Wow, I can't believe it's been two months since I updated this. I'm so sorry for taking so long. Hopefully this chapter makes up for the long wait. It's a bit longer than I thought it would be, but not nearly as long as the last chapter. This is also the last chapter that I had anything written for, so it'll probably be a while before I update again. (On a side-note, I've discovered that trap music works wonders for my writing process and I hope that means I'll be able to write more and finish things faster.) Okay, I'll stop talking now. Enjoy~

Sungyeol squinted at the sunlight coming in through his bedroom window. God, why is it so bright in the morning, he thought. He felt a dull aching in the back of his head, like someone was slowly drilling a hole in his skull. He had the worst taste in his mouth and he was sure something must have crawled into it and died. He squeezed his eyes shut briefly before slowly sitting up.

He still had on yesterday's clothes and he hadn't even bothered to take his phone or wallet out of his pants' pockets. As he scratched the bird's nest on his head, he noticed how long his hair had gotten. His mother would probably tell him it was time for a haircut, but he still had some time before they met up again so he would put it off until then.

Sungyeol was pleased to find that he could recall most of the previous night. He wasn't entirely sure what time he got in, but other than that there weren't any regrettable occurrences. Of course, he wouldn't let that stop him from telling Woohyun what a bad influence he was.

", I'm late," he cursed when the thought of the other guy reminded him that they were supposed to meet that morning. Twenty minutes ago, actually, Sungyeol noticed as he glanced at his bedside alarm clock while extracting himself from his sheets. He stumbled into the bathroom and managed to clean himself up faster than he even thought he could. He threw on the first items of clothing his hands landed on without bothering to check if they matched. (Not that he usually paid any special attention to what he wore.) He was out the door in record time, not even bothering to eat anything.

His headache had only just started to dull by the time he reached the house. He went around the back like Woohyun had instructed the day before. After some wandering through the kitchen, a parlor, and a study, he finally found a familiar hallway. When he entered the game room, he saw that his late start wasn't all that bad.

Sunggyu was laying on the couch with his eyes closed and his head in Dongwoo's lap while the latter gently massaged Sunggyu's temples. Myungsoo was once again on the pool table (although Sungyeol suspected it wasn't because of a hangover, but because he just liked to lay there). He had on sunglasses despite being indoors—and presumably asleep. Howon (Sungyeol wasn’t sure if he’d graduated to calling him Hoya just yet) sat in an armchair with his attention focused on the phone in his hand. Sungjong was perched on the arm of the chair also on his phone, his fingers tapping fervently on the screen. Judging by the happy look on the boy's face, Sungyeol guessed it must've had something to do with the woman from last night.

Dongwoo gave him a small wave as he entered the room, sunny smile in place. He was about to ask the older guy where Woohyun was when the door reopened.

"Good, everyone's here," Woohyun said brightly, shutting the door behind him. Sungyeol didn't know how he could be as animated as he was when he had spent the night steeped in alcohol. "I've got some good news and bad news." He continued despite the lackluster reception.

"Bad news first, please," came Sunggyu's sleepy voice.

"Well, the bad news is I'm still waiting on a phone call so you guys didn't have to come so early." A collective groan filled the room.

"Why do you seem so happy about that," Howon asked.

"The good news," Woohyun chose to ignore Howon's question, "is that you guys get a few more hours to do whatever you want until I finish getting things together. I'll let you know when everything's set."

Sungyeol cheered silently in his head. He’d left his apartment in such a rush that he didn’t get chance to make himself anything to aid his hangover. He could really use some strong coffee and something to eat. A tap on his shoulder pulls Sungyeol from his deep contemplation of the best hungover brunch order. When he turns around he finds Myungsoo standing timidly behind him. The other man is staring down at the floor like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

"Would it be okay if… Can we talk? Alone? We can grab a cup of coffee, if you want."

It’s like he read Sungyeol’s mind. Well, not exactly. Sungyeol hadn’t envisioned spending his free time with Myungsoo—or anyone else from the team, really. (Though he didn’t doubt Woohyun would try to worm his way in. And he would probably succeed.) "Um, yeah, I guess," Sungyeol agreed. From the reserved introduction the day before to this bashful request, Sungyeol hadn’t expected having to exchange more than pleasantries with Myungsoo.

Relief washed over what Sungyeol could see of Myungsoo’s face as he looked up at Sungyeol. "O-okay."

Again, Sungyeol found himself wondering what the other man was doing on a team like this. Maybe it was a good thing they were about to have a talk. It could be a chance to find that answer and to get to know Myungsoo better.

⁞

"Listen," Myungsoo said to Sungyeol, but his eyes were fixed on the steaming cup of tea in front of him. He had finally taken off his sunglasses after the two of them entered the coffee shop. He insisted on paying for Sungyeol's coffee, but Sungyeol didn't think that was necessary. Myungsoo reluctantly gave in. "I'm really sorry about last night. I hope I didn't make you too uncomfortable."

