Changmin crunched on his bagel and glanced at his watch. He wasn’t used to seeing such a simple timepiece on his wrist after three months sporting a Casio G-shock while on mission in Europe with Yunho. Now, he was back to desk duty until the higher-ups sent them on another assignment. He was glad to be on a break – he knew his nerves needed the rest – but it nonetheless felt strange.

“American style breakfast today?”

He turned at the sound of Yunho’s voice. Even without the recent glance at the time, he would’ve known it was seven on the dot. Yunho’s punctuality was so perfectly consistent it was almost maddening. “I’m missing London this morning.”

“Hmm. And you were complaining about how much you had wanted seaweed soup on your birthday just two weeks ago,” Yunho said with a chuckle as he sat down at his desk across from Changmin. He stirred his coffee with one hand while typing at his computer with the other. “Why are you here so early?” His partner knew he didn’t like to wake up early and often came in with the later influx at nine.

“Jet lag,” Changmin bit out. He still hadn’t managed to regulate his sleep.

“Ah, of course. So did you talk to Director Ahn about filing your report yet?”

Changmin shook his head while chewing.

Changmin enjoyed his job. It was perfect for a person who led a solitary life. With no family and few friends outside of SM, Changmin reveled in the amount of focus his job required because outside of work he really had no life. He was okay with that though. He had never been the type into the superficial joys of a civilian life. His line of work gave him a true adrenaline rush. Risking his life was definitely more fun to him than going on blind dates. But the paperwork was terrible.

“Don’t even think about trying to get out of doing your end,” his partner said, narrowing his gaze. “I am not picking up your side of work again.”

“Okay, okay,” Changmin said, logging into his computer.

The office was quiet for the next couple of hours except for the hum of a radiator and the click-clack of the two typing. Changmin glanced at Yunho out of the corner of his eye. Ever since coming back from his solo mission three months ago, he had been different – colder, sharper. Changmin suspected something may have gone awry with the assignment, but he didn’t press Yunho for answers. He knew he wouldn’t get any.

Instead, he acted like normal. Like Yunho hadn’t killed off their former teammates.

“Well, if it isn’t the top agents of SM. Returned home finally, I see. Haven’t seen you two in, what, three months?” Kyuhyun leaned against the doorway of their office smirk on his lips.

“Hello, Kyuhyun,” Yunho said without looking up from his computer.

“Still as serious as ever, Yunho. Speaking of, you know, Changmin, you missed my birthday.”

Changmin laughed and turned to his friend. “And you missed mine. I hope you drank enough for both of us.”

He may not have been the most social person, but Kyuhyun was definitely one of his closest friends and one of the few people who made him feel like it was okay to relax from time to time. Kyuhyun certainly seemed to lead a relaxed life by his demeanor. Not everyone could wear such a sharp suit like a pair of pajamas, but not everyone was Cho Kyuhyun, world-renowned technology expert.

“Oh, you know I did,” Kyuhyun said with a grin.

“He’s lying. He threw up after four bottles of soju, and we had to carry him home,” said a voice coming down the hall.

“Aw, why do you have to mess it all up, Seo? I was going to tell Changmin an epic story about that night so that he’d feel bad about missing out,” Kyuhyun pouted.

“Seohyun?” Changmin stood up from his desk.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Seohyun smiled at Kyuhyun. “Oops. Sorry.” She squeezed past him and hugged Changmin. “Good to see you’re alive and in one piece.”

“I always am.”

“Because of my help,” Kyuhyun said with a grin.

He constantly reminded Changmin of the importance of his role. Whether he was giving Changmin the latest tech gear or helping him with hacking computer firewalls, Kyuhyun was always lording it over that he was better than Changmin even though he couldn’t shoot for .

“I know. You complete me,” Changmin retorted sarcastically.

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. “We’re getting lunch later,” he said as he walked out.

“How are you?” Seohyun asked.

If anyone was closer to Changmin than Kyuhyun, it was definitely Seohyun. She had become a trainee just when he was finishing up, and they had been paired together for mentorship. Even though she switched to tech after the first phases of training as a field agent, her and Changmin’s friendship was cemented in that short time. They had a close relationship akin to that of siblings. While most people called her by her real name Seo Joo-hyun, Changmin was the only one to call her by her former agent name Seohyun.

Changmin side-eyed Yunho as he responded to her question. “Jet-lagged still but great.” He knew Yunho and was waiting for an indirect suggestion that they should get back to work. Then again, he knew Seohyun wouldn’t stand around for that long. She too was serious and dedicated to her work.

“That’s good. Well, I’ll let you get back. We’ll chat later,” she said with a smile and ruffled his hair before walking out.

“When are you planning on telling her that you still haven’t quit smoking?” Yunho asked.

“When you start,” Changmin tossed back.

He’d taken up the habit for stress relief when all the drama with their former teammates had begun and had yet to quit despite Seohyun’s constant pressure. It was a lot harder than he had anticipated, even for a well-trained operative as himself. Being on a mission made it even harder since Yunho didn’t care – though he definitely disapproved – and since Seohyun wasn’t there to hound him about it. Plus, the French cigarettes he tried in Europe had tasted so damn good.

“Well, you know she’ll find out eventually,” Yunho said.

“And I’ll put that off for as long as possible.”

“Your death.”

Changmin shrugged.