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the art of humanity

Chapter 3: mr runaway

Chapter Text

Inside of the agency, everyone has their own ranks. Them without was the one on training, young teenagers aspiring for a better life for their country. Then there were the juniors, newly ranked and now out freely at the field. Juniors were the ones handling small murder cases spread around the cities, and as they got older, they were allowed to travel more towards the outskirts of the city. When at least three years passed, they will be ranked as the middles, already professional enough outside but not enough act to satisfy the president. They were normal and never faced any hierarchy like what they did back as a junior or under training. Real and actual adults who did their job seriously was the environment they live in, as well as trying to survive. Their line of work was dangerous and as middles, the territory that they reached weren't just their own comfort zone. Tasks and missions didn't just stay inside of Korea, it was now scattered all around Asia and sometimes outside of the continent.

Seniors were the last rank for an agent. They were the ones with the most respect, and most of them already spent at least twenty years here in the agency. They and masters, the ones who were assigned to taught the young teenagers in training, deserved the most respect and many believed that. Until a child prodigy came by, the ones who were already capable of many things without going through training. They were the ones that many people look up to and respected even when they were just in training, hence the privilege they owned created from it. Not many had that capability, but once a twin sibling did. Child prodigy were exceptions, if they could do something that would impress the president highly (and the possible chances weren't low), they would be ranked as a Senior automatically. It doesn't take them twenty years or more, they simply earned it because of their golden minds.

People often thought that Seniors owned the highest rank between agents. Until one day, a young couple manage to take down and expose a sex trafficking ring in New York without any backup in a span of three months. It was a risky thing to do since they have tons of connection laying around New York, but the pair magically done it without any scratch along the way. The mission was to only bring back valuable information about the ring so that the agency could quietly destroy it since the case was ignored by the police department over six months ago. Those two agreed, but after spending two months there working as one of the guards, they both couldn't handle the environment around them and couldn't wait any longer. The younger partner decided to not completely followed orders and asked his boyfriend to bring a small camera chip to work, putting it one in his nose piercing and his boyfriend on his breast pocket. They recorded everything about their day at work and as they arrived back at their apartment, the two send those videos anonymously to every local news station with every little information they had about them. It earned them respect, a big applaud upon entering the agency a week later, and a much higher rank. They were told to make another name for them and will called the first letter from it. Hence, Agent C and Agent X was born. It was from the name Chen and Xiumin, so everyone started calling them that and their real name was now buried deep in a special document and everyone started to forget those slowly.

Back at the car, the two young agents were clearly uncomfortable by the situation they were trapped in. On their way back to the train station, Yeji could see from the rearview mirror that Agent X was still pointing a gun at Byun Baekhyun. Agent C shared the same worried look as her when suddenly she heard him whine.

"Babe, is the gun necessary?" He hissed, complaining at his husband still holding a bored Baekhyun at gunpoint. The man was leaning on the window, clearly not bothered by it but his husband thought otherwise. He was stubborn about his choice and mustered the best adorable smile he could get and turned around, facing his husband while lovingly said something completely the opposite of adorable. "You do realize that you're talking about a runaway criminal who killed someone right?" At that, Baekhyun blandly rolled his eyes and told him not to point the 'obvious' while quoting it with his fingers. Agent X didn't seemed to care and Chen moaned in disappointment, cheeks turning red when his husband told him to save that later for the bedroom.

"I didn't have to know about your sex life Xiumin, and so does the two young agents in front of us," Baekhyun pointed out as Agent C became more embarrassed at himself. He had been held on gunpoint numerous time in his life, but this one was by far the worst. The man had a unique relationship back then with those two agents, he even heard the day when they were promoted into a much more higher rank than him. They both were great  and close acquaintances with him, but weren't close enough to be labelled as friends. Those three sometimes worked together and ate out, Baekhyun even witnessed Xiumin asking Chen out. After seeing how they treated him these past minutes, a conclusion was made inside of his head, telling him that they both also believed that he was truly a murderer. He sighed bitterly at that, a small and faint fog forming on the window glass.

