The imposter’s name was Junichiro Aoki. There wasn’t much to find on him, mostly because he was a nobody. Born and raised in Chicago, and a few years younger than Changmin. A high school dropout, and not the kind of dropout that regardless made it. The type of dropout mainstream media made you marvel at. He was a total loser and lived off someone else’s name because he didn’t have what it took to make one for himself. Pathetic really. He was Japanese, but that was about all Changmin knew about him. He didn’t need to know more though, he asked around and quickly found out that Junichiro had the habit of hanging around the same places. Mistake number two.

The first mistake he did was thinking he could live off Kyuhyun’s name without that it would lead to consequences. However, being easy to find by hanging around the same places was just asking for trouble. If you were going to pretend you were in a gang you weren’t in, you should at least make yourself hard to find. Not that Changmin could really blame him, his entire behaviour spoke vocals of Junichiro’s stupidity. He was always hanging around Murphy’s an Irish pub that had once belonged to the Irish mafia that had ruled the underworld alongside the Italian mafia. That was, of course, before Leeteuk’s time. Now it still belonged to the Irish mafia, but that was rather insignificant, it was mainly just an Irish pub. It was located on a ty street, in the southern part of Chicago. Yet still within Leeteuk’s territory. Junichiro’s third mistake. He shouldn’t be hanging around places where they had the authority to hurt him. At least, if he was hanging out on someone else’s territory Leeteuk or Kyuhyun couldn’t touch him as easily. Admittedly though, that meant he would have to leave the city borders of Chicago.

When Changmin spotted the man in question, he couldn’t get over how plain Junichiro looked. He was shorter than Changmin, and had black-brown hair styled in a bowl cut that hadn’t been popular since Changmin’s high school days. His clothes weren’t anything of interest, black jeans, a white shirt and a pretty worn-out denim jacket. He had a pistol tucked into his waistband like the damn idiot he was. It was only a miracle the boy hadn’t shot himself yet. He didn’t even look like he’d be a part of Kyuhyun’s higher-ups, not by a long stretch. The differences between Changmin and Junichiro couldn’t be more astronomical.

Even so, Changmin didn’t want to immediately approach Junichiro only to realise he had the wrong guy. Kyuhyun rarely gave him the wrong information, but Changmin would rather stay safe than to harm someone unnecessarily. Some aspects of his education never seemed to fade away. This was the reason why Changmin was seated in a small booth at Murphy’s, a pint in front of him, eyes on the target but not blatantly staring to unnerve him. Although he doubted Junichiro would notice, but someone else could. He was waiting for Junichiro to reveal himself to make sure he had the right man. Something just told Changmin that the man would reveal himself, and if he didn’t do it now, then Changmin would shadow him until he did. Or Changmin realised he had the wrong man. Whichever came first. He felt pretty out of place in his grey wool coat and black turtleneck, it was obvious judging by the crowd that Changmin had more money than the average guy here. The pub might’ve been owned by the Irish, but their gang business wasn’t nearly as profitable anymore. However, Changmin shook the feeling of uneasiness off.

Changmin felt like Hamlet. Trying to figure out if Claudius had killed his father or not and staged a play to observe his expressions to see if he’d reveal himself or not. Only that Changmin didn’t go to those lengths to set up a play and write entirely new parts just to find out whether or not Junichiro was guilty or not. He was eavesdropping, which was for the moment enough. Changmin didn’t want to over-complicate things and involve a hacker, like Donghae, for something he could do himself. He just needed to be patient. His eyes roamed the pub, it wasn’t very full as of now. However, that was to be expected it was just a little past five o’clock. Most would be getting off work around now if they hadn’t already. His brown eyes found the TV and watched the soccer match that was being played. A re-run of last weekend’s match between Newcastle and Manchester United. Changmin had already seen it, Manchester won 3 to 1.

After a while, Changmin couldn’t tell exactly how long but it was sometime between five and ten minutes, a guy approached the bar on Junichiro’s side. It was easy to tell that he didn’t know him, and by the way, Junichiro was giving the other man looks for getting too close up his personal space one could safely assume that Junichiro didn’t know him either. The guy ordered what looked like a beer and just as Changmin was about to turn his gaze away, so he wouldn’t get caught staring, the man accidently spilt some of his beer on the Japanese man.

