“I do,” Andy replied.

Junjin could feel Andy’s intense gaze on him, waiting for him to look over. His neck became stiff as a rod, refusing to even twist slightly to avoid any possible eye contact with Andy. It was time for the verdict, and it was taking him everything to not hyperventilate under the mammoth anxiety brewing.

He heard Andy’s soft sigh.

“Stay in the Special Crime Unit and wait for me,” the gentle voice announced.

Junjin blinked. That was it? That was his verdict?

While Junjin slipped into stupor, Andy quickly stood up and faced him. The tender eyes on Andy’s face were irrefutable. The tightly clenched fist around Junjin’s heart suddenly released its gripped. Come what may, this was Andy, the angel that captured his heart; the person that never give up on him despite his ludicrous behaviour when they just met.

He should have known Andy would never be cruel on the verdict.

Junjin let himself looked at Andy. The eyes in front of him were tender, but also burning with a fierce and uncompromising resolve that contrasted Junjin’s own insecurity.

“I am sorry.” Andy candidly apologised. “Still best friends?”

His prayer was answered. They could backpedal. Junjin should have jumped at Andy’s offer right away, but his mind was so chaotic he remained still. The uncomfortable silence dragged, and he saw Andy’s earlier resolve extinguished behind his irises. The younger man straightened his back.

“I was callous to have avoided you,” the younger man said with culpability. “I–” he paused abruptly, his face twisting with agony. “I had matters I wanted to sort out. But that should not–”

“What matters?” Junjin cut in. He was frightened, terrified. What matters could be so severe that they made him almost lost Andy?

Andy’s eyes opened wide in surprise. His lips parted and closed again, and for a moment he was at a loss of words. “I prefer to keep it to myself for now,” Andy finally said.

“Why?”

“Jin,” Andy sighed, “you have more explanations that you owe me. Let me have just this one, okay?”

The truth in the request was like a punch in his guts. Junjin knitted his brows hurtfully.

“Still friends?” Andy asked again, this time his question laced with anxiousness. And this time, Junjin jumped at the offer. Yet, if they had been bolder this very moment, their future might have turned out differently. If they had pushed for the deepest truth in each other’s heart, the future of their older hyungs might have turned out very differently……

***

“Jin, these are the case files.”

Junjin swirled his chair and reached for the files in Andy’s outstretched hand. He casually placed them on the table and propped himself on one elbow, admiring the love of his life. At last, they were all in the Special Crime Unit. Junjin let a smile crept onto his face.

“Dongwan hyung tasks us to seize the documents from Resolver Corporation,” Andy relayed the instructions from their superior as his eyes scanned the report in his hand. “He should receive the search warrant from the court about now. We can set off immediately when he is back.” The man lifted his head and his brows rose in amusement at Junjin. “You do realise we are in the office and the hyung might step in at any moment, right?”

Junjin shook his head with a shrewd smile. “Eric hyung accompanied Dongwan hyung to the courthouse. They can’t be separated. And I’ve sent Minwoo hyung to get me coffee. He won’t be back for at least another fifteen minutes.”

Andy dropped his files onto the table, anchoring his hands on Junjin’s desk and leaning forward to face his friend squarely. “You sent a hyung to get you coffee?!”

Junjin veered all of a sudden, bringing their face closer. “Why do you think I did?” he replied rhetorically, his gaze locking with Andy’s. Talking about cheap thrills, the corner of his lips lifted satisfyingly when Andy pulled back, face flushing. This reaction from Andy always allowed Junjin to have short moments of delusion; which he very much enjoyed.

“It’s not so bad with them around now,” Andy murmured. “At least we no longer have to pretend we are not talking.”

“But we can only speak in a professional context,” Junjin complained, leaning back into his chair and letting his delusion fade. “I need a break from the we-are-still-not-friends-front once in a while.”

Andy smiled, “it’s not that bad. At least Dongwan hyung always pairs us up for duties.”

“He does,” Junjin laughed, fully aware that Dongwan was doing it in hope that Andy and he will become friends. And these two best friends were more than happy to oblige with the hyung’s arrangement. To make things more hilarious for them, Dongwan and Eric would find every chance to stalk them on duties, not knowing that the maknaes were fully aware of it.

“Anyway, I can’t join you for dinner tonight,” Andy said. He quickly continued when Junjin’s eyes reflected disappointment. “Dongwan hyung asked me to help him choose a birthday gift for my brother.”

Junjin pursed his lips and nodded. After a little more chit-chat, the two friends finally settled down to discuss their case on Resolver Corp. Shortly, Minwoo returned with Junjin’s coffee, followed by Dongwan and Eric with the search warrant they were waiting for.

***

“Why are they so aloof? Is it so difficult to just talk to each other?” Eric whispered to Dongwan as the two tiptoed some distance behind the maknaes who were on their way to the carpark.

“They are just using their phones and ignoring each other. I thought if they keep working together, they would at least have some small talk by now,” Dongwan replied, lowering the papers he was using to cover his face for a better view of the maknae.

Andy’s phone vibrated. He smiled silently at the chat flashing on his mobile phone’s screen.

Junjin: They are following us again… 1:34pm

Andy: Sometimes I wonder why they haven’t realised that we know. 1:34pm

Junjin: I know right… And as if using a folder to cover their face will make it difficult for us to recognise them. How did they become legends in the police force again?! 1:35pm

Andy: Did my brother just hide behind the vending machine? 1:35pm

Junjin: He sure did! LOL! 1:35pm