Without the chance to settle in their surprise, Himchan and Jongup were unloaded from the truck and lead through the garage and into the NIS Headquarters. Yongnam had business to attend to, so Not-So-In-Charge and Wheezer, whose real names were Kang and Park, were appointed as their guides.

The garage was big, with pale concrete floors and a high ceiling, more than enough space for several vehicles to sit side by side with room in between. Shelving units and different machinery were fastened to the far walls, and Himchan deduced the space was used for more than just parking. NIS agents moved out of their way as Kang and Park lead them through neatly arranged corridors built out of the same pale concrete as the garage, and accented with black painted metal beams and glass panels in the walls so that they could see through the rooms into the next, then the next beyond that. It wasn't too dissimilar to the architecture of the Unit's own home under Seoul, the Commissioner knew what she liked.

“The Boss wanted you checked out.” Kang said as he gestured in to one of the labs where a young woman was reading a document. She wasn't as young as Junhong, but close to it and she didn't glance up at them as they stopped outside her window, “Our doc can fix you up.”

“Yongnam doesn't want to return damaged goods to his brother?” Himchan asked, though didn't make a move towards the door. Instead he folded his arms over his chest, and made an attempt at smothering a wince at the accidental pressure he put on his bruising. It was definitely worse.

Kang shrugged and glanced at Jongup. The swelling on his face was getting worse, too. He opened the door and Himchan turned first to enter.

“Hey, man. I'm really sorry about your head.” Park said quickly before he could and Himchan paused in the doorway.

“I wish I could say the same about your eye.” He responded. The agents stood out of their way, and Jongup followed his partner in.

The doctor cleaned them up quickly. She was a pathologist, like Junhong, but she seemed to have experience patching up living patients too which gave Himchan a fraction more confidence in her as her fingers felt their way across his scalp to see where the skin had split from the impact of the gun. He hadn't even noticed he'd been bleeding until she ran wet gauze through his hair and it came up copper red.

Once they were patched up and tidy, Kang and Park escorted them down another selection of hallways until they were lead into Yongnam's office, where he sat behind a black glass desk.

“Take a seat.” He said while gesturing with his hand to the chairs across from him, and Jongup took the offer. Exhaustion was catching up to him fast.

Himchan, on the other hand, hesitated. While Yongnam waited with a patience much like his twin's, Himchan looked around the room. It was decorated in a way that felt sterile, with landscape images framed on two of the three walls made solidly from concrete rather than the same panelled glass they had seen in the rest of the building. A plant was miraculously growing in a pot in one corner, and books lined shelves built alongside it. Nothing about the room felt personal, nothing about it felt real. But then again, nothing about Yongnam did either, anymore.

Eventually, he sat down, and Yongnam leant back in his chair.

“I don't know if I've ever seen you think this hard, Himchan-ah.”

“I have a lot of thinking to do, Yongnam.” Himchan replied. Years. They had known one another years. Sure, his relationship with Yongnam had always been periphery to that with Yongguk, but if asked Himchan probably would have referred to him as a friend. Right then, he wasn't feeling particularly friendly and he folded his arms tightly over his chest, more careful of his stomach this time.

“I'm sure you do.” Yongnam nodded, “I'm sorry we had to meet like this. If I'd known your investigation had brought you to the warehouse, we would have kept out of your way.”

“Why were your people in the warehouse? We are mid way through an investigation, and I don't know about your working style, but this-” Himchan gestured around himself, “-Is not exactly doing all that much to assist it. Where the even are we?”

“Seoul.” Yongnam replied, “And my people were in the warehouse, because we have been investigating Golden Lotus for the past eleven months.”

This had Himchan straightening in his seat. His left knee was starting to bounce under the desk, and the outside of his thigh brushed against Jongup's every time it moved. He didn't even notice that his partner was still as a statue.

“Does Yongguk-”

“Know?” Yongnam prompted, then snorted, “You really think after thirty-two years I can keep a single secret from him? He has known about this investigation since long before Song Ahra was murdered.”

Song Ahra's name silenced Himchan, and for a long moment the men just stared at one another. Yongnam was relaxed, comfortable, it was Himchan who was on edge. He didn't like being lied to, and Jongup wished he could reach over to smooth out the creases between his eyebrows again before the muscles tightened enough to make his whole skull ache. But he kept his hands to himself, folded in his lap.

