Archive of Our Own

Rio de Janeiro was a captivating city. Jeno had gotten fascinated by it since he arrived three days ago and maybe the reason was that everything seemed so different from back in Seoul, South Korea. 

In Rio, no one seemed to care about anything, people wore the same combination of shorts and flip flops on every occasion and they also talked to anyone as they were long time friends. Jeno found it funny. If anyone asked him, he was traveling for a job as a movie director. It was half a lie since he was there for a job, but you don’t go around telling everyone you kill for a living. 

Jeno’s mission was easy: to spy on a fugitive member of a rival organization, get information, and kill him if necessary, nothing he wasn’t used to. Except it was better.

That guy was running away but didn’t care about being discreet, which is why Jeno was booked in the fanciest hotel in Copacabana. He could easily follow his target around the city, get in and out of his bedroom since they shared the same wall (coincidences) and in his free time enjoy the luxurious things the hotel had to offer. 

When the sun was setting, Jeno found himself in the hotel’s bar in front of the beach drinking the third caipirinha of the day, an alcoholic drink he had grown fond of since he tried it the day he got there.  His target was a few streets near, Jeno had realized he wouldn’t get anything constructive that evening and decided to call it a day. Every time the agency sent him to another location to work, Jeno always made sure he would have time to have fun. It was a risky job and he didn’t want to die without having lived his life to the fullest. He had been at the bar for at least forty minutes when things started to get weird.

With no warning, a few cops entered the bar and started to verify the guests’ identifications as they interrogated them. Something had happened.

“What are they looking for?” Jeno asked the man behind the counter who had been serving him drinks for the past minutes.

“They’re looking for tourists traveling alone,” the barman answered. Jeno nodded and fixed his posture trying not to draw attention as he followed the cops’ movements.

The next minute, a boy arrived at the place. His skin was tanned and his hair had a few blonde streaks from the sunlight, he wore all white beach clothes, it seemed like he had spent the whole day surfing. Jeno only realized he had been starring when the boy got his eyes back at him. He was really pretty, Jeno noticed. Soon, the cops surrounded him asking for his documents. The boy looked lost or at least was acting like it.

“Você está sozinho?” Are you alone? They asked. 

“No,” the boy answered, looking right into Jeno’s eyes as if he was asking him to come and help.

Jeno then got up from his chair, leaving his drink at the counter, and went to the boy’s direction. 

“Ele está comigo.” He’s with me-- Jeno told the police. He pulled his arms around the stranger’s shoulder and started walking towards the entrance of the hotel before he started to get questions that would’ve been answered with more lies.

As they had gotten inside the hotel, the boy whispered a brief acknowledgment of what Jeno had done. They weren’t in danger or anything, they just wanted to save time. Jeno kept his arms around the stranger’s body while they crossed the lobby and waited for the elevator, just breaking the act when they were completely alone.

“I’m Donghyuck,” the boy said, offering Jeno a hand and a welcoming smile.

“I’m Jeno,” he answered back, squeezing their hands together in a warm greeting.

In big cities, it is unusual to see a starry-studded sky. Back in Seoul, Jeno would look up to see nothing but endless darkness. It wasn’t fully dark, however elsewhere in the developed world, neon and street lights together with buildings take place to light up the nights. Surprisingly, that night in Rio, the sky was filled with stars and no clouds- a warning that the weather was about to change.

After the weird evening event and elevator chat, Jeno decided that Donghyuck was a great company, simple as that, he ended up inviting him to drink later that night in another place at Copacabana’s shore. 

Jeno did not regret the invite, not even a little, not even when Donghyuck challenged him to take a few shots of vodka. Being honest, it had been a while since the last time he had had so much fun. Donghyuck was a box full of surprises and really easy to talk to. Jeno found out many things about Donghyuck’s life in just an hour. Donghyuck also lived in Seoul and said they were meant to be because how likely is that? Donghyuck studied marketing and his inspiration was Coke’s Christmas advertisement. He was in Rio as an actual tourist and alone since his best friend Renjun couldn’t make it last minute. He told Jeno about his favorite destinations around the city and said he could show him if he wanted (Jeno accepted, he was almost done with his job anyways). 

Among other curiosities about Donghyuck’s super interesting life, he made Jeno talk about himself too, then Jeno lied. He told Donghyuck he was there as an indie movie co-director and the only reason he was in a fancy hotel was that they would record some scenes inside it and the sponsors were paying for it. Jeno shared his (fake) love for cinema and art and hoped Donghyuck wouldn’t ask many questions. Besides that, he remained quiet and listened curiously to everything Donghyuck had to say.

They got along quite well.

Donghyuck filled up two other tiny shots of vodka and handed it up to Jeno so they could make a toast.

“To the dodging bullets,” Donghyuck said. 

“To the dodging bullets, darling.” Jeno got their shots together with a sound before drinking the content.

Donghyuck smiled at Jeno as he put the tiny cup on their table. “So he speaks,” he smiled while getting up from his chair. He stared at Jeno and asked, “but does he dance?” 

Jeno watched as Donghyuck danced around other people to the rhythm of some bossa nova. From the first moment Jeno got his eyes on him, he felt like Donghyuck had something unique, something that brought attention. At that moment, while Donghyuck danced around strangers, Jeno could see it. No one had the same energy as him, no one could light up a place as Donghyuck did. Jeno was mesmerized. Donghyuck caught him staring and raised an eyebrow at him as if he invited Jeno for the second challenge of the day. Maybe Donghyuck was good at persuading or maybe Jeno was too weak for his charms. 

Jeno got up from his chair and went to meet Donghyuck who smiled proudly at his conquest. Donghyuck got his hands around Jeno’s hips so he could move along to the music. They danced together to the rhythm of the songs and the flowing of their feelings. Jeno got his arms around Donghyuck’s shoulder to shorten the distance between their bodies and they kept dancing, with their faces inches apart, together as there was no one else in the room. 

They flirted in silence, they talked with their eyes, they felt with their hands and understood each other’s every single action. Nothing else existed, no worries, no targets, no lies. That moment was only theirs. 

Suddenly, thunder got them a surprise and they laughed as the rain wet their bodies. Everyone started to run looking for a place to hide, but them. Jeno caught Donghyuck’s hands and took a step back so he would be able to make him spin as in a waltz. Donghyuck smiled. That smile could change everything if he wanted. That smile made Jeno act impulsive as he got Donghyuck’s body even closer to him. Jeno stared at his fully heart-shaped lips for only a few seconds before Donghyuck got them closer to his.

They kissed with kindness, they didn’t want the moment to end, ever. Jeno cupped his hands around his face to deepen the kiss. Donghyuck was sweet and gentle, maybe it was from the shot but he felt drunk in that feeling. The feeling of having Jeno close to him. To touch his body. And Jeno felt like a teenager again, like a silly fifteen-year-old boy with a crush bigger than his capacity. 

The next morning, Donghyuck woke up to a big hotel room and messy white sheets covering his lower body. He noticed the space by his side was still warm and the boy who was there before, now opened the bedroom door with a breakfast tray.

“Good morning, darling,” Jeno greeted. He put the tray in front of the bed and went straight to the window so he could hear the waves crashing. It was a peaceful feeling.

He looked at Donghyuck keeping note of his sunburnt curls, the curve of his nose, and the lips he came to love last night. Again, Donghyuck looked back, putting one of the flowers of the tray behind his ears and making a face like a prince. Jeno wished to keep these moments forever. 

Little did he know, that was the first of many other mornings they would share. 

-

FIVE YEARS LATER…

Living in Gangnam was a status symbol that many Koreans aspired to achieve. Jeno never cared enough but Donghyuck had always loved expensive things, plus they had money. For a young couple, Jeno and Donghyuck earned a lot from their respective jobs. It could be weird looking from the outside, but no one asked anything and everyone (Donghyuck included) always thought that working with movie production paid a lot. The truth was that lives were expensive. Besides that, Donghyuck had been promoted and now worked for an entertainment company, which also gave the freedom to choose their new home.

It was something personal but Donghyuck insisted they lived surrounded by rich people and since the neighborhood was quiet enough, Jeno was satisfied with it. If you asked him a few years back, he’d say no matter where he was, Donghyuck was his home. In the current moment, he’d have to think twice before answering. 

Jeno arrived home a little bit earlier than usual that night. He had spent the day at the agency writing reports and files about the previous targets and with Jaemin’s help, he ended his job quickly. It was good being back home soon, he wasn’t on his best days with Donghyuck, and sometimes work could consume so much of his time it was hard to explain. Jeno wished he didn’t have to lie to him, but it was necessary for everyone's safety. 

He pressed some buttons on the remote control for the garage’s gate to open and parked the car. As the garage’s gate began to close, Jeno looked at himself in the car’s mirror to check his clothes. There was a tiny blood spot in his white-collar he hadn’t noticed a few days before, he sighed and put on a jacket to cover it up. Then, he placed the silver ring Donghyuck had given to him on their fourth anniversary and got out of the car.

“Hi, honey!” Jeno said while he closed the door’s house behind him. He placed his keys and bag on the corridor table and followed to the kitchen where Donghyuck usually spent his time. 

He seemed to be in a good mood as he cooked their dinner. Jeno walked behind the counter next to him until he was close enough to place a kiss on his cheek. Donghyuck laughed at it.

 “How was work?” he asked.

“It was fine,” Jeno started. “We only reviewed a few scenes the writers sent for the next episodes and I also checked out some files of young actors from the last auditions.” He opened the cabinet looking for some wine glasses he would fill in later. “How was your day?”

“I bought new curtains,” Donghyuck said happily.

Jeno raised his eyebrows in curiosity and filled two glasses of wine before going to the living room to see the new decoration. The moment he got his eyes on it he stopped, Donghyuck who was after him kept walking, getting closer to the window. 

“So, what do you think?” he asked. Jeno only hummed back.

Jeno thought the curtains were hideous. They were too big for the window’s thin size and didn’t match the house decoration at all. Jeno liked simple and plain, black and white, he was the minimalist type. Those curtains were thick layers of a golden fabric Jeno couldn’t identify. It wasn’t his style and seemed outdated, but Donghyuck was the one who kept updated on trendy stuff. Jeno wondered what type of decor magazines Donghyuck had been reading. 

“I almost got in a fight at the store with an old lady complaining that she was planning to buy those but I got my hands on it first. As you see, I won.” 

“Of course you did.” Jeno sounded a bit annoyed.

Donghyuck was looking proudly at his new acquisition and comparing it to the other furniture in the living room when he turned to Jeno and said “I was thinking we could buy a new rug. It would harmonize better.” 

“But if we keep the old ones we won’t have to change a thing,” Jeno stated. 

“C’mon Jeno! We talked about this, don’t you remember?” Donghyuck crossed his arms. He was annoyingly stubborn. 

“I do! ‘Cause you said you’d wait for me to go shopping.” With these words, Donghyuck sighed and got his attention back to Jeno.

“Look, if you don’t like it we can take it back,” Donghyuck said.

Jeno lifted his arms, defeated. “Okay then, I don’t like it.”

Donghyuck smiled at him. “You’ll get used to it.” 

Jeno waited for Donghyuck to turn back so he could roll his eyes. Don’t get him wrong, Jeno loved Donghyuck but there were times...

-

Nights were usually calm at the Lee’s household. In younger days Jeno and Donghyuck would probably spend more time together, watching movies or feeling their fresh love for each other. Time passed and neither of them would have thought they’d end like a married couple ready to divorce. 

They thought about their wedding many times. Donghyuck wanted it to be epic because when you get married you expect it to be an only time thing, sometimes he’d say he wanted it to be full of flowers other times he’d say he wanted to marry at the beach with the sound of the waves crashing, it reminded Jeno of when they met each other-- he would never forget those days.  For him, marrying Donghyuck would be an unforgettable event itself.

Sometimes Jeno looked back to the day he met Donghyuck and wondered how they’ve come so far. He more than anyone else knew the answer. They had been terrifyingly in love back then. That time he wished nothing would ever change, but maybe it was too much. You cannot ask for something like that because people change and so do their feelings. He wondered when the colors became to fade with Donghyuck. He wondered if he felt that same empty spot in his heart. It was scary. 

Jeno and Donghyuck were laying in bed, each one on opposite sides. Donghyuck had his lamp on while he read Runaway’s latest edition, next to him Jeno was getting annoyed trying to sleep or at least fake sleep hoping Donghyuck would get the catch and do the same. He had a mission soon, it would be easier to get out if he didn’t have to come up with an explanation. 

As if Donghyuck could read his thoughts, he got out of bed and entered their closet turning the lights on. He was doing it to piss him off, Jeno was sure. He cursed under his breath. 

Donghyuck wasn’t making any effort to be quiet while he opened and closed drawers or moved the hangers. “Donghyuck, what are you doing?” Jeno asked from their bed.

A few minutes passed without an answer and Donghyuck came back to their bedroom wearing nothing but leather pants and an overcoat. Jeno brought his eyebrows together in doubt, the last time Donghyuck tried to surprise him had been a long time ago, he couldn’t see why Donghyuck would do it considering their current situation. Jeno thought their sexual lives couldn’t even be taken as active at that point. 

“What are you doing?” he asked. 

“I have a company event to attend. I thought I had told you this.” He hadn’t.

“No, you didn’t. I would have remembered if you had, you’re the one who forgets things in our relationship,”  Jeno smiled bitterly. Being honest, he didn’t know why he said those words. It wasn’t like him. He guessed all the thoughts had left him overwhelmed.

“You’re still mad about the curtains? Seriously?” Donghyuck was getting mad. He picked up his wallet from the tiny table next to their bed and hid it in the coat’s pockets. “I really don’t have time for a discussion right now. I’ll come home late. I hope this time alone will be good for your thoughts.” He slammed the bedroom door.

