CHAPTER TWO:
the spy

 

AS it turned out, the mugger was exactly the touch Renjun needed to make his slide into Donghyuck’s life as naturally and smoothly as he can. It was relatively easy to pull with nothing but a few cameras and Chenle’s expertise. First, they had to locate Haechan within the campus to monitor his movements on the first half of the day and to determine the location to carry out the faux mugging. After successfully gaining access to the university’s security system, (“Honestly. Can they even call this security system?”), Chenle camps on it, ready to tap into whenever the situation such as this one calls for it. By the time his classes ended, his monitors displayed an unsuspecting Haechan making his way out of the campus and down the street along with a suspicious man magically right on his tail the next second.

Along the way, there was one particular dark alley that fits the bill as the perfect stage to the beginning of Renjun’s ruse. Everything worked out just as planned. He admits he had quite a lot of fun beating somebody up, even if the mugger was his accomplice. (He had to make the punches look convincing.)

Haechan’s friends predictably take interest on his take about the mugging that almost cost them their friend’s life and he swimmingly convinces them about his coincidental stroll down the street just as a boy his age gets trapped by a strange man in an alley. They quickly buy it, of course, eyes wide in attention and a mix of admiration thrown in.

 “Oh, thank you for saving Donghyuckie’s life!” The brown-haired guy, Jaemin, reaches out for his hand and shakes it vigorously. “Did you call the cops?”

“I reported him at the nearby police station before coming here,” Renjun responds in careful Korean, nodding shyly. “They asked a few questions before letting me go.”

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t stick around. I don’t like police stations much.” Donghyuck says.

Which is perfect because Renjun didn’t exactly turned the mugger in like he said.

Renjun flashes the purest smile in his arsenal. “That’s alright.”

The next questions come mostly from the brown-haired guy, Jaemin, whose nature seems to involve asking questions by instinct. A few minutes into the conversation, Renjun can already tell he’s exactly the sort of guy whom you would depend on to keep the conversation running and information flowing between the parties without coming off as nosy with his questions. Jaemin is textbook charming with his lazy smiles and twinkling eyes, the very makings of a fine interrogator, Renjun thinks as an afterthought as he carefully supplies him with answers to his questions without revealing more than what they need to know about him.

Where did he came from? How old is he? What is he studying? Where did he learn martial arts? How long has he been in Korea? Which instruments does he play?

China. 18, international age. Psychology. A certain “Uncle Kun” taught him. Just last month. The flute, piano and a couple traditional Chinese musical instruments. On top of it, he makes sure to answer in the level of ease a Chinese person would with his supposedly limited vocabulary and so far, Renjun thinks he’s doing a great job at it, stumbling quite realistically over the usually more difficult Korean words and phrases while smiling at the patient corrections Haechan makes at the sides.

He’s warming up quickly to his job as his tutor, and looking strangely collected despite being in the brink of danger half an hour ago.

“So, Renjun. We’re doing this,” Haechan—Donghyuck—finally breaks his silence and regards him over his empty glass of milkshake. “We can have some sort of diagnostic test this week and see just how much you know about the language. I trust you’ve been reading up basic folktales and all that?”

“Uh. Basic, yes. I love Korean folktales.”

“Good, good. Here’s my number.” Donghyuck grabs a table napkin, produces a pen from his back pocket and scribbles down hastily on the surface with another bunch of words that resembles an address. He slides it across the table to Renjun. “And that’s the library near my place we can meet during the weekends for the sessions. We can meet every other day here or at the university. We’ll start tomorrow. Questions?”

Renjun blinks. Up-front and no nonsense. Sharp, tired eyes. Doesn’t seem to be interested in small talks nor being all over the guy who just saved his life. Interesting. “Um. None.”

“Great!” Donghyuck pats Jaemin’s back and shoots out of his seat. “See you guys later. Need to run. Jeno, try not to stare too much or he’ll melt.”

“W-Wait...” The protest dies in Renjun’s throat as Donghyuck bolts out the café doors, ruffling his angry-red hair.

“He does that. Always running off whenever he feels like it.” Jaemin sighs. “Jeno, you heard him.”

Renjun turns to the guy beside him who had been completely silent the entire time that he almost forgot about him if it weren’t for his obnoxiously loud platinum blonde that has somehow achieved an impossible level of docile as stark contrast to its wild state this morning. He chokes on the lack of liquid in his glass as his existence gets suddenly acknowledged by the two other people left on the table. He turns an obvious shade of pink, clearing his throat indignantly.