"Well, I did want to hear about the case when an agent as well as a friend of mine 'allegedly' planted a bullet on one of his partner's chest and puts down his twin sister in a coma but I guess that didn't work out." Baekhyun gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes in anger. He brought a sensitive topic and purposely rubbing it on his face, mocking him that justice will be served on him. He knew that Xiumin have quite of a tongue, he just never thought a day would come when he encountered it. He thought that he had a mouth, but it sounded like Agent X had it better in him.

Feeling really uneasy at the high tension in the retired agent's backseat, Jihyeon decided to break the ice and nonchalantly said: "34, you new Mr Byun right? How did you know him? He was different from the picture back at the building."

The said man was taken aback by her words after knowing the fact that a picture was framed inside of the building. It made him feel odd on his chest, a little bubble of hope appearing there as a tinge of positivity finally rushed by after many years.

But of course Agent X had to burst the bubble and frowned at his junior. "Agent 00, don't start boasting his ego right now. That picture was simply just a memorial of the agency's first ever rogue agent." His words was like a slap across Baekhyun's voice as the positivity dimmed down and disappeared into his dark eyes. He wanted to feel angry, but considering the situation he put himself in right now, he had no right to do that, to feel that. He was officially a prisoner for them and was waiting, no, hoping for a redemption on his eyes.

The agent sure knows how to easily build up tension again.

After that, it was silence all over again. Agent X still stubbornly holds Baekhyun on gunpoint and Jihyeon felt bad about her words. Disrespecting an agent was something she wasn't planning to do, especially a senior, especially agent 88 himself. She could feel her lips trembling and Yeji saw that from the corner of her eyes. Her partner sighed and tried to help her in this situation by blurting out: "I idolize him."

Agent 88 heart came into a halt, watching from the rearview mirror as her lips curved into a soft smile. Her eyes showed nothing but genuine and he felt like crying from it. Agent X and C was also stunned, and Jihyeon sounds like she heard the most beautiful thing ever.

"Really?" She asked in disbelief, and Yeji nodded as her smile widened. "My aunt once was in one of the team that rescued him and," Yeji cleared her throat awkwardly as her eyes met his. "His only male partner." Baekhyun looked away from the rearview mirror. "She said that he was the one who held his breath while holding his partner that was way heavier and more stronger physically than him in a house full of fire while holding his own breath. Even after leaving the place and both was rushed to the hospital, he managed to give out a brief information about what him and his partner back in the mission before passing out." She explained with nothing but pure adoration in her eyes. "Ever since aunt Kim told me about that, I immediately agreed father's request to train and wanted nothing more than to be put in the partnering department. His story was truly beautiful in my own eyes."

Yeji said those words as if the person she was talking about wasn't sitting right behind her. Baekhyun's cold heart felt like it was exactly under the heat, melting slowly creating a pool of sadness and regret. Ever since his run, he didn't believe that anyone would be in his side (minus Seungheon hyung of course, he will always be grateful over his existence in his life), but the new fact slapped him across the face, sinking his mindset that in everyone's eyes he's a no good news. His head went down and sighed deeply when Agent X snickered and spoke: "Agent 34, that was like eight years ago. If you forgot, boasting his ego doesn't help this situation we are in any good."

Instead of cowering herself with a respectful bow and shutting herself up, she smiled and shook her head. "Did you know that he can't hold his breath while inhaling fire more than five minutes?" She asked. Agent X quirked his eyebrows and shook his head.

