Detective Jung Taekwoon growled as he stared down at the reports before him. Specifically, the files pertaining to the message that had been left at the last crime scene. The message was pretty simple, just the words ‘still no luck’ followed by Taekwoon’s name and a question mark. But that simple message angered Taekwoon so much.

He’d been seeing similar messages for the past year, all from the same criminal. The same thief. They were never taunting either, more playful. Sometimes, Taekwoon could swear the thief was a bit sad that Taekwoon hadn’t found him yet. But that was foolish. Taekwoon was sure if was foolish.

“Still no luck catching this guy?” his friend, detective Cha Hakyeon, asked, glancing up from his own reports, “maybe this is a sign, Taekwoon.”

“A sign to do what exactly?” Taekwoon hissed.

“Give the case to someone else,” Hakyeon told him, “you’ve been chasing this thief for ages and nothing. You be working other cases. Solving other cases. But you keep on this one and……it’s going to hurt your career, Taekwoon. Don’t you want to advance in the ranks?”

“I want to solve this case,” Taekwoon replied, “This is my case. And I’m going to solve it.”

He was going to do it. He had to.

On the other side of the room, one of the beat cops tried to suppress his laughter. He partner, noticing what he was looking at, lightly smacked his arm.

“Shut up, Sanghyuk,” officer Lee Hongbin hissed, “or do you want to draw attention to us?”

“Sorry,” officer Han Sanghyuk sighed, “he just looks so frustrated and it’s cute.”

“I will never understand why you’re so attached to him,” Hongbin sighed, “it’s not like you could ever be, ya know, together.”

“I know,” Sanghyuk sighed, “but I can dream, can’t I?”

“Dream all you want,” Hongbin gave in, “but if your dreaming gets us caught, I’ll kill you before Wonsik and Jaehwan can even think about it.”

“I know,” Sanghyuk nodded, taking one last glance at the detective before following Hongbin outside.

--

“Holy ,” Wonsik hisses as he fired back at the gangsters whose bank heists the team had interrupted, “how the hell did it turn into this?”

“Do I look like I know?” Sanghyuk growled, “We’ve been staking this place out for days. Who the hell are these guys to just take our mark?”

“They’re gang members,” Hongbin huffed, focusing on helping Jaehwan with the bullet wound to his shoulder, “why would they care if this bank was someone else’s mark.”

And that was when the cops showed up.

“Great,” Sanghyuk snapped, almost throwing his arms up in anger, “just ing great.”

“I think this is gonna blow your cover,” Jaehwan remarked, “how on earth will you explain your being here?”

“Oh god,” Hongbin sighed, “this is just……..god damn it.”

“We can work with this,” Wonsik assured the others, “a bit of prison time could work in our favor.”

“Boss will be pissed,” Sanghyuk pointed out, “he could even decide to scrap the whole plan.”

“But we’ve been working on this for years,” Hongbin complained, “we can’t just…….give it up. We can’t get caught here.”

“Then we get out of here,” Wonsik sighed, taking a look at what had been happening while the group of agents had been talking, “looks like the cops have got their attention. We go out the back on my count.”

“Right,” the others nodded.

“Now,” Wonsik hissed and the group sprang into action.

“Freeze!” the group paused just as they were about to exit the building, “stop right there.”

“Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk sighed, “just great.”

“Hands above your heads,” Taekwoon ordered, gun pointed at the four.

“Hongbin,” Wonsik ordered, pointing his own gun at the detective, “Get Jaehwan out. Sanghyuk, I know you don’t want to, but point your ing gun at him now before I shoot you in the .”

“Fine,” Sanghyuk sighed drawing his gun and pointing it at Taekwoon, “sorry about this, Taekwoon. I wish it didn’t have to come to this. Honestly, I’m going to miss leaving you messages.”

“What?” Taekwoon had already paused when the first gun had been pointed at him, trying to figure out a next move. But this bit of information had really shocked him. The implication of it shocked him.

He was looking at his thief, his ‘white whale’ as Hakyeon put it. And his thief wasn’t working alone. He had a team. Or was he part of the gang?

“Here’s the deal,” Wonsik took charge of the situation, “we’re leaving. You’re going to let us. Why? Because I’ve got no problem shooting you. Sanghyuk does, but not me. Never me.”

Taekwoon didn’t get a chance to respond.

