"It seems empty to me." Jonghyun concluded after examining the building from the outside. "What do you think?"

"Yeah. It seems empty, but you must never let your guard down." 

"Very good, yes." Jonghyun took a moment to smile and pat Minki's back this time. He took every opportunity to touch him and he wasn't even sure why. "See. You're not that rusty. Don't doubt yourself."

"Thank you, again." Minki sighed gently. He was relieved that Jonghyun was gradually warming up to him. He believed this was going to work out just fine. 

"Let's get in, look around, find what there is to find, and get out. I want to sleep early tonight." Jonghyun chuckled softly, which was extremely attractive to Minki for whatever reason. 

"Yes.. Let's do it." 

---- 

"There's nothing here." Jonghyun blinked a few times, lowering the gun he'd taken out again just in case. "Why did he tell us to go here?" He mumbled, not sure who he was asking; Minki, or himself. "I mean, look at this." He brushed his finger over a desk that stood in the middle of the room, dust that had accumulated on it sticking to his skin. "No one has been here in months." 

"I don't know." Minki replied, softly. 

"We've cleared out this whole building and found nothing of any significance. I can't believe he's wasted our time like this."

"I don't think our time has been entirely wasted.." Minki cleared his throat, taking a few steps closer to the one other person in the room. "You're the nicest partner I've ever had. I can see that already... And I'm content because we got to spend time together, even if it served no purpose." 

"Um. Thank you?" Jonghyun couldn't help but wonder where all this was coming from. This was unusual and therefore it unsettled him. 

"You know.. I think we'll be alone for a while." Minki whispered.

“Yes, and this place is dark and scary, so I wanna go home." Jonghyun was quick to turn his head. What the hell? Was this guy actually trying to get it on with a colleague on the first day of work? "Let's go."

"Oh - um. I just realized that came out wrong." Minki grinned sheepishly. "God, you must think I'm such a weirdo. All I meant was that we're alone and the boss isn't going to know if we just talk about nothing for a while longer. I genuinely think it's so important that we get to know each other." 

Jonghyun raised an eyebrow, looking him up and down. He didn't believe a single word the other was saying. Maybe it was because of the slight tremble in his voice, or maybe just because the things he was saying made little to no sense. 

"But, you're right, this place is creepy. Want to go have a drink somewhere else?" Minki suggested, smiling widely and cutely even though Jonghyun could barely see that in the dark.

"I--" Jonghyun paused. He wanted to decline at first, but realized that this was actually the perfect opportunity to learn more about Minki. "Sure. Just one, though." 

"Can we go to your house? I don't really feel like being around people" 

This time, Jonghyun wanted to accept right away. But then he remembered something he'd told himself earlier that day. A little hostility wasn't going to hurt. "Why not your place? This was your idea." 

"You caught me. I'm just really curious to see what your house looks like. I imagine it to be very neat." Minki admitted with a light chuckle, and Jonghyun could tell that he was being honest. 

"Ah..." Jonghyun raised an eyebrow, in amusement this time. "Ok. But we're going to your place next time!"

"Of course." Minki heaved a sigh, then hurried to follow behind Jonghyun. 

---- 

"Make yourself at home." Jonghyun bowed his head momentarily, holding the door for Minki. After an agonizing car ride with lots of awkward silences, the pair had arrived to Jonghyun's expensive penthouse in the middle of the city.
To be honest, Jonghyun was disappointed. He couldn’t get anything out of Minki. Each time, he found a way to change the subject or gave an answer that had nothing to do with the question. Strange. So very strange. 

"Oh, God. I love this." Minki, who cheerful as ever, had turned out to be right. The place was extremely neat. And big. "It's so--" As he stepped into the living room, he tried to find the right words. "It's wonderful." He sighed, turning around to stare at the house's owner. 

"Thank you." Jonghyun grinned, running his fingers through his dark hair to straighten it out a bit. "My sister decorated the entire place." 

"She did a great job." Minki's lips curved into a gentle smile and Jonghyun couldn't stop staring at him for at least a few seconds. Minki was beautiful. Suspicious and strange, but incredibly beautiful. 

"Yeah.. Would you like a beer now?" 

Minki, who was much more of a wine person, hesitated for a split second, but nodded anyway. "Yes, please."

"Alright." Jonghyun nodded once, flashing Minki a smile before making his way to the kitchen. "You can sit down anywhere." 

Minki chose to sit down on the couch, because that way the probability of Jonghyun sitting right next to him was the highest. He stared out the window and watched the twinkling lights in the distance, waiting for Jonghyun to come back. 

"Here you go." Jonghyun did, in fact, sit right net to Minki to hand him a bottle. "Oh, do you need a glass?" 

"Nah." Minki shook his head, wrapping his hands around the bottle. "This is fine." 

"Ok then." Jonghyun grinned at him, taking a sip of his drink and patiently waiting for the other to do the same. 

"The city looks so pretty from up here." Minki smiled softly, briefly pointing to the window.
"Mhm." Jonghyun nodded in agreement. "Are you from Seoul?"

"No." Minki shook his head. "I’m from Busan, and you?"

"I’m from Gangneung, I moved here to pursue my career. Turned out to be a good decision." Jonghyun explained, smiling to himself as countless childhood memories popped into his head. That always happened whenever someone made him talk about where he came from. "Was it the same for you?" 

"Yeah, sort of." Minki nodded slowly, avoiding eye contact. 

"What do you mea-" 

"Don't you get lonely?" Minki asked all of a sudden, looking around the abnormally large living room, changing the subject once again. "Why don't you have a cat?"

"Because I'm barely home and that wouldn't be fair. Cats need attention." Jonghyun didn't hesitate to answer, shrugging his shoulders gently. 

"Now answer the first question." Minki demanded, staring at him. 

"Man, I barely know you. I'm not discussing all these personal issues with you." Jonghyun shot Minki a glare, completely done. 

"The answer is yes, isn't it?" Minki wasn't impressed by Jonghyun's glaring. "And that's ok." He added, placing his untouched beer down on the coffee table before turning back to Jonghyun and not-so-subtly moving closer to him. "It is." 

Mesmerized by Minki's beauty and persuasiveness, Jonghyun didn't say anything as he reached out to take his drink from him and place it down beside his own. "It is." Minki repeated, in a tone so soft it could've easily been described as a whisper. He lifted his hand to caress Jonghyun's cheek, who sighed gently and leaned into his palm. Jonghyun had no idea what had gotten into him. Minki rose up slightly until their lips met and all hope at keeping a safe distance was lost.