Archive of Our Own ^beta

The interrogation room was quiet and eerie. There is only one light but somehow Sehun feels like he's blinded by it. The cuffs that are chained on the table feel so cold and heavy on his wrists.

He feels so tense and he feels his body trembling. He feels like he is going to throw up any time soon or worse, he might get a panic attack. The silence is deafening and he can practically hear his heart racing against his chest. It is giving him so much paranoia. He hears the lock of the door being opened and two unknown men enter. They were both detectives. 

"It wasn't me." Sehun lost count of how many times he has said that sentence that night. His voice is already hoarse and he feels like all the fight has been drained out of him. 

After all, he was unwillingly dragged into this place. All he knows is that he's just having a fun weekend then next thing he knows, there was blood, there's a dead person next to him and the police have arrived there to arrest him. 

"All evidence points at you." One of the detectives starts.

Sehun gives them a puzzled look. They were speaking in English but they have an accent. Sehun understands the language and he can speak it too but he is not very fluent and that adds to the many reasons on why this is the worst situation to be in at the moment. 

"I… I don't understand." Sehun speaks up, voice soft. 

The other detective opens the folder that they brought in. He starts putting pictures down on the table one by one. 

"Murder weapon." He shows two pictures of a knife that was covered in blood. "It has your fingerprints." 

He places down another photo. Sehun nearly gags. It was a picture of the dead body. 

"A couple of witnesses say that they have seen you with this man for the past days." 

Sehun bites his lips in frustration. "That's true but--" 

"Your lab results also came up, you are under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Do you really think that you can talk your way out of this?" 

"It was a party and he told me that he'd take care of me so I went along. I am not a murderer." Sehun pleads. "At least give me my phone. Let me call someone, anyone?" 

The two officers were about to make a reply when the door was slammed open. A Korean man wearing a suit with his hair brushed up walks in. Sehun's eyes widened in surprise because he has seen this man before. The past weekend has been a blur but he recalls his few encounters with this man.

"Sir, who are you?" one of the officers asked.

The man coldly stares at the two cops as he makes his way beside Sehun. "Kim Jongin," he introduces. "I'm his lawyer." 

The man, Jongin, calmly places his palms against the table. "Give me a moment to talk to my client." 

An escape. A break. That’s exactly what Sehun needed the most. Everything has been too tough on him lately so when his team leader suggested that he should take a break, it did not take much convincing for him to agree. So he spent a week finishing up work and going overtime then filed a request for a two-week-long leave after which his boss granted without much question. 

“You earned it.” His boss even said. “It’s actually about time, Sehun.” 

“I’ll be back in two weeks, dad.” 

Sehun’s father owns one of the top telecommunications companies in Asia. Sehun is the younger among the two sons of the business tycoon. His brother is already in charge of a branch of their company in China while Sehun chose to work under his father. He insisted on starting from a lower position since he'd rather work his way to the top. That way, he'd get to know the company better. 

"Take care, call me once you get there. Are you sure that you don't need any company?" his father asks. 

Sehun shakes his head in response. "I'll be fine, I'll call if I ever get lonely." 

Once everything was finalized including his flight tickets, his pocket money and his luggage, he was all good to go. He left Seoul and was on the next flight to Barcelona. He has always wanted to go on a tour in Europe, but for this case his destination is Spain and Portugal. He saved enough money (his own money and not his dad's) to afford a fun, nightlife train tour which will be starting in Barcelona and ending in Lisbon.

He checks into a hotel during his first day. He gave his father a call and told him that he's fine but he needs to rest because of the jet lag. 

He meets their tour leader together with the other people that are included in the tour as well. He was able to make acquaintances with another fellow Korean tourist. His name is Hyunseok and he’s a man in his mid-thirties. He invited Sehun to have their welcome dinner together and even asked him if he’d give him the honor of being his partner for this tour. 

Sehun is not dense, he knows this man is interested in him. The subtle flirting, the lingering touches and gazes, Sehun knows it all too well already. But since he is on vacation for a break specifically, he’s willing to entertain all these. Hyunseok is a handsome man, Sehun doesn’t mind giving him what he wants. Besides, it’s not like Sehun isn’t after it too. Why else would he take this vacation in the first place? 

This is his chance to break out from his cold, serious demeanor at work. This is the only time where he’s actually free from his father breathing down his neck. He’s an idiot if he doesn’t take this chance.

“We have the whole weekend before we transfer to Sitges, are there any specific places you want to go to?” Hyunseok asks. 

“I specifically booked this tour for the nightlife. I’m here for the parties and clubs so if you think you cannot keep up then I’d suggest taking up a different partner.” 

Hyunseok replies with a lopsided grin. “Who says I can’t keep up? I’ll take up that offer.” 

During the first night, they went to a bar to have a few drinks. Sehun got to know more about the man. The man owns a restaurant back in Korea and he even bragged about having celebrity clients. Sehun simply tells him that he works for a telecommunications company. 

Most of the men that Sehun previously dated all automatically step back once they come across Sehun’s background. He doesn’t even have to fully introduce himself for them to know. All they need is his last name and the company he’s working in then they’ll easily connect the dots. After five or more failed dates due to that reason, Sehun doesn’t tell his dates his last name anymore. 

“What are the other questions that I can actually ask? You haven’t answered most of my questions, you know.” Hyunseok points out. 

“I don’t just tell anyone everything on the first date,” says Sehun. “Are you in a rush?” 

The older man scoffs. “Not at all.”

“Then you’ll know more if you stick around.” He playfully says. 

“I can’t wait then.” Hyunseok places a hand on his thigh and leans in. “As for me, you may ask me anything. I wouldn’t mind divulging all my secrets to you.” 

Sehun giggles as the elder’s breath tickles his ear. “I prefer my men to be mysterious though.” 

“Is that so?” he nods. “Then I guess I’ll keep most of the stories for the rest of the trip.” 

“Also,” Sehun smiles flirtatiously as he moves the hand away from his thigh. “I don’t sleep with someone until the third date.” 

Hyunseok only smirks at him. “That is not a problem at all.” 

Sehun looks at him. He’s really handsome, up until a while ago he’s actually tempted to break his third date rule but he needs to test if this man is going to stick around longer than most guys. 

Hyunseok’s ringtone breaks them out of their little moment. “I’m sorry, this is my assistant calling. It must be an emergency at the restaurant.” 

“No problem, just take the call. I’ll be right here.” Sehun gestures for him to go.

“It might take a while,” Hyunseok calls for the bartender. “Excuse me, give him anything he orders. It’s on me.” 

Sehun wanted to say that he can afford just as much as Hyunseok can but the older man already left to a much quieter area to take the call. “Oh well,” Sehun shrugs. He might as well take up the chance and order something. 

“Excuse me,” he calls for the bartender’s attention. 

The bartender turns to him and Sehun tries his best to not look surprised. The bartender is a very, very good looking man. He’s been sitting by the counter for about an hour now but he hasn’t noticed this particular bartender before. What are the odds of him meeting a good looking Korean bartender in Spain? 

“I’ll order your best-seller please,” Sehun says. 

The bartender nods and starts preparing his drink. He looks like he’s about the same age as Sehun. He’s tall, he has tan skin, a built body, a chiseled jaw, and plump lips. Sehun squints to take a good look at his name tag. 

Kai.

It’s probably not his real name. “How long have you been working here?” He starts up a conversation. 

“Not that long,” he kept his eyes on the drink when he replied. 

“Did you grow up here?” Sehun follows. 

“Here’s your drink.” Kai smoothly slides the glass in front of him. Sehun doesn’t get a chance to talk to him again because he had to take up an order for another customer. 

The other customer is a Spanish woman. Sehun pouts as he takes a sip from his drink. The guy is probably not that fond of strangers asking him probing questions. 

It’s such a shame. If Sehun hadn’t met Hyunseok, he’d probably be giving all his efforts into hitting on this bartender. Somehow Sehun is tempted to order another drink just to get Kai’s attention once again but he isn’t the one paying for the drinks tonight so he holds himself back. 

He finishes his drink all too quickly but to his surprise, Kai approaches him to take his empty glass. Sehun makes eye contact with him. “You’re here for a vacation, right?” Kai asks as he mixes another drink.

Sehun’s mouth falls agape, a while ago this guy was ignoring him but now he’s suddenly starting up a conversation? “Yes, I’ll be here for two weeks.” he answers. 

“Watch out," Kai tells him before giving him another drink. "This one is on the house." 

Sehun wanted to ask him what he meant but Hyunseok suddenly returned to his seat. 

"You seem to be enjoying yourself. How are the drinks?" he asks.

"They're great. Actually the bartender--" Sehun stopped when Kai was suddenly no longer in his post. 

"What is it?" Hyunseok asks. 

Sehun stands up and calls the attention of one bartender. "Excuse me, where's Kai?" he asks. 

The bartender arches a confused brow at him. "Kai?" 

"The bartender a while ago? He mixed this drink for me." Sehun explains. 

The guy gives Sehun a confused look. "No, no Kai." he shakes his head. He then left to entertain a customer that is ordering. 

Sehun looks around the place with a frown on his place. He's suddenly gone?

"Hey, what's wrong?" Hyunseok asks. 

Sehun slowly takes a seat. "I swear there was a bartender here earlier that is named Kai. He made this drink for me." 

"How much have you drank tonight? Perhaps it's the alcohol." 

Sehun frowns. He's not drunk so it's impossible that he's just imagining things. Kai is real. How else would Sehun get his drinks if he didn't make them for him? 

"Whatever, it's getting late. We should head back to the hotel soon." Sehun changes the subject. 

"You tired?" Hyunseok asks.

Sehun nods. "Yeah, a bit." 

With that, Hyunseok settles the bill and they walk out of the bar together. They were checked in on the same hotel but at different floors so they said their goodbyes at the elevator. Hyunseok wanted to accompany him all the way to his room but Sehun insisted that he didn't have to. He gives the older man a peck on the cheek before leaving the elevator. 

As he was unlocking his room, Sehun glanced around the corridor. For some reason it feels as if he is being watched. 

He unlocks the door and enters. He tiredly slumps himself onto his bed. He kicked off his shoes and snuggled himself underneath the duvet. 

He is too exhausted to care. Or at least, that's what he told himself. 

On the following day, they went to see some historical landmarks. Sehun took lots of pictures and sent a few to his parents and brother.

"You seem to be a fan of architecture." Sehun comments when he sees Hyunseok taking lots of pictures of the buildings. 

"I find Gothic architecture so fascinating, it's so picturesque." he comments. "This view is perfect. Do you want me to take a picture of you?" 

Sehun shakes his head. "I think I already took enough photos of myself, I can take a picture of you though. Would you like that?" 

Hyunseok smiles. "Don't mind if I do." 

Sehun takes Hyunseok's phone and gets ready to take a picture. He was fixing the focus on the camera when he suddenly spotted someone at the end of the street. Sehun puts the phone down to look for the person but no one was there.

"Is everything alright?" Hyunseok asks. 

Sehun shrugs it off and prepares to take the picture. "Yeah, I just got a bit distracted." he says. 

They didn't go to a bar that night but instead, they had dinner together at one of the popular restaurants there. Sehun attentively listens to Hyunseok's interesting comments about the food. The man sounds so passionate and it really intrigues Sehun so much. 

"When this trip is over, send me a calling card. I can recommend your place to my co-workers." Sehun says. 

"You don't have to tell me, I already do plan to give one to you. Well, not just my calling card though." he says with a chuckle. 

Sehun leans back on his chair and from underneath the table, he playfully rubs his foot against the older man's leg. "It's just the second date, we'll get to have all the fun tomorrow." he drawls. 

"I know exactly where to take you tomorrow." Hyunseok says. 

Sehun arches a brow at him. "Surprise me." 

Just like the previous night, they returned to their hotel rooms separately. Once Sehun was alone on his floor, he got the familiar feeling that he's being watched once again. 

Before going to bed that night, Sehun types a text for his father. 

"Dad, this might sound crazy but I feel like I'm being followed here." 

But before he could send it, he erases it and closes his phone. Perhaps he's just being paranoid about this. 

The third day of their trip is considered a rest day since they’ll be transferring to Sitges on the following day. Sehun took a trip to the marketplaces during the morning and bought souvenirs for his family and friends. Before evening, Hyunseok sends him a message on where they should meet up for that night. 

They go to a nightclub this time. Hyunseok buys him a drink which Sehun eagerly accepts. He can tell what the man wants. After all, this is their third date and it has been very obvious from the beginning that he has been waiting for this night. 

“Hey, how about you let me pay for tonight?” Sehun asks.

“Why? I prefer it like this though, me spending my money for you.” 

“You don’t know anything about me though.”

“Not yet,” he corrects. “We can work on that.” 

Sehun sighs. “Fine, I’ll let you in on one secret.” He leans forward until he’s nearly straddling the other’s lap. “My dad is super loaded. He’s filthy rich.” 

“Really? Is that why you want to pay for tonight?” Hyunseok asks.

“No, I don’t like using my dad’s money.” Sehun shakes his head. “I used my own money for this trip. I already get enough earfuls at home about me having it easy since I have my daddy’s money so for this trip I just want to feel more normal I guess.” 

Hyunseok tsks, “You don’t have to worry about things like that, Sehun. If you want to spend money in the future then come to my restaurant.” He snorts. 

Sehun laughs lightly. “Okay then, but you need to let me spend at least once throughout this trip.” 

“Alright, alright if you insist.” 

A few more shots and cocktail drinks later, Sehun feels tipsier than he intended to be. He drags Hyunseok onto the dance floor to clear his head a bit. What started out as a fun, innocent dance ends up with his back pressed against Hyunseok’s chest while his hands grip his hips. Sehun giggles when he feels the other’s lips against his neck. The music was loud and the lights were dimmed, he feels like he’s drowning in it--in a good way. 

He momentarily snaps out of it when he spots a familiar face in the crowd. A tall figure, tan skin and deep gaze, he can’t be mistaken. To his confusion, the figure disappears the next time that he takes a look. 

He looks around and he sees a retreating figure that looks similar to the man that he just spotted so he tries to follow him. “Hey, where are you going?” Hyunseoks asks.

“I…” Sehun frantically looks around again, the man was gone. “I thought I saw someone familiar.” 

“Must be the alcohol.” Hyunseok chuckles. “C’mon, I reserved a VIP room upstairs.” 

Despite the confusion and the bubbling anxiety in his stomach, he allows the older man to lead him to the said room. Perhaps he’s just overthinking this or maybe he’s really drunk and seeing things. 

Sehun expected a private room when he got upstairs, he definitely did not expect a huge room with four other male and female dancers. “Hyunseok, what’s this?” he asks. 

Hyunseok places his hands on Sehun’s shoulders and gently ushers Sehun inside the room. “Don’t worry, it will be fun.” 

Hyunseok made him sit on the bed. “Hyunseok, I don’t--”

“They’re only here for the time being, they’ll leave later.” One of the dancers hands him something. Sehun takes a good look and it looks like… candy? Hyunseok takes Sehun’s palm and places one. 