“Hey watch it!” Junichiro yelled angrily. The other man seemed to profoundly apologize, but apparently, that wasn’t good enough for the other. Junichiro got out of his seat and faced the man, slightly gripping his shirt to intimidate him. “Do you even know who I am?” these words were hissed out as if it was unjust that some drops of beer had been spilt on his plain clothes and old denim jacket.

“Quit it,” the older man tried to get out of his grip, and the whole pub watched the scene with immense horror or delight, Changmin couldn’t tell. “I told ya I’m sorry,” he continued to struggle out of his grip.

“I’m one of Kyuhyun’s most trusted men, do you even know what happens if someone crosses Kyuhyun?” he asked in an irritated yet intimidating voice. Changmin thought he could’ve bought the act had he been slightly more gullible and idiotic. However, he was none of these things and happened to sit on all sorts of sensitive information regarding Kyuhyun’s gang. Like how Junichiro wasn’t high standing, not even a regular member. He really was a loser just living off the fear of Kyuhyun’s name. However, what he was or wasn’t had no real importance to Changmin. After all, he’d gotten the proof he’d wanted. Junichiro was the guy he was after – he’d heard it coming from Junichiro’s mouth himself.

“Told ya I’m sorry, leave it behind you, it’s just some beer,” the other man tried to reason with Junichiro. Junichiro wasn’t muscular, the other man wasn’t really muscular either, but he looked much heavier in weight. It was clear that if the two of them were to fight that Junichiro would be on the losing end. It seemed that the Japanese man was smart enough to at least recognize this, the bartender looked like he was about to intervene. However, before he got the chance Junichiro let the older man go with a threat and an ugly scowl on his face. The expression looked like it had been practised. As if Junichiro had looked in a mirror while he’d tried to figure out how to make himself look intimidating. Changmin wanted to laugh. Junichiro was nothing but a mere actor, a jester really.

“Forget it, just remember that next time you might regret it.” The way he delivered it seemed more like an actor in a ty movie than an actual thing someone would say. Maybe Junichiro had watched a drama with mobsters and based his entire act on how the actors portrayed it on television? Changmin couldn’t know for sure. The only thing he did know for sure though was that Junichiro was really bad at impersonating actual mobsters. It was clear to everyone who was involved in such business that he couldn’t possibly hold much knowledge when his act was so exaggerated. It was really a miracle that no one had taken him out yet. Maybe what Kyuhyun had said was true, that people were too scared of Kyuhyun to dare go against him. Even if the chance was slim that Junichiro was a part of Kyuhyun’s gang, they didn’t want to risk it.

Shortly after that the man in question left the pub. Changmin was quick to follow. It didn’t take Changmin long to spot Junichiro’s silhouette rounding the corner and Changmin set after him. Once again, Changmin was proven how much of an idiot Junichiro was. He couldn’t even recognize when he was being shadowed. It seemed so idiotic that Changmin didn’t know if Junichiro was even worth the trouble or not. The tall brunet was tempted to just let Junichiro go. He was obviously not worth having someone as high-ranking as Changmin tailing him. However, that would mean going back to Kyuhyun and admitting he’d let him go on purpose. Changmin doubted that would be met with praise and high regard. Changmin had gotten a mission, and would no doubt finish it, but he couldn’t help but to think that Junichiro was so pitiful that it almost wasn’t worth all the trouble.

He didn’t need to shadow Junichiro for long until they reached a closed off-street. Which was secluded enough that Changmin was certain innocent civilians wouldn’t approach them while he was dealing with Junichiro. The Japanese-American was walking ahead with not a care in the world, and Changmin found it odd how little he was paying attention to the world around him.

The older out of the two sped up his pace so he could catch up with Junichiro, and it didn’t take him long. Less than a minute Changmin had reached up to Junichiro, and the male only realised too late that there was someone after him. As Junichiro turned to look at whoever was behind him, Changmin grabbed his shoulder and slammed him into the brick wall. A whimper escaped Junichiro’s mouth as his back hit the wall behind him, and he tried to struggle out of Changmin’s grip. Without much luck. Changmin held him strongly in place, and despite Junichiro’s effort there was no escaping Changmin.

“What the ?” Junichiro grumbled angrily. “Let me go,” but the words died on his mouth when he got a good look at Changmin. When he realised who was holding him and in what situation he was in. Changmin could tell the other recognized, and also knew that if he didn’t behave accordingly it would be a certain death. He was proven as much when Junichiro continued, voice laced in disbelief. “Shim Changmin?” Junichiro questioned; his brown eyes grew larger in size. It was almost comical how fear painted his features so rapidly. “,” he cursed out loud, yet his voice quavered just slightly enough to highlight his fear even more.

