Sungmin returned the phone he always used to contact Siwon to his drawer, which held three more phones of the same model. There was no need to hide the extra phones, because his underlings knew he had a habit of using different numbers to contact dealers or those from other factions. He kept his personal number purely for his own division and others he trusted from their faction. His underlings were also used to him running off to places on his own, so there were no suspicions when he went out alone to meet Siwon in the afternoon. It was Sungmin’s way of making use of habits to cover any activity that may appear suspicious.

Throwing himself on the bed, Sungmin groaned at the throbbing headache. He was terribly worn out from the events that happened in the past two days, not to mention all the trouble caused by the other factions and other gangs before that. Furthermore, the thoughts that whirred around in his head had robbed him of sleep last night. Although he was happy to meet Siwon, the meeting didn’t make anything better, instead add onto his troubles with Kyuhyun.

Sungmin cursed the fact of having to meet Kyuhyun again in such a situation. He had always hoped that the man would only come back after he has accomplished his mission, so that Kyuhyun would never see this side of him. It disgusted himself that he could keep up the pretense so well sometimes. As the years passed, he was starting to believe that Dauntless was a true part of him.

He cherished his current identity to a certain extent. Other than the crimes and violence, his division was a shelter for him. They lived as a family, something Sungmin had lost since he was a small child. His parents had died in a car accident when he was only three and he was the sole survivor. As a weak child, he was bullied both in the orphanage and in school. When he finally hit eighteen, he ran away from the orphanage and slept over at Hyukjae’s, who was his only friend then. Sungmin entered the police academy a few months later, hoping to become an officer who can protect the weaker ones in society.

But he made the gravest mistake in his life that he would never forgive himself for. And to atone for his mistake, he gave up everything else in his life in that short period of time, including Kyuhyun. Sometimes, Sungmin found himself missing Hyukjae and his parents so much when he heard news about them. If there was another group of people he would regard as his own family, it was Hyukjae’s family. Hyukjae’s parents had treated him like their own son. When Hyukjae got married three years ago, Sungmin had hidden outside the church to peep at his friend exchanging vows with his husband. No matter how much he missed Hyukjae and the rest, he knew he had to keep up the pretense in order not to drag them into his troubles.

Now, when he finally kept everyone away, Kyuhyun had to return. It meant an entire new round of acting to force Kyuhyun to stay away. Sungmin could only hope that Kyuhyun would give up easily, just like how he had ten years ago.

There was a soft knock on the door, prompting Sungmin to look towards it.

“Hyung? Are you awake?” Y entered the room quietly and walked towards the bed.

“Yeah, is anything up?” Sungmin asked without moving from his position.

“Nothing, dinner is ready. Kil was in a good mood and cooked quite a bit today.” Y replied.

“Let’s go out then.” Sungmin placed his two feet on the floor, ready to hoist himself up when his head spun, forcing him to sit back on the bed.

Y grabbed his arm to steady him. “Are you okay, hyung?”

Sungmin waved his hand dismissively. “I’m fine, just tired.”

“Do you want me to bring the food in for you instead?” Y asked worriedly.

“No, I’m really fine. The rest would be worried.” Sungmin pulled himself up from the bed again, this time with more stability. He needed the company of others to distract himself for now.

Y held on to Sungmin’s arm as they left the room, afraid that Sungmin might feel dizzy again.

“Y, I’m really fine.” Sungmin tried to pull out of Y’s hold.

“What if you feel dizzy again, hyung?” Y tightened his hold instead.

“I won’t. And you don’t have to hold my arm as though I’m an eighty-years-old man.”

“Maybe you’re secretly eighty.” Y joked.

“Yah!” Sungmin stopped in his steps.

“If I’m eighty, then you are no better at seventy-eight!” Sungmin retorted and they laughed.

“At least let me help you down the stairs.” Y insisted.

Sungmin rolled his eyes and groaned, but he knew Y was just concerned about him. Relenting, he made his way down the stairs with Y’s support.

Right outside the dining room, Sungmin shrugged out of Y’s hold again.
“Don’t tell the rest I’m not feeling well. I’ll be fine with some sleep after dinner.” Sungmin warned.

“Alright, but if you look too sick, I won’t hesitate to carry you back to your bedroom immediately.” Y said firmly.

“Oh come on, let me eat in peace. Kil hardly cooks nowadays.” Sungmin whined and headed into the room, leaving Y chuckling outside.

“Hyungnim!” His underlings stood up and greeted him when he walked in. Jess and Ri