“What’s this?” Sehun asks. 

“Something to help you loosen up. It’ll help.” 

Sehun’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Is this… drugs?” He asks. 

“It’s molly, it’s a low dose.” 

“Y-you want me to take this? But I’m not--”

“Take it. I’ll take care of you, I promise. You trust me, right?” Hyunseok asks. 

Honestly, Sehun is tempted to run away. He has only known Hyunseok for three days, is the risk even worth it? But as the older man urges him to do it, Sehun gets even more tempted so he takes it. Hyunseok affectionately pats his head in return and somehow that momentarily makes Sehun think that it’s all going to be alright. 

Sehun doesn’t feel any different for the first few minutes, he’s already drunk anyway. He wasn’t interested in the performance of the dancers but Hyunseok seems to be into that so he watches too.

Soon enough, Sehun feels like his sensations were heightened, his heart is beating faster and he feels incredibly hot. Other than that, he also feels like he had a boost in his confidence and energy. It doesn’t take long until he’s clinging onto Hyunseok. 

The rest of the night is a blur after that. He recalls Hyunseok’s lips on his own and he feels himself being pushed down onto the bed. His shirt was unbuttoned and he feels hands roaming all over his body, whether it was Hyunseok or the dancers’, he can’t really remember. The last thing he recalls was Hyunseok telling the dancers to leave eventually then everything else went black after that. 

When Sehun comes to, it feels like his head was about to explode. His throat was dry, he was sweating so much and it feels like he’s going to pass out again any time soon. He slowly pushes himself up on the bed, he feels something against his hand and for some reason, the bed was wet. 

The first thing he sees when his vision focuses is the bloody knife on his hands. He immediately lets go of it. To his horror, right next to him on the bed was Hyunseok’s body. There was blood everywhere! 

Hyunseok’s body was covered in blood, there was blood on the mattress and there was blood all over Sehun’s arms and clothes too. “Hyu-Hyunseok!” Sehun gasps. He checks for his pulse and there was none. “No! No, no… this can’t be happening. Hyunseok!” He panics. 

He still feels so out of it because of the drug. A part of him is thinking that this is just some cruel nightmare. He hears the door opening and he hears a blood-curdling scream but before Sehun could even explain himself, the woman that opens the door has left and called for someone. 

Sehun feels everything slowly caving in. He feels even more nauseous as the stench of the blood engulfs the room. He was disgusted and terrified but he couldn’t bring himself to run out of that room. 

The next thing he knows, the police have arrived on the scene. He kept saying that he didn’t know what happened and that he did not kill Hyunseok but instead, he was handcuffed and brought onto the police station against his will. 

He feels even worse since the effects of the drugs were wearing off. He feels so anxious, paranoid and exhausted. The gravity of the whole situation hasn’t even fully sunk in on him yet.

And now here he is, feeling even more confused as ever. Just when he thinks that the situation couldn’t get any more confusing and horrifying, the mysterious bartender shows up in the police station and introduces himself as his lawyer. Sehun is out of words at this point. 

This man is one of the reasons for his paranoia for the past weekend. Ever since he encountered him at the bar that night, Sehun felt like he was being followed. Not to mention that he also spotted the man at the nightclub before Hyunseok took him to the VIP room. 

Sehun feels so out of focus as the bartender Kai--no he said his name was Kim Jongin, talked to the detectives. The detectives still looked doubtful but they both nod in understanding before leaving him and Jongin the interrogation room alone. 

Now that he’s left alone with this man, Sehun feels the fear building up. A part of him is sure that this man has been following him and now Hyunseok was suddenly killed. What if this man is the actual murderer?!

A hand was clasped over his mouth before he could even speak. Jongin uses his other hand to grab his wrists to prevent Sehun from making any sounds against the table. Jongin looks into his eyes. 

“I’m not a bad guy. I am here to help you but you need to cooperate,” he says. “I will let you go now but you need to keep calm and quiet. You have to listen to what I say.” 

Sehun slowly nods and Jongin lets him go. The man takes off his blazer before draping it over Sehun’s shoulders. “You must be freezing.” He says before taking his seat at the other end of the table. 

Sehun gulps as he pulls the blazer to cover himself up. He was only wearing a thin button-up shirt from the party a while ago and now it’s all covered up with blood and most of the buttons broke off due to the struggle that he put up with the police.

“I know you have a lot of questions going through your head right now but I want you to know that you can trust me. I know you have been framed for this and I am here to get you out of this mess.” Jongin explains.

Sehun bites on his fingernails as he looks at Jongin once again. “Who… are you?” he rasps.

“Let’s just say that I work for your father.” 

Sehun’s brows furrow at that. “My father? But why would you be here? And why were you pretending to be a bartender? It doesn’t make any sense. Unless he…”

“He asked me to watch over you.” Jongin finishes. “I have all the time to explain things to you but for now, you have to cooperate with me, okay? I’ll do the talking. Do not say anything because they will use that against you? Are we clear?” 

“But I--”

“I just said I’ll do the talking.” Jongin cuts him off.

Sehun slowly nods. For all he knows, this man could be lying to him but he’s all Sehun has right now. “Alright then, I need you to answer this question. Have you told the detectives anything?” 

“I only told them that I didn’t do it and that it was Hyunseok… that gave me the molly.” Sehun mutters quietly. 

Jongin nods. “I guess it’s not that bad.” He huffs. “Stay here while I talk to them.” 

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to go,” Sehun shows off the handcuffs connected on the table. 

“Don’t play smart with me. I have so many things I want to tell you but I’ll save it all for later.” Jongin scoffs before standing up and leaving the room. 

The police detectives were called back into the interrogation room. Just like what Jongin said, Sehun remains silent and does not utter a word. He lets Jongin do the talking. There were some parts of the conversation that Sehun did not understand because one, he still can’t focus since he’s still coming down from the ecstasy drug and two, Jongin switches from English to Spanish from time to time. 

Right after that talk, the guards told Sehun to get up. He looks over to Jongin to ask what is going on but the other calmly nods at him so Sehun allows the guards to take him out of the interrogation room. 

They officially took his records, took mugshots, his fingerprints and did a full body search on him. They also did a health screening and took a DNA sample. After that, they were both told to wait. 

“I thought you’re getting me out? Am I going to jail?” Sehun asks. 

“You’re going to get transferred back to Korea. I am able to make arrangements. Since both you and the victim are Korean, you will be prosecuted there instead of here.” Jongin explains. 

“Isn’t that worse?” Sehun whispers. “They took my files and records. If this gets out on the news then they will connect this to my father and his company.” 

“That’s exactly why I am here.” Jongin clarifies. “I told you that I will take care of everything. Your father wouldn’t have sent me here if he knows we’ll put the reputation of the company at risk.” 

Jongin sounds so cocky and arrogant. Somehow Sehun feels a bit assured that things might turn out well in the end but a greater part of him still feels uneasy. He knows he is not guilty. He did not kill Hyunseok but this is not a situation that he can talk himself out of. 

"I still have a lot of questions regarding my father," Sehun says. 

"I'll answer those once we get privacy. For now, just play the role of innocent victim." 

"I am an innocent victim." Sehun states. 

"I know, you get my point." Jongin scoffs. "But you have to admit that drinking and doing drugs with a stranger in a foreign country is pretty stupid." 

Sehun glares at him but he doesn't have a retort for that. Still, this man sure has some nerve for speaking to him like this. 

It took a few more hours for everything else to be arranged. Sehun feels like he's going to pass out by then. The hangover is getting to him, the after-effects of the drug, the lack of sleep and exhaustion. He was brought to the precinct at around two in the morning, Jongin arrives an hour later and now as he steals a glance at Jongin's wristwatch he sees that it's almost nine. 

There were two other police officers with them when he was brought in the armored vehicle. They were going to bring him to the airport to transfer him back to Korea. 

He kept drifting in and out of sleep throughout the whole trip. One of the police officers wakes him up when they arrive at their destination. He was the last to leave the vehicle and to his confusion, he sees Jongin conversing with the guards in Spanish once again. 

He was puzzled when he saw Jongin handing over a briefcase to the police officers. They all have smiles on their faces. Jongin pulls him close and whispers. "Bow and say thank you." 

Sehun isn't even given a chance to think when Jongin pushes him by the nape to force him to bow. 

"Gracias," he says. 

Sehun expected a helicopter or something worse but to his surprise, he saw a private jet. He had to stop to ask Jongin if they were going to the right place but the other simply gestures for him to go onboard. 

Sehun remained silent until they took off. Aside from the pilot, they had the jet all to themselves. It looks luxurious. "Do you want to clean up? There's a bathroom that you could use." Jongin asks. 

"I… don't understand. Why are we on a private jet? What did you tell those officers earlier?" Sehun asks. 

Jongin shrugs. "I fixed the problem for you. I paid them off. Ah, I mean your daddy paid them off." 

Sehun couldn't believe what he's hearing. "Wait, what about the case? Will I undergo trial?" 

Jongin rolls his eyes in annoyance. "What part of 'I fixed it' do you not understand? There is no case anymore. You're free to go. I no longer have to pretend to be your lawyer." he explains. 

Sehun gawks at him. “What?! But what about Hyunseok? He was killed and his murderer is still out there!”

“Look, that is not my job anymore. Just be relieved that you are no longer a suspect.” 

“Relieved?! An innocent man died! And whoever framed me did that for a reason. If he did it once then he can do it again.” Sehun exclaims. 

“If it makes you feel better, Hyunseok is not an innocent man. Your father is an influential man, Sehun. People have always tried to bring him down. He cherishes you so much, perhaps that’s why those people are targeting you now. You’re the weak link and Hyunseok is one of the people that despise your father.” 

Sehun is even more confused now. “No way…” he shakes his head. “Hyunseok can’t possibly be--I just met him and I gave hints about how powerful my father is but he didn’t seem interested in that.” 

“Oh sweetheart,” Jongin clicks his tongue, his tone is condescending. “He was obviously playing you. He pulled this whole nice guy slash sugar daddy image to make you lower your guard and guess what? You fell for it.” 

“You have no proof.” Sehun ignores the pet name. 

“You want proof? I can ask someone to hack and clone his phone and I guarantee you that there are pictures and information about you in there. Why do you think he’s so persistent in getting closer and intimate with you? He wants you to let your guard down.” Jongin elaborates. 

“It doesn’t make sense. Why did Hyunseok die? That is obviously not a part of his plan.” 

“There are two possibilities; one, there are more people that are after you or two, he’s just a pawn in all of this. For two, I’m suspecting that he might have tried backing out on the original plan so whoever is ordering him had to eliminate him.” 

“And throughout all this, my father asked you to watch over me? You were the one following me and watching me.” Sehun says. Jongin nods. “Then why didn’t you give me a clearer warning? We could have prevented this.” 

“Don’t you dare try to pass the blame on me,” Jongin interjects. “I was simply following strict orders from your father. Heck, I shouldn’t even be conversing with you. I’m simply sent here to follow you and get you out of trouble in case something happens. I wasn’t sure about Hyunseok’s identity during the first night but it became obvious with the way he’s insistent on being your partner for this trip so I kept a closer eye on you ever since. Last night, you saw me and I didn’t want to blow my cover so I had to keep my distance but then Hyunseok invited you to a VIP room. I assumed that he took you there for a fuck and I have no interest in spying over that but guess what, the worst possibility actually happened.”

“Has my father been receiving those threats for so long? Was that why he sent you all the way to Spain? Just to watch over me?” Sehun asks. 

“He gets threats daily but it was only months ago when he started getting threats that are related to you. It was starting to get worse and concerning so when you asked for a vacation leave, your father took the chance. He thought you’d be safer abroad so he only sent me instead of the usual three or four men.” 

Sehun gapes at him. “Three or four?! So you’re telling me that there were more people following me before?” 

“Your father did it to protect you.” 

“To protect me from what exactly?!” Sehun asks. “What kinds of enemies does he have? I’d understand threats out of jealousy because of his success but a person just died!” 

Jongin runs his fingers through his hair as he exhales a heavy sigh. “Jealousy? Please, this isn’t high school. You’re not looking at the bigger picture here. You saw what I just did, do you honestly think that your father is just an ordinary, successful businessman?” 

Sehun stays mum. Jongin leans forward on his seat as he looks into Sehun’s confused eyes. “Have you always thought of your father as an honorable man? Have you ever doubted him or have you always been naive?” 

He shifts uncomfortably on his seat and looks away. “I have heard rumors ever since I was a kid but my parents always say to not believe in them. Of course, I had my doubts but almost every successful businessman I know has been involved in some scandals or some shady business.”

Jongin looks like he’s trying to stifle his laughter. Sehun looks at him in bewilderment. “If I tell you more, it will put you in more harm,” he smirks. 

Sehun swallows the lump in his throat. “How bad could it be?” 

“I don’t think it’s my place to tell. Go ask your dad once you’re home.” Jongin says. “For now, go and take that shower because you look and smell horrible.” 

Sehun flushes in embarrassment. “Just so you know, this talk is far from over.” 

“I’m not going anywhere.” Jongin shrugs. 

Sehun gives the other man one last glance before heading to the bathroom. The jet is so lavish. He experienced first-class flights before but he never really got to experience riding any private jets before. 

He looks at himself in the mirror first. He looks like a colossal mess. He’s paler than usual, there are bags under his eyes, his hair is messed up and he has dried blood all over him. 

Jongin wasn’t lying when he said that he looked and smelled horrible. He can smell the mixture of blood and sweat on him. He takes off his clothes and washes it all away in the shower. 

He pats himself dry with a towel before stepping outside the shower. He looks at himself in the mirror again when he’s clean but to him, he still feels dirty. Jongin might have said that he doesn’t have to worry about the case anymore but Sehun knows that something is wrong. Despite not doing any crimes Sehun feels guilty, he feels like a criminal. How is he supposed to go on with his life after everything that happened to him? How is he supposed to go back to normal right after everything that he found out about his father? And from the looks of it, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

The door suddenly opens without any warning and Sehun didn’t even have the time to even cover himself up. His face heats up as he abruptly grabs the towel he placed by the sink to wrap it around his waist in a hurry. Jongin clears his throat before letting himself in to place some clothes on the countertop. “I forgot to give these to you earlier, my apologies.” 

Sehun can’t even bring himself to look at him. “Y-yeah, thanks…” he stammers. 

Before leaving, Jongin turns to him. “Don’t worry, it’s not the first ass I’ve seen,” he comments. 

Sehun is left there, face turning red in embarrassment. Once he is sure that Jongin is gone and not coming back, he wears the clothes. It’s a simple white shirt and jeans but it’s better than dirty clothes. 

He returns to his seat not long after. Jongin was there holding a cup of instant noodles. “You must be hungry.” He says as he hands it over to Sehun.

Still embarrassed by their encounter earlier, Sehun averts his gaze and mutters a soft thank you. He didn't even realize how hungry he was until he took his first slurp at the noodles. Jongin quietly watches as he wolfs down the whole cup. 

“Should I get you more?” Jongin asks.