“So you have heard of me?” Changmin asked. He wasn’t able to keep the smirk of his face, nor the self-entitlement out of his voice. Junichiro didn’t dare comment on it if he even noticed Changmin’s self-righteous act. It was likely he only noticed Changmin’s frighting aura and his confidence. Even if he had noticed he wouldn’t dare make a comment, but he would’ve been an even bigger idiot than what Changmin already thought he was if he did. “You’re aware of what this means, right?”

“Yes,” he nodded his head quickly, probably hoping that his compliance would be appreciated and rewarded. The only thing Changmin could think of was how pathetic Junichiro looked. Changmin couldn’t blame him for clinging onto the slightest glimmer of hope, but he wished Junichiro had done it with more dignity. He just looked so pitiful that it seemed almost didn’t seem like a fair fight. It was as like entering a local singing competition and knowing that you were up against Lady Gaga. It couldn’t ever be fair.

“I’ve heard you’ve been going around telling everyone you’re a part of Kyuhyun’s gang, but we both know that isn’t true,” Changmin began.

“Yes,” Junichiro agreed. He quivered in Changmin’s grip, and he looked like he was about to cry. Changmin ignored his input and continued.

“Did you really think someone wouldn’t figure you out?” Changmin asked, and his grip around the other’s white t-shirt tightened. Changmin lifted him just slightly up and slammed him again against the wall to frighten him more. Junichiro winced slightly.

“I had hoped,” he began, but Changmin didn’t let him continue.

“Answer the question.”

“No,” he answered with a dejected voice, his head hung a little. However, Changmin couldn’t tell if it was due to shame or due to fear. He seemed unable to meet Changmin’s eyes. Changmin didn’t really care though. He didn’t need to have eye contact with Junichiro. Actually, he would prefer it. That would be one less stare that would be engraved in his mind forever. One less set of eyes that would visit him at his worst times during nightmares. “I just wanted to-…” Junichiro tried again, but Changmin interrupted him.

“I don’t care why you did it,” Changmin wheezed at him, and Junichiro was quick to shut up. Changmin assumed Junichiro had this dumb hope that if he did exactly what Changmin told him he might get to live. Really idiotic if he really thought that. Junichiro had proved out to be just as idiotic as Changmin thought he was. “Now we can either do this the easy way or the hard way,” Changmin explained to Junichiro, and the younger man nodded his head dumbly. As if agreeing with every Changmin’s word would get him somewhere. Changmin wanted to tell him this exact thing, but he refrained from doing so. Telling him would only make him scared, and Changmin didn’t feel like running after Junichiro just because he thought he’d stay alive longer if he lived. “Which one do you prefer?” Changmin asked and smirked wicked at him. Junichiro shivered visibly, and Changmin could feel a satisfying feeling flow through his body. He might not be as power hungry as Kyuhyun or even Yunho, but Changmin couldn’t deny it felt good sometimes to be the one in power.

“The easy one?” Junichiro stammered out, but even though he’d answered Changmin it didn’t seem like he was sure of his own reply. Changmin couldn’t fault him for this, after all, he didn’t know the consequences that would follow.

“Great,” Changmin only agreed, and pulled out a pistol hidden under his clothes. This pistol unlike the one Yunho had handled for him in the hospital yesterday was actually his own. The gun was actually his very first one. Before college Changmin had never held a gun in his hand, never owned one. Yunho had bought him this. He’d said it was necessary. Changmin had disagreed at the time, but now he’d agreed that owning a gun was quite necessary. At least if one were in Yunho’s and Changmin’s profession.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Junichiro asked, his voice suddenly panicked. Changmin only grinned evilly. No answer followed, and Changmin observed Junichiro grow more panicked. “Please don’t do this,” he began begging. “I promise I didn’t mean it like that. I just … I just wanted to be a part of your gang. I’m so sorry,” the act was quite ridiculous to watch. He didn’t look like an adult anymore, he looked like a panicked teen. Changmin couldn’t help but think that that was all he really was. The younger man started to sob, and Changmin only blinked at him. He hated how Kyuhyun had given him this job because Changmin couldn’t help but feel a little bad. “I am so, so, so sorry,” his voice quavered, and Changmin could tell how scared he really was. Changmin couldn’t help but bite his bottom lip, he didn’t want to kill him – not when he looked this pitiful. However, he knew he had a job to do. Changmin wished once again that Kyuhyun had given him a different job, Changmin didn’t usually have this much against killing someone if he knew they deserved it, if they had it coming. However, this was different. This was just a kid trying to act cool in front of adults. He was harmless. Kyuhyun should’ve given this job to someone else. It didn’t matter how good Changmin was or wasn’t, Junichiro was small fish, and if the work had been sloppy here it wouldn’t make a difference. The only reason why Kyuhyun wanted Changmin was that Junichiro annoyed him, and wanted him dealt with quickly. He wanted to be sure that the job was done, and not need to spare another thought on it, so he gave it to Changmin. A waste of resources really.

