Prompt: Nell's Newton Apple, mafia!au
Pairing: Jongkey

 

Because I’m Your Apple (and you’re my gravity)

 

A man ran inside a room, trembling in fear from head to toe. His eyes hastily scanned the room, looking for a place to hide. Noticing a giant wardrobe in the corner of the room, he quickly dashed inside, curling behind a line of long furry coats.

 

Vaguely, he could hear the sound of gun blasting from the first floor, followed by a scream.

 

They got him, was his first panicked thought, and then he thought again, more panickedly, and now they are coming after me!

 

He curled himself tighter, trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible, praying with all his might not to be found. Please, please just let them miss this wardrobe for once, he begged silently. There are still many things I need to do, I’m still young and I don’t want to die yet….

 

His train of thoughts was stopped for once as the wardrobe door flew wide open. His eyes widened as he noticed the man standing in front of the door. The man’s appearance wasn’t that intimidating, instead he looked rather soft and diva-ish with dyed blonde hair, porcelain skin, and slightly feminine facial features. But the thoughts were wiped out immediately at the sight of the small tattoo on his wrist, picturing a knife piercing the skin…and then, as the hiding man’s eyes traveled upwards once more, the cocky smirk on the blonde’s lips and the look inside his feline eyes.

 

The look was so cold, so merciless…exactly the eyes of a murderer.

 

The feline man smirked, though his lips barely moved, as he noticed the man hiding inside the wardrobe. “So, here’s our rat. Not a very good hiding place, I should say.”

 

The hiding man frantically looked around for some kind of escape – the feline man was rather thin, and he was sure he could push him if he had the chance – but then two bodyguards entered and stood by the sides of the feline man, completely blocking his way out. The bodyguards were tall with darker skin and a passive look inside their dark eyes.

 

The feline man flicked an invisible dust off his nails. “Any last wish, hmm?”

 

“Please,” the hiding man pleaded. “I-I’m innocent. I didn’t d-do anything wrong!”

 

“Sure,” the feline man replied easily. “If you think taking in and giving shelter to our fugitive isn’t a crime, then you’re completely innocent, of course.”

 

“I-I couldn’t do anything. H-he threatened me and I….”

 

The feline man’s eyes went darker. “Liar,” he said. “Do you know that your friend confessed everything to us, trying to save his sorry ? He didn’t only reveal that he’d been friends and partners with you for years, but also that you both had smuggled some of the money you should’ve paid to us, sending it to an overseas account, for three goddamn years?! All this time pretending to us that business hadn’t been going too well and pleading to reduce your homage?!”

 

Sweat started to line the hiding man’s forehead.

 

“Truthfully, I admire you and your friend’s gut for lying to us.” The feline man smirked again, but there was no happiness inside his eyes. “Sadly, he has to die. And so do you…Kim Joonmyun.”
 

“No…. No…. Please…. Don’t….”

 

The feline man shook his head rather sadly and nodded to the bodyguard standing on his right. The bodyguard raised a gun, fully loaded with bullets, and shot.

 

Once again, the sound of gun blasting, followed by the deafening scream of Kim Joonmyun, pierced the silence of the night.

 

-

 

The feline man scowled as he stared at the mess inside the wardrobe. The now dead Joonmyun was now lying inside, eyes staring into nothing, blood splattering to the wardrobe wall and even some of the coats.

 

“He should’ve picked another place to hide,” he muttered, eyeing the blood-stained coats wistfully. “One of the coats could cost fifty thousand dollars. And this wardrobe is antique, too.”

 

“I know right,” the bodyguard on the left spoke up, sadness evident in his voice. “And I didn’t get much action in this mission, too.”

 

The other bodyguard rolled his eyes and slipped his gun back inside his jacket. “Save the action for another time, Tao. We need a quick, painless death for this one and your wushu, despite useful, wouldn’t do the ‘quick and painless’ part.”

 

Tao pouted but said nothing.

 

The feline man stared again at Joonmyun in disgust before turning away, nose wrinkled at the pungent smell of blood. “Clean this up and dispose his body somewhere, Kai,” he commanded. “I have to meet the boss before this day ends.”

 

“Yes, Key-hyung,” Kai quietly muttered as the feline man, now known as Key, walking towards the door and closing the door, Tao trailing behind him.

 

-

 

The banner on the top of the building said “SHARP Pencil Factory”. Almost all the lights inside the building were and from the windows you could vaguely see people pacing around. There was also a rectangular hole on the side of the building where boxes and boxes of pencils kept coming out. However, few people knew that the building wasn’t your typical factory.

 

Key walked inside casually, glancing around from the corner of his eyes. They had a new receptionist, he noted, a rather tall girl wth wavy hair and round cheekbones. The nametag on her sleek blue uniform said SOOYOUNG. Key felt a smirk creeping up his face, as he knew he was in the mood to play with this Sooyoung girl.

