Jihoon-hyung came to the backroom after a long discussion with the others.

Byunghee was only half listening to them; he was busy keeping his promise to Seungho.

‘Birdie.’  Jihoon said as he pushed the curtains away.

‘Hyung.’ Byunghee nodded. ‘How could we…’

‘Shush, no need to thank me anything.’ Jihoon said, dismissing the matter. ‘All that matters that these kids are safe.’ he said, and glanced at the peacefully sleeping Seungho. ‘Plus I get to kick the bastard’s .’ he added and sent one of his rare grin at Byunghee.

‘What happened to him?’

‘After I took care of him, I gave him to the higher ups… he crossed a few lines already.’ he answered smirking.

Byunghee was sure he didn’t want to know the details; the slightly sadistic smirk was enough explanation.

‘So Byunghee… you saw something today that you shouldn’t have.’ Jihoon said and smiled at him.

‘I guess I did, but I can’t quite remember…’ Byunghee said smiling back.

‘Good, then let it stay like that. You know it’s already hard to keep my noisy kids under control, they have a loose mouth sometime.’

‘I heard you Hyung!’ Cheondung shouted from the other room.

‘You idiot! Keep it down!’ JoKwon whisper shouted and probably hit him because a loud thud was heard.

‘You better did!’ Jihoon answered back, though much quieter. ‘So you sleep…a lot, and when we meet next week you still call me Hyung and I’ll still feed you Jinyoung’s ty excuse of food.’ he said and looked at Byunghee.

The eavesdropping group’s snicker and Jinyoung’s grumble mixed together behind the door.

‘I think that’s all for now… I still have to meet some s from the “market”… and I guess I’ll give a morning off to the Rising Sun. We got ourselves some nice new territory to clear out... and there is also that smuggler brat… aigoo so busy.’ Jihoon grumbled, scratching his chin in thought as if wondering about what to eat for dinner.

Byunghee couldn’t help but stare in awe and respect at the older guy.

‘Then good night Demons.’ he said and smoothed his suit out. ‘Cheondung, Jinyoung we have paperwork. Nichkhun…be gentle.’ he said and snickered.

Spluttering and awkward coughing came from the other room and Byunghee’s ears turned red, quickly understanding the obvious jab.

‘Hyung!’ Cheondung whined as he marched through the room quickly escaping from the bar. He just waved quickly to Byunghee on his way.

Jinyoung followed him, much slower and with a way too knowing smirk on his face.

‘Young love is beautiful indeed.’ he sighed dreamily and he patted Byunghee’s head on his way out giving him that y look as well.

‘Hyung…what are you implying?’ Byunghee whispered after him, face turning redder by the moment.

But Jinyoung ignored him and waved slightly also exiting after the whiny gang man.

Nichkhun appeared next, face burning in shame and a very red Wooyoung followed him, holding each other’s hand.

‘Break the walls down…please.’ Wooyoung whispered to Byunghee when he stopped in front of them, then quickly pecked the sleeping blond on the forehead and Byunghee too than with a bow to Jihoon the pair disappeared in the dark alley.

Byunghee glanced at the sleeping beauty…I hope he will open up…

‘See ya.’ Jihoon said and left the lair as well.

JoKwon and the others hurriedly came to the backroom, trying hard to keep the noise level down.

‘We will go now.’ Jay announced and put the keys down for Byunghee. ‘Keep an eye on him Birdie.’ he said, and smiled fondly at the both of them.

‘Oh my gosh! He is turning sentimental again!’ Junho gasped mockingly, earning a slight smack to his prized .

‘If any of you got hurt again, come to me immediately.’ Chansung said and glanced at Byunghee’s shot wound, frowning slightly. ‘I’ll kick their asses.’ he said and looked at everyone with serious eyes.

‘Don’t be such a drama queen.’ JoKwon poked his arm, but sent him a grateful smile.

Seungho stirred slightly in his sleep and everybody froze, they didn’t want to disturb him.

‘We will go then.’ Jay said again, and wildly motioned with his arms to move already. ‘I promise you can baby them next week to your heart’s content.’

‘Deal.’ Junho said and hugged Byunghee, surprising him with his sudden action… the Emperor was not the touchy-feely type. ‘Keep him safe, okay?’ he asked and caressed Seungho’s arm softly.

‘I promise.’ Byunghee said; he never knew they cared this deeply for each other…

They were family, that’s what Wooyoung told him.

‘And I’ll kick your next time.’ Junho added with his signature grin and left the bar.

Byunghee couldn’t help but chuckle at him, Junho really hated emotional stuff after all.

Chansung just gave Byunghee’s shoulder a squeeze and a smile to Seungho and stepped outside as well. His eyes told enough, there was no need for words.

‘Byungie… take care of him, alright?’ Joon said and smiled brightly. ‘I’ll see you next week, and you won’t escape with just one hug.’ he added and hugged him tightly just to show what he meant.

‘You know what we talked about.’ Seulong told Byunghee and gave him his soft smile before he stepped out as well.