“Taekwoon!” Sanghyuk yelled, firing several shots at the gang member who’d shown up and shot Taekwoon in the back.

“Crap,” Wonsik hissed, trying to catch Sanghyuk and pull him outside, “Sanghyuk, we need to go. We need to go now.”

“I’m not leaving him,” Sanghyuk replied, trying to get a look at Taekwoon’s injury.

“Then,” Wonsik tried to think of something, “then……take him with you?”

“What?” Sanghyuk paused, not sure he’d actually heard his team leader right.

“We take him with us,” Wonsik repeated, trying to sound more sure of this spur of the moment plan then he actually was, “so grab him and let’s go. Hongbin can try to fix him up on the drive back to base.”

“Alight,” Sanghyuk nodded, grabbing Taekwoon under the arms carefully and following Wonsik outside.

--

“He’s up,” Taekwoon heard someone ask, “get Agent Han, I’m sure he’ll want to know.”

“Brat’s been here every chance he gets,” someone else laughed, “it’s kind of cute.”

“Where?” Taekwoon managed to get out, throat crying out in pain.

“You’re in the medical wing of the ICA,” someone dressed head to toe in medical wear explained, coming into Taekwoon’s field of view, “otherwise known as the International Crime Agency. Unoriginal name, we know. But that’s what the boss wanted, that’s what we went with.”

“I don’t understand,” Taekwoon admitted, “how……how did I end up here?”

“Four of our agents brought you in,” the doctor or nurse or whatever explained to the detective, “Agent Han said you were shot by one of the gang members. Agent Kim suggested bringing you here so they did exactly that.”

“Pissed the boss off,” someone said and Taekwoon turned his head to find one of the four men he’d seen trying to escape the bank in the net bed, arm bandaged and sipping a beer.

“Agent Lee,” the doctor, Taekwoon decided she was a doctor, scolded, “I’ve told you before that you can’t drink in here.”

“But I can’t leave yet,” Agent Lee huffed, “where else can I drink a beer? I’ll have you know, this week has been very stressful on me and I need to unwind a little.” Taekwoon tried to recall what the leader had called Agent Lee. Either Jaehwan or Hongbin, he wasn’t totally sure.

“It’s been stressful for all of us,” a new voice rang out and Taekwoon turned his head to find Sanghyuk entering the room, “but I don’t see anyone else drinking in the med wing, Jaehwan.”

“Wonsik’s too busy being ed at by the boss to do anything,” Jaehwan smirked slightly, “and the same goes for you. Hongbin……well, he doesn’t drink so…….”

“I only bring it up because Wonsik isn’t gonna like hearing about it,” Sanghyuk shrugged, taking a seat beside Taekwoon’s bedside, “and after the week he’s had?”

“Putting the beer down now,” Jaehwan quickly put the drink down, “think you can tell him it was you?”

“And get our wonderful leader yelling at me?” Sanghyuk scoffed, “ that.”

“,” Jaehwan huffed. He glanced at the beer before picking it back up, apparently deciding that he’d be in trouble either way so he might as well make it worth it.

“So,” Sanghyuk turned his attention to Taekwoon, “I guess I should introduce myself? I’m Sanghyuk. Han Sanghyuk, senior agent of the ICA. Currently, I’m part of a four man team trying to infiltrate an international crime ring. And our way to get into that crime ring is posing as thieves.”

“I….don’t understand,” Taekwoon frowned, “you…..you’re an agent? You aren’t an actual thief? I……..you’re joking.”

“Nope,” Sanghyuk pulled out his badge, passing it over to the detective, “all the truth, Taekwoon.”

“I…….I,” Taekwoon tried to form words, tried to understand just what all of this meant.

“You’re a good detective, ya know?” Sanghyuk smiled slightly, “you came really close a few times to catching us. To messing up all our work. Pissed Wonsik right off more than once. That’s why Hongbin and I had to go undercover as cops. Keep an eye on you, make sure you didn’t get to close.”

“They had to steal some files from you once or twice,” Jaehwan spoke up, “I think that’s why Sanghyuk started to send you messages. He thought that might throw you off or something.”

“That wasn’t it,” Sanghyuk slid his chair over to Jaehwan’s bedside so he could hit his teammate, “it’s just what I told Wonsik to keep him off my back about it.”

Taekwoon watched, not at all sure how to feel about all of this.

