“You want any of the leftover candy, Wonnie?” Kihyun asks sweetly, pulling his coat open to reveal the boxes of candy he’s secured there. Hyungwon can’t help the laugh that bubbles up his throat and out his thick lips, smiling so fondly. 

“No, you keep it,” he says, taking the older’s free hand and nudging him with his shoulder. “You’ll probably need it more than I do, if you’re working late again tonight.” Kihyun hums in acknowledgment, reaching up once he releases his own denim coat and brushing Hyungwon’s bleached hair out of his face. The younger will want a haircut soon, but... Kihyun honestly doesn’t mind it this long. It makes his already-attractive boyfriend all the more drop-dead gorgeous.  

Kihyun sighs, retracting the same hand to brush his own chocolate locks back and off his face. The chilled autumn winds smack into their faces as soon as they step out of the movie theater, scarlet and gold streaking across the sky as the day gives way to night similar to how it had in the romantic tragedy they’d just seen. People walk by them with pumpkin spice lattes by the Venti clutched tightly in their hands, rushing to get home to their loved ones. Kihyun pulls his phone free from his pocket, checking the time with pursed lips. 

“I’ve still got some time before I have to go,” he tells the younger, feeling the way Hyungwon squeezes his hand delightedly in acknowledgment. “Wanna go get dinner? There’s that new barbecue place you wanted to try that’s nearby...” Hyungwon nods eagerly, the serenest of smiles gracing his handsome features.” 

“I wish you didn’t have to go in at all,” Hyungwon tells him honestly, though he does start to tug the shorter along towards the restaurant in question. Kihyun sighs again, though this time tiredly. 

“I know, love,” he says, his thumb running over Hyungwon’s knuckles consolingly. “But, I promise, after this last shipment, it’ll be easy sailing for a while, and I can take some time off. I’ve been prepping Min all month, so everything will be fine.” 

“You promise you’ll be able to stay away?” Hyungwon asks, giving him a knowing glance out the corner of his eye. “I know how much of a workaholic you are...” 

“I promise,” Kihyun replies easily, leaning his head against Hyungwon’s shoulder to show his own sincerity. “I told you I’d take you to see the world when I took time off, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’ll go wherever you want, for however long as you want.” Hyungwon hums in his throat, nodding. He likes the sound of that... He likes the sound of that a lot. It’d definitely set his mind at ease about Kihyun’s wellbeing. 

Though he’ll never admit it in a million years, Kihyun having the job that he does worries the out of him. It’s why he’s so clingy like this, cherishing each little moment just before the older has to leave for work. But, he’d never in a million years ask Kihyun to quit. He doesn’t want to be the kind of boyfriend that makes his partner choose between himself and his job. He knows that Kihyun knows what he’s doing, so... for now, he’ll keep his worries to himself. 

“Babe~” Kihyun calls in a lilting tone, tugging Hyungwon’s arm a little. Hyungwon blinks, glancing over as they stop at the corner of the sidewalk. He offers a small smile, and Kihyun can’t help but chuckle under his breath. “Where’d you go just now...? You got all quiet.” Hyungwon shakes his head, leaning over to give Kihyun a sweet kiss to his temple. 

“Nowhere, baby,” he tells the older. He would never risk letting his mind wander too far when he’s with Kihyun, after all, not wanting to waste a single moment. Despite never wanting to acknowledge it, Kihyun’s career is dangerous, and he cherishes each moment he gets with the older, never knowing when it’ll be the last. 

 

After dinner, the couple part ways. Night has fallen and taken all remnants of heat with it, leaving Kihyun to sweetly give his boyfriend his long white scarf for extra protection against the cold. Not that it’s terribly cold, mind you, but he could never be too careful with his beanpole of a boyfriend. 

“See you when I get home, babe,” he’d told Hyungwon after giving him a chaste kiss in the shadow. “Don’t wait up, okay?” Hyungwon had pouted, his lips puckering in a frown as his brow furrowed. But, the younger had kissed back, accepted it anyway. 

Kihyun’s always so grateful for how understanding Hyungwon is about his job, about all the hours he has to put in and all the effort he has to give it. He silently swears as he watches Hyungwon walk in the opposite direction, towards their home, with his shoulders hunched forward, that one day things will be different. One day he’ll be able to hang up his cap and say goodbye to this job forever... But, not yet. He hasn’t gotten enough to do so yet. Just a few more little jobs here and there, and he’ll feel comfortable quitting. Then, he’ll be able to take care of Hyungwon like he deserves. 

 

Kihyun takes a cab to the outskirts of town, where warehouses line the docks and look out onto the sea. Night has fully encompassed the town now, offering up only a bit of moonlight and a smattering of twinkling stars to combat with the streetlights and light pollution humans have made. He gives the driver a bit of a nice tip as he gets out of the car, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walks swiftly towards warehouse 514.  

As soon as he opens the small door they use at the main entrance, light swallows him up and he puts on the air of a domineering boss. He sets a hard, stoic look onto his face as he walks briskly through the empty floor, only a few of his cronies milling about at this late hour. In the back of the warehouse, there’s a sectioned-off area he uses as his office. He pushes his creaky door open with his shoulder, shrugging off his coat and tossing it onto the back of his desk chair. 