"It's okay." In truth, Sungyeol had been very uncomfortable. He wasn't a touchy person and he didn't really like others in his personal space. Normally he would have said just that, but Myungsoo looked especially distressed at the moment. He didn't have the heart to make the guy feel even worse. "If you want, we can pretend like it never happened."

Myungsoo looked up from his cup. "Why?" He seemed genuinely confused, but that soon made way for embarrassment. "I mean, y-yeah, sure, if you—if you want to." He looked away from Sungyeol and back down to his cup.

"Okay, then it's forgotten." Sungyeol couldn't help smiling at the blushing guy in front of him. The cool, indifferent guy from before had somehow transformed into a flustered boy. He thought it was kind of cute.

Myungsoo nodded his agreement and a silence fell over their table. Sungyeol took a big gulp from his iced coffee while he tried to think of something to talk about. He hadn't actively tried to make friends in a long while; he wasn't entirely sure where to start.

"So, you and Woohyun know each other," Myungsoo asked, no longer pink in the cheeks. He took a sip of his now cooled tea as he watched Sungyeol with curious eyes.

Sungyeol made a small noise of acknowledgment, grateful to the other for starting the conversation. "We went to school together. Well, I went to school. I don't think I saw Woohyun there very often." Myungsoo chuckled softly as if he expected that of Woohyun. And Sungyeol supposed they must have been as close as he and his ex-friend had been. "I should stress that Woohyun was the one who was a bad influence. I was just a good kid going through a rebellious phase. What about you," he asked, hoping Myungsoo wouldn't pick up on his reluctance to talk about his relationship with Woohyun. "How do you know him?"

"I don't, really. I guess I should say it hasn't been that long. He kind of just showed up one day, asking me to join the team." Sungyeol resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the word team. He thought it sounded stupid, but Woohyun insisted on using it. "It's been almost two years. I don't suppose I know nearly as much about him as you do."

Sungyeol shrugged noncommittally. In truth, he didn't think he knew that much about Woohyun. The other had always been careful about how much of himself he revealed. As Sungyeol had gotten to know him he'd found that Woohyun didn't give away his trust or his secrets easily. He knew a lot of people and called many of them his friends, but Sungyeol had found that that didn't mean Woohyun was close to them and trusted them. Sungyeol had been one of the few people around whom Woohyun let his guard down. He got to see more of the other's real self instead of the confident, sometimes cocky front he put up in public. But despite that, Sungyeol still thought of Woohyun as a paradox.

"Who do you actually know, then?"

Myungsoo's answer was quick, as if he'd been waiting for the question. "Sungjong and I have known each other since high school. He acts like he's over everything, but he's really sweet once you get to know him. And he decides your worth his time." Sungyeol observed the fond smile that spread across the other's face. He couldn't help his curiosity about the meaning behind it, but he chose not to voice it.

"And what about everyone else? You all look really close, like you've known each other for a really long time."

"Yeah, it does seem that way," Myungsoo nodded. "Dongwoo and Hoya are probably the ones who've known each other the longest. They pretty much grew up together. I'm not sure how Sunggyu and Woohyun know each other, but they started the team together. They seem like they hate each other most of time, but I think that's just how they are."

Sungyeol couldn't help remembering his friendship with Woohyun. They had been the best of friends. They rarely fought and if they did it was only over petty things that they would forget about an hour later. Any of the punches they threw at each other were playful and never meant to really hurt. Sungyeol was embarrassed to admit that he followed Woohyun just about everywhere, even when it meant getting into trouble and pissing off his father. And as much as they were equals, he also idolized Woohyun. Which was probably why things ended the way they did. And he missed him just as much as he hated him.

Sungyeol looked down at his drink, running a finger through the condensation on the cup. Most of the ice had melted leaving water sitting on top of the coffee. "Now I feel kind of left out," he said with a laugh although he was only half-joking. "Everyone's already paired up and then there's me." He expected the other to bring up Woohyun. It made sense. But although Myungsoo proved to be rather intuitive, Sungyeol wasn't prepared for the proof.

"You can have me, if you want." Almost as soon as the sentence was out of his mouth Myungsoo realized the double meaning in the words. His eyes widened comically as a flush crept up his neck and onto his face. ", that came out wrong. I meant friends. We should be friends. J-just friends." In what Sungyeol assumed was a desperate attempt to stop the rush of words, Myungsoo grabbed at his teacup and downed the rest of the tea. He kept his head down and avoided Sungyeol's eyes, most likely wishing to become invisible or even die so long as it meant the embarrassment would end.

Sungyeol, on the other hand, had recovered from the other's gaffe fairly quickly. He didn't know what to make of the man in front of him. "If we're going to be working together it's better to be friends on the same team than enemies." He held his hand out across the table. "I look forward to getting to know you, Kim Myungsoo."