“Sorry,” Changmin couldn’t help but apologize. “I have my orders,” he answered as if that explained anything. Changmin tried to not let his internal feelings show on his face and pulled the safety of the gun. Junichiro gulped and continued to beg Changmin to spare his life. It all sounded like white noise, Changmin looked at him with regret before he aimed the gun at Junichiro’s heart. He didn’t want to see Junichiro die and closed his eyes when he pulled the trigger. He could hear the sound of the large gunshot, and he could hear Junichiro’s voice stop mid-sentence. There was a large gasp, and then Junichiro’s body hit the ground. Changmin opened his eyes again and looked at the now-dead teen. He looked just as pitiful dead as he’d been alive. He tried not to feel bad, but he knew it was inevitable. Even if Junichiro had been the cause of his own death Changmin couldn’t help that his death had been really meaningless. He was sure he could’ve stopped Junichiro from claiming he was a part of Kyuhyun’s gang if he just scared him a little a bit. Kyuhyun probably knew that too, but he didn’t want to deal with the consequences if Junichiro went against their orders. Killing him now insured that they wouldn’t be dealing with him again. It was in moments like these that Changmin wished he was religious. He could’ve sent a silent prayer for Junichiro, or he could’ve prayed for his own salvation. If he’d been a catholic, he could’ve confessed his sins before a priest. However, Changmin didn’t believe in anything and was instead left with the feeling of guilt and a wish to do something but not knowing exactly what.

Not that Changmin really wanted a religion. He wasn’t against religion or religious people, but he did agree with Marx when he said that religion was the opium of the people. Religion was used to oppress, at least if one were to look back on history, and today many children were indoctrinated by parents and families, taking away one’s freedom. Religion could be nice, and most religions had wonderful texts and verses on how to treat others, kindness and helping others, but Changmin disliked how religion painted the political picture. At least, in the United States of America. Changmin didn’t believe that one’s personal beliefs should affect others, but still, there were Christians constantly talking about the right to abortion or gay marriage. A great many things had come out of religion, like art, literature, philosophers and beautiful architecture, but also a lot of bad things had sprung out of religion.

The brunet didn’t want to linger on the murder scene, it only increased his chances of running into potential witnesses or police. So, he quickly set to work. Changmin cut off all the tags from the clothes, to make it harder to identify him when the police would eventually find his body. He was lucky that Junichiro was walking around in lesser-known brands. It would be harder to make a Levi’s less recognizable even if he cut off the tags. He then went to a task he dreaded almost as much as killing someone. Burning away their fingerprints. It was done for two reasons. The first one was to make it harder to identify Junichiro. The police would need to use his dental or other DNA. The second was to throw off the police. If the police saw that his fingerprints were burnt they would automatically think Junichiro was important, and the fact that he went around saying he was from Kyuhyun’s gang wouldn’t seem important at all. Maybe they’d think this was an effect of a gang war, and blame it on the Italians? The police were rather racist so if they were lucky maybe they’d think Junichiro being Asian meant he obviously was a part of Kyuhyun’s gang, and that meant they obviously wouldn’t be killing their own members. When Changmin was done he burned the tags to leave no trace, and went through Junichiro’s wallet. He burned all forms of identification and pocketed the twenty-five dollars he had in his wallet. The smell of burnt plastic stung in his nose, but Changmin could endure it for some time. He just needed to burn the identification cards enough to make them unrecognizable, and the plastic easily melted under Changmin’s lighter. He threw the now empty wallet in the dumpster right behind him, and the fished his own phone out of his pocket. He called Kyuhyun, who replied immediately.

“He’s gone,” Changmin told him, skipping all forms of greeting and pleasantries.