 

“Hi,” Key said, leaning towards the receptionist desk. “I’m here to see someone.”

 

“And who is he, if I may know, Sir?” Sooyoung asked back in a formal tone.

 

Certainly, this new receptionist hadn’t known about him and his reputation. The old ones would scamper away immediately at the sight of him to inform their boss about his arrival, but it seemed like this girl hadn’t been acquainted with every single employee in this company. And Key would use that for his own amusement. “I’m here to meet the president of this company, Choi Minho if I’m not mistaken?”

 

As he had predicted, the girl’s smile dropped slightly into some kind of disdainful look. “I’m afraid President Choi has more important matters aside from meeting you, Mr....?”

 

“Kim Kibum.”

 

“Right, Mr. Kim, right now President Choi is so busy and won’t attend such impromptu meeting, so if you have something to tell him you may leave message here....”

 

“What if you try to contact him first and say that I’m waiting for him,” Key lightly suggested.

 

The receptionist stared at him skeptically, but she picked the phone anyway and pressed the number of her boss. “Good evening, President Choi.... Yes, I know I’ve been told not to call you except for emergency, but there’s someone here who asks to meet you.” There was a pause, and she continued, “I know, I’ve told him too that you have more important matters in hand but he won’t leave....”

 

“Name,” Key whispered.

 

“Oh....he said his name’s Kim Kibum.”

 

There was even a longer pause, and a panicked look suddenly swept Sooyoung’s face. “I....how could I know, Sir?! I just entered this company yesterday.... No, no one told me about him.... Yes, I understand, Sir, I will send him to your room right away!”

 

As she placed the phone back, the receptionist glared at Key. “You should’ve told me you’re an important asset to President Choi or something.”

 

Key smirked as he walked past Sooyoung. “And take away all the fun from teasing a new employee? Besides, you should’ve known now that you have to watch that mouth of yours in front of me. I may not be the strongest man in the universe but I still know a hundred different ways to shut it.”

 

The receptionist gulped and nodded mutely. Key walked leisurely past her to the elevator and pulled out a card. Once the elevator door was closed, he bent down and placed the card on a panel, along with his right hand.

 

“Minho’s office, top floor,” Key said, loudly and clearly.

 

The elevator, recognizing his voice and fingerprints, immediately shot upwards. Key shut his eyes tightly and pressed his body to the corner. Despite having used this elevator for the umpteenth time, he never got used to the sensation. And his phobia of height – despite of his best efforts to eliminate it – only made things worse.

 

Finally the elevator slowed down and the faint ding sound was heard. Key opened his eyes slowly to find a tall man with big, frog-like eyes, wearing a pair of formal grey suit, a slightly cocky smirk on his face.

 

“Is the elevator fast enough for you now?” he asked.

 

Key scowled  and walked outside the glass capsule. “No, it’s so slow I even made a tea party for myself.”

 

Minho raised an eyebrow. “Sorry for making you wait then.”

 

Key only rolled his eyes as he followed Minho to his desk. Minho was the same age as him, probably even a few months younger. On the eyes of the world, the frog-eyed man was a young, successful businessman, singlehandedly managing SHARP Pencil Factory from scratch and yadda yadda yadda. They had no idea that SHARP was actually an acronym of Society for the Homicide, Annihilation, and Re-education Purposes, the biggest mafia gang in South Korea, and that Minho was the leader.

 

“So, what do we have today?” Minho inquired, leaning to his chair.

 

Key pulled out a plastic folder from his bag and tossed it to Minho. “I have every single evidence of Joonmyun’s betrayal there. The papers from his other bank accounts. Financial reports from his company. And if they’re not enough, I’ve recorded Yifan’s confession. Now you see, I’ve been right from the very beginning.”

 

Minho stared at Key with a mixture of interest and respect. The feline man had a point. He had suspected Joonmyun since two years ago. But Minho, seeing nothing wrong in Joonmyun’s reports, dismissed the suspicion. It’s not until Wu Yifan, Joonmyun’s second-in-command, accidentally spilled it out in a meeting that Minho finally sent Key to investigate him.

 

“How could you find these documents?” Minho asked.

 

“The idiot should have known better than to keep a safe deposit box in his fancy house. It wasn’t that hard to find.”

 

“Where’s Joonmyun and Yifan now?”

 

“Dead.”

 

Minho let out a low chuckle. “Guess they didn’t call you Almighty Key for nothing.”

 

“Actually, I’ll give the credit of their deaths to Kai.”

 

“I figured. You’re afraid of blood.”

 

“I’m not!” Key protested. “Blood is disgusting, but that doesn’t mean I’m afraid of it! It’s just the yucky color and the metallic smell....”

 

Minho raised his hand, trying to keep his straight face though he was shaking with laughter inside. “I’ve heard enough about that, Key.”

 

The feline man scowled again. “Are we done now? I need to get home.”

