On the 11th of July Kyuhyun slammed open the door to his office, with a sour expression on his face. Technically it was Kyuhyun’s office, not Changmin’s, but Changmin had been the one using it for the last few months. Sure, Kyuhyun popped in sometimes, but usually, Kyuhyun didn’t take the time to check up on his own gang. If anything, he trusted Changmin to run it in Kyuhyun’s spirit. If he needed something immediate, he was more prone to call or ask, actually demand, Changmin’s presence in his office. The legal one. To see Kyuhyun there so suddenly meant something had happened. Changmin wasn’t stupid enough to think it was something good. Changmin didn’t say something at first, he didn’t know if he had anything to say or if Kyuhyun wanted to have the first word. He always had a hard time predicting Kyuhyun when he was in a mood. For a little while, Changmin felt like they were back in college. Where he was always trying to understand Kyuhyun, and the other remained unreadable to him. Until Yunho had spilled the beans.

Changmin cast Kyuhyun a questioning glance, but he didn’t spare him more thought than that. Knowing that Kyuhyun would claim the attention he wanted. Instead, Changmin returned back to his work. Which was really just Kyuhyun’s work. Changmin had never been fond of finances, which was one of the reasons he didn’t major in business. However, being a mob boss was surprisingly a lot of paperwork. Especially, when Kyuhyun seemed to neglect all his duties to go play house with his new boyfriend and play family with Leeteuk and the other gang members. Usually, Changmin didn’t mind taking over for Kyuhyun as much. However, Changmin had a clear preference and Kyuhyun knew that. He knew Changmin preferred being on the sidelines, not drawing too much attention to himself nor being the one to give orders. Changmin didn’t appreciate being completely out of the loop, but he was content with having someone above him in rank. Being second in command suited him perfectly fine. However, when Kyuhyun pulled out there was no one stepping into Changmin’s position which meant that Changmin was working two jobs. Sure, Kyuhyun never dipped off the face of the earth completely. But Changmin knew he couldn’t depend completely on Kyuhyun as his leader when he was caught up in business with Leeteuk.

Changmin looked at the budget and made sure to sign himself a rather large amount of money from their most recent heist. After all, Kyuhyun hadn’t been there at all. And aside from assisting a little in the planning, Changmin had practically done most of the work. It was only fair Changmin got most of the money. He knew Kyuhyun wouldn’t care if he even bothered to check the papers after Changmin was done with them. Kyuhyun had more than enough money to get by. He would hardly miss a few thousand bucks. If he ever mentioned it, which Changmin highly doubted that he would do, Changmin would just pull the best friend card. It worked every time. Especially if he guilted Kyuhyun into realising how much work Changmin did for him when he was already working a full-time internship.

Changmin wished Kyuhyun would get his priorities straight. Skipping between two gangs was confusing and not to mention stressful. Especially for those who didn’t switch gangs. It was more work for Changmin when Kyuhyun left for Leeteuk’s gang, and it was also surprisingly a lot of work when Kyuhyun came back. He never seemed to come back at a convenient time. Kyuhyun lingered slightly in the room, and Changmin couldn’t help but glance up at him to ask him silently what he wanted. Changmin didn’t offer him more than just a mere glance before he was back to his numbers. He just wanted to finish the finances so that he could leave. He’d been stuck in this stuffy office for hours already, and he didn’t want to spend more minutes than necessary. He just had a few more things to go through and make sure the balance matched the numbers before he could call it a day. However, if Kyuhyun decided to have a long chat those plans would be spoiled.

“I’m going back to this gang,” was the first thing Kyuhyun said. Changmin should’ve realised as much. With Kyuhyun bursting through the door, and his sour expression should’ve told him. Kyuhyun had definitely fought with Leeteuk. All the signs were there.

“Alright,” Changmin agreed. He knew better than to ask Kyuhyun what had happened, or why he had suddenly decided on this. He had fought with Leeteuk, that much was obvious, but Kyuhyun would tell him more when he felt like it. If he didn’t, then Changmin was content with that as well. Frankly, sometimes he preferred not knowing. He disliked being an errand boy running around delivering messages when Kyuhyun wasn’t on speaking terms with the others. Not knowing was definitely better sometimes. “Let me just finish this,” Changmin told Kyuhyun and did a hand movement towards the papers. So, Kyuhyun would understand that he was referring to them if he didn’t understand it already.

“I’m taking the gang over now,” he told Changmin with a stern voice, and Changmin couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Usually, Kyuhyun let him finish his work when he came running back to this gang. Especially, since it was more work for Kyuhyun to understand what Changmin was in the midst of. By the time Kyuhyun understood what needed to be completed and went through everything that Changmin had already done, Changmin would’ve been finished. It was just easier if Changmin was allowed to finish the paperwork, but Changmin wasn’t going to argue about it. If Kyuhyun wanted to take over the gang at this very moment and get more work Kyuhyun was more than welcome to do so. It wasn’t like Changmin actually wanted to be there, and he hated finances. He was more than happy to leave the work to Kyuhyun. However, Changmin couldn’t help but wonder what Leeteuk and Kyuhyun had fought about. It seemed worse than usual.

