Rule #14: Follow your heart.  Where else would you go?

            Ryeowook tossed the last bag into the trunk and then closed it as Kyuhyun slowly made his way to the car, backpack in hand.  He could barely keep his eyes open and Ryeowook tried not to laugh when he nearly tripped over a small, fallen branch in his path and began to loudly curse at it.  Kyuhyun was adorable, even if he was a little nerdy.  In fact, this was probably what Ryeowook found most endearing about him.  He wasn’t a showoff, like most of the other agents.  He wasn’t trying to act like the alpha male, although he certainly was one of the smartest men he’d ever met.  Kyuhyun was book smart where Ryeowook and his friends were street smart, but he liked dating someone who came from a different background than he did. 

            Kyuhyun reached the car and frowned over at his lover.  “You should let me drive, since I’m clearly the better driver.”

            “Under normal circumstances, I probably would, but you haven’t slept for nearly two days!”

            Kyuhyun waved his hand.  “That won’t matter.”

            Ryeowook began to laugh and just got into the car and started it. 

            Kyuhyun didn’t argue anymore and got into the passenger seat.  “You’re so untrusting.”

            “Actually, I trust you a great deal.  Most of my coworkers didn’t even know my real first name until you blabbed it to them,” he pointed out, backing the car up and heading out of the driveway.  “I’ve told you who I am and where I live.  I just don’t feel like dying in the car tonight on the way back to the city.  It would be an awfully embarrassing failure on my part, to get myself killed because I let you drive when you’re overtired.”

            “I could make it to Seoul without falling asleep,” Kyuhyun quietly muttered under his breath.

            “And it’s going to be dark soon,” Ryeowook reminded him. 

            “Whatever,” Kyuhyun said, yawning. 

            Ryeowook smirked and reached over to squeeze Kyuhyun’s leg.  “I called Donghae and Eunhyuk.  They’re meeting us in Boryeong.  I’m going to give them one of the discs there.” 

            “I made five copies.  What are you doing with the other three?” Kyuhyun asked.

            “I left one in my safe, just in case something happens to the other copies.  Both you and Agent Y know how to access it.  I already mailed one to the police department and another to Sungmin.  You and I have the other two until we reach Boryeong.  Then we’ll give one to Eunhyuk.  Of the two of them, he’s least likely to get killed, since he’s the best shooter.”

            “Then why am I holding the disc instead of you?” Kyuhyun asked.

            Ryeowook turned out unto the main road, not sure how to admit the truth to Kyuhyun.  After a moment, he thought it just best to fess up to the real answer.  “Because if it came down to it, I would rather die defending you than escape alone.  If we were surrounded, it would be more likely that you’d survive at this point.”

            “Even though the disc is already decoded?” Kyuhyun questioned.

            Ryeowook nodded.  “I can’t watch anymore people I care about die, Kyu.  I’d rather die myself than walk away and have to live with the loss of someone else I love.  It was bad enough when it was just my partner, because we were the best of friends, but you and I are more than that.  My nightmares already haunt me in my sleep.  If I had to watch you die, I don’t think there’d be any peace for me.”

            Kyuhyun broke out into a big smile and grasped Ryeowook’s hand.  “Oh my God…you do love me.  I was worried you were just saying you did so I wouldn’t feel bad.”

            Ryeowook pulled his hand away and then slapped Kyuhyun in the chest. 

            “Ow!  That hurts!”

            “,” Ryeowook muttered.  “Of course I meant it.”

            “How was I supposed to be sure?” Kyuhyun asked, defending himself as he rubbed his sore chest.  “Damn, you hit hard!”

            “You should see how hard I hit when I’m really mad.  I’ve gone easy on you!” Ryeowook informed him.  “I don’t hit hard because I love you.  Idiot!”

            “You sure have a strange way of showing someone you love them.”

            Ryeowook looked over at him, glaring. 

            Kyuhyun held his hands up.  “Just saying.  Some people are cuddly.  Some people write poems or songs for people they love.  You don’t hit them as hard and refuse to kill them.  And I’m thankful I’m not on your hit list, of course, but I’m a little out of my territory here.  Most of the guys or girls I used to date just liked it when I took them out to a nice dinner.  You’re a little harder to impress.” 

            “You dated girls too?” Ryeowook asked.

            Kyuhyun glanced over at his new lover.  “A few.  I wasn’t sure what my preferences was at first.  Is that weird?”

