Swoooosh.

Came the all-too-familiar sound that preceded his awakening. He had barely regained consciousness only a couple moments before he heard the noise from the door, but only after pieces of cool metal were retracted off of his limbs. He flexed his muscles experimentally, almost as to make sure he was still functional, and relaxed them again. He was still himself, the same as always. It was after this confirmation that he slowly blinked open his eyes. His eyelids felt heavy and eyeballs sensitive, adjusting to the light from the door. The fog that always managed to smell like freezer burn, if freezer burn were to have a smell, were rapidly disappearing into the vents. He knew this was his cue to step out.

“Case 83070004KAI?”

Jongin’s eyes stung from the sickly pale white lighting of the room. His vision quickly adjusted though to the sight of five men in the room. Four of them were dressed uniformly in white—white, he grimaced inwardly, like the lighting—but the last one was in a black suit. His eyes fell on the smiling man in the black suit with a black briefcase, his next client he presumed, without confirming his identification number. He didn’t have to. The man with the clipboard was never allowed to be wrong.

“Kim Jongin!” Jongin grimaced. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you.” The man stepped forward towards the dark-skinned boy but was suddenly blocked by the clipboard man. He coughed.

“Kai.” He corrected. Jongin liked that this guy at least knew what he preferred.

The man’s smile didn’t falter.

“I apologize. My name is Kim Joonmyun.” He retracted his outstretched hand and gave a small bow instead before continuing pleasantly. “I’m sure you’re a busy guy,” Jongin blinked. “And you’re wondering what I’m doing here.”

Not really. Jongin did notice the shifty gazes that the men in the white were exchanging. Their mouths were covered by a white cloth but their eyes made them open books.

“—--to get a hold of him too. But come, let’s walk while we talk.” The man named Joonmyun moved closer still, pushing past the man whose eyes sang of surprise and disapproval. Jongin’s gaze fell to Joonmyun’s arm as it guided him him to the door. Jongin obliged silently and was soon walking beside the smaller man as he continued talking. The men in the white parted for the two as they walked past, their eyes blazing with apprehension. The man with the clipboard ended up leading in front while the rest of them followed behind Jongin and Joonmyun, purposely trailing further behind. They walked at a brisk pace for a bit while Joonmyun rambled about some extraneous details that Jongin was sure would be absolutely useless to the assignment itself.

After over a dozen turns, a couple of doors, and three elevator lifts, Jongin almost stopped in his tracks.

“---that it’s going to be costly. No matter, though. I did finally secure your partner. And boy, let me tell you. I almost had to move heaven and earth to—“

 He stopped, noticing the way that Jongin eyed him.

“Partner?” This was the first time they had heard him talk. His voice was a bit scratchy from lack of use but still held a certain booming quality to it.

“Yes, we’re actually going to meet him right now. I guess I should have told you first but I figured that since both of you have been here for so long that you’d be familiar with everyone and—“

Jongin tuned him out again. He didn’t like the idea of a partner. Now that he thought about it, he barely knew this place, never mind the people in it. He’d actually be more surprised if he did know this person. He returned to listening when Joonmyun began actually talking about the assignment.

“His name is Wu Yi Fan, the brains behind EXO-M.” He lowered his voice so that it was for Jongin’s ears only. “I need you and your partner to find out a piece of small but vital information for me. I know it doesn’t seem as complicated as your usual jobs but let me assure you that it will be tricky. Kris—that’s the name most people know him by—is an ingenious but crafty businessman. He trusts no one and leaves behind no tangible evidence. This is why you need to partner with Luhan for this-- ah, shall we say--this game. You’re going to need him to get the information that I need.”

Right on cue, they stopped in front of a door. Well, more like a gate that’s painted white. The damned color is everywhere. The man in front stopped in front of the door, letting the retina and then the fingertip scanner do their jobs. A beep. The man then punched in a series of numbers and symbols on the keyboard that extended out from the door. With a final beep, the keyboard folded back into the door before it swung open. He turned to the group, age and fatigue almost eclipsing the spark in his eyes.