“Alright,” Changmin agreed, and left the chair and the desk to let Kyuhyun have it. Changmin always had something else to do. Kyuhyun took a seat with not as much as a word. He was awfully silent, and Changmin didn’t want to ask him what had happened. It almost seemed like Kyuhyun was a ticking bomb waiting to explode. Changmin had no desire to be hit by the impact. Kyuhyun might explode, but Changmin didn’t want to be anywhere near him when that happened. Changmin cast a glance at Kyuhyun. Looked at him really good. Kyuhyun looked tired, if he had slept last night, it hadn’t been much. His eyes looked sore, and Changmin wasn’t sure if Kyuhyun had cried or if it came from lack of sleep. Kyuhyun wasn’t a crier, Changmin knew that. He’d never seen Kyuhyun cry for as long as they’d known each other. Changmin was more emotional out of the two of them. However, Changmin didn’t think that was a bad thing. Kyuhyun was so out of touch with his emotions that it was hurting his relations. Aside from looking tired, there was an aura oozing out of Kyuhyun, Changmin could easily identify it. Rage. Kyuhyun wasn’t just angry, he was furious. Changmin really wanted to ask what had happened, and almost for a second, it seemed like Kyuhyun wanted him to ask as well. However, if Kyuhyun ever had that desire, it disappeared quickly. Changmin tore his gaze off Kyuhyun and took his coat off the hanger. He wasn’t going to ask unless Kyuhyun decided to tell him anything. Changmin was almost certain that their silence and Changmin’s habit of not asking questions were the reason they were still friends today.

“I’ll be going,” Changmin announced to Kyuhyun, even if it was obvious that he was on his way out. Kyuhyun didn’t say anything to that, he didn’t even nod. Instead, he looked down at the papers Changmin had been working on and didn’t even look up. Changmin didn’t bother explaining what he’d done, and what was left doing. It would only insult Kyuhyun, and Kyuhyun was already in an unstable mood. Changmin was unsure how Kyuhyun would react if Changmin tried to tell him what was left to do. Even if he only did it as a gesture of kindness.

Outside, Changmin took a second to observe the moving city. The weather was warm, and Chicago was swarming with tourists and locals enjoying the summer. Cars were moving in a steady manner, and Changmin checked his clock, it was a little past five. Most people were off work by now and were either heading home or somewhere to enjoy the nice summer day. Changmin decided to do the same and head home. He had no unfinished business now that Kyuhyun had taken over Changmin’s job, and Changmin had an early hospital shift tomorrow. Changmin hadn’t taken his car today and started to move towards the closest underground stop. Changmin hadn’t gotten far when he felt his phone buzz, and he took it out of his pocket to check the caller ID. He’d somehow expected Kyuhyun to call him, to ask him about the finances or something. However, it wasn’t Kyuhyun calling him. It was Yunho.

A small part of Changmin wanted to ignore it and pretend like he hadn’t seen it. Yunho was like a walking and talking bad omen. Nothing good ever came out of the two of them interacting. However, Changmin had known Yunho for years. He knew all his likes and dislikes, all his ticks and irks. He knew Yunho wouldn’t stop calling until he got what he wanted out of Changmin. If he so needed to track Changmin up himself, he would. With a sigh, Changmin pressed the green call button and accepted the call.

“Hello?” he asked questioningly. He wanted to ask Yunho what his intentions were and wanted to know Yunho’s motives. However, he kept his tongue. Changmin knew if he asked, Yunho would just intentionally stall. Changmin barely had enough patience to deal with Yunho’s . And even less when Yunho was being annoying intentionally.

“Changmin!” Yunho greeted him, and Changmin tried to make a face. Only because he was in public and hated getting unwanted attention. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better,” Changmin replied honestly. The honesty surprised him, but he realised there was no point in lying to Yunho. Yunho had always been good at picking up Changmin’s moods. If Changmin lied it wouldn’t get him very far, Yunho would’ve called him out on it. It was better to be honest from the start and spare himself the time.

“You know,” Yunho began, “if you hate your job so much you should get a new one.”

“What?” Changmin asked outraged. “I love working at the hospital,” he told Yunho. It was true. Changmin hadn’t wanted to study medicine at first, he had just caved into the pressure from his parents. But the classes had grown on him, and then when he was close to graduating college, he hadn’t been sure if he’d wanted to finish his obligatory training to become a doctor. For a while, Changmin had been certain that he wouldn’t complete his training at all. After all, the pay of being in the mob succeeded anything a hospital could ever pay him. Then Yunho and he had broken it off, and Changmin had been in need of a new start. Starting his apprenticeship in Chicago had been the perfect opportunity to get away from Yunho and continue his mob affairs with Kyuhyun. Although Changmin wasn’t happy to have gone through all the heartbreak, he was glad he’d taken on the apprenticeship. He was almost certain he wouldn’t have finished his education in New York, now he was less than a month away from being an actual doctor. The job had grown on him, and although Changmin wouldn’t say that working as a doctor was all roses and rainbows, there were times that made it worth it.

“I know. I meant the other one,” Yunho told him. Changmin hated how well Yunho knew him sometimes. How he could easily understand that Changmin’s bad mood came from taking over Kyuhyun’s position when he was away. How he knew that Changmin hated being the one in charge, and how grumpy he became of doing that. Yunho knew him almost too well; Changmin didn’t even need to say anything. Yunho would just somehow know everything already. “You clearly hate doing Kyuhyun’s job. And let’s be honest, Kyuhyun’s more away from his own gang than he’s present.” It was the truth, but Changmin had never voiced it out loud. Yunho just somehow knew it because he could read it off Changmin.

“I’m content,” Changmin told Yunho. He wasn’t sure if it was a lie or if it was the truth. He didn’t want to work for anyone else. Part of the premise was that he worked for Kyuhyun, and if he didn’t then he didn’t want to work at all. He wanted to work for Kyuhyun and was only loyal to him. But he wasn’t content with the way things were either. Changmin wasn’t a fan of working Kyuhyun’s gang just because Kyuhyun had a hard time figuring out where he wanted to be.

“You could come work for me,” Yunho told him. Not caring about what Changmin had said previously. He was unsure if Yunho actually meant it or not. He seemed serious, but Changmin was uncertain if Yunho meant it if Changmin took him up on the offer. Yunho would claim to be serious if Changmin asked, but was that because Yunho also knew that Changmin would never accept? It was easy to extend an offer that would never be accepted.

