Archive of Our Own ^beta

1. Three Men

The alley was dark and foggy and a little creepy. The tall buildings on either side of it had no lights on left except for the slightly flickering streetlight; perfect for what Hyunjae was about to do. Boy, he's good at what he's about to do.

He leaned against the brick walls, hidden by the shadows.

Sangyeon had told him it was a very important mission. The man Hyunjae was targeting, a certain Song Hyunsik, apparently was in possession of some vital information their 'family' needed. Hyunjae's mission was simple: make sure Song Hyunsik ends up at their special house and not at his actual residence by the end of the night.

Stealth was Hyunjae's strength. He could move in silence and take out enemies before they even felt his presence. It was his talent that made him excel as a gangster, though due to his high position then, he barely could do these things again.

Unless of course, Sangyeon himself asked him to.

Hearing footsteps echoing down the street, Hyunjae glanced at his watch. Juyeon was right yet again; Song Hyunsik indeed was about to pass by that alley at 9:30 PM sharp. Hyunjae really needed to ask Juyeon how he manages to lock onto these tiny details that account for a perfect plan.

Song Hyunsik was running, out of breath, overweight, eyes wide with fear. Hyunjae watched from shadows, wondering if Hyunsik knew what was to fall upon him.

Five feet away.

Hyunjae pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and then crouched, still hidden in the shadows. Hyunsik was running pretty slow, though it may have something to do with his... well, unhealthy stature and proportion. Luckily, Hyunjae can bench press two Song Hyunsiks.

And then he pounced.

Hyunsik never saw it coming. Hyunjae had gotten up quicker than the eye could follow, honed by years of training, and grabbed the older man by the neck, forcing him to inhale into a kerchief dipped in chloroform and something else, something much stronger. Hyunjae had no idea what it was, just that Juyeon was so happy to finally be able to let him use it.

Whatever it was, it worked. Hyunsik was quickly on the pavement. Hyunjae worked fast to secure the man over his shoulder, brisk walking towards his parked motorcycle at the end of the alley.

After securing Hyunsik onto the bike, Hyunjae slid his own helmet on and gunned the engine.

His brothers were already waiting for him at their special house.

---

Sangyeon knew Hyunjae would never fuck a job up. Especially when it was their family on the line. Though they rarely showed in public the brotherly love siblings are supposed to have for each other, Sangyeon made sure to treat his younger brothers with familial affection when it was just them.

"You want to do this instead of me?" Sangyeon asked Juyeon, holding a skinning knife. It had been sharpened and oiled that morning, with utmost care of course, and while Sangyeon was itching to use it, the curious gleam in his youngest brother's eyes made him hesitate.

"You know that's not my expertise, hyung." Juyeon leaned forward on the chair he was straddling backwards; long arms drooping over the back rest. "I just want to watch up close, you know? What does this Hyunsik guy have to do with the family, anyway?"

Sangyeon narrowed his eyes at Juyeon, crossing his arms. "I bet you already know."

Juyeon simply shrugged. Sangyeon knew that the younger knew both Sangyeon and Hyunjae had the softest spots for him, and Sangyeon also knew Juyeon always used it to his advantage. Not that Juyeon was incompetent or anything of that sort.

In fact, had he been born before Sangyeon, Juyeon would be the one running their little family and all its branches. Normally, other families of their... type, let's say, would be worried when sons and daughters are equally competitive.

However, the filial respect and love the three of them have for each other thankfully outweighed their selfishness. Sangyeon could sleep peacefully at night knowing his brothers would give their lives for him, as he would for them.

"I just want to confirm it, hyung." Juyeon said with a lazy smile. "Song Hyunsik is a nobody from Gwangju. He moved to Gangnam three years ago, got a job at a law firm as a notary lawyer's secretary, goes home to the slums behind Korean Central Bank."

Sangyeon smiled back. "That's not all you know."

"How did he even have it?" Juyeon asked, genuinely perplexed. "I did a background check on two personas, and yet they all were done quite messily and easily traceable... but there was nothing on how he got the key."

"You know what they say, Juyeon." Sangyeon beamed when Hyunjae's finally entered the warehouse with an unconscious man on his shoulder. Sangyeon turned back to his tray of tools, picking up the roll of duct tape. "A dead man holds few secrets."

"A skinned man has none." Juyeon and Hyunjae finished together.

"Good. Help me tie Mr. Song up, please."

---

Song Hyunsik did not have the key.

His left leg had no skin left, bleeding profusely with the red blood staining the dirty floor of the abandoned warehouse. Yet he kept repeating he did not have it.

Sangyeon had removed two molars and a canine. Song Hyunsik said he gave the key away. Another canine later and Juyeon throwing a bucket of ice-cold water on Song Hyunsik, and he said a name.

Choi Chanhee.

Two fingers off.

Bae Joonyoung.

"Are any of those names ringing a bell?" Hyunjae asked Juyeon as they watched their eldest brother slip the skinning knife expertly under Hyunsik's right arm. "I haven't heard any of those names. They aren't a family."

"Never heard of them, hyung." Juyeon affirmed. "Gotta ask Eric to run some scans on the national census database and see what he'll get."

"Is it possible that Hyunsik's just giving us random names?"

"I mean, he better tell us the truth or his family will be "dumped into the landfill. Alive.""

Hyunjae glanced at Juyeon in surprise. The youngest was tapping away on his phone, already delegating research commands to his subordinates. "His family? I thought he was alone in Gangnam?"

"Yes, but in Gwangju, he isn't." Juyeon put his phone away, satisfied. "He left his wife and two kids alone three years ago. Maybe out of love so they wouldn't get stuck in this... rather inconvenient situation, but they are still so very vulnerable. I simply had to give them a visit to scan their faces so Sunwoo can do an animation of them begging for help. I sent it to Hyunsik's email before you got to him."

"That's why he looked scared as fuck." Hyunjae hummed, impressed. "Nice."

"What was that? I didn't catch that." Sangyeon suddenly yelled, holding a shark bone knife to Hyunsik's throat.

"Moon... Moon Hyungseo! Please! Please, let me go! I will never speak of--"

His head was rolling on the floor before he even finished his sentence, face stuck in a tearful plea and horrified eyes wide open. Sangyeon calmly wiped the blood off of his knife with his handkerchief, sighing deeply.

"That's an expensive knife you just ruined for a lackey." Hyunjae commented, already dousing the scene with a mix of sodium and gasoline. "We have about three minutes before this place blows up."

"Eric's already running a search on the three names." Juyeon reported as they walked out of the warehouse and into their Lamborghini calmly. "He still has homework to do, but he promised to scan while doing his Economics workbook. We'll get results by 3 AM."

Hyunjae shook his head. "Eric needs sleep."

"He'll be fine. His first period is 1 PM tomorrow. See you at home, Hyunjae-hyung." Juyeon waved as Sangyeon revved the engine. Hyunjae bid a quick goodbye and sped off into the night. Sangyeon and Juyeon followed, driving back to the city as if they weren't just killing a man for a lost relic two minutes ago.

And in the distance, the resounding chemical explosion woke the sleeping city of Gangnam from its restless sleep.

1. Whiskey Smoke

Juyeon closed the door behind him, trying to block out the bass thumping and epileptic seizure-inducing flashing lights from the nightclub. Though it was a lucrative business with easy money and easier men and women to fuck with, Juyeon was quickly growing tired of such an easy game.

He laid himself on the extravagant, silk bed of the finest suite in the nightclub/ hotel/ prostitution heaven/ whatever fucking shit parents call it when their kids ask what the noisy building is. Juyeon scoffed at that. Those parents who tell their kids to not go into the noisy building where the devil lives are the same ones throwing money at Juyeon's raves.

Parents lie to their children all the time. People lie to each other all the time.