“I’m sure that I don’t have to warn everyone but everything that you’re going to see in the room is of top-level clearance. Only those specifically granted permission,” He nods towards Jongin and Joonmyun. “Will be allowed inside. My name is Dr. Choi and I’m one of the main care-takers of Case 001492LH.” He made eye contact with Joonmyun, who flashed a smile and a nod. “Please follow me to Lu Han’s testing facility.”

Dr. Choi showed them in through the door and walked down the poorly lit hallway slowly until they stopped at the door at the end of it. One more swipe of a card and they were in. The first thing Jongin noticed was pink. He wrinkled his nose ever-so-slightly. It was a light, almost peach-colored pink. It seemed so out-of-place against the dark of the room that he was standing in and the sickly white that seemed to eat away at the environment around him. Even more out-of-place still, Jongin noticed immediately after seeing the pink, was the so-called “testing facility”. Encased in what seemed to be one-way glass was a large bedroom. It was well furnished with a large bed with several large pillows and hello kitty dolls strewn across it, a desk, a dining table with two chairs, bookshelves, and even false windows that let through a bright artificial light and a breeze that pulled at the curtains. Jongin had half a mind to call this a zoo—an exhibition for some poor specimen. Sitting on the edge of the bed was a young boy with bright blond hair that shined like halo in the light, talking to a boy who sat facing him on a chair. Their hands were in each others’ as they talked and laughed together.

“I have to apologize though, Mr. Kim, that we hadn’t made any preparations for your arrival.” Dr. Choi said as he continued walking the length of the room facing them.

Joonmyun waved off his apology. “It was my bad for arriving so suddenly!” He let out a soft laugh. “I just couldn’t contain myself when I heard that this was the earliest that Kai was available.”

Jongin in the meantime continued to survey his surroundings. The very few who looked up to see the visitors had buried their noses back into their work after a brief flash of recognition and fear that Jongin was more than used to seeing now. Most others were too occupied, hunched over their own workstations or staring intently through the looking glass to with headsets on, to notice.  His eyes couldn’t help but wander back to the figures on display in the glass case as they continued to interact in a way that Jongin couldn’t.

The brunette’s face was turned away from him but the blonde’s shone. Even from this distance, he could see the way that his eyes twinkled while locked with the other’s. He saw the way they were scrunched into crescent moons when he laughed. The pout that required scrunching his nose and mouth together. He had no doubt that the blonde was the one they called Lu Han.

“The good thing though right now is that our main communicator is in there with Lu Han right now. He’s about to come out so that you can brief him on the assignment.”

“Oh, if it troubles Lu Han, we can go in there instead.” Joonmyun offered.

Dr. Choi looked almost confused for a moment.

“I was talking about our communicator, Sehun, coming out.”

“Oh, so…”

“The job of the communicator is to act as a medium for case 001492. We don’t allow him direct communication with anyone else for safety reasons, of course.”

Joonmyun’s smile almost faltered. Jongin almost found this amusing.

“The details are for Jongin and Luhan, whom I specifically commissioned, only.”

 “I understand, sir, but we require the utmost security when it comes to Lu Han. His communicator has been trained since he was young and owes a great amount of loyalty to our program and our company.”

“No, you don’t understand. This information is for the two of them only.”

“We can also get Luhan to do a purging on him immediately afterwards if you feel like there would be a privacy issue.”

“No. I’ve heard of your purging techniques and how unreliable they are. I don’t need a communicator to speak with Lu Han.” Joonmyun’s nose seemed to scrunch together at the thought of a communicator. He reached into one of his suit pockets for a business card and flipped it over so that he could quickly scribble some numbers down on it. “Talk to the presiding officer in charge right now if you want. Lee Sung Hwan will tell you that I should be talking one-on-one with him.”

“Sir, we cannot let anyone into that room. I would like to express my sincerest apologies. Lu Han is an extremely unstable case who only shows benign signs to one person, and that’s the communicator. We can’t guarantee your safety otherwise. He is still extremely unpredictable as his abilities seem to grow over time. The only person given access to him right now, even though it’s limited, is Oh Sehun of the communications department.”

