Even though he knew Jongin was right behind him, Kyungsoo shuffled down the hall with his head down. The kid had been following him around the past few days since introducing himself and Kyungsoo just couldn’t quite figure out his design. By all accounts and instances…it seemed like infatuation.

But no matter what kind of strange palpitations his heart might be beating at him, he knew in his mind that it was a lie.

Jongin’s initial approach at him had seemed suspect anyway, but once Kyungsoo had learned of his affiliations it had become downright obvious that Jongin knew or at least suspected Kyungsoo’s real identity. Though he knew the other pretended otherwise. However…Kyungsoo hoped…maybe even believed that it really was the case. After all, Jongin was nothing more than a kid.

There had been many things Kyungsoo couldn’t believe when reading Jongin’s profile. That he’d been the son of a well-known e. No father to speak of, though the rumors suggested a prominent gang associate. That the boy had done well for a while, passed elementary school, even gotten into a decent middle school. But then his mother was killed in a stereotypical I-didn’t-kill-the-hooker/I-don’t-know-where-she-came-from scandal with an important businessman, and he was out on the streets at 12. That he got into the drug scene quickly and was arrested a few times. That by the time he should have entered high school he had a permanent police mugshot and record. And by the time he should have graduated he’d already joined his mother’s trade.

It was only one year ago that he began working at XOXO and started receiving a stable income. And with the money he made he lived in a more than decent apartment now and could even afford a car.

The black tattoo on his hip was proof enough that he was part of something larger and far more dangerous than simple exotic dancing. But the thing Kyungsoo was scared of the most was his age.

Kim Jongin was only 19.

Even though the young man called out repeatedly to him in the hallway, he kept his eyes low and picked up the pace. He could hardly look at the boy after reading about him. It had been an unnecessary curiosity and he regretted ever looking at the file. It was all too much for him to handle. The boy’s life was much too tragic. So for whatever reason Kim Jongin wanted to be close to him, Kyungsoo wanted none of it.

“Seunghoon!” Jongin cried loudly and with a strong puff of breath his hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Finally I caught up with you! Did you really not hear me?”

Kyungsoo quickly reached for the door in front of him and prayed for a distraction. Luckily he got his wish.

”ARGH!” came a deep cry. There was whoosh and a whump and Kyungsoo and Jongin together watched a man slam down onto a thick blue mat in the middle of what was usually the space reserved for the dancers to lounge.

Kyungsoo quickly recognized the man still standing as Kris, the ex-militant body guard. Wu Yi Fan, he gulped thickly. The man in question straightened his dark suit and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair before wiping his hands in front of him. He smirked and looked satisfied.

“Again,” he said calmly.

It was only then that Kyungsoo turned to the man on the ground, the whole reason he’d been searching through files in the first place. Park Chanyeol.

He groaned from the floor in a sad, pathetic kind of way. But he rolled over quickly and got up, shaking out his legs and rubbing his hands on old sweatpants.

Kyungsoo was surprised to see that he was sweaty and heaving while the other barely had a hair out of place. But then again he supposed that’s what made the latter a master. He was even more surprised when the boy ran at Kris with a wild growl and reached out for him.

But calmly and surely, Kris reached around him and grabbed the back of his shirt. His leg swept around and under Chanyeol’s leg and in a millisecond he was redirecting the other large man onto his back on the floor. He dropped down and caught him in a hold.

“You’re still not getting it,” Kris grunted. “The point of Judo is to redirect. You can’t just charge me with this big half-assed attack and expect me not to throw you back down. Remember, 精力善用. Maximum efficiency, minimal effort.”

“Enough with the Chinese proverbs already!”

“Actually it’s Japanese,” replied the other flatly, face passive. But his eyebrow twitched in annoyance and his arms squeezed a little tighter around the other’s throat.

Chanyeol choked. “I got it! I got it all ready!” He pounded the floor with a closed fist.

“Then prove it,” the other spat before releasing him.