Jeno regretted having acted on impulse but contrary to Donghyuck’s words he did not have time to think. He stood by the window monitoring Donghyuck until he got in a black car and moved to whatever his destination was. Jeno was alone, it was time to get prepared.

-

That night, Donghyuck told Jeno the company was throwing a party to celebrate their successful album sales, he could have said something better and more convincing but this mission had been unplanned and when he received a call at almost midnight, it was the first thing he could come up with.

His mission was to execute a man called Baek Jong Mo who was now living under the roof of a family-kind hotel to hide from people like him. The file said he could be found on the nineteenth floor of Hotel del Luna located in Myeongdong, the place attracted all kinds of tourists and was highly recommended if you had children, they offered a nice cinema, a beach kind of pool and everything inside it seemed to be alive. Donghyuck wanted to take Jeno there one day.

When he entered the hotel a smiley employee offered to keep his overcoat since it seemed heavy and unnecessary in that cozy lobby, Donghyuck rejected, of course, he wasn't wearing appropriate clothes under it. In fact, he wasn’t wearing clothes at all besides the leather pants, he wanted to fulfill his job as fast as possible so as not to get caught. Baek Jong Mo was expecting that kind of guest. A paid young boy who would attain his desires.

He exchanged a few words with the employee who guided him to the elevator right away and reviewed his plan while he went up to the nineteenth floor. It was simple: he would get in the target’s hotel room, play with him only a little bit for fun purposes, and then he would cleanly kill him. No blood, no traces. 

Donghyuck knocked on the target’s door and a tall tattooed man greeted him after, “You must be Angel,” he said, welcoming him inside the room. “Boss is waiting for you.”

The man led him to a large dim door on the room’s right wall, they waited a few seconds until Donghyuck was allowed to get in by the man on the other side.

Everything inside the other room was red. Red walls, red sheets, red curtains. Donghyuck suddenly felt in a Fifty Shades Of Gray scenery, he hated that fucking movie. The second thing he noticed was that Baek Jong Mo was probably a sadomasochist considering the items he had scattered through the table. Well, there was no way that guy would touch Donghyuck’s skin with those dirty fingers.

Seeing the man coming out of the bedroom, Donghyuck started acting. He put on a playful smile and stared right into his eyes. The man seemed thirsty when Donghyuck took out his overcoat letting it hit the ground. It was absolutely disgusting. Donghyuck could feel hate growing on his guts. That man would do exactly what he wanted.

Easily, Donghyuck got the man on his knees with both hands cuffed around his back. It was a humiliating view, Donghyuck liked that. He moved to the man’s table and picked up a whip, ready to start the second step. He stood behind the man smoothing his back with it.

“Have you been a bad boy?” Donghyuck asked, going around but never taking the whip off the man’s skin. 

“Yes,” he whispered desperately.

Donghyuck laughed at the scene and kept the act. “Do you want me to teach you a lesson?”

It was time to play. He lifted the whip and got it against the man’s back, who produced a moan in pain.

“Do you know what happens to bad boys?” Donghyuck hit him again. “They get punished.”

“Punish me,” the man begged. Oh, Donghyuck would.

He hit the man third consecutive times and saw his back retreating as an instinct. Donghyuck put his hand on the man’s right shoulder leaning to whisper in his ear. “Have you been selling guns to bad people?” he asked.

Before the man could answer, Donghyuck got his hands on each side of the man's head and twisted it, making a cracking sound. He let the body hit the ground and he was done.  Donghyuck looked for his overcoat on the ground and dressed it, ready to leave the hotel.

Some footsteps could be heard from the room next door and Donghyuck hurried.

“Boss? Are you okay?” Someone asked from the other room.

Donghyuck cursed under his breath following to the window and was quick to install a hook somewhere in the balcony. He heard some knocks on the door and looked down at the small cars moving nineteen floors above. He took a deep breath and jumped. 

At that same time, Jeno entered a bar located at Itaewon. The night seemed to bring life to that place, the neon lights illuminating the many faces lost in the crowd. The sound of young people getting drunk with laughter and alcohol echoed in his ears, it would be distracting if he hadn’t trained his attention abilities at the agency. Jeno wasn’t there to have fun, he was there to work, to kill. He needed to be focused.

That night’s target was a guy called Shorty. That wasn’t the man’s actual name but since he wasn’t related to any major case Jeno didn’t care enough to check before going. It wasn’t important anyway, he would be dead by the end of the night. Jeno knew what he had to so he could work perfectly: a face, and a reason. In that case, it was an ugly man who used young ladies images and bodies to get money.

Jeno walked in a long dark corridor, if anyone asked, he would be looking for the bathroom. The truth was that he knew exactly where he was going, the agency had given him the directions. He passed by many doors until he found his destination. A white squared notice at the door said the room was designated only for employees, Jeno ignored and got himself in. He was surprised when three unknown faces stared back at him.

“What are you doing here?” One of the guys asked. There were three of them sitting on a circular table with cards on their hands and money placed around it.

“They said the bathroom was here but this place doesn’t look like one,” Jeno explained with many hand gestures and a fake laugh. He wanted to pretend it was the alcohol talking. None of the men found it funny. None of them were Shorty too, he noticed.

“Piss off!” They told him. Quickly going back on their attention to poker bets. 

Jeno cursed to himself. He arrived too soon. He would have to improvise.

“Wait…”

“What part of piss off did you not understand?” asked the man with a heavy accent.

Jeno gave in and backed off. When he was close to the door he returned to the table presenting a good quantity of money he had gotten from his jacket’s pocket.

“I just wanted to know if you’ll let me play with you.” The strangers exchanged looks and indicated Jeno an empty chair. Piece of cake.

Three bets later, they all had forgotten Jeno wasn’t part of that circle. The room’s door was abruptly opened and the four of them got their attention back to the new man present in the room. Shorty had arrived.

“What the hell is this?” Shorty asked, mainly for Jeno.

The three guys sent him an apologetic look, getting Jeno’s cards back.

“Are you Shorty?” Jeno turned around and asked the man. He already knew the answer, but since the guys warned him he was taking the place of their friend, he thought there would be no harm. He wouldn’t be killing anyone by accident too.

Shorty raised his eyebrows. “Are you looking for a job or something?” 

“You are the job,” Jeno said before shooting his target chest. He turned again only to shoot the other three-man sharing a table with him. Their bodies fell on the table, getting the cards dirty with blood.

He stood and left the room. With more money and fewer bullets than when he entered. 

-

Jaemin used to be one of the best shooters at the agency. He was agile, perceptive, and never missed a shoot. He loved his job, he loved the thrilling feeling of hunting and being chased. It was like being the protagonist of an action movie, and nothing went wrong in action movies, especially with the protagonist, or so he thought. 

He trained with Jeno for many years, they grew up together, sharpened their abilities together. When they were younger and still being polished, there was a time Jeno and Jaemin went on missions together. They were the perfect pair, always balanced and never missing hints or targets on their way. However, Jaemin was better. He was young and promising, everyone in their agency agreed he would become DREAM’s best agent. That’s why, since the beginning, Jaemin was charged on the hardest missions and he would always come back with a satisfactory report. Still, every protagonist has an obstacle, those may vary. Jaemin’s obstacle was a bullet on his spine. 

The conflict had been three years ago, it was supposed to be like any other mission. Jaemin was sent to Yokohama with some other agency members and to keep the story short: a corrupt businessman died leaving a humongous amount of fortune. As DREAM (Division of Real Enforcement Against Misconduct) isn’t the only spy agency existent, there had been many others looking for that man’s head and his dirty money. At that time, various criminal organizations began to move, battling to claim it. Fear took over some members and Jaemin knew he had to be strong to lead them so they could be successful, but he was too reckless. Setting himself on the battlefield was miscalculated, he ended up getting his back shot. The bullet hit his spine and he re-started his career in a wheelchair.  

No one ever blamed him, how could they? It was a dangerous and uncertain field. Even Jaemin knew his risks and chose to embrace it for the sake of his friends and other innocent people involved. No one forced him to stay after what happened, but Jaemin chose to be there for them and help in the best way he could. He was born to work in that field, he declared. Jaemin was still one of the smartest members at the agency, it would be a waste of potential. Then, he started working at the investigation division. He was still hunting after all.

“So are you planning to break up?” Jaemin asked. He had been introducing Jeno to the current enemy corporation called DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) when the topic was completely twisted by Jaemin’s gossip tendencies. Jeno did not complain though, he needed some advice.

“What? No!” Jeno made a face, he was in shock. Jaemin had been better at giving advice before.

“Well, I’m just making assumptions from what you told me,” Jaemin defended himself. 

“No, I love him… I’m just confused.” Jeno didn’t want a break-up, he wanted his relationship with Donghyuck to be lively again. He wasn’t ready to let him go, the idea was too drastic for him. It wasn’t necessary either.

“Okay, look at me,” Jaemin turned to him, trying to make the conversation more serious. “How happy are you as a couple?”

Jeno threw his head back, tired. He had been asking himself the same question, recalling his moments with Donghyuck. He felt overwhelmed by the sudden realization. He was afraid of not being able to love and be loved back again. Donghyuck used to feel like Christmas morning and suddenly that turned to routine.

“Like ten being perfectly happy and zero being perfectly miserable?” Jaemin rolled his eyes at the question. “Seven.”

“That’s a good grade.” Average, really. Jeno was in an average relationship with an extraordinary person. It was frustrating, Jeno was hoping to fix that. “How’s your sex life?” 

“Is this another one to ten question? I don’t really understand.”

“Just answer it,” Jaemin insisted impatiently. 

“Shut up, Jaemin. You’re no therapist and you’re not helping me at all,” Jeno said annoyed.

“Come on! You two have been dating for what? Four or five years. I suffered all this time listening to you rambling about him and being in love.” Jaemin was starting to get impatient too. “Jeno, let me remind you-- you told me you wanted to marry him during a sparring session. You were being punched and kept saying you wanted to get married. What the hell suddenly happened to you?” 

Jeno asked the same question. Over and over again. It was like a CD full of romantic songs, after playing it too much you get tired of it. He wondered if Donghyuck got tired of them.

“I don’t know.” He let his hands through his hair. “There’s just this huge space between us and it keeps being filled with all the things we don’t tell each other.” 

Jaemin looked fondly.

“You got your answer right there. You can’t talk to him about everything, but you can get closer again. Stop making this more complicated than it really is.”

“You’re right,” Jeno concluded after some time.

Jaemin smiled at him and Jeno felt like everything could be right again.

“Now let me tell you about your next target. DIA’s Liu Yangyang...”

-

Jaemin was right. Jeno had been making things harder than they really were. He admitted that when later that day Donghyuck had invited him on a date, for the first time in months. It felt weird.

“It’s been so long since we went out together, I miss hanging out with you,” Donghyuck had told Jeno. Those weren’t the actual words he wanted to say but he thought it would be pathetic to tell Jeno the truth with all the undefined things going between them.

 “I miss you. I miss us.”  He hoped Jeno would understand.

Donghyuck wasn’t stupid. He could feel the gap between them growing each day and it hurt him. It was hard seeing Jeno so distant when they were so close. It was hard seeing their relationship fall apart without further notice. Losing Jeno was one of his biggest fears. Jeno was his family, the dearest person in his life. So when he asked Jeno on a date after a long time it was full of hope that they could try again.

Their destination was Everland, an amusement park they used to go to earlier in their relationship. Donghyuck could recall those days perfectly. It was a long trip to get there if you were impatient, and Donghyuck could remember how excited he was every time they got into the subway and buses to get there. Jeno would say he looked like a child and then Donghyuck would annoy him even more.

That day, the trip was way more silent. They talked about trivial things most of the time, making silly comments about the scenery along the way and the attractions they would like to visit again. Maybe it was because they got older, maybe because things were too cold between them. Donghyuck didn’t want to label it, both alternatives seemed bad for him. 

When they got there, a flash of memories came to his mind: the pictures they took in front of the tulip field, how they laughed at each other in stupid game competitions and how they kissed passionately feeling the adrenaline after a roller coaster ride or watching the fireworks. He searched for Jeno and saw him smile back at him. Donghyuck could be easily fooled by that smile.

The day passed by fast since they were running through time trying to get into every attraction that got their eyes in the large park, mostly radical spots, like roller coasters and variations. The excitement flowing through their veins every time. Besides that, they spent the day taking new pictures with funny hats, watching parades, and enjoying the presence of each other. For a moment, Donghyuck almost believed nothing had changed.

By the end, when the orange tones started to take over the sky, they walked calmly side by side, Jeno’s arms around Donghyuck’s shoulders. After a long time, Donghyuck felt he belonged. He had had so much fun and since they were reliving their younger days, Donghyuck proposed Jeno a challenge. Something he used to do often when they met. That’s why they ended up with fake guns in their hands aiming innocent iron ducks.

“Why are you taking so long?” Jeno teased Donghyuck.

“I’m getting prepared, I know how bad you want that plushie!” Donghyuck answered while he straightened his back to get a better angle with the gun. 

Donghyuck started shooting looking at the panel with moving targets. He liked playing silly so he purposely wasted the majority of his chances. Of course, he wouldn’t miss all of them, he was a proud shooter after all. Jeno looked at him making a crying face, Donghyuck played along.

“Let me show you how it’s done,” Jeno declared, turning his attention to the game. He was fast to knock all of the eight target ducks at the first try. The man working at the game complimented him and laughed before asking him to choose a prize. Jeno chose a big brown bear and gave it to Donghyuck, proudly. “I told you I could win,” he said.

Donghyuck was proud, he was happy with his bear, however, the goal of the bet was actually to challenge Jeno, he didn’t think he would end up winning. Donghyuck would not get away with this, he could win. He regretted acting silly.

