A/N: So uhmm…. this took longer to write than I wanted. Motivation to actually sit down and write just didn’t come haha. Anyway, we get some details about the plan and other things here so….enjoy? lol.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Mrs Lee stepped into the all too familiar bedroom that belonged to her son. The sheets were grubby as she sat tentatively down on the edge of them. Jinki didn’t move from his place on the bed, sobbing into his pillow and trying to quiet his cries. She placed a kind hand on the back of his shoulders, rubbing in soothing circles. They sat in silence, it was a sorrowful silence. Not awkward or stifling or comfortable. It was simply full of sadness and sorrow. She continued to rub her hand across Jinki’s worn and faded t-shirt until the sobs turned into sniffles.

She doesn’t know how long she sat there, trying to calm her son’s crumbling emotions. Eventually though, Jinki raised his head from the dingy pillowcase, a prominent water stain sat there from the salty tears. His eyes were bloodshot, puffy and his skin felt tight across his cheekbones.

“Jinki dear, what happened?” Mrs Lee asked and Jinki shook his head lightly before sighing.

His voice was like a crumpled confectionary wrapper as the syllables tried to form themselves through his chapped, rose coloured lips. “Mr Kim” is all he could croak before feeling the tears rising to make another appearance. He swallowed thickly, in a vain attempt to push them back down.

“What has he done Jinx? Is Kibum alright?” She asked timidly.

“I-I don’t know…I don’t know what he has done and I don’t know if Kibum is alright because I can’t reach him.” He spoke, frantic and sombre. His voice was still gravelly but the clarity was more apparent than before.

“He will be okay son, I’m sure of it. Kibum is such a strong person.” Mrs Lee offered a soft smile and a reassuring hand that smoothed the soft, loose strands of brown hair behind his ears.

“Thanks mum, I just worry about him, y’know?” Jinki replied with a small smile, his expression lightening a little.

“Yes, I do know. I worry about you all the time. Especially when I hear you crying like that. Are you going to be okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, I think I’m okay now. Thanks mum” Jinki replied and leaned in to give her a tight hug. She kissed the side of his head before pulling back.

“I remember when you were short enough for me to kiss the top of your head. You’ve grown up so fast.” She said in that usual motherly tone and Jinki let out a loud laugh.

“Oh mum, you are so embarrassing sometimes” he chuckled but he could see that she meant it.

“Right, well, I’m going to prepare dinner. Do you want to help me?” She asked as she stood up from the bed and offered a warm hand to her son.

“Yeah, sure.” Jinki responded and took her hand in his as she hoisted him from the bed with a strong tug.

“I might be getting older, but I’m still strong” She smiled and they both chuckled lightly as they walked towards the kitchen.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

“Yes sir, right away” Kibum spoke politely to an elderly gentleman who was stuffed and prepped inside a stuffy grey suit. He bowed and shuffled out of the room, papers in hand. The manila folders looked a dark brown in comparison to his now greyish skin, the work load taking its toll on the young man. It had been a week. A week of coffee stains on the cuffs of his shirt. A week of dry papers and dusty folders. A week of typing and scribbling and boring – oh more boring than you could imagine – meetings. Yes. This was Kibum’s life now and he was grumbling to himself in the deserted hallway as he made his way to the copy room. It was late – too late for the average employee but the usual to Kibum by now. He wasn’t allowed to leave until he had finished everything that Mr Song (that greyish old man from earlier) had given him to do for the day. Luckily, this was his last errand. As soon as he reached the grey and blue copy machine, the first thing he did was place the medium stack of papers onto the automatic feeder at the top. He pressed the ‘fax’ button, punched in a number he now knew by heart and pressed ‘send.’ He waited anxiously, looking at the door the entire time. He knew there was nobody around but he still couldn’t risk it. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard a ‘beep’ from the machine. Sent. His posture immediately relaxed as he then began to make three copies of the documents as he had been originally instructed. He wasn’t sure exactly what was in the files and papers but that would be for Sunmi to decide and deduce, he just hoped that sooner or later, they would come across what they were looking for.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Kibum had promptly delivered one of the copies to his father before being dismissed for the day. He wanted to walk home and clear his head. It was a nice night out, the breeze was warm and soothing, however, his driver was having none of it.