Sehun shakes his head. “No, that’s enough.” 

"I am sure you have more questions to ask me." Jongin starts. 

Actually, yes. He has dozens of them but he doesn't have the energy for it. "Can I give my dad a call?" he asks. 

"Not yet, someone might be tracking your father's calls." 

Sehun sighs in defeat. "Wake me up when we've arrived then. I'm tired." 

Jongin nods. Sehun reclines his seat and shifts into a comfortable position. He thought falling asleep with all these thoughts in his mind would be difficult but his exhaustion takes over. 

He was deep in his slumber when he felt a hand nudging him awake. He opens his eyes and he sees Jongin. "We have an emergency." his voice sounded calm but his actions said otherwise. 

"An emergency… what?" He asks. 

"No time to explain, we're in danger." He pulls Sehun up. 

Still in a daze from his slumber, Sehun tries to process the whole situation. "In danger of what?" 

"I got a message from your father's assistant, it's not yet safe to come back to Korea. Someone tipped them off about you getting off the case." Jongin quickly explains. 

“What’s going to happen now?” Sehun asks. 

“You obviously cannot go home yet.” Jongin scoffs. “I’ll take you to one of your dad’s rest houses in China for now. You’ll be safe in there while they take care of everything.” 

“I thought you’d take care of everything?” Sehun asks. 

“It seems that we might have underestimated the threats,” Jongin said. “You’re their easiest target and now that they have something on you they will not leave you alone.” 

“I knew it. I know this will all backfire! Someone died and this is not the easy way out. We need to find out who killed Hyunseok so we can pin the charge on him instead of me. You can’t just pay someone off and think that it will all be fine.” Sehun exclaims, he feels his hands trembling. 

“Calm down, we’ll find a way out of this. I assure you.” Jongin says. 

“You can’t tell me to calm down. I...I still don’t even know what the fuck is really going on here. You’re hiding something, my father is hiding something and whatever that is, is the reason why I’m in this nightmare in the first place!” 

Jongin doesn’t get to reply because the jet just happened to land. The pilot announces that they have reached their destination. Jongin checks the surroundings first before pulling Sehun along with him. 

“Wait! Are you sure that we’ll be alright here?” Sehun asks. 

“Yes! Now hurry up, the jet must be on its way. The pilot will drive it all the way to Korea to buy us time.” Jongin hisses. 

Despite the hesitation and confusion, Sehun allows Jongin to lead the way. There was already a car prepared for them. Jongin tells him to get in then he drove them to an unfamiliar place. Sehun has been in China before but only in Beijing where his father’s company is. 

They arrive at a huge house with a beautiful backyard later. Jongin told him that it is his father’s. The caretaker of the house lets them in. It’s not large enough to be considered a mansion but it looks fancy and spacious nonetheless. 

The caretaker is a middle-aged woman that has worked as a cleaning lady in his brother’s company. She warmly welcomes the two of them in the house and shows them around. 

“Thank you so much, you may go home to your hometown for now. I’ll give you a call if we need anything. We’ll manage.” Jongin tells the woman.

“Are you sure? No one will look after the young master. Will anyone be doing the cooking, the cleaning and the laundry?” she asks. 

“The young master needs his privacy. I assure you that I’ll take care of him and we won’t be staying here for too long. He’ll be fine.” Jongin takes something from his pocket and hands it over to the woman. “This is your advanced payment, you may go.” 

Sehun sees the changing glint in the woman’s eyes when she sees the check that Jongin gives her. “Oh, thank you so much. I’ll pack my belongings and go. It’s such a shame that I have to go this soon, young master.” She bows at Sehun and scurries over to the maid’s room. 

Sehun turns towards Jongin. “Are you sure that it’s better if it’s just the two of us staying here? How long will we be here anyway?” 

“We can’t trust anyone right now so it’s better off this way. Our stay here will depend on how things turn out.” 

“You assured me that everything will be okay.” Sehun sighs in frustration. “This is driving me insane.” He slumps down on the couch. 

“If it weren’t for me then your situation would have been worse.” Jongin runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Calm down for now. We’ll finish this one step at a time.” 

Sehun was about to make a retort when the caretaker suddenly leaves her room while carrying her belongings. They bid her goodbye and Jongin makes sure that all windows and doors are locked. 

“Now what?” Sehun grumpily asks. “Can I at least have my phone back? You took it earlier before leaving the precinct right?” 

“I had it disposed of, they might track you.” Jongin replies.

“What?! I have important files in there!” he gasps. 

“Your safety is more important than files now, isn’t it?” Jongin fires back. “I know you want your selfies and pictures back but what’s the point of having those if you’re going to end up behind bars.”

Sehun shoots him a glare. “It’s not just about the pictures, it’s not that shallow.” 

“I don’t care, either way, it’s not as important as your safety at the moment.” Jongin scowls at him. “Just follow my orders for now. Your father put me in charge of you for a reason.” 

Sehun nods in defeat. “You will at least give me updates, right? Don’t keep me in the dark.” 

“Of course.” 

“Am I still not allowed to call anyone from my family?” 

“I’m sorry, they might trace you. I’ll try to get you a burner phone tomorrow. For now, you should get some more rest. You still look exhausted." 

"It's been a terribly long weekend." Sehun rubs his temples tiredly. "You should rest too." 

"I will, don't mind me." 

With that, Sehun leaves him and heads to the master's bedroom. Despite no one but the caretaker staying in the house for a long while, it is well maintained. The bedsheets are new as well, they aren't dusty, the same with the curtains and everything else. 

If he was here under a different circumstance, Sehun would be enjoying this stay but he, unfortunately, isn't. 

Even though he slept during the flight, he instantly falls asleep not long after getting into a comfortable position on the bed.

The next morning, he wakes up alone. He looks around the house and slightly panics when Jongin wasn't around. He was tempted to go out to look for him, something might have happened. 

He was just on his way towards the front door when it suddenly opens. Sehun lets out an exasperated sigh when Jongin enters.

"Where have you been?" He asks. 

"Groceries," Jongin shows him the paper bags he's carrying. 

"Did you buy a burner phone?" Sehun asks. 

"Shit, I forgot about that one. I'll get one the next time I go out." Jongin replies. 

Sehun’s shoulders slump in disbelief. “Oh well, it hasn’t been that long since my last message to them so I guess it can wait.” he pouts. 

“My apologies, I’ll prioritize it tomorrow. For now, I brought breakfast. You should eat.” Jongin places the food he brought on the table. 

“Have you eaten?” Sehun asks him. 

“Yes, I ate before going out.” Jongin answers as he starts sorting out the groceries. Sehun offered to help but Jongin simply tells him to eat instead so that’s what he did. 

Once Sehun was done eating, Jongin gives him a small plastic bag. Sehun opens it and his brows furrowed in confusion when he sees bleach and hair dye. “What is this for?” Sehun asks. 

“Something to help you disguise yourself,” Jongin says. 

“W-what? Is this really necessary?” 

“I wouldn’t have bought it if it’s not needed.” Jongin deadpans. “Can you do it on your own or should I do it for you?” 

“I’ll do it on my own.” Sehun huffs. "Won't this make me stand out more though?" 

"Not to the people that are trying to look for you." Jongin retorts. "This will take some time, I suggest that you start now." 

"I'll do it in one condition," Sehun says. 

"You don't really have a choice here so conditions are pointless." 

"Stop being an ass." Sehun stomps his feet in annoyance. 

Jongin looks at him, amusement evident in his eyes. Sehun feels a bit embarrassed for the outburst. "I need to talk to you and I need you to answer my questions." Sehun calmly says. 

Jongin rolls his eyes but he nods in agreement anyway. "Okay, but right after you're done bleaching your hair." 

Sehun nods in agreement. "Alright." 

Sehun looks at his reflection in disbelief. He looks different with his hair like this. His natural, jet black hair is now dyed in light blond. It has been hours since he applied the bleach then the hair dye, his scalp hurts but he supposes that it’s worth it since this is for his safety after. 

He combs his fingers through his hair, it feels a bit stiffer than his naturally soft locks but he has no time to complain over that. After a quick shower to wash off the dye, he takes a shower and changes into fresh clothes.

Jongin was sitting by the living room when he gets downstairs. He was currently on a phone call, Sehun wonders if the man ever gets any rest since it seems like he’s always running errands or making phone calls and such. 

When Jongin notices his presence, he immediately ends the call. Jongin’s brows raise in impression as he looks at Sehun from head to toe. Sehun feels a bit self-conscious because why is he staring too intently? It's just his hair that changed, why give him a once over? 

"It suits you," Jongin comments smoothly. "Makes you look a bit less… innocent." 

Sehun cocks an eyebrow at him as he takes a seat across Jongin's place. "What is that supposed to mean?" 

"Just take it as a compliment." Jongin retorts. "Now about the questions you want to ask me." he changes the topic. "Go and ask away, once I get another call I won't be able to entertain you anymore." 

For a moment, Sehun blanked out. He thought he prepared all the questions he wanted to ask but now that he is actually given the chance, he let his nerves get to him. 

"Who are you?" He mentally scolds himself for the stupid question and based on the expression on Jongin's face right now, he's agreeing with Sehun. 

“You seriously want to start with that?” Jongin asks. Sehun keeps mum so the other sighs. “Kim Jongin, I have been working for your father for five years now. I am one of his most trusted men.” 

“Trusted men in what exactly? Do you work for the company?” 

“I technically work for the company,” Jongin responds. 

“What exactly does that mean?” Sehun frowns. “Does… does my dad have other businesses?

Jongin shifts into a more comfortable position in his seat. “It really isn’t my place to tell.” 

“Please just tell me,” Sehun begs. “This is killing me, I don’t even know when I’ll meet my father again and I am not even sure if he’d be willing to tell me. I’m fine with hearing it from you.” 

“Trust me, you don’t know what you’re asking for.” Jongin reasons out. “You won’t be able to handle it.” 

“I’m already expecting the worst,” Sehun sighs. “So just try me.” 

Jongin shrugs. “If you insist. But don’t whine at me after this, you wanted to know.” 

“Just tell me the truth, tell me everything that I need to know.”

“You already have a clue about your father being involved in shady businesses, right?” Sehun nods. “Let’s say that he’s not just involved, he is the business itself.” 

Sehun’s brows furrow in confusion. “What do you mean?” 

“No one stays at the top without playing dirty, that’s the secret to your dad’s success.” Jongin starts. 

Sehun bites his lip. “How bad is it?” 

“Drug trades, smuggling firearms, you name it. Lots of underground businesses.” Jongin enumerates. “An organized crime, a mob, a gang, a mafia, whatever you would like to call it.” 

Sehun expected something bad, he really did but he did not expect something that’s this heavy. “Is he the only one that knows? My mother and my brother, are they not aware of this? H-how long has he been doing this?” 

Jongin clicks his tongue. It really looks like he doesn’t want to tell Sehun anything but he knows the other won’t stop bothering him if he doesn’t tell him what he wants to know. “Your mother knows, I am not sure about your brother since I haven’t really worked with him yet.” 

Sehun is speechless. Even his mother is aware? How can she just let this happen? It’s not like this is just one minor crime that one can easily forgive and forget, this is a whole web of crimes. “My mother accepted my father despite that?” Sehun asks. 

“Your mother understands. It’s for business. Your family has lived a comfortable life because of it. Without this business, your father’s company would have crumbled years ago.”

Sehun has a pained expression as he rubs his palms against his face. Jongin thought he was about to cry. “How about you? What part did you play in this? Did you willingly work for him despite knowing about all this?” 

“I was a twenty-year-old college dropout that was in desperate need of a job. I was told that this job would pay well and it did.” he shrugs. 

“Y-you weren’t even shocked to find out about the truth?” Sehun asks.

“I was shaken at first but like I just said, I was desperate. Now here I am, I’m one of your father’s most trusted men.” Jongin explains. “Just like the way your father’s business has given you a luxurious and comfortable life, this job has also helped me live a much better life.” Jongin looks at him again. “Anything else?”

“The threats about me, what exactly were they?” 

“Your father started receiving random pictures of you at first. It looked like you were being followed, then he received more messages containing more of your personal information. Your father had someone trace the sender but they were too good at covering their tracks. That’s when he started having some bodyguards following you but then the threats got worse. He received messages that were threatening to do all sorts of horrible things to you. Your father is known as a fearless crime boss but he gets scared when it involves you so when you took that leave, he thought it would be the perfect chance for you to get away from it all. While you were gone, he was set on finding out on who was behind all the threats.” Jongin narrates. 

Sehun lets out a shaky breath, this is far worse than anything he could have imagined. How was he oblivious to all this? Maybe Jongin is right, maybe he really is naive. 

“Don’t feel bad if you never knew anything about this,” Jongin says. “Your dad never wanted you to know. He wanted you away from all this.” 

Sehun frowns at that. “Well that has all backfired now, hasn’t it? Surely he didn’t plan to keep it all from me forever, right?” 

“I can’t answer that. All I know is that you’re not supposed to know all this at the moment.” Jongin answers with a shake of his head. 

“What do we do now then? We can’t just sit here and wait while everyone else does the work.” 

“Actually, that’s exactly what I need you to do, kid. Sit, wait, and don’t cause any more trouble.” Jongin tells him. 

Sehun furrows his brows at the man. “Excuse me? How old are you?” 

“Twenty-six,” Jongin replies uninterestedly. 

Sehun scoffs in annoyance. “You’re the same age as I am, stop acting like you’re such a mature adult.” 

“You’re frustrated about that?” Jongin snorts. “There are bigger things to worry about at the moment, just cooperate.” 

“I can’t just sit and wait, tell me how I can help.” Sehun insists. 

“What part of that don’t you understand? That’s exactly how you can help. You don’t know how any of this works. You’re not even supposed to know any of what you know right now.” Jongin says in annoyance. 

“Easier said than done. You’re not the one that is charged with murder.” Sehun grumbles.

“You know being put in charge of drug trades is an easier job than babysitting you.” Jongin snaps. 

“I don’t need babysitting. Ugh! You are so insufferable!” Sehun exclaims.

“Right back at you, baby boss.” 

Sehun pins a glare at him. “Stop calling me names.”

“Here’s a suggestion, just watch some TV or something to distract yourself. I swear you can help that way.” Jongin calmly says as he rubs his temples. 

“Whatever,” Sehun stands up. “I’ll be in my room instead,” Sehun says in a disappointed tone. Jongin doesn’t say anything else after that as he watches him go back upstairs. 

Sehun locks himself up in his room after that. There was nothing to do since he didn’t even have a phone. There was a TV in his room but he couldn’t focus on any of the shows. The view from his window sucked too. Jongin might have saved him from going to jail but it’s like he’s just in a different version of jail here too. 

The worst part is the information he learned about his father. He doesn’t know how he could face the man after this--if he could still face him. He wonders if his brother, Yeonseok, knows about all of this too. His father never wanted Sehun to get involved so it could be the same for Yeonseok too. 

That night, Sehun had a nightmare. He dreamt of Hyunseok. He dreamt of Hyunseok’s family looking for him and waiting for him to come home. In his dream, Hyunseok had nieces and nephews that he adores so much and they were all waiting for him to come back. Sehun dreams of Hyunseok’s family finding out about him and wanting to send him to jail. 

Sehun wakes up in cold sweat. He was breathing heavily and his heart was beating rapidly. He hears a knock on the door followed by Jongin’s voice. “Are you okay?” he hears him asking. “Open up.” 

Sehun shakily gets off the bed and unlocks the door. “I heard you scream, is everything alright?” Jongin quickly scans his room in case anyone broke in. 

“It was a nightmare,” Sehun tells him. 

That made Jongin relax a bit. “Oh… is there anything else you need then?” 

“Yeah, I need you to stop looking at me with that judging face.” Sehun scoffs. 

Jongin rolls his eyes. “Anything else? If there isn’t then go back to sleep.” 

“I won’t be able to sleep after that.” Sehun replies as he glances at the wall clock, it was past 4 AM. 

“What do you want? A lullaby?” Jongin teases. Sehun was about to slam the door on his face when he grabs it to stop him from doing so. “I’m kidding, wanna come downstairs then? Have a cup of coffee or something.” 

Sehun slowly lets go of the door, it’s actually not bad. “Yeah… that sounds nice.” 

Jongin silently makes the coffee while Sehun watches him as he leans against the counter. "Did I wake you?" Sehun asks. 

Jongin looks over at him. His gaze on Sehun lingers a much longer than usual, perhaps Sehun shouldn't have worn shorts. "Not really, I'm usually awake at this hour." Jongin clears his throat. 

Sehun stands up properly, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. He distracts himself by checking the cupboards and the fridge. "Didn't you go grocery shopping earlier?" Jongin hums in reply. "What exactly did you buy? You didn't buy snacks?" 

"I bought essentials like toiletries, noodles and canned goods." Jongin shrugs. 

Sehun's shoulders slump in disbelief. "Well, that can't be healthy." 

"Tell me what snacks you need then, I'm going out again this afternoon." Jongin groans. 

"Can I come with you?" Sehun asks.

Jongin looks at him like he just grew another head. "Are you dumb?" 

"Please? I have my disguise, I swear I'll lay low." 

"May I remind you that your life is being threatened. You don't have to accompany me for groceries." Jongin deadpans.

"I just want to go out. Just this once then I swear I'll never ask for anything again." Sehun pleads. 

"It has only been two days, it's too risky." 

Sehun sighs, it's understandable. "Some other day then?" 

"I'll think about it." Jongin replies. "If you get hurt, your dad is gonna kill me." 

"It's not a no then." Sehun smiles. 

Jongin simply rolls his eyes before handing Sehun his cup of coffee. He pulls over the two stools and offered one to Sehun. Neither of them utters a word until Jongin decided to break the silence, much to Sehun’s surprise. 

“Why are you suddenly so stubborn about going out despite your situation?”

“I overthink a lot,” he honestly responds. “This was supposed to be my first ever vacation leave since I started working, you know? It’s all ruined now though, but I just don’t want to spend my whole time here being a victim over my own thoughts. It’s suffocating.” 

“You’re the son of the CEO of the company yet you never took a vacation leave?” Jongin arches a brow at him. 

“I’m not as privileged as you think I am.” Sehun retorts. “Well… at least I don’t really like using those privileges.” he says with a pout.

“Why not? If I was as rich as you are I’d be enjoying my life more.” Jongin says.

“I am enjoying my life. I can enjoy without flaunting money.”

“Ah, but there is a difference,” Jongin counters. “Despite not being like those typical rich spoiled brats that are dependent on mommy and daddy’s credit cards, you still have the financial freedom. You might have started at a lower position in the company but you were still guaranteed a job there no matter what. That’s a privilege.” 

Sehun smiles bitterly. “I get that a lot. That’s why I never properly introduced myself to the people that try to hook up with me.” 

“I noticed, you didn’t give much information to that Hyunseok guy until the third night.” Jongin comments.

“So you really were listening and following us huh?” Sehun chuckles. “But yeah, it intimidates them when they find out who I am or they either take advantage of my status or something. It’s not like it matters though because you did say that Hyunseok probably knew about me.” 

“Did you like the guy?” Jongin asks. 

Sehun tilts his head in confusion, Jongin must be bored that’s why he’s suddenly willing to have a casual talk with him right now. “He’s an okay guy, he was nice and I needed the company” he answers. 

“So he was just a fling then?” Jongin asks.

“Pretty much, commitments aren’t really my thing… unless I’m really in love, that is.” Sehun explains. Sehun doesn’t even know why he’s telling all these to the other but unexpectedly, Jongin looks interested at least. “It’s silly, I know. And I know it sounds pretty hypocritical too to believe in silly things like love despite fooling around from time to time.” he adds with a laugh.

“It’s not silly, it’s actually refreshing.” 

“How so?” 

“Well I haven’t experienced it before so I don’t really believe it.” 

“You haven’t been in a relationship before? Even before you started working for my dad?” Sehun asks.

“I was more focused on earning money to stay alive and once I started working, I just didn’t have the time. Besides, who’d love someone like me?” Jongin rambles.

Sehun looks at him in disbelief. “Everyone deserves to experience love.” 

“If you find out even half of the things I did, you’d definitely change your mind.” Jongin says grimly, Sehun feels a chill running down his spine. When Sehun doesn’t make a reply, Jongin scoffs and stands up. “Let’s not have talks like this again. Go back to sleep after this if you must.” he leaves.

Sehun stares at Jongin’s figure as he returns to his room. He heaves a deep sigh as he traces his fingertip over the rim of his mug. Just when he is starting to think that Jongin is not so bad after all, he pulls something like this. It almost seems like he’s trying to not show any signs of vulnerability to him. 

“If you find out even half of the things I did, you’d definitely change your mind.” Sehun shudders at the thought. Just how bad is his father’s business?

By the end of the week, Sehun was able to convince Jongin to let him come along when he went out again. They took precautions of course. Jongin made sure that Sehun wore the least flashy clothes he could see in the wardrobe. 

Jongin looks completely bored as he follows him around the supermarket. Sehun keeps adding the things that Jongin missed to buy the last he went grocery shopping alone. “Do we really need all this?” Jongin grunts. “There’s only two of us.” 

“You said there’s no certainty on how long we’ll be staying in the house. Besides, the lesser you go out the safer we are.” Sehun says. “By the way, what are you using to pay for this?” he asks. 

“I have cash,” Jongin replies. “I got permission to withdraw a huge amount from one of your father’s accounts, using credit cards isn’t safe because they might trace us.” 

Sehun nods. “I see, well since it's dad's money then I can buy whatever I want then." 

"What else do you need to add in your almost full cart?" Jongin asks. 

"You still haven't gotten me that burner phone." Sehun frowns. 

"You said you won't ask for anything again if I allow you to go out." 

Sehun gapes at him. "Hey, I asked for the phone before I even asked you to take me outside so that doesn't count." he reasons out. 

There was an amused glint on Jongin's eyes before he nodded in agreement. "We'll get one for you once we're done with your groceries." 

Sehun smiles in satisfaction before pushing the cart onto the next section. Jongin follows him. Jongin doesn't speak anymore after that. Sehun wonders why he's suddenly no longer making smart remarks about the choices that Sehun makes with the groceries but he assumes that the other is just bored again. 

"Hey Jongin, I'm done I think we can pay--" Sehun stops himself when he notices that Jongin wasn't even looking at him. "Jongin?" 

Jongin shushes him as he looks around. Without saying a word, he stands up next to Sehun and grabs the handle of the cart before pushing it in the opposite direction. Sehun confusedly follows while holding the other side of the handle. 

"Grab onto my arm," Jongin says.

"What?" 

"Just do as I say." Jongin snaps. 

Sehun flinches but he follows his orders anyway. He wraps his arm around Jongin's. "Just don't let go, so we don't get separated." 

They turn into a different section, Jongin leaves the cart and they quickly walk away. "Don't look behind, it might get suspicious." Jongin whispers. 

Jongin leads him out of the supermarket and they continue to walk around the mall. "What's going on?" Sehun asks. 

"I think we're being followed," Jongin tells him. 

"W-what? But how?"

"It has been almost a week, they already know that you aren't in Korea so they'll look somewhere else," Jongin replies. 

"How do they even know where to look?" Sehun bellows.

Jongin doesn't answer him. He randomly makes a turn and they enter a clothing store. They pretend to look around for a while, Jongin grabs a couple of clothes before pushing Sehun into the nearest changing room. 

"Change your clothes," Jongin says as he locks the door. 

"What? Right here? Now?" 

Jongin gives him that look again, the look that makes him feel stupid. "I was suspecting it but someone has been following us since we were in that supermarket. This will buy us time." 

Jongin starts taking off his shirt and Sehun shrinks away into the corner of the changing room. Jongin shakes his head in disbelief. "Surely this isn't the first time you changed clothes in front of someone? Get a grip." he snarls. 

Sehun finds himself frozen as Jongin takes off his shirt. He takes one of the clothes he took and starts putting it on. He gulps when he sees how ripped the other is. Jongin doesn't even look surprised when he looks over at Sehun and catches him staring. In fact, he looks more annoyed instead. 

"I'd be flattered if we are under a different circumstance but start moving that pretty ass of yours before we get caught." he scowls. 

It is sickening how Sehun finds that hot. He mentally scolds himself for having such thoughts while his life is in danger. When he's nearly done buttoning his shirt, he turns around and catches Jongin shamelessly eyeing him. 

"Took you long enough." Jongin drawls. Sehun nearly flinches when the other takes a step closer. "Relax," he says. 

Jongin ruffles his hair and leaves two buttons undone on Sehun's shirt, much to his confusion. They suddenly hear a knock and Jongin calmly opens it. 

The saleslady that was supposed to scold them was rendered speechless when she saw two men inside the changing room. Her gaze lingers longer on Sehun and it's probably because of the messy hair and clothes. 

Oh… so that was what Jongin was going for. 

Jongin says an apology and wafts out cash from his wallet. "For the clothes and a tip for the trouble. Would you mind telling us if there is a back exit?" he asks. 

The saleslady looks flustered and surprised but she nods and tells Jongin about the exit. "Thank you." 

Sehun finally feels like he could breathe again once they were out of the mall. "Is it… is it safe to go back to the house?" Sehun asks. "If they tracked us at the mall then they might have tracked the house as well." Sehun asks. 

Jongin looks around to see if the parking lot is safe before responding. "We'll check in a motel for the night." he walks back into their car. 

"A motel? Wouldn't a hotel have better security just in case?" Sehun asks as they got in the car. 

"They will check hotels first because it is safer there. We have to lay low, remember?" Jongin reminds. 

Sehun exhales. "Point taken." 

Sehun doesn’t know how it has come to this but here he is. The lady at the front desk is looking at him and Jongin with an expression that is borderline judging but she was trying her best to hold back. They argued in the car about whether they should get separate rooms or not but they both came to the conclusion that they’ll just stay in a family room where there are two beds instead of staying in different rooms. 

“The family rooms are all booked tonight but we do have some suites available.” she explains. 

Of-fucking-course. “We’ll take one suite.” Jongin says.

Sehun nearly glares at him. “We’ll take two,” he corrects.

Jongin forces out a smile as he grabs Sehun by the arm, his grip tighter than necessary. “Let’s not be petty tonight and stay in one room, please baby?” 

Sehun actually malfunctions for a moment. He nearly panics and gives away this cover that Jongin was trying to pull but the other knew better than to let him speak. “We’ll take one suite, thank you.” Jongin tells the woman. 

The woman nods and types it down onto her computer. She hands a key over to Jongin. “Enjoy your stay.” she politely says. 

Once they were in the safety of their room, Jongin releases his hold on Sehun. “If it will make you feel better, I am taking the couch so don’t worry.” he scoffs. “Your family is scary, I wouldn’t even dare.” 

Sehun doesn’t even want to dwell too much on whatever Jongin meant so instead, he says “I’m sorry,”

Jongin cocks an eyebrow at him. “Why?” 

Sehun purses his lips. “It’s my fault, I never should have insisted going out. I made the situation difficult for you again.” he frowns. 

Jongin’s expression softens but he was quick to regain his usual stoic expression. “It’s fine, they would have traced us either way. At least you got to go out before you’re back into hiding again.” he shrugs. 

“Thanks… for you know, keeping me safe.” he mumbles. 

Jongin nods in acknowledgment. “I’m just doing my job.” He leaves his wallet on the bedside table. “Go and order room service if you’re hungry. I’ll be in the shower.” 

“Okay,” Sehun nods as he settles himself on the bed. 

Sehun basks in the silence for a while. He turns on the television but kept it at a low volume. His gaze drops onto the wallet that Jongin left. He wasn’t really interested in ordering anything since he wasn’t hungry but he’s curious about whatever was inside that wallet. 

Sehun picks it up, he was still wary about Jongin being the shower. The other only gave him permission for the wallet if he was going to take cash. He opens it and he isn’t even surprised to see the amount of cash inside. He wasn’t interested in the cash though. He tries looking for an ID or something else but there was none, only cash and a bunch of receipts, there's not even a picture in the clear pocket. 

Maybe he has another wallet that he left at the house. Sehun flips through the slots once again. He nearly gasps when he sees a picture in between the bills. He takes it out and flips it over to look but he is rendered speechless when he sees a picture of himself instead. 

It was his graduation picture and it looked like an original copy too, Sehun sees the watermark of the photo studio at the corner. 

"What are you doing?" 

He drops both the picture and the wallet when he hears Jongin's voice. "I… was--" his mouth runs dry when he sees that Jongin was freshly out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist while his hair is still dripping wet. 

Jongin glares at him when he sees that the contents of his wallet were spread out on the bed. 

"Why… do you have this?" Sehun shows him his picture. "This is an original copy, it was from three years ago when I graduated." he musters up the courage to ask. 

"It's your father's copy." Jongin calmly says. Sehun narrows his eyes at him in confusion. "He gave it to me when he made his first orders to watch over you. This picture was simply given to me so that I know how you look." 

“He could have given you a different picture, the only ones I’ve given copies of this picture are him, my mom and my brother.” His shoulders slump in disappointment. 

“It was part of his orders to not put a single crease on this photo, he wants it back. I know it’s an important picture.” Jongin explains. 

Sehun purses his lips as he tucks the photo back in Jongin’s wallet. “Here, I’m sorry for looking through it. I was curious.” 

“Did you find what you were looking for though?” Jongin’s expression was unreadable. 

Sehun could barely look into his eyes. “I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for.” He says with an awkward chuckle. 

“You still don’t trust me?” Jongin asks. 

“No, it’s not like that. After everything that happened how can I not trust you? I just… needed more proof. I wanted to know… the real you.” He gulps. 

“This is the real me. I’m simply a pawn of your father that was ordered to protect you. What else do you need to know?” 

Sehun lightly shakes his head. “I know that already, I just--I want to know you as you. Not as someone that’s just sent here to get me out of this mess.” 