“Let me see if I learned,” Donghyuck asked the man for another chance, and that time he shot all of the ducks not missing a single chance. Jeno looked at him, impressed and annoyed. Donghyuck felt like he had taken away a child’s lollipop. He asked the man for a tiger and gifted Jeno with it.

“We both have plushies now,” he smiled but Jeno still seemed annoyed.

They went back home. On the bus, they gave the plushies away for cute siblings Donghyuck had surprisingly engaged in a happy conversation about animations. Jeno found it amusing how Donghyuck could befriend anyone. The rest of the trip had been silent, Donghyuck rested his head on Jeno’s shoulder and took a nap until they got to their station.

When they both were in bed, Jeno broke the silence.

“I had fun today,” he declared. “I’m sorry for acting like a dick too.”

Donghyuck laughed hugging the bedsheets.

“I can say the same. I mean, I had fun today too and I know I haven’t been the most pleasing company lately, I’m sorry.”

Jeno ran his hand through Donghyuck’s soft hair. He missed those moments. After everything, it felt so comfortable to be with Donghyuck again, maybe it was that simple, maybe they just needed talking. 

“So we’re both sorry.” Jeno didn’t have to explain any further, it was an agreement. They would try to be better for each other. 

After four years, none of them needed to explain. That wasn’t their first fight, they were used to disagreements. Their relationship had two sides that obviously wouldn’t be okay all the time and they learned to respect that. 

“Oh, I got reminded of something.” Donghyuck started, turning his head to look at Jeno. “I’m going to travel next week.”

“What? When?”

“The company invited me, it’s for an MV shooting for this new boy group. We’re going to California.”

Jeno made a weird face. “California?”

Donghyuck nodded.

That was weird. The situation was weird and the weirdest thing was that Jeno would also be going to California in the following week.

“That’s nice.” It wasn’t. “When are you going?” He needed to know everything.

“Wednesday morning, I’ll be back by Friday night,” Donghyuck explained. “Why are you making this face?” Jeno was acting weird.

“Nothing. It’s a short period to record a music video, don’t you think?” Jeno quickly made up. Honestly, he was utterly shocked. That was an oddly specific coincidence. 

Donghyuck would be going to California on the same day Jeno would be sent to a mission there. The difference between their schedules was that Donghyuck would be back in Seoul later. Or he thought. Jeno would have to make an almost thirteen-hour flight way faster than he imagined. 

“I don’t need to be there for the whole time, I’m not a director like you.” 

If he only could tell Donghyuck the truth… but it was complicated. 

He turned the lights off and snuggled their bodies closer, never touching. 

“I hope you have fun though,” Jeno said and Donghyuck felt the truth in his words. It hurt to feel like a traitor.  

They smiled within lies. Both of them, holding the same cards on different sides of the table. 

-

California’s heat was insane and Donghyuck hated hot weather unless he was enjoying it at the beach and having drinks. That wasn’t the case. He was working, which made him feel even more annoyed. 

He was in the middle of the desert, installed in a tiny accommodation he was able to built-in some rocks to keep the equipment. It was far from the road and all he could see was what his binoculars let him. Besides the accommodation, Donghyuck had installed movement sensors and some (many) bombs around the road, creating a field full of surprises for his target’s passing.

According to Renjun, the agency’s hacker and designated agent working with Donghyuck on that mission, the targets would be passing by soon carrying their prisoner, Liu Yangyang. He was a spy, a traitor to his own company. 

Liu Yangyang was a spider. He weaved his web calmly when no one could see just to snatch them later in their vulnerable moments. He used to be DIA’s best agent before he got caught. He fooled everyone, never showing his true intentions until recently that moment when another agent found out his secrets.

Yangyang never cared about DIA and its enemies, but he liked the money he made there. He was greedy and quickly realized that truths were worth even more than some dirty men. Yangyang was by everyone's side but truly no one’s. Loyalty could suck. He made money using his abilities to sell secrets, including NCT’s-- Dongyuck’s agency.

Yangyang was a threat to everyone and himself. That’s why he was kept prisoner. That’s why there were at least three spy agencies after his head. 

Donghyuck had been keeping his eyes on the road for a long time, it was tedious, no one passed by that area, all the movements came from the wind moving sand. That was until a red jeep caught his eyes. It wasn’t the car he had been waiting for, it didn’t match the description. Renjun noticed it too and made some comments Donghyuck could hear through his earpiece. They shared the same vision from the binocular lenses, except Renjun watched it on a big screen with comfortable chairs and other accessories. 

“Whoever they are, they are getting near me,” Donghyuck told Renjun.

The red jeep was near, almost in the same position Donghyuck was installed but on the other side of the road. He was getting confused, that wasn’t a tourist area. Who the hell was that?

“Is it a threat to you? ” he heard Renjun ask through the earpiece. Donghyuck was unsure to answer.

A guy got out of the jeep and Donghyuck started taking pictures of him, just in case. The stranger had jet black hair and wore squared sunglasses with a colorful Hawaiian shirt, he walked in some rocks direction and turned around to pee. Donghyuck laughed in anger, his mission was getting interrupted by an idiot.

“They’re getting in the field,” Donghyuck warned Renjun.

The guy walked a bit, like he was studying the place, and then went back to his jeep. Donghyuck sighed relieved and took the problem as solved when he went to get a bottle of water. When he turned back, he was shocked to observe the same Hawaiian shirt guy holding a massive gun.

“I’m identifying the weapon,” Renjun said quickly. “It looks like some sort of explosive.”

Donghyuck cursed and was fast to aim his rifle, aware of the stranger’s every move. For all he knew, that guy could be anyone. The most probable guess being another DIA agent whose job was to protect their trip from people like Donghyuck. However, if he really was a DIA agent, he was being utterly unprofessional. What kind of spy would be that unwise?

For instance, Donghyuck had to protect himself and stick to his mission. When the guy looked to his accommodation, Donghyuck pressed the trigger. The stranger fell with the sudden pressure against his chest, gun by his side.

“Asshole,” Donghyuck cursed his body from far away.

Coincidently after that, motors could be heard. Donghyuck searched for his binoculars and saw three cars passing by the road in sequence. By logic, Liu Yangyang should be in the middle car.

“Target in the zone,” Donghyuck affirmed. He could hear some buttons being pressed on the other side of the call and then Renjun confirming some actions with other agents.

“Countdown initiated,” he warned Donghyuck. The field was about to explode.

And then an unexpected thing happened. Before the cars could get in the middle of the field, the guy with the Hawaiian shirt stood and followed Donghyuck's direction. He cursed, the guy must have been wearing a bulletproof vest for him to be walking like that. Seconds passed and Donghyuck wasn’t able to register when suddenly and explosive fell right by his side. He ran as fast as he could, only enough to see his installation blowing up, just like the rest of the field.

He fell to the ground with loud noise and pressure. There was too much dust for him to see what had happened. Unsure of what was about to happen he got into his car located a few meters down from where he had been and started to drive to the opposite side. Donghyuck couldn’t waste any more time.

He turned on his backup phone and made his emergency call to Renjun. 

“Abort mission.”

-

For Jeno, California had been a disaster. He hoped Donghyuck’s trip had been at least a bit better than his. That mission had been the worst he’d had in a while. He had only one objective, eliminate Liu Yangyang, and it had gone wrong. He had lost the target and been shot, even though it didn’t hurt him, he wasn’t expecting any of these to happen. At least, he got evidence that would help him find his shooter. An abandoned laptop.

The moment Jeno got his feet in Seoul, he immediately asked for a cab to take him to the agency’s building, he couldn’t waste any time since he knew that his shooter was probably looking for his identity too. That guy wasn’t a DIA member, Jeno thought, or else they wouldn’t have traped all those explosives around the road. They were from an enemy organization, which meant he had another target to take care of. 

Right after the mission, Jeno had called Jaemin to make a report of the situation and he had answered he would be looking for the mysterious desert guy identity with other agency members, after all, they didn’t want to repeat the Yokohama incident. Jeno trusted his partners with that so he used his time to focus on the laptop he had found in the middle of ruins.

Knowing that, Yoojung, one of their hackers and tech experts, was already waiting for Jeno to analyze the material collected. 

The room was big but filled with every kind of computer you could imagine. It was where they monitored missions, kept reports, and did some investigation. Yoojung liked to say she worked at the agency’s heart. She was small and if she wasn’t able to turn Jeno’s life upside down with a click he would describe her as innocent and cute. 

He greeted her briefly and took the laptop out of his bag, handing it to Yoojung.

“Jesus! What did you do?” she asked. The laptop was falling apart, consequences of Jeno’s explosive, but surprisingly it was still working. Spies equipment was resistant, he and Jaemin always made jokes about how they wished phones worked like that. 

“It’s not mine,” Jeno defended himself.

“Whose computer is this?” 

“I was hoping you’d tell me,” Jeno admitted. Yoojung raised her eyebrows and nodded going to work. 

Jeno had no idea how those things worked so he just set there for some long hours talking about mundane things while Yoojung pressed keys, plugged wires, and read tiny letters on the screen Jeno had no idea what they meant. He was about to fall asleep when Yoojung called his attention.

“Jeno, look at this!” She exclaimed, indicating Jeno to take a look closer to the screen. There were a bunch of sentences and numbers so she made it easier for him. “There’s no name, but I found an address.”

And exactly where Yoojung was indicating, there was an address Jeno feared he already knew. 

Donghyuck was a box full of surprises after all.

-

People always said Donghyuck had a way that caught everyone’s attention, that he was good at making memorable entrances. He was sure no one would forget that early about the day he came back from California.

“Who the fuck is that asshole?” he yelled slamming the agency’s door.

The other agents just looked at him in confusion. They weren’t used to having this kind of disturbance on workdays. With all the attention, Renjun quickly made his way to meet him at the reception to end all the fuss he caused.

“I wanna know who that asshole is,” Donghyuck greeted him. He was pissed.

California’s mission was important, it had been on his mind for ages and everything had literally blown up because of some stupid shithead. He had all the right to be annoyed.

“Renjun, give me the tape. Now.” 

Renjun rolled his eyes and indicated to Donghyuck to follow him to the reports room. When they were walking, someone called him causing him to turn around. It was one of the assistants.

“Boss wants to talk to you,” the assistant said, handing him the phone. Donghyuck sighed.

“They ran away with the target,” he said at the same moment he put the phone against his ears. He was lucky Sojung did not mind his rude behavior. “There was another agent there,” he added, even though being sure she already knew about that.

“We don’t leave any witnesses,” Sojung said through the line, no emotions in her voice. She had a powerful posture, never raised her voice tone, and made sure everyone was treated with respect. She had been an excellent spy before taking the lead of the agency. Donghyuck really admired her.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he said. His words wouldn’t have any effect considering the dimension of the situation, however, he felt the need to apologize for disappointing Sojung and his partners. Everyone was counting on him and nothing went as planned. That thought left him fuming. 

“Look for details. You have forty-eight hours to end him,” Sojung warned him, ending the call right after. Donghyuck couldn’t debate.

He entered the reports room looking for Renjun, who had set the tape ready for them to watch. They sat and watched the same scenes hundreds of times, zooming the car, the man’s face, everything. Maybe it was a mind trick but Donghyuck was starting to find the guy a bit familiar after watching the tape for so long.

A tall thin black-haired guy, a colorful Hawaiian shirt, stupid squared glasses, and those patterned socks…

“Renjun, why don’t you go make us some coffee?” Donghyuck asked. In other words, he was basically asking for Renjun to leave. He understood and left Donghyuck alone while he made them a quick snack. 

When he heard the sound closing behind him, he got his face closer to the monitor and watched the tape again. A weird feeling of nervousness taking his chest. He observed those movements, the way the guy walked, the way he held the gun. It all hit him at once, he knew that body language too well. 

-

Since Jeno had found out Donghyuck was the mysterious desert guy, he hadn’t spent much time at home. He wasn’t avoiding Donghyuck-- Jeno still hadn’t figured out what to do-- it was that coincidently Donghyuck had too much work to do to be available for Jeno. Always leaving the house too early and going back too late. Jeno took that as an advantage and took the time to think about what the hell he would do with the situation. It was definitely one of the hardest missions he’d ever received.

When Jeno got home that night, after spending the whole day at the agency, dinner had been waiting for him. He couldn’t help being surprised taking consideration into their relationship status at that moment. Donghyuck had cooked dinner, set the table and the second Jeno closed the door after him, Donghyuck offered him a glass of cocktail as a greeting. It was heavily suspicious.

“You got here just on time,” Donghyuck said as he led their way to the dinner table.

Jeno sat at his usual chair and Donghyuck smiled at him before turning back to the kitchen claiming he had more food to bring. He was acting weird and Jeno got chills from this thought. Jeno knew Donghyuck worked for a rival agency and in the same way, there was a large probability that Donghyuck knew about Jeno’s secret too. It wasn’t a normal dinner night, and Jeno was clearly not prepared for that situation.

The time Donghyuck spent at the kitchen was enough for Jeno to analyze his surroundings. He threw all the cocktail into the closest plant vase he could find, not taking a sip of it, for all he knew, it could be poisoned. Jeno didn’t feel guilty at all when he slid one of the knives from the dinner table into his pockets. It was self-defense.

Donghyuck had prepared their dinner night and that meant that everything could be a trap, Jeno didn’t want to be left behind. It was Donghyuck after all, he was exceptional in whatever he did, and if he had been capable of hiding the fact he is a spy from Jeno it meant that he was exceptional in being a spy too at the very least. The thought that Donghyuck had left Jeno alone for a quick moment purposely so he could arm himself couldn’t even be disregarded. 

Soon, Donghyuck came back holding the night’s main menu, a meat piece he knew was Jeno’s favorite, he placed it in the middle of the table and when he was about to slice it, Jeno interrupted him taking the precise knife to his hands, offering to help. Donghyuck probably predicted that since he got a bigger knife and started cutting slices of bread right in front of Jeno, so he could see.