“I’m sorry young master, but I have clear instructions to take you straight home, as always sir.” The driver had announced and Kibum could see that the middle aged man was actually, genuinely sorry. He obviously understood Kibum’s feelings but he was just doing his job and there was no way Kibum was going to get somebody fired. Begrudgingly he nodded his head in understanding before sitting in the backseat of the sleek, black Mercedes.  The driver breathed a sigh of relief at Kibum’s compliance as he closed the door to the world.
Black tinted windows met Kibum’s sight and as he looked out onto the cityscape surrounding him, he noticed that everything held a sepia tone. The street lights were dull not fluorescent. The large river was murky and grey, perfectly reflecting the dismal sky and barely there moon. Kibum wondered if it was the tinted windows of the vehicle that made the streets of Seoul look this way, or if it was the lack of a very beautiful and important light in his life.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It was almost a month later and Jinki was going stir mad crazy. Kibum had never shown up for university and he was beyond worried. Jonghyun had soon found out from his father that Mr Kim had insisted on Kibum working at the office full time and that his studies would be picked up later. This had the older man flipping out even more.

“This wasn’t part of the plan Jonghyun!” Jinki had hissed as Jonghyun broke the news to him one morning in the courtyard.

“I know Jinki, I know, just hear me out okay???” Jonghyun insisted and patted him reassuringly. After the older boy had calmed down, Jonghyun continued. “We have a plan, it’s still pretty much the same except with less contact. He is sending everything to Sunmi – that he finds and can get hold of. I thought we would be able to talk on the phone or in the university about what to look for, how things are going… but I didn’t think his father would go THIS far, to cut us out completely. So, for now. Kibum is on his own….he knows what he is doing though. Please try not to worry.” Jonghyun finished and Jinki reluctantly nodded his head. His gut feeling was telling him that Kibum was in trouble. That maybe he was being overworked or losing sight of the plan or…. Well, a number of other crazy scenarios popped into his head and he was pacing back and forth in his room like a caged tiger.
Eventually, he decided.

‘I HAVE to go and see him. Just to see that he is okay.’ With that thought in mind, he grabbed his things, ran out of his house and rode the bus in the direction of the financial district.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

“Please? I need to see him. It’s urgent.” Jinki was now pleading with the woman behind the desk. She was fairly young, very pretty and extremely intimidating.

“I’m sorry but Young Mr Kim is not available to speak with you right now. Please leave the building.” She spoke in a bored manner; repeating the sentence for the fourth time now.

“What do you mean ‘not available’ is he busy or something? Did you even tell him I was here? Is it the CEO who isn’t letting me in? I’m not here to see him, I’m here to see Kibum!” Jinki raised his voice now, his whole body shaking because he had come all the way here and he wasn’t leaving until he saw that Kibum was okay.

“Sir, please calm down or I will have to call security” She informed in a strict and terrifying manner. Her words were simple but her tone was fearful.

“I-I’m not leaving until I see him. Do what you want but I won’t leave.” Jinki announced, his voice wavering from the look in the woman’s eyes; but head still defiant. He moved to sit on the plush leather couch in the reception area and began to wait. If they wanted him out, they would have to physically throw him out.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

“You wanted to see me, father?” Kibum spoke with no emotion in his voice. He was called to his father’s office almost twice a day so this wasn’t a new occurrence.

“Yes. It seems we have a problem in the reception area, I think you can help take care of it.” Mr Kim spoke venomously.

“Doesn’t the company have security for that sir?” Kibum’s interest was now piqued and he hadn’t seen his father’s face like this at work before. He looked extremely angry.

“Listen Kibum. Firstly I am your FATHER so call me as such! Secondly, that KID downstairs needs to be gone – for good. I expect you to tell him what I want to hear Kibum, if you don’t, I can’t promise that he, or his family will be safe any longer.” Mr Kim seethed.

“K-kid… you mean, Jinki is here?” Kibum asked, his face shocked and eyes widening at the complications.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter