He crouches, watching as Heechul’s breath grows shallower, his eyes flickering somewhere in between delirium and reality. “You should stay away from him,” he hears the rustle of clothing as Youngwoon bends down, and feels the man’s grip tight around his arm, and he can’t avoid the tiny spark of annoyance that ignites somewhere in his subconscious. “He’s not dangerous.” His voice comes out more venomous than he’d expect, and he feels Youngwoon’s grasp slacken out of surprise. “Open your eyes and look at him.” The doorbell rings abruptly, shocking both of them out of their tense stupor. There’s the sound of receding footsteps as Youngwoon hurries to open the door; it’s followed by the sharp intake of breath. “Just be glad I’m the only one today entering your house in a normal, civilised manner.” It’s a smooth voice, heavily laden with sarcasm and slight amusement. “Now excuse me while I collect my partner.” He moves into Jungsoo’s line of vision - quite tall, a medium brown shade of hair, wide eyes, a small scar below his left eye. A little younger than Jungsoo - perhaps in his mid or early twenties? He moves over to Heechul, and his curious gaze meets Jungsoo’s apprehensive one; realisation glimmers in his eyes, and he mouths a quick ‘oh’ before proceeding to jab Heechul with a finger. “You idiot, I told you not to do anything and yet you’re here fighting.” “Don’t be rude, you’re younger than me, you .” Heechul coughs weakly, glaring at his partner. “Hurry it up.” Jungsoo watches with a small flicker of surprise and intriguement as the man half-kneels, looping Heechul’s arm over his shoulder as if it were a regular routine. He’s never quite seen this side of Heechul before - the bickering, informal part of him. He’s fascinating, the assassin, complex, like a twisting labyrinth of a million different personalities. “Kyuhyun-” He hears Youngwoon call the man’s name. Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun glances over after helping Heechul to his feet, and Jungsoo is strikingly aware of the hostility that crackles between them hotter than rubidium in water. And then, they’re gone. They stagger out the way Kyuhyun came, letting the door slam behind them. “Do you have something against him?” “We have companies,” Youngwoon answers, staring after the place where they were standing at moments ago, “With contracts that bind us. The company I’m in, it has a rivalry of sorts with theirs. The strongest always have the most enemies.” Then why doesn’t Heechul act hostile towards you? “But,” Youngwoon’s eyes darken, “I don’t know how long it’ll be until Heechul ditches his company.” “What?” If you quit your company, doesn’t that mean you’re quitting your job? “Heechul’s goal is to be the best one out there.” Youngwoon grits his teeth slightly, the words rolling off his tongue with a bitter tint. “If he wants to sit on the throne, he can’t have a company dictating what he wants to do.” Oh. “And you?” he questions quietly. An easy smile finds its way on Youngwoon’s face. “Don’t worry, Jungsoo,” he responds quietly, “I’m not aiming for anything like that. I don’t want to get myself killed fighting.” Oh. “Good.” The smile cracks open a little more, his lips stretching a little further, his eyes glimmering a tinier bit more. “Yeah? For now, I’ll stop fighting, and I’ll just stay here with you, okay?” It’s oddly comforting. “Yeah.” “Hey, Jungsoo.” Youngwoon’s tone is warm. It reminds him of the past. “Do you want to go anywhere?” He pauses. Everyone’s gone. “I want to see Donghae…” “Okay.” As Youngwoon tells him they’ll go to see Donghae, he realises he doesn’t really mind living here with him. “Don’t complain about yourself taking long to recover if you’re going to go and fight just after regaining consciousness.” Heechul leans his weight against the wall, feeling little pricks at his joints with every little twitch. He rolls his eyes at his younger partner, ignoring the dull throb in the area on his skin that still remains dark, dried red. “You care too much.” “And if I didn’t care about you, who else would?” Kyuhyun responds swiftly. Fair enough. “You don’t need to care so much,” he lingers there, hesitating, meeting Kyuhyun’s flat gaze, “I can keep myself alive.” “No, you can’t.” “Shut up.” Kyuhyun shoots him a raised eyebrow. “You’re secretly grateful for my concern, aren’t you?” “Know your place, maknae,” Heechul complains. And then the lilting teases are dropped from their tones, the small hints of smiles wiped off their lips when Kyuhyun turns, fully facing Heechul, and speaks with the edge of challenge in his every syllable. “So why isn’t it over yet?” Heechul feels himself flinching; he sees the way Kyuhyun’s eyes run over him, sees the way his partner realises his physical movement. “Have I ever failed before?” “No.” Kyuhyun holds his stare coolly. “But it’s been a long time, and you’ve been protecting him so far.” “He is my prey.” Heechul’s voice is hard. “I kill him. Not anyone else.” “And if I’m sent after him if you take too long, will you protect him against me?” The question hides half-swathed in easily-decip