Jongin watched as Sehun emerged from a heavy, metallic door.

“And me.” Jongin said as if it were the simplest thing on Earth.

Both Joonmyun and the doctor had turned to him with mouths open, about to speak, before Jongin grabbed the business card and a black rip in space took the place where he had once stood.

ººººº

Lu Han loved the hour-long visits that Sehun was allowed twice a day. He always complained it was too short although complaining didn’t help. When Sehun wasn’t there, Lu Han had to entertain himself by reading, doodling, sleeping, or basically just anything he could. When he came, he brought along with him new information, new feelings, new thoughts that Lu Han appreciated. He liked the younger boy with the cheery disposition hidden under the uninterested expression. He was the only one who lasted more than a week. Sehun didn’t even complain about his constant touching and even reciprocated by keeping up the skinship to share more of himself. Although Lu Han could easily read Sehun, he still liked hearing Sehun talk even if it was about the smallest thing. There wasn’t much to talk about once Sehun did the perfunctory check up but they always managed to fill the hour with stories and laughter.

Sehun had looked at his wrist watch since there wasn’t a clock in the room—for Lu Han’s own sake, scientists of case 001494 insisted—and got up to return the chair to its proper place by the table. He didn’t have to say anything to Lu Han because Lu Han knew everything he did. He returned to the side of the bed where Lu Han still sat and leaned in to press his lips against the wide-eyed boy’s. I don’t want to go yet. Lu Han’s eyes fluttered open again, revealing his innocent doe-like eyes.

“Stay longer.”

Sehun gave him another quick peck on the lips. You know I can’t. The first door out of the room closed behind him before a second opened up to let him back into the lab area. As soon as he stepped into the control room though, he knew something was wrong. He saw the black rip in the air appear in the middle of the peachy pink room but was too late to do anything about it as the heavy door had just clicked shut after him.

ººººº

Lu Han’s eyes rounded at the sudden appearance of the dark stranger in the room. Oddly enough, he didn’t feel the discomfort that he normally did when others approached him. Lu Han felt a strange peace from his presence. Peace and emptiness. Jongin closed their distance in a few large strides and was now staring into large, chocolate orbs that radiated curiosity only a couple inches from his own onyx ones. The shorter moved his hand up, as if to touch him but his hand hovered just an inch from Jongin's face.

“Open it faster!” Sehun had been pounding from the other side of the door as workers pressed in difficult lines of code to get the door open. He didn’t like the feeling he had deep inside of himself about the boy. His gut instinct told him something was off and it frustrated him that his bloody knuckles and fingertips could not expedite the opening of the door.

Jongin turned his head at the low rumble of the first gate opening. He decided it was about time to leave. His hands wrapped around the blonde’s petite waistline and pulled him in. Sorry, Princess. We’re going. Lu Han gasped, hands grabbing fistfuls of the black material of Jongin’s shirt before he squeezed his eyes shut. He had heard Sehun burst into the room before there was a soft click and suffocating darkness.

ººººº

It barely took a second. Lu Han opened his eyes when he felt solid ground under his feet again. His doe-like eyes found their way to the other’s dark orbs again before he felt the other drop his arm and give him back his personal space. It took a little bit for Lu Han’s brain to fully process what just happened. Jongin let him take his time.

“Um…" Lu Han finally said after breaking out of his post-teleportation reverie, a smile invaded his features. “It’s nice to meet you, Jongin-ah.”

Jongin was still expressionless. “Kai.” He corrected him.

Kai because Kai was fearless. There was nothing Kai couldn’t do. Kai was a name that commanded both fear and respect.

Lu Han stared at him with that curious expression again. “You will be Kai but,” Lu Han chose his words carefully. “You can be Jongin to me if you want.”

Jongin's brows knitted together involuntarily as a flicker of emotion flashed through his stoic features but had no reply to that; not that he needed one though because Lu Han continued.