They sat to eat, face to face. Donghyuck smiled at Jeno as he brought the fork to his mouth enjoying the food. It was like he was trying to say “It’s not poisoned, you can eat too.” So he did. 

“Hyuck, sweetheart, can you pass me the salt?” Jeno asked, half trying to make conversation, half because the salad hadn’t been seasoned.

“It’s right in front of you.” It indeed was. Jeno laughed at his failed attempt, he should’ve known better since he always asked that same question and that dinner had been notoriously calculated.

Jeno salted his salad the way he liked and took the food to his mouth, a wave of warmth cutting his throat. Jeno tried to hide his face as he widened his shirt’s collar, he could feel Donghyuck staring right at him, not showing any sign of worry. They were playing a silent game and Donghyuck was neatly winning.

“I tried something new, did you like it?” Donghyuck raised his eyebrows.

Son of a bitch, Jeno cursed mentally.

“Yeah,” He answered. Donghyuck didn’t want to see him crying or begging for forgiveness, Donghyuck didn’t give a fuck about Jeno’s wellbeing at that moment. He was angry and sad. And Jeno knew that was exactly the answer Donghyuck wanted to hear. The answer that would make him boil with rage.

“So, how’s work?” Jeno continued. “You’ve been at the company a lot lately, did something happen?”

They were back with the small talking, any improvement had been gone to trash after the cards were put on the table. They were back in acting. 

“Just some trouble with communication,” Donghyuck answered. Jeno could understand the answer in any way he wanted. There was an invisible hanger there: if Jeno wanted to keep pretending or cut right to their fight. So instead of choosing, he returned to Donghyuck in the same way. 

“Is it too bad?” Jeno asked. Is there any hope for us?

Donghyuck’s face was blank and he took a while before answering Jeno. “It has to do with another company but it’s okay, we may quickly solve it,” Jeno nodded and they fell into silence again. 

Not much time later Jeno stood to pour them some wine. He had picked a bottle from the tiny bar in the living room and two empty glasses, which he put in front of Donghyuck’s plate. 

“We deserve to relax a bit, don’t we?” Jeno handed Donghyuck a glass of wine and purposefully let the bottle fall from his hand, but before it could hit the ground, Donghyuck caught it, without taking his eyes off the plate in front of him. Interference of his reflex act. Jeno found it impressive.

They stared at each other. Anyone could see the huge tension between them growing each second. At that moment it had been implicit. Donghyuck knew Jeno tried to sabotage his mission. And Jeno knew Donghyuck was the one who shot him. They had found out what was cutting them apart.

As in an attempt to escape, Donghyuck loosened his fingers from the bottle, letting it fall to the ground and creating a growing reddish puddle in the white carpet. 

Jeno raised his eyebrows, “I’ll get some towels.” 

Both of them followed opposite directions. 

Jeno lifted a tacky paint from the wall so he could access one of his hidden spots. There was only one pistol there and some recharge. He picked the gun and went back to the dining room. It was exactly how they left, the bottle of wine still on the ground, the food getting cold on their plates.

“Donghyuck?” Jeno called.

And, a minute later he was answered with the sound of the garage’s gate opening and a car leaving their house.

“Fuck!” Jeno cursed.

Donghyuck had left.

-

That night Donghyuck slept at the agency. After the dinner had gone wrong, Donghyuck just left. He didn’t know what to do or knew what he had been expecting with the dinner either. Jeno made him uneasy. It made him wonder if he would actually be able to succeed at his mission.

When Donghyuck left their house he immediately called his boss, Sojung, so he could arrange a few more days to complete the job. Being honest, Donghyuck wasn’t sure if he was brave enough to end things with Jeno-- in other words, Donghyuck wasn’t sure if he was brave enough to kill Jeno.

Even if things weren’t good in their relationship, even if Jeno had lied to him. Donghyuck couldn’t blame him. He had done the same things.

He got himself one of the agency’s dorms, those were usually for spies traveling from other affiliated agencies. Sojung had been considerate of his request and postponed the term, but Donghyuck wasn’t stupid, he knew he had to get things done as soon as possible. That’s why he also asked to work with some other agents, who were now turning his house upside down looking for any place Jeno could have left a hint or armament. 

Donghyuck felt like a coward for passing his job to other agents, although he couldn’t risk getting caught. Not when he was the biggest source of information about the enemy. As he waited for updates from the ones at his house, Donghyuck called Renjun. It was funny, calling to ask his friend for advice when his kind of relationship issue was killing his boyfriend. Donghyuck couldn’t refrain from thinking: if he had had another life, would he be happy with Jeno.

He laid in bed, Renjun’s words echoing in his mind. “You don’t love him anymore. You’re gonna kill him, and then it’ll be over.” And after repeating so many times, Donghyuck couldn’t sense if it was true.

Donghyuck sighed, he took the whisky bottle to his lips and the sip burned his throat. Jeno always made him feel like a young fool after all. 

His thoughts were pushed away with a call from one of the agents, who told him everything at his house had been checked and taken care of. Donghyuck thanked him and wasn’t able to stop his thoughts that had come later.

From what he had been told, it was clear that Jeno had the equipment and whatever more hidden in their house. As a spy, Donghyuck understood him, people like them had to be prepared for everything, anywhere, and anytime. Although the fact that he understood Jeno didn’t ease Donghyuck’s thoughts, it was the opposite. Donghyuck was angrier at the fact that Jeno had lied to him for years and right under his nose.

He tried to distract himself, the alcohol taking command. Donghyuck liked to believe he was winning, he was one step ahead, he had left Jeno defenseless and he felt excited for the moment Jeno would find out.

It didn’t take long, the next day, Donghyuck and six other agents took over one of the investigation rooms of the agency hoping to find Jeno. It was kind of hard to spy on a spy, especially if that spy was expecting to be investigated. There was no sign of Jeno’s existence at all in the search terms.

The house inspection had led them to many hints and online addresses only to find nothing at the end. Jeno’s confrontation was indirect, he had cut all kinds of ways to find him but had made sure Donghyuck believed he could. Jeno made Donghyuck waste his time while he gained an advantage.

“Target profiles are the main priority,” Donghyuck warned his partners who were all busy doing research. “Take all means necessary. Citizen registers, bank accounts, cameras, everything.” 

“What do you want us to look for? Jeno Lee?” One of the agents asked him, incredulous. Donghyuck knew it was stupid, Jeno wouldn’t make their research that easy, although, it didn’t hurt to try. 

At that same time, an alarm was activated. The room was taken by a red blinking light and a continuous noise that warned them there was a strange body in the building’s pipe. Donghyuck turned to the other agents surprised.

“Donghyuck,” one of them called, “I think I found him.”

Promptly, the agents switched activities. They were no longer looking for Jeno, they had to protect the agency and its materials, erasing data, and checking the security system. Donghyuck could see the floors being scanned through the big screen and in the middle of a maze of pipe turns was a red circle indicating his boyfriend’s presence.

The room’s phone rang and Donghyuck didn’t have to check to know it was him. “I thought I told you not to bother me at the office, honey,” Donghyuck picked up. The whole room was silent, paying attention to the words spoken.

From the screen, Donghyuck couldn’t see Jeno’s playful smile.

“I have a request and a gift for you,” Jeno greeted back. He didn’t have to explain any further, the agency’s system had already identified the explosive Jeno had installed in the pipes’ walls. “I need you to leave, Donghyuck.”

“No,” Donghyuck answered. So that was Jeno’s plan, for Donghyuck to leave and then keep pretending he didn’t exist. Donghyuck laughed, what a great way to protect a princess, he thought.

“Now,” Jeno asked, by his tone, you could understand his word any way you wanted. But Donghyuck had years of experience, he knew that Jeno was begging him to leave because he didn’t have the guts to kill him. It would be easier that way.

Except, Donghyuck rarely did what people expected him to and Jeno wasn’t special, not anymore.

“Do you really expect me to roll over and play dead?” Donghyuck teased him. 

“I thought you’d be used to lying after four years of our relationship,” Jeno answered back. “It’s your choice so be careful, I can press the button anytime.”

Donghyuck laughed. He knew Jeno was bluffing, Jeno had given himself away a minute before. 

“Honey, you wouldn’t press this button even if you wanted to.” Donghyuck was right and that was what made Jeno’s job harder. He couldn’t see Jeno but he could picture his face falling from realization.

Then, Jeno hummed from the other side. “Anytime now.”

Although Donghyuck liked to believe he was right, at that moment, he couldn’t know for sure if Jeno had or not pressed the button, and there was no time to lose. The agents reset the computers and opened the large room windows to position some kind of zipline to the next building for a quick escape. They wouldn’t keep waiting to see if the floor was about to explode or not. 

The agents went one by one until Donghyuck was alone. He was about to jump when he heard a noise behind his head. Donghyuck turned to see Jeno pointing a gun right at his face and only laughed before jumping. Donghyuck had many people wanting to kill him but Jeno wasn’t one of them, he didn’t have to worry about that.

When his foot hit the other building’s terrace, Donghyuck turned back and gazed up to see Jeno’s silhouette looking back at him.

“Asshole!” Jeno yelled. Donghyuck was too far to see that he was smiling.

“Pussy!” Donghyuck yelled back before leaving.

Their next meeting didn’t take long to arrive, to be precise, two days after Jeno’s failed attempt to persuade Donghyuck, they found themselves almost in the same situation as before.

This time, Donghyuck found Jeno in one of the agency’s elevators. On normal days, people wouldn’t waste time verifying every single one of them, but since Jeno had been able to infiltrate himself in one of the pipes the security had been duplicated so as not to leave any lacking spots.

Sometime in the afternoon, Donghyuck had been warned there was a strange visitor in the building and he didn’t have to look at cameras to find out it was Jeno. He knew Jeno wouldn’t give up so soon and this time Donghyuck was prepared to get what he wanted.

Donghyuck watched Jeno get higher and higher as the floors passed by, and with some words to other workers he made the elevator stop. At the cameras, Donghyuck could see Jeno’s confused frown and the scene made him laugh proudly. Playing with Jeno was probably one of his favorite shows to watch. 

“Sir, this is security speaking,” Donghyuck started at one of the microphones with a voice modification, “There seems to be a problem with your elevator.”

Donghyuck watched as Jeno put his head down and sighed. 

“I’ll send someone up to see what it is.” It was a lie, he planned to leave Jeno hanging in there until he got tired to keep going. Donghyuck was doing that for the sake of his own entertainment. 

“Take your time, I’m really comfortable,” Jeno said. When something wasn’t going the way Donghyuck expected, he could get abnormally mad, in that case, those words pissed him off. Jeno had always been successful in taking the best of Donghyuck's emotions. 

“Oh, you’re really comfortable,” Donghyuck mocked bitterly. 

By those words, Donghyuck knew he had ruined everything already, he had let his emotions act for him and the agency members frowned at him in resentment. One of the reasons why he was so good at his job was because he let his anger take answers from targets, but in Jeno’s case, he had fucked up. Even though Donghyuck did not regret it.

“Donghyuck? Is that you, sweetheart?” Jeno asked. The melody of his voice echoed through the room.

Donghyuck caught a glimpse of Jeno’s smile through the camera and that was enough to change plans. He exchanged a few words with the agent by his side and kept his act. 

“First and last warning, Jeno,” Donghyuck’s voice filled the elevator. “Get out of town.”

Jeno laughed and turned to face the camera as in an attempt to face Donghyuck, “You know I’m not going anywhere.”

Their places had switched and Donghyuck once again played with Jeno’s strings, like a puppet.

“So you say,” Donghyuck started, his voice plain and certain, ”But right now you’re trapped on a steel box hanging seventy floors over nothing but air.”

“Oh, so this is a trap?” Jeno faked surprise only to change to an unimpressed look right after. “It’s not gonna work, it’s never gonna work, cause you constantly underestimate me.”

Donghyuck raised his eyebrows and pouted, “Do I?” 

“You have no idea who I am, you have no idea what I’m capable of.” Jeno declared. His face was calm but Donghyuck could feel the way his stare pierced him. If it was another day and another moment, Donghyuck would probably have been resentful. 

This time, Donghyuck could only play the same keys. “Well, back at you, baby.”

Jeno was silent after that and Donghyuck couldn’t tell why. At that moment he felt almost sad, the feeling of regret growing in his chest. Looking at Jeno brought him memories he would like to change and oppositely eternalize. Donghyuck wanted to quit, to end everything to live a life like five years ago, but he could stay in the dark only for so much. 

In the end, he asked tiredly, “Promise to leave town, or I’ll blow it.”

Jeno made a face before lifting his arms in defense, “Okay, I give up.” He got closer to the camera and wished he could have seen Donghyuck’s face when he said, “Blow it.” 

“What?” Donghyuck was exasperated. 

“Go on, blow it,” Jeno repeated. His face ripped with a smile. 

“You think I won’t?” Donghyuck was incredulous. Jeno was capable of getting through him even when being threatened, Donghyuck felt disrespected and frustrated. His plan wasn’t being followed in any way. 

“I think you won’t,” Jeno provoked. Donghyuck wanted to punch those lips.

It was like their older days, when they bickered and challenged each other, but more serious and deadlier. Donghyuck’s patience had already vanished a long time ago.

“Okay,” Donghyuck heard a countdown be started from one of the agents' commands and made sure Jeno could hear through the microphone, “Your last words?”

Jeno only looked up waitingly, crossing his arms before saying, “Your new curtains are hideous.” He didn’t need a camera to know Donghyuck had gotten furious.

“Goodbye, Jeno,” Donghyuck said, taking a glimpse of Jeno’s face before everything was shut down.