Not them, though. Juyeon would much rather shoot himself in the head than even harm his brothers. Even if Hyunjae was only half-related to them, it didn't matter. Juyeon would kill for them. He would die for them.

"I had to check on it. Eric's intel traced this Choi Chanhee's network footprint to the club several times last week." Juyeon replied after a shot of whiskey. He had called Sangyeon, whining about being bored. The older merely laughed and asked why he was still there if he was already antsy.

"Anything on the other two names?"

"Apparently out of the country. Flight log suggests they'll be back in a month, though. Reservations have already been made for a return trip here. Economy. Bae Joonyoung took the window seat, F-23."

Sangyeon barked out a laugh from the other line. "Why does it seem like we're dealing with amateurs? Messy network footprints, advanced reservations with their real names. It's too good to be true, isn't it?"

Juyeon had to agree. Something was wrong with how easy and stupid everything seemed. It had bothered him too much, he told Hyunjae to not do anything yet and lay low. Hyunjae had shrugged at that, happy to be able to laze around for once.

He checked the time; 1:58 AM-- exactly 2 minutes before Eric accounted for Choi Chanhee to visit the nightclub.

"Alright, let's see who you are." Juyeon slicked his hair back and rolled the sleeves of his polo up, showcasing his tattooed, muscled arms. It was prime intimidation. Juyeon had seen how this Choi Chanhee looked like based on government files: feminine, soft, even beautiful.

He had also uncovered that this Choi Chanhee had several male lovers from the past. Juyeon wanted to lure this man in.

By 2 AM, Juyeon was at the bar, eyes trained on the door.

---

Hyunjae rolled around on his bed, unsettled. He had went to bed and tucked himself in 2 hours ago, and yet he was still wide awake. It wasn't the fear of an infiltration, no. Sangyeon was just next door. It was safe.

It was the safest place in the world.

But Hyunjae wasn't calm. He sat up, sheets pooling around his hips, as he stared at the locked balcony doors. They were ten inches thick and bulletproof, imported abroad through illegal trading. Sangyeon insisted on it for safety, and Hyunjae had initially agreed.

It was starting to suffocate him, though. There was this thick glass wall that separated them from the rest of the world; from the mundane, normal life most people have. The only semblance of normal Hyunjae had in his life was his relationship with his brothers.

Even that was debatable though. Their brotherhood has gone far from just flesh, in their matching tattoos and piercings that took too fucking long to heal. It had reached their soul.

If Hyunjae was troubled then, it meant the other two were as well.

He forced himself to get up and headed to the balcony, swiping up a pack of cigarettes from his bedside table. Years ago, he would have frowned at himself for even just thinking of having a smoke. Then though, Hyunjae knew he needed it. Too much and nothing were going on at the same time.

Overwhelming and underwhelming.

Hyunjae forced himself to focus on the fact that his brothers were safe and near him. It was all that mattered to the three of them. They willingly serve each other. Other people could never understand such loyalty.

Perhaps no one will, Hyunjae thought to himself, inhaling the nicotine into his lungs. He felt his muscles relax as his mind slowly started to clear again; there was no use in worrying. They had everything under control.

Everything.

Or so he thought.

---

Sangyeon glared at his computer screen. Juyeon had sent him a comprehensive, easy-to-read version of Eric's tracking earlier, yet it had been six hours and he was still unable to understand. He understood the location, the data, the implications--Sangyeon wasn't dumb.

What he didn't understand was the fact that it all seemed to easy.

Usually, when they're chasing enemies, they would have to do more than uncover government files and check airports to blockade or trap their adversaries. Their enemies would have weapons and a cache of money to fund them... but the three men: Choi Chanhee, Bae Joonyoung, and Moon Hyungseo, were all pretty standard as fuck.

The shadiest was Choi Chanhee's history working as an escort for a few months in his teens, but that was all. The logged clients were also just normal men with no business signed to them and most even have families. Moon Hyungseo, an artist who travelled the world but chose Korea as home was also pretty clean and transparent.

Bae Joonyoung was a church choir trainer.

Something was wrong.

Juyeon hadn't answered calls for the last few hours, which did not bother Sangyeon at all. He would have been notified if Juyeon had gone out of the nightclub. He was probably drunk out of his mind with a random lover in bed. Sangyeon smiled to himself. Their youngest really was something.

Hyunjae was sitting in front of Sangyeon, on a swivelling computer chair that he kept using to traverse to and fro the room in boredom.

"Maybe it is."

"Hm?" Sangyeon was surprised Hyunjae broke the silence.

"Maybe it is that easy." Hyunjae turned his chair around multiple times, stopping when he looked a little green from the vertigo. "Song Hyunsik had no way to connect with these three individuals. They had never been seen together. Maybe he just dropped the key into one of those three's bags and called it a day."

Sangyeon nodded, considering. "That is possible. We still have to check the three names he dropped, though. If any way one of those three work for another family syndicate... Well, you know what we do."

"That key is important." Hyunjae agreed, zooming across the room again. "I hope Juyeon will figure this out soon. I hate thinking. It somehow makes things worse."

The two brothers laughed.

III. First Encounters

Sangyeon always prided himself for being able to reel his emotions in, to have expert control over his actions, his thoughts, his entire being. He used such power to manipulate people to his advantage; his charm has never failed him before.

Until Bae Joonyoung literally crashed into him at the airport.

He could already feel it was a bad idea when he drafted the plan a week ago. Yet he couldn't bring himself to give the job to anyone else. Sangyeon's only conclusion was that he was paranoid,

"Attention to all passengers. Flight TB1206 from Toronto, Canada, has just landed." Sangyeon perked up at the announcement. He had been sitting at a massage chair for the last hour, bored out of his mind. The plane had been delayed, and Sangyeon almost wanted to give up, but something told him to stay.

Sangyeon made his way to the arrivals, blending in with the mix of people with huge signs and koud voices. He saw some idols passing through, but his gaze was only brief at them--he was looking for silver hair peeking from the crowd.

And suddenly, Sangyeon was on his ass on the floor with someone on top of him.

Someone smelling strongly of mangoes and tropical fruits.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" the man rolled to his side, getting up easily and offering a hand to Sangyeon.

Sangyeon felt his heart stop. It was Bae Joonyoung. Sangyeon had no doubt; it were the same warm, brown eyes, stature in which Joonyoung seemed to be making himself smaller, the nervous smile. Sangyeon had a hard time believing Joonyoung was hiding a relic.

"Are you okay?" Joonyoung's voice was soft. Softer than cotton or the first drop of rain. "I'm so sorry, I was so preoccupied with looking for my friend, I didn't see you there!"

"Thank you." thinking fast, Sangyeon grasped Joonyoung's hand. Soft. Haven't been in a fistfight before with the absence of callouses on his knuckles. "It's not a worry, rather, it is a pleasure to have met an angel such as you.

"Ah." Joonyoung blushed. "Um,-"

"Would this angel grace me with a date?"

Sangyeon didn't know how it happened. He was supposed to get close to Joonyoung again physically only, to tap a bug onto his jacket. Yet there he was, still holding Joonyoung's hand and asking the man out on a date.

"I um, I have to meet with my friend though." Joonyoung's voice went even higher as he became more and more flustered. "I-I can give you my number though? If you want?"

Joonyoung quickly scribbled his number down on Sangyeon's palm, bowing again and again before running towards the exit doors. Sangyeon stared at his hand, chest burning with confusion and a sudden fear.

The enemy was more dangerous than he had previously estimated them to be.

---

When Juyeon woke up, Chanhee was already making coffee in the kitchen of Juyeon's studio apartment. The smell of the rich, imported brew spurred Juyeon to pick his robe up from the floor and pad over to the other man.