"Well I can't as well, but worse, I could only held myself for about a minute. It hurts right inhaling it? He risked it all for his damn partner, Agent X. Put that aside, I found beauty in trusting other people. Putting my life on the line for others held a special thrill inside my life that I want to experience, because a bond will be created and it is something magnificent, Agent X. I want to bond with someone with that trust, although I got an idiot instead," Jihyeon scowled at that, "But there's nothing I wanted to do more in this world than this job I have. The thrill is only what came with," she cheekily ended her speech. The couple and the senior agent frowned at her odd words but deep down, each of their hearts bloomed in the purity of her words and mindset. Each was reminded of their first days and years as an agent, feeling the thrill of doing missions and saving people's life in the public's shadow. But of course—

"But of course, everything costed something. In our case, it costed death that seemed like something normal at first but it became more painful as those seconds between living and dead passed and the look in your partner's eyes become the last view of earth. I'm not stupid, that's why I view life as something free, I mean I got freedom in life. But once you approached death, you can't back away unless you're a lucky bastard." She chuckled deeply, holding no humor to it. Her words were clear and it made a sense of uncomfortableness for the three agent in the back.

"Wow, I, I don't know what to say.." Baekhyun stammered through his words. Agent X lower his gun, and Yeji smiled at him. "I don't know what happened six years ago and I'm in no place to judge, but I do believe in one thing: You're not that kind of person and justice will be served, Mr Byun." She smiled kindly as her feline eyes turned into crescent like shaped, so naive that he wanted to steal some of it for himself. If she said that six years ago, that would give him hope to step foot back in the agency, but everything changed now. He was a coward and now the destiny he was supposed to face six years ago was going to come to him no matter what, and he is going to face it. He returned the smile shortly as they finally arrived at the train station, exactly at three p.m. Jihyeon already ordered three tickets, two for her and her partner and one for Baekhyun by the name of Kim Minwoo. He hoped the man brought his id.

Putting on a surgical mask, Baekhyun and the rest of them left the car. The husbands stayed near the car, Baekhyun stopped and frowned at the couple.

"Go on, we're gonna have a small chat with the retired agent," Agent C replied shortly, forcing a small reassuring grin on his lips. Jihyeon and Yeji nodded, but Baekhyun stayed for a while, looking at them seriously.

"Don't go hard on the old man," he said, looking at them both grimly, eyes fixated on Agent X mostly. He knew the agent was rough on interrogation, no matter where him and the suspect were, he always knew how to push buttons until the other gave in. It also meant toying with their inner mental state in the process, and Baekhyun really didn't want the old man to face the side of him. Seungheon himself had his own dark story and Baekhyun understood him the most, especially when he wanted to listen to every story from the rogue agent's side. A sense of gratefulness wasn't enough to describe how Baekhyun feels towards him. Agent C surprisingly nodded curtly, but his husbands on the other hand answered him with a small smile: "Of couse, Byun."

Baekhyun sighed in relief and smiled through his surgical mask. With his chin, Agent X gestured on the two young ladies that was waiting for Baekhyun patiently on the back. "You too Byun, don't do anything you'll regret. I know for a fact that those girls won't go easy on you. This is the redemption you've been waiting for your whole life, enjoy it because I know you'll love it."

And for once in his six years of running, Baekhyun said something he never thought he said with so much genuine: "Thank you." His eyes and lips curled, forming a similar crescent like shaped. The husbands nodded and Baekhyun turned around, catching up with the two agents. They casually entered the train like they were any other citizen and took a seat far away from others passengers, Baekhyun sitting in the corner, across Yeji and Jihyeon. He leaned his head to the window and gazed outside, feeling a sudden rush of excitement that he was finally going back to where he came from; Incheon.

Jihyeon was staring at him, a small frown on her lips. She did that after Agent C quickly whispered at her to always keep her and her partner's eyes on him since he didn't want what happened to them before to repeat all over again. At the end of the day, Baekhyun was still only 32 years old and was still very capable at a lot of stuff, especially running. This man managed to kept running from the agency's sight, and Agent C told her briefly as well that it was only two months ago that they finally discovered him here in Damyang. The train started, and Baekhyun slept through the whole ride.

Once they arrived at Incheon, Baekhyun received a small text from his old phone that one of his friends found Seungheon hanging himself inside of his house. He sighed.

-

Baekhyun understood that he had to went through this. He was, after all, a prisoner.