A loud noise was heard and the floor trembled under his feet, the camera that once showed Jeno’s face was now off. The elevator had exploded. Donghyuck brought his eyebrows together in confusion. 

“What the hell was that?” Donghyuck asked the agents by his side.

“Donghyuck, you said goodbye, we planned this,” one of the agents explained.

And then it all hit him, a sick feeling up his throat, the tears burning his eyes. He excused himself out of the room and ran.

Jeno was dead. 

-

It all happened too fast, Donghyuck couldn’t even tell everything that he had done after he stormed out of the agency’s building. He remembered getting back home and then driving at a speed probably higher than the allowed to find himself alone at a table for two in the same restaurant Jeno had asked Donghyuck to be his. It was true, in the end, you start thinking about the beginning.

Sitting on his chair, Donghyuck took his glass to his lips, taking a sip of some alcoholic drink the waiter had offered, the liquid burned in his dry throat but he didn’t care, he felt numb-- like the evening’s event had anesthetized him completely. He didn’t know how to feel or how to act. Jeno was his enemy but Jeno was also his lover, his best friend, his everything, it was impossible to lose something like that and pretend it was fine. Things hadn’t been fine for a while.

Looking at the dance floor in the center of the room, Donghyuck could picture the day Jeno caught his hand and promised him happiness, love, and a home, back then he thought Jeno was forever, but their time was cut short way before that. Maybe it had been Donghyuck’s fault, maybe it had been Jeno’s, maybe if they hadn’t had deadly jobs, if they had talked or lived differently their relationship could still be alive, or at least Jeno. 

Donghyuck noticed he had been crying when a waiter called his attention by filling his empty glass, consequently getting him off his thoughts, he took a hand to his face and dried his tears in an attempt to compose himself. 

He heard a chuckle before the waiter spoke. “It’s our house’s number one.” 

And that voice was oddly familiar, Donghyuck thought as he glanced up to see an even fore familiar figure.

Donghyuck’s breath stopped as their eyes met. “How’s that even possible?”

Jeno was outstanding. Donghyuck had always joked about how Jeno was one of the most handsome men he had ever seen, it could have been out of shock, but at that moment, Jeno looked like Donghyuck had meant it. He wore a fitted black tuxedo and smiled like he was smarter than anyone in that place.

Out of many tied emotions, Donghyuck felt relieved, even if he wasn’t supposed to. Jeno was alive, annoying, and stubborn, he was alive. Then, Donghyuck realized he had been the one who fell into a trap. 

“Oh, sweetheart. As I said before, you constantly underestimate me,” Jeno answered with a smirk.

A waiter was coming in their direction so Jeno gave back his bottle and dragged the chair in front of Donghyuck, so they could sit and talk like a normal couple would. Donghyuck watched while Jeno unwrapped the napkin and asked another waiter for a Martini.

“Champagne is for celebrations,” Jeno had said. He was having fun making a scene.

Donghyuck swallowed his tears and tried to stay indifferent when he asked, “So, what did you decide?”

Jeno lifted his head as in thought and answered, “I want to break up,” he declared like it was easy, like they were a normal couple that didn’t have their lives in question.

“I like that,” Donghyuck started and crossed his arms laying on his chair. “You asked me to be your boyfriend here, it has symmetry. You always liked those things.”

The waiter came back and handed Jeno his drink, which he immediately took a sip, not taking his eyes off Donghyuck at any moment. Donghyuck couldn't figure out what Jeno was thinking, for the first time in five years, Jeno seemed almost an enigma. 

“What do you really want, Jeno?” Donghyuck asked.

Jeno had a smirk on his face when he put his glass at the table, he leaned in to be closer to Donghyuck’s face when he answered. It was the perfect angle for Donghyuck to spit or kiss him, he shook the thought away. 

“We have an unusual problem, Donghyuck,” Jeno started, moving his index finger between them. “You obviously want me dead and I'm less and less concerned for your wellbeing. So what do we do? Do we shoot it out here? Hope for the best?”

Donghyuck raised his eyebrows at the stupid request, “Well, that would be a shame because they'd probably ask me to leave once you're dead.”

Jeno frowned at Donghyuck’s proud statement and they met each other’s eyes for a while. They could easily forget everything and pretend it was a normal date, formal clothes and drinks in hands, small talk, and genuine laughs like they once were. Donghyuck couldn’t look at Jeno for too long without feeling the tears coming. Jeno was right in front of him and all he wanted was a last hug or a kiss, anything that would make him feel something other than frustration. 

“Dance with me,” Jeno abruptly asked. Maybe he shared the same thought.

Donghyuck offered him a fake smile. “I thought you didn’t dance.”

Jeno smiled back as he stood, offering his hand to Donghyuck so they could walk together to the center of the room.

“It was part of my cover,” he finally said.

They walked to the center of the room, Jeno’s hands holding Donghyuck’s a little too tight, making sure he wouldn't run away. In the middle, they could see many other couples dancing around them, pretty women in long dresses and fancy men turning their pairs around. Jeno sent Donghyuck a glance before placing his hand on his lower back to bring their bodies closer and Donghyuck stiffed at the sudden action. Jeno brought their hands together and their eyes met as they moved in the rhythm of tango. 

“Do you think this story will have a happy ending?” Jeno asked as they danced. In other words, Donghyuck knew he was referring to their relationship and he could have lied if it didn’t hurt so much. 

Then, Donghyuck answered, “Happy endings are just stories that haven't been finished yet.”

Jeno would have ignored Donghyuck’s dramatic words but he couldn’t help thinking that maybe he was right, maybe they weren’t meant to be, and if that was true, their story was about to end. Given the circumstances, maybe one of them would too. 

“Why do you think we failed?” Donghyuck asked, his hand was placed in Jeno’s neck, leaving their faces inches apart. If he leaned a bit they could kiss. “It was because we were living separate lives or it was just us?”

“I have a theory,” Jeno started, “You killed us.”

“Provocative.” Donghyuck raised his eyebrows.

“You approached our marriage like a job, to be planned and executed,” Jeno explained, offering Donghyuck a bitter smile. 

“And you avoided it.” Donghyuck snapped. 

Even while arguing, Donghyuck and Jeno danced like nothing was happening between them, like they were just another couple in a crowd. It was the complete opposite of their night in Rio. Jeno was holding him tight when all Donghyuck wanted was to be far away from him. They were good at pretending after all. 

Jeno stepped back and caught Donghyuck’s hand, making him spin, and then going back to their initial positions. Donghyuck seemed to be losing his patience to be there as he rolled his eyes at Jeno’s attempt of doing romantic steps. It was weird having Donghyuck so close to him and at the same time, so far. 

“Why do you care if I was just a cover?” Jeno asked him.

“Who said you were just a cover?” Donghyuck surprisingly replied close to Jeno’s ear.

Donghyuck leaned back distancing himself and Jeno could never get enough of him. 

“Wasn’t I?” Jeno provoked.

They fell into silence and the music seemed to come to an end, creating a tense atmosphere in the room. Donghyuck starred Jeno for a few seconds before stopping in place. He noticed Jeno was about to ask something but before he could pronounce anything Donghyuck turned his back and walked away.

Then, Jeno followed.

-

Donghyuck could see someone had been following him since he left the restaurant and he didn’t have to think too much to know who it was. Through the car’s mirror, Donghyuck monitored the black car almost glued to his as he made his way through the streets.

His initial idea was to go back to the agency, where he had been spending his nights, get his stuff and leave. Forever. Leave as Jeno told him to. However, Donghyuck wasn’t a coward. He was too proud to run away from someone who never cared about him in the first place. Jeno wouldn’t run away so Donghyuck wasn’t either. 

The thought made Donghyuck chuckle. It was like a promise, an engagement. The wedding vows they never had the chance to exchange but Donghyuck could easily say.  

It was time to solve the situation they had put themselves through, Sojung wouldn’t let Donghyuck delay all the agency’s missions for his relationship issues and he bet whomever Jeno's boss was wouldn’t have much patience either. Sooner or later, Donghyuck knew he would have to deal with Jeno. Send a bullet through his head or a knife against his chest. It was a matter of time, one of them would have to decide. 

Donghyuck wiped a tear away and leaned his head against his seat.

Jeno's words echoed through his head: “So what do we do? Do we shoot it out here? Hope for the best?”  

Donghyuck took a turn and drove home. 

-

Jeno realized Donghyuck had made his decision when he parked his car right in front of their house and got in calmly like it was a normal day. 

Watching that scene made his chest tighten, Jeno knew what that meant. Donghyuck had made his decision. 

Jeno pulled over right behind Donghyuck's car and took a deep breath. By the time of waiting, Donghyuck could have thought Jeno had chickened out, but Jeno knew him too well or at least knew that by his shown personality, Donghyuck would be waiting for him to arrive like a friend throwing a surprise party. 

It was funny, sitting in the car, and getting prepared to get home when all the truth had been unfolded. Jeno didn’t have to pretend anymore. 

He opened the glove compartment and looked briefly to the tiny ring box sitting there, he moved it to the side and slid his hand deeper to get a pistol he saved there for emergencies. He loaded it and set the gun ready before getting out of the car. 

Jeno had no idea about where Donghyuck could be waiting for him so he opened the window that belonged to the guest room and got himself inside, eager not to produce any sound. In other times, he would probably have laughed at having to break into his own property.

Not taking his eyes away from the room’s door, Jeno slid a colorful paint that hung on one of the walls. He was surprised to see Donghyuck hadn’t emptied the hiding spot where he kept his firearms and other weapons. Jeno put the pistol on a belt, leaving for another time, and loaded a more potent gun. He turned to the door and started walking through the corridor. 

For the first time in years, Jeno felt nervous during a mission.  He ignored the sickness up this throat and set back his shoulders as he made his way through the house. The gun was always first and ready to shoot.

Since Jeno didn’t know where Donghyuck was hidden, he walked through the house cautious and aware of every sound and movement, measuring every step he made.

He passed by one of the guest bathrooms and picked a makeup mirror following his way to the living room. Jeno leaned over the wall that connected to the stairs and moved the mirror to the steps before making his way, however, before he could see any reflection a bullet was sent and the mirror broke apart into hundred pieces.

Jeno immediately recoiled and felt tons of bullets hitting the wall, he bent down so as not to be hit. After a few seconds, the shooting ceased and Jeno thought it was because Donghyuck had gone out of bullets.

“Are you still alive, baby?” Donghyuck provoked from upstairs as Jeno didn’t try to hit back. 

Jeno heard the sound of Donghyuck’s gun being loaded but before any shot could be sent against him, he turned back and aimed his gun up at the hole created by Donghyuck’s bullets, sending back his own. As a consequence, the shots stopped and it was only at that moment that Jeno realized he had been holding his breathing.

He took the opportunity to run to the other side of the living room but the shooting came back and Jeno felt a bullet scratching his shoulder, ripping his suit and making him bleed. He ignored the nuisance caused by the cut and hid behind the table, trying to ease his breathing. He had to put his feelings in order so he could work right.

Jeno closed his eyes and focused on the sound of the steps coming in his direction. When he heard Donghyuck getting closer, Jeno started crawling back to where he was before. Accidently, he bumped into a vase of flowers that fell and broke right in front of his eyes. 

Aware of Jeno’s location, Donghyuck started shooting again trying to hit him and this time, Jeno did the same, shooting right back in Donghyuck’s direction.

Jeno saw Donghyuck recoiling to look for help behind the sofa and did not waste time to go after him. He jumped over the sofa to find Donghyuck sitting there, gun aiming at Jeno’s chest. Jeno was being too reckless about his own safety.

Donghyuck’s lips trembled and before he could pull the trigger, Jeno hit his gun, sending it away. Jeno smirked proudly and Donghyuck punched his face making Jeno’s lips bleed. 

Instinctively, Jeno punched back, moving forward and pinning Donghyuck’s body to the ground below his own. Donghyuck started hitting Jeno’s arms and Jeno sent a punch to his jawline. Donghyuck’s head felt like exploding. As he didn’t have the strength to hit back, Donghyuck moved his body to the side and stretched his arm to catch his gun.

Donghyuck got his hand on his gun and instead of shooting, he hit Jeno’s face with it instead, making a deep cut on his forehead. Jeno moaned in pain and Donghyuck took Jeno’s vulnerable state as an opportunity to push him and run away.

Jeno cursed and quickly got his gun to go after him, except he didn’t see where Donghyuck had gone distracted by his head’s throbbing state. He moved to the kitchen and realizing he had lost Donghyuck again, Jeno yelled in frustration.

He heard a dry shooting sound and the cups at the counter started to blow one after another. To defend himself Jeno opened the refrigerator door in an attempt to use it as a shield and bent down to protect himself. Quickly, the floor he was sitting on got wet by the blown juice boxes.

Donghyuck stopped to reload his gun and when Jeno was about to shoot back, he realized his gun was also discharged. Then, he turned back, opened the cutlery drawer, and picked as many kitchen knives as he could, sending them back to Donghyuck’s direction.

As Donghyuck dodged from his tries, Jeno slid on the floor to bring Donghyuck down, making him unarmed again. This time, Donghyuck was eager to get his gun back and set to Jeno’s direction at the same time Jeno handed his pistol kept in the belt.

They stopped. Their guns pointed at each other. It was at that moment that it all fell into place.

Jeno stared at Donghyuck’s face, pointing out every detail. He was sweaty and blood dripped from his eyebrows, wetting his face. The ups and downs of his chest showed his tiredness and his mouth was parted as he breathed unevenly. He could see Donghyuck’s eyes sparkling with tears and his hand trembling as he aimed the gun against his chest. Jeno felt beaten. 

He lowered the gun and admitted, “I can’t do it.”

Donghyuck insisted, pointing the gun at Jeno. “Do it,” he said angrily.

