Jongin opens his eyes, squinting at the bright light and the first thing he notices is the ceiling of his room. He isn’t hungover as the last time he woke up like this. His head isn’t killing him, at least, which is a good sign. He stretches, turning on his side, taking a deep breath, and feeling better than he had been in a while. However, he’s forgetting something.

Wait…

Jongin sits up and looks around the room. There are pillows on the floor, sheets, and clothes that unmistakably are not his. Images of the night before pop up, like some sort of puzzle that he has to put together. The club, the bathroom, the kiss .

And everything that came after that.

After getting out of bed, he grabs the first pair of pants he sees and puts them on. He opens the door gently and walks out of his bedroom, looking down the hall. He doesn’t know what he’s expecting to see, but it’s empty, however, he can hear the faint sound of voices coming probably from the living room. Jongin takes another deep breath before he walks down the hallway, and into the clarity of the living room. He stands by the entrance, staring at the scene.

Kai is sitting on the couch, as usual, checking a newspaper as usual, and drinking his coffee as usual. However, nothing else about him is usual. He’s just wearing a pair of sweats and his hair isn’t styled as it usually is at this time of the morning. Kai glances up at him and smiles.

“Good morning,” he takes a sip of his coffee. “Finally! I thought you would sleep until tomorrow.”

Jongin blinks. 

“He’s up?” Another voice coming from the kitchen. Jongin is stunned by the sight that greets him when he turns around.

None other than Do Kyungsoo, wearing nothing but one of Jongin’s shirts and a smirk. He appears to be cooking something and Jongin can only helplessly stare. There's no trace of the man who challenged him the night before.

“I am,” he says, hesitant to take another step into the twilight zone or whatever this is.

Kai chuckles. “You look like you just stepped into another dimension.” He puts the newspaper down.

Wouldn’t be far from the truth.

“I’m just…”

“It’s fine, Jongin,” Kai smiles at his brother. “Remember yesterday. It's all fine.”

“Okay.” He remembers everything so vividly, and part of him wishes he didn't. It's too much to process. 

“Do you remember jumping me inside the man’s bathroom?” Kyungsoo glances over his shoulder just in time to see Jongin’s face turn red.

Jongin turns to his brother. “Are you okay with that?”

Kai laughs. He laughs, standing up and walking over to Jongin, patting his cheek. “I am, you can relax…”

“You’ve been worried about your brother’s feelings, although he’s been okay with this all this time,” Kyungsoo says.

This manages to kill Jongin’s remaining brain cells. “So…”

“So, we’ll figure it out together, the three of us,” Kai pulls his brother towards the kitchen, pulling out two stools for them.

“The three of us,” he watches Kyungsoo wander around the kitchen, trying to get all the ingredients for their breakfast. Jongin sighs. He walks around the counter and takes Kyungsoo’s place. “Sit down, I’ll finish this.”

Kyungsoo smiles. “Yes sir.”

Jongin finishes fixing breakfast for all three of them, placing the plates in front of them. Once he sits down to eat is when he realizes the three of them are really sitting there, eating breakfast together after an eventful night and it doesn’t feel awkward or weird as he thought it would. Kai keeps flirting with Kyungsoo as he’s used to and Kyungsoo responds as he’s used to.

However, now Kyungsoo glances at him from time to time, reaching out for his hand, thanking him for breakfast. Smiling at him. Flirting with him.

It’s a surreal feeling.

“I’m afraid gentlemen I’ll have to leave soon.” Kyungsoo mentions. His fingers are playing with the soft fabric of the shirt he’s wearing. “I have a business trip to get ready for.”

“Business trip?” Jongin frowns.

“I kind of told you a few days ago, but you were too busy kissing me,” Kyungsoo tries to hide his smile behind his cup of coffee.

“He kissed you?” Kai raises an eyebrow.

Jongin sighs. “Out of impulse.”

“Your impulses seem to be on point lately…”

“And then he came to me all drunk, worried about you and upset about other men flirting with me,” Kyungsoo chuckles.

“Aww, he’s always worried about me.” Kai reaches out to pull his brother in for a hug. “Come here, let me give you some love.”

Jongin slaps his hand away. “Stay in your lane, Kim.”