“I don’t need a new job, and I’m not looking for one either. But thanks for the offer. If that was all I’ll be hanging up,” Changmin told Yunho curtly. He wanted to hang up, but he knew that wasn’t why Yunho called him. Yunho never called for such a trivial thing. He was allowed to hope though, but Yunho quickly shot that hope down.

“I didn’t call to offer you a job.” Changmin knew that already, but it was still something else to hear him say it.

“Well, then get to the point,” Changmin berated him. He tried to get the annoyance out of his voice, but he could hear wasn’t completely successful at that.

“Remember that you owe me dinner?” Yunho asked him, and Changmin could practically hear the pleased smirk in his voice. Changmin knew Yunho hadn’t forgotten about it, but he had hoped that Yunho would never ask him about it. He knew it was a foolish hope, but he’d figured that since he’d managed to go several weeks with avoiding the dinner, Yunho would simply be too busy to have dinner with his ex who was not really his ex. “Well, I was thinking now was a great time to have dinner,” Yunho told him. Changmin didn’t say anything. If it were up to him, they wouldn’t have this dinner, but it wasn’t up to him. After all, Yunho had done him a favour, and he demanded this in return. Changmin had no say in whether they had dinner or not, he just had to comply with whatever Yunho wanted.

“Are you free today to have dinner?” Yunho asked him. Changmin noted that Yunho at least had the courtesy to ask him if he were free or not. Changmin hadn’t done that when he’d called Yunho. He had just demanded the presence of the other, and Yunho had dropped everything to get there. Changmin wanted to lie and tell Yunho that he was in fact busy. Yunho had no way of checking if he was telling the truth and would have to take Changmin’s word for it. However, that would not make him escape the dinner, it would just postpone it to another time when Changmin had no choice but to accept. He wanted to lie and tell Yunho this was a bad time, but he knew that there was no real use. He might get out of the dinner now, but then Yunho would call tomorrow, and the day after, every day for a week, two weeks. Whatever it took for Changmin to accept. After all, Changmin had accepted Yunho’s request to have dinner, and he did owe Yunho a favour. It was only fair. Even if Changmin wasn’t very keen on the idea himself.

“Yeah, I am,” Changmin informed Yunho. Better to just get over with it, he decided.

“Great!” Changmin could hear the joy in Yunho’s voice, and he could help but feel guilty for trying to avoid this dinner with Yunho. It was nothing personal against Yunho, not at all. Yunho was a great guy, too great almost. Changmin had been in love with the guy for Christ’s sake. Of course, Changmin thought Yunho was a great guy. Yunho was plenty attractive but their looks weren’t enough to make Changmin fall for someone. Sure, it was part of the initial attraction, but Changmin wouldn’t claim to be better than anyone else. Looks were the first thing that attracted Changmin to someone, which would of course lead him to see if they were more their looks. If they had no personality besides being pretty Changmin lost interest, or if they didn’t click personality-wise Changmin would move on. His partners' personality was the thing that made Changmin stick around, but the attraction was the thing that made Changmin notice people in the first place. Yunho was a great guy, at least he’d always treated Changmin with care. Changmin knew Yunho wasn’t a good guy, per se, but he’d always been respectful and tolerant towards him. The guilt was washed away when Changmin remembered the ending of their relationship. It had ended in heartache and hurt on his part. It didn’t matter if Yunho hadn’t intended for things to end that way. They still had. Changmin didn’t think he should feel guilty for trying to protect his heart.

Now, he knew Yunho was trying to prove his worth once again. Trying to gain his trust again. Changmin had left New York to start a new life in Chicago. Honestly, things had been fine without Yunho. Changmin had been getting over his heartbreak and living his ever-so-busy double life. Changmin wouldn’t brag and say it was perfect, but he’d been content. With Yunho in town, things had just turned into a big mess, and now over a year after his appearance, things were still messy. He didn’t know why Yunho had reappeared in his life after being almost two years apart. Changmin hadn’t asked for an explanation, and Yunho had explained anything either. An explanation wasn’t necessary either. It seemed like Yunho had realised somewhere in Changmin’s absence that he wanted him back and had decided to change him across the country. However, Changmin had a hard time believing that this wasn’t just some random urge from Yunho’s side. Of course, he knew Yunho wanted to sleep with him, and he might think he wanted to date Changmin. However, how could Changmin really know that Yunho wanted a long-term thing? How could Changmin know for sure that after a few months Yunho wouldn’t just revert back to his old ways? Changmin didn’t want to put his heart on the line only to have it broken again. He had already picked up the pieces of a heartbreak once. It was painful. Changmin didn’t want to do it again. Especially with Yunho.

“Are you hungry?” Yunho continued, obviously not caring about Changmin’s silence. Changmin hadn’t thought about food, or his hunger for that matter, but now that he actually thought about it, he realised it was a few hours since he last ate. He hadn’t eaten since lunch, which was around noon. Now, that it was almost half past six he was starting to feel hungry again.

“Yeah. I am,” Changmin confirmed, and Yunho made a gleeful sound on the other side of the line.

“Where are you right now?” Yunho asked him. “I’ll pick you up,” he continued. Changmin told Yunho that he was close to Kyuhyun’s other office; Yunho knew where it was. He told Changmin he was ten minutes away, and that was the end of their conversation. Changmin entertained himself by scrolling his phone until the familiar black Mustang slowed beside him. Yunho was looking handsome as always. This time Yunho was wearing a dark blue suit with a white shirt. His long black hair was styled in its usual manner. Changmin couldn’t help but feel underdressed in his black leather jeans, white shirt and his long black coat. However, from the way Yunho was looking at him, Yunho didn’t think his attire was any problem. Changmin continued to feel a strange satisfaction whenever he knew Yunho found him attractive, even when he’d told himself countless of times that feelings like that would lead to no good.

“Hey,” Yunho greeted him, and his voice was softer than usual. Changmin couldn’t remember if Yunho had ever spoken to anyone else in that tone of voice. He was fairly certain that he hadn’t.