“You really have to work on greeting your best friend,” Kyuhyun told him. Somehow Changmin had known he would comment on exactly that and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Even if Kyuhyun couldn’t see that. Maybe Changmin just knew he’d say something like that because they were best friends? Or maybe it was because Kyuhyun could be predictable? At least he was for Changmin who’d known him for seven years.

“What do you want me to say? Hey Kyuhyun, how are you? The ing loser is gone?” Changmin asked in an annoyed tone. He didn’t feel like apologizing for the harsh tone. Kyuhyun was used to it, and in Changmin’s head, it was partly Kyuhyun’s own fault that he was in a bad mood for giving him this job.

“At least that would make me feel more loved,” Kyuhyun quickly retorted. Not mentioning any words of Changmin’s harsh tone.

“You don’t deserve that,” Changmin replied just as easily.

“Were you always this much of a pain in the ?”

“I don’t know, you should try giving me better jobs if you want respect,” Changmin answered easily. This had always been their way of communicating, bantering. It was such an easy pattern to fall into that it felt natural to do so when he was with Kyuhyun.

“You should go see Yunho to let off some steam,” Kyuhyun said. Judging by his voice Changmin could tell that Kyuhyun thought he was being especially hilarious right now, but all Changmin could feel was a twinge of annoyance. Even if there was a past relationship between Yunho and Changmin, and that they were sort of friends right now, that didn’t mean that they ed. Changmin had explained this many times to Kyuhyun, and he knew that the brunet was very aware of this fact. He just chose to ignore it because he found teasing Changmin much more fun.

Even so, Changmin couldn’t help but reply like he always did. Because he needed to tell Kyuhyun there was nothing between them. But maybe he also said it because he needed to tell that to himself too? “I’ve told you countless times that we don’t on those meetings, or in general.”

The man on the other line laughed before he replied, “that explains a lot.” Changmin caught himself rolling his eyes again, even when Kyuhyun wasn’t there.

“Shut up, next time do your own dirty work,” Changmin answered curtly and then decided to hang up. He’d called Kyuhyun to inform him that he’d done the job, and he’d completed such a task. Staying on the phone any longer was unnecessary, so Changmin did exactly that.

“Changmin-…” He could hear Kyuhyun start a new sentence, but he didn’t let Kyuhyun finish it before he’d hung up. His phone rang again, and Changmin almost thought it was Kyuhyun calling him up again to nag him about hanging up. But this time Changmin actually looked at the caller ID, to see that the person wasn’t Kyuhyun but Yunho. Too quickly for Changmin’s own liking did he accept the call and waited for Yunho’s familiar voice to speak. Changmin tried not to wear a giddy smile, but he was lost beyond salvation. Changmin tried to tell himself that if anything Yunho was just calling him for a favour or a job, he shouldn’t be this glad for more ty work. But even so, he couldn’t really help it. There was always this feeling going through Changmin whenever Yunho made contact first, meaning he thought of Changmin and had decided on his own terms that he wanted to see him. Even if it was just for some ty business meeting.

“Hey,” Changmin greeted, and couldn’t help but realise that he greeted Yunho, but not Kyuhyun. Changmin didn’t want to dwell on what it meant and managed to convince himself it was out of politeness and nothing else.

“Hey Changminnie, where are you now?” Yunho asked him in Korean, Changmin wondered if he could hear the smile in his voice or if he was just imagining things. He didn’t bother dwelling on the matter and ignored the thought entirely.

“Southern Chicago, why?” he replied back in Korean. If Yunho spoke Korean Changmin always replied back in the same language. They weren’t stupid enough to think that CPD or the government couldn’t understand Korean, but it did make things harder for them. Changmin was confident his phone wasn’t under surveillance, but it never hurt to be careful.

“Oh, where?” Yunho asked intrigued. Changmin couldn’t help but wonder why he was asking, and why his voice sounded so pleased. Maybe he wanted to meet up, and he was close? Changmin tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach when he thought of meeting Yunho. No matter how attracted or interested he might be in Yunho he couldn’t do that all over again. The heartache New York had left him had been harsh, Changmin didn’t want to go through that again. He would rather pine after Yunho than go through all those feelings again. Changmin’s last months in New York and his first few months in Chicago weren’t something he looked back on with fondness.

“A few streets away from Murphy’s,” Changmin replied. Not telling him what he was doing here. Even if his phone wasn’t tapped there were just certain things one didn’t say over the phone. Killing someone was one of them.

