Kihyun inhales deeply, the length of his cigarette decreasing rapidly. He leans back in his leather-bound chair, propping his Italian shoes up atop his darkly-stained cherry wood desk. His head tilts back as he exhales, a cloud of smoke slipping through his lips.  

"That's all," he finally announces, waving a dismissive hand to his lackeys. The nameless drones nod, bow, and turn to leave the office. Minhyuk chuckles under his breath, smirking over at his same-age friend. 

"I was hoping you'd wait to see how long they were gonna last without pissing themselves," he admits, sounding only mildly disappointed. Kihyun gives him a wry smile, parting his lips slightly to take another dreg.  

"What's the latest on the shipment?" he asks as he releases his stress in the form of smoke. Minhyuk hums, tapping away on his tablet. 

"According to our insider," Minhyuk begins as he finds what he's looking for, "the shipment will be there at exactly 2300 hours. Our men will be there twenty minutes after to swoop in and... commandeer it." Minhyuk winks at this, and Kihyun can only roll his eyes at the cheeky tone in his voice. Even after all this time, he still goes out of his way to make what they're doing sound better than what it is: stealing. Minhyuk snickers to himself at the silent reaction as he locks his tablet. "You sure you don't wanna come tonight?" 

"That's why we have those scrubs around all the time now, Minhyuk-ah," Kihyun tells him tiredly. "You know, so we don't have to do runs like this on our own anymore." He opens his eyes, raising a prompting brow. Minhyuk frowns, sighing loudly in dismay. 

"Fine, fine," he relents, turning on his heel to leave. "If you change your mind, we're leaving at 2255." Kihyun hums noncommittally in response. Minhyuk frowns, going on his way to the leave his same-age friend alone to his thoughts.  

As soon as the man is gone, Kihyun bolts from his seat and rifles hastily through the nearest drawer. The back of his left thigh has been burning in a searing, fiery pain for the past twenty minutes. It feels like a branding rod one sticks to the hide of cattle. Kihyun finds what he's looking for easily, and pops open the bottle of pills to down two.  

He gulps them down dry and releases a shaky breath, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to block out the pain. After an interminable amount of time, it finally begins to subside, and Kihyun leans forward against the desk. He reaches for the nearby pack of cigarettes, lighting a new one and inhaling half of it in a single breath. 

His damn Marking has been getting worse lately, the attacks of pain becoming more sporadic and urgent with every growing day. He knows what it means, of course. It's a telltale sign of the growing proximity to his soulmate. 

That poor bastard, Kihyun thinks ruefully. He drops his forehead down into his empty hand, hoping for his soul mate's sake that they'll be able to at least cope with the world in which he lives... 

Changkyun giggles excitedly, hopping forward on the steps to the museum. He hears Hyunwoo and Jooheon's familiar, fond chuckling behind him, and he turns round to give them a prompting glare. 

"We can't miss this exhibit!" he can't help but defend, staring down at them from the top step. "Now hurry up, you old men, and get up here!!" Jooheon pouts at this, his small eyes narrowing. 

"Is that any way to talk to your hyungs?" he demands, sounding only slightly annoyed. "We're paying for you and this boring day out, you know. You could show a little respect..." 

"He's just excited," Hyunwoo interjects, taking Jooheon's hand in his. "Just let him be. He'll start behaving again when we hit the gift shop." Jooheon chuckles along with the older at the comment, and Changkyun can't help but pout. 

"He's right here, and I don't appreciate the implication," Changkyun whines. Jooheon coos, breaking away from Hyunwoo to pull Changkyun against his own side, wrapping an arm around the younger's shoulders.  

"Poor Changkyunnie~" he teases. "You're just so mistreated, aren't you?"  

"Hyuuuuung~!" Changkyun whines through his own smile, having to bite back a laugh at the attention. Jooheon pulls him into a headlock and rubs his fist against his hair, and Changkyun squeals in protest. Hyunwoo sets a hand on each of their shoulder's though, in silent warning. They are in public, after all, and people are beginning to stare.  

The two men separate, and they all continue on their way into the lavish building, Changkyun's pace a bit quicker than the other's. He's beyond excited to see this new exhibit, especially since he hadn't thought they'd been able to due to the price. But, as luck would have it, the owner had decided to designate a discount day to celebrate the latest acquisition. 

Changkyun couldn't be more grateful to the complete stranger. He's been so excited about it since hearing the announcement that his Marking hasn't even bothered him, which only adds to his lighthearted mood. A day without the never-ending burning is a most welcome instance indeed.