“Hey,” Changmin greeted back, but his voice wasn’t as soft. He felt like he was on display under Yunho’s eyes as if he was a zoo animal performing for an audience. Tension was thick in the air, and Changmin couldn’t get rid of the feeling of awkwardness that filled him. He tried to ignore the feeling as he entered the passenger side. Changmin didn’t know how to behave around Yunho and always ended up feeling awkward and bothered around him. The concept was strange, they’d known each other for almost seven years. They’d been an almost item for about three years and six months. Then they’d gone no contact for almost two years and five months. Until Yunho had reappeared in his life, and now they’d lived a year with this awkward friendship. They weren’t quite friends, but at the same time, they weren’t strangers. They knew too much about each other to be called strangers. However, they weren’t friends either. Changmin didn’t seek out Yunho or talk to him like a friend either. They were business partners but had more relation than that. Changmin couldn’t classify their relationship, and it was frustrating. It would’ve been easier if he knew exactly where they stood because then Changmin would know the rules. The dos and don’ts.

“Where are we headed?” Changmin asked when they were on the road again. Yunho turned to him and smiled slightly. Changmin tried to interpret the smile, but Yunho had turned to look at the road before Changmin found a meaning behind the smile.

“You’ll see,” Yunho told him. Changmin understood the smile alright. Yunho was in the mood for playing mysterious, but Changmin wasn’t in the mood for guessing games. He wanted to ask again, but Changmin knew Yunho wouldn’t tell him no matter how many times he asked. Instead, Changmin laid back in the black leather seat and let the wind ruin his hair. There was no point in trying to fix his hair now, he would do it when Yunho parked. Yunho’s bad habit of speeding would at least get them there faster. If that could be counted as any solace. Even so, Changmin could help himself from gripping Yunho’s arm slightly.

“Ya, slow down,” Changmin told him. Yunho turned to watch him but only chuckled in his response. Changmin couldn’t see his eyes because of the sunglasses, but he knew Yunho was ogling at him either way. “And watch the road,” Changmin scolded him. He pushed Yunho’s cheek to turn his head back to the road. Yunho had yet to answer in words, but actions sometimes spoke louder than words. Instead of slowing down, Yunho decided it was a good idea to press the gas pedal and drive even faster. The black mustang roared, and the car sped through the highways of Chicago, but only for a few minutes before Yunho slowed down to their original speed. Changmin was at least a little glad about that.

“A little speeding never killed anyone, Changminnie,” Yunho said when they were back to their original speed. It was still over the speed limit, but Yunho never followed the speed limit.

“I beg to differ,” Changmin quickly retorted. He worked in a hospital he’d seen what car crashes did to people. It was horrible, and the result was never pretty. Usually, it resulted in people who were too young to die fading away. The worst cases were the hit-and-run cases. Yunho seemed to relent a little and slowed down a little, but Changmin could hardly feel a difference if he did.

The parked and Changmin recognized the era as the West loop of Chicago. He knew the area well enough, but never frequented a lot. Unless a client wanted to meet or something. The area was especially pricey, and Changmin never bothered to spend huge amounts on restaurant food when he could make what he wanted to his own tastes at home. Not to mention that Changmin barely had the time to go out and dine. At least, he didn’t take the time to do so. The restaurant they’d parked outside of was called Ever. Changmin had heard of it before, but he’d never been there. He knew it had two Michelin stars, and he could tell from the outside that it was an expensive restaurant. If Yunho hadn’t booked a table in advance, they would never have had a chance to secure one either. Of, course Changmin knew Yunho would never have taken him here unless he knew they’d get a table.

Yunho led the way, and Changmin followed obediently after the other. They walked inside and waited until a waiter would spot them and asked for their reservation. Changmin’s keen eyes scanned the restaurant, it was busy at this hour. Not too surprisingly, dinner time was always when the restaurant was at its busiest. Changmin could recognize several high-profile people from Chicago but didn’t let his eyes linger on them. Quickly enough a waiter was kind enough to spot them. The waiter was a man in his mid-thirties and smiled politely at them when he’d reached polite distance.

“Do you have a reservation?” he asked, and Yunho nodded.

“It should be under Jung, Yunho,” he supplied helpfully. The waiter had no problem finding Yunho’s name and nodded as if saying everything was in perfect order.

“Great,” he told them both. “Right this way,” he told them and lead them to a table for two which was kind of secluded from others. Not too far away to seem suspicious or weird, but enough for them to be able hold private conversations without needing to worry about someone hearing what they spoke about. Unless they shouted, but Changmin and Yunho had always been rather subtle. Yunho thanked the waiter, and they both sat down. The waiter presented the drinking menu first, and Yunho ordered a bottle of red wine. Changmin didn’t pay too much attention; he was happy to let Yunho order for them. He knew Yunho’s taste was good and felt safe knowing that Yunho would never order something he didn’t like. The waiter scribbled down their orders on a small notepad, and this so accordingly when Yunho ordered food for them as well. He disappeared for a while before he returned with the bottle of wine they’d ordered. The waiter opened the bottle in front of them before he poured Changmin and Yunho’s wine glass. He left the bottle, but Yunho didn’t touch his wine. Since he was driving. Changmin doubted he’d be able to finish the bottle by himself, but he appreciated Yunho going out of his way for his sake. It wasn’t until Yunho was sure no one was listening to their conversation that he turned the conversation more serious. Before that, they’d only made idle small talk.

“So, how’s Kyuhyun’s gang?” Yunho asked. Changmin wondered if he asked to be polite and because he cared about Changmin’s well-being or because he wanted information. Changmin hesitated for a while before he berated himself for being so paranoid. Maybe some of Kyuhyun’s paranoia was rubbing off on him. If Yunho wanted information on Kyuhyun’s gang he would never have asked Changmin, because he knew he wouldn’t get it. Besides, Yunho didn’t work for anyone, and would never try to collect information on Kyuhyun’s gang that could be dangerous for them. Yunho didn’t work like that. Not to mention that Yunho was more likely to work for Changmin than against him.