“I wasn’t... staring at anything.” He says in a tone that says that he’s staring.

“Right!” Jaemin grins at Renjun. “So where did you say you’re staying again? We can walk you there.”

 

 

---

 

 

THE torpid air of the alley assaulted Renjun the moment he breathed it in, which he couldn’t care less about because finally, oh finally he can feel his muscles straining and veins pumping with adrenaline as he swooped and dodged blow after blow. It’s the flush of high spirits he always wanted to rush through him and it took him a lot of willpower not to crackle while so.

At the corner of his eye, he saw Haechan smartly keeping himself small and flattened against the wall. Renjun pounced not long after, the crook toppling over on the sullied ground, groaning.

He weighed his odds of appealing like a maniac if he laughed then. It didn’t seem good in front of Haechan so he didn’t.

 “Are you okay?” He asks him with urgency instead, concern lacing his lousy Korean in a staggeringly believable way. He may have also threw in the labored breathing to pronounce the effort he just made it bring down the said threat with a few judo moves he took pleasure executing after so long. Oh yeah. Finally, some action.

“Yeah.” Haechan spared the man on the ground an odd, calculating look. “Happens all the time.”

“All the time...?”

“Uhh...” Haechan finally looked at him, same round brown eyes from the pictures, yet more intelligent up close. In the second or two they linger on his, Renjun swore he detected a ghost of recognition pass across them before it disappeared under a veil of neutrality. “Your name is?”

“Huang Renjun.” Renjun answered, then asked. “You?”

“Lee Donghyuck.”

The man stirred and Haechan yelped softly, slowly backing away. “We probably should get out of here.”

“Great idea.”

It wasn’t hard to take advantage of Haechan’s momentary shock to suggest reporting the attempted mugging and the latter idly agreed, leaving it to him with his face decorated with a strange look of distaste when the police stations turned up. Renjun later confirms it when Haechan mentions not liking them with forced nonchalance in his voice.

A few moments later, a window of opportunity opens in the form of Haechan graciously asking how to repay him of his deed, Renjun jumped right at it. He fashioned his best wide-eyed, lost-foreigner look he’s mastered in front of the mirror and pleaded. “Actually, I’m new. I might need help warming up to the place. I was wondering if you could help me out.”

 

 

---

 

 

 

“HUH,” Jaemin says, looking up at the number above the two doors before him. “I didn’t know we’re neighbors.”

“I just moved in today,” Renjun answers, standing in front of his own door and slotting his key in. “Thanks for walking me home?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Jaemin is very smiley still, the whole of his mouth stretching for an hour now and he still doesn’t seem to be tired. His smile slowly fades in a second, frowning slightly. “Hey Jeno, I thought Sushi and Boohyuk occupy this room?”

The platinum-blonde dude peeks over his shoulder, still looking a bit wary for some reason and nods. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”

“Got a roommate?” Jaemin asks.

Renjun shakes his head, shrugging. “No. All to myself. I paid double for it.”

“Oh.” A confused pause, then another smile. “Well, welcome to Korea and enjoy! If you need anything or need help on something, just give this door a knock.”

“Thanks.”

Jaemin disappears inside with a bright smile, of course he does. Jeno, on the other hand, gives him a small, unsure version of it, clasping blindly at the knob. “See you later.”

The knob doesn’t turn inside his hand. Jeno gives it another twist and finds it stuck. Giving Renjun an awkward chuckle, he raps at the door and hisses. “Jaemin, you locked me out again.”

“Oh right. Sorry, Jen!”

The door to his room swings open and he shuffles inside with pink blooming at the back of his neck.

Renjun laughs softly. Well, that’s something you don’t see everyday.

Once inside the safety of his own room, he quickly sheds off his outer clothes and pops his laptop open on the desk. Chenle’s chewing face blinks across the screen with a bowl of popcorn in his arm. “Proud of you. Our Renjunnie already making friends. Kun would love to see this.”

Renjun looks up at the corners of the room. “Did you install cameras all over the place?”

“Nope.” Chenle responds, popping the “p” and chewing some more. “You’re not the target.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Yukhei did bribe me into installing one in the bathroom though.”

Renjun glares at him.

“Kidding!” Chenle laughs at the screen, clearly pleased with himself. “For real though, check your email. I sent his contact details. Thought you might want to contact him.”