Yongnam leant slightly forward and rested his hands on the desk, “Look, I know we have information that will benefit you, and maybe you have information to benefit us. The NIS and Unit 12 have never had overlapping investigations before, and I am sure you understand my initial reservations in handing over intelligence to another agency, and why I would want to keep an eye on the work you are doing regardless of my own personal connections with your team. However, I understand trust is vital and that is why when I spoke to my brother on the phone this morning, he and I agreed that it is about time our two agencies worked together on this, and the first step in any inter-agency friendship is honesty.” He reached down under his desk and pulled open a draw with a low whirring sound. A holstered gun, ID card and badge were placed on the table between them and Yongnam finally turned to look at Jongup, “Welcome home, Agent Moon.”

Everything went very still. The ID photo of Jongup printed by his name was staring blankly up, sealed with the silhouette of the NIS symbol beside it and under the desk, Himchan's leg stopped fidgeting. The longer he stared down at the card on the table, the more Jongup felt aware of the warmth that radiated from where the outside of Himchan's thigh was still pressed against his until silently it pulled away so they weren't touching at all.

“Thank you, Sir.” Jongup murmured and he reached out his right hand to pull the items towards himself.

Yongnam's lips twitched into a smile more sincere than any preceding it, but then his expression was schooled and he turned to Himchan again, “We want the same result. I'm sure being open and honest with one another will only bring that result sooner.”

“Open and honest.” Himchan nodded a few times with a dry chuckle, then stood up, “Is there anything else you'd like to be open and honest about while I'm here, or can I leave?”

The legs of his chair scraped across the floor with an ugly sound, but Yongnam didn't flinch. Instead he just watched him with his hands folded casually atop one another and nodded.

“I already have agents in Busan gathering your things from the hotel. They'll be returned to you shortly.” It was as good as a dismissal, and Himchan didn't wait around to reply. He turned towards the glass door that lead back out into the hallway. Kang and Park had gone, but standing against the opposite wall was another almost-familiar face watching, smirking. Ha Jooho's arms were folded across his chest and Himchan didn't waste time looking at him when he opened the door and entered the hallway.

“Hyung...” Jongup followed Himchan, reaching out to catch his arm, “Wait, I'll show you the way out.”

The touch, simple as it was, turned Himchan's head towards him but his expression remained as schooled as it had been since the moment Jongup's ID had been laid out on the table.

“I think you've done enough.” He replied, and turned past Jooho to walk south back down the hall the way they'd come.

Jongup watched him go, until Yongnam called him back, “Jongup-ah.”

He turned, Yongnam had risen from his chair and had come around his desk to lean against one of the vacated seats, “You and I will go to the Unit at 0800 hours. You have some time, get some rest.”

“Yes, sir.” Jongup replied, nodded, and turned north.

It didn't take long for Jooho to catch up and fall into step beside him, “It's good to see you, too.” He commented sarcastically.

“You shouldn't have approached me outside the bar.” Jongup replied. He was walking fast, in a hope it would prevent his own exhaustion from catching up to him. He badly needed a shower, he needed to sleep even more, but he knew he would have a long wait until he got the chance to crash out properly.

Jooho laughed, “Come on, I was curious! The mystical magical Unit 12, it's the stuff of legend, Sweetheart, who wouldn't want to see that?”

Jongup stopped abruptly, “Don't call me Sweetheart.” He gritted, “It was a risk, and you shouldn't have taken it. You could have jeopardised my cover.”

“Can't I want to see what kind of people you're hanging out with? That's what a partner is supposed to do. I was watching your back.” Jooho said and Jongup rolled his eyes.

“You haven't been my partner on a case since we started on Golden Lotus.”

“That doesn't mean I haven't been watching your back.” Jooho said, but Jongup ignored him and started walking again. He was ten metres down the hall when Ha called out after him, “Kim's not a bad looking guy.”

Jongup didn't stop though, and he turned to climb a flight of stairs towards the showers leaving Ha Jooho behind.