“It’s actually better,” Changmin settled on. He took a sip of the red wine, he wasn’t going to drive tonight, so he thought it was fine.

“Not the answer I expected,” Yunho told Changmin truthfully and Changmin couldn’t help but agree. No one knew how it was behind the scenes of Kyuhyun’s gang. Except for Kyuhyun and Changmin – and Yunho only because he was so damn good at reading Changmin. And maybe Leeteuk, just because he seemed to know everything. However, it wasn’t all blue skies and sunshine. Usually at least. Kyuhyun was back now, and that changed everything.

“Kyuhyun’s back,” Changmin told Yunho. He allowed himself to reveal as much. It wasn’t like Yunho would do anything with the information, and even if he did the underworld would notice soon enough anyways.

Yunho seemed surprised for a second. Changmin enjoyed the fact that he could catch Yunho off-guard, even if those times were few and rare in between. Changmin didn’t allow himself to smirk though, and the shock quickly disappeared off Yunho’s face. It had been barely readable in the first place, but Changmin was good at reading Yunho. They’d always be like that it seemed, even if they spent time apart. When push came to shove, Changmin knew Yunho the best, and Yunho knew him the best. It had its advantages and disadvantages. He didn’t enjoy that Yunho could take a look at him and read all of his darkest secrets, but he liked to be the only one in the room that could understand what Yunho was thinking. “What does that mean for us?” Yunho settled on at last. Changmin shrugged unsurely for a little bit. He didn’t know if he tried to portray that he didn’t know or that he didn’t care.

He swirled the red wine in the glass for a second or two and took a small sip before he looked back into Yunho’s coffee-brown eyes. “Well for one it means that our weekly meetings will have to cease. You better prepare for meeting Shindong or Eunhyuk for the unforeseeable future,” Changmin told Yunho. Yunho didn’t seem to like that idea, his expression seemed displeased and there was this dark look in his eyes that could mean anything but approval. Changmin expected the expression to fade away and leave Yunho’s usual poker face, but it didn’t. He didn’t like the idea at all, and he was vocal about it.

“That’s too bad,” Yunho said. His voice was strained, “I’ve always been fond of those meetings.” Yunho didn’t say anything else, but Changmin could read it clearly. He was far from pleased. It was quite obvious that Yunho sold the weapons to Leeteuk and Kyuhyun way below their market value. Just because it was Changmin. Yunho was never that nice to anyone else. If anything, Changmin had heard people call him corrupt on several occasions. The underworld knew Yunho as someone who wasn’t loyal to anyone, but you could trust that he would deliver the goods. He was reliable, which was rare when it came to weapon dealers. Either they scammed the money out of you without ever delivering the goods, or they delivered products. Being a weapon dealer always meant being wanted, both by criminals and the police. Some weapon dealers did have good intentions – as far as good intentions could go when you sold weapons – and tried to deliver what they sold. But they were always at risk of being raided. When criminals bought from Yunho, they knew the weapons would arrive, and that they were high-quality weapons. But it wasn’t cheap. Yunho could keep his prices high because he knew people would end up paying anyway. He kept competitors at a bare minimum by selling them out and ratting on them. Yunho’s business was dirty, but that’s how you stayed on top in this world. Changmin knew all this, but he’d personally never had a problem with Yunho. If anything, he always struck good deals with Yunho. Changmin doubted Yunho would keep the prices so low for Shindong or Eunhyuk. Whichever Leeteuk sent to replace him.

“It’s only for a few weeks,” Yunho tried to console himself. He met Changmin’s eyes to get the confirmation he wanted, but he didn’t get it. They both knew that when Leeteuk and Kyuhyun fought they always made up after a few weeks. Whenever Kyuhyun had moped around long enough and swallowed his pride to come begging for forgiveness. That’s how it usually went, anyways. This time Changmin wasn’t so sure.

“I’m not so sure,” he told Yunho. Yunho seemed baffled by this confession and focused solely on Changmin. Hanging onto his every word. Normally Changmin would’ve basked under Yunho’s attention, knowing he was the only one Yunho was focusing on, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it under these circumstances. “I can’t quite explain it,” Changmin continued, “Kyuhyun haven’t told me anything. He came back today, but it seemed worse than normal. I think his boyfriend is involved in it.”

“Kyuhyun has a boyfriend?” Yunho asked surprised. They both knew of Kyuhyun’s incapability to stay in a relationship. Changmin shrugged a little. Kyuhyun had never admitted to dating Ryeowook, but more importantly, he’d never outright disagreed when Changmin had and called Ryeowook Kyuhyun’s boyfriend. Sure, he’d said that they weren’t dating, but Changmin could tell that Kyuhyun liked having him around. He was more serious about this guy than he’d been with anyone else. If anything, it seemed like Kyuhyun was the only one who didn’t understand that his feelings ran deeper for Ryeowook than he’d like to admit.

“Or whatever he likes to call it. His name is Ryeowook, he’s an art thief,” Changmin informed Yunho.

“An art thief?” Yunho seemed unimpressed. “I thought they didn’t like to mingle with mobsters,” he continued. Changmin only shrugged. He knew art thieves usually didn’t hang around mobsters, most disapproved of the killing. Changmin couldn’t offer Yunho an explanation, he hadn’t met the guy. But seemed like Ryeowook had no problem with spending time around mobsters if he’d stayed this long. “They won’t last,” Yunho predicted, and Changmin nodded in agreement. However, not because Kyuhyun was a mobster and this Ryeowook was a thief, but because Kyuhyun was downright impossible to spend time around after an excessive time period. He barely managed to hold his friends. He’d just fought with Leeteuk, and his best friend thought he was hellish to be around at times. To keep a boyfriend was harder. It was a reason why Kyuhyun hadn’t had a stable relationship with his ex in college, not only because Kyuhyun lost interest after a week. But also, because he was impossible in relationships.