 

Minho waved his hand. “You have my permission to leave. And thank you for your hard work. I’ll pay more attention to your suspicions from now on.”

 

Key nodded curtly and started for the elevator.

 

“Oh, and Key?”

 

“Yeah?” Key looked around again.

 

“Please refrain from scaring my new employees ever again.”

 

-

 

It was past midnight when Key drove through the Seoul streets on his motorcycle in a speed that should’ve gotten him arrested if only he didn’t know all the shortcuts and the exact points where cops usually roamed around by heart. It was clear on the first look that the extent of his job had finally taken its toll on him – his eyes were bloodshot, his shoulders were rigid, and his face was painted with exhaustion.

 

However, as the motorcycle slowed down and entered an apartment complex, Key’s tensed shoulders gradually relaxed, a small smile even slipped onto his lips. Because he knew, he finally had reached home, where he could leave the identity of the Almighty Key behind and just became an ordinary man Kim Kibum.

 

Parking the motorcycle, he fiddled through his jacket pocket for his access card before entering the building. The security guards, already acquainted with him coming home in late hours, nodded to him and muttered “Good evening, Sir” as he walked past them. He nodded back at them before taking the elevator to his floor.

 

It was usually dark and quiet when Key entered his apartment, and then Key would make his way to his bedroom and fall asleep immediately. Yet today was slightly different. As the door swung open, the feline man blinked at the bright light encapsulating the room as if it hadn’t been turned off for hours.

 

Then he heard breaths and a soft voice muttering sleepily, “Oh, Kibum-hyung… You came back…”

 

Key sighed and turned around to face a boy probably two or three years younger than him, with messy dark brown hair framing his face and luscious lips.

 

Key’s biological father died of cancer when he was three, and two years later, his mother got remarried with a businessman named Lee Jinki. His stepfather brought along his son from his previous marriage, a shy but cheerful boy named Lee Taemin. Though he detested the idea of having a stepbrother at first, Key immediately fell for Taemin’s innocent charms, and they quickly got along. Even from the first day of their meeting, Key had vowed to always stay by Taemin’s side and protect him at all cost. So, despite not having any relation by blood, they were really close and loved each other, sometimes even more than biological siblings.

 

“You should’ve slept, Taeminnie,” Key said and ruffled his brother’s hair.

 

Taemin shook his head. “I wanted to wait for you.”

 

“Don’t you have class tomorrow?”

 

“I do, but I miss you.”

 

Key sighed again, but couldn’t help a smile crawling up his lips. Taemin was always so sweet. Even as a little kid, he insisted to wait until Key finished school so that they could play together. And now he waited for Key, despite not knowing what time his hyung would come home.

 

“Have you eaten?” Key asked.

 

Taemin nodded. “I ordered pizza earlier. I left some for you in the fridge.”

 

“You should stop eating take-outs all the time,” Key scolded lightly as he found the pizza and put it inside the microwave. “It’s unhealthy.”

 

Taemin pouted. “I might as well burn the apartment down every time I tried to, and you always come home late so you can’t cook for me, so I don’t have much option.”

 

It was a trivial truth, and there’s no hatred nor spite in Taemin’s voice, yet Key still felt his heart clench. If he were to choose, then he’d rather stay at home and cook for his brother. But he couldn’t. He had to work, and though he hated his job, it provided money, food, and shelter for them.

 

When their parents were still alive, Key never thought he would live like this.

 

He was in his third year of university, taking double degree in Business Administration and Fashion Design, as he’d wanted to build his own fashion company. Taemin had just entered a dance academy. Both of them were happy and optimistic about their future, believing nothing would come on their way to reach their dreams. Their parents supported them both financially and morally. Life went really well.

 

But everything changed with the news of their parents’ death.

 

It was an accident, they said. Your father’s car slipped and ran into the guard rails on Dongho Bridge, where it exploded right away. I’m sorry, we couldn’t save them.

 

They didn’t even let Key and Taemin to see their parents’ bodies, claiming that it was too devastating to see. A big funeral was held, and CEOs of various companies came to express their grief and send flowers. It wasn’t until the end of the funeral that the lawyers finally came with shocking news – Lee Jinki owed the bank money in the amount that left Key unable to sleep that night. In just a few days, Key and Taemin’s life was turned upside down. They lost everything, including their house.

 

Using the little amount of money he had saved, Key rented a small apartment a little outskirts of Seoul, but later they had to think of how to feed themselves. At first Taemin offered to drop out of academy to work, but Key declined it at once. As much as he knew he wanted to be a fashion designer, dancing was Taemin’s life and Key would never take it from him, besides I’m the older so I’m the one responsible for our family finances, you stay back and keep on being a good student, you understand, Taeminnie?

 

Those words had Taemin gulped and nodded, and they spent the rest of the night crying in each other’s arms.

 

But it was easier said than done. Key tried to take several part-time jobs, working as a supermarket cashier or coffee shop waiter, but he barely made ends meet. Moreover, he still had to pay for his father’s debts. A few weeks passed and Key almost drowned in depression.