Jongin climbs onto the bed, dark gaze fixated on him. Sehun feels himself crawling back until his back hits the headboard. “And why are you so curious about that?” Jongin’s voice drops lower.

“It’s… it’s exactly as I said, I want to know you.” Sehun breathes shakily. 

“And I told you that you wouldn’t want to know.” 

“What if I want to? I’m not afraid.” 

Sehun flinches when Jongin suddenly slams a hand against the headboard behind him. Jongin smirks at this. “You say you’re not afraid.” 

“I’m not,” Sehun scoffs. “Stop trying to scare me off.” 

“What are you going to do about it?” Jongin stares him down. Sehun tenses as he clutches onto the bedsheets. “You’re gonna tell daddy that I’m being mean to you?” he mocks. 

Sehun frowns at him. “Why do you keep doing this? The last time I wanted to get to know you better, you pushed me away and now you’re doing it again.” 

Jongin exhales as he runs a hand through his wet hair, a few droplets land on Sehun’s face. “Look, I’m not here to get to know you. I’m here for work. If you want someone to fool around with just because your supposed hookup for the trip got murdered, then you’re just going to have to wait until this whole mess is over.” 

Sehun instantly glares at him. He pushes Jongin away. “You’re such a jerk.” 

“Not the first time, I heard it.” Jongin cockily smiles at him.

“You know, maybe you are right. Maybe I am naive. I’m naive enough to think that maybe you’re not so bad after all.” Sehun spat. He stomps his way to the bathroom before locking himself in. 

He is freshly showered when he comes out a few minutes later. Jongin is slumped on the couch with the most comfortable manspread Sehun has ever seen. He climbs onto the bed and tosses one pillow over to Jongin, hitting him square on the face.

Jongin was about to give him a snarky comment when his voice was suddenly caught in his throat. Sehun wasn’t wearing any pants. His shirt was long enough to cover until his thighs so he didn’t bother. Besides, it’s not comfortable to sleep while wearing jeans. 

“What… the hell?” Jongin mutters but it was loud enough for Sehun to hear anyway. 

Sehun tries to act nonchalant about it. “It’s more comfortable this way.” He crosses his legs. “You don’t have a problem with it, right?” he lilts. He internally celebrates when he sees the mild panic in Jongin’s eyes. 

“Not at all,” he answers, voice sounding strained. It was new to see him like this considering that this man has accidentally seen Sehun naked before and did not bat an eye.

“You know Jongin,” Sehun starts. Jongin looks at him, the unreadable expression is back on his face. “I think the one that is afraid is you.” 

Jongin glowers, “Excuse me?” 

“Interpret that however you want. ‘Your family is scary, I wouldn’t even dare,’. Those are your words, not mine.” Sehun smiles sweetly at him. 

He internally celebrates his victory when Jongin doesn’t make a retort. Instead, he sees how frustrated the other is but, despite that, he still catches him stealing glances at him. If Jongin can play him, then so can he. 

It was the same dream again. Hyunseok, his family, him getting caught. He wakes up in the middle of the night in cold sweat once again. He sits up on the bed and rubs his palms over his face as he tried to calm down his breathing. 

“It’s that bad huh?” 

He looks over and sees that Jongin is awake. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” he rasps. 

“You were whimpering like a puppy, I wasn’t sure if I should wake you or not.” Jongin replies. 

Sehun hugs his knees to his chest and sighs. “I didn’t kill Hyunseok, right?” he mutters. 

“Of course, you didn’t. You were set up.” Jongin says. 

“Then why?” Sehun asks. “Why do I feel so much guilt? These nightmares will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life. I know I didn’t do anything wrong but why do I feel like a criminal?” his voice wavers. 

The room was dark and the only source of light was coming from the small, cheap lamp at the bedside table. Sehun sees how Jongin’s expression changes, was that worry and concern on his face? 

“You feel guilty because you have a good heart,” Jongin explains. “You feel this guilt because you feel sorry for the man despite knowing that he was only tricking you. It will be hard to move on but you need to do better in convincing yourself that you never did anything wrong.” 

“But how can I even think like that?” Sehun’s voice breaks. “I didn’t go to jail because my dad was willing to pay off some people and now I’m running away from everything.” 

“You would have gotten killed if I didn’t get you out of that precinct on time.” Jongin corrects. “You were just caught up in your father’s mess. You know that.” 

Sehun looks at him, his eyes were glimmering with tears that were threatening to fall. “How did you cope up when you first got this job? How do you live like this? No… how did my father live like this?” he sobs. 

“As I said, you have a good heart. This isn’t meant for you. People like your father, me and all the other people working for him can turn a blind eye and throw away our principles but some can’t. You can’t.” Jongin says with a gentle tone. 

Sehun understood it but it didn’t make him feel any better. No matter what the truth is, he’ll always feel like there is blood on his hands. “I wish no one ever had to die.” 

“This is just how it is in your father’s world.” Jongin exhales. “You don’t belong here, you’re never supposed to be caught in this.” 

Sehun snivels as he wipes away his tears. “I’m sorry, I know I sound pathetic for whining to you about this despite telling you that I wasn’t afraid.” 

“Those are two different things.” Jongin clears up.

Sehun curiously looks at him. “How bad are the things you’ve done for my father?” 

“Will finding out about those make you feel better?” he asks. 

“I don’t know, maybe?” Sehun shrugs. 

Jongin stands up and walks over to the bed. Sehun was wondering what he was about to do but he simply takes a seat on the edge of the bed, he left enough space in between them. “It will forever change your view on me and your father. I’m not supposed to tell you but if it will make you feel better, then I’ll do it.” 

Sehun heaves a sigh as he hugs himself tighter. “Tell me but not to make me feel better, tell me because I want to know more about you.” 

Jongin snorts. “Telling someone about your crimes isn’t what you’d tell someone that wants to know more about you.” 

“I know but…” Sehun scoots closer to him. Jongin licks his lips, Sehun probably forgot that he’s not wearing pants right now and that his shirt is riding up whenever he moves but he doesn’t comment about it to spare the other from the embarrassment. “You told me that this is the real you so fire away.” 

“I’ve threatened, hurt and destroyed so many lives--that’s part of what I usually do for your father. I’ve done worse.” He quietly explains. 

“Have you ever killed someone under the orders of my father?” Sehun asks with a gulp. 

The silence that fell between them was heavy. “I have,” Jongin finally answers. Sehun feared that it might be that bad but hearing it from Jongin still gives him a shock. He lets out a shaky breath as he closes his eyes. “I told you that it will change everything,” Jongin adds. 

“My dad… He’s a horrible person, isn’t he?” Sehun asks. 

“He’s not a good man, Sehun.” 

Sehun slowly nods, he feels like having a breakdown again. “My life was a lie,” he laughs lifelessly. “Turns out this privilege that I had was far worse than I thought. This whole time I never properly introduced myself to anyone because I was afraid that knowing my dad would intimidate them, it’s way much deeper than I thought.” he sighs. 

Jongin hasn’t said a word in a while but Sehun is grateful that he is at least still listening. “Hey Jongin,” the other hums. “What will happen if I get caught? What exactly is waiting for me?” 

“You could go to jail, and who knows if I could still get you out. Whoever the enemy is will probably have connections to the police soon… or worse,” Jongin explains.

“What’s worse than that?” Sehun asks.

“They’ll kidnap you and hurt you. They’ll do bad things to you to make your father give up his position and power.” Jongin answers hesitantly. 

“But would my father give that up? Just for me?” he shudders at the thought. 

Jongin winces, that couldn’t mean well. “He might, but he’s doing his best to make sure it doesn’t come to that.” 

Sehun smiles bitterly once again. “That’s not what I wanted to hear.” 

Jongin exhales, he reaches over and hesitantly places a hand over Sehun’s slightly trembling one. “I wish there was an easier way to get you out of this mess, I really do. But I will do my best to make sure that you can go home safely and not worry about your life being put at risk anymore.” 

“You don’t have to do this, you know? It’s not part of your job to babysit me like this.” Sehun sulks. 

“This is my choice,” Jongin assures. “You are a good person Sehun, I do want you out of this mess.” 

“And you’re not as bad as you think you are,” Sehun tells him. 

Jongin furrows his eyebrows. “Why are you saying this?” 

“You said that I’ll change my mind if I find out about the things you did,” Sehun explains. “I don’t think you’re a bad person. Well… at least not as bad as the others.” 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about Sehun,” he tries to pull his hand away but Sehun holds onto him. “You were saying the exact opposite earlier.” Jongin adds. 

“I said it out of spite.” Sehun explains. “Your actions say otherwise. You always want to seem like you don’t care but then you do something like this and it makes me feel… something.” He rambles. 

“Don’t do this, you’ll regret it.” Jongin warns.

"Don't you want me?" Sehun asks. 

Jongin's eyes widened a fraction. "You're crazy." 

Sehun exhales. "Look, I am living in fear that the police or my dad's enemies might come knocking at that door anytime to take me away. I need something good in my life in case it is going to happen." 

"I'm not going to let that happen," Jongin says. 

"You don't know that!" Sehun exclaims.

"And so what? You want to use me as a distraction?" Jongin tries pulling away but Sehun holds onto him with both hands. 

"Then tell me that I've been reading it wrong. I've seen how you look at me Jongin, I'm not stupid." Sehun rasps. 

Jongin looks at him like he's gone mad. "Do you want your father to kill me? You don't know what you're asking for." he scoffs. 

"No one else has to find out. Just… forget about everything else. Please, just help me forget everything… even if it's just for tonight." he begs. "Pretend that I'm not your boss' son. Pretend that you're not just here to watch over me. Pretend that we're not caught up in a horrible mess." 

"You'll regret this," Jongin says as a warning. 

"I won't." 

"You won't be able to handle me." 

Sehun's pupils dilated as his nails dug into Jongin's skin. "Try me," he breathes. 

Jongin curses a harsh but quiet 'fuck' before grabbing Sehun by the back of his and harshly crashing their lips together. 

Sehun was taken aback at first but he relaxes and kisses him back. He needs this, he wants this. He laces his fingers in Jongin's hair and presses his body against him. Sehun has had plenty of experiences in kissing but no one has ever kissed him in the way that Jongin is kissing him right now.

It was heated and fervid and Jongin wasn't even giving him a chance to breathe. Jongin grabs his jaw with one hand while he wraps the other around Sehun's waist . When Sehun whimpers, Jongin pushes his tongue in to deepen the kiss. He suddenly feels like a novice with the way that Jongin is leading him with the kiss. Jongin pulls away with one last bite to his lip before leaving kisses down his neck. 

"Wow, you're so… eager." Sehun sighs in satisfaction as Jongin leaves a mark on his neck. 

"Can't handle it?" Jongin asks. 

Sehun hums. "Keep going, give me more." He whispers. 

Jongin slips his hand under Sehun’s shirt. “You’re sure about this, right?” He mumbles. 

“Fuck, yes. Just move already.” Sehun whines. 

That was the final assurance that Jongin needed before he started unbuttoning Sehun’s shirt. He pushes it off of Sehun’s shoulders before tossing it onto the floor. Sehun aggressively pulls on his shirt too. Once they were both shirtless, Jongin pushes Sehun down until his back is flat on the bed. He trails kisses on his sternum down onto his navel.

He crawls back up to leave more kisses and marks all over Sehun's neck and shoulders. Sehun lets out quick gasps of pain whenever Jongin bites and sucks a mark on him. There was no trace of gentleness in any of his movements.

Jongin runs his palms over his chest and Sehun grits his teeth when Jongin starts to pinch his nipples with either hand. He leans down to lick one nipple while rolling the other with his thumb. He feels them hardening quickly. 

Sehun writhes underneath him as he feels more heat going down south. He felt so stimulated. Jongin moves to his other nipple and Sehun feels like he could come just like this. 

He sighs in relief when Jongin pulls away, there was a devilish glint in his eyes. "You still want this?" he asks. 

"Yes, please." He pathetically whimpers. 

He was suddenly flipped over onto his stomach, Sehun surely didn't mind Jongin manhandling him like that. Jongin grabs the waistband of his underwear and pulls before quickly letting go and letting it snap against his skin. Sehun sharply gasps, fingers clutching against the bedsheet.

Jongin pulls Sehun's underwear down, stripping Sehun completely. He squeezes Sehun's ass, grabbing a hold of the soft flesh. 

Sehun moans softly as he enjoys the attention that Jongin was giving his ass when he suddenly feels a sharp, stinging pain.

Jongin just spanked him and it felt so good. "Did you like that?" He shamelessly asks. 

Sehun grips the sheets harder as he moves his hips. Jongin chuckles lowly before his palm comes in contact with his ass again. Sehun gasps as he feels his cock getting harder. It felt so good. 

Jongin's palm strikes him again and his moans only got louder then. There were tears stinging in his eyes but it was all because of the pleasure. Jongin gives him one last spank before squeezing his now reddened globes. 

"Did that hurt?" Jongin asks as he soothingly runs his hand through Sehun's bleached hair. 

"It was good," Sehun sighs in contentment. 

"What else do you want?" Jongin asks. 

Sehun feels more heat rising to his cheeks, if that was possible. "Please fuck me." 

"Want me to eat you out first?" Jongin asks. 

Sehun already feels blissed out by just hearing that. "Yes, fuck yes…" 

Jongin grabs him by the hips and forces him to kneel. Sehun feels more exposed this way but he's too turned on to care. He spreads his legs some more and moans. "Please Jongin," 

Jongin rubs a soothing palm over his ass first. Then, without warning, he grabs Sehun's cheeks to spread them. Sehun gasps as Jongin licks a stripe up his crack. 

Jongin circles his tongue around his rim first before pushing it in. "Oh my god," Sehun's eyes rolled in pleasure as he grabbed onto Jongin's hair. 

His tongue was skilled and it was enough to make Sehun's eyes water. He pulls away just when Sehun was getting close. He doesn't even give him any time to whine when he's suddenly flipped over again and Jongin shoves three fingers into Sehun's mouth. 

"Be good and suck, otherwise you'll be the one that's hurt." Jongin commands. 

Sehun eagerly complies. He kept eye contact as he seductively swirled his tongue all over Jongin's long and thick fingers.

"Hold your knees for me." Jongin says. 

Sehun spreads his legs, hands hooking at the back of his knees completely exposing himself in front of Jongin. 

Jongin licks his lips. "You're beautiful." He comments. 

He pushes one finger in, Sehun's expression showed discomfort at first so he lets him adjust. After moving the finger a bit, he adds another. Sehun whimpers this time but his back also arches in pleasure when he starts scissoring them. Sehun moans wantonly when he was able to brush his fingers over his prostate. Jongin adds the third finger to continuously massage the spot. 

"Hnng, aah… Jongin please." He whines. 

"Want to suck me off?" he asks. 

Sehun looks at him with half-lidded eyes. Jongin thinks he's stunning. "Fuck yes," he pants. 

