Quick update. Part one of two but not sure when I'll post part two. I should really work on my other fics too but I don't know when I'll have time...

Anyways, please enjoy.

Shouldn't love be the only truth?

When Tao first tells D.O about his mission, he thinks the handler is joking.

“Excuse me, I'm supposed to go undercover as a what?” he asks, convinced he's misheard.

“Karaoke attendant,” Tao repeats. “It's a person who – ”

“I know what it is,” D.O retorts. “It's a euphemism for e.” He doesn't bother to lower his voice since they are alone under the bridge and the traffic roaring above them adequately obscures their conversation.

“Don't glare at me like that. At least let me explain the assignment.” He holds out a picture which D.O reluctantly takes.

It's a photo of a man in his mid to late thirties, handsome and elegant looking in a business suit and tie.

“His name is Moon Junghyuk,” Tao explains. “His father owns one of the largest banks in the country and Junghyuk is poised to take over when his father steps down. He's a decent banker, fairly good at his job and would have done well even without his family connections. He's married with a daughter and another child on the way. From what I can tell, they're mostly happy but Junghyuk has a secret.”

D.O doesn't like the sound of Tao's voice - like he's holding back a sneer - and looks up. “What's the secret?”

“Everyone once in a while, our banker likes to unwind by cheating on his wife with young men.” Tao hands him a thick manila envelope. “That's where you come in.”

D.O feels a cold sweat start to form on the back of his neck. “I...no. Tao, I can't. I-I...” He stumbles over his words, trying to think up of an explanation that doesn't make him sound totally incompetent.

“What are you talking about? You absolutely can. You've received training for this kind of thing, haven't you?” Tao looks annoyed.

“Yeah but this is different.” D.O shakes his head. “I don't know how to seduce another man. Isn't there someone else you can bring in? What about Jessica? She's good at this kind of thing.”

“Nope. She has a .”

“Sunny?”

“Please tell me you know what a is.” He sighs. “Look, don't worry. You aren't actually going to sleep with him. Once you're all finished singing and drinking and having a good time, he'll take you up to his room – ”

D.O's stomach turns and he thinks he might throw up.

“– and you will suggest another drink to calm your nerves and slip this in.” Tao hands him a plastic vial with two different colored pills inside. “Give him the red one and he'll pass out in ten minutes. The white one is for you. It will keep you from getting too drunk. Trust me, it works. Our chemistry sector is the best in any universe.”

Despite the panic rolling through his gut, he unexpectedly thinks of the pretty chemist on the train.

Luna.

He never did see her again.

“But don't we already have a banker under our thumb?” D.O asks in a last attempt to avoid his mission.

“Yeah, but if we move too much money through him, it'll draw suspicion.” Tao gestures towards the envelope. “You only have a couple of hours to memorize your legend but we've kept it simple. We've worked with this madame before so she knows not to ask too many questions. You just need to make sure that Junghyuk likes you enough to get him alone. The bug for his cell phone is in there as well.” He checks his watch. “Do you have any questions?”

D.O hesitates a fraction of a second too long before shaking his head which doesn't go unnoticed.

“You'll be fine,” says Tao. “I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think you could. Just be confident. Give him one of your pretty smiles and he won't be able to resist you.”

D.O is embarrassed by how much Tao's simple compliment alleviates his anxiety. Even if he doesn't believe it. “You really thinks so?”

“Of course. You're cuter than a button. Sunny's got nothing on you. She's an old hag in comparison.” He tries to cover his smirk by coughing dramatically, making a show of hacking into his fist.

Tao is teasing him, he realizes. “Whatever,” D.O grumbles. He folds the envelope and stuffs it into his inner pocket of his coat.

“You're looking especially adorable today with your shirt buttoned all the way up to the collar like a class president.”

“That's enough.”

Tao grins. “Seriously, I want to pick you up and keep you in my pocket.”

“Please don't.”

*

D.O manages to dig up something suitable to wear from Kyungsoo's closet. Dark, skinny trousers and a surprisingly nice blazer which he puts on over a fitted, collared shirt.

He tries to do something about his hair which normally just hangs over his forehead like a curtain. Using some expired hair pomade he found in the back of the bathroom cabinet, he manages to sweep his fringe slightly up and to the side but can't tell if he looks better or not.