Myungsoo let out a snort, most likely at the other's overly formal words, but still reached to clasp the outstretched hand. "As do I, Lee Sungyeol," he responded, copying Sungyeol's tone. His dimpled smile matched Sungyeol's gummy one as they shook hands like they were sealing a deal. When they let go of each other's hand, Myungsoo took a quick glance at his phone. A short squeak escaped him once he saw the time. "We should probably get going if we don't want to be late," he explained to the other's confused face.

Sungyeol looked to his now watery drink, contemplating if he should try to finish it so that his money didn't go to waste. "Okay," he said, deciding he would rather not subject his taste-buds to watered down coffee just for the sake of a few bucks. "And on the way you can tell me what you know about everyone else."

⁞

The seven of them sat around a long table in the rarely-used dining room. A couple of floor-to-ceiling windows on one wall let in the afternoon sun. The parted curtains allowed a good view of the sprawling backyard. The grass looked as untouched as the polished wood in front of Sungyeol. He resisted resting his arms on it, not wanting to blemish the shiny surface.

They were all at one end of the table with Sunggyu at the head. Woohyun sat to his right, fittingly and most likely intentionally. Dongwoo sat next to him, the serious look on his face a stark contrast from the bubbly man Sungyeol had been introduced to the day before. The last on that side of the table was Howon. He seemed much more put together thanks to their short break. Across from those three sat Sungjong, sitting on Sunggyu's left, followed by Myungsoo and Sungyeol. Sungyeol had let Myungsoo half-drag him to their seats when they had arrived. Sunggyu and Sungjong, the only other occupants of the room at the time, had raised questioning eyebrows at the apparent closeness between the two of them. Sungyeol could understand the confusion. Whatever awkwardness that was lingering between them had managed to evaporate in the short time they'd spent in each other's company. Myungsoo was like a kid with a new puppy, all wide-eyed curiosity and enthusiasm. Sungyeol thought it was kind of cute and he had found himself smiling slightly as he had listened to Myungsoo boast about Sungjong and how they became friends after Myungsoo had attempted to stand up for him only to discover that Sungjong could take care of himself.

"Okay, since everyone's here we might as well get this thing started." Woohyun's booming voice addressed the table of men, bringing an end to the smattering of conversations. "Our target is Lee Soo Man. I would hope we all know who he is," he said with his eyes fixed on Sungyeol. The other man rolled his eyes, but still nodded. Doesn't everyone know who the richest people are even if they have no use for the information? "And assuming we do, then we should all know that aside from being a tycoon and all around rich bastard, he's also a collector. It's a little of everything, though the most important part is that he tends to buy older items. Most of them are between forty to sixty years old. So it makes sense that he would be interested in Dongwoo's lunchbox. It's a foreign import from the fifties that's still in good condition despite all its years of use. Of course, he'd add it to his collection."

Sungyeol's eyes flickered over to Dongwoo as he noticed the other tense at the mention of the lunchbox. Dongwoo stared down at his clasped hands on the table in front of him. A muscle jumped in his tightly clenched jaw, while the rest of his body was held completely still. Sungyeol realized he wasn't the only one to notice the tension knotting up the second eldest when a hand clamped down on Dongwoo's folded ones. He was sure everyone in the room noticed the change, even if Woohyun continued talking without the slightest pause and no one else's eyes turned to the man with anger and agitation coming off him in waves.

The hand, belonging to Hoya, squeezed gently, silently conveying a message. It was almost as if he was absorbing the other's rage. The muscles in his hand and forearm getting tighter as Dongwoo's slowly loosened. The stiffness didn't completely leave him, but he seemed much more relaxed.

Oddly enough, Sungyeol felt a touch of relief to see Dongwoo being calmed by Hoya. He still didn't know the full story behind the lunchbox and its importance to Dongwoo. But the other had been the only other person, besides Sungjong, who he had liked as soon as he met him. Even with his criminal ties and background he seemed like a genuinely good person, as oxymoronic as that sounded. And that only made Sungyeol more curious to know the reason for the anger that had to be tamped down. He made a mental note to talk with Dongwoo and get the answers to those questions before once again turning his attention back to Woohyun. Only Woohyun wasn't talking anymore. Sunggyu had the floor.

"There are a lot of ways we can go about getting into the house. But luckily for us, we don't have to try any of them. In two weeks Lee's wife will be holding a charity auction at their home. Which makes our job easier and harder at the same time. Easier," Sunggyu explained, "Because it's a perfect cover and we should be able to blend in long enough to get to the lunchbox. But with a mansion full of rich snobs and expensive things there will most definitely be a load of security."