*

At first, Himchan thought about going home. His bed was at home, so were clean clothes, but once he was back out on the street he knew he couldn't keep his brain quiet enough to sleep. It was still a while before sunrise, and though taxis were speeding past, he opted instead for the train. He'd liked trains ever since he was small and he started taking them to school with Yejin because their parents worked long hours and they didn't have time anymore. She promised them she'd him right up to the front gate when he was only in his fourth year, and she'd already moved on to the high school a little way further down the road. Himchan was their boy, their only son, but Yejin was the one who always loved him most. To her, he wasn't the son, or the heir, or the one to carry on the Kim family name, he was just her little baby brother and sometimes in the afternoons when she came to pick him up she'd be waiting out the front with a drink she'd bought on her way past the convenience store, always Himchan's favourite, cold in summer, warm in winter and she made him promise that he wouldn't tell their parents lest they think she was spoiling him rotten.

The train stopped at Gangnam central, and he knew he should have gotten off and gone home, but he stayed on until it crossed the bridge over the river and pulled up in Yangnsan where he followed the familiar lanes around in circles and ended up right at the start again, in the Unit's headquarters. He'd been given his wallet back on his way out of the NIS, and used his keycard to get into the building even though it was out and locked up, empty so late at night. The elevator rocked and banged reliably, and finally he was descending the stairs towards Yongguk standing in the middle of the room with a glass of amber in his hand.

“You knew that Jongup was a spy.” Himchan skipped formality and landed right on anger. His chest was tight, and he could feel his face flushing.

“I did.” Yongguk said evenly, honestly. His tone only proved to build Himchan's frustration further.

“You lied to me.”

“You know I couldn't tell you that, and you know why. I avoided the truth, but I never lied to you Himchan.” Yongguk leant back against the desks. They were a mess of papers stacked one on top of another, until they leant in a dangerously Pisa-esque fashion. Pens and pencils were everywhere, so were post-its that had been scribbled across, and at some time over the preceding days the photo of Yejin had been knocked over.

Himchan clenched his teeth and he passed Yongguk to lift it up and straighten it out. Her smile was still perfect, and her eyes were still bright, and Himchan was sure that he missed her right then more than he ever had.

“You should have told me, I should have known.” Himchan bit, without turning away from his sister.

“Yongnam-” Yongguk started, but Himchan cut him off, whirling around to face him.

“Yongnam! Don't even get me ing started on Yongnam! I've known him for years, we have been friends for years and all this time he's been working for them? I can't ing-” He cut himself off this time, then scoffed and shook his head. At his sides his hands were clenching and unclenching into fists repeatedly while he tried to get his breathing under control, and small crescent shaped dents were starting to imprint into his palms.

Yongguk wasn't angry, he had the gall to even look guilty and Himchan could hardly look him in the eye when he said, reasonable as ever, “I trust you more than I trust anyone else, Himchan. And Yongnam trusts Jongup the same. When her body went missing, Yongnam wanted Jongup on the case, just as I would have wanted you.”

“Why are they so invested in this?” Himchan demanded, “Their investigation is into Golden Lotus, not her.”

This made Yongguk pause and he glanced down to watch his drink swirling in the bottom of the tumbler. Most of the lights were off, and the few he'd left made the drink glitter as light refracted through the geometric shapes of flowers and diamonds cut into the glass.

“Song Ahra was an informant.” He said, “She was working with the NIS, feeding them information about Golden Lotus, and about Lee Taejin.”

Himchan just stared, “She was an informant?” He felt the frustration boiling up in his chest again until it welled up and he snapped, “Yongguk that information is vital to our investigation! If we'd known that a week ago instead of going on a wild ing goose chase across Korea we could have someone in custody right now!”

“Jongup did know that.” Yongguk reasoned, sending Himchan to pivot on the ball of his foot and bring space between himself and his oldest friend again with a scoff.

“Aah yes I'm sorry, I forgot. Jongup was there.” His voice was sharp, abrasive. Even just the thought of Jongup had a burning heat of anger rushing down to the tips of his fingers and toes.

Yongguk watched Himchan from a few metres behind as he started to pace back and forth in front of the television screens which were turned off for once. His jaw clenched and unclenched with his fists and he looked directly forward, focused on his thoughts.

“Jongup was just doing his job.” Yongguk tried, and Himchan turned sharply around.

“I was meant to trust him! With this case and with my safety!” He answered harshly, “I don't like being lied to, Yongguk, you know that better than anyone, and I especially don't like being lied to by him.”