“Why would I?”

Chenle shrugs, popcorn cheese off his fingers and letting the question hang. Renjun chooses to ignore him and lets his mind wander over to the more important things like getting himself settled in. He had already unpacked most of his personal things that morning, leaving him a small briefcase containing his equipments; micro-cameras, some spare earpieces, bugs and a .22 caliber handgun that can easily get mistaken as a toy gun. He holds it up wryly for Chenle to see.

The younger shrugs. “It could be worse. I mean at least you have a handgun.”

Renjun runs his finger down the silver shaft, suppressing a sigh. Admittedly, he expected much more advanced equipment, but the standard for an undercover assignment such as this one requires only this specific set unless the need for more arises. But there’s usually nothing much to expect in an undercover assignment in colleges. So bye-bye cool bazookas and state-of-the-art wristwatches. “At least.”

“You can’t go around carrying a machine gun either.”

“No, that would be a riot.” He closes the lid and shoves the leather under the bunk bed. He lets himself fall on the bed and sighs. “Well! That was a fun first day.”

Chenle sets the bowl aside and fingers the keyboard. “First day is always boring. Maybe tomorrow you’ll get to fight off men in clown masks or anything as exciting as that.”

“Great.” Renjun gives him a weary look that he hopes can carry the exact message he wants to get across. When it misses a very distracted Chenle completely, he sighs. “I know I can do so much more. I can do things Yukhei can do, too.”

“At least you get to be out there,” Chenle replies, hands stilling over the keyboard. His expression falls slowly. “Maybe you can prove yourself this time. While enjoying college.”

A split-second is all it take for Renjun to catch onto what he just saw, straightening up and settling at the edge of the bed pensively. Chenle often makes jokes at his expense, none of actual ill-intent, and always somehow manages to sneak a few when conversations get a little bit too heavy. It’s a rare sight to see him indulge to a touchy subject, one that is true for both of them. It didn’t even strike Renjun how much this matter affects Chenle until now, staring at his slightly quivering lip and look of longing in his eyes that might’ve been there all along.

If there’s anyone who knows better how bad it is to be stuck on one place and on one job, it’s Chenle and Renjun is painfully aware of it, being with him all those years training and spending most nights caught up in their each other’s musings about what’s out there and the things that might’ve been.

If Renjun finds this assignment boring where he has the choice to be anywhere he likes, to be out there in the world doing his job, to be breathing the air, what can be said about Chenle who had always been behind the monitors?

Chenle clears his throat. “I already updated Kun and Ten about what happened today. So far, so good. Need anything else before I leave you alone?”

“Oh. Um.” Renjun blinks, trying to retrieve the previous thoughts he had. “Do you have anything on Na Jaemin and Lee Jeno? They’re Haechan’s friends. A little something on them would be great.”

Chenle scoffs at him, frowning. “That’s what you need me for? Make friends with them, Renjun. Seriously.”

“Right.” Renjun nods, frowning. He makes a mental note on looking up exactly how later on.

“Just think of it as a source of intel, if you’re so allergic to making friends.” Chenle says with a ghost of a smirk on his lips. “You’ll find it very easy. You just give them something to work with. For example, you’re a clueless Chinese in Korea. They’ll do the rest. Good night, Mr. RJ.”

The boy’s image winks out of the screen, leaving Renjun alone with his thoughts for the rest of the night and the nagging question about how to make friends.

 

 

---

 

 

 

RENJUN doesn’t find it hard to befriend Jaemin and Jeno. In fact, he can vouch he really didn’t need to even think about it because both guys are set to build the bridges themselves every chance they get. It was nice of them to come knocking on his door early in the morning to invite him out to breakfast, walk to uni together during days where their classes start at the same time as each other and hang out at Mark’s café before heading back to the dorms. It took him half a week to adjust to the shocking friendliness (He genuinely expected the process to be a lot harder, with tons of smiles, chinning up to do and basketball talks, as per WekiHow) and in that time, he devoted himself to keeping his eyes peeled on information about them that can help his case sail smoother.

Like memorizing their drinks for example and volunteering to order for them so he can flaunt said observations. Jaemin had a pleased look on his face the first time Renjun did this, with a quick, “Oh hey, you know what I like!” and Jeno’s had a more silent, more smiley version of this, paired with a sticky look on his direction. Renjun isn’t sure what to make of that but whatever that look entails, he hopes it’s not of suspicion or doubt that can potentially become bane to this mission. To play it safe, he keeps an eye on Jeno and his possible suspicious nature, in turn evoking a sort of guilty display of blushing whenever the conversation pushes him up the limelight. In other accounts, the blushing looks cute on him, except at times when he’s also choking on his drink or food and he ends up spewing out crumbs and moisture.

