Chapter 3.

Word count: 3k

(actally beta-ed wooo)

“So, Luhan, what’s happening? You don’t usually spend a lot of time in Seoul for your recent cases,” Minseok asks the blonde man while he prepares dinner for the both of them. “Is this a serious case then? You only do this for those kinds of work.”

“Mhm.” Luhan only hums as a response to his partner, currently being too distracted by his phone - he’s been answering some messages and sending emails, already asking some of his most trusted sources about things related to the case to get a headstart on it. Some basic and somewhat private information about his client would be a good start.

After sending the last email, he locks his phone and looks in the other’s direction in the kitchen from his position in the living room. It’s not that big of an apartment so it's fairly easy for him to do so. “It’s a big client, babe, and that’s all you’re getting from me.” Luhan cheekily answers and lets out a laugh when the other scoffs at this response.

Luhan knows his boyfriend is curious but he is nothing but a trustworthy detective that keeps his mouth shut about his clients. Well, most of the time anyway, since sometimes he slips one or two things to his boyfriend when he wants some advice.

A comfortable silence settles between them, as Luhan turns on the television and watches the news at low volume, while Minseok continues to prepare their dinner, and when everything’s already laid out on the table Minseok calls Luhan over. After settling down in his seat, Minseok gives Luhan the stare that tells him that the other wasn’t satisfied with his earlier answer. Luhan was just waiting for the - “Really?” Minseok says with a tone of disbelief. “You always say that about your clients, Luhan, but this is new.” the other comments.

“What? I can’t be a nice employee for once and actually keep my mouth shut?” Luhan answers the other while keeping his eyes on the food laid out before him. Luhan swears his boyfriend is the best cook there is. Minseok just laughs at how Luhan seems to be salivating over food, a few days in the capital and he returns home acting like a starved puppy.

“How will you even survive for a few weeks there, Lu, when you can’t even eat properly,” Minseok starts staring pointedly at his boyfriend to get his point across. “So unless you justify to me why I should let you stay there more than you usually do at a time, you have to give me something.”

Luhan is touched, he truly is, and under normal circumstances he would actually tell his boyfriend about what he’s currently working on, but this isn’t one of those cases. “Just trust me on this, Min. I promise to keep myself safe at all times. You know me.” Catching his boyfriend’s eyes, Luhan offers a reassuring smile and reaches for his hand.

“You’re really not telling me who’s this new client of yours, are you?” Minseok says while intertwining his fingers with the other’s.

“No, I can’t, babe. I’m sorry.” Minseok sighs, he knows he can’t do anything about it once his boyfriend’s mind is already set. “Okay then, now eat before you start on your new case.”

Luhan all too happily agrees.

~O~

"Chanhyun, stop running away from me already!" exclaims an exasperated and huffing Chanyeol. For the past hour he's been trying to catch his kid that keeps on getting away from him while laughing at his misery. Kids and their never ending supply of energy, seriously. "You need to take a bath now."

A 'No!' accompanied by non stop laughter is what he gets in return. Chanyeol gets up and starts running after his baby. They just got back from the coffee shop, he takes Chanhyun there after picking him up from school, having made him a special playpen inside their office to keep a better eye on him. Chanyeol’s tired, but nothing beats this feeling of happiness he gets every time he gets to spend time with his child. Little moments like this is what completes him. Even if it adds a lot more to his tiredness.

“Didn’t you used to like baths? With your toy duckies and all the bubbles?” he tries once again to talk it out with his child, as maybe the promise of being able to play with his toys will convince him. Chanyeol believes in talking it out to solve problems even with his four year old kid.

“No!!!!” Chanhyun shouts, accompanied with a lot of cute giggly sounds is what he gets in return. So okay, maybe diplomacy doesn’t work on kids, but it was worth a shot anyway. Chanyeol can’t help but laugh at himself as he tries to catch a running child, filling their apartment with hearty laughter.

Deep in his mind Chanyeol thinks Chanhyun’s laughter sounds so much like his. Even his laughter is taken after you, Baekhyun, seriously - did our kid ever get anything from my genes?! Your puppy looks, your laughter, your wonderful personality, everything, Chanhyun has it all, Baek. He would be jealous but he’s mostly just happy for this makes him feel like Baekhyun is still with them, with him.

If there’s a word to describe how Chanyeol feels, it’s contented. He is and although he could’ve had better circumstances, Chanyeol knows this is enough for him. Having his son by his side, a reminder of their love that they both fought for. Speaking of his son, he still needs to give him a bath so, “Hyun-ah! Come here!”

“Hyun-ah!”

Six years ago …

“Hyun. Baek hyun-ssi!” A running Chanyeol shouts after the person who left his wallet at the coffee shop where he’s working. The owner, Byun Baekhyun according to the ID inside the said wallet, is running away from him and Chanyeol doesn’t understand why. Ever since they passed the alley after the shop, he started to run, even when Chanyeol was already calling his name out loud.

Baekhyun just exited the coffee shop he always frequents when he has school work to finish when he felt that he was being followed. He just had to finish a paper even though his classes were already over for the day. He had to write a 1,500 word film reaction on the documentary they just watched earlier in class and aside from that one, he also had to write two more reports of the same length all for the same professor.

So instead of going back to his apartment immediately he decided to finish it all with the help of coffee and his favorite strawberry cheesecake served at this shop. His brain is tired and any thinking is beyond him at this point so you can’t really blame him for running away at the first thought of danger and not hearing anything the other kept on shouting at him.

It’s now 9 o’clock and the shop is already closing so Baekhyun hurriedly types in his closing sentences for the last of the three assignments he had to do. Baekhyun is tired and drained, physically and emotionally, he just had to churn out 4,500 words that he isn’t quite sure make sense, let alone have the right state of mind to check his belongings thoroughly before leaving his table.

It also didn’t help that his favorite table was the one in