“You’re part of my lane, Kim,” Kai chuckles.

“I’ll punch you… it’s too early.” Jongin sighs, shaking his head. Annoying.

“What? Are you embarrassed because Kyungsoo’s here?”

Kyungsoo laughs. “Oh please, don’t mind me.”

Kai shakes his head. “Either way, he always likes to act like he’s babysitting me.”

“As if you don’t need it. If you behaved, I wouldn’t have to work so hard.” Jongin took a bite of his food.

“Well, Mr. Kim, from the little I’ve seen and heard, I know you’re a piece of work.” Kyungsoo intervenes.

“So, you need a babysitter.”

“I wouldn’t mind offering you the job,” Kai smirks, leaning closer to Kyungsoo.

“Sorry, I don’t have time for kids.” Kyungsoo chuckles.

Jongin laughs. It’s deep and melodic and both Kai and Kyungsoo turn to look at him. They stare for what feels like forever. Like neither could believe what they just heard.

Jongin clears his throat. “What?”

Kai shakes his head. “Nothing.”

“Nothing,” Kyungsoo agrees with a smile.

Except it’s really everything.

--

“Well gentlemen, it was a pleasure,” Kyungsoo smiles as he grabs his things a few hours later. Jongdae already informed him he was outside the apartment, and he had a business trip pending. He laughs when he sees the looks the other two give him. They went from two very attractive men to sulking puppies.

“How long will you be away?” Kai asks with a sigh.

Kyungsoo shrugs. “Probably a week, maybe more, depending on how things go.” He stands up, kissing Kai’s cheek gently. “We’ll pick up where we left off when I come back.”

“Can’t wait then,” Kai smiles.

Kyungsoo then moves over towards Jongin, kissing his cheek as well. “We’ll discuss things further later.”

Jongin nods and walks Kyungsoo to the door. As promised, Jongdae and Sehun are waiting on the other side for their boss and Jongin waves at them before sighing.

“Keep in touch,” he says.

“You as well. Let me know if something else happens.” Kyungsoo smiles. There’s a mischievous spark in his eyes, and Jongin can only return the gesture as he watches him leave. He doesn’t close the door until the elevator is closed.

Going back inside, he notices his brother is on the phone. He’s pacing around the room, and he has that look, the one he always has when something is about to happen.

Jongin sighs. “I’ll go get changed.”

.*.*.*.

Arriving at their office building, already dressed and ready for anything, instead of going to their office, Kai and Jongin take the elevator and push for the basement. Neither of them had been there in a few months. A place some of their men called the dungeon . When Minseok called to inform that they caught the mole, Jongin and Kai knew where they would be.

It was not a pretty place.

According to reports, the guy had been in contact with someone who they still could not identify. Sending tips, general information about the organization, and business partners. About the twins’ locations and other affairs. Luckily, people of his rank did not have access to confidential information, but Kai had to assume he would do anything to steal it.

He single-handedly sold his organization, betrayed his partners, and broke their trust.

That was something Kai would never tolerate.

If he learned something from his father, it was that the organization was family. Those were people Kai had to trust with his life.

Unacceptable .

They walk through the barely lit hallway. They can already see Minseok in the distance, guarding the door. His white hair is falling over his forehead, making him look a lot younger. They approach him.

“Has he said anything?” Kai asks.

Minseok shakes his head. “He’s refusing to talk.”

Kai hums. If he refused to say anything, he was probably waiting for them.

“Make sure everything’s ready. If we get any information, we’ll deal with it right away. Get Chanyeol too,” he says. Minseok nods and opens the door for them.

Kai recognizes him right away as they enter the small room. The guy is sitting on the far end, fingers tapping on the table in front of him. There was nothing else inside, nothing he could use to hide or as a weapon other than the chair and table.

Kai wasn’t worried. Jongin would shoot him down before he could even stand up.

He’s avoiding their eyes, like a child who knew he was in trouble. He keeps on tapping the surface of the table. They can tell by the way his breathing accelerates that he’s afraid.

As he should be.

“Killing one of the people I considered one of my own does not bring me joy… I might re-consider if you tell us what we need to know.”

“Kai,” Jongin protests, his forehead wrinkles, however, Kai raises a hand.

