I'll ask the agents to kill you once and for all." Taemin walks away in a huff and when Jonghyun is already sure that Taemin's already left, he laughs his heart out.

"You're late."

Jonghyun looks up from his steps and finds Taemin, hands on his hips, standing not so far away. He puts his bags down and proceeds to setting up his usual gadgets, his back turned on Taemin. He remains silent throughout the entire process, occasionally shooting brief yet meaningful glances at Taemin. There's a trace of uncertainty in Taemin's features, and Jonghyun only shakes his head, turning his attention back to what he's doing.

"I was waiting for you," Taemin mumbles, and Jonghyun almost bursts into laughter if not for the awkwardness of the situation. He doesn't give a reaction until he finishes setting up his equipment, turning to Taemin with bright eyes.

"You were saying?"

"I was saying you're late. You normally come at 3:30."

"I'm a busy person, don't you know?" The smile on Jonghyun's lips grows steadily, even more so when Taemin rolls his eyes in frustration. "Why were you waiting?"

"Well, I need someone to talk to. I'm rather bored."

And so Jonghyun indulges in Taemin's stories, both made up and real, of missions and practically anything under the sun. Taemin's quite good at making up stories, but Jonghyun is just too good at detecting lies. Taemin doesn't look at Jonghyun straight in the eye when he's lying. He alternates between scratching the tip of his nose and the back of his neck, too. Meanwhile, when he's telling the truth, his eyes are fixed on Jonghyun's and his eyes squint just a bit.

Jonghyun laughs to himself. He's just too good at this.

While Jonghyun's keeping a close watch on the activities inside the quarters, he pays a close attention to the change in Taemin's character, too, from one who is defensive to one who just needs someone to talk to. Taemin pauses somewhere in the middle of the discussion and says, "Tell me about the offer again," and Jonghyun takes it as a good sign. Taemin nods thoughtfully, the smile on his lips unfading, and Jonghyun wonders if this means Taemin's siding with them.

"And as I said, we'll pay for your education if you join us. This is a new company now," Jonghyun pauses then laughs a bit, "Pun unintended, but you get what I mean." Jonghyun smiles brightly, the enthusiasm still not wearing off. "So, what do you think?"

Taemin stretches as he lies flat on the roof. Lucky that the skies are cloudy today; they don't have to suffer from intense heat. "I'll think about it," Taemin says faintly, and he fixes his eyes on the sky, away from Jonghyun and things that will thoroughly convince him to side with The Federation.

"You've been reporting to work late."

Jonghyun's eyes are already closed when Kibum makes this comment, and he just grunts uneasily in reply. Kibum shakes him hard with his foot, then hits him even harder in his side when he doesn't budge. "Ow," Jonghyun scowls loudly, and Kibum smiles a bit in satisfaction.

"Get up; I'm talking to you. What have you been up to?"

"Not sleeping, definitely." Jonghyun clutches the pillows closer to him, burying his head in it. "Can we just talk about this tomorrow? I'm really tired." Jonghyun's voice drifts off and Kibum heaves a sigh, settling on the end of Jonghyun's bed.

"You've been going there, haven't you?"

Jonghyun won't admit it, but his eyes are wide open now, and he wonders vaguely how Kibum found out. "I haven't been following you, just so you know," Kibum quickly says as a follow up, and Jonghyun holds his breath, worrying his lower lip.

"I guess that means yes."

Jonghyun lowers the pillow, showing a rather disgruntled expression, and Kibum already knows he's won. "You know me too well," Jonghyun says, though unwilling to admit defeat, and sits up from his position. "Don't worry; I'm befriending him and not spilling any vital information about the fed."

"Oh, then what do you call telling him that we changed our access codes? I think that falls under 'spilling important information', Hyun." Jonghyun furrows his eyebrows, shivers running sharply down his spine.

Even with heavy eyes and fatigue washing over him, he can still see the disappointed look in Kibum's eyes, and he just hangs his head low, scratching the back of his neck. "I didn't give him the access codes, okay. I just told him that; no harm done. And you said you didn't follow me around!"

"I didn't; I bugged you."

"Screw you."

"Oh no, honey. Not tonight. We're handling a big case tomorrow." Kibum pushes Jonghyun hard enough for him to fall back into the bed, but tucks him in rather affectionately. "Now, you think about what you're doing and if it will do everyone good. And no buts." Jonghyun nods like an obedient boy should, and he holds on to Kibum's hand before the latter leaves.

