Jonghyun stared at the documents he held, unable to accept the connection of all the information in them to his brother-in-law.

He'd been digging for days into the younger's life, following his every step from the moment he first set foot in Seoul to his last stop at Daegu and he could barely believe the things he'd managed to discover from the raven head's past.

All these things described a life he would never be able to picture Taemin living. Up until he first started seeing Choi Minho, the raven head had done anything to survive: barman, , dealer... it was all so surreal.

For a moment, Jonghyun felt glad his brother-in-law had met Choi, because all these activities seemed to cease only a few weeks after their first encounter and the brunet could only assume the mafia head had everything to do with it.

A slight knocking on the door of his office had him looking up from the files and to his assistant who'd just pushed the wooden piece open.

"Mr. Kim, there is man here, requesting a meeting with you. His name is Park Chanyeol."

"I don't know any Park Chanyeol."

"He said he's here for your brother-in-law.”

The piece of information had Jonghyun telling the woman to let the visitor in. He didn't know whether he could trust the stranger, but he couldn't let go of anything concerning his brother-in-law.

He rose from his seat as a tall man entered the room and hesitated as perceived for a few seconds, a gun in holster under the visitor's vest.

“Hello Mr. Kim, my name is Park Chanyeol, I'm a member of Jade Dragon.”

The mob held out a hand towards the detective and Jonghyun had to swallow back his apprehension as he shook the offered hand.

“Please, have a seat. What can I do for you, Mr. Park?”

As they both sat, Jonghyun observed with expert eyes the other male's demeanor, looking for any misplaced movement that could warn him of a potential danger.

“I assume you remember by boss, Onew?” Chanyeol asked.

Jonghyun nodded.

“I was assigned by him to look after Mr. Lee while he was away.”

“Oh...”

“He ran away.” Chanyeol said, and Jonghyun didn't fail to see the concerned look that flashed over the other's features. “I've been looking for him everywhere and I have good reasons to believe he's not in Daegu anymore. I was instructed to come to you.”

“Why?”

“Your reputation precedes you Mr. Kim.” Chanyeol said. “I believe you can help us find him.”

Jonghyun clenched his jaw, he knew better than to trust anyone and even more in that situation.

"If he ran away it's probably because he doesn't trust you. So tell me, why would I?"

"Mr. Kim," Chanyeol spoke with a serious tone. "I assure you the last thing I would have thought of was to seek for your assistance in this, but I was ordered to and I believe it's in our best interest to work together. If anything happens to Taemin or the child he is expecting, my boss will have all of our heads pinned to his wall and I doubt you would like that. Whatever it is Taemin is hiding or running from, it is dangerous and he is in no condition to deal with it on his own."

Jonghyun had to admit the mob had a point, that didn't mean he would let his guard down anyway. He'd find Taemin but it was still up to debate whether he would tell of his brother-in-law's location to these people.

*

“Umma!” Chanmi called as she ran from her caretaker's side and into Kibum's arms.

The man squatted down and received the child with a bear hug.

“How is my princess?” he asked.

“Good!”

The blond chuckled and rose to his feet, cradling his daughter in his arms.

“Thank you Ms. Kang.” he smiled at the caretaker.

“It's always a pleasure Mr. Kim.”

The man nodded and bid goodbye to the elderly woman before walking back to his car. He opened the back door and froze as a gun was pointed in his direction.

“Put the child in her chair and don't make a misplaced move.” the stranger said.

“Who are you?” he asked, trembling.

“Do as I say and you won't be hurt.”

Kibum didn't move.

“Now.” the man ordered, clicking the security of the gun.

“Okay... okay... please... don't hurt us...”

*

“Tae... are you sure this is the right thing to do?”

The raven head looked away from the suit-case he'd been preparing and his friend.

“Yes. I really need to go noona, for the sake of us all.”

“At least tell me what this is about.”

Taemin sat down on the bed and avoided the woman's inquisitive gaze. His hand caressing softly the round surface of his stomach.

“I told you it's better if you don't know.” he said, voice barely above a whisper.

