Taemin had been taught better by everyone. They all gave him pointers about how to deal with Kyuhyun. There were specific guidelines, such as never sneaking up on him. He would probably slit your throat on accident. Another one was questioning his ability in any sense of the word. A strange tip had been to avoid starting a game of Starcraft with him. Apparently there were dire consequences of doing such a thing.

The most common piece of advice though, was to never ask about his personal life. It was no secret that Kyuhyun had come from a rather shady adolescence, nor was it a secret that he rarely rejected physical advances. Behavior like that automatically pinned him as a player, but then why was he like that? No one had ever gotten close enough to find out. The only person that knew anything at all was Changmin and he was as tight-lipped as Kyuhyun himself.

But this was a completely different circumstance. Taemin had witnessed one of the highest ranking agents in his division of rookies stray off track from a mission. What if he hadn’t been worried and failed to follow Kyuhyun? Where would the older boy be now?

And so Taemin had raised himself up, took a deep breath, and asked the dreaded question: “Who was that?”

Kyuhyun looked up from his hodge-podge dinner. Chopsticks hovered in mid air as those dark eyes studied the younger boy. “What are you referring to?”

“Today in the marketplace,” he sighed, “that guy.”

“Haven’t you seen the magazines?” Kyuhyun rolled his neck, “He’s everywhere.”

“I’m sorry, hyung, but you’re being so calm about all of this even though I clearly saw you freaking out,” Taemin said all in a rush, hands curled into fists in his lap. “I know it isn’t my place to get involved with your personal life and I’m not trying to do that, but if it’s affecting our mission then I have to do know what’s going on.”

Kyuhyun seemed thoughtful for a moment, munching on a piece of kimchi. Swallowing he set his chopsticks down and stretched. “You’ve seriously got some balls.”

“Is that a good thing?” Taemin asked quietly, nervously.

“Physically, yes,” he smirked. The boy flushed and Kyuhyun smirked wider. “That man, Lee Donghae, and I have a history. I lost control when I saw him, so for that I do apologize. But I won’t let it affect the mission anymore, rest assured.”

It was probably terrible to be thinking, but Taemin just couldn’t believe that Kyuhyun had talked his way around his personal life. He had expected something – at least a short anecdote about the relationship. But, no, of course not: it was Cho Kyuhyun. He had a knack for slipping in and out of verbal conversations.

“Anyway, I still have a lead on the whereabouts of the group. Their main base is near that alleyway we got stuck in.” Kyuhyun picked up the utensils again. “Did you find out anything?”

“I passed by a few junkies,” Taemin explained, “and they were talking about midnight auctions. I’m guessing that it probably has something to do with the slave sales.”

Glancing at the clock, Kyuhyun read seven o’clock. “We’ll head out to their base at ten. They should be most actively preparing between eleven and twelve. It’ll give us a chance to understand how their auctions work.”

“Are we just scouting?”

“Do you plan on taking them down with just the two of us?” Kyuhyun cocked an eyebrow. “You were gutsy earlier, now you’re spouting utter idiocy.”

Taemin cast his eyes down. “Sorry.”

As ten approached, they headed out of the housing complex. In the few hours they had beforehand, Taemin had thoroughly researched Lee Donghae. At first, he had thought Kyuhyun was probably exaggerating about the man’s fame, but it was nearly embarrassing that Taemin hadn’t known who he was.

Lee Donghae was literally everywhere. Just recently, he had even taken over a major corporation with his business partner.

They headed back into the city, blending into the night life just as they had done during the day. It was easier to move around in the darkness though, what with people absorbed in their own business and desperately avoiding eye contact with anyone who might be on the bad side of society.

Kyuhyun led the way confidently and quietly, making no unnecessary movements that might draw attention. Rounding a second corner, Kyuhyun put a hand up, stopping Taemin. They moved behind a wall, watching for any sudden movements.

“We’re turning left,” Kyuhyun spoke against the boy’s ear, “but that’s probably the entrance.”

“Where should we go then?” He fought the shiver from the deep, smooth voice speaking to him from so close.

Kyuhyun pointed over head. Looking up, Taemin saw the edge of the rooftop and gulped. “Scared?” the older male teased, pushing away and climbing the pile of crates stacked on the opposing alley wall.

“No,” Taemin mumbled to himself, watching anxiously as Kyuhyun leapt with ease from crate to crate.

Soon, he reached the highest one, grabbing onto the ledge of a building and swinging himself over. Leaning back over the edge, his silhouette made a signal for wait and Taemin rocked back on his heels, stomach twisted in an uneasy knot. The next second, he watched a shadow soar across the distance between the two roofs.

A rope unfurled from the top, shaking for Taemin to grab. The boy quickly did so, scaling the wall in a matter of second. When he neared the top, Kyuhyun caught his wrist, dragging him the rest of the way over.

“Insane…,” Taemin breathed, shaking his head.

“Just wait until you’re the one helping your junior up,” Kyuhyun ruffled the boy’s hair. “C’mon, we don’t have much time.” He adjusted the gun strapped to his leg and continued towards the door of the roof.

Getting up, Taemin hurried after Kyuhyun.

Picking the lock, the older agent carefully pushed it open, surprised at the lack of an alarm. Kyuhyun backed up, scrutinizing the situation. That wasn’t right. They had to be missing something.

“It’s already been disarmed, hyung.”

“What?”

“Look,” Taemin pointed at the broken security camera, “whoever did that probably messed up the entire system.”

“Who would’ve broken in before us?” Kyuhyun muttered, slowly gripping the handle and pushing into the building.

Just as Taemin had said, there was no one coming. The lights were low in that part of the facility, all security cameras shut off or somehow malfunctioning. It wasn’t until they reached the underground levels that security came back on.

Kyuhyun had peeked into the first lower level, finding fully operational cameras and guards. Well, at least they knew they hadn’t gone to the wrong place now. Waving Taemin back, Kyuhyun considered his options as he was slinking back into the darkness beneath the staircase.

They could head back for the night and devise a way to get through security. They could call for back up and risk the possibility that this wasn’t the correct facility. Or, they could go ahead with the plan and put the operation at risk for complete failure.

“,” he cursed, “we’re retreating for now.”

Taemin nodded.

Just as they stepped out of the shadows, the barrel of a gun leveled with his forehead. Kyuhyun froze, eyes flitting back and forth between Taemin and the two guards. Neither said anything, instead, they grabbed the captives, forcing them through the doors of the first lower level.

“Don’t say a word,” Kyuhyun mouthed, closing his hands into fists.