“Good enough,” he mutters with one last look before turning off the light. He goes back to his room where he replaces Kyungsoo's identification card with the one from his legend: Lee Sumin, 19 years old. Cell phone salesman by day, karaoke rent boy by night. He puts the pills and bug in his blazer pocket.

He makes it to the subway station without running into his roommate which is a relief. He doesn't feel like explaining his outfit or hair to Chanyeol.

Having just missed the tail end of the evening commute, the train isn't very full and he manages to grab a seat by one of the doors. Two girls enter the train at the next stop and sit across from him. They're lively and pretty; typical city girls. One of them glances at D.O and smiles.

He smiles back and is pleased to see her blush. Perhaps Tao hadn't been feeding him empty compliments after all.

*

The Rosemont Hotel – with its marble pillars, crystal chandeliers, and dark mahogany furniture – doesn't seem like the type of establishment that would house a shady karaoke operation but according to his mission notes, this is the correct place.

He nervously steps up to the front desk, fighting to the urge to fiddle with his clothes. “Excuse me.”

The concierge, a middle-aged man, glances at him. “Yes?” he replies, voice polite but his fingers haven't stopped tapping away at the keyboard in front of him.

“Could you please let Madame Kim know that Lee Sumin is here to see her.”

The typing stops. The concierge turns and stares at him with a hard glint in his eyes. “You,” he says slowly, “are here for Madame Kim?” He doesn't sound confused, just skeptical.

D.O bristles. What is the man trying to imply? “Yes. Can you please let her know I have arrived?”

The concierge gives him a curt nod before pressing a few buttons on the phone next to him without picking up the receiver. “She'll be here in a few minutes,” he says, the corner of his mouth tugged in a tight smile.

D.O thanks him and allows the next patron to step up to the desk though he doesn't wander far. He wipes his sweaty palms on the legs of his trousers and tries to act like he belongs in a fancy hotel.

“Sumin?”

He turns and finds himself faced with the presumed Madame Kim. Dressed in a pencil skirt and blouse, she looks more like a business woman than the tacky, colorful madame he had envisioned. Instead, she is beautiful in a refined way with a gentle smile.

“Yes.” He gives a quick bow. “Hello.”

“I appreciate you filling in on short notice. Please come with me,” she says and turns.

He follows her across the lobby and into the elevator. She presses the button for the lowest level, B4, and swivels on her heels to appraise him, tilting his head under the light with a soft touch.

“You've got a good look,” she says. “Nice skin. These are pretty too.” She swipes her thumb across his lips.

“Thanks,” he mumbles, uncertain how he feels about his appearance being reduced to component parts and judged.

The elevator stops and she removes her hand. The doors open to a small lobby, illuminated by dim purple lights, and a hallway lined with doors. There is a front desk similar to the one four floors above them. Behind it sits a girl with unnaturally blond hair who hums along with the music and off-key singing leaking from one of the rooms.

“Madame, party of three for Moon has arrived,” the girl at the front desk says when she notices them. She doesn't bother to be discreet about the way she scans him and the smirk on her face makes him want to run and hide.

“I need to introduce Sumin to the other boys he'll be working with. Send a complimentary bottle to their room while they wait. It shouldn't be long.” Madame Kim gestures towards a door marked 'Employees Only.' “Please, after you.”

He walks into what looks like a backstage area for a beauty pageant and takes a second to absorb the noisy chaos. Young women and some men apply make-up in front of brightly lit vanity mirrors while they chat with their colleagues. Others release strange noises from their throats and trill their lips – standard vocal warm ups.

Still, some choose to read or study, impressively unfazed by the pandemonium. A pair of girls play chess in one of the corners.

“The boys you'll be joining tonight tend to come as a package deal.” Madame Kim puts a hand on his shoulder and guides him across the room. “But don't worry. They're very sweet. If they like you, that is.”

“Great,” D.O sighs.

She stops him in front of a group of three young men who seem to be in the middle of a discussion about baseball. “Boys,” she says fondly. “This is Sumin. He'll be filling in for Jinki tonight.”