“Tae... you know you can trust me, I can try to help...”

The raven head let out a small sigh as he looked back up at Jiyoon.

“You can't.” he said. “Listen noona... what I did was for the sake of our clan... to prevent a war from breaking out... and it backfired. Now, as long as I'm away, we can avoid conflict.”

“Minho's men have been disappearing mysteriously lately, do you really think you're helping with avoiding conflict? You're just keeping your husband's mind away from the matters at stake.” Jiyoon said with a frown forming in her face. “Our members are dying and you're making this all about you.”

“I never wanted it be like this alright?” Taemin retorted, feeling a lump form in his throat. “I care about them as much as you do and I hate the idea of them being hurt, but if I go back even more will die.”

“How so? Why?”

“Because–”

A knock on the door to the bedroom interrupted the raven head and he let out a relieved sigh. He'd been two steps away from saying too much.

“What?” Jiyoon snapped in direction of the closed door.

A few moments passed before the wooden piece was pushed open to reveal the woman's father.

“I have arranged everything, the car is waiting for you Taemin-ah.”

“Father!”

The man just gave his daughter a stern look and she let out a huff of discontent.

“You're not helping here.” she said.

“Respect his choices alright?” the man said as he entered the room and helped Taemin get the suit-case to the door.

“Minho won't like this.”

“That's why you're not going to tell him.”

The raven head bit down at his lower-lip, feeling sorry for causing trouble between Jiyoon and her father, but they had been the only people he had been able to think of when he saw himself with no escape route.

“Jiyoon...” he called, his voice trembling slightly. “I'm sorry...”

She looked at him with a frown, but her expression quickly softened and she pulled him into a hug.

“Call me when you get there.” she said, burying he face in the crook of his neck. “Take care of yourself and my nephew. And call if you need anything...”

“I will.”

“I'm not forgiving you though.” she mumbled. “And I still think this is a mistake.”

“I know.”

“I love you Taeminnie.”

“I love you too noona.”

The woman's father watched the scene with a sad expression adorning his features. When Taemin had rescued his daughter years ago, he'd never imagined the boy would become such a huge part of their lives and to know he had to send him away with no clue as to how he could help him made him even more upset.

“Let's go son,” he called. “it's better not to get late.”

With only last squeeze to his friend, Taemin stepped back and followed Mr. Jeon outside. As they got downstairs and in front of the mansion, the middle aged man gave the suit-case to the driver and turned to Taemin.

“You don't need to worry about anything, the jet is ready and I bought a place for you to stay. Only Jiyoon and I know about it, so you don't need to worry about being found. You're new ID is in a bag inside the car and so are the other documents.”

Taemin nodded thankfully at the man.

“Are you sure you want this son?”

“Yes, it's better like this.”

“Alright.”

The older male gave him a small hug and motioned for him to enter the car.

Bidding Mr. Jeon goodbye, Taemin entered the vehicle and waited as the driver started the engine and drove away.

With a heavy heart, the raven head seized the envelope sitting on the backseat by his side and opened it, taking out his new ID.

As he went over the several documents describing his new life, he couldn't help but notice how long the ride seemed to have gotten.

Looking out the window, a frown appeared on his face.

"This isn't the way to the airport." He said, looking to the front, trying to catch the driver's gaze through the rear-view mirror.

"No, it isn't." The man replied, not looking at him.

Taemin felt his heart start to race.

"You work for her... don't you?" He inquired, swallowing his fear back.

"My lady is eager to see you, Taemin." The driver said, a sick smile playing on his lips as he shot the raven head a look through the rear-view mirror.

It all seemed to dwell on him right then. No matter what he did, how he fled or where he hid, in the end they'd found him.

“Did you really think you could escape?” the driver asked. “We never lost track of you...”

Taemin clenched his jaw, his hands going to rest on his swollen belly protectively.

If he were in any other situation, he wouldn't have hesitated to jump off the car or finding a way to escaped his imminent fate, but he was afraid to do anything that could harm his baby and he knew that he was doomed whether he did something or not.