(Renjun concludes, Jeno has serious choking hazard issues and should never be interrupted or complimented whenever he’s eating or drinking.)

The mission itself, on the other hand, is going fairly smooth. Thanks to Chenle’s eyes dispersed around campus, it’s easier to keep tabs on Donghyuck all the time. Chenle keeps him updated every 3 hours regarding his whereabouts. (Which are mostly in his lectures and nowhere sketchy or out of the ordinary. Chenle finds this fact a bummer, “You’d think,” he bemoans. “that he’s an actual college student doing rebellious college student stuff like go to frat parties or cut classes. Cut classes, Renjun. I’ll pay a large sum of money to cut classes.”

“Chenle, for the last time, there are no frat parties in Korea.”

“Don’t kill my vibe here, please?”

Renjun rolls his eyes.)

Most afternoons, they spend time hanging out at Mark’s café, working on their Korean lessons. Compared to his two neighbors, Donghyuck proves to be more closed off and straightforward, and even when they’re with Jaemin and Jeno, he seems to be more interested in listening to Jaemin’s soccer stories or talking about his games than talking about himself.

Renjun decides it’s a bad thing after four days of pure Korean lessons about phrasing and verbs he already knows about and nothing else remotely close to anything about Donghyuck at all. He finds himself rifling through Donghyuck’s documents again on a free time and notices an odd detail he failed to notice the first few times.

He brings it up with Jaemin, one afternoon in the library where they agreed to do their individual assignments.

“Donghyuck is not living in our dorm, is he?” he asks him, twirling a pencil noncommittally.

Jaemin looks up from his Philosophy book, teeth grazing the tip of his pen lightly. “No. He lives two buses away from here.”

“Oh.” Renjun leans forward. “Where, exactly?”

Jaemin flips to the next page, running his finger down and tapping a specific word. “Another apartment complex. You’d have to ask him yourself, though. He’s a bit freaky about giving away his address to anybody.” He quickly looks up as an afterthought, the beginnings of an apology already scrawled all over his face. “Oh, sorry. It’s nothing personal. It’s just... he’s careful about stuff like that.”

“Oh, okay.” Renjun curls back to his seat. Because, ah, that makes sense. His making friends with Jaemin and Jeno doesn’t mean Donghyuck’s friendship is part of the package. There’s clearly a boundary there, though thin and easy to mistake as nonexistent because of the three’s bond, but it’s a boundary Renjun needs to cross in order to gain Donghyuck’s trust completely, a necessary step to fulfilling this mission. It’s starting to pose itself as a challenge, and there’s nothing more Renjun wants than a challenge.

Jaemin tilts his head at his abrupt silence. “Something wrong?”

“Oh no, I was just curious because I thought he’d want to live in the same dorm as you guys.” Renjun smiles.

Jaemin shrugs, sagging his shoulders a fraction. “We thought so too but he’s got problems he won’t tell us about. Next thing we know is he’s living somewhere else impractical. That’s why he never gets to his first class on time.”

Renjun nods and mutely takes note of how troubled Jaemin is after the reminder of that fact. He presumes it’s due to the fact that Donghyuck’s been keeping stuff from him. Having friends is so stressing.  

After a quick comparison between their database and the school records that evening, Chenle finds out the address listed on Donghyuck’s file is a fake.

“Why would Donghyuck list a fake address on his records?” Renjun asks Chenle, balancing one page of his file over a cup of instant noodles and Gatorade that has him earning a few judgmental looks from the younger previously. (“Eat real food, RJ. What would Kun Mama say?”)

The boy on screen has hair tips toeing his eyelashes, pale green now with light streaks as opposed to yesterday’s blonde, which he keeps blowing off through his mouth. He’s crouched in front of the screen with headphones on and a classic gaming console in his hands.

“Don’t know. You find out,” Chenle says, trunk swerving to the left and tongue peeking out his mouth. “Follow him home?”

That’s one way for him to know.

Renjun paces back and forth, hand on his hip and the other holding the page under his nose. He scrunches his nose in concentration causing his glasses to retreat too close to his eyes. He takes them off once he’s aware of their existence.