Jongin pulls his fingers out. Sehun feels his mouth watering when Jongin lowers his pants and underwear just enough to expose his hard, throbbing erection. 

He pulls Sehun to get into position. Jongin moves to the edge, half-kneeling with one leg on the bed and the other on the floor for support. Sehun was on his fours, body looking as tempting as ever. 

He tugs on Sehun's hair before pushing him down onto his crotch. Sehun wraps one hand on his cock before giving a shy lick. He feels Jongin's fingers tightening in his hair. Sehun gives him another lick before brushing his lips into the head.

Sehun looks up at him. Jongin pats his head as if he's telling him to keep going so he did. He takes Jongin into his mouth. He's rewarded with a low moan from Jongin. 

He grabs Sehun's jaw with his other hand and tugs on Sehun's hair again before he thrusts into his mouth. Sehun gags but he kept his jaw slack. He wasn't sure if Jongin likes him like this but he could taste his precum in his mouth. His own cock is a slobbering mess already, he's embarrassingly making a mess on the sheets. 

Jongin pulls him away and pushes him back onto the bed. He slaps Sehun's ass one more time before pushing his legs back to spread himself open. It was agonizing. He feels Jongin's cock rubbing against his hole in a teasing manner. 

"Beg for it," Jongin says. 

Sehun wanted to complain that begging is all that he has been doing this whole time but he knew better. "I want your cock, please. Fuck me, Jongin." he pants. 

Jongin pushes his cock in and Sehun bites the back of his hand to muffle his moans. Jongin started with slow, shallow thrusts at first to help him adjust. Hot tears were streaming down his face due to the stretch but it was pleasurable nonetheless. His fingers raked against Jongin's back as the other began thrusting. 

Sehun screams and moans as he began thrusting into him without mercy. He locks his legs around Jongin's waist, feeling more of him.

He grabs Jongin by the back of his head and pulls him down for a kiss. Jongin suddenly moves back and grabs Sehun along with him. With his cock still buried inside of Sehun, Jongin sits up. Sehun's nails pressed deeper into his back when he felt Jongin's cock reaching deeper with the new position. 

"Oh, fuck… Jongin." Sehun pants. 

Jongin continues to drown him in the kiss. He suddenly thrusts up and Sehun sees stars in the back of his eyes when the other hits his prostate head on. Sehun started moving his hips too and they both found the perfect rhythm. 

Sehun had to break the kiss, he rested his head on Jongin's shoulders as he pants. "You're doing so good." Jongin praises. 

"I-I'm close," Sehun stutters. 

Jongin reaches between them to stroke Sehun's cock. Sehun's thighs quivered and his moans were more pitchy. With one deep thrust, Sehun spills all over his hand and stomach. 

Jongin gives him a bit of time to come down from his high first before changing their positions again. He moves Sehun back down onto the bed and pushes the back of his thighs. He starts thrusting again and reduces Sehun to a whimpering and sobbing mess under him. 

He feels Sehun's walls clenching around him, it doesn't take long until he's spilling his load inside of him. He lazily kisses Sehun once again before pulling out and resting on top of him. 

It was just silence after that as they were both trying to calm their breathing. Jongin was about to get up but Sehun pushed him back down, his fingers gently tracing his back. "Stay like this," 

Jongin looks at him, eyes full of question. "Why did you want this? I'm no good for you." he asks out of curiosity.

"I told you, I needed something good." Sehun says. 

"A good distraction?" Jongin asks, voice sounding bitter.

Sehun starts to play with Jongin's hair. "I don't think this will just be some distraction to me." He honestly says. "I needed something good, and that's you… at least for me." 

Jongin chuckles, Sehun thought he might have said something wrong but Jongin crawls up to give him a kiss on the forehead. It was the first time that Sehun saw gentleness in Jongin’s eyes. Perhaps this was the vulnerability that he didn’t want to expose to Sehun at first that’s why he was pushing him away. 

"It's been a while since I got something good." Jongin says.

Sehun smiles before pulling him in for another kiss. 

The aftermath of what happened that night hits Sehun like a tidal wave during the following morning. He feels a sharp but brief pain shooting up his spine when he tries sitting up. He huffs when he falls back down on the mattress. That was only when it occurred to him that Jongin wasn’t on the bed with him. He probably got up early, or maybe he went to get breakfast. 

Sehun finds himself smiling at the thought. Yes, he was desperate last night but he did want this. It wasn’t just one night of distraction for him. Jongin gave him everything that he wanted last night and in return, Jongin has said nothing but praises to him. 

Sehun finally gathers the strength to get up. He sees a bathrobe by the edge of the bed so he takes it and puts it on. He needs to shower but he’ll save it for later. He checks the bathroom just in case Jongin was there but he wasn’t. 

Sehun decides to take a peek outside the room at least. He opens the door just enough to look outside the corridor. What he didn’t expect was to see Jongin by the end of the hall, he looked like he was talking to someone on his phone, he was facing the wall. Being wary of his surroundings, Sehun steps out of the room and walks over to him. Maybe Jongin was talking to his dad, he could get some updates.

“Yeah of course he believes me,” Sehun stops on his tracks when he hears Jongin talking in hushed tones. 

“He’s not that persistent about wanting to talk to Mr. Oh, I managed to keep his mind off of that.” Jongin chuckles. “Pretending to work for that man sucks but it had to be done.” 

It felt like somebody just poured cold water all over. He was frozen on his place and he didn’t know what to do. 

“I’ll let this day pass then I’ll take him to you after. I’ll keep him busy, he has a soft spot for me.” 

Fear, anger, betrayal, disappointment… Sehun doesn’t know what he should feel first. Jongin has been blatantly lying to him this whole time. He heard all of that loud and clear. When he hears Jongin saying goodbye to whoever he was speaking with, Sehun wasn’t sure what to do. 

He slowly steps back, he should run back to the room, lock the door and figure out how to leave. He’s not safe alone but he’s not safe with Jongin either. 

Jongin pockets his phone and turns, his mouth gapes in shock when his eyes locked with Sehun’s. He sees the panic rising on Jongin’s face. “Did you hear that?” Jongin asks. 

Sehun does not reply and something in Jongin’s expression suddenly changes. For the first time, Sehun sees an almost murderous glint in Jongin’s eyes and that was already more than enough to make him run for it. 

Sehun ran but Jongin was quick. He hasn’t even taken more than five strides when Jongin grabs him by the waist. He tries shouting but Jongin uses his other hand to cover his mouth. He struggled to move away. He tried kicking him, biting him but Jongin pulled him back into their room. It was just his horrible luck that no one was around their floor at this time. 

He is completely terrified. 

“Stop struggling and let me explain.” Jongin grunts as he closes the door with a kick. Sehun furiously shakes his head, he successfully lands a kick on Jongin’s stomach. The other winces but it wasn’t enough to let him go. 

Using his brute strength, Jongin practically throws Sehun onto the bed and quickly straddles him to keep him in place. With one hand still on Sehun's mouth, he uses his other hand to reach over for the blanket. 

"If you don't stay still, I'll have no choice but to tie you up. Let me explain first." Jongin starts. 

Sehun furiously shakes his head. He tries kicking his legs in an attempt to get Jongin off of him but it was to no avail. 

"Listen to me Sehun, I'm not going to hurt you. Just listen to what I have to say." Jongin pants. It was obvious that he's panicking. "I know it looks bad but I'm not the bad guy." 

Sehun stops struggling and goes limp under his hold. Jongin slowly lifts his hand, when Sehun doesn't make any movements he tells him, "I'm going to get off of you but you have to cooperate with me. Don't shout, don't run off." 

It's not like Sehun could outrun him anyway. He slowly nods and Jongin gets off. Sehun sits up and fixes the bathrobe since it got disheveled when he was struggling so much. 

Jongin opens his mouth to start explaining but Sehun's palm suddenly comes in contact with his cheek. The slap hit him like a whiplash. Sehun is glaring at him, angry tears threatening to fall at any moment. Jongin deserved that. 

"W-who are you and why are you doing this to me?!" he grits. 

"Sehun, I'm sorry." 

Sehun gives him a pained expression. "You… you were my lifeline, Jongin. I didn't know you but I put my trust in you because you were my only hope. I looked at you like you're my hero." 

Jongin looks away in shame. 

"How am I supposed to trust you? This whole time, everything has been a lie. I don't even know what to believe in anymore. I poured my heart out to you last night… I-I gave you everything." he sobs. 

"I was not lying to you last night, Sehun." Jongin explains.

"I'll keep him busy, he has a soft spot for me," Sehun repeats his words. "What? Was it all a game to you? Was it fun to trick me? Was I stupid? Was I gullible?" 

"No," Jongin interrupts him. 

"Then why?!" Sehun snaps. "Was it all a trick this whole time? Were you purposely leading me on so that I'd lower my guard with you and trust you? Fuck," he curses. "I was dumb for trusting Hyunseok but I'm even dumber for putting my trust in you." 

Jongin grabs him by the shoulders. "Sehun, listen to me. Hyunseok would have done worse." 

"How do you even know that?" he asks. 

"I just know," Jongin gulps. "He made you take that drug for a reason," 

Sehun's brows furrowed. "What else are you not telling me?" 

Jongin takes a deep breath before looking into his eyes. "I was the one that killed him." 

Sehun feels like the whole world just came crashing down on him. It was all so suffocating, it feels like he couldn't breathe. “Y-you… you saved me… from something that you’ve done?” he stammers. 

“I did it for a reason but I can’t tell you everything yet.” Jongin sighs.

“You know it would have been better if you just left me at that precinct. At least that way I never would have felt indebted to you.” 

“Sehun pl--” Jongin wasn’t able to continue because he heard rapid footsteps coming from outside. His eyes widen in panic and he immediately pulls Sehun along with him. “You need to hide,”

Sehun felt so disoriented and lost. He didn’t even get a chance to reply because the door was suddenly slammed open harshly. Jongin protectively steps in front of him as multiple men wearing all-black outfits and masks came in. It all happened too fast, there was smoke and two of the men started fighting against Jongin. Sehun felt light-headed, he falls on his knees.

“Take them both,” he hears someone say. 

Sehun couldn’t move and he sees that Jongin’s moves have gotten slower too. The smoke must’ve been sleeping gas. The last thing he heard was Jongin calling his name before he fully lost consciousness. 

When Sehun wakes up, he was in an unfamiliar bedroom. The bed he’s sleeping on is comfortable, more comfortable than the bed at the motel. The room is bright, he squints his eyes as he tries to focus his vision. He sees a figure sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Sehun, you’re awake.” 

Sehun frowns, the voice is so familiar it almost sounds like his, “Father?” he asks. 

“Son, I was so worried. What happened to you? Look at your hair.” His father sighs in relief. He could not believe it. Was he dreaming? 

“What… where am I? What are you doing here?” Sehun asks as he looks around. 

“Jongin hasn’t been contacting me and I suspected that something must have gone wrong. I’ve been trying to contact you for days now.” His father replies. 

Sehun suddenly sits up. “Jongin? Where is he?” he gasps.

“He’s being taken care of, don’t worry.” His father pats his head. “Did he hurt you?”

“He… didn’t…” Sehun stops when he realizes that he’s still wearing the bathrobe. The marks on his neck were all visible. It’s impossible to not see them. He sees the disappointment in his father’s eyes. “I still need to talk to him, father.” 

“Why would you even talk to that traitor? I lost contact with him since you were in Spain and now I found out that he’s been purposely keeping you away from my other men.” his father scolds. 

Sehun glares at his father. “You have a lot of explaining to do as well, father. How long were you going to hide all of this from me?” 

“How much did that bastard tell you?” 

“I know enough and honestly, I don’t even know what to believe in anymore.” Sehun scoffs. His father was about to explain himself when he interrupted. “I’ll talk to you later. I just need to clear my head. I’m sorry.” 

His father gives him a resigned look. “Very well.” He stands up from his chair. “I will be back later. Go and wash up, there are fresh clothes in the bathroom.” With that, he leaves. 

Sehun once again tries to gather his thoughts as he was washing up in the bathroom. None of this is making sense to him. He hasn't even processed Jongin lying to him and now he has to deal with his father this soon too. From what his father said, Jongin did really work for him but based on the phone call that Sehun overheard earlier, Jongin wants nothing to do with his father and is working for someone else. 

Once he’s all clean and fresh, he returns to the bedroom. He takes a seat on the bed and tries to think over everything again. What Jongin said about his father being a bad person is the truth but why would Jongin go through all that trouble to protect him if he was going to harm him in the end? 

Something just doesn’t seem right with the way his father suddenly made an appearance. What happened back at that motel didn’t seem like a mission to save him but more like a mission to take both him and Jongin captive. 

Sehun gets up, he’s done asking questions to himself. He needs to find out himself. Someone was standing outside his room when he opened the door. “Boss gave orders to not let you roam around, sir.” The guard says. 

“I need to see him,” Sehun tells him.

“I’ll have someone call him,” 

“No, take me to him instead.” he argues.

“I was given orders I--hey!” Sehun ignores the guard and walks across the corridor. The guard walks after him and insisted that he should go back and wait in his room but Sehun pays him no mind. Luckily the man makes no move to force him or touch him without permission so he only resorts to ordering Sehun to go back. His father must have given his men orders to not lay a finger on him. 

Sehun looks around and he observes that they’re in a place that looks like a warehouse. There were men that he couldn’t recognize that were scattered all over the place and each and every one of them turn their heads to look at him before glaring at the guard that is still following him. 

“Where’s my father?” Sehun asks loud enough for some of the men to hear. 

“I can call him but you need to go back to your room.” One of the men says. 

Sehun ignores him and continues walking. He sees one door open and he hurriedly jogs over to it before anyone could stop him. There were stares that probably lead to a basement. He hears some voices downstairs so he quickly climbs down the stairs. 

More of his father’s men started calling for him but once he got down the stairs, he was stopped by the man that he was looking for. “Father, there you are.” He says. 

His father looks at him with a frown then he gives his men that were running after Sehun a menacing glare. “I gave you one order and that is to keep him in that room.” His father says. 

“Boss, we’re so sorry. He insisted to talk to you and you said we’re not allowed to lay a finger on him. I cannot force him to come back.” The guard explains. 

“Father, it’s fine. Don’t scold him, I was the one that ignored him and the others the whole time. I had to see you.” Sehun explains. “And I need to know where J--”

Sehun stops when he hears coughing. He takes a step and looks behind his father’s figure. He covers his mouth in shock when he sees Jongin looking nearly half-conscious while he’s tied to a chair.  “Jongin!” He gasps. 

He doesn’t get to take a step because his father grabs him. “What do you think you’re doing?” He scolds. 

“What did you do to him?!” Sehun shrieks. Jongin was all covered in blood, he could barely keep his eyes open. 

“This is what happens to traitors,” His father huffs. “This is what this bastard deserves. Who does he think he is pretending to work for me while leaking everything to the enemy? Does he think I’m stupid?” His father walks over to Jongin to give him a punch on the face.

Sehun flinches away. He has never seen his father like this. He looks infuriated. “I gave you a job and trusted you with my son and this is how you pay me back?!” 