Jeno looked at him and at that moment, he let the tears fall, wetting his face. Jeno had been defeated once again, just like at any other time Donghyuck challenged him. And if that was the last one, he’d be satisfied with the outcome.

“Come on,” Donghyuck almost begged. But Jeno would never be brave enough to do it. 

Jeno loosened his hold at the gun and let it fall to the floor. He had given up and his heart finally felt at peace.

So, with vision blurred by tears, Jeno turned to Donghyuck and said one last time, “I won’t.”

Donghyuck glanced up and Jeno could see his tears had started to fall as well, his hand had started to tremble even more and Jeno noticed he was scared. Donghyuck pressed his lips and closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath he lowered his gun.

When Jeno looked at Donghyuck’s eyes, he felt his heart tighten. Jeno had never seen him so hurt. Without a second thought, Jeno stepped closer and cupped Donghyuck’s face in his hands. Donghyuck leaned to the touch and Jeno dried a tear that threatened to fall. Looking at Donghyuck made Jeno forget about everything. It was only him.

Not thinking, Jeno leaned in to press Donghyuck’s lips with his own and the soft touch was enough to make everything pause. He didn’t think about the mission or his future, because that was the only right choice he would make. It was up to Donghyuck to do whatever he wanted with him.

Then, Donghyuck reciprocated. He got his hands on Jeno's neck, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss. It was almost desperate, how they battled to get a hold of each other. It was like they felt they had to make up for the time lost.

Jeno stepped closer to bring their bodies together moving backward until Donghyuck’s back was pressed against the wall, his thighs between his own. Jeno leaned back to breathe and bit Donghyuck’s lower lip, lacking care. Donghyuck whined at the fleeting pain and his hands found their way to Jeno’s hair, bringing their lips together again. 

The kiss was dirty and messy. Jeno tasted like blood and sweat. It made Donghyuck get lost for a while with the need and desperation to make Jeno his.

They moved their bodies together with no kindness or tenderness, an uncontrollable heat growing each second. Donghyuck started unbuttoning Jeno's shirt as he took away his own. Jeno's hand lowered to his shoulders, kissing his neck and then his collarbone, caressing his skin and tracing the way down to his hip. Donghyuck nearly melted to his touch and placed his hands against Jeno's chest shoving him back so he could breathe. 

Jeno stared down his lips and Donghyuck smiled. His chest burned. Even with blood on his face, Donghyuck remained handsome and sharp. It made Jeno want to kiss him again, so leaned forward. 

Donghyuck mapped Jeno’s chest and felt the beating of his heart against his palms. His hands moved down Jeno’s body until he could feel his fingers teasing along the waist of his pants. Donghyuck leaned closer, slowly leaving a mark on his collarbone. 

When he looked at Jeno, he had a smile stamped on his face. Donghyuck didn’t feel like letting go.

And at that moment, Jeno didn’t care about anything but Donghyuck’s body against his.

-

The next morning was unlike any other morning they’d shared before.

The inside of their house was completely destroyed. The bullets had passed through the walls and windows, creating thousands of holes. Scattered through the floor, broken glass shone brightly in contrast with the wood, flowers withered from where the vase had fallen.

In the middle of the night, a police officer had knocked at the door asking about the noise complaints by the neighbors. Donghyuck had left a shirtless Jeno to make up a lie. At that time, it didn’t matter what the neighbors would think since their house had been completely ruined and they’d have to find a new one, but that was for later.

Donghyuck jumped around the kitchen, trying not to step on any glass as he made his way to the refrigerator which was so damaged that the doors didn’t even close. He picked a juice jar, one of the only ones still unbroken, and filled two broken cups with orange juice, handing one to Jeno who kept laughing every time Donghyuck went unbalanced.

They made a toast with the broken juice cups and it felt like the day they met.

It was a weird mixture of untold emotions. A silent promise of trust and forgiveness. Eventually, they’d have to talk, but that was another thing they’d left for the future.

Jeno stretched a towel on the floor so they could eat and Donghyuck sat right beside him, their knees bumped and it sent a familiar feeling of belonging to his chest. 

“What was your first thought when we met?” Jeno asked, breaking the silence.

“I thought you were the most handsome man I’d ever seen,” Donghyuck answered plain and honest. If he closed his eyes, he would still be able to see Jeno’s silhouette drinking at a kiosk on Copacabana’s beach. “How about you?”

Jeno took a minute to think and all their memories seemed to come back to him.

“You looked like Christmas morning. Surprising and exciting.” Jeno offered him a shy smile. “There’s no other way to put it.”

Donghyuck smiled back and leaned to leave a peck on his lips, however, just when Jeno was about to reciprocate, their phones simultaneously rang. They exchanged a doubtful look and knowing their jobs, they eagerly stood to see what was that about.

“Shit,” Donghyuck cursed when he read Renjun’s message. It regarded an outrage to his agency. Apparently, unknown agents had attacked their floor by some minutes. NCT had been able to hit back, but it had been enough to leave damage.

Jeno glanced up from his phone to look at him and they shared the same worried gaze.

“Yours too?” Jeno asked even though he already knew the answer by Donghyuck’s lost expression. 

When Donghyuck nodded, he was sure it had been DIA. They both knew DIA wasn't trying to hurt them, at least, not at that time. DIA wanted to leave a message. They wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of their power. And if Jeno was right, they were trying to paint him and Donghyuck as traitors so their agencies would forget about Yangyang.

Jeno unlocked his phone again and sent a message to Jaemin as an agent asking for an emergency meeting, to which Jaemin responded immediately attaching his location.

“Since you got rid of mine, where do you keep your weapons?” Jeno asked abruptly.

Donghyuck didn’t say a word, he knew what that meant. He pointed down the hall and made his way to the basement, Jeno behind him. Since Jeno only visited the basement when he had to change the light bulbs, he wasn’t really impressed by Donghyuck’s choice of a hiding spot. 

The room was stuffy, the walls were covered in shelves where they kept boxes with the most useless things. Domghyuck bent down on his knees to get one of the boxes placed on the floor. Looking like a stranger, the box seemed like one of Donghyuck’s comic’s collection, however, when he took a few books, Jeno could see what was really hidden inside it.

Donghyuck started to fill a bag with some munition and stood to get a few other items on the upper shelves, such as bulletproof vests, jackets, and boots since they were still wearing only underwear. In such a small place, Donghyuck had equipped everything in case of an emergency, he never thought he would have to use it though. 

When he turned back, Jeno handed him a gun and Donghyuck protested, “Why do I get the smaller one?”

“Are you kidding me?” Jeno rolled his eyes. “Look, you can’t take a big one they aren’t practical, and this one-”

Donghyuck interrupted him before he could finish, “Give me the one you chose for yourself then.”

Jeno knew better than to argue with him, especially when they were running out of time. They exchanged guns and got dressed, taking a few things to leave.

Inside the car, Donghyuck took the driver seat which meant Jeno would take care if anything happened on the trip. Donghyuck adjusted the mirror and put on his seat belt getting the car started.

Jeno couldn't even remember the last time he had been in a car with Donghyuck.

He saw Donghyuck press the pedals and they made their way through the streets as fast as possible to a waffle house they used to visit when they were getting to know each other. 

“Who are we going to meet anyway?” Donghyuck asked. Earlier, he had decided to trust faithfully in Jeno's plans even though he didn’t even know what it consisted of.

“Jaemin,” Jeno said and Donghyuck waited for him to tell more. “He’s my ex-partner-"

“Your ex-partner?” Donghyuck interrupted him for the second time that morning. He had his eyebrows raised and Jeno noticed he had already jumped to conclusions.

“Not that kind of partner, oh my God!” Jeno said impatiently. “Jaemin used to go on missions with me, he’s one of our best agents. He knows how to help us.”

Donghyuck nodded slowly, “So he’s on our side and he’s trustworthy?”

“Yes, he is,” Jeno affirmed confidently.

“Look, I’m putting a lot of faith in you...” Donghyuck started, not taking his eyes off the road.

“Donghyuck, if I wanted to kill you I’d have done that last night, don’t you think?” Jeno snapped and heard Donghyuck sigh, his shoulders falling as he relaxed in the driver’s seat.

“You’re right,” he said.

“No more secrets, okay?”

“No more secrets,” Donghyuck agreed.

They stayed in silence after that. It was only a few hours since they had reconciled and they had already discussed, but they needed that. They knew it would be hard to fall back into place, they’d have to fight for each other. Literally and metaphorically. 

Jeno and Donghyuck were more than ready for this. 

“We’re being followed,” Donghyuck warned, breaking the silence.

By his side, Jeno turned back to see a black car that suddenly parted into two others. The three cars surrounding them. Jeno was right, they were DIA’s targets. Automatically, he set the gun ready and moved to the backseat aiming the car behind theirs.

Jeno saw the two cars by their side open their car’s door and he knew they would start to attack. Donghyuck, aware of the situation, pressed deeply into the pedal to speed up and get away from the cars blocking his sides.

Rising from the sunroof, an agent dressed in black aimed at Jeno and he didn’t have enough time to protect himself. A bullet passed across the car’s windshield spreading broken glass all over the backseats. If Jeno didn’t have bent down on time, he would probably have at least a cut on his face.

The abrupt attack scared Donghyuck and caused him to lose the car’s direction, making them fall to another lane.

“Fuck, Donghyuck!” Jeno cursed him and Donghyuck took that as a call to speed up.

Jeno stood and sat back aiming his gun back at the car behind them, except, instead of shooting the agent at the sunroof, Jeno sent a bullet to the driver’s seat direction as an attempt to make them lose control.

When the car behind them suddenly braked, Jeno celebrated quietly that his plan had gone well. What he wasn’t expecting was for the two cars by his side to open their windows and start shooting back at Jeno’s attempt to hit back.

The side windows were broken and the fact that the car was bulletproof was their only lucky shot. Jeno hid behind the passenger’s seat and hoped it was enough protection until they were far enough so that he could fight back without getting hurt.

“Are you okay?” Donghyuck yelled, turning back to eye Jeno.

However, he didn’t answer, just scolded him for asking, “Donghyuck, eyes on the road.”

“I’m going as fast as I can,” Donghyuck said annoyed, he reached for the passenger seat and took the backpack, handing it to Jeno. “Open it, I packed some explosives.”

Jeno did it as it was told and when he opened the zipper, he was horrified and at the same time surprised by the amount of ammunition Donghyuck had managed to store inside it. “You seem to like explosives a lot.”

Donghyuck ignored that as he glanced up at the rearview mirror to see the three black cars getting closer to them.

“Jeno, they’re getting closer,” he stated, “The plan is for you to send these little bombs to their cars when they’re near enough, and then I’ll speed up again, understood?” Jeno just nodded from where he was hidden, getting up to sit back and get ready.

Jeno handed Donghyuck an explosive so that he could blow the car to his side. Then, Donghyuck loosened the pressure on the pedal and the car got slower. 

They didn’t have time to think much, when the cars got closer, Jeno quickly got up and threw an explosive to the car behind them and another one to the car on his side, ignoring the pain the bullets caused against his vest. 

“Donghyuck, go!” Jeno shouted. 

With that, Donghyuck pulled the tape that held the explosive back with his teeth and threw it out the window, his hands held tight by the steering wheel as he accelerated. 

What happened next was a movie scene, a bulletproof car passing the road as in a commercial while an explosion was held in the background. Donghyuck looked at Jeno through the mirror and they both laughed at each other. It was a blessing no one was around at eight o’clock. 

-

When Jeno entered the waffle house he could see Jaemin had been waiting for him for a while given the almost finished plate of pancakes with an unhealthy amount of sugar at the table. 

As a spy, Jaemin should have noticed him getting near. Jeno guessed Jaemin was just too distracted by his breakfast to pay attention to his surroundings. 

Without saying anything, Jeno just sat at the couch in front of him and it made Jaemin jump.

“Jesus, Jeno!” Jaemin greeted him surprisedly and relieved. He still had food on his mouth when he said, “Good to see you’re okay, man.”

Jeno had a few cuts on his cheek and he surely looked beat. The only thing giving him an acceptable appearance was a jacket he had put on above his dirty clothes and the poorly cleaned bruises. Jaemin, as his ex-partner, had seen way worse.

“It’ll take them a lot more to kill me,” Jeno still provoked.

Jaemin rolled his eyes and Jeno was able to notice the dark circles formed under it. He wasn’t sleeping properly. “Tell me you got smart and killed that lying asshole,” he asked impatient.

Before Jeno could say anything, Donghyuck appeared, “Are you talking about me?” 

He moved to sit next to Jeno and raised his eyebrows at Jaemin who recoiled in his chair.

Jaemin closed his eyes like a child caught stealing candy, he opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but nothing came. After a few long seconds, he ended up speaking, “I’m sorry, Donghyuck. It’s nice to meet you!”

Donghyuck frowned, surprised by Jaemin’s words. He wasn’t expecting for him to say something like that, much less for his words to sound so genuine. Then, as an answer, Donghyuck offered him a shy smile. He suddenly got interested in meeting Jeno’s friend.

“We have a problem,” Jeno went straight to the point.

“A problem?” Jaemin chuckled and took a sip of his drink. “Jeno, quitting coffee is a problem, you guys are fucked.”

“How bad is it?”

“How bad is it,” Jaemin seemed to question himself. “You got the entire agency looking for you and I’m pretty sure yours is looking for you too, Donghyuck.” 

Jaemin leaned back to his chair and explained, given the looks on their faces.

He continued, “DIA is aware that every agency wants Yangyang and they fear whatever that boy spills may end their business. You two are the most powerful agents right now and you got close to getting him so of course, DIA started investigating every inch of your personal life to end you. I know it’s not your fault but them finding out you’re dating is like killing two birds with one stone.”