Yunho was smart enough to realise what area he was in, and who’s former territory it was. It, of course, meant that Changmin hadn’t walked into a random pub to have a beer and watch re-runs of soccer matches. It meant that he was working. “What are you doing with the Irish?”

“A ty job for Kyuhyun,” he told Yunho frankly. Letting the annoyance he felt seep through his voice, which only lured a laughter out of Yunho. Changmin couldn’t help but feel especially accomplished by this, and a small satisfied smile crept onto Changmin’s face. He always felt rather proud when he got Yunho to laugh, even if it was quite easy.

“Aha, and does that job include disposing of a body?” Yunho asked knowingly, and Changmin could feel his own mouth open in shock. Disposing bodies wasn’t usually Changmin’s job, it was actually something he rarely did. So, the fact that Yunho managed to guess it was rather surprising. Changmin’s tasks were often talking to people, getting contracts signed, making business deals and trying to negotiate good offers. He was much more like a mediator than a mob member most days. Which fit Changmin just fine. When he was taking people out it was more like terminating entire groups and not just one person.

“How did you know?”

“You’re always in a bad mood when you have to do that, especially if you think the guy didn’t deserve it,” Yunho replied easily, and Changmin’s mouth continued to hang open. He couldn’t help but be astonished by how good Yunho knew him sometimes. Even Kyuhyun didn’t pick up on small, irrelevant details like that, but Yunho did. It was frightening in a way because he knew Yunho could use this knowledge against him, but at the same time, Changmin knew that Yunho never would. Changmin chose not to reply to Yunho, because he knew that if he did he would just confirm what Yunho already knew. Yunho didn’t seem bothered by his silent state and continued, “so, you need help?”

“I don’t think I can afford to owe you more favours,” Changmin replied in answer. Which was true, but not entirely. He already owed Yunho a dinner, he didn’t want to think what Yunho would come up with if he owned him a second favour. But that was the entire truth, the bigger reason for Changmin declining was that he wasn’t sure if wise of them to be together so much. It felt like Changmin was leading him on, even when Changmin was clear that he didn’t want a relationship. However, at the same time, Changmin couldn’t deny that he loved Yunho’s attention on him and that the attraction between them wasn’t gone. It felt like Changmin was playing hard to get when in reality he was really just trying to save his heart from painful heartache. Letting Yunho come felt like letting him believe that a romantic relationship with Changmin was possible. He couldn’t lead Yunho on like that, he knew how much it hurt, and cared too much for Yunho to let him go through so much pain.

“Hey I’m offering, I’m not expecting anything in return,” Yunho replied easily, and this time Changmin was certain that he was smiling. The words did very little to calm Changmin’s poor heart, but he’d long since accepted that Yunho would always affect him.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Changmin replied curtly. He didn’t want to seem desperate for Yunho’s company, even if his heart was fluttering at the thought of spending time with him. Not to mention it was just mean of him to let Yunho think he had a chance by continuing to allow Yunho to spend time with him. Had Yunho been anyone else Changmin was sure he would’ve given into the a long time ago but had Yunho been anyone else Changmin was sure there wouldn’t be any tension at all.

“Changminnie, just send me your location, will you?”

“I don’t need help.”

“Maybe so, but I want to see you, and if I don’t help you now, you’ll be too grumpy to want to see me later. Besides, we make a good team, don’t we?” Yunho did phrase it as a question, but Changmin knew it wasn’t. After all, they’d proved countless of times that they were a good team. There was no need to point something that seemed so obvious out. Only that it was because Changmin continued to build barriers between them, and Yunho kept tearing them down. It wasn’t lost on Changmin that Yunho said he wanted to see him, and he realised he was grinning at the fact before he had the chance to stop himself. Yunho always got him to act so strange and unlike himself. Usually, Changmin would pride himself on being calm and collected, he kept his cool and was level-headed but the second Yunho said something akin to flirting or hinted at there was more between them Changmin could only watch himself turn into a fool, but not do anything about it.

“Alright, I’m sending you my location, but I don’t want this to backfire on me, okay?” Changmin told him strictly, and Yunho only replied with laughter. The younger couldn’t help but huff, but he said nothing.

“Changmin, don’t be so paranoid,” was the last words Yunho said before he hung up. Changmin couldn’t help but roll his eyes but had no further protests and sent his location to Yunho as promised.