“What will you do now that Kyuhyun’s taken his job?” Yunho asked. “There will be a lot less on your plate the next few weeks,” he couldn’t help but comment. Changmin knew it to be true.

“Probably sleep eight hours every night,” Changmin joked a little, and the elder man cracked a smile at him. It reminded Changmin slightly of their first meeting. Of how Changmin had been impressed that Yunho hadn’t been scared off by Changmin’s extensive sarcasm. If anything, it had only reeled Yunho in further. “The hospital will be sure to keep me busy,” Changmin continued on a more serious note. “Especially since my internship is coming to an end.” Yunho only nodded. The fact that Changmin was soon finishing his education seemed almost surreal. He was surrounded by mobsters and people who’d long since finished studying. It seemed like it was ages ago since Yunho and Changmin had spent time in Changmin and Kyuhyun’s shared dorm room. It was ages ago since they’d parted ways, and even now Changmin still wasn’t done with his education.

“As long as you keep out of trouble,” Yunho told him. His voice mirrored the seriousness in Changmin’s voice. His look was lethal and had it been directed at anyone else but himself, Changmin would’ve thought that Yunho was on the verge of killing someone. Now it looked more like he wanted to burn the world for Changmin’s sake.

“I don’t need a keeper,” Changmin told Yunho. He didn’t need to be reminded to stay safe, he was old enough to take care of himself and smart enough to never get himself involved in serious trouble. However, he could never guarantee that trouble would stay out of his way. Sometimes, it came to him like the man in the hospital.

“I know.” Yunho told him in a stern voice. Of course, Yunho didn’t need to be reminded that Changmin didn’t need a keeper, he was the one who’d taught Changmin how to defend himself. Yunho was probably the only one outside of Changmin himself who knew the full extent of Changmin’s abilities. “I just want you to be careful,” Yunho told him. The words were sweet enough, but Changmin couldn’t help but feel like he was ordered into staying safe. He didn’t answer to avoid getting into an argument with Yunho.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly. Changmin had worried Yunho’s advances would be greater, but Yunho kept his promises. It was merely a dinner between two friends, and Changmin couldn’t have been happier. If things continued like this Changmin would be more than happy to rebuild their friendship. He did miss Yunho as a friend, and he knew they understood each other like no one else. However, he couldn’t rebuild a relationship with romantic undertones with Yunho. He refused to have his heart broken by the same man twice. Changmin wasn’t naïve enough to think that things between them were okay, but the dinner gave him hope that maybe things could be. Yunho paid; Changmin tried to argue but Yunho wouldn’t let him. Changmin knew there was no Changmin Yunho’s mind when he had made up his mind, but he still tried. He ended up being unsuccessful.

They walked out of the restaurant, and Yunho suggested they took a stroll. Changmin couldn’t help but agree. It seemed like it was ages ago since he’d just walked around the city with no special errand in mind. Changmin wished he had more time to just lean back and relax, but he never seemed to have time for it. They were just a few steps away from Ever when Changmin felt his phone vibrate. Whatever he was going to say to Yunho slipped away from his mind, and he stopped in his tracks. Yunho halted as well and gave Changmin a curious look. He quickly understood what was going on when Changmin reached for his phone to check the caller ID. It was Kyuhyun.

“I’m sorry but I have to take this,” he told Yunho. He smiled apologetically and was surprised by himself when he realised that he was actually sad that his time with Yunho was interrupted.

“It’s Kyuhyun, isn’t it?” Yunho asked. Changmin didn’t need to confirm it, but even so, he nodded. Yunho said nothing more, and Changmin smiled apologetically again before he stepped a few feet away to talk to Kyuhyun under Yunho’s watchful eyes.

“Hey,” Changmin said as he accepted Kyuhyun’s call. Kyuhyun didn’t waste any time asking about Changmin’s well-being or even have the decency to ask if he’d interrupted something important. Kyuhyun never did ask though, and Changmin had long since expected him to even bother.

“Could you come over to my mansion?” Kyuhyun asked. He didn’t tell Changmin what he wanted from him, and Changmin wondered if it was a waste of time to ask what Kyuhyun needed.

“Sure,” Changmin agreed. “When?”

“Now.”

Changmin cast a glance in Yunho’s direction. He was waiting for Changmin to finish his call so they could continue with their previous plans. Changmin felt guilt pool up in his stomach as he imagined having to tell Yunho that he’d have to cancel the stroll. He hadn’t expected Kyuhyun to demand his presence at this very moment. Changmin wondered briefly if he’d answered differently if he knew Kyuhyun would but came to no immediate answer. He wanted to tell Kyuhyun now was not a good time, but it didn’t sit right with him that he was ignoring Kyuhyun to spend time with Yunho. It seemed like something he would’ve done in New York, something Changmin had thought he’d left in New York. He wished Kyuhyun would get enough perception to realise on his accord that Changmin could be busy. However, that day seemed far away, Changmin could only dream of it appearing in foreseeable future.

“What do you need?” Changmin settled on. He thought that might be the middle path between telling Kyuhyun to -off and obeying his every whim. Of course, he didn’t expect Kyuhyun to tell him right away. However, he figured that it might be worth a try.

“Just get here as fast as you can,” Kyuhyun told him and hung up. Changmin couldn’t help but grit his teeth in aggravation. For a hot minute taking Yunho’s job offer seemed really tempting. He would like to see Kyuhyun’s entire gang crumble if he walked away, but Changmin knew deep in his heart that he could never do that. He stuffed his phone into his pocket much more harsher than necessary, but Changmin figured since he couldn’t take his frustration out on Kyuhyun he might as well do it on his phone. When he stepped closer to Yunho, he could tell that the older man knew what he was about to say.