He can’t put a finger on it but there’s something off about this and musing aloud with someone to hear him out helps him better than keeping these questions to himself. “Does he know someone is onto him?”

“Doubt it. Dad receiving threats just last month. Haechan already lives on his own.” Chenle says, somehow managing to be unfazed despite having his attention both on his game and on Renjun’s. How he does it, the older Chinese hasn’t a single clue. It’s one of Chenle’s many, many talents.

“But why would he take these precautions? It’s like he knew someone about to sniff him out. An innocent man wouldn’t fake his address like this.”

It catches Chenle’s attention this time and makes him pause his game, letting the headphones slide off and sit around his neck. “Wait. You think he’s guilty of something?”

Renjun shrugs. “Why would he be subject to death threats if he wasn’t?”

“Huh. What did he do, then?” Then, he gasps. “Do you think he killed someone?”

“Chenle.” Renjun shoots him the stink-eye. “I don’t think it’s that serious. Just serious enough to be earn threats to his life.”

“Oh man, oh man.” Chenle rubs his hands together and wears a smile almost diabolical. “I can’t wait for you to figure this one out. This is so cool.”

Renjun likes to think it’s nothing as serious as murder but in a case involving death threats on a rich billionaire’s seemingly innocent college student son, anything is possible. Even if Donghyuck doesn’t look like a killer—just really aloof around him—he has to remember looks can be deceiving and he can’t rule anything out until he carries out an investigation himself. Chills start to creep up his spine, his teeth deep into his bottom lip. Thick tar boils down the pits of his stomach, and Renjun realizes it’s an upsetting mix of excitement and edgy nerves.

He couldn’t possibly fight off the smile that has already bloomed behind the paper. Now that he’s over his initial frustration, he’s starting to see how this is cool and how he’s probably going to enjoy finding out the answers to his questions.

“Oh. Before I go, please email anything to Yukhei. That guy is as friendless as we are. He’s been bugging me since this morning.” Chenle pleads onscreen. “He wants you to know tomorrow onwards, he wouldn’t be in contact. Real mission starts tomorrow and he wants to hear from everyone. You know how sentimental Yukhei is, right?”

Oh, Renjun knows. With a very convincing defeated sigh, he nods. “Yeah, sure. Good night.”

“Nighty-night, RJ.”

No matter how sentimental and cheesy Yukhei can get, it’s a little extreme for him to demand everyone in the squad to email him, Renjun thinks as he is getting ready for bed. Then, it hits him like a barreling truck as he climbs up his bunk bed, the very reason why.

Palms a bit clammy and heat rising up his neck, he quickly grabs his phone and attempts to weave his thoughts together in a decent pattern. He pushes down the rising urge type in all caps and make fun of Yukhei for being in Russia, thinking it wouldn’t be appropriate and if he did, he would regret it later on. And if this is the last email he’s going to send—what the is he thinking now?

Of course, it’s not that. Yukhei is an excellent spy. Top of his class, just a year above Renjun’s, buff, a bit goofy and airheaded but fully capable of handling dangerous jobs. He has every qualifications to take on this job and come out unscathed. The management definitely thinks so. They even think he’s better than Renjun. He should come back, shouldn’t he? It’s not too hard. Not as hard as they make it out to be. Not to Yukhei.

There’s nothing to worry about.

Renjun stares at the screen too hard that it burns his eyes. He rubs them, typing out as slowly as he can with his wrong hand. As he blindly presses Send, he wishes, considering the time zone, that his email doesn’t come in a little too late.

 

 

 

Come back after.

HRJ

 

 

---

 

 

 

THE sunlight seeps through Renjun’s beige curtains in a mesmerizing way that he stares at the glowing, sunlight particles floating around for a whole ten minutes before finally pushing himself out of the bed. It’s finally the weekend, which in the previous month means his weekly sparring with anyone in the squad on an open meadow in the facility. Sometimes in front of a small crowd of other kids from other squads, sometimes of Ten and some other representatives sent to monitor both their cohesive fighting styles as a group and their individual skill level. Sometimes just alone with Kun at the side and the tweeting birds flying overhead, sometimes he spars against Kun. But most of the time, it’s against Yukhei.

He is the reason why Renjun prefers the art of judo; using the opponent’s force against them instead of directly opposing it.