It didn’t take very long before a black mustang showed up on the road close to the alley he was in. Yunho had taken the roof down on the car, as it was a warm day in June. Yunho didn’t spot Changmin at first, but Changmin had no problems spotting Yunho. He recognized the driver as Yunho, recognized his car, and was proven right when Yunho walked out of the car. It was strange how Yunho could look good doing the most mundane tasks, like walking out of a car. His long legs went on for days in the tailored suit pants. He was wearing a black three-piece suit, but it seemed like Yunho had abandoned the tie somewhere. Yunho looked like a cover model for Vogue or some other magazine, even if he had probably spent his days in endless meetings it looked like he was ready for a red-carpet event. He smiled the second he spotted Changmin and walked over with a calmness that only Yunho could. Even when there was a dead guy in front of Changmin.

The gun was still hot from being fired, so Changmin was still holding it. It felt like Changmin was caught red-handed doing a crime, even when that though he’d shot Junichiro minutes ago now. Yunho walked up to him and looked at the Japanese man lying on the ground and then at Changmin. He only spared Junichiro a slight glance, but his gaze lingered on Changmin. Changmin would’ve felt bothered hadn’t his eyes been stuck on Yunho as well.

“Let’s put him in my car, shall we?” Yunho asked at last not waiting for Changmin’s approval before he started to move towards the now dead body.

“I have my car with me,” Changmin argued, but he didn’t disagree. He knew that no matter what he said they would end up using Yunho’s mustang.

“Here?” Was all Yunho asked and raised an eyebrow at Changmin. Changmin hated how Yunho could make him flustered just with one gaze.

“It’s nearby,” Changmin mumbled as an admittance. Even if his own black Audi wasn’t far away, he knew that it was too far away for convenience.

“So, what?” Yunho questioned. “You want to carry this man all the way to your car?” Yunho was teasing him, they both knew that they’d end up using Yunho’s car and that Changmin was just arguing to not seem helpless. It was really a waste of time because Changmin knew that Yunho didn’t think of him as helpless or a damsel in distress. Maybe he did once, back in New York, but not now. However, Changmin had a ridiculous need to prove his own worth even when it was entirely useless. Changmin’s silence was answer enough for Yunho because he continued. “That’s what I thought.” He went to lift up Junichiro, and Changmin tried to stop him.

“I can carry him myself,” he told Yunho, but the older didn’t listen, and continued to get a grip on Junichiro before he was slowly lifting up the dead man.

“I know,” Yunho replied, and Changmin could hear the honesty behind his words. “But you get so stingy when you get blood on your clothes,” Yunho continued. Which wasn’t all that false, Changmin hated getting blood on his clothes, especially clothes he cared about – it was hard to wash.

“Yeah, but now you get blood on your clothes,” Changmin nagged Yunho, and the black-haired man shrugged.

“I can just buy new ones,” he answered nonchalantly. The words were spoken like a man with wealth, Yunho didn’t care if he ruined a suit or not, because he knew he could replace it if he needed to. Besides, Yunho had several tailored suits, he wasn’t particularly concerned about losing one. Changmin wasn’t as rich as Yunho, but he was a far cry from poor, but he’d been brought up to care for his belongings. And only to replace them when he needed new ones. He hadn’t carried on with everything he’d learnt from his parents, but he still tried to only replace his items when he absolutely needed new ones. He didn’t like to waste things he could still use, and Changmin wasn’t a big spender. It was completely ridiculous in his mind to throw a suit when he could easily just clean it. However, he understood that Yunho and he weren’t equal in that aspect. Yunho walked towards his car, and Changmin followed him.

“Open the trunk, would you?” Yunho asked him as they were standing behind the car. He was reminded that he was still holding the gun and put it back into the safety that was hidden on the inside of Changmin’s coat before he did as he was told and opened it up. Yunho threw the body inside with a grunt, and Changmin couldn’t help but observe that some of Junichiro’s blood had stained both his vest and shirt. Changmin didn’t comment it and took Junichiro’s phone out of his pocket to dispose of it somewhere. They said nothing as Yunho pressed a button, and the trunk door closed. They took a seat in silence, Yunho in the driver seat and Changmin in the passenger seat. Yunho the ignition and the motor made a large roar as he started to drive, it was after all a sports car.

“Where to?” Yunho after a few minutes of driving, and Changmin turned to look at him. The wind was blowing through Yunho’s hair, and even with messy hair Changmin couldn’t help but be awestruck by Yunho’s handsome face.