“Yunho, I’m really sorry,” Changmin began, but he wasn’t allowed to continue his apology. Changmin figured he didn’t mind as much. He didn’t know what he would’ve said afterwards either way.

“Leave it,” Yunho told him seriously. “Master is calling you back, isn’t he?” He asked, and Changmin could spot a bit of taunting in his voice. He wondered if deep under it there was also aggravation, but Changmin didn’t dare speculate.

“He’s not my master,” Changmin muttered a bit irritated. Sure, he worked for Kyuhyun, but Kyuhyun didn’t hold much power over him. At least not in that way.

“Sure acts like it though,” Yunho muttered back. Changmin wanted to argue more, but he decided to leave it. He knew they wouldn’t agree on it even if Changmin decided to answer Yunho. They’d argued about it before. Yunho didn’t like the way Kyuhyun treated Changmin and meant Kyuhyun was exploiting him, while Changmin thought Yunho was overreacting. He didn’t know what it was like working for Kyuhyun, he was just focusing on the bad parts. Yunho would answer that he could tell Changmin wasn’t happy with the job, and that was enough for him to understand that it wasn’t good for him. Changmin thought that was an oversimplification. They were best friends, and Changmin didn’t want to work for anyone else.

Yunho drove Changmin to Kyuhyun’s manor. Changmin had tried to tell Yunho that it was hardly necessary and that he could just call a taxi himself. However, Yunho would have none of it and Changmin had come out on the losing side just like he did with paying the bill. The ride to Kyuhyun’s manor had been mostly silent except for Changmin’s occasional comment about Yunho’s driving. When Yunho parked the car, he turned to watch Changmin right before he exited the car.

“This might be the last time in a while before I see you,” Yunho told Changmin. Changmin couldn’t tell if Yunho was saddened by the fact or if he was just tired. He wanted to ask, but Changmin didn’t dare. Scared that Yunho wouldn’t tell him the truth if he inquired. Scared he wouldn’t like the answer he got. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Yunho to be sad or not.

“Don’t worry Minnie,” Yunho was quick to reassure him, “I’ll find a way to see you.” He smiled a cheeky smile, evidently quite proud of saying something like that. Changmin couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Of course, Yunho would tell him something like that. Changmin was torn between wanting to hit the smirk on Yunho’s face and telling Yunho to stop trying so hard.

“Oh, please don’t go out of your way for me,” Changmin told him and left the car. It didn’t feel like he’d left the space though since Yunho had the roof down. He turned to Yunho and was filled with a feeling Changmin couldn’t quite describe. It just didn’t feel right that were his parting words after Yunho had bought him dinner and had gone out of his way to drive him around the city. “I had fun tonight,” he told Yunho and regretted it immediately. It was the truth, but Changmin didn’t want Yunho to get his hopes up on a relationship they never could have.

Yunho’s stern expression broke into a smile at his words. “Me too, Changminnie,” he told him. He waved Changmin goodbye before Changmin watched Yunho’s black mustang drive away. Changmin decided to stop lingering and walked up the few stairs to Kyuhyun’s manor and rang the bell. He waited for a minute, two minutes, but no one came. He rang the bell again, but nothing happened. Changmin understood that if Kyuhyun even heard the bell he had no intention of opening up. The sun was starting to set, and the evening was growing darker. Changmin had no intentions of standing outside of Kyuhyun’s manor in the dark like a fool. So, he opened the door and walked straight in. Kyuhyun never bothered to lock. No one was foolish enough to ever try to steal from him or break-in, so why should he?

Changmin had been here enough to know the layout like the back of his hand. He looked for Kyuhyun in the kitchen and in the living room, but he didn’t find him. Changmin wondered if it was too late to walk away and call Yunho and tell him that they’d settled the matters quickly. Sadly, Changmin had no choice but to look after Kyuhyun. He’d already agreed to come here, more or less. Kyuhyun had demanded his presence, and Changmin had obeyed, even if he gritted his teeth while doing so. Changmin didn’t think he’d find Kyuhyun upstairs in his bedroom. Maybe he was in the lounge room? Changmin was just about the exit the kitchen and go check when he caught a glimpse of a silhouette outside by the pool. Changmin did a quick turn to investigate it further, and quickly realized Kyuhyun was sitting outside. It looked like he was wearing a dressing gown, he was sitting by the edge of the pool dipping his feet in the water. Changmin could only see him faintly, but he couldn’t help but think that Kyuhyun’s behaviour was rather odd. Kyuhyun didn’t use his pool much, especially not during the night. To sit there with his legs dipping in the water was off-putting in a way. Changmin wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen the fluffy dressing grown on the male before, Kyuhyun usually wore suits. When he didn’t, he wore clothes that told you he came from a family with old money. Changmin usually about how he dressed like a grandfather, he could tell Kyuhyun didn’t like it when he did, which only fuelled Changmin to continue doing so.

He went back to the living room and stepped out of the door that led to the porch. He walked down the stone path that led to the pool where Kyuhyun was sitting. As he was walking, he was able to get a better view of the other man. Kyuhyun was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, under the dressing gown. Not unusual clothing, but Changmin couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Kyuhyun in shorts. If he ever had. For once, in what Changmin was certain was Kyuhyun’s entire life, Kyuhyun didn’t look like a rich businessman or a spoiled nepotism brat. He looked rather normal. Changmin couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Kyuhyun for him to transform this much. There were two bottles of empty beer beside Kyuhyun, and he was holding a third, casually sipping it. Changmin couldn’t help but think of The Great Gatsby as he looked at Kyuhyun. There was something about the pool and this rich lonely man that reminded him of Jay Gatsby.