"Morning. Slept well?" Chanhee asked, dressed in Juyeon's discarded shirt from the night before. His neck was marred with hickeys and bite marks yet again, and Juyeon was sure his own back was lined full of angry red nail streaks.

"Why are you up so early?" Juyeon grumbled, pulling the thinner man by the wrist to lock their lips together. He pushed Chanhee up against one of the marble counters, hooking one of Chanhee's leg to wrap around his waist.

"My back hurts." Chanhee complained, pushing Juyeon away. He hopped off the counter, limping towards the island counter to sit on a stool. Juyeon watched with a cocky smirk, proud that he was the one who caused Chanhee to be very, very drained and satisfied after a night of fucking.

At the back of his mind, Juyeon wondered what the fuck was going on with him. He and Chanhee had spent almost every night in the apartment Juyeon owned separately from his brothers, and Juyeon hasn't breathed a word about Chanhee to his hyungs.

He was thoroughly convinced Chanhee was innocent from the get-go. Juyeon had no proof yet, but the more time they spend together, Juyeon felt like he understood Chanhee and vice versa. He knew almost everything already from his research, but it still interested him enough to listen when Chanhee himself unabashedly talked about his life.

Chanhee barely reacted when Juyeon told him he was a member of a mafia and was investigating Chanhee. The smaller man simply laughed and said that it didn't matter; Chanhee was not interested in Juyeon's background or aims. Just the sex.

"I'll try to be gentler next time, darling." Juyeon winked, bringing out salad for them to share.

"You always say that and every damn time I end up passing out." Chanhee rolled his eyes, watching with hooded, dilated eyes as Juyeon's robe slipped from his shoulder to show a toned, tanned, and tattooed bicep.

Juyeon knew he was being stared at and flexed, grinning when Chanhee turned bright red and ducked his head.

"God, you are such a tease, Lee Juyeon."

"Choi Chanhee, I could definitely tell you the same thing."

---

Hyunjae knew his brothers were tracking two of the names down already, and so decided to take the third name for himself. Moon Hyungseo had arrived earlier than Bae Joonyoung, and Hyunjae had tracked him down to a routine of visiting a cafe every Saturday afternoon.

After ordering two americanos and a strawberry cheesecake, Hyunjae sat on the table Hyungseo usually occupied and then opened his phone to play PUBG while waiting.

He finally saw Hyungseo enter, hair hidden by a plain, black beanie, and glasses so big they were almost the same size as Hyunseo's cheekbones. Hyungseo looked warm in his oversized bomber jacket thrown over a turtleneck, but Hyunjae was wondering more why Hyungseo was getting thinner with everytime he sees him.

The cashier then pointed at Hyunjae, who was already looking at Hyungseo.

"A-are you sure?"

Hyunjae had to snort with how shaky and cute Hyungseo sounded with the question. He waved at the younger man, flashing a small smile, and that was all it took for Hyungseo to timidly walk over and sit down.

"Hi." Hyunjae grinned at him. "I bought you an americano and a cheesecake."

"Um, thank you? But why?" Hyungseo looked like he was ready to bolt out of the cafe. Hyunjae didn't like that. He simply slid his foot forward, brushing against Hyungseo's calf as Hyunjae stretched to relax back against the booth.

Hyungseo's ears turned pink.

"You're cute. Why not, right?" Hyunjae knew his effect on people. They were handsome and charming, all three of the Lee brothers. It helped them with gaining influence, and it still helps. Hyunjae knew how important the key was. Everything had to be employed for the end to be achieved.

"How sure will I be that this isn't poison?"

Hyunjae put a hand on his heart, feigning hurt. "Why would I ever think of that? I just wanted to take a certain artist out on a date and get to know him better... say, past his numerous painting exhibits that yours truly had attended."

"You've been to my exhibits?" Hyungseo raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"Your most loved artwork that was on display at the National Museum for a month, the one you said you worked on for 4 years during college... you named it Love. It employed surrealism with cubism; the medium was oil.

"A twelve by twelve canvas. It showed nothing but a simple human heart at first glance, but if you come closer and see the background, it shows a mosaic of images painted over with thin, white coats. It's pretty damn amazing, but I'd say the artist himself is more... dare I say it? Intriguing."

Hyungseo broke out into a wide smile at that. He leaned forward expectantly. "You're the first one to see past the white cover!"

"I see past way too many things. Perks of taking way too many classes in college, I guess." Hyunjae shyly scratched his neck, taken aback by the sudden exclamation. He really thought it was obvious to others.

"Tell me more, please? Have you seen 'War'? 'The Gates of Heaven'?" Hyungseo leaned forward, fully absorbed already. Hyunjae smiled at that, gesturing for Hyungseo to take a sip of the americano first.

Everything was going better than expected.

1. Secrets

"I found something, hyung." Eric announced the moment Juyeon walked into the younger's shared dorm room with Sunwoo. The other boy was sleeping in a star-fish position on his bed at the corner, totally knocked out with a stack of books beside him.

"I brought you guys dinner." Juyeon placed the take out on the available space on Eric's desk that hasn't been covered by doodles of Spiderman and math computations.

Eric quickly forgot what he was going to say as he opened the take out, screaming in joy when it was premium ramyun from across town. His scream didn't fully wake Sunwoo up, but Juyeon saw him turn on his side.

"Is it midterms?" Juyeon asked, sitting on the couch. He felt something poke his back and turned to pull a half eaten bar of twix from the couch fold. "Youngjae... please clean up after yourselves."

"I am!" Eric was already opening the ramyun container. "It's just that this thing I found is kinda weird and I've been narrowing the searches down and I almost had it but then Felix from the next room tripped on the wifi cable so the signal went haywire and the IP address got-- the point is, hyung, I think I found a connection between the three names."

Juyeon leaned forward expectantly. Eric and Sunwoo, though still in college, were his best hackers and infiltrators. Juyeon paid for their tuition and allowance, as the two were orphans with nowhere and no one to turn to. Juyeon liked to think of the two as extended family, considering how both Sangyeon and Hyunjae warmed up to them as well.

"They've all worked for companies owned by Kim Younghoon of the Kim Group of Companies. Could be a coincidence considering how the Kims own like, half the stuff you guys don't own, but there's something else too." Eric opened several encrypted files and dragged them to the second screen.

"Kim Younghoon doesn't like to be outside. Around people. In public, whatever. His only pictures that aren't from the press are instagram photos from Choi Chanhee, Bae Joonyoung, and Moon Hyungseo." Eric continued on, starting to inhale the food and talk at the same time. "All posted on the same week, taken at the same place."

Juyeon chewed on his lip, thinking hard.

So Chanhee lied to him?

"Hyung, don't you think this is kinda messed up?" Eric asked after a while. "They are so easily trackable. Their insta photos are still up. Everything is so easy it's almost like we're the ones being fooled."

"That is possible." Juyeon laughed, messing Eric's hair before standing up to leave. "Don't eat Sunwoo's portion, Youngjae. You know how grumpy he gets when he doesn't eat. Clean up too, the dorm smells like a gym."

Outside, Juyeon hesitated as he reached his car. Eric was right; something was wrong. It was too easy, too simple. Nothing was ever simple in the game of lies and the underground.

He decided to visit someone that night instead of just going back to his apartment with Chanhee. Juyeon hadn't visited Hyunjoon for a long time then; maybe it was time. He always seemed to focus better as he watched Hyunjoon's vitals on the screen.

Even if Hyunjoon wasn't responding to him verbally, he could almost hear the younger talk him through the problem.

Juyeon hoped it will work that time as well.

----

Hyunjae followed Hyungseo around, arguing with the symbolism of abstract artwork and if they should be even deemed as art. The exhibit was new in the city, focusing on worldwide, famous paintings of the new century.

