“It’s the marketing department.”

Confused, Jongin looked up at Kyungsoo. He looked like he had no clue of what the shorter male was talking, and Kyungsoo knew he didn't. He had just stepped into Jongin's office, and hadn't explained anything to him yet. 

He just didn't know how.

“What is?” Jongin asked Kyungsoo, puzzled by his silence.

Feeling the weight of the bad news on his shoulders, Kyungsoo sighed heavily, and took a seat across the desk from Jongin. From the other side of the desk, Jongin was watching him, worried and clueless.

“The traitor,” Kyungsoo finally said, looking up at the other with worry. “The traitor works in the marketing department after all.”

Jongin looked taken aback and shocked, and Kyungsoo couldn't expect anything else. After all, Jongin was the leader of the entire marketing team. He knew everyone here, every single person who worked under him, and most probably trusted every single one. His chocolate eyes were widened with shock at what Kyungsoo had just said, and his lips parted to let out a breath of disbelief.

Kyungsoo knew this was going to be hard on him. Loyal as he was, Jongin hurt a lot when somebody betrayed his trust.

“Nini,” he reached out across the table, to take Jongin’s hand in his. “Don’t start thinking that it’s your fault. It’s most definetely not.”

Jongin didn't answer for a second.

“How did you find out?” he asked, voice low and emotionless.

Kyungsoo frowned. That fake nonchalance in Jongin's voice did not trick him.

“One guy from the investigation team noticed a mistake in our assumptions,” he told the other carefully. “He checked the timetables, and noticed, that around the time the song was sent, whole of the music department was actually in their department meeting. They always check attendance there, to know who yet needs to be informed about decisions taken during the meeting. And on that day, nobody from the entire department was missing. They were all attending. Which, sadly, left us with the marketing department employees as the only suspects in the case.”

“I see,” Jongin nodded, rubbing his eyes tiredly with the tips of his long fingers. “Thanks for telling me anyways. Am I the first to know?”

“You are.” 

“Not for long."

It wasn’t a question, not from the tone it was said with, but Kyungsoo still felt he needed to answer. 

“I’m sorry, Jongin. It’s all part of the process,” he explained, staring at the other worriedly, and a bit guiltily. “If the traitor knows that we’ve narrowed the list of suspects that much, he’s more likely to do something rash and stupid, and hence give himself away. That’s why, I’m afraid, it is quite necessary to inform all the departments about this, in order to catch the suspect as soon as possible.”

Jongin listened to all that quietly, looking at his hands the whole time Kyungsoo spoke, and didn't react to his words in any way. Kyungsoo even doubted he heard what he said at all. But when a moment of silence between them passed, Jongin suddenly smiled sadly at him, and sighed.

“You truly sound like a lawyer now, Soo,” he said.

Kyungsoo furrowed his eyebrows with worry. This fake, sad smile was bad news. Jongin was slipping away, slipping into the pit of self-blame and sadness, and Kyungsoo needed to stop him before it was too late.

“Come on,” he stood up from the chair he was sitting in, and went around the table to Jongin’s side. “You’re going out with me. Now.”

Jongin looked up at him.

“Where to?” he asked, startled. “I have work, Soo. I can’t just--”

“But you will,” Kyungsoo cut him off unceremoniously, grabbing onto his sleeve, and pulling his boyfriend up from his chair. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to take that long. Just tell the secretary you’re going out for a coffee with me, to discuss the information I brought, or whatever.”

Jongin looked down at Kyungsoo, hesitant and surprised, because he would’ve never thought Kyungsoo would be asking him to slack off just like that. But he saw nothing but determination in his smaller boyfriend’s eyes. Kyungsoo wanted to go out with him at this very moment, and Jongin knew, Kyungsoo eventually will go out with him at this very moment, or this office might end up on fire.

“Okay,” he accepted like an obedient kid, and leaned over to turn off his computer. Kyungsoo smiled victoriously, and let his hand slip downwards till it reached Jongin’s, their fingers intertwining naturally.

Kyungsoo pulled Jongin after him, tugging the taller along the hallway, to the elevator, and out of the PKO. He could feel the stares the employees were giving them, but just like at the law firm, Kyungsoo didn’t care. His first priority now was making Jongin feel better, and he just might’ve gotten idea how to do that, which meant he had no wish nor time to waste on stupid PKO employees, and their even more stupid stares.

He pulled Jongin along the street, careful not to bump into students and elders, because the street was quite crowded. Actually, in Seoul, it was always crowded; there weren't days when the streets were empty. Kyungsoo, being quite small, could fit through tiny gaps between people, but he had to take in consideration Jongin, whose shoulders were (sadly) much wider, and who in general was of a bigger built. So he tried to be as careful as possible, leading him through.