‘Bye baby Bird!’ Kwon chirped energetically, but the rings under his eyes still held the stress from the night. ‘You owe me a shopping tour after all this.’ The Diva grinned, hugged Byunghee tightly and kissed the sleeping Panda on the cheeks before stepping in to the night air after the other Demons.

Byunghee just groaned in protest, but he knew there was no escape from that.

Only Jay was left and he really didn’t know what to do in this situation.

‘Well… this is awkward.’ Jay said, scratching his neck.

‘Just hug them and get out already!’ Junho exclaimed from the door.

Jay sent him a nasty look, and grumbled something about disrespectful brats.

But he did as he was told, hugged Byunghee and Seungho as well and stepped to the door. ‘You start on Friday, don’t be late.’ he said and closed the door after himself.

Byunghee sighed…finally it is all over now… that bastard won’t bother us anymore…he thought and caressed Seungho’s face softly.

He didn’t know when he dozed off, but the whimpers of Seungho woke him up immediately.

He was having a nightmare… cold sweat glistened on his face.

‘Seungho.’ Byunghee shook him gently. ‘Wake up.’

Seungho sat up, eyes wide and breathing uneven as he was clutching his chest.

‘Seungho… it was just a nightmare.’ Byunghee whispered, afraid to scare him again.

The blond closed his eyes and took a deep breath, nodding.

‘Everything alright?’ Byunghee asked, though he felt stupid for asking such a question.

‘… now it is.’ Seungho whispered and leaned his forehead against Byunghee’s shoulder. ‘I just… don’t want to see his face ever again.’

‘You won’t, you don’t have to fear anything now…’ Byunghee said smiling down at the blond locks.

‘I-I just fear my past… a-and I don’t want you guys to hate me because of it.’

‘Don’t be silly… you are still the same person no matter what is behind you…’

‘They could’ve hurt you a lot more… even killed you, because of me…’

‘Still, I’m sure all of us would do it again if needed... you are our precious Panda.’ Byunghee answered, he never saw Seungho so insecure before.

‘You know about it, right?’ Seungho mumbled against Byunghee’s shoulder.

‘Wooyoung told me.’ Byunghee answered softly…How could he forget?

‘…and you still say things like that? Any sane person would push me away because I’m disgus-‘

Byunghee put a silencing finger against the plump lips.

‘Don’t say that… you are perfect.’ Byunghee confessed softly and Seungho raised his head to look at him in disbelief, cheeks flushing slightly.

‘Nobody ever told that-‘ Seungho mumbled, but clipped the end of the sentence.

‘Don’t keep it in…it will just eat you away.’ Byunghee whispered while he pulled his finger away.

Seungho lowered his gaze again, drawing his knees up to his chest. He sat like that for a while, deep in thoughts…

‘I was a dance student, when my parents’ business went bankrupt…’ he whispered softly. ‘The loan sharks were on their backs and they didn’t know what to do… until Taecyeon found them.’

Byunghee listened intently, he wanted to help… and if he could at least listen to Seungho, then it was perfectly enough for him.

‘It was either me or my little brother… I couldn’t let them… he was just 15, so Taecyeon bought me from my parents.’ he said, tears welling up in his eyes.

Sold him? Did they really sell him just like that? Byunghee thought, anger flaring up in him. How could they...

‘I was kept around for a while, running errands and whatnot… then Taecyeon decided to start his toy business… ’ he sighed, pulling his legs even closer to his chest. ‘I quickly learned how to be apathetic, how to live without emotions… resisting was futile anyway; they beat me up if I tried anything… my costumers were, after all, his precious business partners. Nothing could mess up because of one little nobody…’ he whispered softly, tears escaping his eyes.

Byunghee wiped them away with his thumb, caressing Seungho’s cheeks softly in comfort. He couldn’t find anything to say… his heart clenched in agony…

‘It became easier when Wooyoung came along, he kept me up on the surface and I helped him too, finally getting back a small part of my old self thanks to him.’ he said, and smiled softly. ‘But he couldn’t lose himself like I did, he was hurting and he wanted to get out of it, something I gave up long ago.’

Seungho quieted down for a while and absentmindedly touched his shoulder.

‘I helped him escape; I hit down his costumer and held back the goons until he was far enough… I took the blame… and they punished me for it. There are still marks left…’ he said and smiled softly running his fingers down his shoulder.

Byunghee was furious, so sad and furious that he couldn’t even describe the feeling. How dare they do that to him?

‘After a long year I thought of escaping again.’ Seungho whispered then after a short pause he added. ‘When they dragged me back to that dungeon I thought I will die… I simply shut down… to do that again, I just can’t...’ he trailed off, new tears escaping his eyes.

Byunghee’s heart was tearing to tiny pieces because of Seungho; he would give up anything if these things didn’t happen to him.

‘And how did you escape?’ Byunghee asked softly.

‘I fooled one of my naïve costumers, telling him that I loved him...’ Seungho said the word love in disgust. ‘That idiot believed me and helped me escape… then I hit him down too, took his money and ran for it… without looking back. That’s how I got here…’ he said and glanced around. ‘A year is long, but not long enough to forget… I still can’t open up to others like Wooyoung… actually you are the first one since Wooyoung I told all of this.’ he said and glanced at Byunghee a bit hesitantly.