"Jason Spollock basically just whisked paint droplets onto the canvas and called it a day! Isn't that an offense to you, who spend days and bleed into their art?" Hyunjae said, loud enough to earn him some alarmed looks from the people around them.

Hyungseo noticed the attention being given to them due to Hyunjae's blatantly blunt opinion, and he rushed to cover Hyunjae's mouth.

"You're in an art gallery with actual connoisseurs! Watch your tongue or we'll get killed before we even get to the mixed media section!"

"I dare them to try laying a hand on you." Hyunjae's eyes sparked with a wicked gleam, hand on Hyungseo's hip bone. He leaned forward, whispering directly into Hyungseo's ear.

"Y-you're an idiot." Hyungseo managed to stammer out.

Hyunjae was internally getting worried. Hyungseo seemed like a genuinely innocent person, one who can't even hurt an ant. Then again, Hyunjae knew the best criminals are also the best actors. He should know; he is one of them.

However, maybe not all of Hyunjae's actions toward Hyungseo were acts of deception.

"Hyunjae, look, it looks like you!"

"That's a stick figure."

"Yeah, but look at it! It even has a gun."

Hyunjae slid his arms around Hyungseo's small body, enveloping the other with his crisp, woodsy scent. "Do I seem like a stick figure with a gun to you, Moonie?" he asked in a hoarse whisper. He chuckled when Hyungseo tensed, squeezing the smaller man in his arms. "Don't worry, Moonie. That gun will never be aimed at you."

"...You have a gun? I was joking??" Hyungseo squeaked.

"I have guns." Hyunjae corrected, flexing his biceps. "And something else."

"Please don't do this to me, we're in public." Hyungseo breathed out, shaky hands coming up to hold Hyunjae's arms over his torso. "Maybe later. My apartment."

"Perfect."

---

Sangyeon never thought he'd step inside a church, much less attend a mass, in all his life. Yet there he was, on the second pew, watching Joonyoung sing with the choir during an offering. Something about the way Joonyoung's eyes would meet his for a second stay, pupils slowly dilating as time passed by, turned something on inside Sangyeon. The way Joonyoung would shift when he sat and cover his blushing cheeks with his hands made Sangyeon smirk.

Talk about sinning in church.

Maybe it was also because Sangyeon was looking at him like he was about to pounce and devour him.

Joonyoung was fully under his control. Sangyeon just didn't want to admit that he was also under Joonyoung's influence. He was too prideful for that-- the family leader falling... in love? No, not possible. They have a job and an artifact to locate. They have a brother's life on the line and love will only get in the way.

"You were amazing back there." Sangyeon greeted him after, holding out a bouquet of roses. "It felt like heaven for a moment."

"You're flattering me so much!" Joonyoung replied with a wide smile, kissing his cheek. He smelled the flowers, closing his eyes at the sweet smell. "Did you even listen to the mass? You seemed to be just staring at me."

"I was." Sangyeon affirmed, opening the door to the shotgun seat of his lamborghini for Joonyoung to enter. "Well, where does the angel want to go?" Sangyeon asked, leaning with his arms on the roof of the car and the door, hovering over Joonyoung.

"I don't know. Where does God want me to go?"

Sangyeon clicked his tongue, amused. "I'm sorry to disappoint, babe, but my name's Sangyeon, not God."

Joonyoung looked up at him with wide, dark eyes. "Close enough." he murmured almost inaudibly, but Sangyeon caught it anyway. They stared at each other for what seemed like a century, until Sangyeon gently cupped Joonyoung's cheek to give the younger a small peck before closing the door and walking over to the driver's side.

Sangyeon took a deep breath, hand on the car door handle.

Sometimes, he forgets it was all an act.

 V: Cracks

 "Do you think the bed's a bit too hard?" Sangyeon asked, poking the mattress.

Hyunjae shook his head. "It's too soft, hyung. Hyunjoon wouldn't like that."

The three brothers were in Hyunjoon's private hospital room, watching their youngest brother's steady vitals on the small screen beside the bed. Hyunjoon wasn't connected to too many tubes then, compared to the first few years after the car crash, but it was still painful to realize how his young life was tethered to a machine that forces his lungs to expand and contract, simulating breathing.

"I have an update." Juyeon placed a folder on the foot of Hyunjoon's bed. "The three names are connected to this Kim Younghoon, the current owner of the Kim Group of Companies. Same date, same place, Instagram pictures. I'm having Sunwoo do a scan of their faces on deleted files."

"The Kim group of Companies..?" Sangyeon took out a picture. It was Joonyoung and Younghoon, linking arms and smiling brightly at the camera. Sangyeon did not like it. He threw it back into the folder. "Are we sure this isn't fake? Edited, or anything?"

"Seems real." Hyunjae was looking at the picture of Hyungseo and Younghoon sitting together on a bench. Close. Too close for Hyunjae's liking. "Seems genuine."

"I checked the lines. If these are edited, they're done by experts. Sunwoo-level expert." Juyeon explained. "Even Sunwoo can't make clear cut edits such as these. I don't know what to make of it. What do we do, hyung?"

Sangyeon was silent for a moment, just looking at Hyunjoon's motionless body on the hospital bed.

"Hyung?" Hyunjae prodded softly.

"I say we don't stop until Hyunjoon is okay." Sangyeon finally said. "That key is very important. It's our job as Hyunjoon's brothers to find it and make him fine again. That's what matters. It's the only thing that matters. We are going to continue looking for that key, and we will not rest until we have it. That's what we are going to do."

---

Hyunjae sat on a beaten, brown couch as he watched Hyungseo dabble paint on a canvas. Hyungseo said it was supposed to be a landscape oil of Canada, or something, and tried to shoo Hyunjae away with the reasoning that he'll just get bored watching Hyungseo paint.

One kiss filled with tongue later and Hyunjae was eating popcorn, watching Kevin work a blank canvas into a masterpiece.

"Hey, Hyunjae? Can I... can I paint you?" Hyungseo suddenly asked, turnin around in his chair. "I mean, it's okay if you don't want to! I just... you're very handsome and built and... yeah."

"Sure, it will be my pleasure, Hyungseo-ah." Hyunjae winked, already shedding his jacket off. He placed it on the back of the couch, grinning. "Do you want me nude? It is getting hot in here, and I'm really, down to cool down, you know?"

As Hyunjae talked, he started to slowly unbotton his black, long sleeved polo, watching with amusement as Hyungseo's jaw dropped lower and lower with every inch of tattooed torso he showed. Hyunjae walked forward, closing the distance between them, and looking down at a red in face Hyungseo.

"Well?"

"I, um.. I don't think I'll be able to paint you like that." Hyungseo whispered.

"Let me paint you instead, then." Hyunjae proposed, throwing his polo somewhere to his right. He caged Hyungseo with his hands resting on the easel behind him, biting his lip. "I want to see the real art."

Hyunjae had no idea what was going on with himself. All he knew was that he really wanted to have Hyungseo right there and then, or else he'd go crazy. At the back of his mind, where lust and maybe something else hasn't reached yet, Hyunjae wondered if it was possible that underneath Hyungseo's shy, adorably awkward demeanor, was a sinister motive that could end Hyunjae.

He pushed the thought aside and leaned down to capture Hyungseo's lips, molding against the soft, wet tongue as he guided the younger to stand. Hyunjae's hands slid down to Hyungseo's ass and he lifted him up; letting Hyungseo wrap his legs around Hyunjae's waist.

"Bed?" Hyunjae asked softly, lapping at Hyungseo's jaw as the younger, smaller boy arched his back to get closer to Hyunjae's heat. "Baby, you need to use your words. Where's your bedroom?"

"First door on the right." Hyungseo managed to whimper out, hands pulling at Hyunjae's, dyed curly hair.

