Warning: Light included.

“Well, do you hear anything?” Kai asked, waiting for Kyungsoo’s response.

“I’ve got nothing.”

“What the hell? I just saw Sehun run after him!” Kai said as he maneuvered through the crowd.

“All I hear is the music. Maybe Sehun’s not close enough.”

“Okay. Hold on. I’m going to go check it out.” Kai spoke as he walked towards the same hallway that Kris and Sehun had gone down.

He paused when he noticed a plate of hors d’oeuvres just before the hallway.

“Dammit.” He muttered as he picked up the plate, his hands scouring the underside for the mic he had planted.

He let out a sigh as he pulled the mic off the metal, inspecting it between his fingers.

“Idiot!” Kai yelled, setting the plate back down.

“What? What’s happing?” 

“Sehun didn’t take the mic with him.” Kai said, slipping the mic into his pocket.

“See, this is what happens when you put too much trust in rookies.” 

“So what should we do now?” Kai asked, as he paced back and forth. “Kris already knows my face, so I can’t go near them.”

“I’ll try texting Sehun. Maybe he can use his phone to record everything.”

“Brilliant!” Kai responded, getting excited again. “See, this is why you make the plans!”

Negotiations weren’t going nearly as well as Kris had hoped. In fact, their client’s resistance was quite worrying. It made him reconsider whether or not it was a good idea to get involved with a man who scared so easily. But then again, it wasn’t his decision to make. Xiumin had made no indication of wanting to back out, so Kris pushed on.

“You would get a 20% cut.” Kris said, pacing back and forth.

“I want 40%.”

Kris looked to Xiumin out of the corner of his eye, noticing he was using three fingers to scratch his arm.

“The highest we’re willing to go is 30%.” 

“35.”

“Then no deal.” Kris quickly responded, coming to a stop in front of the older man. “Keep in mind, we know 30% is still double what you make now with your current business. So don’t push your limits.” Kris said, meeting eyes with the man.

He seemed flustered by Kris’s sudden resolve, loosening the tie around his neck before compromising. “Fine. 30%.”

Kris resumed his pacing. “You will need to hire at least seven of our men for operations to run smoothly. You’ll never have to touch or even set eyes on the products, so your involvement is minimal. The only contact you will have with us after things get set in motion, would be monetary transactions.”

“What about my business partner?”

Kris let out a sigh as he was interrupted once again.

“You mean Kim Jinseok?”

The man nodded.

“We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not you want him included in our deal. But do know, you would have to split your own cut with him if you decide to do so.” Kris looked to the potential business partner, checking his expression. The man seemed visually off put by the idea of having to share. “That’s what I thought.” Kris muttered, before continuing the conversation. 

There was a low beep as Sehun’s phone received a message. Sehun’s hairs stood on end as the noise resonated through the empty corridor, already anticipating the worst.

“Did you hear that?” Kris asked, putting a stop to the conversation being had. There was a chorus of yeses which prompted Kris to take action. “Xiumin, go check it out.”

Sehun quickly ducked behind the neighboring door, muffling the sounds of his breathing with his hand. 

Soon after, Xiumin walked out into the hallway, looking in both direction before shutting the door behind him. “There’s no one out there.”

Sehun looked to his phone when he determined the coast was clear. Once he read its contents, he began knocking himself on the head for not checking to make sure his phone was on silent. He could have sworn he had changed it that morning when he had come into work. This was bad. Real bad. 

“Someone’s listening. I don’t feel comfortable continuing this conversation.” The other man said, panicking even after Xiumin's assurance.

“That’s fine. We can resume talks some other time.” Kris accommodated. “Just think about what I’ve said so far, and let me know what you think, alright?”

Even from this distance, Sehun could tell how antsy their client was getting. “You guys should leave first.”

“It was nice talking to you sir.” Kris said in farewell before he and Xiumin left the room.

Sehun remained in his place, crammed between the wall and an ornate door, deciding he couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes. After a full twelve minutes had passed, he finally rejoined the crowd of partygoers, his eyes still scouring for anyone that looked familiar.

“Come on. It’s time to go.” Kris said as he rescued me from an awkward conversation I was having with some rich housewives.

“Thank god. I didn’t know how much longer I could listen to these rich people problems.” I said, clinging to Kris’s arm as he maneuvered us through the crowd. “I mean, seriously. You know you have a good life when your biggest problem is hiring a gardener that can properly shape a tree into the shape of an elephant.”

Our progress stopped as someone cut us off. It seemed Kris recognized the person, because he immediately tensed, straightening out his posture.

“Officer Kim. You’re about the last person I expected to see here.” 

“I could say the same to you.” Officer Kim responded, meeting eyes with him. “Now, what’s a guy like you, doing at a place like this?”

“I like to keep expensive company.”

Officer Kim turned an eye to me. “Ob