“Uh,” he began trying to collect his senses and not look like a complete idiot. “Just take me to the harbour,” Changmin decided in the end, and Yunho nodded even though he didn’t look at Changmin. He drove through the streets faster than what was technically legal, staying true to his bad habit of speeding. Changmin would normally have commented on it, but he figured since Yunho was doing him a favour here without asking for anything in return that he would hold his tongue. The drive wasn’t very far, and it was cut even shorter with Yunho’s fast driving, but Changmin didn’t mind the speeding that much. He’d never felt unsafe when Yunho drove, and he doubted he would start now. Besides, the quicker they got to the harbour and dumped the body, the quicker Changmin would be done with this dreadful task. Yunho parked subtly at Kyuhyun’s own private harbour, he’d been here before and didn’t need to ask Changmin for directions. Kyuhyun’s harbour didn’t have any security cameras for a reason, and Changmin was grateful he didn’t need to worry about leaving video evidence.

“You want this the normal way, or did you have something in mind?” Yunho asked as they stepped out of the car and looked at Changmin waiting for an answer.

“I didn’t have anything special in mind,” Changmin told Yunho as an answer. He didn’t add that Junichiro wasn’t important enough to deserve something special. Yunho only nodded, and they set to work. First, they carried the body into a small warehouse that looked from the outside like an abandoned warehouse but was pretty much in use all year round. They laid him on the table, and Changmin went to find the typical garbage bags that he always had on a shelf here. He wasn't here that often, luckily, but he was still here often enough that it would be a waste of time to bring his tools every time he needed to dump a body. They wrapped Junichiro’s body into a black garbage bag, but before Changmin had the chance to fill it with stones Yunho stopped him. He used some sort of tweezer to pull the bullet out of his chest and smiled slightly at Changmin. If the police found the body, they wouldn’t be able to match the bullet to the gun, making it harder for them to find out who was behind this. They filled the bag with stones, to ensure that he would sink when they dumped him, and then the two of them carried the body to the boat that was parked outside. They threw the body inside the motorboat first before they got seated. Changmin drove this time, and he drove for a good twenty minutes until he was certain that they were far enough from the shore and people that it was safe to dump the body.

Yunho and he pushed the body into the water, and it broke the water surface with a large splash. Changmin and Yunho watched it sink for a while until the body disappeared into the darkness of the sea. Changmin saw no need to linger and started the boat again and drove back towards shore. On his way back he threw Junichiro’s phone somewhere that wasn’t close enough to be connected to the body.

When they were back on land again Changmin couldn’t get fast enough away from the harbour. He didn’t want to spend time here when the job was done. He’d hated the job with all his being, and he wasn’t going to linger. Yunho didn’t seem to be bothered when Changmin practically ordered him to drive away, instead, it almost looked like he found it endearing. At least, if Changmin were to go by the fond smile. However, Yunho was a mystery and Changmin could never be sure if what he thought Yunho was feeling was what he was feeling. Kyuhyun was far easier to read.

“Where do you want to go?” Yunho asked him patiently, and Changmin didn’t have a good answer. Changmin tried to think of anything but turned up empty, instead as an answer he shook his head. Implying he had nowhere to be, or maybe he was saying he had nowhere to be with Yunho? Changmin wasn’t so sure himself. He didn’t have any place to be, but even so he didn’t think that hanging out with Yunho was a good idea. After all, he had no job to do now, any time they spent together now couldn’t be counted as business or colleagues working together. Instead, it would be implying that Yunho and Changmin were sorts of friends. That they had a foundation for a relationship. Changmin couldn’t deny that after everything they’d been through together that they weren’t sort of friends, but he couldn’t let Yunho think that it was possible for them to get back together. When Changmin had moved on from the heartache and finally patched his heart together again, he’d sworn that he would never get involved with Yunho again. Changmin intended on keeping that promise.

Yunho looked at him and seemed to understand Changmin’s silence. He sighed, and Changmin could interpret it as a disappointed sigh, but he didn’t dare meet Yunho’s eye. “Alright, I’ll drive you back to your car,” Yunho settled on when Changmin was unable to answer him. Changmin didn’t agree, but more importantly, he didn’t disagree, so Yunho followed through with the plan. They parted with a weird, awkward tension between them that no one wanted to acknowledge. Yunho didn’t look at Changmin, but Changmin didn’t notice it; too busy avoiding Yunho’s eye himself. When Changmin was back in the solitary of his car he tried to convince himself that not getting too involved with Yunho was for the best.