“Soo,” he heard Jongin whine after a few minutes of silent dragging. “Soo, where are we going?" 

“We’re almost there,” Kyungsoo told him through his shoulder, pulling his boyfriend down the stairs of a park. “Just past here, and we’re there. Trust me, Nini.”

"I accidentally elbowed like five grandmas already!”

"Whoops."

“Don't 'whoops' me. You’re dragging me to Han river,” Jongin said, and Kyungsoo felt an undertone of blaming in his voice as he recognized the path. “Soo, we can visit the river after work. I don't have time for this now.”

No, we can’t, Kyungsoo thought in his mind, and still tugged at Jongin’s hand stubbornly, still determined to pull him along. Jongin gave in.

Finally, they reached the place Kyungsoo had in mind. The crystal clear river was shinning dimly under the grey sky, and colorful leaves of the trees were falling beautifully on the sidewalk. As expected, not many people were around. Kyungsoo smiled, and pulled Jongin all the way to the fence.

“Look around,” he ordered, letting go of Jongin’s hand, and stepping away. “Breathe. Don’t think about anything.”

Jongin threw him a puzzled look, unsure of what Kyungsoo was trying to achieve with this, but nevertheless obeyed. He looked at the river, chocolate eyes reflecting the sparkles that danced on the dark blue water, and breathed in. Once, twice.

“Good,” Kyungsoo murmured. "This way, all the stupid thoughts will be gone."

The taller turned his neck to look at Kyungsoo, and this time, there was no confusion in the chocolate eyes anymore. Jongin knew, he understood what Kyungsoo was trying to do now. And Jongin was thankful for it.

“I love you,” he told the smaller, and Kyungsoo’s heart jumped. He coughed.

“You can cuddle me too, if you want,” he murmured, and turned away, too embarrassed to keep his gaze on Jongin’s after saying something this… ew. His cheeks were quickly turning red.

Kyungsoo heard his boyfriend laughing, and seconds later, familiar arms embraced his waist.

“Could anyone possibly decline an offer like that?” Jongin whispered into his neck, and kissed it lightly, just a touch of his lips on his skin, but it still made Kyungsoo shiver.

The smaller pulled away, because he hated touches on his neck. Maybe it was somewhat of a self-protective instinct from the ancestors, that worked especially well on Kyungsoo, or maybe he was just weird in general, but he couldn’t bear anyone touching his neck. He leaned backwards, not wanting to be touched there again, only for his eyes to be met with warm chocolate ones that were staring at him with such love and tenderness, that Kyungsoo felt like he could melt from that one gaze.

Jongin’s scent, his stare, his closeness was too much, it made Kyungsoo feel so many things at once that he couldn’t deal with everything so quick. He felt light-headed, and his heart was beating fast, and he was warm. And that was something he was never used to, because since he was a kid, Kyungsoo was always just cold. His skin was cold, his body itself was cold, and he shivered all the time no matter what thick blankets were wrapped around him, or what hot teas he was given to drink. It was like he was cold from the inside, from the very core, and there was no way that cold could ever go away.

But in Jongin’s embrace, he was warm.

He couldn’t, and didn’t want to wait anymore. At this very second, Jongin was his and he was Jongin’s, and there was no reason for him to stop himself from kissing him. So Kyungsoo tangled his small fingers into Jongin’s collar, clutching onto the thin fabric tightly, desperately, and tiptoed to press his lips onto Jongin’s.

Like always, their kiss started gently, just a soft touch, expression of love and sincerity. Then it turned more passionate. Jongin held him tightly by the waist, fingers grasping the back of his coat, without any intention of moving away. There was a tinge of possession to the way he was holding Kyungsoo, like he was the only one who was allowed to hold him that way. Biting onto the taller's lip, Kyungsoo chased away the thoughts of that, and let himself slip into the sweetness and passion of their kiss, getting lost in between the caresses of their lips, and the warmth that surrounded him from all sides. He didn’t want to think, and he knew Jongin didn’t, either. 

And that kiss was a way out of that for them both.

When Jongin finally pulled away, rain started falling on them, heavy drops wetting Kyungsoo’s hair and Jongin’s beanie. Jongin smiled at him like a kid, took his hand, and pulled him along as they ran back to where they came from.

Still running in the rain, Kyungsoo thought, smiling, as he rushed after his boyfriend. 

Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps nothing changed.

***

“I swear to god,” Baekhyun whispered, unable to keep quiet anymore. “Chanyeol, what in the world is going on with you?”