Jeno kept silent as guilt took over him. He cursed himself for being stupid but how could he know about Donghyuck if he had decided not to check on his background for respect. He had spent his whole life serving the agency, he didn’t know that his first slip would end up like that. But again, they were both liars.

By his side, Donghyuck looked so frustrated that Jeno feared he blamed himself too. 

“How about you?” Jeno asked worriedly. He knew Jaemin would protect him not just as his partner but as his best friend and sometimes he could be impulsive.

“I’m doing what I can, I don’t care about the consequences,” Jaemin answered and turned to Jeno before continuing, “I trust you. The only thing I ask is for you to trust each other.”

The weight of his words felt heavy on Jeno’s chest. Jaemin was risking everything to keep him safe. His life, his job. Jeno knew Jaemin was reckless and confident but they needed boundaries. Jaemin deserved to rest after all.

“They tried to kill me this morning,” Jeno told him. “They tried to kill Donghyuck.”

“Look, Jeno, if you want to get away, just go. I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while and I think you know already but I’m only here because of you, because you’re my brother and I can’t live knowing you’re risking yourself the same way I did back then,” Jaemin looks at Jeno and he sees the sincerity in his eyes from all the words previously unspoken. “I’m done, Jen. If they don’t dismiss me after this, I’ll do it myself. I want to go back to my wife, I want to see my kid grow up but I can only do so much.”

Jeno nodded at him and muttered a quiet, “Thank you, Jaem.” His words weren't even a fraction of everything he wanted to say but Jaemin understood and offered him a warm smile.

“What’s with that face?” Jaemin teased Donghyuck who looked lovingly at him. “I’m his friend way longer than you’re in his life!”

Donghyuck laughed and for a second, the mood felt lighter.

However, Jaemin went back speaking, “The facts are, if you two separate from each other, you get shot, if you stay together you’re dead.”

Jeno turned to Donghyuck and it was implicit for Jaemin that they wouldn’t leave each other.

So he continued, “Unless you can find something they want more than they want you.”

-

Finding Yangyang wasn’t hard. 

After the meeting with Jaemin, the most important thing to do was to find Yangyang as fast as possible so Donghyuck contacted Renjun who had been working on that since DIA had attacked their agency. 

That was how they found out Yangyang was hidden in DIA’s underground prison located in the basement of the building. Renjun had sent all the necessary information about DIA’s building and some ways to access the data from the equipment Donghyuck had gotten in the basement of their house.

This time would be just like another mission, except Jeno would be by his side. 

In a quick match of rock, paper or scissors, Jeno was chosen as the one who would get inside to rescue Yangyang (Donghyuck thought kidnap was a really strong word) and Donghyuck would be the one to guide his way through that from the camera’s images shown in his equipment.

Jeno put on his vest and a jacket over it for no reason, he knew his clothes would probably end up ruined after this night. He was fine with being the one to go, he felt secure that he wouldn’t have to worry about Donghyuck so much.

It made more sense since from what he knew, in Donghyuck’s agency the agents were trained to be perfect at everything, it was obvious Donghyuck would be better in the planning stuff than Jeno. He recalled that time after Jaemin’s accident when he had to learn key by key to change his specialty. 

Jeno had been trained to kill, specialized, and mastered in his job. It wouldn't be a problem for him.

“How many people have you killed?” Jeno asked Donghyuck out of curiosity while he loaded his gun and put a few other weapons on his belt.

Donghyuck opened his mouth to say but Jeno guesses he was embarrassed. It was kind of a personal question for people like them, but since they were starting to be honest, Jeno thought he wouldn’t mind.

“I may start if you want,” Jeno said like it was just another casual topic. “I’m not one to count, but I guess it was more than fifty less than eighty, I think.”

Donghyuck nodded and told him, “Three hundred and twenty-two.”

Jeno’s eyes widened at his words, “What the hell?”

“Some of them were at the same time,” Donghyuck defended himself with eyes equally wide.

Jeno raised his arms in resignation and got out of the car. Donghyuck monitored him from the window until he got inside the building, then he moved to the camera’s register to guide his movements.

“Did you check the perimeter?” Donghyuck heard Jeno ask from the earpiece.

“Yes, this is not my first time doing this,” Donghyuck answered impatiently. 

“Well, we both know that,” Jeno provoked.

Jeno crawled through the pipes and Donghyuck watched the never-ending tunnel predicting Jeno’s turns and goes.

“Turn left,” Donghyuck asked him, but Jeno only crawled further. So, he insisted, “Jeno, I said turn left.”

Jeno took the tint camera from his helmet and filmed the way for Donghyuck to see it, “There’s no left here, I can only go further or back from where I was.”

Donghyuck frowned his eyebrows in confusion, “That’s not how it was supposed to be.”

“You see, Donghyuck, you’re not always right. So next time talk nicely to me.” Jeno filmed his face and made a pout.

It was good Jeno couldn’t see Donghyuck’s smile or else he would forever clown him for it. “You’re such a pussy, Jeno!”

Jeno got the camera back to his helmet and moved back, Donghyuck could only see the limit of the pipe getting distant and distant. He didn’t know what Jeno was doing.

“Jeno?” Donghyuck asked for him, but Jeno did not reply. “What are you doing?”

“Turn off the basement lights,” Jeno finally commanded. 

“Why?”

“Just turn it off, now!” So Donghyuck did as he was told.

Next was a loud noise of shooting and screams, Donghyuck couldn’t see anything, and hearing the punches and guns made him agonize in anxiety. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he knew Jeno would be okay, he was experienced.

“Jeno, are you okay?” Donghyuck asked when the only thing he could hear from the other side was uneven breaths.

“It’s okay,” Jeno reassured him, “Turn on the lights.”

And behind a cell, tied to a chair sat him. Liu Yangyang.

“What the hell was that?” Donghyuck snapped at Jeno the second he got inside the car to the passenger’s seat.

Breaking into a cell wasn’t hard for Jeno, and since Yangyang was already tied, knocking him off was even easier. The problem was only to get out of the building with Yangyang in his arms when the whole place knew about his presence already. Although, the hardest step of everything was to face an unsatisfied Donghyuck who stared at him with fire in his eyes.

“What? I improvised,” Jeno told him, pretending innocence.

Donghyuck turned his eyes to the road and set the car ready, leaving DIA’s building behind as fast as possible.

“Why didn’t you stick to the plan?” Donghyuck asked. 

Jeno rolled his eyes. He looked (and felt) like a kid being scolded by his mom after being in a fight at school. 

“The plan was flawed.” Jeno was honest.

“The plan was not flawed!” Donghyuck argued, hands holding tighter on the steering wheel. 

“Donghyuck, ninety percent of this job is instinct!”

“Well, Jeno, your instinct set on all the building alarms.”

“My instinct got the job done,” Jeno snapped back. He was so done. “You are mad cause it wasn't Donghyuck's show.

“No. It was Jeno’s show. Like every time,” Donghyuck started.

“What are you talking about?” Jeno chuckled, “You’re turning this into a relationship discussion?” He asked outraged.

Donghyuck was silent.

“Do you want to know why our relationship was falling apart?” Jeno asked and even though Donghyuck didn’t answer, he knew he wanted to know. “There was no air around you anymore.”

“What was that supposed to mean?” Donghyuck asked.

“It means there was no room for mistakes, no mistakes whatsoever. No spontaneity. Who can answer that?” Jeno questioned him and it could be about the mission or their last months.

That was how Jeno had been feeling, trapped in a thousand rules that kept their relationship to grow.

“Well, you don't have to,” Donghyuck said, his face was cold but when he talked, his voice seemed almost weak.

Jeno turned to look at him but Donghyuck ignored.

“We both know what we want and it’s not this,” he stated. 

They remained silent after that until a voice interrupted from the backseat, “Who are you, people?” 

Donghyuck glanced up to the rearview mirror and saw a pair of dark eyes staring back at him. Yangyang was awake and he showed an abnormal amount of indifference after being kidnapped, which was great. They still had many questions to be answered.

By that, the discussion was ignored.

Donghyuck pulled over at the curb and indicated to Jeno to start the job since he was taking the time to organize and load weapons, just in case.

Jeno turned back to eye Yangyang and shrugged. 

“I realize you witnessed my boyfriend and I working through a few domestic issues,” he said, “That's regrettable but don't take that to be a sign of weakness, that would be a mistake on your part.”

Jeno was being silly, he knew it and honestly, he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Maybe he was trying to build a nice atmosphere with Donghyuck while they questioned a hostage or maybe he was nervous about fucking things again. 

He seemed to regret his decision when Donghyuck started tapping his fingers around the steering wheel impatiently.

“Honey,” Jeno scolded him in a low tone.

 “What’s taking you so long?” Donghyuck raised his eyebrows.

“Maybe it's not a good idea to undermine me in front of the hostage, don’t you think?” Jeno questioned with hands up.

“Sorry,” Donghyuck meant it.

Jeno returned to Yangyang and asked, “Where was I?” 

“Mistake on your part,” Yangyang recalled tediously.

“So you have a few options,” Jeno started, “Option A: You talk, we listen, no pain. Option B: You don’t talk, I remove your thumbs with my pliers, it will hurt. Option C: I like to vary the details but the punchline is you die.”

Yangyang nodded understanding and mocked, “Can I get a drink at least?”

With that, Donghyuck elbowed Yangyang’s head, making him yell in pain. Jeno didn’t say anything, he just sent Donghyuck a satisfied look.

When Donghyuck threatened to hit him again, Yangyang easily answered, “Option A!”

Jeno then, leaned in to get closer to him and raised his eyebrows as he waited for Yangyang to start talking.

Yangyang sighed and said, “I’m tied up, reach my back pocket.”

Jeno reached out to get to Yangyang’s pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. As he leaned back to show it to Donghyuck he sent Yangyang a doubtful expression. Yangyang just nodded waiting for him to unfold.

Printed on the piece of paper was a picture of Jeno and Donghyuck. The picture showed them walking side by side, Jeno was reading a flyer and Donghyuck looked fondly at him. Just looking at it was enough to notice that the picture had been taken the day they visited the amusement park about a month before.

Watching Jeno’s narrowed eyes, Yangyang concluded that he was starting to pick together with the events. So he explained, “I'm not the target anymore, you are.”

Jeno looked up from the picture to show Yangyang he was listening, he nodded and waited for him to clarify.

“While everyone was looking for me, DIA was looking for a way to make things harder for both of you,” Yangyang smiled, “You guys are quite popular, they found out you’re dating so the plan was to send you both on a mission to kill each other. You both are a threat to DIA and your agency.”

Donghyuck raised his eyebrows at Jeno who just sighed. While they were worried about protecting their agencies, DIA was already killing them from the inside. They had been stupid and it was frustrating. Jaemin was right, they were fucked. 

“So you were a bait?” Jeno snapped. He was boiling with anger.

Yangyang made a face, “Got promoted as a prisoner,” he laughed, “That’s my first mission.”

If they weren’t fighting against time, Jeno would have probably beat him.

Donghyuck could see he was pissed, so he continued, “If you’re a bait, then--”

“Where is it?” Jeno interrupted. 

He didn’t need to explain, Yangyang knew he was asking about the tracker.

“My belt.”

Jeno did not excuse himself before leaning over Yangyang's body to fiddle with his belt. He shook the fake buckle and when it opened, Jeno could see the small lines that formed a map and some red dots that blinked in the direction in which they were located.

“Fuck,” he heard Donghyuck curse.

And right after that, he noticed the sound of rotor blades cutting the sky. From the car’s windshield, they pictured two helicopters flying over the area.

“We gotta go!” Donghyuck exclaimed as he started the car with maximum speed.

They didn’t have much chance to successfully escape. Or they didn’t have much time to successfully escape. Either way, it was a car against three helicopters with a wider field of vision of what was happening down there.

Donghyuck drove as far as he could until he could formulate a coherent plan or at least have an idea, that was until he pictured a department store at the end of the street. That was their chance.

He didn’t have to say anything, Jeno was already aware of what was on his mind then, the second Donghyuck pulled over at the curb, Jeno got out of the car with backpack ready and weapons in hand. When Donghyuck met him, they started running. 

-

It was late at night so the department store was closed, which was good since it would be hard to explain the guns in their possessions. They broke in like it was home and ran inside, their steps echoing in the big empty store.

When they stopped, Jeno gasped for air, “Let’s just call this what it is.” 

Donghyuck frowned. He was leaning on a rack of clothes the store was selling. “Are you talking about our relationship or this crap we got ourselves into?” he asked.

Jeno put his hands over his face and chuckled at Donghyuck’s question. “We’re a mess. We’re both liars.” He took a deep breath and searched for Donghyuck’s eyes before saying, “We run and we’ll always be running. I say we stay and fight, we finish this thing. Then if you want to go, you may go.”

He saw Donghyuck’s face soften at his words and the way his lips turned into a shy smile. He noticed Donghyuck was about to say something but then they heard steps of dozens of boots from outside.

With that, they eagerly set their guns ready and hid behind a shelf of shoes.

Through the breaches they watched the agents enter the store one by one. Five, ten, fifteen, twenty. They made their way in different directions, covering the area.

In the same way, the agents spread themselves through the area, Donghyuck called Jeno to do the same. They walked with low posture, following the way of the rack, their steps mixed with the other agents’. At the end of the way, there was a long corridor that got to the other sections of the store.

They stopped there and Donghyuck crouched to wait for any movement that would indicate his next movements and Jeno did the same on the opposite side.

A few seconds later, they observed two agents following the corridor’s horizontal direction and waited to act. Before the agents could pass across the rack, Jeno stood and hit the head of the second agent, making him fall, his body made a noise against the floor, calling the other agent’s attention. When he looked back to retaliate, Donghyuck hit him in the back and his body fell next to his friend’s.

He looked up to Jeno and found his boyfriend smiling at him. His body was already pulsing with adrenaline.