"What do you think about it, though?"

Kibum takes a deep breath, shrugs his shoulders just lightly, and gives Jonghyun a small smile. He wriggles his hand free from Jonghyun's grasp and, slowly padding to the door, gives Jonghyun one last look.

"Good night, little boy." And Kibum turns the lights off.

The visits and observation sessions become a faithful habit, and Taemin always comes by, sitting beside him or just arguing with him. There are the occasional talks about each other's employers, trying to get information from the first person to be caught off guard. There are also insults thrown back and forth, and by this time Jonghyun's already used to everything.

"You're going to retract your statement; I know you will, don't deny it!"

"Oh, shut up!" Taemin swats Jonghyun's hand away, shaking his head in the process. Jonghyun finds it but fit to punch Taemin lightly on the arm, probably with more force than before just to get even for all the other times Taemin has punched him. Taemin rolls his eyes, and Jonghyun sees a bit of himself in Taemin, a twisted sense of comfort coming to him like a realization.

If Jonghyun doesn't know better, he'll say they're been friends since birth.

"You still haven't decided, have you?" Jonghyun asks in between sips of water. It's almost sunset and he's just waiting for the darkness to fall so that the 'escape' will be easier. Taemin puts his hands behind his head and if Jonghyun's reading Taemin's body language right, he'd say Taemin's considering to give it a shot. "The offer still stands, you know."

Taemin takes a deep breath and shrugs. "My loyalty still lies here, but the scholarship offer is too good to pass up." He worries his lower lip until thinks of a follow up. "Can't really say no to a blessing."

"Then come with me." Jonghyun extends his hand, a small smile on his lips. Taemin looks at Jonghyun's hand hesitantly, reaches out for it but not quite as he draws his hand back not more than a second after. Jonghyun takes a closer look at Taemin, worry and suspense apparent in his features. He takes a deep breath. "So?"

"Tomorrow. I'll give an answer tomorrow." A smile breaks out on Jonghyun's features, and he watches as Taemin fights the smile surfacing on his lips. He studies it carefully - the way Taemin's lips move as he says, "Hey, is anything wrong?", his lips mouthing every syllable so clearly. For a moment, he finds himself indulging in the thought of leaning in just a bit closer to examine his lips further, but then the sun's almost gone, and he takes it as a sign to go.

"Nah. I'm all good."

Getting up from his position, Jonghyun gathers his things and sets off, but then Taemin grabs him by the wrist, telling him, "Wait for the sunset to finish." It doesn't take too long because the sun's almost submerged completely in water, so Taemin quickly pulls Jonghyun and closes the distance between them with a kiss.

Jonghyun finds it unfitting that their bodies align like this, and that his hands are snaking up the back of Taemin's head, his fingers getting entangled in Taemin's hair. Taemin's holding him by the neck, and his grip on Taemin's hair tightens when Taemin pries his lips open with his tongue. Shocked, he pulls away, eyes wide and lips trembling. Taemin looks away shyly, a smile on his lips, and Jonghyun can only wonder if Taemin's planned this all along.

"It's already dark. You should get going."

Jonghyun nods and hauls his bags over his shoulder. He doesn't jump off the roof, doesn't run away and, instead, he just walks slowly, taking in every bit of what happened just seconds ago. He brings his fingers to his lips.

Tomorrow, he'll get an answer.

"I never really told you this, but I recruited him."

"Well, I'm not surprised. You've been going to their quarters, after all." Kibum puts his mug down and settles on the couch. "I was waiting for it to happen." Jonghyun laughs a bit and punches Kibum on the arm lightly, but then his features betray the playful action and Kibum sees right through it. "Go on, I'm still listening."

"I'll never tell anyone about this, but he kissed me."

"Kissed as in with the..." Kibum gesticulates rather awkwardly. Jonghyun rolls his eyes, looking away. Kibum can see the small smile on Jonghyun's lips, though, and he laughs heartily. Jonghyun shoots him a glare and he immediately covers his mouth with the pack of his hand, suppressing the giggles.

"It's okay, I understand. Oh, kids these days..."

"I didn't return it, okay!" He gives Kibum a good kick in his side. "Shut up. We're supposed to be serious." Jonghyun frowns a little.