 

One day, Minho, Key’s old friend from high school, visited the coffee shop where Key worked at. As it was midnight shift, there were only few people and all of them were busy with their own business. So Key didn’t resist when Minho invited him to sit together and talk, and over two cups of caramel macchiato, Key poured all his problems out.

 

Key hadn’t thought Minho would help him at first – despite being old friends, they weren’t always on good terms as they had had a few confrontations in the past, besides Minho wasn’t known to be the most generous person in the world. But Minho stared at him in the eyes for a while, then offered Key a job in his “company”.

 

And before he knew it, Key found himself falling in the dark world of lies, betrayals, violence, drugs, corruption, conspiracy, et cetera et cetera. Kim Kibum was quickly shredded away, replaced by his “Almighty Key” persona. The boy who had wanted to be a fashion designer was gone, and a ruthless certified killer and interrogator took his place.

 

The hardest part was to hide the truth from Taemin. Key told his younger brother that he was accepted to work at SHARP Pencil Factory, which was technically true, and Taemin was really happy about that. Yet the kid had no idea what Key actually did at his job, and the feline man always felt a knot on his stomach every time he’s reminded about that.

 

But as a child he had promised to protect Taemin at all cost. And now he would make sure his brother reaches his dreams and gets a good life, even if it meant destroying other people’s lives instead.

 

“…hyung? Kibum-hyung?”

 

Key blinked as Taemin’s soft voice pulled him back to reality. He turned around to find his brother holding his arms, worry shining inside his chocolate eyes.

 

“Are you okay?” Taemin asked, concerned.

 

“Yeah, I’m perfectly okay,” Key assured him, smiling.

 

Taemin bit his lower lip. “But you seem dazed, and you haven’t warmed the pizza up although it’s been inside the microwave for probably five minutes.”

 

Key looked at the microwave, and Taemin’s right, he hadn’t set it to warm the pizza up.

 

Taemin tugged softly at Key’s sleeves. “If you have any problems, you can always tell me, right, hyung? We’re brothers. We have no one but each other.”

 

That’s right, I only have you. But I can’t tell you, Taeminnie. Not yet. “I’m perfectly fine, Taeminnie. I only miss our parents, that’s all.”

 

A sad smile crossed Taemin’s features. “I understand. I miss them too. I wish they could still able to see my performance at the dance competition next month.”
 

Again, Key felt his heart clench. Since a few weeks ago, Taemin had been talking about a dance competition his academy would be hosting, and that he was one of the students chosen to participate. Key remembered clearly how his brother had jumped up and down excitedly at the announcement, only to be saddened by the fact that their parents wouldn’t be there to support him. And Taemin always said he would invite his whole family to his first official dance show.

 

Key pulled Taemin into his embrace and patted his back. “Don’t be sad,” he said. “I will be there, I have promised you, right? And though they won’t be there physically, I’m sure Umma and Appa will watch for you in heaven. And then they will smile and boast to God how proud they are of you.”

 

And a million megawatt smile breaking through Taemin’s face was enough of a reassurance for Key that he was doing the right thing.

 

-

 

Key tapped his feet impatiently on the floor, eyes glancing to his watch every few seconds. Kai and Tao were on his sides, as always, with identical passive looks on their faces but Key could see them shivering slightly under their coats.

 

“I’m cold,” Tao whined, finally breaking out from his expressionless mode. “And my lips are turning blue.”

 

“Shut up,” Kai snapped. “We’re cold too, but your whinings won’t help.”

 

Tao pouted and wrapped his coat tighter to his body. “Remind me why we’re here again.”

 

“We’re waiting for our client, Baekhyun, remember?” Kai said patiently, or at least as patiently as possible for someone who had been repeating those words for the 14th time already. “He was a drug dealer or something, and we’re here to pick our boss’ order.”

 

“Still doesn’t explain why he chose this place to meet us,” Tao muttered, gesturing to the building behind him.

 

They were standing behind a café  in the middle of Seoul called Bling Bling Café . The place was pretty big and crowded, with loud music playing merrily inside. Key silently wondered what kind of person would pick such a silly name for a café , but according to what Tao had whispered to him, apparently it was one of the best hangout places in the city which was known for its good music, delicious food at reasonable price, and atmosphere. Key knew, in other circumstances, this café  was the kind of place he’d like to hangout in, but right now he couldn’t care less. He was here for business, not for fun.

 

“Baekhyun actually works here,” Kai said, not bothering to hide the boredom in his voice this time. “He’s a singer, and apparently he has a show right before our scheduled meeting time so he asked us to meet him here. But really, how long will he make us wait?!”

 

“He should’ve been here since half an hour ago,” Key muttered, glaring at his watch.

 

Just then, suddenly, the back door of the café creaked open, and Key snapped around. A guy probably one or two years younger than Key walked out of it. He was shorter than Key and rather pretty, with dyed purple hair and kohl-lined eyes.