Chanyeol rolled over onto his side and gasped, catching his breath.

Suddenly Jongin startled Kyungsoo by yelling from behind him. “Yo! Tao!”

He turned to the couch in the corner and the dark eyed bodyguard was waving at the two. Kyungsoo couldn’t help but feel suddenly like an animal in a trap. With the way Tao’s eyes glinted at him he couldn’t help but think that he knew something.

Jongin tugged on his arm. “C’mon, Seunghoon!” He pulled Kyungsoo unwillingly over to the couch and plopped the smaller in between himself and Tao, effectively enclosing him between some of his worst nightmares.

“What are you guys up to?” asked Tao with his surprisingly soft voice.

“Just getting ready for work. The real question is what are you guys doing? Who’s that guy?”

“That’s Chanyeol. He’s in…job training, I guess. Now who is this?”

“Oh! Right!” said Jongin with a little smack to his temple. Like he’d actually forgotten about Kyungsoo being squished in between an assassin and an ex-e. “Tao, this is Lee Seunghoon. Seunghoon, Tao.”

“H-hello,” Kyungsoo stuttered, but with a little mental kick. He held out his hand as steady as possible, trying not to appear intimidated. “I work in the bar.”

“Yes, I know. I’ve seen you,” replied Tao, his dark eyes raking over Kyungsoo uncomfortably. “I’m Tao. Huang Zi Tao.”

“Uh. I-“

The three turned back suddenly to the big mat in the middle of the room as once again Chanyeol was thrown with a thud to the floor. He groaned, but before Kris could completely pin him he sprang back up to his feet, angry fire in his eyes. He charged again but as Kris swiped for him he ducked out of the way and wildly grabbed the taller’s middle.

Somehow, in the midst of the chaos, even with his inferior strength Chanyeol was able to flip and push Kris down onto his back with a loud umph from the other. On either side of Kyungsoo, Tao and Jongin exploded in laughter, the latter clapping his hands loudly, eyelids sliding into happy crescents.

Chanyeol stood huffing but he smiled proudly and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“What’s all the commotion?” said the blonde man, Junmyeon, coming in from the hallway, trailed by a sloppy looking Yixing.

Tao cackled. “The newbie finally threw Kris down. You should have seen it.”

Kris stood from the floor, dusting himself off in a huff. “He surprised me! Anyone who charges like a mad cow can do that. It wasn’t very proper.”

Tao folded his arms crossly. “Don’t be bitter just because he finally got you. What does it matter if it was improper form? Do you really think that matters in a fight?”

“It’s the principle, Zi Tao!” he spat. “Good form in practice leads to excellence in a real situation. But if you don’t think so why don’t you try fighting him haphazardly?”

Tao shrugged his shoulders. “Eh. I don’t care that much.”

“Brat.”

“Oh! Oh! Me!” Yixing called out sluggishly, forgetting his Korean and switching in and out of Mandarin. “I’ll do it.”

“Be my guest,” shrugged Kris.

“What’s going on?” asked Chanyeol as Yixing stepped up to face him on the mat.

“Oh. Please be careful,” sighed Junmyeon in resignation. He slid over to stand beside Tao.

“Um. Mr. Yixing,” Chanyeol started shyly and unsure, moving forward to help the drunken man. “He says to be careful.”

Kris laughed heartily. “I think Junmyeon meant you, kid.”

Before Chanyeol could even begin to ask further a flushed-faced Yixing was on him and throwing him with surprising strength to the floor in the blink of an eye. “OOF!” was all he managed before the other placed a choke hold on his neck and held him there. He’d always thought Yixing was more of a fine-touch kind of guy, making bombs and such. He was always smiling happily, cutely even, but now Chanyeol could tell he was just as terrifying as the rest.

Kris looked down on him, unable and unwilling to hide the utter joy on his face as Chanyeol struggled. “Yixing’s a master of the drunken fist, you see.”

“I didn’t even…think…that was a real thing!” Chanyeol choked out.

