Kyungsoo had never had such a horrible night of sleep in his life. His back hurt from lying on the rough wooden floor, he quickly discovered Jongin snored at the top of his lungs, and he heard a plethora of strange noises outside.

“Did you sleep well?” Jongin asked, stretching his arms out and cracking his back once he was awake.

Kyungsoo glared at his fellow valet, not bothering to answer the question. “I am going to make breakfast before my master is awake. Where are the cooking utensils?” Kyungsoo looked towards the small cooking area, realizing how it paled in comparison to the kitchen he had left behind. Walking towards a small cupboard he took stock of its contents, another poor showing given his prior resources.

“Breakfast?” Taemin walked out of the small bedroom area, reaching out and ruffling Kyungsoo’s hair playfully “Minho always makes breakfast.”

Kyungsoo breathed in and out heavily, willing away any anger he felt. How dare someone ruffle his hair; “I will go wake up the Viscount.” He turned to go, not willing to give up a sense of his daily routine, even if their circumstances had changed considerably.

***

“There is much I need to tell you.” Minseok said, his voice slightly muffled by Luhan’s hair, the younger man lying next to him, his head resting on Minseok’s shoulder.

“What is it?” Luhan asked, his words spoken slowly, he was drowsy. He wasn’t used to being up so early.

“I have been working with the Home Office, investing the thefts. Until last night, that is.” Minseok explained, his hand tracing small circles on Luhan’s back. He wasn’t sure how Luhan would react to the news.

“Like a detective?” Luhan asked, digesting what he had just been told.

“Yeah.” Minseok sat up, Luhan forced to follow his lead as his human pillow was no longer available. Looking into Minseok’s eyes he thought carefully about what Minseok had just told him. So he had been helping out with the investigation? Yet he became the prime suspect?

“I…was helping out a friend by aiding in the investigation.” Minseok grabbed Luhan’s hands, holding them in his own, continuing “I am sorry I couldn’t tell you before. Are you very angry?”

“No.” Luhan yawned.

“Are you even listening or are you still sleeping?” Minseok was starting to consider the fact Luhan wasn’t awake at all. His eyes were half lidded, as if he was drifting in and out of sleep.

“No! I am listening. Sorry, I am just trying to think of what we should do next. It sounds like you have an understanding of potential suspects…well, other than yourself, of course.”

“Yes. I do.” Minseok was interrupted when a knock sounded on the bedroom door.

“Sir. May I come in? It is time for you to wake?” It was Kyungsoo, carrying out his usual tasks, starting with waking up Minseok.

“Thank you! Please, no need to enter, I will be down shortly.” Minseok called back. He wasn’t exactly dressed and neither was Luhan. He didn’t think letting his valet into the room would be a good idea.

“Oh. Yes..sir.” Minseok could tell Kyungsoo seemed a bit put out.

“Kyungsoo?” Minseok called out.

“Yes, sir?” Kyungsoo sounded a bit hopeful.

“Did you sleep well?” Minseok asked.

“No, sir. I did not.” Kyungsoo replied.

“He is really having a hard time, isn’t he?” Luhan muttered. Minseok elbowed him, knowing full well Kyungsoo could probably hear him.

“Sorry to hear that, Kyungsoo. And thank you, again.”

“No problem at all, sir.” Minseok heard the footsteps as Kyungsoo retreated back down the stairs. He felt immensely guilty that he had dragged Kyungsoo and Luhan with him through this madness. He needed to make it right for both of them, and soon.

***

“Sir, the information you requested.” The man handed the packet to Yunho, who took the offered papers and began flipping through them quickly.

“What is her identity?” Yunho asked. He was informed late the night before, amidst the maddening search for Minseok and Luhan that the identity of the woman who resided in the apartment – the place referenced on receipts from the jewelers – had been discovered. He had arrived at the office earlier than normal, wanting to read the report as soon as he could.

“It seems that she is the illegitimate daughter of a Baron. We have identified one of her paramours as Earl Pressley, another as a man lately deceased.” The agent reported “A gambler. The same one found with some of the stolen jewels.”

“Pray tell, what is this Baron’s name?” Yunho narrowed his eyes. He knew most of the titled families in the country, he doubted he would not know the name of a Baron with an illegitimate daughter living in the city.

“Ah yes. It seems it is the Baron Overton of Hyde’s Hall.”

Yunho felt his chest tighten. The Baron Overton…Baekhyun’s Father? Quickly regaining his composure he barked out an order “Please send word to Lord Sehun that I wish to see him promptly at one o’clock this afternoon.”

“Yes, sir.” The man bowed, leaving Yunho alone in his office. The man rubbed his day old stubble, thinking. So it was Baekhyun’s sister who lived in the apartment? Did Baekhyun know? And she was having an affair with Sehun’s Father? And what of Kim Minseok – his prime suspect – currently a fugitive from the law?