 

Key narrowed his eyes at the sight of this guy. “Byun Baekhyun.”

 

“Yeah,” the guy, Baekhyun, smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry I came late but Kyungsoo got sick today and I had to perform in his place and then my boss pulled me away to discuss a new song I would be performing as a duo next w…”

 

“Oh no, you’re not late at all,” Key said sweetly. “You only made me and my bodyguards wait outside, for thirty ing minutes, in such freezing weather.”

 

Baekhyun gulped. Despite the sweetness in Key’s tone, his eyes were still as cold and menacing as ever, and that fact sent shivers down Baekhyun’s spine. His first instinct was to run away from that place as quickly as possible, but then he remembered his deal with the feline man. So, mustering up the last pieces of his courage, he offered weakly, “If that's so, you...you may come to my waiting room. It has a heater, and the surroundings are empty so I’m sure no one will notice the three of you.”

 

“You’d better be right,” Key threatened, “or I’ll throw you out during a storm with nothing but your underwear on.”

 

Baekhyun nodded quickly and led them inside.

 

Like Baekhyun had said, the corridor was empty. As they passed, Key silently took a look at his surroundings. At first, he’d thought that the insides of the café would be extremely fancy, with decorations in every corner and various neon-colored lights, considering the “Bling Bling” name. But it was mostly calm, with walls and floors in warm cream color, simple but tasteful decorations, and soft yellow lights. Key had to admit, he admired the café owner’s taste in interior design.

 

There were doors along the way, leading to waiting rooms, but Baekhyun explained that they were mostly unoccupied right now. As the café owner loved music, he hired many people to play there, mostly young aspiring music students who wanted to express themselves and have people hear their compositions. But sometimes he brought one or two professional musicians there, and he reserved this side of the café, which had better furniture and infrastructure, for them. But Baekhyun got a room there because he was apparently one of the best singers the café owned, and he’d told the owner that he liked peace, which was basically translated to “I need a secluded place where I can do my deals in private”.

 

Finally they reached the end of the corridor and Baekhyun unlocked the door of his waiting room before leading Key and his bodyguards inside.

 

“Please sit down here,” Baekhyun said, gesturing to the sofa.

 

Key crossed his arms and glared. “I have no time for useless chats, Baekhyun-sshi. Just give us what we want and we’ll leave in peace.”

 

Baekhyun gulped again and nodded mutely. Making his way to a giant poster of The Rolling Stones on the wall, he tore it off, revealing a deposit box behind.

 

Key narrowed his eyes. “You keep it behind a poster? It’s probably the most cliché and unsafe place possible. If police come after you, it will probably be the first place they look at.”

 

“I’m always careful,” the purple-haired boy protested. “No one will come after me.”

 

Key only rolled his eyes and leaned on the wall, waiting for Baekhyun to insert the passcode and give him what he wants. Truthfully, this kid still had much to learn on how to disguise himself. Because, really, arranging a meeting in a crowded café, dyeing his hair purple, and hiding a secret deposit box behind a poster? What time did he think he was living in, the 19th century?

 

“Here,” Baekhyun pulled out a black suitcase from the box. “Your boss’ order. You may check it first.”

 

“Tao,” Key said.

 

The Chinese bodyguard stepped forward and took the suitcase from Baekhyun. He opened it, revealing various types of drugs inside. He quickly checked them one by one before turning around and giving Key a small nod.

 

Baekhyun grinned widely. “I succeed, right?” he said, looking completely pleased of himself.

 

Again, Key rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, you do.”

 

“Alright, where’s my payment?” Baekhyun asked, rubbing his hands together.

 

“Kai?”

 

The other bodyguard picked the duffel bag on the floor and tossed it to Baekhyun, who caught it easily. The drug dealer hastily opened the bag and his eyes brightened at the amount of money inside.

 

“One hundred million won, cash,” Key said casually. “Happy?”

 

“Yes,” the drug dealer breathed and grabbed Key’s hand. “Thank you, thank you!”

 

Key smiled slightly at Baekhyun’s childishness.

 

“Let me keep the money first, and then I’ll you outside, how’s that sound?” Baekhyun suggested. “I’ve kept you waiting for half an hour, at least I shall do something to repay it.”

 

Key shrugged. “Sounds fine to me.”

 

“It won’t take long,” Baekhyun promised as he made his way towards the door.

 

The feline man raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t your safe deposit box here?”

 

“Well, my boss taught me not to keep my eggs in the same basket. So I always kept my stuffs and money in separate places.”

 

Key watched as Baekhyun’s figure disappeared behind the door.

 

“Well, that was interesting,” Kai commented once he’s sure Baekhyun was out of earshot.

 

“He didn’t even count his payment,” Tao mused. “Or at least, check it to make sure we didn’t put fake money inside.”