The moment Hyungseo was finally laid onto his bed, Hyunjae crawled over him, drinking in the sight of the still fully-clothed artist under him. Hyungseo's eyes were half-lidded with lust as he needily pulled Hyunjae down to press their bodies together and mash their lips against each other once more.

Hyunjae was impatient, however, and hooked one of Hyungseo's legs over his shoulder, pleasantly surprised at the younger's flexibility, and grinded down, earning a high whine from Hyungseo.

"Protection?"

"I'm clean. Please, please, Hyunjae- please--"

"Shh, baby, it's okay " Hyunjae placed a chaste kiss on Hyungseo's forehead even as he continued his sinful grinding, feeling both of their cocks harden with every insistent roll of his hips against Hyungseo's. "I'll take care of you, baby."

He pulled away to kick his pants and underwear off hurriedly, dragging Hyungseo to a sitting position so he could remove his tshirt and shorts. When Hyungseo was in nothing but his briefs, Hyungseo laid him back on the bed, kissing him deeply as he grabbed Hyungseo's clothed cock and massaged the wet tip.

"Hngh--Hyunjae, please, please don't tease me!" Hyungseo begged, nails digging into Hyunjae's shoulders, trying to keep himself grounded.

"You're so cute." Hyunjae laughed hoarsely, finally looping his fingers on the elastic of Hyungseo's briefs, pulling it down. He asked Hyungseo to put his hands up, tying them together with the underwear and asking where the lube is.

"Under the pillow." Hyungseo whispered, a little shy, but mostly aroused if the way his dick was twitching by Hyunjae's knee was any indication. Hyunjae let out another laugh when he realized the bottle was almost empty. "Yah! Stop laughing, okay? Do you know how hard it is to go home alone everyday after you tease me the whole day?"

Hyunjae hummed, eyes darkening even more. It was barely sunset, with the sun casting orange light through the windows and on the tattoos on Hyunjae's body. The dragons and lines seemed to come alive with every movement he made, and Hyungseo was whimpering under him.

"Please."

"As you wish, baby." Hyunjae finally coated his fingers with the sweet-smelling citrus lube, warming them up before slowly circling Hyungseo's puckered, pink rim with his thumb. "Relax for me, okay?"

He worked slowly, deliciously scissoring Hyungseo's tight hole and lavishing the high-pitched whines he was hearing from the artist with every "accidental" jab to Hyungseo's prostate. Hyungseo jerked with every movement, legs shaking so much that Hyunjae had to hold them down.

"How many fingers can you take, baby?" Hyunjae asked, pumping his own, neglected, hard cock. "I want you to be comfortable, okay?"

"I don't care, I just..." Hyungseo breathed in deeply at the sight of Hyunjae's dick. "Fuck, I just want you inside me now, please?"

"Hyungseo--"

"Please?"

Hyunjae would normally have not cared at all if his partner was comfortable. After all, sex was for his pleasure and that was what he was after, not the satisfaction of his lover in bed. With Hyungseo though, Hyunjae felt different. 

He needed to make sure Hyungseo was okay. He needed to make sure Hyungseo was loving every moment of it as much as Hyunjae was.

"Hold onto your legs, baby." Hyunjae finally said, massaging Hyungseo's thigh as he lined himself up, groaning when the head of his dick slipped past Hyungseo's tight rim of muscles with much difficulty. He stayed still, wiping a stray tear from Hyungseo's face. "Relax for me, Hyungseo. Take your time."

"You're so thick." Hyungseo panted, pushing his ass up to take more of Hyunjae slowly. Hyunjae tried to help ease the slide by pouring lube on where their bodies connected, but Hyungseo only shivered at the sudden cold on his ass.

After a long moment of adjustment and Hyunjae just silently wiping Hyungseo's wet cheeks, the younger finally gave him the signal to move. At the first thrust, Hyungseo still winced at the burn, but ultimately gave way to shy moaning as Hyunjae's thrusts found a hard and fast rhythm that caused the bedframe to bang against the wall.

"Hyunjae-" Hyungseo moaned with his eyes rolling to the back of his head, arms around Hyunjae's shoulders as his lower stomach started burning up with the familiarity of a coil being pressed down. "Hyunjae, please--"

"Fuck, you're so good to me, baby. You're so good." Hyunjae grunted, moving more fluidly, balls slapping against Hyungseo's ass. "You feel so good, Hyungseo."

Hyungseo only cried out in reply, hand slipping from Hyunjae's neck to grab at his own dick, pumping with a desperate whine as he cummed, milky white fluid trailing down the dips of his stomach and even reaching his chin at the angle Hyunjae was pounding him with on the bed.

Hyunjae moved to pull out, worried for Hyungseo's sensitivity, but the smaller man quickly shook his head, grabbing Hyunjae's arm. "No, please! Please, cum inside me, please, I can take it, I can--"

"Shh, baby, it's okay. I don't want to hurt you." Hyunjae argued.

"No, please!" Hyungseo begged, grip tightening on Hyunjae's arm. "Hyunjae, please, I want to feel your cum, pl--"

It was too much. Hyunjae gave in to Hyungseo's weeping, pushing himself back in to the hilt, against Hyungseo's painfully stimulated prostrate. Hyungseo cried out again, worrying Hyunjae, but he still snapped his hips to reach his own climax. Until Hyunjae buried himself as deep as he could again, against Hyungseo's pulsating walls, and pulled the younger in for a deep, searing kiss.

Hyungseo moaned against the kiss, feeling the hot spurts gushing out from Hyunjae's dick fill him.

"Fuck, you're so good, baby." Hyunjae whispered as they continued to kiss, rocking them both gently as he rode his orgasm out. "You're so good, so, so good. You did well, Hyungseo."

"Oh my god." Hyungseo breathed out when Hyunjae finally pulled out, body still twitching at the aftershocks as cum leaked out of his ass and onto the sheets. "I just did my laundry, damn it."

Hyunjae laughed, letting Hyungseo snuggle up to his chest and holding the artist securely in his arms. "Do you want me to clean you up?" he asked, fingers carding through Hyungseo's hair to soothe the younger.

"No, I like being filthy with you." Hyungseo muttered, already half asleep.

"Naughty." Hyunjae chuckled, bringing him even closer. Before drifting off to sleep himself, Hyunjae wondered if he was still deceiving Hyungseo; if Hyunjae was still hanging out with him to investigate. He wondered what his brothers would think of him, fucking--no, making love to the enemy, when their youngest was comatosed on a hospital bed.

Hyunjae shook the thoughts away.

He'll think of them when he wakes up. For now, what mattered was Hyungseo already sleeping peacefully with him... another semblance of normal that Hyunjae always craved to have.

1. Younghoon

Juyeon always wakes up before Chanhee does, spending the majority of the time just staring at his face peacefully pressed against Juyeon's hard, tattooed chest. The contrast of his tan to Chanhee's milky grace never failed to catch Juyeon's attention.

Not that day, though.

Juyeon carefully moved away from Chanhee, who immediately clung onto a pillow Juyeon left in his place. Juyeon knew too much by then, just after a night of running a scan of Chanhee's deleted social media statuses and old phone numbers-- Chanhee and Younghoon had a far deeper connection than Juyeon primarily suspected.

Not just Chanhee, of course. Bae Joonyoung and Moon Hyungseo also shared the same profile; they were past lovers of the rich bachelor. Surprisingly, all three were on some good terms with each other. Joonyoung and Hyungseo especially, were the best of friends.

All his research has led Juyeon to conclude that Chanhee was the prime arrow pointing to the key.

Of course, Juyeon just couldn't straight-up tell Chanhee. The minx had him wrapped around his little finger, Juyeon had to admit... yet, he knew something Chanhee didn't.