"Which is why I came up with a flawless plan," Woohyun interjected. At Sungjong's skeptical scoff and Hoya's disbelieving snort he corrected himself. "Okay, it's not entirely flawless. A party full of drunk rich people is bound to have unforeseen complications. But it's still a good plan." He sat straighter in his seat and clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "As I'm sure we've all learned from every heist movie ever made, it's all about misdirection. If we keep everyone distracted long enough it'll be easy to get to the lunchbox and get out unnoticed."

"So we'll need two of us on the inside so we know everything they know and one person keeping watch outside," Sunggyu continued. "The rest of us will be working the room."

"And three guesses who the outside guy is," Sungjong interrupted. Although his voice sounded bored, the hard set of his jaw and fire in his eyes clearly expressed his irritation.

Sunggyu bowed his head slightly in apology. (Sungyeol found the move surprising considering Sunggyu was the leader. In most cases, subordinates didn't question their leader's decisions.) "Sorry, Jjong." Sunggyu offered the younger man a contrite smile. "If it makes you feel any better, it's because you're easily the smartest out of all of us."

Sungjong folded his arms across his chest, turning his nose up. "It doesn't, but I'll accept the compliment."

Sungyeol suppressed a laugh. The more he learned about Sungjong, the more he came to like him. He was nothing like he appeared—at least, not all the time—which Sungyeol saw as a strength and probably one of the reasons why he was on the team. Befriending him might not be as easy as it had been with Myungsoo, though.

At the thought of Myungsoo, Sungyeol's gaze turned to the man next to him. He had an arm thrown across Sungjong's shoulder and his other hand placed on the youngest's knee. Sungyeol started to wonder if the look on Myungsoo's face when he'd been talking about Sungjong earlier meant what he was thinking. It would make sense, but then again Sungjong was clearly interested in someone else. Even Myungsoo knew that. And the day before, Myungsoo had been hanging off of Dongwoo up until they left for the club. Then, after a few drinks, he'd latched onto Sungyeol like a drunken koala. He was probably just a touchy kind of guy.

Not sure what to do with that observation, Sungyeol tuned back in to the conversation still going on. Woohyun was explaining the roles of the two so-called "inside men". He and Dongwoo would be posing as waiters which would give them access to parts of Lee's home that would be off-limits to the guests. It also made it easier for them to sneak off to get to the lunchbox. "Sunggyu, Myungsoo, Hoya, and Sungyeol will be working the room and keeping eyes on Lee and the security," Woohyun continued. "I'll give you guys your aliases later. You can make up whatever backstory you want. It's only important that you say the right name at the door."

Sunggyu spoke up with the next part of the plan. "Once things have settled down at the party, Dongwoo, Woohyun, and I will sneak out to wherever Lee's keeping the lunchbox. For that, we'll need a distraction from you guys as well as Sungjong's help through the cameras we're going to install in the house."

"And how are we going to do that," Howon asked.

"I know a guy," Woohyun replied with an overly confident smirk. He probably thought he looked cool being all cryptic. Sungyeol just thought he watched way too many spy movies.

Sunggyu didn't spare a second bursting his right hand's bubble. "It's me. I'm the guy," he stated flatly. He barely flinched when Woohyun smacked his arm.

"It sounds better if you're vague about it," he scolded the leader. "Makes things more exciting."

"It really doesn't." Sunggyu's dry response was received with emphatic agreement, much to Woohyun's dismay. Sungyeol noted the wide smile on Dongwoo's face. It seemed genuine and Sungyeol was unexplainably relieved to see it.

"So, anyway." Woohyun tried to steer the conversation back to the topic at hand. (Sungyeol got the feeling that happened a lot in this group.) "Once we've gotten out of the party, Sungyeol will go back to the car with Sungjong and wait for us. It'll look suspicious if we all leave at once so the rest of us will have to slip out in intervals. Our transportation is going to be one of the catering vans since we'll have to leave through the front gate. They shouldn't ask any questions."

With the general idea of the plan laid out, it wasn’t long before the meeting came to an end. Woohyun was pulled aside by Sungjong who had questions about the cameras and monitoring of the party. Dongwoo and Howon got up together, mulling over their food options. Before they could leave the room, Dongwoo turned back to pull Sunggyu to his feet. The leader allowed himself to be dragged along as he complained of always having to pay because he was the oldest.

"I still have some more dirt on the guys if you have time," Myungsoo said, turning to Sungyeol in his seat. He seemed to be back in his excitable five-year-old mode.

Besides the fact that he didn’t have any plans, Sungyeol was just as eager to spend more time with the other man. He couldn’t really remember the last time he made a friend. Especially one as interesting (and adorable) as Myungsoo. "Well, you do owe me a coffee. I’ll accept barbecue instead, though."

"You’re not that much of a cheap date, are you," Myungsoo quipped.

"I also have embarrassing stories about Woohyun. I'd call that a fair trade."