 

“Either he’s oblivious, ignorant, overly confident, or just plain stupid,” Key sighed. “And he dyed his hair purple. I mean, seriously?”

 

“Well, he’s a singer and I heard bizzare hair colors are trending nowadays, so he probably did it to attract fangirls or something,” Tao said.

 

“But it won’t do much good if he’s captured,” Kai said. “Purple hair is almost as effective as a nameplate when you are looking for someone.”

 

“I bet he’s still green in this business,” Key muttered. “Did you two notice his attitude when he received payment from us? It’s like a kid receiving presents on Christmas. He didn’t even know he should’ve never made us wait. If this transaction wasn’t so important, I’d gladly kill him right away when he showed up.”

 

“He didn’t mess up our order though,” Tao pointed out. “So he wasn’t that useless overall.”

 

“You’re right.”

 

They fell into a not-so-comfortable silence for a few minutes.

 

“Why does he take so damn long only to keep the money?!” Kai finally snapped, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor.

 

“Probably he’s counting it?” Tao suggested.

 

“You know well that if the money has been taken from us, he can’t place a wrong payment complaint. It’s in our rules.”

 

“Or maybe his boss caught him again?”

 

Kai scowled and started to the door. “Whatever it is, I’m going to find and confront him,” he announced. “Something smells fishy here. I’m going to ask what he w…”

 

Kai’s words were cut immediately by a siren blaring throughout the building, and the three’s eyes widened. It was a sound they knew so well, a sound they hoped never to encounter.

 

“Police siren!” Kai hissed.

 

“What?!” Tao exclaimed. “But they couldn’t possibly know we’re here!”

 

Kai clicked his tongue. “I don’t know how, but in fact they’re here so we have to run.”

 

“Maybe they’re not coming for us?” Tao suggested. “Maybe something else happens in this cafe and they’re coming for it.”

 

“Are you deaf?! There’s not only one siren, there are many of them. Meaning, they’re chasing someone dangerous or important. And I don’t think there will be anyone else doing drug deals around here but us...”

 

“Stop it,” Key snapped, glaring daggers at his bodyguards. “Arguing won’t lead us anywhere right now. We have to run away, quick.”

 

Kai and Tao nodded, and the three of them started for the door. But as they walked outside, they could hear the sound of footsteps from the other side of the corridor – unmistakably the police, running after them.

 

“We have to fight them,” Kai stated and reached for the gun inside his coat.

 

“No,” Key said.

 

The two bodyguards stared confusedly at the feline man. “No?” Tao repeated.

 

“They’re too many. We won’t be able to come out alive if we fight them directly.”

 

“Then what’s your plan?” Kai asked.

 

Key placed the black suitcase they received from Baekhyun on Kai’s arms. “Go back to the headquarter and deliver it to Minho. I will stay here and divert their attention.”

 

“WHAT?!” both Kai and Tao exclaimed.

 

“But you can’t...”

 

“Hyung, they will catch you...”

 

“Do you want to die?!”

 

“This is the only way!” Key hissed. “Someone has to do it! If we fail to deliver the drugs, our gang’s fate will be at stake! Even if the cops don’t kill us, Minho will. So we have to succeed this task no matter what it takes.”

 

“But it doesn’t have to be you, hyung,” Tao protested. “Let it be me or Kai.”

 

“No, I need someone strong to protect the drugs. Even with me as the sacrifice, there are still possibilities some of them will come after you. If it happens, you have to fight them with all your might. You understand?”

 

Kai placed a hand on Key’s shoulder. “Promise us, you have to stay alive, hyung.”

 

Key smiled slightly. “Of course. I’m the Almighty Key, remember?”

 

-

 

Damn my big mouth, Key mentally grumbled as he ran through the corridor.

 

Kai and Tao had escaped and (hopefully) managed to return to headquarters, but now his life was in danger. He had been running for probably twenty minutes, occasionally hiding inside empty waiting rooms but he knew it’s just a matter of time before the cops finally found him. And he was running out of strength as well.

 

For a second, he regretted not taking physical exercises more seriously.

 

“That’s him!”

 

Key didn’t bother looking around to know that it was the cops, chasing after him. Groaning, the feline man forced the remaining of his strength and ran to his right, only to be stopped when he realized he was met with a dead end with only one door on the left. Having no other choice, he yanked the door open and entered the room.

 

There, sitting on a sofa in the corner of the room, was a young man probably one or two years older than Key, with hair dyed in a platinum blonde color. He had earphones in his ears, connected to a laptop on his lap. From the way he nodded his head, he seemed to be listening to music, which explained his lack of reaction when Key barged inside his waiting room. Heck, he was probably completely oblivious too of the facts that there were cops inside the cafe!

 

But Key had no time to process all of that. Approaching the blonde man, Key shook his shoulders violently. The blonde man jumped in surprise and took his earphones off, confusion written all over his face.

 

“P-please,” Key tried to say between his breaths. “Need...hide. T-there are cops... After me...”

