"We have aquired the necessary information, hyung-nim sir."

"Brief me."

"L plans on making his escape with the boy at three AM, two days from now. It has also been confirmed that the boy on the phone is the same boy who escaped a year ago. We believe L will meet up with him in order to hide away. The hideout has yet to be confirmed."

"Interesting..."

"Should we bring L to you now, hyung-nim sir, so you can teach him not to disobey you?"

"No, W, that won't be neccesary. I have another plan."

"What would you have me do?"

"I was hoping to catch that other boy who escaped, anyway. Why not catch two birds with one stone?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"L is just doing me a favor, really, by leading me directly to the hideout. I want you to have one of our men follow L and find the boy who escaped. Then, when they are all gathered, bring them back - to me. Then I will teach L not to disobey me." The Boss smiled, his yellow teeth glinting in the dim light. 

"I understand, sir," W said and bowed. "I will see to it immediately."

-

"I still think it would be best for you to go alone," Myungsoo said, trying not to show his nervousness. I'm tough. I'm strong. I'm not weak.

"Myungie. We're leaving tonight. Now isn't the time to have cold feet."

"They were never warm in the first place," Myungsoo retorted. 

"That is a point you're making right there," Sungyeol agreed, nodding in mock-thoughtfulness. 

"Oh, shut up."

"You shut up," Sungyeol said, though Myungsoo could see from his smile that Sungyeol wasn't being serious. When did I ever deserve a friend like you?

"I'm hungry," Sungyeol pouted suddenly. "Give me some food, would you."

"The fried rice is right over there in that plastic bag, you know," Myungsoo pointed out, nodding at the black plastic bag lying on the floor a couple feet away. 

"I'm lazy. You get it," Sungyeol whined, and he demonstrated this by stretching out on the floor, like a cat basking in the sun. 

"Oh goodness," Myungsoo breathed, but he rose and got the food all the same. "Here," he said as he handed the bag to Sungyeol.

"Thanks, honey."

"Honey?"

"Just trying to be nice," Sungyeol shrugged with an air of innocence. 

"Okay, sweetie."

"Okay, that's going a bit overboard here, don't you think?" Sungyeol raised his brows in feigned surprise.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Myungsoo blinked, trying to look like a puppy. 

Sungyeol started laughing then, as if he couldn't hold it in any longer. And as if in planned unison, Myungsoo started laughing too, because he just couldn't help being affected by the other. It seemed as if whatever Sungyeol did, Myungsoo would do as well. Even things he normally wouldn't think of doing, he did when he was with Sungyeol. Like laughing. Like having fun. Like being happy. 

"You're great, you know," Sungyeol said at last, out of breath from laughing for so long.

"Huh?" 

"You're fun to be with. If things were different we could have been great friends."

Myungsoo stiffened, the words being both startling and painful. 'Could have been'. That was the same as saying 'but are not'. He wanted to reply nonchalantly, like he didn't care at all whether Sungyeol considered him a friend or not, but he couldn't get the words past his lips. 

"We could have been such great friends from earlier on!" Sungyeol continued, seemingly not at all having noticed Myungsoo's lack of response. "I can't believe I didn't meet you before now. It's such a waste, don't you think?"

Myungsoo remained silent, his heart beating unreasonably fast. Why am I so upset? It's not like I didn't know how Sungyeol feels.

"Myungie-ah?" Sungyeol waved his hand in front of Myungsoo's face. "Earth to Kim Myungsoo. Hello-o-o. Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Myungsoo blurted out. 

"What's gotten you all spacey?"

"Nothing," Myungsoo murmured.

"Wait," Sungyeol said, furrowing his brows. "Why do you look so... angry? Or is it sad?"

"I'm not angry. Or sad," Myungsoo hurriedly said. 

"Tell me."

"I'm fine."

"Tell me," Sungyeol insisted.

"It's nothing."

"Then tell me."

"I was just-" Myungsoo began, but then stopped. He didn't know how to continue without sounding strange. Without sounding like the ruined boy he was. "It's no big deal really. I was just thinking, you know... you mentioned that we could have been friends. And I was just thinking. That, you know, that would have been nice, if that could have been reality. And I was just slightly put out that it isn't. That's all."

Sungyeol gazed at Myungsoo for a while, digesting Myungsoo's words. Then, as if finally comprehending, he exclaimed, "Oh, Myungsoo! That's not what I meant, for goodness' sake! We are friends, you know that. I just meant that it would have been nice if we could have become friends earlier. Myungsoo, you know I see you as one of the best friends I've ever had, right?"

Myungsoo stared at Sungyeol in disbelief.

"I swear, it's true," Sungyeol continued. "I mean, yes, you are a jerk. I still can't believe you actually kidnapped me and brought me here to this depressing place, but I can tell that's not the real you. I can see what's beneath that. You're just a teenage boy like me, who wants to be loved by someone."

Myungsoo drew in a deep breath. 

"And I love you, Myungsoo. Like a real brother. I really do."

"You- you love me?" Myungsoo stuttered, blinking.

"Of course," Sungyeol chuckled. "You're just like a little brother. Of course I love you."

"Like a little brother," Myungsoo repeated, and he didn't know why he was bothered by the words. 

"Don't you love me?" Sungyeol said, playing offended.

"Well, of course I love you," Myungsoo played along. "Why else would I be willing to go to all this trouble just to get you out of here?"

"You've got a point there," Sungyeol winked. Though Myungsoo couldn't fathom why, it gave him butterflies in his stomach when Sungyeol winked at him like that.

"Which brings us back to the original topic: the fact that we're leaving tonight," Myungsoo said.

"What about it?"

"Are you ready?"

"I've been ready since the day I got here."