If Chanhee was playing around with him, Juyeon would play along.

"You're up early." Chanhee yawned from the bed, blinking sleepily at Juyeon, who was reading company reports by the glass wall overlooking the city. "Come back to bed?"

"These reports are important, Chanhee." Juyeon didn't even bother looking up from the clear files he held.

"More important than me?"

Juyeon could almost hear the pout with the younger's tone. He had to admit: Chanhee was a hell of a good actor. Choi Chanhee had managed to trick The Tactician himself, but only at first. Juyeon smirked, turning a page as Chanhee whined and called his name again, drawled out and more sultry.

The tables have turned and Chanhee was the one being tricked then.

The key would be given to him soon, Juyeon swore. Hyunjoon just had to wait a little bit more.

---

Hyunjae watched from the table as Hyungseo move around the small kitchen, making them both breakfast and coffee while humming Crazy In Love by Beyoncè, a small smile on his handsome face as he thanked every deity out there for granting his dreams of being able to meet and be with someone like Moon Hyungseo.

"What are you looking at?" Hyungseo asked, hands on his waist.

"A dream." Hyunjae hummed, letting Hyungseo sit on his lap. "I can't believe I met you."

"When did you turn into such a sap?" the thinner man laughed, a hand on Hyunjae's chest. "For the record, I would never have known life could be this colorful until I met you too. You're the colors I have never known I can see until I did."

"What, I'm not just black and white?"

Hyungseo looked really amused and fond at Hyunjae's question. "No. You're every color of the rainbow, Jae. I could tell you so much more, but the egg rolls I've made for us are about to go cold, so maybe later?"

Hyunjae laughed, feeling freed and light. He pressed a kiss on Hyungseo's cheek one last time, thinking about a life like it-- no underground businesses, no blood on his hands, no secrets and names to hide. Just Hyunjae and Hyungseo, in a small, messy apartment, sharing kisses and coffee at 11 a.m..

----

Sangyeon did not expect for Joonyoung to bring up Younghoon on one of their dates eating out. They were in a diner with bright red booths and a servers on skates and the smell of hamburgers in the air, sitting at the same booth with Sangyeon's arm carelessly placed on the backrest where Joonyoung was sitting.

"Younghoon really liked the milkshakes here." Joonyoung suddenly hummed, drumming his fingers on the linoleum-covered table. "My ex. We used to come here like, every week just so he could get his fix of their milkshakes."

What was Sangyeon supposed to say?

"Younghoon..?"

"Don't be like that, Gyeon-ah!" Joonyoung laughed, smile still innocent as he rested his head on his hand, looking at Sangyeon. "I know you've been investigating not only me, but also Hyungseo and Chanhee. Honestly, have you never thought we wouldn't ever catch you?"

There was no trace of menace, evil, not guilt in Joonyoung's expression; he still retained that serene, angelic face even as the world was starting to fall underneath Sangyeon's feet.

"It's okay, we're not mad. Only a bit. We kind of saw it coming when Song Hyunsik, bless his soul, never replied to our messages." Joonyoung explained, sighing. "It was fine and all. With your reputation, Hyunsik-ssi might have lost some physical attributes before he blew up in that chemical explosion..."

Sangyeon tried to reign his racing thoughts in and appear calm and collected, even if he was surprised and betrayed that he was the one being played all that time.

He was sweating.

They had never accounted for this.

"So, what does this mean?"

"You seem like a really nice guy, Sangyeon." Joonyoung smiled apologetically, and Sangyeon felt something cold and heavy press against his own thigh. Joonyoung slowly lifted it up, revealing a beautiful mini-handgun with rubies encrusted on its barrel.

Sangyeon realized belatedly that the diner had been vacated. When did that happen? What kind of sway did Joonyoung have in this illicit life style?

How could an angel be the devil?

"Just follow what I say and no one will get hurt." Joonyoung slid out of the booth, intertwining their fingers together and pressing the gun on the side of Sangyeon's temple. "Let's go, Gyeon-ah~ your brothers are on their way as well."

At the back of Sangyeon's mind, he thought back to everything that had led to him in that booth of the diner. The messy tracks, the blatant innocence; they were all a bait and they bit into it, teeth, heart, and all.

Sangyeon clenched his fists as they walked back to his Porsche in the parking lot.

He prayed a silent apology to Hyunjoon, followed by a heartfelt promise. Sangyeon would never stop until Hyunjoon was back on his feet, healthy and safe.

Even if Sangyeon's life would be taken in the process, he needed to keep his brothers safe. All three of them.

VII. Bonds

Juyeon woke up feeling, well, discombobulated. The last thing he remembered was that he and Chanhee were eating lunch, enjoying a relatively peaceful noon in the comfort of his studio apartment... what happened after? His mind was blank.

He moved to rub at his eyes, but found that he couldn't move his arms. Both of them. His legs too. The increasing struggle to move quickly woke him up fully, and as he blinked the sleep away from his eyes, Juyeon saw Chanhee peering at the glass wall window, dressed only in a black, sheer, silk robe.

"..Chanhee? What's going on?" Juyeon called out, realizing his hands were bound together above his head with satin sheets tied too roughly with little regard for comfort, secured onto the bedpost. His ankles were separately tied as well, leaving him bare and naked and helpless.

Panic started to well up in his chest.

"You were finding out too fast, babe." Chanhee said slowly, closing the curtains of the window before turning to Juyeon with a sad smile. "You knew too much in such a short period of time, so we had to adjust and move fast too. At least Joonyoungie-hyung gave me until sundown to bring you in... so I'd have a bit of time to play with you before well, before we kill you."

"So I was right? You do have the key?" Juyeon uselessly struggled against his restraints.

"I'm going to miss you." Chanhee sighed, tracing the ridges and valleys of Juyeon's tan abs, stopping at the soft skin under his belly button, just above the start of his trimmed pubic hair. Chanhee pressed his palm down on the skin laughing when Juyeon's cock twitched before leaning down to lock their lips together in a messy kiss.

Juyeon kept his mouth shut, unwilling to surrender to the minx on top of him, causing Chanhee to pull back and slap his face with his free hand. The sting was bearable, but it caused a newfound fire to burn in Juyeon's eyes. He glared at the smaller man, who was climbing over him then, silk robe open and cool against Juyeon's skin.

"Cooperate, would you? You're the best fuck I've had forever, and I would keep you alive just for that, but orders are orders, you know?" Chanhee scolded, grinding down on Juyeon's half-hard dick. "Juyeon, c'mon, this is like, the last time I'll make love with you, can you at least be complacent?"

"Make love?" Juyeon scoffed, eyebrows knitting together in a cruel sneer.

"Don't deny it." Chanhee's tone suddenly became soft as he looked down, still and serene and almost guilty. "I know there's something in here too, and that I managed to wiggle into it." Chanhee dragged a finger over to Juyeon's chest, stopping at his heart, feeling it pulse under the digit. "You don't have to be verbal about it. I can tell by how you move."

"That's not helping to soothe my anger." Juyeon snapped.

Chanhee rolled his eyes. "Of course it wouldn't. I wasn't hoping for that, heck, I didn't even know why I told you that. Fuck it." Chanhee took a deep breath, caging Juyeon's head with his milky-white arms on either side as he leaned down. "You're going to die tonight, Juyeon. Might as well enjoy this last bit of heaven before we send you on the way to hell, right?"

---

"Where exactly are we going?" Hyunjae asked, amused with how tight Hyungseo was holding his hand as the younger led him towards an alley, away from the bustling streets of downtown where they just ate lunch at. "Hyungseo, I have a motorcycle--"

"Just, shut up, please?" Hyungseo sounded... well, off. He was trying to sound happy, and failing miserably.

Hyunjae pulled at their intertwined hands, stopping them both. "Hyungseo, what's wrong?"