A car was waiting silently at the train station when they arrived. As usual, he was told to sit on the backseat and Yeji handcuffed him softly. Still wearing the mask, the black Maserati drove off from the station, heading back to the building. Inside of the ride, the only thing Baekhyun did was looking outside the window, examining the changes his city had. It was already nighttime, but Incheon didn't sleep. Many people still wander around, either shopping, hanging out, living out the night. Agent 34, but Baekhyun decided that calling her feline girl was better, told him that they would stop by the Incheon Fish Market and report to one of her upper ones.

The trio arrived there, and Baekhyun surprisingly was told to come as well. Yeji removed the handcuff but stood by his side, linking her arm to his and acted out as a couple. Jihyeon was told by her to act as their so called daughter and walked diligently beside Baekhyun, which she grumpily agree. Messing a few strands of his hair, Baekhyun turned himself into a more handsome man even with the surgical mask covering almost half of his face. Yeji was quite grateful for it, she was too lazy to deal with old aunties that sometimes got too excited over handsome prisoner she and Jihyeon brought over here for a check up if they didn't fight back.

Walking to one of the stands that stood way in the corner, they arrived at the place named 'Kim's Fish Stall' that sold fish and had a little space for chairs and tables to serve what they sold. The stall wasn't crowded and the customers were mostly tattooed men. That made the stall being the only place most visitors avoided, because of them. Baekhyun was impressed, because it was a slick but smart move. They casually walked inside, and nobody bats an eye at them because the good old couple trick was used by multiple agents. Yeji first approached a man that was cooking some dishes while humming an old korean tune. She knew better than to bother him, and waited patiently. The man finally looked up and smile widely at her.

"Good job ladies, my brother is right in his office." The two nodded politely and Baekhyun raised a curious brow. The man standing in front of them was none other than Kim Baekbeom. He was from Baekhyun's long line of cousin, and he sighed in understanding. He knew who was waiting for these girls, he knew who was one of their upper ones. He chuckled darkly. Baekhyun had a long line of cousins, one of them being this very man. The man was once one of the agency's greatest fighter and seductress who went through thousands of undercover missions and successfully passed. He was one of a remarkable piece the agency owned (and one of a dangerous one), he watched in amusement as the two girls brought him back to the office where the exact same man he had in his mind was sitting. He was talking seriously to his phone when his ears detected the noise from his office door. Baekhyun's mind was spinning, how would the interaction between him and the man go? It wasn't like he was one of the long list of his enemies, but since they first met all those years ago, every encounter between them was never pleasant. It was like the man holds an unknown grudge towards Baekhyun, he always looks like he despised him. He never bothered himself trying to figure it out, and now, he kind of regret it.

The call ended, and his body faced to the source of the noise. There stood the trio, and the man smiled at them.

"Ladies, it seems like you've fulfill the president's request by bringing," a small smirk was etched on his lips. "Something special."

Through gritted teeth and his surgical mask, Baekhyun replied with the cockiest tone he could muster: "I'm glad to be back as well, Junmyeon."

His words immediately ignite a spark of hatred in his eyes as he pointed a finger at him and snarled. "Don't you speak to me like that, Byun." There was a moment when the both of them simply glare at each other, and Jiheon sighed in annoyance. Yeji looks at them both and reluctantly lets Baekhyun go.

"Master," she said carefully. "Would you check on him and write a report before we take him back to the building?"

Baekhyun scoffed. "With that temper of yours, Jung let your position to turn into a master?" He sneered. Junmyeon's anger bubbled in his chest, and he was about to scream at Baekhyun for disrespecting him when a soft voice called from behind of the trio.

"Suho, you there?"

There stood a man with tanned skin and plump lips, his black hair tousled and was mixed with sweat. In his hand he holds a black helmet and there was a soft smile on his face and his eyes holds a sense of serenity that was unfamiliar to Baekhyun's eyes. Junmyeon stopped what he was doing and smiled back at him. It was endearing, for the man to be cautious because of the three stranger at his office. "You're early, is the race finished?" The man nodded cutely and walked to one of the sofas there, taking a seat and resting his helmet there.