***

“So you are that small guy’s servant?” Minho asked, stirring a pot of what Kyungsoo had decided was some sort of gruel - likely fit for an animal and not for human consumption. “That kind of makes sense, since you are so short too.”

Kyungsoo balled his fists, swallowing his anger. He needed to keep calm. For Minseok. For his m-

“You are rather short and adorable like.” Taemin reached out and ruffled Kyungsoo’s hair yet again, which proved to be the breaking point.

“DON”T TOUCH MY HAIR!” Kyungsoo shot Taemin a death look. Time seemed to stop as Minho and Taemin stared at Kyungsoo and he stared back, none of them moving or speaking. A small laugh broke up the tension.

“He is rather adorable, though please treat him with respect.” Jongin reached over and scooped up a bit of the gruel from the pot, eating it, still chuckling with his mouth full.

Kyungsoo was still huffing and puffing, staring at Jongin eating straight out of a pot, when footsteps sounded on the steps.

“I smell breakfast.” Luhan stepped into the small living area first, offering a bright smile to further diffuse the tense situation.

“Sir, I was unable to prepare your breakfast. I apologize.” Kyungsoo bowed to Minseok as soon as his employer stepped into the room.

“Please, relax Kyungsoo. And thank you – um…”Minseok suddenly realized he couldn’t remember the two men’s names. Jongin picked up on his confusion, introducing his brothers “This is Taemin and this is Minho, my older brothers. It was just us since our parents died when I was little.”

Minseok nodded to the men in greeting, Luhan following suit. “Thank you for your hospitality. I know this visit was rather unexpected.”

“We would do anything for our little Jongin, being the success of the family.” Minho stopped stirring long enough to hook an arm over Jongin’s shoulders, grabbing him into a headlock.

“Sir, do you not require references for your employees?” Kyungsoo asked, staring at Luhan with a very serious expression on his face.

Luhan looked thoughtful “I am not sure.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. It figured that pretty-boy-son-of-an-earl had no idea of the hiring practices of his household, so disappointing. Though he had helped Minseok…why had everything become so confusing?

The hot gruel was served, Minseok and Luhan gladly taking an offered bowl. They did not complain, their stomachs and their gratitude not allowing for it. Kyungsoo ate in silence, glaring at Taemin and Minho now and then. When he accidently made eye contact with Jongin he found his face growing warm, causing him to look away immediately.

After breakfast Kyungsoo insisted on cleaning up, while Jongin announced he would help his fellow valet. Minho made a small batch of dark, black coffee, serving it to his guests.

“Taemin and I will be leaving now- surely there will be some bodies to collect it being a Monday morning.” Minho announced, grabbing his brother by the arm and leading him out of the house.

Minseok thought for a moment about what it must be like, collecting corpses from the river to make a living. Horrible work, surely. Though profitable, he would wager. Suicides, murder victims, and drowning victims were numerous, and a daily occurrence.

Luhan drew Minseok’s attention back to the matter at hand. “So who else are suspects?” Luhan asked, flinching as he drank some of the steaming hot bitter liquid.

Minseok sighed. “I cannot say that we had one person in mind, obviously, or someone wouldn’t have been able to so spectacularly frame me.”

It was almost an hour of Minseok explaining everything he knew of the crimes. The jeweler who was selling fake jewels, hanging himself instead of giving up the men who had hired him to copy the expensive and very stolen baubles of highs society. There was the man murdered by the docks, a gambler with ties to Herringwoods- who had some of the stolen jewelry on him. There was Herringwoods exclusive game, where Sehun was stabbed and where a dealer readily accepted fake jewels without question. There was the calling card and the receipts written in code- leading to an apartment where a kept woman lived. And there was Sehun’s Father…leaving that apartment.

“Sehun. Everything points to Sehun.” Luhan revealed his train of thought after Minseok was finished detailing the evidence.

“Why would Sehun frame me?” Minseok raised an eyebrow.

“If the Home Office was closing in on him, perhaps he grew desperate?” Luhan knew that the subject of Sehun was a sensitive one. A wound that ran deep in Minseok, a wound that Luhan thought was only recently starting to heal. “He is in debt. He has ties to Herringwoods, his Father has ties to a place where the stolen jewelry seems to have been funneled through.”

Minseok knew that the evidence as presented would certainly put Sehun near the top of the suspect list; Sehun was a prime suspect before Minseok found all eyes turned towards himself. However Minseok needed more evidence to be sure of the fact. “I am still not convinced, not when I know that the Earl has more than enough funds to make thievery a very unlikely activity for his son. We need more evidence, something conclusive. I think we need to visit the apartment of that woman and find out who she is.”