“Dad, stop!” Sehun grabs his father’s hand before he could land another punch on Jongin. “You’re going to end up killing him!” 

“Why would I let a traitor live?” His father hisses. 

“Haven’t you done enough bad things? You don’t have to go this far.” Sehun reasons out. “He did not harm me.” 

“Sehun, don’t.” Jongin groans. Sehun looks into his eyes and he sees the worry on his face. 

“He killed one of my men. An eye for an eye. This is what he deserves.” His father says. 

That was when it all clicks. Sehun’s eyes narrowed as he clenches his fists. “But Jongin killed Hyunseok…” he mutters. “Hyunseok was working for you?” he steps back.

His father’s expression darkens and Sehun feels goosebumps all over his skin. “Get him,” his father orders. 

Sehun wasn’t even able to react properly when two men suddenly grab each of his arms. “Let me go! Don’t touch me!” Sehun yells. 

“This is why I never wanted you to get involved in this, Sehun.” His father says with a sigh. “I wish you just stayed oblivious to this.” 

“What are you going to do? Does mother know about this?!” He exclaims. 

“Didn’t this guy tell you enough already?” His father scoffs. “I wonder why you got him to tell you everything though. Jongin is one of my most trusted men, he never acted unprofessionally, which is why I’m surprised that he’s suddenly like this with you.” 

“What exactly did you order Hyunseok to do? Did you order him to spy on me? To keep me busy?” Sehun asks. 

“Doesn’t matter, he failed anyway.” His father spat. “Kim Jongin however, he definitely succeeded. I’m disappointed in you Sehun, you’re so easy to trick. I never really paid mind to your private affairs but this? Him of all people? You deserve better." 

Sehun's heart feels so heavy. It's sickening that he's hearing these words from his own father. It feels like his mind is going to explode. 

"Sehun deserves a better father too." Jongin snorts. Sehun and his father turn to him. Despite all the wounds on his face, Jongin managed to give Sehun's father a cocky grin. "I know I lied to him and I owe him an apology for that but I never faked anything that I ever felt for him." 

Sehun feels himself stilling at those words. He’s still not sure, he’s still not ready to easily trust Jongin not until they talked things through but that simple sentence made him feel a little bit of relief because at least Sehun knows he wasn’t a complete fool for giving himself to Jongin last night. 

Sehun’s father strikes Jongin’s face again and this time, Jongin spits out blood. “Why are you mad? I’m only telling the truth? Why not tell it to Sehun? You didn’t want him to find out about the truth because you cannot use him if he does. It was never about protecting him.” Jongin raises his voice. “Come on, tell it to him.” He taunts. 

His father was fuming with rage. He was about to hurt Jongin again but Sehun yells at him to stop. His father turns to him, eyes wide with anger. “What else are you hiding from me?!” 

“You’re really going to believe this man?” His father huffs.

“He has no reason to lie! Look at him, you’re nearly killing him. This whole time I thought you want to protect me, to get me out of this mess but I’ve seen more genuine worry and concern for me from his face than yours for the whole time that I’m in this awful place.” Sehun shakily says. 

“You’re brainwashed, Sehun.” His father tells him. 

“I’m not…” Sehun says as if it was to convince himself. “I’m just--my eyes are open now. This whole mess gave me a whole new perspective on things and you…” he gulps, “This is the real you…” 

“You’ve been with him for a week and you think that’s enough for you to say those things?” His father cackles. “You’re more naive than I thought.” He walks over to him. “I shouldn’t have listened to your mother, I should have told you about all this when you were younger perhaps that way, you’d be interested in this family business of ours.” 

Sehun is in complete disbelief in what he’s hearing. It’s awful. Despite everything Jongin told him, he still gave his father the benefit of the doubt but this is all just too much. A part of him wishes that he never found out but that would mean living in a lie his whole life. Both options are bad. 

“I hate you so much. How can you be so horrible?” Sehun asks, sounding defeated. 

“You lived a good life because of me, you’d understand someday.” 

Sehun wants to shut everything out. He wishes he could just escape from all of this. “Take him back to his room and this time, make sure he doesn’t get out.” his father orders. 

“No! Let go! You’re not going to shut me out from this!” He struggles. 

His father’s gaze darkens. He looks over at one of his men standing at the corner of the room. The man approaches and hands something over to his father. Sehun feels his blood running cold upon realizing what it was. 

Jongin doesn’t even flinch when his father points the gun at him. “Do you want to watch him die then?” 

All the fear and worry came crashing down on him. “No, please don’t.” Sehun begs. “Don’t kill him, don’t hurt him. I’ll do what you say.” He blurts. 

That was when Jongin looked at him, the same look of worry etched on his face. Sehun’s father smirks before lowering the gun. “Lock him up, I’ll talk to him later.”

As the men were dragging Sehun back up the stairs, they suddenly hear an explosion. The sound of alarms resonated throughout the whole building. Sehun’s father looks alarmed. “What is going on?!” He screeches. 

A guard bursts through the doors leading to the basement. “Sir! We’re being attacked!” 

That was when Jongin suddenly started laughing. “They found you. I sent a signal to them before Sehun and I were taken. Aren’t you going to run now?” Jongin asks. Sehun’s father looks livid. 

For one moment, Sehun thought his father was going to shoot him but he started barking out orders hysterically instead. “Prepare the vehicles! Save the supplies! Check the perimeter and search for him. Get Sehun out of here.” 

They hear another explosion and this time it’s closer. Sehun feels the ground shaking. His father was about to make another order when another explosion happens and this time, it throws them all off guard. A part of the ceiling was taken out and there was rubble, smoke and debris nearly crashing onto them.

Sehun manages to slip out of the guards’ hold and he made his way towards Jongin. Thankfully, the explosion didn’t hurt him much aside from some debris hitting him. Sehun works on the ropes wrapped on his wrists. 

“What are you doing?! This is your chance to get out.” Jongin exclaims. 

“I’m not going to let you die in here.” Sehun retorts. 

“I’ll be fine. Worry about yourself, your father will kill you.” Jongin flippantly says. 

“I don’t-- Agh!” He was forcefully pulled away from Jongin. One of the guards grabbed him by his hair.

Jongin’s eyes widen in shock. Sehun was able to untie one of his wrists so he immediately worked on untying the other. By the time that he has stood up, Sehun’s father is already up as well. 

Jongin doesn’t move because this time, Sehun’s father aims the gun at his own son. “I know you need him, you can’t kill him. You can’t hurt him.” Jongin rasps. 

Sehun’s father makes a signal at the guard and the man harshly pulls Sehun’s arm back. Jongin gasps as Sehun lets out an agonizing scream. “I can’t kill him but that doesn’t mean I can’t hurt him so if you really care about him, you won’t do anything stupid.” he threatens. 

Sehun’s eyes were clouded with tears due to the pain. It hurts so much. Other than feeling completely shocked to hear that his father is more than willing to hurt him, he’s more disappointed and upset over it. His life has literally taken a 180-degree turn and there’s no going back.

“You should be ashamed of yourself. Sehun has done nothing wrong yet you’re putting him through all this.” Jongin starts, he was stalling.

“Let me remind you, things wouldn’t have escalated like this if you never meddled with my plans and betrayed me.” 

“Either way, Sehun was going to get hurt. You’re disgusting. You knew Hyunseok was going to give him that drug so he could do as he pleases. And then what? Weren’t you going to use that to threaten him?” 

Sehun’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Who…?” he mutters to himself. 

“I was never going to let things go too--”

“You were still going to use Sehun for your own gain. Your innocent son who has nothing to do with this. It’s sickening.” Jongin cuts him off. 

Sehun could see how furious his father is getting. His gaze, his body language, it was murderous and manic. He angrily aims the gun at Jongin again and before anyone could scream, another explosion happens. 

This time it was stronger than ever. The door leading to the basement crashes open and more debris falls down. This place could crumble at any moment after all the explosions. A bunch of men run down the stairs and he sees the relief on Jongin’s face. 

Sehun’s jaw nearly drops on the floor when he sees who Jongin and his father were referring to this whole time. 

“I was wondering when you’d come.” His father spat. “It’s about time you showed your face to me, Yeonseok. ”

Right there was his brother together with his guards. Sehun hasn’t seen him in person for a while since he’s been busy with work. Yeonseok and his men walk over to Jongin’s side. His brother gives Jongin a comforting pat on the shoulder. “You’ve done well, Jongin. Let me take it from here.” 

It all makes sense. Jongin has been working for Yeonseok this whole time. He was protecting Sehun from his father under the orders of his older brother. “I’m here for one reason, father. Let Sehun and Jongin go and we can go back to our own lives.” 

“How foolish of you to think that anyone is going back to their own lives after this.” His father hisses.

“Do you despise me that much? All of this is happening because I refused to be your successor and now that I’m ruining opportunities for you, you wanted to use Sehun to make sure I surrender.” Yeonseok asks. “I can’t even imagine how worse things would have gotten if Jongin didn’t get there on time.” 

Sehun wants to throw up. It’s disgusting how his own father would do such things. His head feels like it’s about to explode. 

Sehun’s father forcefully grabs him. With one arm wrapped around his neck, he used his other hand to aim the gun at his temple. “One wrong move and I’ll shoot. This is all pointless anyway, he’s not on my side.” 

Yeonseok’s jaw clenches. “Don’t you dare hurt him, you’ve done enough.” 

Sehun is trembling, he’s sick of all of this. Everyone in their room have their guns out except for him and Jongin. One wrong move and it’s going to be a bloodbath. Sehun looks at Jongin, just for a little bit of assurance but the other looks nervous. But despite that he still sees a determined look on Jongin’s face. 

Sehun feels like passing out due to his arm but he can’t let that happen. He’s frustrated and he can’t just wait to be saved yet again. He’s been used and lied to for so many times throughout this mess. Jongin lied but he was cleaning up his family’s mess this whole time. It was Yeonseok and his father who had the problem and he or Jongin did not deserve to be dragged into this hellhole. 

With one determined glance at both Jongin and Yeonseok, Sehun uses all his strength to slam his elbow back against his father’s ribcage. When his father falls down, the gunshots between the two groups started. There were men that started attacking him but they were pulled away by none other than Jongin. 

“Your brother has this place covered, let’s go.” Jongin says. 

He reaches out his uninjured hand as Jongin helps him up. But as Jongin was preoccupied in gently helping him up, a gunshot was fired and Jongin winces. “Fuck,” Jongin curses. 

Sehun’s eyes widened in horror when he sees Jongin’s shoulders bleeding. He turns around and he sees his father with the gun. Without thinking, he jumps over to take the gun from his father. 

He was at a disadvantage since his other arm was probably dislocated and his whole body is basically screaming in pain but he needs to get the gun out of his father’s hands. “You’ve done nothing but ruin my plans!” His father shouts. 

“You ruined your own plans! I’ve been a good son to you but that was all a waste of time!” Sehun cries out. 

His father harshly grabs his injured arm, Sehun gasps in pain but he doesn’t let go of the gun. Everyone else was fighting while Jongin is down. Another gunshot was fired and Sehun suddenly freezes. 

His father’s eyes were wide in horror. Sehun exhales shakily. There was blood seeping through his father’s shirt. He was able to take the gun away and he throws it as far as possible. He crawls back in horror. His hands and his shirt were covered in blood. His father clutches his chest in pain but he was bleeding out too fast. 

It felt like the whole world just stopped. Sehun couldn’t hear anything else aside from his frantic breathing. Everything else was a blur. He couldn’t see anything else except for his father on the floor in front of him, eyes wide as blood spills from his mouth. 

He feels someone pulling him up, it was his brother. Someone else was helping Jongin. They all ran out of that building. More explosions were heard and by the time that they were out, most of the building has crumbled down. 

“Sehun! Sehun! Talk to me, are you alright?!” His brother’s voice snaps him back to reality. 

Sehun’s hands were shaking uncontrollably. He couldn’t get the image of his father out of his head. He just killed someone. He just killed his father. 

He starts sobbing. His brother looks at him with pity before pulling him in for an embrace. He cries loudly onto his brother’s shoulder. Yeonseok rubs his back. “You’re gonna be fine, it’s all over now. It’s over.” His brother repeats. 

The next time that Sehun wakes up, he was at a hospital. There was an IV drip attached to him and his right arm was in a cast. It all easily flashes back to him. Hyunseok, his father, his brother and Jongin. 

“Jongin,” Sehun gasps. He tears the IV drip away without any care. He steps out of his bed and exits his room. His brother was right outside talking to the doctor, both of them look at him in shock when they see him up. 

“Sehun, you need to be in bed rest.” His brother says. 

“Where’s Jongin? I need to see him. Is he okay? He’s alive, right?! Tell me he’s alive.” He exclaims. 

“He’s fine, Sehun. He’s resting and so should you.” Yeonseok replies. “Doctor, we might need some assis--”

“No, I’m okay. Take me to Jongin, please.” 

Yeonseok looks over at the doctor and she nods in understanding. Sehun takes hold of Sehun’s uninjured arm and gently leads him to a different room. Jongin was indeed resting when they enter. He was still unconscious. There were scratches and bruises all over his handsome face and there were bandages all over his shoulders and torso. 

“How is he? He was shot,” Sehun softly asks. 

“The shot was just a scratch, fortunately. He has more injuries because he was beaten up but he’s fine. There are no internal injuries, he just needs to rest too.” Yeonseok answers. 

Sehun lets out a sigh of relief before sitting down on the couch in the room, he just realized how exhausted he was. His brother took notice of this and frowns. “You need to rest, Sehun. You should return to your room.” 

“No, I’m fine.” He stubbornly says. “I need an explanation for everything, Yeonseok. Please. No more lies, I need the truth.” 

Yeonseok sighs in defeat. “Father was a bad man, Sehun. I was doing what I can to stop him. He told me everything five years ago when he put me in charge of the company in China and he wants me to start running the business with him too. I refused and said that I didn’t want to be a part of it. He said the company won’t prosper without the underground business so I proved him wrong. Slowly I started working against him, I ran my own underground organization for the sake of stopping him and taking away his investors by exposing them for their wrongdoings. Father found out and he’s set on taking me down. He was going to use you against me and I couldn’t let that happen.” 

“But… but you set me up. Jongin killed Hyunseok and made it look like I was the murderer. What was supposed to happen after that?” Sehun asks.

“Hyunseok deserved to die.” His brother spat. “He drugged you and got you drunk, he was going to record himself fucking you and use that as blackmail. Father knows I care about you, he was supposed to use that video of yours to make me quit. It’s either that video gets released or I hand over everything to him again. I couldn’t let that happen.” 

Sehun clenches his fists. His father truly is a horrible man. “I still don’t understand why you made it look like I murdered him. Why pin the blame on me? And why did Jongin have to pretend that he was working for dad in the first place?” 

“That was my mistake.” Yeonseok admits. “I needed to make you trust Jongin so I had him do that. I was simply buying time because you weren’t ready for the truth and I wasn’t ready to tell you everything yet. I’m sorry.” 