“Hello.” D.O smiles to cover his nervousness and holds a hand out to the young man standing closest to him. “I hope we can work well together tonight.”

They stare at him in silence, judgment obvious in their gaze.

D.O lowers his hand with an awkward hem.

“Oh my god,” the one furthest from him finally shrieks. He grabs something off the vanity desk behind him and pulls D.O forward. “You are adorable!”

D.O has to curb the impulse to struggle and fight back, especially once he realizes that it's simply some kind of make-up pencil pointed at his face.

“Kibum, no,” Madame Kim admonishes and plucks the pencil from his hand. “We don't want to cover his natural beauty. Clean and innocent is his appeal.”

“Yeah, if you're a e,” one of the others mutter.

Madame Kim hears and shoots him a look. “Jonghyun, are we going to have a problem?”

Jonghyun smiles ,cloyingly sweet. “Of course not, Madame. We'll take good care of...”

“Sumin,” D.O reminds him. “Lee Sumin.”

“Right.” Jonghyun nods. “Sumin is in good hands.”

She doesn't seem to believe him. “Jonghyun, you keep your hands to yourself. Kibum, Taemin, do you best to help Sumin.” She squeezes D.O's shoulder before walking away.

Kibum pouts. He mutters something about how he was trying to help with the eyeliner while Taemin sits down in front of the mirror and smiles at D.O through the reflective surface. “What dermatologist do you go to?” he asks, picking up a tube of BB cream.

“Um, I don't,” D.O replies truthfully.

“You're lucky. I go through about eight of these a month.” He shakes the BB cream. “I thought that after puberty, I'd stop getting acne but it turns out not to be the case.” He pumps a few dollops onto the tips of his fingers and smears the cream across his cheeks.

D.O sees a tray of bottled water near the doorway through which he came with Madame Kim and quickly trots over to grab one. Peeking over his shoulder, he makes sure nobody is watching as he slips the white pill from its vial and quickly pops it in his mouth. He chases it with a long swig of water.

A hand falls hard on his shoulder and D.O nearly chokes. He turns, wiping his mouth, and is surprised to see Jonghyun.

“You okay?” he asks.

D.O nods. He wonders what Jonghyun wants but doesn't know how to ask without seeming rude.

“Look, sorry if I was kind of y earlier,” he continues before D.O can say anything. “It's nothing personal. I'm just pissed because Jinki was supposed to work with us tonight but then a group of women booked a room at the last minute, which Madame shouldn't have allowed, and he got hauled off. So I'm not even mad at him and I'm definitely not mad at you.”

“Oh,” D.O replies and hopes he sounds forgiving. “That's alright.”

“Cool.” Jonghyun drops his hand from D.O's shoulder and lightly pats him on the . “Let's go. They're waiting for us.”

*

Moon Junghyuk and his two companions are halfway through their complimentary bottle of Johnny Walker by the time D.O and the others join them, lined up in front of the massive television screen like candidates for a group job interview.

“How have you boys been?” Junghyuk asks. His words and tone are civil but with his back settled into the cushioned seat and knees spread, he seems more like a thug than a respected banker. The jut of his throat bobs up and down as looks over each of them and he raises an eyebrow when he finally notices D.O. “Who is this?”

Somebody – probably Kibum – nudges him forward.

“My name is Lee Sumin,” D.O says with a small bow, hoping they can't hear the hammering in his chest.

“I haven't seen you around before. I'll have to ask Madame Kim where she's been hiding you.” He pats the spot on his left. “Sit. We till have half of a bottle to finish.”

D.O does as instructed and wedges between Junghyuk and his friend. Taemin and Kibum quickly dispense a shot glass to each person without one in front of them while Jonghyun, both hands holding the bottle, pours.

Before D.O can even register that he should probably help, everyone has a round of whiskey at their disposal. He marvels at the efficiency of their coordinated effort and feels a twinge of guilt for looking down on their profession.

“This bottle looks like it's almost finished,” Jonghyun says. “Shall I order another?”

“Sure,” Junghyuk nods, “But let's do this round first.” He raises his glass and everyone mimics his action. “Cheers.”

“Cheers!” the room echoes and throws back their shot.

A/N: This has not been edited too throroughly.

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