Kibum stares at Jonghyun with much amazement. "I never thought I'd see that day you'll act this way, all flustered by a kiss from a boy you barely know." Kibum moves closer to Jonghyun and he hears Jonghyun mumbling, "I am not flustered." He laughs a little.

"Are you seriously attracted to this person?"

"No. I don't know. He's the one who's attracted, that's for sure. I feel comfortable being with him, though, like we've been friends for a while already." Jonghyun scratches the tip of his nose, his lips quivering a bit. "It's like, one minute we're enemies and the next minute, bam! He kisses me like we're lovers or something. I don't get it"

"Trust me, I don't get it either."

"Seriously, though," Jonghyun's voice drops to a whisper. "He understands me, for some reason, and scarily enough, I understand him, too."

"Scary's an understatement. You don't have a dead father. Unless..."

"Hey, that's rude."

"Joking, but kidding aside, if you had the chance to, you know, be with him..." Kibum doesn't finish his sentence, his voice drifting off, and Jonghyun looks away for the nth time that day, unwilling to answer the question.

"Don't ask me about being together with him. I mean in one location. He promised to give an answer tomorrow."

Kibum half-scoffs, half-laughs at Jonghyun's change in character, and he puts an arm around Jonghyun's shoulder, tugging the other close to him. "Let me know if anything happens." Kibum ends with a wink, and he quickly gets to his feet and runs to his room before Jonghyun can even react.

Jonghyun just shakes his head, sinks in the couch and covers his face with a pillow. For now, he has to sleep.

Tomorrow's a big day, after all.

When Jonghyun returns to his usual spot the following day, Taemin's already there, sitting on the roof with his legs pulled close to his chest. "Hey," he greets Jonghyun, and he gestures for the other to sit beside him.

"I see you have no gadgets today."

"Nah." Jonghyun puts his arms behind his head, shooting a glance at Taemin. "I just came to get your answer. I still have to go to work."

"Would be a waste of time if I said no, then?" Taemin looks at Jonghyun, a playful smile on his lips. Jonghyun stares blankly at Taemin, breaking the eye contact only when Taemin laughs heartily. "Okay, okay, I was joking. I'll do it."

"You'll do what?" Jonghyun asks, wanting to hear Taemin's answer for a second time so he'll be able to confirm if what he heard was right. "You mean you'll-"

"I'll join your team."

"That sounds great!" Jonghyun's features light up and he takes both of Taemin's hands. "We'll execute the plan two days from now." Jonghyun sits up in a more comfortable position, this time facing Taemin. "I'll hack into your system, erase all the data they have on you and you can just slip past the agents. You know where to find me."

"Where?"

Jonghyun smiles, getting up, and flattening the creases of his outfit. "Right here."

And Jonghyun runs.

"He said yes," Jonghyun mumbles against his mouthpiece, thankful that Kibum can't see the grin breaking across his features right now. "We're doing it two days from now."

"You're gonna have a baby?" Kibum replies in between suppressed laughter. "Promise me I'll be the godfather, okay?" Jonghyun shakes his head, too ecstatic to even fight it out with Kibum. He turns around the curve, careful to avoid streetlamps and being seen. "Oh and daddy."

"Yeah?"

"Keep your head. Don't get too excited. Remember: if anything goes wrong, I'm kicking your ass."

Jonghyun smiles against the mouthpiece, laughing just lightly. "Don't worry, grandma. I'm good. I'll see you in a few."

"I want my noodles warm."

"Gotcha."

Jonghyun looks to his left, then to his right, and walks straight ahead when he's well sure that no one's following him. He needs to buy noodles before Kibum gets home. And chips, too, since he foresees a long talk ahead - a very long talk.

"This is where we split up. Get the car ready. I'll tell Taemin to meet you there." Kibum nods in affirmation. He gives Jonghyun a good pat on the arm before he turns around.

"You take care, okay?" Kibum looks over his shoulder, and he waits until Jonghyun nods and gives him a big smile. "I'll be off."

When Kibum disappears around the curve, Jonghyun runs.

Jonghyun's seated on the roof conveniently, pressing keys on his keyboard. It only takes a few seconds to decode the new pass codes of The Company, a couple more to locate Taemin's profile in the database. "Erase data? Yes." Jonghyun hits the enter button and he hears Kibum's voice in his earpiece.