--

Taekwoon still wasn’t sure what to make of all of this even after two weeks in the medical wing. Sanghyuk’s almost constant visits didn’t seem to help much either. In fact, they just confused him more. Especially when Sanghyuk just sat beside his bed and read, not saying anything at all.

When Sanghyuk did talk, he just loads Taekwoon up with more information.

Sanghyuk started out by talking about how he’d been recruited into the agency. He’d been young, still a teen, but the boss had seen him at a shooting competition and just had to take him in. This didn’t make Sanghyuk the youngest recruit ever though, Sanghyuk had stressed that point. Either way, the boss had given Sanghyuk his card and by the end of the year Sanghyuk was on his way to being an agent

Sanghyuk had then jumped to talking about his team. Wonsik, the leader and idea man of the team. Jaehwan, the joker and fighter. Hongbin, the moral and emotional center for the four. And then there was Sanghyuk, the fearless and crazy one. Once Sanghyuk felt Taekwoon had enough information about the team, he started going on about the missions they’d been on.

It was during these visits that Sanghyuk’s last two team members had started to show up as well. Hongbin was pleasant and Taekwoon could see why Sanghyuk called him the emotional core of the team. Wonsik wasn’t nearly as nice to deal with. He didn’t seem to like Taekwoon in the slightest, a feeling Taekwoon returned wholeheartedly.

While Hongbin contributed things to Sanghyuk’s stories, throwing out details and commentary that would embarrass Sanghyuk or Jaehwan, Wonsik just sat off to the side and played with his phone. Well, that wasn’t completely true. Whenever Sanghyuk started getting a little too personal or detailed with his stories, Wonsik would step in to shush him. Sometimes the other agent would simply glare, other times he’d snap at Sanghyuk. Every time, Sanghyuk would nod, looking ashamed for the careless slip of the tongue.

This brought Taekwoon to the center of his problem.

He realized during Wonsik’s visits that he really didn’t know much about Sanghyuk. He knew the major things like how he’d joined the agency and who he was teamed with. He knew some of the places Sanghyuk had gone on missions and had a general idea about what kind of missions they were. But that was Sanghyuk the agent. Not Sanghyuk the person.

Taekwoon wanted to know about Sanghyuk the person. But when he managed to ask something more personal, Sanghyuk dodged his question or just flat out shot him down. If his failure to answer the questions wasn’t so annoying, Taekwoon actually might have been impressed with how skillfully Sanghyuk did it. But it was annoying so Taekwoon was not impressed.

A part of Taekwoon asked why he cared so much about Sanghyuk’s personal life. Taekwoon didn’t have an actual answer for that part. He just really liked hearing Sanghyuk talk. He just really wanted to know more about the agent with a bright smile and laughing eyes.

--

“You look sad,” the doctor commented, glancing up from the chart in her hands, “and like you’re expecting something to happen.” She paused, “more like someone, right?”

“Sanghyuk didn’t come by yesterday,” Taekwoon admitted, “I was hoping he’d come by today.”

“Agent Han and his team our back in the field,” the doctor reported, “now that Agent Lee has been deemed ready to resume regular duties, the boss decided that they should get back to their current mission.”

“Oh,” Taekwoon frowned, “when…..when will he be back?”

“No idea,” the doctor smiled sympathetically, “this mission has been going on for a couple years already as you know and in that time they’ve only had to come here a couple of times per year. Considering that, they could easily be gone for a month, probably longer. We might not see them here again until the New Year”

“Oh,” Taekwoon felt a bit sick hearing that.

Especially since he’d been told that they would be checking him out in a few more weeks.

He’d been told that the ICA had a cover story waiting for him to explain his absence which was a comfort. However, he had been requested, more like ordered, to remove himself from his case upon return to his precinct. He could understand the reasoning, but he didn’t like it. Hongbin only made it worse because he’d let it slip that he and Sanghyuk had lost their beat cops cover.

So, when would he get to see Sanghyuk again?

That was an answer Taekwoon just didn’t have an answer for.

--

“Can you believe this!” Hakyeon cried, smacking his paper down on Taekwoon’s desk, “I mean, this is…..this is big! You were trying to bust ICA agents, Taekwoon.”

“What?” Taekwoon looked up, suddenly alarmed as he tried to figure out what he’d set to Hakyeon to give away the truth.