“Everything that Jongin did… was it all for you?” Sehun asks. “How did you know him? Why did he have to work for both you and father?” 

“He worked for father at first. He was there when I refused father’s offer. I saw the look in his eyes, I know he’s not like father or his men so I secretly set up a meeting with him. We became friends and he secretly started working for me just to give me information about father’s plans. He was the one that told me about the threats father has been receiving about you so I told him to do what he can to make father trust him enough to make him watch over you.” Yeonseok explains. 

“So the threats weren’t a lie after all.” Sehun slowly nods. “Does this mean that this mess is still far from over?” 

“Those were from father’s enemies, now that he’s gone those might die down as well. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that you are safe.” Yeonseok assures. 

Sehun was silent for a moment, this all feels so heavy. “What happens next? What about the company? What are we going to do about father? I… I was the one that killed him.” he whispers. 

“I’ll take over, I have people that I trust that can help me. I’ll slowly remove all the illegal business that dad has worked on. As for your case, it’s all fine. No one has to go to jail because of what happened. There are drugs and smuggled weapons in that building, I know people that will make sure the investigation would conclude it as a raid. They will suspect his partners instead.” 

“What about mother?” 

Yeonseok takes a deep breath at that. “Mother has been planning to file a divorce for a while now, she’ll take the news badly but not as bad. We don’t have to tell her the whole truth, Sehun. I don’t want her to despise you.” Yeonseok frowns. 

“We’ll have to tell her eventually.” 

Yeonseok nods. “I’ll be there with you when we tell her. Father has done more horrible things to you, she needs to know those too.” 

“Hey Yeonseok, do you think I could still continue on with my life after this?” Sehun asks. “Do I deserve to?” 

Yeonseok carefully wraps an arm around his shoulders to comfort him. “I know it will be difficult for you but you can do it. You of all people deserve to live normally after all this. I’ll be there every step of the way to help you. I got you into this, I’ll also get you out.” 

Sehun snivels. “Thank you.” 

Throughout his whole career, Jongin has never met anyone with a kind soul like Sehun does. He has only been with Sehun for a week but he’s known the boy way before that. He has known him ever since Yeonseok told him about his brother. Yeonseok told him that he needs to earn Mr. Oh’s trust so that he’d order Jongin to watch over him so that’s what Jongin did. 

Yeonseok even gave him a picture of his brother just so Sehun doesn’t forget what he looks like. Little did they know that that picture would lead to Jongin’s slight attraction for the boy. 

Jongin has tailed Sehun together with a few other guards. He has never seen Sehun doing anything bad. He’s reckless though, he hangs out with his friends, goes drinking, sometimes he lets other men take him home but throughout the whole time that Jongin was tailing him, Sehun has never done anything bad. 

That was exactly why Jongin personally followed him all the way to Spain. Sehun’s father was up to no good and Jongin (and Yeonseok) were determined to get him out of that mess. 

That opportunity was awful. Of course he wanted to get to know Sehun but not in this way, not under a horrible circumstance but he has no choice. He tried his best to act professional. Yeonseok threatened to fire him if he ever tries to attempt anything towards his brother.

It was all harder than he thought because Sehun just has that charm that makes Jongin want to do anything for him. Sehun can be frustrating and stubborn at times but that’s what makes Jongin want to protect him as well. The longer he stayed with Sehun, the harder it was for him to not be subtle with the glances and stares.

That night at the motel was one of the toughest nights of Jongin’s life. His restraint and self-control were tempted to the fullest that night. In the end he gave in because of the assurance that Sehun wanted it as much as he did as well.

It was when Jongin told himself that he’d really do his best to get Sehun out of this mess. He’s determined to keep Sehun safe no matter what.

He woke up with a smile that morning when he sees Sehun all snuggled up to him. It feels like a dream to him. He was about to order breakfast when Yeonseok suddenly calls him so he dresses up and leaves the room. It’s safer to make a call outside than inside the room because he might wake Sehun up.

Yeonseok asks him how it was going and if Sehun actually believed him. “Yeah of course he believes me,” he answered.

“Is Sehun looking for father? I’m sure he’d want to talk to him by now. It must be hard convincing him that you’re loyal to my father, huh?” Yeonseok chuckles.

“He’s not that persistent about wanting to talk to Mr. Oh, I managed to keep his mind off of that.” He chuckles. “Pretending to work for that man sucks but it had to be done.”

“I need to see Sehun soon but it’s not yet safe for now so you better take care of him and distract him well. If you ever try something funny, you’re losing your job.”

Jongin plays it cool. “I’ll let this day pass then I’ll take him to you after. I’ll keep him busy, he has a soft spot for me.” He teases.

Things just went horribly wrong after that. Sehun misunderstood him, they were caught and brought towards one of Sehun’s father’s warehouses. It was a good thing that Jongin was able to call Yeonseok and leave his phone on call. That was how he sent the signal.

Things escalated from there. The last thing Jongin remembers was him trying to save Sehun but he ended up getting shot. The fact that he was already injured didn’t help so even if the shot wasn’t too severe, he easily felt weaker. He saw Sehun bravely stepping up to protect him from his own father. They were fighting for the gun, then a gunshot was fired. Everything went black after that.

Jongin definitely expected to wake up in a hospital after suffering through all those injuries. It was no surprise for him when he woke up in a hospital bed with an IV drip attached to his hand. However, what he didn’t expect was to see Sehun sleeping on the couch. Just like him, Sehun was also wearing a hospital gown and he also has an IV drip attached, his arm has a cast too.

Jongin gets up and that’s when he sees Yeonseok sitting at the other side of the bed. “Oh thank god, you’re finally awake.” The elder sighs in relief.

Jongin winces, some parts of his body were still in pain but he can endure it. His gaze was fixated on Sehun. “How long has he been there?” Jongin asks.

“He came running out of his room with a bleeding hand the moment he woke up. He tore his IV drip and looked for you the moment he gained consciousness.” Yeonseok replies. “He insisted on staying here instead of his room despite knowing that you’re fine. Seriously Jongin, what’s going on with you two?”

Jongin chuckles humorlessly. “You’d fire me if you knew.” He replies, eyes still settled on Sehun.

He expected Yeonseok to scold him or act surprised at least but the other doesn’t even say anything. Instead, he smiles knowingly. “He’s quite the charmer, isn’t he?” Yeonseok teases.

He smiles fondly. Yeonseok takes something from his pocket and hands it over to Jongin, it was Sehun’s graduation picture, the same picture he has kept in his wallet. “I told my men to double-check the motel in case you left anything that can be used against us in there and I found this in your wallet. I was sure you told me that you lost this.”

Jongin scratches his head. “I lied to him about this, you know. I told him this was his father’s copy and that I was going to return it after this mission.” He laughs it off.

“It’s fine, you may keep it. I’m not mad, Jongin and I was only kidding about firing you. Sehun looks genuinely worried for you and you’re both adults. Sehun needs this, especially now. As long as you don’t hurt him then it’s alright.”

As if on cue, Sehun stirs awake. He opens his eyes and he sees Jongin sitting on the bed. “Jongin,” He exhales. The younger wastes no time in getting up and walking towards the bed. “How are you feeling? Are you alright?”

“You should be worrying about yourself, you look worse than I do.” Jongin regretted saying that. “I mean, I hope you’re okay.”

Yeonseok clears his throat and gives both of them a knowing glance. “I need to make some calls. I’ll be back later.” He announces before leaving.

Once Yeonseok was gone, Sehun takes a seat on the edge of the bed. He was careful to not hit Jongin anywhere in case he’s still in pain. “I’m sorry that you have to go through all this. You shouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“It’s fine,” Jongin groans. “These cuts and bruises will be gone in a few days, your arm injury is going to last longer. You shouldn’t be worrying about me.”

Sehun doesn’t make a response and that was when he noticed that Sehun had his eyes on his graduation picture that’s on the bed. Jongin takes it and hands it over to Sehun. “It’s yours, I should return it.” He says.

Sehun observes him for a bit, then he smiles. “This isn’t my father’s, is it?”

Jongin sighs in defeat. “I took it from your brother.” He groans. “He knows about it.”

Sehun blinks at him. “Does this mean that he knows about… us?”

It’s ridiculous how for the first time in his life, Jongin feels like he’s about to blush. “Yeah, he does.”

“And he’s okay with it?”

“He said we’re adults.”

Sehun finds himself smiling at that. “That’s a relief.”

Jongin couldn’t bring himself to grab Sehun’s hand since one was injured while the other had an IV drip so he gently caresses his cheek instead. Sehun looks genuinely surprised with the gesture, he’s probably not used to Jongin being affectionate. Actually, Jongin isn’t used to being affectionate either but he wanted to do this.

“You okay?” He asks when Sehun suddenly freezes. Jongin is worried that he might scare him off.

That was when Sehun smiles again. He leans into Jongin’s touch. “It’s just… nice. It’s nice to have something good. It just feels like everything is falling apart but you’re here, you’re fine.”

“I haven’t thanked you yet.” Jongin says.

“Thanked me for what?” Sehun asks.

“You saved me from getting shot again, if you didn’t risk your life and jumped in front of that gun I don’t think I’d even be here.” Jongin replies.

“That was nothing compared to what you did for me.” Sehun retorts. “I’m really thankful Jongin. I owe you my life. I’m sorry for doubting you back at the motel, I should have heard you out first before overreacting.”

Jongin shakes his head. “It’s fine, your reaction was normal. You’ve been through a lot and it must have been terrifying for you when you realized that I was lying. I couldn’t reveal your brother to you yet back there so I couldn’t give you a proper explanation.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s done now. We’re safe and we’re finally out of that mess.” Sehun heaves a sigh. “Things will be difficult but life goes on.”

“I’m here to stick around as long as you want me to.” Jongin shrugs.

Sehun takes his photo again and grins. “So… How long have you liked me, Kim Jongin?” He teasingly asks.

“It was just plain attraction during the time I took your photo.” He snorts. “If we’re going to talk about how I first started liking you, it was when I walked in on you at the bathroom on that jet.”

Sehun playfully narrows his eyes at him. “Pervert.” They both laugh heartily.

Eight work hours and three hours of overtime. It was another busy day for Sehun. He turns off his laptop, fixes his things and stretches his arms over his head. He has been working overtime for the whole week. Transition periods are hard. Yeonseok is going to turn over the company in China to him soon so he needs to catch up on the paperwork.

The door to his office opens and the sweet smell of a nice cup of coffee fills his senses. Sehun grins. “Perfect timing as always.”

“You work too hard, sir.”

Sehun rolls his eyes. “Stop teasing, Jongin.” He giggles as the other places the cup of coffee on his desk. He mutters a quick thanks before taking a sip. “Lovely,” he moans in delight.

It has been two years since the incident and a lot of things have changed since then. Sehun doesn’t know how but Yeonseok and his men took care of everything from the media, the police and everything else. He didn’t have to go through any interrogations and everyone thought he was in Europe the whole time.

Yeonseok wasn’t able to prevent a scandal from happening though. Their father was involved in drug trafficking and other crimes and that was what caused his death. The company suffered but they recovered after a few months once Yeonseok took over his father’s position. Yeonseok had a wonderful reputation in China and he has connections to many influential people so that helped.

Sehun didn’t go back to work immediately, he took a break from work and rested at home. He and Yeonseok told their mother the truth a few months after and it badly affected Sehun’s relationship with his mother but at the end of the day, she couldn’t bring herself to disown him. After all, she is aware of how horrible her husband was. It saddened Sehun but he just slowly started to accept that nothing will ever be the same and that it’s all done.

He lived with the guilt of course, he couldn’t forget that. That one week of trauma will haunt him forever but he has gotten better. Jongin was with him the whole time. Yeonseok appointed Jongin as Sehun’s bodyguard and assistant for formalities.

Jongin helped him move on. He was there throughout it all. He was there when he was locking himself up in his room, he was there when the news about his father was everywhere, he was there when Sehun was ready to go back to work and he’s still here now.

They became official a year ago when Jongin finally had the guts to ask Sehun. It was also when they exchanged their first “I love yous”. Yeonseok was the first to find out and of course, he saw it a long time coming. He congratulated them and told them to not let it affect work, it was so typical of him but they laughed it off.

“So, anything else you’ll be working on?” Jongin asks.

“Yeah, it’s another corruption scandal. Elections are coming up, so it’s a good time to expose someone again.” He takes another sip.

Just like their father, Sehun and Yeonseok have been doing some other underground businesses too but for them, they do the opposite. Sehun simply joins in on what Yeonseok has been doing this whole time. They would track anyone that has ever worked for their father and expose them for the criminals that they are. In exchange for that, they lose more competition and continue to gain more allies. Jongin has been helping right from the start. In fact, Yeonseok offered a position for Jongin in their business but he refused. He said it was better to be Sehun’s bodyguard and Yeonseok knew exactly what he meant so he didn’t force him.

“You should rest too, you know. You and your brother have been working non-stop.” Jongin reprimands as he stood behind Sehun’s chair. He placed his hands on Sehun’s shoulders and started massaging him.

Sehun throws his head back and moans. “That feels nice.” He hums.

Jongin smirks as he presses harder. He leans down and captures Sehun’s lips for a kiss. Sehun smiles before kissing him back.

They keep making out until Sehun’s ringtone interrupts them. Sehun breaks the kiss to answer his phone. Jongin didn’t stop kissing him, instead, he moves to kiss Sehun’s neck instead.

“Hmm? Yeah, I got it done.” Sehun says. It was Yeonseok and he was asking for updates from him again. “I’m not slacking off, you need to put more trust in me.” He chuckles. “I have to go,”

“Jongin is right there with you, isn’t he?”  Yeonseok asks, voice full of dread.

Jongin makes sure to leave the filthiest, wettest kiss on Sehun’s neck just enough to be heard on the phone. “Good evening, boss.” He teases.

“Have some decency, not in the office.” It was all Yeonseok says before ending the call.

Sehun laughs it off. “Your brother has a point though, want to go home?” Jongin bites his ear.

Sehun nods. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Two years ago, Sehun thought things would never be the same anymore and honestly, it was the truth. But it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He thought he wouldn’t feel happiness again but he was wrong. 

At first, he felt guilty for slowly moving on and finding happiness in Jongin because a part of him thought that he didn't deserve it. But slowly and surely, Jongin convinced him that he deserves it. Jongin was the same, he thought he didn't deserve Sehun at first too but they both helped each other in the end. It was a horrible situation but they were each other's silver lining, their saving grace. 

Now they're making things right with their company. It's all just the beginning for them but it's a wonderful new adventure that is waiting to happen. 

When they got home, to their own home. They head straight to the bedroom. They kiss until they fall onto the bed. Jongin was extra loving that night by taking his time in kissing every inch of Sehun's body. And when he thrusts deeply into Sehun's heat, the younger just couldn't stop giving him loving kisses in return. 

He feels so much warmth and contentment. "I love you." Sehun whispers. 

Jongin gives him the same contented and elated expression too. His heart feels full. "I love you too."