Suddenly Yixing smiled sweetly at him and his hair, dimples pressing hard into his cheeks, and the pressure around Chanyeol’s throat was gone and he was lying alone on the floor.

Yixing managed to stumble back over to Junmyeon and sling an arm over his shoulder. He smiled proudly as the other pat his chest and told him “Good job.”

Chanyeol pouted and refused to move. Worried, but also with ulterior motives, Kyungsoo moved off the couch and offered him a hand.

“Um. Are you okay?”

Chanyeol took the smaller hand gratefully, surprised again at the strength Kyungsoo used to pull him up. As he got to his feet he swayed a bit and when Kyungsoo helped steady him he noticed how his head throbbed. He cursed under his breath.

“Are you okay?” the smaller repeated before reaching up and lightly touching the back of his head. Chanyeol winced from the pressure. “I knew it. You have a bump.”

“I’m all right,” he uttered abashed. He was embarrassed at the attention he was receiving, especially since the tan boy Jongin seemed to be boring over them with half-lidded eyes. But Kyungsoo tugged on his sleeve and insisted.

“Follow me. I’ll get you some ice.”

Chanyeol looked to Kris who shrugged again. “Let’s call this quits for now. Take a break until the club opens then come find me.”

With a nod of understanding Chanyeol let the small man lead him from the room.

---

“Your assignment’s leaving,” Tao whispered to Jongin when the two had exited the room.

Jongin hadn’t failed to notice the two exit, but he casually shrugged like it was no big deal even though his eyes trailed unwillingly after the small man. “Eh. I’ll catch up with him later tonight.”

Junmyeon took Kyungsoo’s place on the couch, leaving Yixing to lean against the arm rest. “What’s this about an assignment?”

“Little dude you just saw is a cop,” Tao explained. “Boss has got Jongin watching him. He’s supposed to be pumping him for information.”

Kris’ eyes widened in disbelief and he looked at Tao accusingly. “You never told me about this.”

Tao stuck out his tongue. “I don’t have to tell you everything. Besides. Even if I did tell you something you’d report it to Boss anyway.”

“If this is about the child thing from last week-“

“Save it.”

“Anyways,” jumped in Junmyeon with a heavy sigh, looking between the two glaring at each other.

“Anyways,” Tao nodded, turning back to him. “Like I said Jongin is supposed to be finding out exactly what the police know and don’t know and feeding him false info. But as far as I’m concerned he’s doing a pretty ty job so far.”

Jongin folded his arms in a huff. “Well excuse-ing-you but seduction is an art that requires time, okay?”

“No one told you to seduce him. We told you to pump him for information.”

“I think Jongin wants to pump something else,” Yixing commented mildly.

Jongin smirked. “Well there was a reason Boss picked me and not you guys all right? You can’t send a hit man to do a ’s job. I’ll have what Boss wants in no time. I’ve already got Mr. Do there on the ropes from just one conversation.”

“Oh yeah?” questioned Kris with a raised eyebrow. “What makes you so sure?”

“I’m someone he won’t be able to resist once he’s looked into me,” he stated plainly. “Once I’ve got him thinking about me it’s only a matter of time before he spills all his little secrets…besides, there’s another reason Boss chose me and I agree whole heartedly.”

“Which is?” asked Tao.

“I’m his type.”

“And what would that be?”

Jongin smiled confidently, “I’m something new and exciting. I'm a Homme Fatale.”

Tao sighed with a shake of his head. “I think you mean Homo Fatale.”

---

Kyungsoo was eager to escape the crowded room, so with Chanyeol’s small bump as an adequate excuse he retreated as quickly as possible back out onto the empty main floor of the club. He set his bag down on the counter and shoved Chanyeol down on a bar stool before diving behind the counter.

“Uh. Seunghoon?” Chanyeol began with only slight protest. “I’m really all right. This isn’t necessary.”

“Oh it’s necessary,” muttered the other, scooping ice out of once of the fridges under the counter and wra