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 14^th time already. “He’s 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 kept 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, 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 come late but Kyungsoo got sick today and I had to perform in his place and then my boss pulled me 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 waiting outside, for thirty ing minutes, in such freezing weather.”

 

Baekhyun gulped. Despite of 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 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 heard their compositions. But sometimes he brought one or two professional musicians there, and he reserved this side of the café, which was better equipped, 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 the cops come after you, it will 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 about 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 19^th 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 bizarre 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 at 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. “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 café 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 cops, 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 the headquarter, 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 on the corner of the room, was a young man probably one or two years older than Key, with hair dyed in platinum blonde color. He had earphones on 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 café!

 

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 were 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 door bursting open and people barging inside the room had Key jumped 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 facing 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 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 of that, he had helped Key to hide, and didn’t turn him 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 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 y dress and foul mood wasn’t something they prepared to see. The blonde man was also looking at him with 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 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 the 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 Daesang, 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 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 know I was 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 kind of 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 have 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 have planned to use this dress even before you mentioned that. Don’t let it into the 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.”

 

“Look, I’m supposed to come home an hour ago, so I’d be thankful if you just stop talking and let me change my outfits so that we will never see each other anymore.”

 

Jonghyun gestured to the storage room. “Go on.”

 

Quickly, Key rushed inside to change back into his normal outfit. As he buttoned his jeans up, he felt his pocket vibrating. Fishing out his phone, he hastily pressed “Answer”. “Y-yes?”

 

“Kibum-hyung?”

 

Key adjusted the position of the phone on his ear. “Taeminnie? What happened?”

 

“Nothing… I’ve tried calling you a few times before, and I’ve texted you as well but you haven’t answered, I’m a bit worried…”

 

“I’m okay, Taeminnie,” Key assured his brother. “Just… I had a client coming late and I left my phone on my desk so I didn’t know you called.”

 

“Ah, okay then… Well, I’m just calling to tell you that I won’t come home tonight.”

 

“What?! Why?! Did something happen?! A-are you mad at me because I left you so often in the night for work?!”

 

There was a slight chuckle from the other line. “Relax, hyung. Moonkyu just invited me for a sleepover at his place. Wonshik and Kwonho will come too. I can go, right?”

 

Key bit his lower lip. Taemin was a shy boy, and it was a bit hard for him to make friends, so he didn’t get many sleepover invitations, besides Key’s always overprotective to him so he rarely went for one. But Key reminded himself, Taemin had grown up and was a college student now. He had the right to hang out with his friends right?

 

“But you won’t do anything dangerous, right?” Key asked worriedly.

 

“Of course not hyung, what do you think I am?” Taemin said with a playful offended tone.

 

“You have to eat well, okay? Don’t just order take-outs!”

 

“Yes, hyung.”

 

“Don’t just play games all night. You have to get enough sleep!”

 

“Of course, hyung.”

 

“Oh, don’t forget to thank Moonkyu’s parents, okay??”

 

“Hyung, they’re out of town.”

 

“Okay. Oh, have you packed enough clothes? Your jacket is still in the laundry I think, but you can bring mine if you want, and your favorite jeans are in the wardrobe, and your underw-“

 

“Hyung, I’m just going to Moonkyu’s house, not a forest! Besides I’m not a kid anymore, I’ve prepared everything I need for this sleepover. Relax.”

 

Key sighed. He knew he was being naggy, but he just couldn’t help it when it came to Taemin. “Right, right. I’m sorry. I’m just paranoid.”

 

“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? You come home and sleep, hyung, you look so tired nowadays.”

 

Key smiled hearing the affection in Taemin’s voice. “Of course, Taeminnie. See you tomorrow. And have fun!”

 

“I will.” And the phone call was disconnected.

 

With one more sigh, Key slipped the phone back inside his pocket. Straightening his jacket, he walked out of the storage room and saw Jonghyun sitting on the sofa.

 

“Thank you for your help earlier,” Key started a bit awkwardly. “And I’m sorry…for involving you in this mess.”

 

Jonghyun waved a hand. “It’s nothing, really.”

 

Key nodded, trying his best to show his usual nonchalant expression and not the continuous thump thump of his heart. “Goodbye, Jonghyun-sshi.”

 

“Goodbye, Kibum-sshi.”

 

And Key walked outside, completely unaware of both the way Jonghyun’s eyes burned holes through his back and the lovesick grin on the dino man’s face.

 

~~~

 

 

 

 

Comments and subscriptions please.