“My brother seems to disagree with me, so we could easily play good and bad cop here… what’s it going to be?” Kai raises an eyebrow.

The guy glances up at them for the first time, eyes going back and forth between them, gauging their expressions. Kai can see the fear in him. He knows what’s about to happen, or what could happen if he doesn’t talk.

“I’ll… I’ll tell you what I know.” He mumbles. Kai smiles, taking a few steps closer, which makes Jongin a lot more nervous.

“What’s your name?” Kai asks. He knows his name already, however, he’s trying to look less threatening. He’s a man of his word, of course. If the information he provides is good, he will consider letting the other live.

“Jaehyun, sir.” He avoids Kai’s stare as if it was gunpowder.

Kai chuckles. “Fine, Jaehyun… tell us what you know.”

Jaehyun clears his throat, his hands are shaking. “We don’t know who hired us. We only get our instructions from someone below.”

“We?” Jongin intervenes. Kai pats his shoulder.

“There’s someone on Do’s side too,” Jaehyun clears his throat once again. “We were directed mostly over the phone; we’ve seen none of them in person.”

Kai sighs. “That doesn’t help us much.”

“Instructions were going to change… they know you’re after them,” Jaehyun says. “They were on the move today. Something will happen.”

Considering what had happened until now, it probably meant they would attack one of his businesses again. They would have to do rounds that night and reinforce security.

“I see,” Kai smiles. “Thanks for your cooperation.”

Jongin doesn’t seem so happy about this, but eventually, Kai convinces him to let it go for now. They had a lot to do and would need a lot more information. At least they knew there was someone on Kyungsoo’s side as well, and with luck, they could get more information later.

They walk out of the room, closing the door behind them. There is one of their men guarding the door already. They would have to see if they could catch Kyungsoo before his flight and tell him about their recent discoveries. Minseok was also still investigating Jaehyun’s burner phone, so perhaps more information could come from there.

Before they could reach the elevator, the sound of gunshots behind them breaks the silence. At least four bullets were fired before they even realize what was happening. When they look back, they find the guard is no longer standing by the door. Jongin quickly pulls his gun out. He covers Kai’s body with his, and the moment the man comes out of the room, he does not hesitate to shoot.

He shoots three times, all three straight to the head. Blood splattered over the wall behind him.

The body falls to the ground and Jongin stays still for a second. Making sure the man is dead.

They rush back and just as they expected, Jaehyun is lying on the ground, lifeless, widened eyes staring at the ceiling, his blood running across the dark floor.

“!” Kai punches the wall, running a hand through his hair. The enemy is one step ahead and he was running out of ideas.

“We have to contact Kyungsoo,” Jongin sighs. They have to move, otherwise, things would not go so well. These two men probably had to report eventually and not doing so would alert the enemy.

He pushes his brother out of the room, forcing him to look straight ahead. They had some information that they had to share; they had to keep moving. Someone would clean up after them later.

They make it to the elevator, this time. Jongin can tell Kai is upset. Not only is their enemy’s hand larger than they anticipated, but also the fact that this just happened right in front of them.

They walk towards their office and call Minseok and Chanyeol in.

“The boy is ing dead. There were more, apparently. We have to contact Kyungsoo. Seems like there’s a mole on his side, too.” Kai’s feet cannot stop moving. He paces around the room like a caged lion. Jongin walks to the bar to pour him a glass of something that could calm him down.

“Sir…” for the first time Minseok seems hesitant about his words. “We just got a call from Do’s team.”

Kai frowns. “Why?”

Silence.

“Apparently, Mr. Do was kidnapped while leaving for his trip, sir.”

It felt like all the noise and the air had been out of the room for a moment. Neither of them can process. That could not be. He was fine that same morning.

He has to be fine. Right?

Kai stares at Minseok, waiting for the other to explain the joke because he honestly does not find it funny. There was no way. Kyungsoo has his team, it’s impossible. He then remembers what the kid mentioned.

They were on the move today. Something will happen.

This was not something he would tolerate. Kim Kai would not allow this under any circumstances.

Nobody had the right to touch Do Kyungsoo.

Nobody.

He would open the gates of hell if he had to.

He would burn every corner of this world.

And they could bet their lives he ing would.