“Did something happen between you two?” Yongguk asked and Himchan stopped walking with his back to him.

“No.” He lied.

For a long moment, Yongguk just stared at him, but he figured nothing productive came from questioning the denial and so he let it go.

“Can I get you a drink?” He asked after a pause and in an attempt at diffusing the tension, “I have that bottle of Yamazaki you gave me in my office.”

Himchan stopped, turned and just let himself breathe for a moment, then glanced at the clock. It was just after five am, “Isn't it a little early for whisky?”

Yongguk's lips twitched, “Not if you haven't gone to bed yet.”

It was a decent argument, and soon the pair were slouched down at the desks each nursing a drink they were both too grateful for.

“It's good to see you.” Yongguk smiled and Himchan returned it, albeit weakly. God, he was so exhausted.

“You too. Where are the others?”

“I sent the kids home when Yongnam called and promised you were safe. Youngjae was falling asleep where he stood, I put him and Daehyun into a taxi.”

“Junhong?” Himchan asked.

“He went downstairs two hours ago. He's a little harder to convince to leave.” Yongguk replied.

“He learned that from you, Bbang.” Himchan pointed out, but Yongguk smiled with a shake of his head.

“No, that was a virtue he had long before knowing me.” He finished off his drink and pushed the tumbler across the table away from himself, “Dae and Youngjae-ah will be relieved when they see you. I think they got a little tired of my attempt at single parenting.”

Himchan chuckled briefly, “I've always been the cool dad.” Then added, “I need a shower. I have some notes I'll need to share with the others, but I'll have to wait until Yongnam's cronies bring my things back from Busan.”

Yongguk nodded and watched when Himchan rose up from his seat after downing the rest of his own drink, “I'm sorry about your car. I'll have it sorted for you.”

“Quicker than last time?”

“Quicker than last time.” The director promised and Himchan gave him a comic salute as he made his way up the stairs and onto the mezzanine to the lift.

The carriage rocked and rumbled and when the doors slid open Himchan had to blink a few times for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. His head was still aching, and his limbs felt heavy, but instead of heading straight through into the showers, he went right towards Junhong's office. That floor could never quite get fully dark. Fridge lights in the morgue stayed on, which shone through into the labs that had a few permanent lights of their own. The illumination helped, though, and Himchan easily made his way through towards to the office on the other side where Junhong lay curled up on the couch, still in his jeans and with his broken arm tucked in against his chest.

Sometime through the night the blanket Junhong kept on the couch had slipped down his body and lay half on the floor and Himchan quietly tiptoed across the room to pull it back up and over him right up to the chin. He'd have to scold him in the morning for sleeping in his jeans, but right then with a brush of his palm across the crown of his sleeping head he left him be and headed back the way he'd come. Their doctor needed his rest.

Himchan's locker was on the top right and he punched in the code with his preferred hand while the left was already starting to his shirt. When he'd started, he didn't understand the point of having a code at all, they trusted one another, but then after a particularly muddy case Daehyun had stolen his only spare clean underwear, and he'd started locking up after that.

A towel was folded neatly on one of the shelves and he wrapped that around his middle in place of the dirty clothes he bundled up into a clump and shoved into the back corner beside an extra pair of shoes then rounded the bank of lockers to the shower. Steam billowed out quickly once the water heated up and curled the ends of Himchan's filthy hair, but before stepping under the spray he scraped his fingernail against the corner of the bandage covering his stomach until it folded up and he could get purchase. It peeled off easily, but Himchan still hissed at the way it tugged on the bruises that had spread over his whole stomach, worsened from the hits he'd taken the night before. Jongup had done a good job on the grazing, though, some scabs were already starting to fall off, and the worse ones looked well on their way to healing.

He threw the used bandage across the room into the bin and dropped his towel and stepped under the spray. Already, his muscles were starting to relax and he closed his eyes to let the heat, steam and comfort wash down and over his back. When morning came and Junhong woke up, he'd have to get him to redress his stomach again, though he was grateful that Jongup had the forethought to bring a first aid kit with them. To his own chagrin, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

But then again, Jongup's planning extended beyond bandages and antiseptic to torches and condoms and shampoo that smelled like apples. He'd worn those cute pyjama pants with blue and red patterns and swapped out his contacts for glasses in the evenings, just to give his eyes a rest. It was strange, how Himchan felt as though he had really settled in his presence over the previous few days, so much so that he hadn't hesitated even for a moment when he was presented with the opportunity to take him to bed. His hands had been hasty and eager to undo every button of Jongup's shirt and he followed every one with a kiss to the opening expanse of his chest until it was bared entirely and he was left staring at hard muscle and perfect tone.