‘I still think you are perfect.’ Byunghee smiled.

Knowing all this still could not change the way he looked at Seungho. His heart was still pounding hard whenever their eyes met. He still loved him, no matter what.

‘You are crazy.’ Seungho said and averted his gaze.

‘I am.’ Byunghee agreed, shrugging his shoulders. ‘Why else would I work here?’

Seungho chuckled softly – a sound that made Byunghee boneless – and nodded in agreement.

‘I love this place.’ Seungho said finally.

‘Yeah me too.’ Byunghee said and glanced at Seungho.

The blond caught his gaze and his cheeks flushed because of it.

Byunghee had the urge to just kiss him… he even leaned a bit closer…

And his phone went off that exact moment.

He groaned and fished it out of his pocket…it was Jinwoon.

He groaned louder and gave an apologetic smile to Seungho.

‘If I don’t pick this up I will really get kicked in the .’ he explained and answered the phone.

Seungho looked a bit disappointed… maybe? It was hard to tell, because the yell that came from the other end deafened Byunghee.

‘JUNG BYUNGHEE! ARE YOU ING INSANE!’ it was Jinwoon alright, releasing all he got in a very, veeery loud yell.

Byunghee winced as he pulled the speaker further away, he didn’t dare to put it against his ear from the beginning.

‘Just what were you thinking? YOU-!’

‘Jinwoon I –‘

‘- you got caught up in again and went to take a ing gang head on –‘

‘- did not. Could you just-‘

‘- I am so gonna kill you – ‘

Byunghee started to lose his patience… just who called them…JoKwon!

‘Excuse me for a bit.’ Byunghee said to Seungho, holding his hand against the speaker that still vehemently spat profanities about his mental state. He stood up and stepped into the bar area, took a deep breath…

‘JINWOON, CALM THE DOWN!’

Byunghee felt the déjà vu of the situation.

‘I did what I thought was right, I am alright and you should not yell so loudly so early in the morning.’ he lectured the suddenly quiet Jinwoon.

‘But I got so worried after JoKwon called me!’ he sobbed into the phone.

‘Then you should know I am okay, nothing happened and everybody is safe. We took care of everything.’

‘Mir even went into a hysteric state and he is running around the building now.’ Jinwoon continued, whining like a five-year-old.

‘… you sure he isn’t just high on sugar?’

‘…okay maybe he is a bit… but that’s not the point.’ he said still sobbing. ‘You are an idiot! That’s my point!!’

‘I think we already established that… Are you really crying?’ Byunghee asked, trying to distract his emotional friend.

‘Am not. I just took up acting.’

‘Right…’

‘Did you kiss your guy already?’ Jinwoon asked suddenly and Byunghee heard the grin in his voice. Bipolar bastard…

‘I’m hanging up. Get Mir into bed before he decides to surprise us with something again. I’ll talk to you later.’ Byunghee deadpanned and hung up on Jinwoon.

He sighed then went back to the resting area; Seungho was looking at him with a small but bemused smile.

‘Don’t even ask…. we are destroying each other’s nerves since high school.’ Byunghee chuckled, happy to see his cold prince’s smile. ‘It’s late… early, whatever already. I’ll take you home, okay?’ he asked and held a hand out for Seungho.

‘Okay… Just let me call home first… maybe the house is a bit occupied…’ he said softly and blushed, but accepted the offered hand.

‘Occupied?’ Byunghee asked, letting the fuzzy electricity ran through his body from their connected hand, heating his cheeks up as well.

‘I live with Wooyoung and he tends to end up there with Nichkhun.’ Seungho said and he did not blush because of that… Byunghee did instead.

‘O-okay, call them then. But how do you know…?’ Byunghee trailed off not really feeling right talking about Wooyoung’s ual life.

‘Special voice mail for the occasion.’ Seungho said simply and went to use the office phone… his must have disappeared during the night.

The house was safe… the journey to there was fun. Seungho after all was talkative, but he was too closed up because of his past… it seemed he finally opened up to Byunghee.

He told him about his life with Wooyoung, his passion for dancing, that not even that year could erase from him.

In turn Byunghee whined a bit about his college life, making Seungho chuckle with silly stories about the crazy duo.

‘Thanks for taking me home.’ Seungho said as he opened the door to a pretty flat. Working in the lair and living with the boyfriend of an underworld figure paid off as Seungho precisely summed it up.

‘Don’t mention it.’ Byunghee said, scratching the back of his neck.

’I want to thank you for saving me…’ Seungho said turning back to Byunghee. ’Thank you for everything.’ he said softly.

Their gaze locked for a moment and this time without hesitation Byunghee pressed his lips against Seungho’s.

He pulled back slowly, adoring the blond for a bit. ‘You are welcome.’ Byunghee said and left…

You thought I wouldn't let them kiss, didn't you~ Well, no way! It's already high time for these two to get their fluffy love time :D