“Hey! Are we outside?” His eyes widened in awe as he couldn’t contain his excitement any longer. “Like, actually outside-outside?” He spun around in a circle, taking in all that was around him. They were beside what seemed like a small river right outside the vicinity of a city. Though they were surrounded by grass and trees, they could see tall buildings nearby.

“I’ve never been outside before.”

Jongin looked on as the boy walked around in absolute wonder, crouching down occasionally examine and feel the different plant life that grew under their feet.

"Do you know where we are?" Lu Han asked, his eyes still trained on his surroundings.

Jongin merely shrugged at this.

Lu Han seemed to think about this for a moment before he turned his body to face the darker boy and walked back towards him. Jongin visibly tensed up as the distance between them became less and less until they were at a less-than-comfortable distance from each other. The boy looked up slightly past golden bangs in order to stare into obsidian orbs, similarly shaded by raven tresses.

This almost seemed like deja vu. Lu Han reached up towards the other's face. Jongin knew the blond could cause no harm but could not help but jerk back ever-so-slightly before he felt the hand on cheek. They stayed like this for a couple of brief seconds, which may as well have been an hour to Jongin. A small frown found its way to the Luhan's features before he finally rested his hand back to his side. He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it hesitantly before he finally broke the silence.

"Joonmyun sure didn't elaborate a lot. I'm not experienced with assignments like yours but what exactly do we do now?"

Jongin's gaze shifted to the right before returning to honey-colored ones.

"We get some more information first." The end of his sentence had a slight rise in pitch but neither of them seemed to notice.

Jongin took out the business card that he had grabbed from their client before he tore himself into Lu Han's cell, and he handed it to him.

He raised his eyebrow expectantly at the frowning Lu Han.

"I'm not a psychic, you know." Lu Han blinked, running his thumb over the bolded company name, EXO-K, presented on the card. "I'm just good at reading people."

ººººº

Joonmyun massaged his temples gingerly with his free hand as he waited in front of the elevator. It was already a quarter past nine and pretty much everyone had left the office except for the occasional custodian. One of the cons about having the office on the top floor, Joonmyun decided inwardly, was the wait for the elevator. Being in one of the highest skyscrapers in corporate Seoul definitely did not help with the waiting time either. He looked up as the ding sounded and stepped into the empty cabin that had just arrived at the basement parking level. After he hit the top button, still shiny from lack of use by the general public, he leaned back against the wall.

He knew he could trust the two to carry out their task but things turned out a bit differently than he had expected. He was a planner. Everything was written down, typed out, and followed explicitly in order to ensure perfection: the opposite of the secretive CEO of M. He always left room for the unexpected but this day had turned out to be beyond his calculations. He was just glad that SM didn't freak out too much about the disappearing act though. It only took three hours of questioning before they had realized their mistake in questioning president Lee Sung Hwan's special guest. Of course, not until several people were fired though.

The elevator doors soon opened to reveal his large office, dimmed by the heavy blinds in front of his window wall. His eyes adjusted slightly as he stepped out of the elevator and into the darkness of the room. As the light from the elevator finally disappeared with the closing elevator door, Joonmyun's lips curved upwards until a smile reached his eyes.

"Good evening, Joonmyun." The voice was soft yet boyish and came from a slim figure sitting with his legs dangling on top of his desk.

"Ah, Lu Han, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." He also nodded to Jongin, who stood beside the boy on the polished wood desk. "Kai, it’s nice to see you again too."

Lu Han jumped off the desk to allow the rightful owner of it access.

"I'm glad you two came to me before pursuing the target. I’d like to help in any way I can…" Joonmyun continued as he approached the desk and placed his black briefcase on it. "I need it done by a week’s time.”

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And here's the end of chapter 1 O: This chapter really didn't explain anything at all but more will be revealed in the later chapters~

I wrote this way early on in the summer haha. I tried to get someone to beta it but between her and me and my friend and me again, it just... took  a really long time. My English is just that bad. I think I really need a good beta/proofer for this (please tell me if you're interested ^^''). Hope yall enjoyed it:D