“It’s all right here in the paper,” Hakyeon waved towards the paper, “Long time ICA sting finally bears fruit. No wonder you could never catch your thief, Taekwoon. Hey, do you think those two beat cops from a few years ago are the agents? The ones who we exposed as part of that bank job? You know, that one you were kidnapped on?”

Taekwoon grabbed the paper, flipping to the actual article and reading as fast as he could. No names were given regarding the agents involved, but Taekwoon knew it was Sanghyuk and his team. He felt like smiling, felt proud that Sanghyuk had finally completed his mission. But then he remembered that this meant nothing.

So what if Sanghyuk had completed the mission? That didn’t mean anything. Not to Taekwoon. It wasn’t like completing the mission meant Sanghyuk was going to show up at Taekwoon’s apartment with that bright smile Taekwoon found himself missing a lot these past two years. Sanghyuk had probably forgotten all about him.

That was what made his visitor later that day so surprising and disheartening.

“Detective Jung,” Wonsik nodded slightly, looking over Taekwoon’s workspace with a judgmental glare.

“Agent Kim,” Taekwoon returned the greeting, words just as frosty as the agent’s had been, “what can I help you with?”

“The boss would like a word with you,” Wonsik explained and Taekwoon could tell that none of this was an idea Wonsik liked or agreed with, “he’s been keeping an eye on you since you ended up in our medical wing. He’s taken a liking to you, think you’ve got the kind of talent he wants in an agent.”

“Really?” Taekwoon couldn’t help the bit of excitement that leaked into his voice. Getting offered a position within the ICA was a very big deal after all. The connection to Sanghyuk was just a bonus, one that wasn’t even in Taekwoon mind right then.

“Yes,” Wonsik sighed, glancing at Hakyeon who’d been watching the exchange with wide eyes, “you and your partner have both caught his attention and held it. That….isn’t something that happens a lot. So here.” Wonsik handed Taekwoon a file, “come to our office at noon tomorrow if you’re interested in a position within the ICA. Address is inside, along with everything else you’ll need if you want to enter the building.”

With that, Wonsik turned and left.

That was about the time Hakyeon started freaking out, as did everyone else in the room who’d heard Wonsik. Taekwoon just ignored them, deciding to go through the file instead. There was everything there that Wonsik had said should be, but there was one additional piece of paper.

Taekwoon read it, a smile forming on his face.

--

“You are way more sentimental then I realized,” Sanghyuk laughed, flipping through a scrap book Taekwoon had foolishly left on his coffee table where the senior agent could easily find it.

“Shut up,” Taekwoon groaned, hiding his face in his hands, “please don’t tell anyone.”

“Tell anyone what?” Sanghyuk teased, “That you’ve kept photos of all the messages I used to leave you at crime scenes alongside photos and knickknacks from our dates? Why would I ever do something like that?”

“To tease me,” Taekwoon frowned, “please don’t. Jaehwan and Wonsik, especially Wonsik, can’t know about this.”

“You’ve got a point,” Sanghyuk nodded, “Jaehwan’s kind of a and my brother…….well.”

“We hate each other,” Taekwoon grumbled, moving to rest is head against Sanghyuk’s shoulder.

“Hate is a strong word,” Sanghyuk sighed, “but it does fit better than any other word.”

“When are you heading out?” Taekwoon asked, more than a little excited to change the subject.

“Tomorrow night,” Sanghyuk sighed, “but Wonsik assured me it’s a quick mission. In and out type deal. I should be back by early next week.”

“I’ll miss you,” Taekwoon frowned, silently cursing the bullet to the leg he’d taken earlier that month. If he was in perfect health, then he’d be going with Sanghyuk instead of Wonsik or Hakyeon.

“I’ll miss you too,” Sanghyuk smiled, shifting them around so that they were lying on the couch, “but I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I always know it when you’re gone,” Taekwoon replied, “just come home safe.”

“Always do,” Sanghyuk frowned, “actually, you’re the one who always gets hurt. Kind of worrisome when you really think about it. Maybe we should transfer you to a desk job.”

The couple started to playfully argue about this, eventually descending into a sweet make out session. Taekwoon found himself smiling into the kisses, deciding that not giving up on that theft case from seven years ago was the best thing he’d ever done.

A/N: so, this stayed so far from my original plan as could be. Originally, Hyuk really was a criminal taunting the cute detective trying to catch him. Then…….I just got typing and got away from me hahaha this is the story of my writing nine times out of ten.