"I'm here. You done with the data?"

"Yeah, all done. I've sent a signal to Taemin already; he should be here in a few. Oh-" Jonghyun waves in Taemin's direction and the latter spots him, walking quickly to where he is. "Taemin's with me. I'll give him instructions."

"Roger."

"Okay, Taemin, Kibum's waiting at the convenience store two blocks from here. He's got a car."

Taemin nods as he processes every bit of data Jonghyun is feeding him, eyes fixed on Jonghyun's.

"He'll give you your new license, the car keys, and a credit card you can use to check in at a hotel. Also, he'll give you a phone with a private line. Our numbers are stored there. We'll see you at McDonald's tomorrow. And oh, be sure to change your look."

Taemin chuckles. "I guess that's a given already."

"Yeah, yeah, you're the smart one." Jonghyun ruffles Taemin's hair, and the other gives him a rather affection punch on the arm. "Call me, okay?" Taemin nods.

Taemin's about to leave when he turns around and rushes to Jonghyun, enveloping him in a tight hug. Jonghyun holds his breath and his heart pounds with so much vigor against his ribs that even he, himself, is surprised. "Thanks... for everything."

A smile surfaces on Jonghyun's lips and he snakes his arms around Taemin's hips, pulling the latter closer.

"Hey, not now. I still have to escape."

"Oh, yeah. Right."

"I'll be off." Taemin turns his heel and leaves, escaping through Jonghyun's normal escape route. Not more than a minute after, Jonghyun hears loud crashing, and he quickly packs his things and gets back on his feet, evacuating the premises as quick as he can.

"Jonghyun, take the other route!"

"Taemin? Taemin, where are you?"

"Right-" A series of grunts and crashing. "-here!" Jonghyun swiftly moves to his right when a body is sent flying his way, and the streetlamps cast a soft glow on Taemin.

"There's more of them. I didn't expect them to react this quick." Taemin grabs Jonghyun by the wrist.

The agents come from behind and the front, and in large groups. They manage to lose them at first, but then these agents are not to be underestimated - they move quick. No words are said; only rushed footsteps are heard. Jonghyun sees Kibum's car not so far away. Jonghyun turns the communicator on.

"Kibum, Taemin will run to the car. Let him escape as fast as he can; we're being chased by agents."

"What the- do I call for help?"

"Fuck no!" Jonghyun dodges the agent charging at him and shoves Taemin to other direction. "Just be ready, in three, two, one-"

Taemin makes a run for it, dodging the agents blocking his way. The door to the car is already open when Taemin arrives, and Kibum hands him a bag.

Everything you need it here. Don't contact us until tomorrow. Now, go!"

Taemin does as he is told, quickly getting in and driving away.

Kibum watches as the car roars to life and the next thing he knows, Taemin's driving away, far from where Jonghyun can see him.

He turns around and reaches for his gun, taking a deep breath.

"Time to kick some ass."

It doesn't take much effort from Kibum to shoot down the agents since he's known to be a sharp shooter. "Shit," he mumbles when he runs out of ammo, and he hits an agent with the hilt of the gun, throwing him in the direction of another agent. He catches Jonghyun's eyes briefly, and he's back to battling the agents, taking them down one by one.

It takes a little over five minutes to send them all back to their quarters.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Kim," Jonghyun says breathlessly and with a toothy smile, holding out his hand. Kibum takes it, gives it one good shake, and pulls Jonghyun close to him, enveloping him in a hug.

"Always a pleasure, Mr. Kim," Kibum mumbles in Jonghyun's ear, and he buries his face in Jonghyun's shoulder. Jonghyun's shoulders shake a little in laughter, and Kibum makes sure to give him a hard pat on the back.

And they both erupt into a lovely peal of laughter.

Fatigue comes to them late, a little over an hour after Taemin's escape. Kibum asked Jonghyun to buy him a pack of cigars since he's run of of them already, and Jonghyun follows without question. Five minutes after, Jonghyun returns, and Kibum takes a peek from the shadows to see if it's Jonghyun who has just arrived.

"I'm back."

Kibum takes a few steps forward, still unyielding until he sees the trace of Jonghyun's jaw. "You can come out now, you know." Kibum smiles a little and slips from the shadows, eyes heavy from exhaustion. Taking the pack from Jonghyun, he pulls out his second stick for the day, the lighting process coming to him like a habit.