 

Key didn’t actually expect the blonde man to help him. After all they were complete strangers, and Key had said that the cops were coming after him, which basically indicated that Key wasn’t exactly a good person. But, much to his surprise, the blonde man nodded and walked to a door on the other side of the room, unlocking it.

 

“Quick, hide here,” the blonde man urged, pushing Key inside the room.

 

“Wai...” But before Key could even finish, the blonde man had closed the door and locked it.

 

Sighing, Key turned around and let himself drop on the floor in exhaustion, his legs could support his body weight no more. What a day, he thought. First I was forced to wait for half an hour by a purple-haired eyeliner diva, then cops suddenly came after me and now I have to hide for my life. They couldn’t possibly be here by accident though...someone must’ve told them!

 

The sound of the door bursting open and people barging inside the room had Key jump back on his feet. Breathing as softly as possible, Key pressed his ears on the door, trying to listen to what happened outside.

 

“Good evening, Officer,” Key heard the blonde man say cheerfully – maybe a bit too cheerfully. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

 

“We are looking for a criminal,” one of them who had a very low voice answered. “And we think we saw him running into your room.”

 

“A criminal?” the blonde man repeated, and Key facepalmed at how fake his confused tone sounded. “A criminal, you say? But I’m alone here. See?”

 

The cops didn’t answer, but from the sounds they made, it seemed like they were searching through the waiting room.

 

Key’s mind raced in panic. For now they hadn’t entered his hiding place, but Key knew it wasn’t exactly a secret chamber or something, and it’s just a matter of time before the cops would break through the door and find him. Turning around, Key looked around the room in a desperate attempt to find something that might be useful to help him face the cops.

 

Only then did he realize that his hiding place was actually a storage room, where costumes and stage props were kept. He hastily rummaged through the costumes, trying to find something which would make him look different than the usual him – and his gaze fell to a sparkly, knee-length, sleeveless golden dress with slits on the sides.

 

“Is there someone inside that room?” he heard the low-voiced cop asked.

 

“Umm, no, I don’t think so,” the blonde man stammered and Key rolled his eyes.

 

“Then you won’t mind if I check inside, right?”

 

“W-wait!!” The blonde man’s voice now positively sounded panicked. “I-I just remember, a...a female singer is changing outfits there. P-please don’t come in, you don’t want to catch her , do you?”

 

Key really wanted to whack the blonde’s head right now. Really, couldn’t he be more obvious? And apparently, the officer thought so, because there was smirk evident in his voice. “Fine then. I’ll give her five minutes to change. If she can’t do so in the alloted time, then I’m really sorry, I’ll have to come inside no matter what. It will be really bad for a woman to get locked in with a high-rank criminal, right?”

 

Though he couldn’t see the blonde man, Key could feel his nervousness. That man really had to work on his acting skill. But despite that, he had helped Key hide, and didn’t turn him in to the cops even after they addressed Key as “high-rank criminal”. Better to release the blonde from his misery. Quickly scrambling himself into the dress, Key stuffed two fistfuls of cotton balls to the front part of the outfit, hoping it was decent enough to fake s. He had just finished putting on a long blonde wig he found inside another box when the storage room door was knocked loudly.

 

“Okay, lady, I’m entering now,” the low-voiced officer announced, no more hiding the amusement in his tone. “I hope you’re in decent condition because I’m a police, not a creep, and I won’t risk losing my job with a report of me being a ert.”

 

Key stared at himself for a second in the mirror and took a deep breath. Pulling out his best diva-ish scowl, he made his way to the door just as the officer opened it.

 

“Which one of you is the idiot lunatic who disturbed my outfit-changing time?!” he asked indignantly, hands on his hips.

 

The cops stared at him, bewildered, and Key couldn’t blame them. They were expecting to catch a mafia member tonight and a diva in a y dress and foul mood wasn’t something they were prepared to see. The blonde man was also looking at him with his mouth wide open, but with one quick glare from Key, he quickly shut his mouth and tried to keep a passive look on his face, which truthfully made him look like he’s constipated but at least it’s better than his nervousness earlier.

 

“Do you know how ing long and tiring it is to travel from Daegu to Seoul?” Key complained, crossing his arms, a disdainful look on his face. “I spent hours on the train. Hours, I tell you! And I was expecting to have some rest first but noooo, they pushed me here and told me to change into a stage costume. They didn’t even prepare a style coordinator, they asked me to choose one from all the outfits here! Who knows who else has worn this dress before? Maybe some lowly music student who has tuberculosis and now I’m going to be infected too!”

 

“Madam...”

 

“Then YOU came and forced me to change my outfits in ing five minutes!” Key pointed his finger accusingly to the cops. “Have you ever had s? No? Then you have no idea how difficult it is to stuff these things into a dress! And I haven’t even had the chance to do my make-up either, while you of all people should know that I have to look perfect all the time!”