*

Night had fallen for a few hours already, yet Minho couldn't bring himself to get any sleep. Taemin's absence was bothering him more than usual and while he hadn't been able to actually rest for the past three months, today his concern seemed to have doubled.

With a frustrated sigh, he threw a glance at his phone sitting on the bedside table, fighting the urge he had to call Jinki and interrogate the elder for his findings, but he knew better than to torment his cousin. The older male had been gone for two days already and he seemed not to have found anything yet.

Groaning, he laid on his back and rest his forearm over his closed eyes. Feeling the latent guilty he'd been feeling start to swell. His husband had never been one to talk much about the problems he was facing, always trying to act tough and unaffected. Minho had seen that trait of him only get enhanced over time as the younger followed training and had to face Goeun's spartan treatment. Now, he felt like he had failed his lover for not pressing more on the things his instincts told him were to be watched closely, things he knew had eventually led them to where they were now.

~ Five Months Ago ~

Minho walked in the training room to find Jongin and Sehun in the ring, fighting closely. He smiled as he watched the two boys dodge, punch and kick and applauded as Sehun managed to knock his brother down.

“You're getting better Sehun,” he said. “I'm impressed.”

The boy in question looked over at his mentor as a smile broke on his lips.

“Hyung! You're-”

His sentence was cut short as a blow to his legs made him lose footing and fall to the floor as Jongin pushed himself up.

“Never tear your eyes from your opponent, remember?” the older of the two boys said, reaching a hand out to help the younger to his feet.

Minho laughed out loud and walked over to the ring.

“That's my boy.” he said, climbing on the fighting ground.

“He cheated.” Sehun said, glaring at his brother.

“I didn't,” Jongin retorted. “you got distracted.”

Minho smiled. “I think that's my fault.”

“Do you want to fight hyung? I can show you a new move Junyoung hyung taught me!” Sehun chimed.

The older male shook his head. “Another time.”

The younger looked kind of disappointed but didn't say anything as he shrugged.

“I thought you were supposed to be back next week?” Jongin then spoke, walking to a corner of the ring and reaching for two bottles of water.

“Finished early.” Minho replied, watching as the teen threw a bottle to his bother. “I was wondering if one of you had seen Taemin?”

At his question, Sehun and Jongin exchanged a glance and the younger of the two turned to him, scratching the back of his head.

“Hm... hyung left just a day after you did.” he said. “He hasn't come back since.”

Minho frowned.

“Where did he go?”

Jongin was the one to speak this time. “We don't know... we tried following him as you told us but... he blew our cover, scolded us and sent us home with the promise of a good spanking if we followed him again...”

“You know how scary he can be.” Sehun added, a nervous expression on his face.

Minho didn't know whether to laugh at how terrified his boys could be of Taemin's wrath, or angry the younger had disappeared once more.

“We're sorry hyung...” Jongin said. “We'll try to do better next time...”

Minho shook his head as he reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. “Don't worry, there hopefully won't be a next time.”

*

Taemin walked inside the bedroom, only to find Minho sat on their bed, his expression serious as he stared at him.

"M– Minho... you're back early." He said, setting his small suit-case on the floor by his side.

“I've been back for three days already.” the elder informed. “And I seriously don't know what to think since you were nowhere to be found.”

"Huh?"

Minho was in no mood to put up with the raven head playing dumb. He'd been worrying over his husband's whereabouts for days and had been confronted with nothing as he tried finding a trace of the younger.

“The boys told me you left just after I did.” he said. “And that you promised them a spanking?”

Taemin sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You put them to follow me, didn't you?”

Minho only raised an eye-brow at the obviousness of the question.

“Min, I can take care of myself.”

“That's not the point Tae.” Minho said. “Your little escapes have been getting longer and longer, what's going on? Where are you going to? Are you seeing someone else?”

Taemin raised his eye-brows at the last question and couldn't help an amused smile from breaking on his lips.

“Is that what you're worried about? Me cheating? You know I would never do that.”

As he said that, he walked over to the elder and sat on his lap, straddling him and putting his arms around the older male's neck.

