512 Days until Kyuhyun’s Disappearance

“Congratulations on another successful mission.”

Kyuhyun grimaced, shooting the director a long-suffering glare. Not only was he aching everywhere, he had cracked a rib and was struggling with a mild concussion. There was nothing to be happy about. If being alive was all he had to be thankful for, then it was a bleak day.

“Sir, I want to be taken off missions Ranked A or higher.”

The director stared at his agent calmly. There were no immediate tells in his silence. After a long pause, he asked, “Why? You are one of a handful of agents who are qualified for Rank A missions. The list is even shorter when you look at Rank S or SS.”

“This past target nearly killed me,” Kyuhyun responded flatly. “I was lucky to even escape alive. It was a complete fluke that I managed to get him locked away in a maximum security prison. If Eunhyuk hadn’t shown up with back-up right on time, we would’ve lost U-Know Yunho without a doubt.”

“That can’t be the only reason.”

“My cover is also at risk,” he admitted with what he hoped was convincing reluctance. The director remained silent. Kyuhyun went on. “We have gotten engaged recently and with that comes burdens. I have to avoid any serious injuries, particularly because my cover job is in technology, not something in manual labor. He’ll grow suspicious and start looking into things if I’m battered and bruised constantly.”

It was all true. Whether or not it was highly rehearsed was questionable. Kyuhyun knew the logic well enough to defend it. What he couldn’t admit was the emotional aspect of the argument—the part that actually influenced him. He didn’t want to be placed in situations where his next breath was at risk.

He wanted to come home to Ryeowook safe and sound. Always.

“I see.”

Kyuhyun straightened his shoulders, watching the director.

Heaving a sigh, the older man conceded. “Your cover is more important for the time being. You are temporarily prohibited from joining in Rank A or higher missions. The formal paperwork will be filed immediately. Dismissed.”

“Yes, sir.”

He didn’t let himself grin until the door was shut behind him.

***

Kyuhyun drove up to Ryeowook’s apartment building. Rolling down the window, he called out to his fiancé. The man in question looked up from some documents in his hands and smiled. “You’re late!” Ryeowook complained, opening the passenger side door and climbing in.

They exchanged a soft, fleeting kiss. Kyuhyun lingered for as long as he could, smiling against the other’s lips.

“Hmm? Are you okay?” Ryeowook murmured, pulling back slightly to look at the other man.

Kyuhyun brushed his knuckles gently across Ryeowook’s cheek. “Yeah…I’m fine. Just happy to see you. I’ve been gone for too long.”

“It’s only been a week,” he laughed. “You were at a conference. There was no helping the length this time. More importantly, are you excited for house hunting?” Ryeowook waved the papers in his hand. “We’re checking out five places today, okay? I’ve got them all here with directions.”

“No GPS?” Kyuhyun cocked a brow, shifting the car into Drive.

“They’re all nearby. We could even walk if you wanted to,” Ryeowook responded. “Okay, you’re going to take a left up here and then drive straight until we hit the next neighborhood.”

And so they went.

The first three places were hard no’s from Kyuhyun’s perspective. Either the housing units were susceptible to attack or were simply too outdated to accept. The bathroom tiles were yellowing. The kitchens were cramped. The living spaces had scratched floors or dirty carpet. Worse yet, the master bedrooms all seemed too underwhelming to even be master bedrooms.

He hadn’t realized how picky he could be until that afternoon. On the bright side, Ryeowook seemed equally dismissive of the housing options.

“I thought you had already vetted these places a bit,” Kyuhyun teased as they drove to the fourth place.

Ryeowook sighed, looking at pictures of the fourth place with some apprehension. “The people taking the photos are very good at staging! Or rather, these photos are extremely old and probably from when the homes were first built.” He sighed heavily. “Sorry if this afternoon turns out to be a bust. I honestly had high hopes.”

“I’m just picking on you,” Kyuhyun murmured, reaching across the seat to take his fiancé’s hand. “If we don’t find one today, the lease on my current place is still intact. Even if you must temporarily come and live with me, that’s fine.”

“But I want to start a new life with a new home just for us as soon as possible,” Ryeowook frowned, playing with Kyuhyun’s fingers gently. “It’s something special…at least I think so.”

They pulled up to a sleek and modern high rise before descending into the parking garage. Kyuhyun chuckled. “We’ll have all of that. I think it’s special too, so I understand your impatience, but just trust that we’ll find somewhere perfect to live.” Parking the car smoothly, he turned off the engine and tugged Ryeowook’s hand to his lips. “You never know, maybe this is the one.” He kissed the gold ring encircling his lover’s slim finger, smiling up at a flushed Ryeowook.

“I…guess you’re right,” he mumbled, feeling warm and distracted by the gentle touch.

It wasn’t the right place.

But they kept searching. And refining their searches. And finally hired a realtor.

The process was educational if not tiring. Ryeowook learned a lot about how to look for accurate photos and how to avoid the photo scams. Kyuhyun held onto enough patience for the both of them. After all, what could be more fun then traversing the city with his fiancé? Even if they didn’t succeed in achieving their goal for a while, he still got to see Ryeowook.

That was happiness in itself.