“It works for all the small people out there,” Yukhei had whispered to him when they started out picking signature styles, smug and tall and annoyingly chirpy. Renjun remembers the fond tone in his voice and he hates every bit of it. Every moment he had ever made him feel like he’s a small, vulnerable child incapable of winning a fight for himself.

So if Renjun is to defeat Yukhei, it’s only reasonable for him to fight with judo.

Fight Yukhei with judo he did. Defeat smug and tall and fond Yukhei with judo, he did.

It was his sweetest and greatest moment, pinning Yukhei down hard underneath him by the shoulder, heaving and wheezing cold against the ground.

Yukhei had laughed then, for some reason, and mocked him with the sweet, lip-tearing smile he hated so much.

“See?” He whispered, warm brown eyes into smiling slits, looking up at him. “Knew it would work for you.”

 

 

 

Who says I won't? ;)

- HXX

 

God, how he hated Yukhei.

Renjun had expected Jaemin to come knocking at his door that morning, with an invite to jog around the block or ride their bikes down Hangang River, because that’s the kind of thing he would most likely do on a weekend morning, so it takes him by surprise when the door to his unit swings open and reveals a smiling Jeno instead. (Why the heck is everyone so smiley?!)

“Good morning,” Jeno greets, hands grasping around a bag of kitty nibbles and a carton of milk. “Do you have a sec?”

It’s a good thing Renjun chose to brush his teeth and wash his face first thing instead of lazing around his unit in his filth for a couple more hours. He smiles, because apparently it’s a thing around here. “I could spare a couple. What’s up?”

Jeno leads him down to the ground floor and steers him to the back of the building where a kitty bowl sits by a tiny, cat house with a cardboard dangling above its entrance. It reads “Ming” and Jeno passes him a small smile as he shakes some nibbles into the bowl. “It’s for the dorm’s mascot, Ming. You met him right?”

Renjun pauses. What Ming? Ming… “Oh. His name is Ming,” he says. “He’s yours?”

“No, not really. He’s a stray but I built him this small house in case he wants to stick around,” Jeno cheerily replies, and for the first time, he isn’t stuttering or wording himself carefully like he has been currently around Renjun. “I shouldn’t really stick around too long because I’m allergic so I was wondering if you can lure him here for his breakfast?”

Renjun blinks, but recovers just as quickly. “Sure. Where is he now?”

“Atop another tree.” Jeno points at the nearby tree, sighing. “He loves trees.”

Renjun looks up among its branches and spots the familiar black cat with its unsettling big blue and green eyes that still haven’t lost their freakiness. Ming mewls at him in recognition, tone dangerously low and threatening and tail swishing delicately behind him.

Jeno steps to his side, also looking up. “Here Ming~ Here kitty, kitty, kitty.”

Ming seems to like Jeno more, apparently, as the purrs soften into long throaty sounds that’s almost seductive.

“He likes you,” Renjun says, trying to keep the distaste off his voice. “But he doesn’t like me.”

Ming screeches in agreement.

“Oh.” Jeno blinks. “Yeah. I did notice that when you first came here. He tried to scratch your eyes out.”

“Korean animal hospitality. 10/10. Will come back again.”

Jeno laughs, quick and pure and Renjun can tell it looses him up to a considerable amount, shoulder slumped in a more relaxed way now. Though, Renjun couldn’t figure out why Jeno has always been strangely tense and careful around him, as if he’s walking on eggshells. It’s a good thing to know Jeno likes cats and it’s one of the topics that put him at ease.

The pair manages to get Ming down in time for his breakfast eventually, both leaning against the wall afterwards, a few feet of respectful distance from the satisfied, feasting cat.

“I wanted your help to feed him and lure him since Jaemin specifically told me not to do those things myself.” Jeno starts, ogling at Ming with adoring eyes. It’s a good look on him, Renjun realizes as he sneaks a look at his lengthy eyelashes that shouldn’t look so pretty. “I couldn’t even pet him these days. Allergies acting up. Jaemin grilling me for it.” He stops and sighs. “But I want to.”

Renjun contemplates on an answer but is cut short when a figure from behind the fence catches his eye. He turns and squints at the gap where he thought someone was watching them from. He frowns.

“He’s done eating! I’m gonna pet him.”

Renjun stares for a couple of seconds, before tearing his eyes off the spot and turning to a smiling Jeno holding up a purring Ming in his arms. “Oh no, Jeno.”