“What if they are watching the apartment?” Luhan doubted the Home Office would leave the place alone, not when it was part of their case. What little he knew of the law and how it was handled mixed with a good dose of common sense told him they would be foolish to not surveil the apartment.

“They are watching, I know that they are. Which is the problem.” Minseok sighed heavily. Now that he was a wanted man there was no way he could visit the place without being captured.

***

Jongin watched as Kyungsoo started to arrange the small cooking pots, placing them in an orderly fashion. He would have said something if he thought his brothers would mind, but they were both some of the most disorderly individuals on earth. He highly doubted either man would be bothered by the introduction of organization.

Kyungsoo tried to ignore Jongin, who was quite obviously staring at him as he went about his work. He was still trying to understand how the Duke of Hayden’s household would hire a man such as this – a child of the streets apparently – to be his son’s personal servant. Rather distasteful hiring practices, in Kyungsoo’s opinion.

As Kyungsoo reached for one of the larger metal cooking pots, currently residing on a crooked shelf, the shelf gave way, the pot tumbling towards him. He stepped back, trying to avoid the heavy metal object and certain injury. It was a blur, but as he stepped back a hand shot forward, catching the pot before it could fall on him.

“You should be more careful.”

A warm breath on his cheek, the feeling of standing against a hard and broad chest. Kyungsoo turned red as he realized that Jongin had shot forward and caught the pot, Kyungsoo stepping back just in time to end up with Jongin practically capturing him in his arms.

Suddenly it became very difficult to form words. Suddenly it became very difficult to breath normally. Suddenly it….

“Jongin, do you…oh.”

Kyungsoo jerked back, hitting Jongin in the process. It was Minseok standing in the doorway of the small cooking space, Luhan standing behind him, both men with wide eyes as they took in the sight of Kyungsoo, Jongin standing very, very close to him.

“I was…cleaning. I was CLEANING, SIR!” Kyungsoo blurted out, quickly moving away and to a corner of the room, hoping he would disappear soon.

“Yes….I… see that.” Minseok was not sure what exactly he had just witnessed but for some reason his valet’s blush made him feel a bit mischievous and…happy. Instead of teasing Kyungsoo, who was already having difficulty adjusting to the situation, he focused on why he had walked into the kitchen in the first place. “Jongin, I am not exactly certain of how to request this. I am in need of someone to investigate an apartment, find out who lives there.”

Jongin, still holding the pot that he had saved Kyungsoo from, answered quickly “Sir, if you have gold there is nothing, and I mean nothing you can’t find in these parts.”

“Is that so? Oh, well. Thank you.” Minseok had finally found a bit of hope among the depressing turn of events that he had faced of late. Because if there was one thing he was certain of it was that he had money.

***

Sehun whined most of the way there. In all honesty, he whined the entire way there. To himself of course, as he couldn’t very well tell anyone else what was going on. No…not after he had agreed to Yunho’s request.

So the Home Office is in this type of dusty old building; how quant, he thought. How..boring.

Pushing open the front door he was greeted by an elderly man, directing him to Yunho’s office. He briefly wondered which was older – the man or the building – but again he had no one to ask such an ingenious question to. It was hard being alone.

Sehun found Yunho at his desk, stacks of paper everywhere. How…like a working man, Sehun thought. He took a seat without being offered, he rolled his eyes a few times too, for good measure.

“How nice of you to pay me a visit, my Lord.” Yunho smirked.

“I believe I don’t have a choice, now do I.” Sehun started to examine his fingernails idly. He hoped he would be done with this “meeting” soon.

“That is correct. I find it rather amusing.”

Sehun hated the way Yunho smirked. He wouldn’t respond and ask what was amusing. No, that would show interest. He had no interest in what this man had to say.

“Please, tell me, my Lord, do you prefer being tied up in an unlocked room or locked in a room without ties?” Yunho cocked his head to the side, as if his question was the most innocent query in the world.

Sehun almost sputtered but caught himself. “I fail to understand your question, sir.”

“Hm. Of course. I was only inquiring after your preferred method of captivity.”

“My preferred method is freedom.” Sehun was annoyed. And confused. Confused and annoyed.

“I am afraid that is an impossibility. You, old boy, are about to become a rather expensive, rather lucrative kidnap victim.”

Sehun wondered what the penalty would be for setting the Home Office building on fire. Because he had a very desperate, sudden urge to see the place go up in flames.

-------------------------------------------------

a/n- Oh, Kyungsoo, how I love to write you in this fic. A glimpse of what Sehun “signed” up for, as well as Luhan being filled in. Not a ton going on in this chapter, but it needed to happen.

Much love, as always. Until next time <3 ~  LC