 

“Madam, sorry, we don’t know...”

 

Key threw his arms to the air. “What do you mean, you don’t know who I am?! I’m Kim Gwiboon, the best singer in Daegu! And I came here because my manager told me I was gonna get a better job here, with publicities and chances to win Grammy Awards, but from what I’ve concluded, all people here are so damn unprofessional. Tell your employer to forget his intention to sign me up, I’m gonna return to Daegu this instant! Go, go, go!”

 

The cops, glad to have a chance to run away from this insane diva, hastily bowed and scrambled to the door. Key waited until the sounds of their footsteps disappeared and the police siren finally went away. Only then he turned around and looked at the blonde man, who had his eyes locked at Key’s .

 

Immediately, Key grabbed a book from a nearby table and swatted the blonde’s head. “Yah! What are you looking at?!”

 

“Ouch!” the blonde cried in pain and tried to shield his head. “What’s that for?!”

 

“For checking out my booty, you ert!”

 

The blonde pouted and rubbed his hurt forehead. “You look so damn y in that dress, I just can’t help it.”

 

Key scoffed. “For your information, I’m a man.”

 

“And I’m bi,” the blonde man grinned cheekily.

 

Key was about to swat his head again but then the blonde man looked right into his eyes and Key felt his breath hitch.

 

He didn’t have time to take notice at this blonde man’s appearance before, but now, as they locked eyes, Key realized that the blonde was really gorgeous. Though a bit shorter than Key, his body was really muscled, which was even more emphasized by the sleeveless white tee he wore. His big, chocolate-brown eyes somehow reminded Key of a puppy. His skin was really tan compared to Key’s pale one. He had a sharp, angled jawline, and when he shot Key a smile, the feline man quickly erased the word puppy inside his mind and replaced it with dinosaur. A really handsome one, perhaps, but still a dinosaur.

 

“Is there something on my face?” the blonde asked worriedly after a few seconds.

 

Key swallowed and tore his gaze away from the blonde difficultly. “N-no, it’s nothing,” he muttered. “I just want to say thank you, uhm...”

 

“Kim Jonghyun,” the blonde man smiled and reached out a hand.

 

Key shook his hand and somehow wasn’t surprised when he felt electric shock buzzing through his body. “And I’m Kibum. Kim Kibum.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Kibum-sshi,” the blonde man – ah, it’s Jonghyun now – smiled again.

 

Key looked downside, trying to hide the blush spreading over his cheeks. God, what was happening to him? The Almighty Key didn’t blush, neither did he have butterflies fluttering inside his stomach. And he would never squeal like a teenage girl at some kind of puppy-slash-dino, albeit a very handsome one with super adorable goofy smile – wait, didn’t he say handsome already?

 

“Umm, are you sure you’re really alright? You keep spacing out. Does something hurt?” Jonghyun asked, eyes shining with concern.

 

“Nothing, really!” Key said, though a bit too quickly. “I...I was just wondering...why did you save me?”

 

Jonghyun shot Key a confused look. “Sorry?”

 

“Why did you save me?” Key repeated.

 

Jonghyun bit his lower lip. “Well…you came to my waiting room when I was busy listening to my composition and begged me to hide you and…”

 

“No, you don’t get the point.” Key shook his head. “You knew I was being chased by the cops. They even called me a high-rank criminal. I could be a thief, a killer, or anything…but you didn’t turn me in. Why?”

 

“I really don’t know,” Jonghyun admitted. “You came here looking so distressed, and though you were chased by the cops, you seemed so genuine that I didn’t have the heart to kick you out.”

 

Key frowned. For him, the answer sounded somewhat absurd. Jonghyun saved Key just because he thought Key was genuine? Was he really simply too dumb for words? Key also couldn’t tell whether Jonghyun was lying or not. But remembering the event earlier, Key decided he might be honest after all. “You’re not going to turn me in after this, are you?”

 

“Of course not!” Jonghyun looked somewhat scandalized. “I just saved your life, why would I risk it again?”

 

Now it’s Key’s turn to bite his lower lip. Could he really trust this man?

 

“I have to admit, I was really nervous back then,” Jonghyun continued. “I kept on thinking what would happen if they found you, they probably would arrest me as well for conspiring with you. But you handled the situation magnificently.”

 

Key smiled at the compliment. “It’s nothing, really. It wasn’t my best idea either.”

 

Jonghyun’s eyes lit up. “Ah yeah,” he said. “That’s because I was the one who gave you the idea, wasn’t I? You heard me saying ‘female singer’ and you were inspired?”

 

This earned one more whack on his head via the book Key held. “Dream on, Jonghyun-sshi,” the feline man snapped. “I had planned to use this dress even before you mentioned that. Don’t let it into that big head of yours.”

 

Jonghyun rubbed his head again, but now there was a satisfied smirk on his face. “Say whatever you want to say,” he said with a flirty wink. “I still think we’re connected in a way.”