Hyunwoo, one of his right-hand men, is already sitting on the luxurious velvet couch, his iPad clutched in his hands as he stares thoughtfully at the small screen. His black biker jacket is thrown off to the side, his black hair a bit stringy against his still-damp skin... He must’ve just gotten back from overseeing the heist. 

“Good evening,” Kihyun greets breezily, starting up his own computer. His gaze remains trained on the startup screen, hand already set on the mouse. Hyunwoo glances up, offering a friendly little grin. 

“Good evening, Kihyun,” he replies. “How was your day?” Kihyun shrugs noncommittally, typing in his password quickly and pulling up the files on their latest heist. 

“It’d get fantastic if you run me through tonight’s report,” he says jokingly, shooting Hyunwoo a small smile. Hyunwoo laughs warmly, nodding as he taps on his iPad.  

“Today,” he begins, sitting back on the couch, “we were able to successfully intercept a shipment of artifacts and paintings headed for the National Museum... Minhyuk’s with some of the underlings now in the other warehouse, categorizing and pricing it all. Sales should start within the week. We’re planning to highball it, get the best price we can... as always.” He pauses, glancing over with his dark eyes as if to ask for confirmation. Kihyun nods, telling him it’s just fine. Hyunwoo nods himself, typing in a note for something on his device. 

“Hoseok tells me we’ve got a few clients behind on payments,” Kihyun says simply, leaning back in his wheeled chair with an air of annoyance. He doesn’t understand what’s so hard with staying to a simple payment plan, after all, especially when these trifling es know full-well the consequences of being past-due. It’s as if they do it just to test Kihyun... and Kihyun’s never been one to fail a test. 

“Get Minhyuk to pay them a personal call,” Kihyun tells Hyunwoo, folding his hands in front of his lips in thought. ”I’m sure he can help them remember to stick to the schedule...” He smirks then, his eyes crinkling slightly as a glimmer of vindictive pleasure enters his heart. Hyunwoo chortles once more, nodding as he makes more notes. 

“I’m sure Min would be more than happy to do it,” he says. “Was there anything specific you wanted to keep for yourself from this job? The inventory is being updated in real-time to your computer.” Kihyun hums thoughtfully, lazily unclasping his fingers and reaching out to pull up the application. His eyes flit over it all as he purses his lips in concentration. 

“Not yet...” he answers, “but if there is later, I’ll just text Min to keep it on ice.” Hyunwoo nods, standing to leave. He stands with only a flicker of pain skipping across his tan face, but Kihyun catches it nonetheless. “Make sure Hoseok looks at whatever that is, Hyunwoo. I don’t need one of my best men limping around here like an old man.” A dry smile makes its way to his face, though the worry for one of his childhood friends is clear in his eyes. Hyunwoo catches on easily, as always, and offers a reassuring grin. 

“Don’t worry,” he tells the younger. “It’s just a small sprain. I got it while jogging this morning. It was a surprise attack tonight, so we all got out without any major injuries.” Kihyun nods again, his shoulders relaxing in visible relief. Hyunwoo laughs airily, the sound like that of a fond father, as he leaves the makeshift office. For someone who’s been the mafia kingpin of this town for years, Kihyun—admirably—still has a heart of gold. 

The kingpin in question huffs out a restless breath after Hyunwoo walks out, slumping back in his desk chair and spinning round a couple times, eyes glued to the ceiling. He chews on the inside of his cheek, thoughtful without thinking. He reaches into his coat pockets and pulls free the plastic bag of Twizzlers, popping one into his mouth and pulling it in with his teeth like he would noodles.  

He decides to kill some time until Minhyuk comes back to give him the rundown of the night’s action, pulling up a web browser to begin planning a trip for him and Hyungwon. 

 

Kihyun doesn’t stay as long as he’d thought he would, thankfully. He’s trained Minhyuk well—too well, some would say—to take over for him while he’s gone, and it’s sort of made him obsolete at headquarters... Minhyuk had come in with the night-shift goons, slurping on coffee and strutting into Kihyun’s office to report on the gossip he’s heard around the metaphorical water cooler.  

It’s always a good time with Minhyuk around, but it doesn’t make his own uselessness there any less bearable... At least it means he can get home to Hyungwon all the sooner, he supposes. 

He catches a cab to their apartment, goes up the elevator while humming tiredly along with the insipid tune being piped in. His eyelids start to feel heavy as he shuffles out of the elevator and down the hall to their apartment, the fourth door on the left. He kicks his shoes off as soon as he’s inside, not bothering with putting them into the rack, and locks the door behind him as he drudges on to his bedroom.  

Hyungwon’s already in bed, his lank form wrapped around a pillow. Kihyun smiles fondly, stripping as he steps forward. He leaves the clothes there on the floor, mind on one place and one place only: his spot beside Hyungwon. He crawls underneath the sheets, now in only his underwear. Hyungwon mutters something in his sleep as Kihyun gently pulls the pillow out of his grasp. The younger whines in his throat and wraps his arms around the thing nearest him, which just so happens to be Kihyun. 

Kihyun smiles affectionately, running his fingers through the younger’s hair as his own eyes fall shut. 

Even if work has started to get kind of boring ever since he started phasing himself out of his own position, he doesn’t regret it. If it means getting home to Hyungwon at an earlier time like this, less nights sleeping at his desk and more in his bed, then he can’t regret it one bit. 

If it means holding Hyungwon close like this every night, protecting him from nightmares and cherishing him like he deserves, then Kihyun can’t be anything but happy with his decision.