“Shh.” Jeno grins. “Couldn’t help it. Don’t tell Jaemin.”

Renjun risks another glance and finally catches a glimpse of the man quickly disappearing behind the fence. In the split-second, he makes out the very original dark glasses and dark clothes. Someone’s watching them just now. 

Jeno sneezes from behind him. “Oookay. That’s enough Ming. I’m so sorry, I’m—ACHOO!”

“Now, what you’ve done you naughty boy.” Renjun pats the sniffing Jeno’s shoulder and lightly steers him towards the building, casually glancing behind his back. “Let’s get you inside. Jaemin’s gonna be mad.”

“Are you gonna tell him? He’s out for some food and he’ll be back in—a—a—achoo!”

After Renjun has managed to get Jeno inside his unit, the sneezing fit has toned down to a pink nose and partly teary eyes (which isn’t anyone else’s fault but Jeno’s) that made him look like a guilty kid caught with his hand inside the cookie jar. He might as well be, but misery is nowhere in his face. Oddly enough, he looks content and still smiley despite the fact of air deprivation due to his congested nose. Renjun would’ve marveled at the sight if he isn’t so concerned about the fact that he’s got a watcher on his tail and couldn’t figure out why. It’s unmistakable that guy was after someone in this building. Probably him, but he couldn’t find anything he has ever done outside the confines of his unit that can potentially blow his cover or harm his mission in any way so it’s probably not about him.

But it doesn’t make sense. Why not him?

A few hours later, as he is getting ready to go out, he spots Jeno’s figure walking out the gates. Renjun turns bug-eyed when the figure he saw that morning walks down the street in pursuit, maintaining a safe distance between himself and Jeno.

As much as he likes to think the guy isn’t after Jeno, he couldn’t deny the fact that the man just stopped when he thought Jeno stopped and walked on when Jeno started walking.

. That guy is after Jeno.

Renjun scrambles for his phone and scrolls through five contacts before clicking Jeno’s.

“Hello? Renjun?”

“Hey, Jeno!” Renjun says, trying his best to sound naturally perky. “You heading out?”

“Yeah. I’m out. I’m off to Donghyuck’s.” Jeno replies. “Why?”

Oh, that’s perfect. “Mind if I tag along? Was going to his place anyway for the lessons.”

There’s a short pause before he stutters out, “Oh. Okay. Sure. I’m outside the gates.”

For whatever reason Jeno is a target for someone, Renjun doesn’t know. What he knows exactly is that he needs to find out because there’s a good chance it has something to do with Donghyuck. With his luck, the perps have already figured out Donghyuck’s address on his records is a fake and is now pursuing anyone who might lead them to him.

Jeno and Jaemin are the most obvious choices because they’re his best friends and practically the only ones who know where Donghyuck lives exactly. Which means, Renjun doesn’t only need to keep an eye on Donghyuck but also on Jeno and Jaemin as well from now on.

This is bad. Renjun never intended anyone else to get involved into this. Certainly not Donghyuck’s friends. And his now, too. Partly. Kinda. Sort of?

Jeno is grinning at him when he catches up, dressed in his gray long coat that neatly matches his parted blonde hair and arms close to his trunk. “He lives three buses from here. We have to walk a bit to the bus stop. By the way, I was planning on dropping by the street market to buy him snacks. Is that alright?”

Whipping his head back to his clueless companion, he nods. “Sure. Let’s go?”

“You should try some Korean street food while we’re at it.” Jeno suggests, head bobbing slightly as they both walk on. “Have you tried some before?”

Distractedly, Renjun shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“That’s great. I’ll let you eat your first then.”

Jeno carries on babbling for a short while at the bus stop until they board and sit next to each other, Renjun’s silence must’ve dampened his spirits. The silent, empty air between them the moment the bus rolls on seems to remind them that it was Jaemin who did most of the talking and that now he’s nowhere, nobody’s going to save the conversation for them.

But in that moment, Renjun couldn’t honestly care less. Because all that registers inside his brain is pure panic when the man on their tail boards the bus and sits at the very back of it.

Renjun is not wearing his earpiece, nor is he carrying his gun. He closes his eyes. Brilliant work, Renjun. Utterly useless, now that you’re in the very situation you should’ve anticipated.

Jeno clears his throat at his side, thumbs twiddling under his loose sleeves. “You’re gonna love the food.”

Renjun tries his hardest to pass a genuine smile. Food is the least of his problems right now.