            Ryeowook shook his head.  “No, I was just trying to picture it and I think that I could seduce women better than you could.”

            “I’ll have you know, I was pretty damn popular with the ladies.  They happen to like successful business men who make decent money and have stable jobs,” Kyuhyun pointed out.

            “You’re talking about the kind of guy they want to end up marrying.  And you’re right, you’re it.  But I’m talking about the kind of guy they fantasize about.  They guy they want to .  I dress well, I dance well, I can outdrink everyone I know, I’m a damn good kisser,”—Kyuhyun couldn’t exactly argue against this—“I’m confident, cocky, and completely badass.  Every woman wants to me.”

            Kyuhyun rolled his eyes.  “You are very full of yourself.”

            “Are you denying that I’m totally able?”

            There was a moment where Kyuhyun wanted to answer negatively in order to spare his own pride, but he just couldn’t.  Ryeowook was incredibly y and, unfortunately, he knew it.  “You’re hot.”

            Ryeowook smirked in victory.

            “Does this mean that I need to be worried about you?”

            “Nope,” Ryeowook answered.  “I’m kind of tired of being chased by people just because they want one night with me, to be honest.  I’d rather have someone around that likes me for more than just my y body.”

            “Like your smartass attitude?”

            “Right,” Ryeowook answered, turning and leaning over to quickly plant a kiss on his temperamental boyfriend’s cheek.  “Now do me a favor and take a nap.  You’re kind of cranky.”

            Kyuhyun narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend before tilting his chair back and closing his eyes, pretending to be upset about Ryeowook ordering him around.  But he couldn’t stop himself from smiling as Ryeowook began to rub his stomach.  In mere minutes, he found himself starting to nod off, exhaustion from days of staying awake finally catching up to him.

            Ryeowook pulled up in the parking lot of the restaurant and turned off the car.  Kyuhyun was fast asleep beside him and he didn’t bother waking him up as he reached down into the backpack at his feet and dug out one of the discs.  Then he got out of the car and waited, stretching his legs while he waited for Donghae and Eunhyuk to show up.  He was still a few minutes early to the rendezvous time. 

            The sun had set since they’d left his house and the stars were beginning to come out.  Ryeowook looked up at them, trying to identify as many constellations as he could.  It was a pastime he used to partake in with his old friend, Victoria, on the roof of NIS’s headquarters during lonely nights when he couldn’t sleep.  And now he knew that all the pain, of one of his best friends dying, was actually her fault.  The betrayal cut so deep, he couldn’t even bear to think of it yet.  He didn’t want to dwell on it too long. 

            Thankfully, Donghae and Eunhyuk arrived a little early, pulling into the restaurant parking lot on their motorcycles.  Eunhyuk nodded his head to the smaller agent.

            “Thanks for coming,” Ryeowook said, handing Eunhyuk the copy of the disc. 

            “We were a little surprised that you called us down here,” Donghae admitted.  “Since we’re probably pretty damn close to your secret hideout.”

            “But I trust the two of you,” Ryeowook said, looking from one to the other.  “And it’s high time I started acting like it.”  Aside from Yesung, Donghae and Eunhyuk were the two agents he was closest to at NIS.  They’d always treated him like a little brother.

            Donghae’s smile widened.  “You do?”

            Ryeowook nodded. 

            Donghae jumped off his bike and hugged the smaller agent.  “Oh, R!”

            “Just call me Ryeowook.  You already know that’s my name, Donghae.”

            “What’s your last name?” Eunhyuk asked, daring the smaller agent to answer their questions about his personal life for a change. 

            “Kim.”

            Donghae, arms still wrapped around Ryeowook, started jumping up and down.  “He does trust us, Hyukie!  He does!”

            “Okay, okay!  That’s enough for one day.  We can bond later, after we get the disc to NIS,” Ryeowook pointed out.

            “Where’s Kyuhyun at?” Donghae asked, finally releasing him.

            Ryeowook pointed to the car.  “He fell asleep.  He’s been working non-stop on decoding the disc since Y brought it down to us, so he could barely keep his eyes open anymore.”

            Donghae and Eunhyuk looked at one another.  “Sure,” Eunhyuk said.

            “What?” Ryeowook questioned.

            “We heard all about it from Agent Y,” Donghae explained.  “You and the hacker are