"Kai-ssi," Yeji and Jihyeon bowed. "Ah!" His lips slightly parted when he recognized them and smiled so big it showed the crinkles from his eyes.

"Ladies, what are you doing here.." his eyes moved and travelled up and down upon Baekhyun's figure, quirking his eyebrows and scrutinizing the stranger. His eyes went big and realization and there was a mysterious glint that passed in his eyes that made Baekhyun slightly apprehensive. "A criminal." He spoke.

Well, that feeling disappeared quicker than what Baekhyun thought. "Of course Junmyeon had to date an asshole as well," he bluntly said with no hesitation despite the age gap between him and his cousin. Junmyeon growled at him, and Yeji gave his arm a warning squeeze. The man didn't seemed to be offended though, the smile on his face turned into a big grin but held a different meaning from the outside that the rogue agent can't decipher.

"Who said I'm someone good, Baekhyun-ssi?" His smile was now playful, but it held no humor inside. He gracefully stood up and approached him, pushing Baekhyun's chin up so that his eyes could met his. At that moment, Baekhyun tried to guess who this man was. But there was no avail, and his eyes showed clear disappointment and dissatisfaction. The man, Kai, chuckled at that and whispered lowly: "I have a feeling we will meet soon, Agent 88." Just like that, he left the office and headed deeper inside of the place. Before doing that, he made sure to kiss Junmyeon on the cheek longer than he intended to be and made eye contact with the prisoner before completely disappearing from his sight. Baekhyun gulped and looked away; he felt somehow vulnerable in front of this Kai person. Sadly, he didn't knew why.

After Kai left, the smile on Junmyeon's face was wept in an instant as he eyed him nastily. He reluctantly told him to stand beside his desk as Junmyeon pulled out a device that was unfamiliar to Baekhyun's eyes and scanned him up and down from the front side and the continuing on the back. It beeped twice and he nodded professionally, taking out a blank file from his folder and writing down things the prisoner couldn't see before handing it to Yeji.

"Here, bring this back to the president. He's going to explain the rest," he commanded them. The girls' eyebrows creased in confusion but nodded nonetheless and beckoned Baekhyun to approach them back. The man glanced at Junmyeon once, watching the man taking a seat and his chair and began to make himself busy with the documents that was scattered around his desk. Yeji took her two passenger outside so she could drive them back to the building. As soon as the door closed, Junmyeon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Do you believe him?"

Kai suddenly was already standing behind him. Junmyeon turned his chair around and sighed, grabbing both of the younger's hands softly and began to kiss them gently. "I don't know," he murmured between the kisses. Kai leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss into his lips, something new for the both of them. The older man immediately responded, slowly guiding him to his lap, cupping his cheek with one hand and the other softly holding Kai's slim waist. The make out session was lazy and innocent, very different with both of their actual wild personality when it comes to lust. Those two men simply enjoyed the moment, no strings attached. Until Kai leaned back and breathed out: "Why do you hate him?"

He caressed his cheek softly and Junmyeon closed his eyes. "You wouldn't understand," he whispered back. He brought back his composure and pushed Kai back softly, telling him to get back to work. After all, they were just another partner of many others, assigned on this big case. It was a perfect match made in heaven, Junmyeon being older and more experienced, and Kai having more connection inside of the criminal world but was new to the agency. He said his oath only around six months ago, but the agency trusted him enough as well as Junmyeon.

"I know, but don't go hard on him. You know he's innocent, right?" Kai looked at him expectantly but Junmyeon only sighed and told him to go back to work or rest. Kai chose the latter and bid him goodnight. Junmyeon ruffled his hair and went back to his paperwork, not sparing a glance when the younger man left his office. His eyes went to the wall on top of his office door that had a cross on it and whispered to himself: "May God protect my family."

He prayed in silence.