"That was fast." Kibum takes a long drag and lets the smoke out slowly. From beside him, Jonghyun's holding out his hand as if asking for a stick, but he shuns it away. "No more smoking for you. At the rate you're going, you'll be dead tomorrow."

"Well that was brutal." Jonghyun mumbles, then quickly takes the stick in between Kibum's lips. He sticks out his tongue at the other, watching Kibum's frown. "Okay, pick: either you see me smoking my nth stick for the day or you see me jacking off over there. Which do you prefer."

Kibum rolls his eyes in disgust. "Do you even have to ask?" Jonghyun gives Kibum a contented smile as he drowns himself in smoke and nicotine.

Silence fills the alley for a while, and Kibum finds the strength to pose a question a few minutes after. "Why are we doing this again?" His eyes are fixed on Jonghyun while the latter's just staring at the empty sky, the cigarette stick still in between his lips. He sighs.

"Because this is what we think is right."

Kibum sighs contentedly, snatching his stick from Jonghyun and handing him his pack of cigarettes, instead. They both stand still in companionable silence, with Jonghyun's breathing hitched and short as he smokes. "Do you this will work? I mean the plan, everything - will he come back." Jonghyun shrugs.

"We'll only find out tomorrow."

There's the sound of a distant engine roaring to life and Jonghyun wonders if it's Taemin, if he's already returned and not followed the plan. He fishes his phone from his pocket - no calls, no messages, nothing to look forward to tonight.

For now, he'll have to wait.

---

Jonghyun runs to the meeting place as soon his shift ends. Kibum's voice comes clear in his earpiece - "Taemin, he's not yet here" - but he ignores Kibum's warning and holds his judgment until he arrives at the meeting place.

"It's already been 30 minutes; he's still not here."

"Well, maybe he got stuck in heavy traffic? Let's wait for some more."

Seconds turn into minutes, and minutes turn into hours, and Jonghyun stares aimlessly, head hung low. Kibum comes to aid, offering a couple of sticks and shoving a lighter in his hand. "Take it. You need it more than I do." And that is how Jonghyun ends up clearing Kibum's pack of cigarettes that day.

The morning the following day comes and goes. No call, no message, not a sign of life. The evening has already fallen and Jonghyun takes with him all the important things. He leaves a note to Kibum on the fridge saying, "Thanks. (I bought you a new pack; check your drawer)", and leaves before it gets even darker.

The evening comes and goes, and so do people.

Like Taemin.

---

It's been almost a year since Taemin's disappearance, and it's only now that Kibum complains about the loss of a good car. "I've had Shelley for two years already," he mumbles to himself, mumbling in a corner, and Jonghyun takes it as a sign to snatch Kibum's coffee and replace it with pastries. Kibum stares at the platter of pastries forlornly, and Jonghyun deems it okay to leave his friend to his miseries for a while.

He's got to work, after all.

"Welcome to Jungmo's House of Breads!"

There's the customary greeting, the customary bow and the ever-commercial smile, and Jonghyun does all these even when he's busy attending to the cash register that seems to have gone haywire for a moment.

"May I take your order, sir?" he asks the customer, and when the customer says, "A dozen shortbread fingers, please," his eyes shoot up, and what he finds in front of him is a familiar face, stripped of all shadiness and deceit. He blinks twice, thrice, and it takes a while before it sinks in - Taemin is here.

"I said a dozen shortbread fingers, please." When Taemin repeats his order, Jonghyun sees the teasing glint in his eye, the playful smile on his lips, and the familiar pain in his jaw as Taemin punches him lightly on his cheek.

"Ow. I resent that," Jonghyun retorts, but the big grin he's fashioning betrays everything he's just said. He turns around sharply to get the order, hands it over to Taemin, and he sees a familiar symbol on the card inside the pocket of Taemin's wallet, one he's grown to respect and bow down to. "Did you just-" Taemin nods and flashes the badge at him, the image much clearer than before.

The change comes in coins and he hands them to Taemin, leaning in just mildly. "Welcome to The Federation, Agent." Jonghyun's smile grows wider by the second as he extends his hand to Taemin. A firm shake and a nod, and they come to an understanding.

Welcome to the Federation, indeed.