They haven't known each other for that long yet, but Hyunjae has managed to read all of Hyungseo, from the way his hands move and trail over the surfaces as if he was reading the history and personality of every thing, living and non-living. Hyunjae felt alive under his touch, felt like every fiber of his system was calling out to Hyungseo.

"Hyungseo, you can tell me anything." Hyunjae reminded softly, squeezing their hands in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "What's wrong?"

"Jae, I'm so sorry." Hyungseo suddenly broke down throwing himself into Hyunjae's arms. He buried himself into the warmth, and Hyunjae belatedly realized Hyungseo was crying, shaking and shuddering into his shirt. "I'm sorry, Hyunjae. I really am, I didn't mean-- I'm sorry."

"Hyungseo, you have to tell me what's wrong, babe. I can't help you if you don't use your words." Hyunjae pleaded, feeling lost. He never was one to use his emotions to empathize with others, but there was a driving need to do so with Hyungseo. It was insane how fast they fell for each other. "Hyungseo?"

"Hyunjae, listen." Hyungseo pulled away, hands tight on Hyunjae's arms. "I love you, okay? I know it's the first time I told you that but you have to believe me. If this was another time and another place, I'd give you everything, I'd let you take all of me--"

"Hyungseo--"

"Listen to me!" Hyungseo pleaded, desperate. "I love you. Please, please remember that, Jae. You're all I wanted in this horrible, horrible life. You're everything I wished for-- something normal and sweet and everything Joonyoung said you weren't-- you proved them wrong, Jae. You proved me wrong."

Hyunjae was starting to get an idea of what was going on.

"If I had a choice, I would run with you, Jae." Hyungseo continued to blabber on, oblivious to Hyunjae's growing concern. "I would. You're the only one I ever want to spend the rest of my life with, and I am so sorry I can't do anything to help you out of this--"

Hyunjae had only ever seen Hyungseo panic like that, when Hyungseo was having a deadline with a commission. Hyunjae had soothed him with a kiss.

So he decided to do the same thing again, holding Hyungseo's face and waist and pressing their lips together. Hyungseo sagged with relief in Hyunjae's arms, though he was still crying. Hyunjae thought he had calmed him down enough to ask him what was wrong.

Then he felt Hyungseo press a cold, metal tube onto his neck.

"I'm sorry, Jae. I really, really love you." Hyungseo whispered against his lips, and Hyunjae felt something prick his neck. It was itchy like an ant bite, easily ignored, but he suddenly felt faint.

The last thing he remembered before blacking out was Hyungseo holding onto him tighter and sobbing even louder.

VIII. Run down

When Hyunjae came to, he was in a warehouse, strapped to a chair with heavy duty packing tape. His neck hurt from how he had been sleeping, and as he yawned, he saw Juyeon and Sangyeon also unconscious and tied down.

Juyeon was sporting some very-fresh looking hickeys on his neck, and Hyunjae had to wonder if his brother had been having some liaisons with the enemy too.

The enemy. Hyunjae bit his cheek, pissed at himself. Not only did he betray his family by thinking Hyungseo was innocent and completely falling for him, but Hyunjae also berated himself for not picking up on the trick sooner. There was no doubt in his heart and mind that Hyungseo was lying earlier, but it didn't matter.

At that point, nothing mattered but his brothers.

"Juyeon, Sangyeon-hyung, wake up!" Hyunjae hissed at them, feeling very stupid that he went out without even a knife. "Guys, wake up!"

Sangyeon was the first to respond, blinking wearily before sharpening his glare. He seemed to already know he was bound, and his jaw was clenched as he turned to Hyunjae, saying, "We've been fucking tricked. All of us."

"I'm sorry, hyung. I--"

"Not one of us is to blame for this, Hyunjae." Sangyeon made it clear his anger was directed at the other three men who weren't with them but brought them there. "What a cheap trick, using their wills and making us fall for them. God, and we did. We fell."

"What did they give Juyeon? He seems really passed out cold." Hyunjae wondered, twisting his wrists to loosen the tape, but to no effect. "How long have we been here?"

Sangyeon was just sitting, not even struggling, calm and saving his energy. "Several hours now, I guess. It's well past sun-down. Bae Joonyoung brought me here at noon, then Moon Hyungseo brought you in... then Choi Chanhee was lugging Juyeon in. They left shortly, but not before Joonyoung knocked me out with his fist."

"He can punch?" Hyunjae asked, bewildered.

"Yes."

Juyeon started to move, twitching before finally focusing his eyes. A low growl erupted at the back of his throat, about to launch himself but then realizing he had been restrained. His anger simmered even more at that.

"If I get my hands on Chanhee, I'm going to kill him!"

"Don't be stupid." Sangyeon barked out a bitter laugh, surprising his younger brothers. "You won't be able to do that even if they're helpless and just begging to be killed. You know that, deep inside, Juyeon. We've been defeated."

"Not until we've brought Hyunjoon back, hyung. Never."

"You're really hot when you're angry." Chanhee was suddenly there, draping his arms over Juyeon's shoulders as he pecked his cheek. "I really wish I can keep you, Juyeon. You'd make such a good slave--"

Juyeon snapped his head violently, facing the other way and causing Chanhee to scowl and grab at his hair, a pained hiss escaping Juyeon's mouth. Hyungseo had also appeared, refusing to meet Hyunjae's eyes as he stood in front of his lover, eyes still red and teary even after hours had passed of him just crying out of shame and guilt.

Hyunjae couldn't help it, he moved his shoe, taking Hyungseo's attention. When Hyungseo finally looked at him, Hyunjae gave him a small smile, letting him know that Hyunjae understood. He didn't understand the whole situation, but he did understand that Hyungseo had little choice.

He wasn't going to hold it against Hyungseo.

Joonyoung finally joined them a few moments later, still looking so innocent and friendly and warm as he dropped a duffel bag beside him. "It's kind of awkward to have our first meeting with our lovers like this, huh?" Joonyoung chuckled, patting Sangyeon's head sweetly.

"I'm not his lover." Juyeon flatly argued.

"That hurts." Chanhee sulked, withdrawing his arms from Juyeon's shoulders to cross them over his chest. "I actually love you, you emotionally-constipated idiot! Now, you have to make it up to me-- oh wait, you can't anymore because you're going to die."

"How?" Hyungseo asked with a croaky voice. He cleared his throat, repeating," How are we going to kill them?"

"I've been thinking about that too. I don't want to damage their pretty faces--"

"You literally punched Sangyeon square in the face before we left for snacks earlier." Chanhee pointed out.

"I don't want to damage their pretty faces." Joonyoung reiterated, glaring at Chanhee. "Like, I know Changminnie said to take it chill and stuff, since he still wants to be able to see them when he drops by later, but I'm also very on the edge and I need to release some stress."

Sangyeon cocked his head, interested at the new name. "Changminnie?"

"Yes, does that sound familiar, Gyeon-ah?" Joonyoung hummed, tracing Sangyeon's jaw with his finger. "Ji Changmin. Well, not really Ji. He changed it legally after the accident, you know. I'm sure you know which accident I'm referring to, yes?"

"Joo Changmin." Juyeon sighed, exasperated. He barked out a bitter laugh. "Don't fucking tell me he's the one behind all of this."

"Your brother Hyunjoon and Minnie's brother, Haknyeon, were in that accident together, Jae." Kevin explained quietly, seeing how Hyunjae was still struggling to put two and two together. "Hyunjoon survived, but he was the one driving. Drunk. Haknyeon was drunk too, but Changmin found it unfair how Hyunjoon still is alive."

Hyunjae frowned. "Joon's relying on a machine to breathe. That's not 'alive'."