Minho sighed, trying to fight the urge to ravish the raven head. That wasn't the moment and he certainly wouldn't give up on getting his answers.

“Where were you?” he insisted.

Taemin pouted slightly at the obvious rejection of affection.

"Tae, remember when you tried hiding something from me for the first time?"

The raven head bit his lower-lip.

"I got kidnapped..."

"And I almost started a war because of that."

"Yeah, but at that time I couldn't defend myself... I had a good trainer..."

"That's not the point." The taller male retorted, cupping the younger's face in his hands. "I don't want you hurt."

"I won't be." Taemin replied, though he knew he could never know for sure.

At the elder's pointed stare and meaningful silence the raven head could only sigh.

"You're being overprotective again." He pointed out.

"Tae... stop avoiding my question. Where were you?"

Minho really didn't know how to interpret the younger male's silence. He stared into the brown eyes, looking for his answers and could only find conflict into the younger's eyes. It was like he was fighting with himself over whether he should tell him what he'd been up to and, to Minho that only meant one thing.

"A test." He said. "Mother was testing you again, wasn't she?"

Taemin widened his eyes at the question.

"Wh- what? N- no."

"Taemin..." the warning in the elder's voice had the younger sighing in defeat.

Slowly, the raven head nodded and Minho grit his teeth. He didn't know how many times more he would have to speak with his mother about her never ending testing of his husband and it was seriously starting to make him break.

"What was it this time?" he asked.

Taemin shook his head. "Don't worry hyung, it wasn't that hard. Besides, I'm back and unharmed, right?"

Just as the elder was about to retort, the raven head pecked his lips.

"No more of this." He stated. "Tell me about your trip."

Minho grimaced slightly and Taemin scrunched up his nose.

“What? You're going to be stubborn now?”

The older male could only snort at that. “As long as you keep being too...”

“hm... what about we come to a common agreement?”

“Like what?”

The younger smiled, looking at his husband with twinkling eyes as he traced the elder's jaw with the tip of his fingers.

“I make you forget about your problems and you let me deal with your mom on my own.”

“Tae...”

“Hey, just think about it, you make sure the clan stays safe and I entertain the bored queen. Deal?”

Minho sighed. “Alright, but don't do anything dangerous just so she can be “entertained”.”

“Deal.” The younger said. “Now, what about I start with a bonus treat that comes with my part?”

The sly smile that was on his lips had Minho smiling as well.

"Hm... and how do you plan on doing that?"

"I have my ways."

~ Present Day ~

Minho jolted slightly as someone knocked on the of the bedroom. He checked the hour and a worried expression appeared on his face. Everyone was supposed to be asleep.

“Come in.”

The door opened to reveal his mother.

“Minho, you need to come downstairs... Jiyoon is here, she says something happened to Taemin.”

“What?”

But he didn't wait for an answer as he got out of bed and followed his mother downstairs. As he entered the living-room, he found his cousin sitting on the couch with his uncle. As she saw him, she got up with a grim expression.

“What happened? How do you know about him?” he asked.

The woman avoided his gaze.

“I'm sorry Min... I tried to convince him to come back but...”

“Get to the point Jiyoon.”

It was her father who spoke next.

“Taemin came to us a few days ago, asking for help to flee.” the man said. “He never said why, just that he needed to disappear. I arranged him a new ID and a reserved a jet to take him to Japan.”

“What?!” It was Goeun who spoke. “Munkyung, why didn't you force him back here?”

“That's not the point mother,” Minho intervened. “what happened?”

“He never made it to the airport.” Jiyoon said. “We found the car he rode abandoned near a warehouse in the outskirts of the city a few hours ago... both him and the driver were gone.”

Minho couldn't believe his ears. He didn't know how to react, what to say. He just stared at his cousin as if her words hadn't sank in yet.

“Minho... he's in trouble. He said he was doing all of that to avoid a war... I don't know what he meant... but he can't defend himself right now...”

“What do you mean?” Minho asked.

Munkyung ran a hand through his hair.

“He's pregnant son.” he said.