They bent down and took the agent’s weapons to use if needed. Jeno filled his belt with munition and Donghyuck put some extras on his boots.

Jeno nudged him to get his attention and when their eyes met he put his index finger over his lips for him to remain silent. Donghyuck rolled his eyes at that and waited for Jeno to continue. Jeno explained with hand gestures he knew Donghyuck would understand as a spy and asked for him to follow the other side.

Jaemin’s words echoed in his mind: “If you two separate from each other, you get shot, if you stay together you’re dead.”

Donghyuck nodded but when Jeno was about to leave he got him by his clothes and pulled him for a brief kiss. It was not much, just the meeting of their lips, but Donghyuck hoped Jeno would get him.

He pulled away and looked into Jeno’s eyes, “See you later,” he said before walking away.

For a moment Jeno found himself stuck but realization got him to his senses, he shook his thoughts away and started running across the corridor. His posture remained low as he checked every section of the store searching for DIA’s men and whenever they were found, he did his best to end them silently. 

Jeno had already worked in hiding and seeking missions a dozen times before, he knew better than to call attention.

During long minutes that felt like long hours, Jeno only worked like that. He knocked out about six men and his knuckles hurt. It was tedious and frustrating, especially when he felt like he was being played with. Jeno just hoped Donghyuck was in more exciting conditions.

That was until he heard the first shot. His eyes became alarmed with concern as he searched around to see where it came from. There were two possible alternatives: or Donghyuck was in the middle or DIA had no idea about where they were hidden and decided to shoot in the dark-- that happened more frequently than people said.

Jeno trusted Donghyuck to be wise and he knew it would take a lot more to end him. He put himself to think and decided not to follow the noise since that was probably what DIA was expecting. Rather, he sped up his search. But he got more desperate with each step he made. Jeno was getting impatient.

So he did what he did best: broke the plan. With all the energy he still had he ran towards the opposite direction, where Donghyuck could be. 

He was being reckless and he knew that this one single action could end up ruining everything, but Jeno didn’t care anymore. He didn’t care about what Donghyuck was going to say, he just wanted it to end.

At some point, while he crossed the corridor, Jeno heard a hollow sound cross through the air. Stunned, he stopped on time to see the bullet fall to his feet. 

His response was immediate, Jeno turned back already pointing up his gun to whoever tried to shoot him and set fire. As he thought he didn’t have a chance against someone shooting from an upper floor, he ran his hand over his belt searching for a small explosive and threw it as he moved backward to run again.

Jeno counted to ten and threw himself into the ground the moment part of the store blew behind him. He remained down for around thirty seconds and his head was still pounding when he stood and someone caught him by his throat.

His reflex act was to elbow the person at the rib, but when he realized that the person was wearing a bulletproof vest, Jeno struggled and pushed their knee with his leg, causing them to fall on the floor and consequently setting him free. He was fast when he aimed his pistol at them and sent a bullet to their head.

A pool of blood started to form around the man’s head and Jeno felt his stomach quiver. He didn’t stay enough to feel remorse. Because at that same time, he heard the sound of shooting and it felt closer than before.

Jeno set off walking and focused on getting the right directions as he was guided by the moans of pain and fighting and the sound of bullets falling to the ground.

He glanced up to the second floor’s balcony and there Donghyuck was standing. Jeno suddenly felt a brief wave of relief take his body, but that was before he realized what was going on.

Donghyuck seemed to be breathing hard and Jeno could almost see the desperation in his eyes as he held a man hostage by his throat and aimed a gun at his temple. Aside from him, three other men were standing up front and all of them had their guns pointed at him.

Jeno took a moment to think. He wanted to warn Donghyuck he was there to help but there was no way to do that without putting him at risk. He couldn’t throw a bomb because Donghyuck could end up being hurt. The only available action he got in thirty seconds was to shoot the other agents from the back, which also could result in Donghyuck being hurt. He sighed.

Without options, Jeno aimed up his gun and shot at the edge of the balcony, calling attention to him. It seemed to work because right after that, the agents’ attention was at his head. Donghyuck looked down at him and his breathing stopped when he heard the first shot.

Bullets were exchanged between Jeno and the agents. Looking down, Jeno seemed fine but Donghyuck knew it was the adrenaline hiding the pain of the bruises, he knew that when he stopped it would all sink in. Donghyuck felt the tension growing in his body and he felt like being sick.

With anger, he tightened the hold around the man’s neck and heard him gasp for air as his face burned red. Donghyuck firmed the gun barrel against the man’s temple, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger. He felt blood ricocheting on his face, he loosened his hold and didn’t look back to see the body falling next to him.

He looked ahead and realized Jeno had already been able to end one of the agents. Donghyuck felt numb as he shot the remaining two. 

Jeno noticed Donghyuck’s presence and called him down but when Donghyuck stared back, he saw another agent running to where he was standing. He aimed his gun at them but Jeno was eager to kill whoever followed him. 

Donghyuck leaned at the balcony and jumped down. He was already used to the pressure of the floor against his boots. When he got closer, Jeno pulled him in a desperate hug.

When he pulled back, Jeno spoke, “I'm sorry, Donghyuck. I wish I could have done everything differently.” 

And Donghyuck understood. So he laughed and Jeno frowned at him.

“You know what’s funny?” Donghyuck asked and continued, “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here with you.” 

At that, a soft smile was plastered on Jeno’s face. 

“That may be the first time we’ve actually worked together,” he mumbled.

Donghyuck placed his hands on his cheeks and turned Jeno’s face for him to see what was coming, “It surely won’t be the last.” 

Jeno chuckled and got his arms in front of Donghyuck as they walked backward until their backs were facing the wall. Donghyuck sighed and started looking for things on his belt and he could feel Jeno staring at him.

“What?” he asked while he set his gun ready.

Donghyuck turned to listen to him and met his worrying gaze. Jeno’s eyes were endearing but this time, they carried so much emotion that Donghyuck felt his heart sink of anxiousness.

“Jeno--” Donghyuck started but Jeno interrupted.

“If we get out of here alive, will you marry me?” Jeno asked casually and saw Donghyuck’s brows raise, his eyes glowing with surprise.

Donghyuck’s lips curved up into a smile and he answered, “Let’s make sure we won’t die, then.” 

Jeno chuckled and turned his body to Donghyuck so their backs would be glued. He loaded his gun and pointed at the agent's walking to them. Donghyuck seemed to throw something out but quickly got back into position. He heard Donghyuck making a countdown next to his ear and then everything that was ahead of him blew up. 

From the sides, the shooting started and they ignored the fog caused by the bomb to shoot back. They kept setting fire until there was no one left but them.

-

ONE YEAR LATER...

Jeno felt a hot sensation fill up his cheeks as he looked around his surroundings. A mixture of red and gold took over around the wide room where the ceremony happened. For once, Jeno could be honest saying Donghyuck was right about the decoration.

The room was decorated with classical furniture, composed of couches and sculptures ranging from cream to white. The vases of red roses, the large chandeliers, and golden details that filled the ceiling only completed the stunning scenery of the hall.

There was a big stairway in front of the entrance, with shiny banisters and a red carpet, and if it wasn't his wedding day, Jeno would have found the choice completely tacky. Earlier he had posed there with Donghyuck and felt like royalty, he also didn’t mind the attention. Those were only pictures to register a moment he would ever forget.

On the other side of the room, huge glass windows allowed the view of the sky at night, and in front of it was a long oval table where the guests sat for a celebratory dinner.

There weren't many guests, just Donghyuck’s parents (the real ones, not the actors he had paid last time); Renjun, who was Donghyuck’s best friend, and some other friends from his agency. Even his boss, Sojung, ironically appeared at his wedding with the enemy. As for Jeno, he didn’t have many friends, his guests consisted of his older sister Yerin, who Donghyuck only found out about the existence a few weeks before the wedding; Jaemin, who brought his wife, Doyeon, and their four-year-old daughter who Donghyuck chatted excitedly with enchanted eyes; Mark and Yoojung, both from the computing department. All of them sat together to celebrate their union. 

After the events of the previous year, Jeno and Donghyuck had decided to quit their jobs as agents for good. However, before that happened, many issues with DIA had to be solved. They got in contact with DIA’s administration and were able to meet their boss, a pretty young lady with perfect hair, and imposed a truce among the three agencies. Any secret that Yangyang kept didn’t matter anymore.

Since then, many things had happened. Jeno and Donghyuck moved to Melbourne, Australia to start again in a new environment. The first months had been full of surprises and their routine consisted of getting to know places, trying new plates, and buying decorations for their new apartment. They had made other foreign friends in the neighborhood and were often invited for dinner by a hearty old lady who lived close. Besides that, they received lots of messages on social media from Jaemin who had also quit his job at the agency and frequently sent them pictures of his daughter, and Renjun who had adopted a cat and was about to be promoted.

Among many things, Jeno could finally see things clearly, he had only realized how much his job took from him when he left. He felt lively as he could try things for the first time again and try again with Donghyuck. Waking up next to him was a gift that Jeno learned not to get tired of, seeing him smile was what kept him moving and if home was where the heart is, it didn’t matter where or when since Donghyuck was with him.

Jeno had his thoughts interrupted by the sound of a spoon hitting a cup, he glanced up and found Jaemin glaring at him from where he was seated. Everyone looked at him when he announced, “I think it’s time for the newlyweds to say something.”

All the guests cheered in support and Jeno felt Donghyuck’s handhold him tight under the table.  

“So, who’s starting?” Jaemin teased and Jeno stood up from his chair.

He saw the guests' excited faces, his sister with hands on her chest and a big smile, Jaemin’s teasing look and by his side, Donghyuck who waited patiently and stared at him with caring eyes.

Jeno turned to look right at his eyes and felt a rush of nervousness take over his body. Donghyuck seemed to notice and only nodded, waiting for him to start. Jeno ran his tongue over his lips as he thought about what to say and smiled.

He started, “I remember the way we met, and how from the very first second I was drawn to your attention. We spent the afternoon talking that day, even though we were strangers. I remember the way you asked me to dance. Sometimes I think I'd have done everything you asked me to.”

Donghyuck laughed as he recalled the day they met. Their first conversations, their first dance, their first kiss. Everything back then had been so new and so genuine, even though most of their words consisted of lies. They had never lied about their feelings towards each other.

Jeno continued, “Since the very first day you took me out of my comfort zone and you presented me to the world in a way no one else could. You taught me to always see the bright, to always have hope and patience. You inspire me to be my better self to you. You're my family, my better half and I am truly grateful for waking up to you everyday, cause you're the one I love the most.”

Donghyuck’s eyes seemed to water at those words and Jeno controlled the urge to hug him to keep going. 

“In the past years, we've experienced great triumphs and literal disasters together. These trials have pushed the boundaries of what we thought we could endure, and in the end, I feel more strongly connected with you in a resolve to get up and try again. Donghyuck, my darling. I love you dearly for all that you are. I am amazed by your smart mind and tickled by your sense of humor. I may not want to admit it, but I even love your awful taste in decorations.” Jeno gave him a wide smile. “As your husband, I vow to love you with the same determination and confidence you've given me. I vow to support you through more ups and downs. I pledge to commit myself to our relationship and the good I know will grow from it. I promise this all to you until I am no more.”

Donghyuck smiled and dried a tear that threatened to fall, he stood up and wrapped Jeno’s body in a hug. From their touch, he could feel Jeno’s heart beating against his chest and the warmth was enough to ease his thoughts. Donghyuck got his hands on Jeno’s shoulders and stepped back to make his speech.

“Everything I’ve ever done was perfectly calculated, but you.” Donghyuck’s eyes sparkled as he said, “Jeno, you showed up to me when I was least expecting, now that I know the truth everything makes much more sense,” he laughs.

“I'm not one to believe in destiny or those stupid universe theories, but sometimes I recall the circumstances we met and think it was bound to happen, ‘cause no one else could complete or understand me the way you do. I don't think anyone else would forgive me if I attempted to kill them either.” That was Jeno’s turn to laugh.

Donghyuck kept going, “Following this idea, I could say that everything that happened was only to bring us closer. Once I read that ‘Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within’, and I agree. I know I could never give myself completely to you having to hide a part of my life.”

Jeno listened to him attentively and by that, he felt himself getting emotional. More than he already was.

“And today, I truly say that if I know what love is, it’s because of you. Love is sharing, trusting, and forgiving. It’s loyalty through good and bad times. You taught me that love settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for weakness. You know all the things that we promised, hoped, and dreamed—well, I meant it all, every word. Committing the rest of my life to you is pretty easy cause when I thought I’d lost you, I felt like I’d lost my ground, it’s easy cause I can't see myself without you by my side.”

Donghyuck interlaced their fingers and met his eyes, “Therefore, Lee Jeno, I promise to be with you, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, loving you faithfully regardless of the obstacles we may face, I know we can battle through. I vow to be the man you inspire me to be and the man that you deserve. These things, I give you today, and all the days of our lives.”

Jeno leaned in to kiss Donghyuck and around them, everyone cheered. Their friends seemed to be calculating the whole thing because when they parted, a waiter was already placing a white cake in the middle of the table and filling everyone’s cups with champagne.

Donghyuck got his hands on Jeno’s waist and picked the knife placed next to the cake. He waited for Jeno who placed his hands above Donghyuck’s and they both closed their eyes to part the cake from the bottom to the top, making a wish.

When Jeno opened his eyes, he found Donghyuck analyzing his face.

“What?” he asked with brows furrowed.

“You’re pretty, that’s all,” Donghyuck answered and Jeno made a face. “And you’re stuck with me forever.”

Jeno didn’t say a thing, instead, he brought Donghyuck’s body closer for another kiss and when their lips touched, Donghyuck smiled. He could melt in his arms.

Jeno thought he could get used to that.