His boyfriend looked at him, surprised.

“What do you mean?” he asked, fingers fiddling with the smaller male's scarf.

Baekhyun just shook his head. Out of nowhere, Chanyeol had just stopped both of them from walking to fix his scarf. He did it because Baekhyun's scarf had slipped free, and his slender neck was exposed to the cold autumn wind. Noticing that happen, Chanyeol couldn't let him a catch a cold, could he?

But that was not what bothered the smaller male. Baekhyun tilted his head to one side, his expression still full of surprise and disbelief.

“You’ve been acting weird since my mom visited,” he said, watching Chanyeol intently. “Has she told you anything? Did she threaten you or something?”

“No!” Chanyeol shook his head, eyes big and innocen, and mouth open of surprise at Baekhyun’s guess. “ What are you talking about, Baek? I was just fixing your scarf.”

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun raised his eyebrow. “We’re literally ten feet away from the entrance to the company. Ten seconds more, and I’ll be taking off that scarf anyway.”

He wasn’t annoyed – it could’ve seemed that way, but he really wasn’t. Baekhyun was actually almost squealing inside at how adorable and nice Chanyeol was being. But something about this, about Chanyeol’s behavior ever since his mom left Seoul was strange.

It was a week and a few days since she left. Baekhyun met with his sister after the surgery briefly, happy to hear that it went well. He was really happy to see her okay, and more calm to let the two of them go home.

Right before they left, Baekhyun caught a glimpse of his mom, whispering something into Chanyeol’s ear, smiling. He didn’t think much of it, but then this week happened, and now he was suspicious.

Chanyeol had been over-protective of him ever since that day. And when Baekhyun said the word over before protective, he meant over protective. Chanyeol literally didn’t let him out of his sight every single day, taking him home after work and texting him constantly, with questions like where are you, what are you doing, are you home. On one evening, Baekhyun replied that he was in the store instead of home, and Chanyeol literally drove to his home, and Baekhyun found him at his doorstep, panting. He scolded Baekhyun for not asking him to come and go there together, to which Baekhyun hardly found an answer. He just stood there, speechless and clueless of what the hell had just happened.

During the day, Chanyeol always made sure Baekhyun didn’t skip a single meal. Everytime the lunch break began, Chanyeol practically shoved him out the door, rushing him to go eat. Well, Baekhyun used that to his advantage and pulled him along every time, but still.

Now, when they were literally about to step into PKO, and Chanyeol stopped Baekhyun to cover every bit of his skin with the scarf as though they were off for a walk in the Alps, Baekhyun finally lost it.

“You’re acting weird the whole week,” Baekhyun informed him, looking up at his boyfriend worriedly. “I just want to know if it’s my mom, who told you to act like this, or is there something wrong and we need to talk about it?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Chanyeol avoided his eyes, cheeks already dark red. “Let’s go in, Baek. We can’t be late to work.”

“No,” Baekhyun objected stubbornly, crossing his arms on his chest. “First we talk, then we go. Spill it.”

“We’ll talk later, Baek, please. It’s almost nine, and we’re really going to be late."

“When? When will we talk?”

“Today. After work,” Chanyeol promised desperately, tugging at Baekhyun’s sleeve. “You can stay over at mine again, and we can eat dinner too as we talk. Come on, Baek.”

Although still suspicious, Baekhyun let him drag him along. Eventually he was going to learn what Chanyeol was hiding, be it the nicely or not.

Too focused on his boyfriend and his weird behavior, Baekhyun didn’t find the time to think about anything else that week. There was work related problems, vocal training, Chanyeol, and… love. Too much going on.

The lost notebook slipped his mind entirely.

***

Jongin and Kyungsoo agreed on meeting each other after work, and hanging out at Jongin’s place. They missed each other, missed each other’s presence these days. Kyungsoo was busy with the investigation, and Jongin was also busy taking care of his team and duties,therefore they hadn’t had a lot of time to spend together. Tonight, they wanted to be alone, just the two of them, wrapped up in a blanket next to each other, and watch some stupid movie. Just something usual, simple like that, that was the best.

When they got back, Kyungsoo made his way to Jongin’s kitchen with the bag of groceries they bought, and put it on the table. He looked around judgingly, suspicious of the obvious neatness all around. There wasn’t a single unwashed cup, not a single plate in the sink, and although Kyungsoo knew Jongin wasn’t a messy guy, he was still not a neat freak. There had to be some dishes in the kitchen of a healthy male, who lived alone.

Suspicions growing, Kyungsoo moved over to open the refrigerator, and his eyes wid