"We have to time this right, you know," Myungsoo said. "There are guards, even at night-time."

"But we've made a plan," Sungyeol reminded him. "Or, you have anyway."

"Exactly. Which is why I need you to focus and listen."

"I've already heard it before, like a million times."

"This is the last time you'll get to hear it, so you better pay attention."

Sungyeol stuck his tongue out at Myungsoo, but made no other attempt to stop the boy from talking.

"My hyung will meet us by the edge of a forest in this area. It's not far from here. We'll then have to get to his place on foot from there."

"Who exactly is this 'hyung' of yours," Sungyeol asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "You haven't mentioned him before this plan of yours was made."

"That's not important right now," Myungsoo replied dismissively. "What's important is the fact that there are guards outside this building that will be watching out for things like people escaping... in other words, people like us."

"But you can distract them, right?"

"Well, that is the plan... but I can't know for sure if it's going to succeed."

"We'll just have to try our best," Sungyeol said, and there was optimism in his voice that Myungsoo didn't have. "We can do it. I believe in you, Myungsoo-ah."

I just wish I could believe in myself.

-

Myungsoo looked ahead down the long, dark hallway, trying to see through the darkness. Sungyeol was behind him, so close that Myungsoo could feel Sungyeol's breath on his neck. "Follow me," he whispered.

They snuck down the corridor, so slowly that Myungsoo was sure they were going to get caught before they had even managed to exit the building.

Tap. 

Myungsoo froze, and he could feel Sungyeol do the same behind him. His heart was beating so wildly in his chest that he was sure anyone in the hallway would be able to hear it. Was there anyone else in the hallway besides himself and Sungyeol?

"Did you hear that?" Sungyeol whispered into Myungsoo's ear.

"Hush," Myungsoo breathed, putting his finger over Sungyeol's lips. 

They stayed still as the seconds passed by, but no sound could be heard except for that of their own breathing. 

"I think we imagined it," Sungyeol whispered. "Because we're nervous."

"Let's continue," Myungsoo said, his voice quiet. He still couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right.

They walked down the hallway, the sound of their muffled footsteps against the old carpet accompanying them. As they reached a door, Myungsoo paused for a moment. "Sungyeol, this is it. We'll get to the main hallway now. After this, there really is no turning back."

"We're not turning back now," Sungyeol replied instantly. "We've already come this far."

"Then let's hope we'll make it." And with that, Myungsoo opened the door, revealing a large, dark room with a high ceiling. Far ahead were a set of large, wooden doors, like the onces that could be seen in old movies. Sungyeol blinked as he took it all in.

"This is... unexpected," Sungyeol breathed. 

"Boss likes things to be the way he likes them," Myungsoo said, realizing what a stupid comment it was even as he said it.

"Well, obviously," Sungyeol chuckled, presumably having caught what sounded suspiciously like stupidity in Myungsoo's explanation. "Doesn't everybody like when things are the way they like them?"

"Lame comment, I know," Myungsoo muttered. "Moving on."

He grabbed Sungyeol's hand and pulled the boy along as he hurried from one end of the spacious room to the other. He could hear their footsteps as they echoed across the room, and it only made his heart race even faster in his chest. Somebody is going to hear us. Catch us. 

As they neared the doors, Myungsoo couldn't help but speed up even more, until they were almost jogging towards the exit. When they finally arrived at the doors, Myungsoo felt like nothing but a wreck of nerves. He looked over at Sungyeol, and could see that the other boy was also looking rather out of it. 

"I'm scared, Myungie," Sungyeol said suddenly, and his voice sounded oddly vulnerable in that moment. Myungsoo didn't think he had ever heard Sungyeol sound quite so young.

"We're almost there," Myungsoo assured him. "Now all you need to do is stay here behind the curtains by the window while I distract the guard outside. And when you hear my signal, you come running. Okay?"

"Okay," Sungyeol nodded, and though it was dark, Myungsoo felt he could see the determination in the boy's eyes. 

-

"L reporting, hyung-nim," Myungsoo said, bowing. 

"What do you want, at this time of night?" the older man said, glaring tiredly down at him.

"I think someone is trying to break into the building."

"What?" the man exclaimed. "What do you mean? Have you reported this to the Boss? Or to your immediate superior? Why do you suspect such a thing?"

"I was going to check the surveillance cameras because of some other issue when I spotted a person on one of the CCTV-screens. It wasn't one of our people. I notificed W right away, and he wants me to gather everyone in the meeting room immediately for a briefing, so we can find the intruder and stop him from doing whatever he plans on doing. The meeting is being held right now."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" his hyung barked, clearly angry. "Do you mean to make me late on purpose?"

"Of course not, hyung-nim," Myungsoo said, giving a slight bow. 

Before Myungsoo could even stand straight again, the taller man was gone, having run into the building. Myungsoo immediately went to the door and knocked softly on it three times. After ten seconds, the door carefully opened, and Sungyeol was there, right next to Myungsoo, looking scared and nervous. 

"Let's go," Myungsoo said, feeling the urgency like never before. "We only have a couple of minutes - three at the most - before the guard realizes it was a trick." 

-

From behind a tree, a tall, slender man dressed all in black watched as two boys - one with raven hair and the other with hair the color of chocolate - emerged from inside a huge building, looking stressed and jumpy. He smiled as he got ready to finish his mission. 

Author's Note: I felt so bad about taking so long before posting the last chapter, so I decided I would be a better person and write another chappie right away, aka this chappie >^< 

I was planning on revealing who the hyung was in this chapter, but then Myungyeol's escape part got so long, so I've figured it has to wait for the next chapter :P 

Anyway. I'd just like to say thank you to all you wonderful subscribers and readers who are reading this story! Seriously, you are all the best <3