"Better than being buried six feet deep, Jae. At least in Changmin's mind." Sangyeon answered, still in deep contemplation. "We attended the funeral. Changmin had no qualms against us. Did he lie?"

"No." Juyeon sighed.

The rain outside started to pour harder.

"Changmin understood what happened. We're bestfriends." Juyeon said, voice steadily rising. "He said he doesn't blame anyone, that Hak and Joon were both stupid and young and high off of our birthday cheers for them. Changmin felt bad that his brother was gone, but he also said he knows there's nobody to blame.

"Then he met Younghoon." Juyeon looked up, staring at the darkness where two silhouettes were walking towards them. "Kim Younghoon, who had this aphrodisiac effect on his lovers, that even after he broke up with them, they'd be loyal and still willingly follow him."

"You weren't joking when you said Juyeon is smart, Changmin." Kim Younghoon finally emerged from the shadows, raven hair slicked back with a red, cold smile on his impeccably handsome face. "Imagine, he all got that after fucking Chanhee. How does it feel to have my left overs, Juyeon?"

Juyeon tensed at the remark, and it took every will in him to not turn back and check if Chanhee was okay. His mind reeled with how much gaslighting and psychopathy Younghoon had done on the three, no, four men standing by them.

Changmin was silent, eyes as blank as his face as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

"I needed a way to seize control of your assets." Younghoon explained, an arm around Changmin as he played with the shorter man's ear. Changmin looked hypnotized, dead inside as he continued to stare at nothing. "Business deals are out of the question; Sangyeon has made sure that no one but his family will be able to inherit or get any assets. It had to be this way. I needed to destroy your little family."

"There's no such thing as a 'key'." Jacob added, impassive. "It was made up to lure you in--"

"I don't recall letting you talk, Jakey." Younghoon cut in with a stern voice. Joonyoung fell silent at that, clenching and unclenching his fists as if trying to keep himself from hyperventilating. Sangyeon was trying to take everything in as best as he could, bewildered beyond words.

All along, there was a master puppeteer.

"It was easy, once I did a bit more research and found about the little incident. I found Changminnie at a daycare, volunteering." Younghoon pressed a kiss to Changmin's neck, and Hyunjae couldn't help but cringe in repulsion at the blankness Changmin was displaying. It was like Younghoon was making love to a corpse.

Hyungseo shot Hyunjae an apologetic look that the older quickly waved away. He didn't want for Hyungseo to be snapped at cruelly by Younghoon, like Joonyoung and Chanhee were. If anything, Hyunjae wished he could shelter Hyungseo and hide him from anything Younghoon might say.

Suffice to say, it was obvious how toxic and ill all of their relationships with Younghoon were.

"It was even easier to convince Changmin to tell me everything about your family." Younghoon sounded smug. "I'd stay a bit more to talk if I could, but I'll be busy taking care of my new assets. I'll be the one personally pulling the plug on your dearest little brother, rest assured."

That was enough for the three brothers to snap, all thoughts of control going out the window as they struggled against their bonds.

"That's cute." Younghoon laughed at their wriggling. "Changmin, love, will you do the honor of giving the word?"

Juyeon watched, horrified, as Changmin finally opened his mouth.

"Kill them."

1. Reasons

"Why are you hesitating? Do it! This is your ultimate test, Kevin! You said you want me, didn't you? Prove to me that you are worthy!"

Hyungseo was trembling as his finger hovered over the trigger, tears silently spilling out as he looked Hyunjae in the eye. Younghoon was yelling at him behind his back, cursing Hyungseo to the extreme, but Hyunjae was challenging him back with quiet, adamant eyes.

"Kevin, do it, baby." Younghoon left Changmin to stand by Hyungseo's side, caressing his cheek with the back of his hand. His voice, though soft, had an underlying 'or else' laced like poison in it. "Do it. He hurt Changminnie, Kev. Don't you want to help Changminnie feel better?"

"Can you stop touching him?" Hyunjae asked, annoyed at the way Younghoon was holding Hyungseo's waist.

Younghoon sneered at the comment, forcefully turning Hyungseo to lock their lips together, right in front of Hyunjae.

"What did that ass even do you to you guys?" Juyeon mumbled, staring at Changmin looking blankly only at Younghoon, lifeless, dead eyes following his every move with no emotion. Juyeon startled when he felt Chanhee's hand slide down from his shoulder to his chest. "What--"

"Shh." Chanhee whispered in his ear. He forced Juyeon's head up, cradling his jaw. "I can kiss you if you're feeling jealous too, Juyeon."

"Do you love him?" Juyeon asked.

"I don't know." Chanhee didn't seem bothered, locking their lips together. He continued to whisper, lips moving against Juyeon's soft lips, "But Hyungseo and Minnie are my friends, and I don't like how Younghoon is... well. I'll cut your bonds, but then it's up to you, babe."

Juyeon was about to protest, to ask for a bit of time to think, but Chanhee had already sliced through the thick packing tape on both his wrists and ankles. Chanhee then proceeded to fake being headbutted, yelling out a loud cry as he stumbled back with utmost exaggeration.

Younghoon tore his lips away from Kevin in surprise, but didn't have much time to process what was happening because Juyeon had landed a strong uppercut to his jaw, followed by a perfectly placed elbow jab to Younghoon's abdomen that caused him to fall to the ground, groaning in pain.

Hyungseo quickly sprung to action, slashing at the tape to free Hyunjae as Juyeon barely missed a gunshot from Joonyoung.

"What are you two doing? You're betraying Younghoon!" Joonyoung screamed, eyes wide with terror and misunderstanding. "How could you?" he continued, blindly shooting bullets at the two brothers and his friends as well before turning to Sangyeon with fury.

"Joonyoung--"

Juyeon tackled Joonyoung to the ground, knocking the gun away, and Chanhee moved to free Sangyeon from his own bonds. Juyeon quickly rolled away, knocking Joonyoung unconscious with an actual headbutt.

"Get everyone out of here!" Sangyeon ordered, hoisting Joonyoung up and over his shoulder, seeing Younghoon start to get up. "Juyeon, get Changmin! Everyone, out!"

Hyunjae kept a tight grip on Hyungseo as they followed the rest outside, quickly climbing into an SUV Chanhee had backed into the entrance. Juyeon had carried Changmin away in his arms with no resistance at all; the latter still staring blankly at the roof of the car.

"Do you guys have a phone?" Juyeon asked after a moment, adjusting themselves in the back with two effectively vegetable persons as of the moment. Hyungseo had curled into Hyunjae, still shaking, and Sangyeon was wringing his wrists, trying to get blood circulating again.

Not taking his eyes off the dark road back to the city ahead, Chanhee reached for the glove compartment, tossing a cheap, keypad phone to the back. Juyeon quickly caught it and typed a number in, knees in a constant jitter dance as he waited for someone to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Eric, it's Juyeon. Code Bermuda, very dangerous." Juyeon shot Sangyeon a look as Joonyoung began to stir. Sangyeon quickly took his shirt off to tie Joonyoung's hands behind him, nodding at Juyeon to continue talking to Eric. "Dude, you have to raise security immediately. Keep yourself and Sunwoo safe in Hyunjoon's hospital room."

"Are you guys ok-- Sunwoo, get up! We have to go to Joon!"

"We'll be fine, Ric." Juyeon almost smiled into the phone, locking eyes with Chanhee through the rearview mirror. "Get there quick and don't use a taxi. Bike over there or something."

Eric affirmed they would, continuing to yell at Sunwoo to get up. Juyeon ended the call, breathing out a small sigh of relief, but he knew it was all too far from over then. He glanced at Changmin beside him, who was blinking slowly and almost mechanically, like a robot.

"I don't know what he did to you and the others, Min." Juyeon said quietly, gritting his teeth. "But he will pay for it, I promise."