“You can't be serious.” He'd said as he stared at Jongup's six pack with a weird combination of deep envy and even deeper attraction, and Jongup laughed and kissed him. Himchan had laughed, too, at the way Jongup's lips and breath tickled that spot behind his ear, and he had let go under the skill of his hands and warmth of his body.

For the better part of their week in Busan Himchan saw Jongup as a wave crashing around him, but that morning he realised that the moment they'd kissed he'd been pulled under, and instead he was drowning.

With Jongup's bared body clear in his mind, he opted to stick his entire head under the flow of water and turn the faucet to cold.

The shower probably lasted too long, and Himchan was still rubbing a towel through his hair when he came out towards the lift again, and noticed a light had come on in the lab. Junhong had pulled himself from under his blanket and was slumped over a microscope with only one lamp to help him.

“Couldn't sleep?” Himchan asked as the automatic doors closed behind him.

Junhong startled at the sound of his voice and his eyes widened as he looked up, “Hyung!” He said, though his heavy lids betrayed him, and Himchan smiled fondly at the way he could only blink sleepily at him. Defeated, he pushed the microscope back a little way and admitted, “Not really.”

“Mind if I join you?”

Junhong smiled sleepily, but it was wide enough for his dimple to show and he reached out with his left arm to pull the nearby wheeled chair closer, “Please.”

Himchan tossed his towel through the door and into Junhong's office, then washed his hands and dropped down into the seat he'd been offered, “What are we looking at?”

“I've been looking at the evidence we found in the car again. The results on the vomit are already back, and it's definitely hers. I found some kind of almond pastry in it, like I found in her stomach contents which makes a lot of sense.” Junhong leant forward again and squinted one eye shut.

“Why does that make sense?” Himchan asked.

“Cause almond covers the taste of cyanide.” Junhong replied, like it was so obvious and Himchan remembered that was how Youngjae described the smell. Outside, above ground in the real world the sun was rising and Seoul was coming back to life. Himchan hadn't had time to miss it in the day's he'd been gone, not the sunshine or the river, of the familiarity of streets he could navigate with his eyes closed. The Unit on the other hand with all its dust and dim and absolute lack of natural light, he missed that more than he'd ever admit aloud.

“Where's Jongup?” Junhong asked conversationally.

“Not here.” Himchan said without missing a beat. Jongup was the last thing he wanted to discuss, so instead he changed the topic, “I'm really sorry about your arm.”

“Well unless you've taken to moonlighting as a masked vigilante prowling the streets for unwitting pathologists, I don't exactly blame you.” Junhong replied without taking his eye from the microscope. He shifted his casted right arm and twisted the knob to focus the picture like it was nothing, but Himchan noticed his jaw tightening from the pain.

“Here, tell me when.” He said and stood so he could lean over Junhong's shoulder and take over the focus, “Isn't there surgery for fixing broken bones these days?”

“Mm, recovery is a week though. Can't miss out on that much of the case at this stage. There, that's perfect, thanks.” Junhong pulled back from the eye piece and glanced up at Himchan, “besides, I don't really like hospitals.”

“Ironic.”

Junhong made a face, “I don't like having things stuck in me.”

From the doorway Daehyun snorted, “Except for when Yongguk-”

“Please, Daehyun, for all our sakes don't finish that sentence.” Himchan interrupted. Neither of them had heard the elevator chiming, or the doors opening but Himchan couldn't help the smile that tugged his lips as his old partner stepped in closer.

“Hey.” Daehyun greeted, with enough shame to look a little chided at what Himchan'd said.

“Hey.” Himchan replied. Once Daehyun was close enough he reached out to squeeze his shoulder, and let his hand rest there comfortably.

“I want to hear everything about Busan, but first... Yongguk sent me down to get you both.”

“What for?” Junhong asked and spun his seat around.

“Well.” Daehyun glanced between them uncertainly and said, “We have visitors.”