Kyuhyun turned to watch Changmin as Changmin stepped closer and motioned Changmin to take a seat beside him. Changmin did and sat down with his legs crossed so his long legs wouldn’t accidentally touch the pool. He had no desire of dipping his legs into the pool water like Kyuhyun, even if the temperature was comfortable. They sat there in silence for a while, before Kyuhyun offered him a beer. Changmin accepted it without saying anything and opened the bottle with the help of the pool edge. Having spent too much of his college years opening bottles with practically everything but a bottle opener. The tap popped off and landed in the pool, where Changmin ended up watching it float. Kyuhyun said nothing about it, and Changmin didn’t bother reaching for it. A thought struck Changmin, that maybe Kyuhyun was a little like that floating tap. All alone, but staying afloat, close to drowning but always carrying on. Changmin wondered slightly if the red wine was getting to his head when he had thoughts like these.

“Ryeowook left,” Kyuhyun told him after a while. His eyes didn’t meet Changmin’s, and there was this unspoken sadness in his voice. Changmin spent some time studying Kyuhyun’s demeanour, everything made so much more sense now. The odd behaviour, the anger and the sadness. Changmin felt like he was watching a broken man, a man in the breaking maybe. Kyuhyun had yet to his lowest point.

“Oh.”

“You don’t sound surprised,” Kyuhyun accused him and looked sharply at Changmin. The anger deflated quickly, and he went back to watching the tap floating in the water. Changmin shrugged slightly at that; he couldn’t say that he was surprised. The conversation he had with Yunho over dinner was still fresh in his mind.

“I kind of figured it was more a question of when, than if,” Changmin told Kyuhyun truthfully. Kyuhyun didn’t seem pleased by Changmin’s honesty. However, Changmin didn’t care, he said it because he thought Kyuhyun needed to hear it.

“What do you mean?” Kyuhyun sent him another annoyed glare, but this time his eyes lingered on Changmin. As if he was daring Changmin to tell him something he didn’t want to hear. Changmin looked back at Kyuhyun; he wasn’t scared of him. He was aware that Kyuhyun could be quite frightening, but to Changmin, he was still that idiotic dorm mate from Columbia. He couldn’t think of him as this lethal mobster that the underworld of Chicago knew him as.

“Kyuhyun, you can be quite insufferable,” Changmin told him quite honestly. He could tell Kyuhyun didn’t like the answer one instant because he was quick to tear his gaze away. Hiding his unpleased face by taking a sip of his beer. Changmin mirrored the action before he continued. “Coming from your best friend should tell you a lot.”

“Yeah,” Kyuhyun agreed silently. There was bound to be some truth in Changmin’s words. If Kyuhyun had been just pleasant to be around, he doubted Ryeowook would’ve left. Kyuhyun might not agree with everything Changmin said, but he still recognized that Ryeowook had left because of him.

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Of course, I have,” Changmin answered quickly. His thoughts were all too quick to drift back to Yunho. His thoughts mixed with memories now and the Yunho he’d known in New York. The Yunho he’d been in love with.

“And you’ve never told me?” Kyuhyun seemed offended. However, there was also a mix of shock written on his face. As if he hadn’t expected an answer like that from Changmin. Changmin wanted to roll his eyes, what did Kyuhyun really think of him? He was twenty-five, did Kyuhyun really think he hadn’t been in love ever?

“I didn’t think it was any of your business,” Changmin told him bluntly. He didn’t elaborate on how Kyuhyun had basically forbidden Changmin to see Yunho and had almost demanded that Changmin stopped seeing him. Changmin knew Kyuhyun hadn’t been a fan of Yunho in New York, of course, he wouldn’t have told Kyuhyun back in college that he was in love with the weapon dealer. Now, three years later it felt like too much time had passed for Changmin to tell him. He had avoided telling him the truth for almost seven years, he would probably take the secret to his grave at this point.

“I’m your best friend,” Kyuhyun informed him. As if Changmin didn’t already know that. Changmin wanted to roll his eyes, of course, he knew that if there was anyone to tell it was Kyuhyun, but frankly he didn’t think Kyuhyun had any business knowing. Besides, Kyuhyun was really one to talk. If there were anyone out of the two that kept secrets, it was Kyuhyun. Changmin could’ve gone off about how Kyuhyun was a friend and had been even worse in New York. He could’ve continued by telling Kyuhyun that some of Kyuhyun’s secrets had been spilt by others rather than himself. However, Changmin didn’t want to drag him further down than Kyuhyun already was.

“It doesn’t suit you to pull the best friend card,” Changmin informed him. The words could be taken jokingly, but they weren’t meant as such. Kyuhyun was smart enough to figure that out as well. He didn’t need to say more, because deep down Changmin knew that Kyuhyun was aware of how terrible of a friend he sometimes was to Changmin. They never fought because Changmin was forgiving enough to let things go, but when they did Changmin always did because he was in the right.

“Alright,” Kyuhyun agreed and dismissed the matter completely. Kyuhyun wasn’t going to apologize for being a bad friend, and if Changmin had wanted him to, he would have to realise the day would never come. “What happened? Unless you’re dating someone and never told me,” Kyuhyun’s voice was joking, but Changmin could see through it. He was insulted that Changmin hadn’t told him about his love life.

“We didn’t see eye to eye on what relationship we wanted,” Changmin told him. He hoped that was enough for Kyuhyun, but Kyuhyun said nothing in comment. His silence told Changmin that he wanted to know more. Changmin wondered if he should remain silent to see who would last the longest but ended up deciding against it. He relented only slightly and told Kyuhyun a bit more.

“I wanted a more serious relationship, to put a label on it. He didn’t. It was inevitable for us to not part. I wasn’t going to stick around for just , and he didn’t want to do the romance. So, I left,” Changmin elaborated. Knowing there was no way he was going to escape the questions from Kyuhyun. So, he’d rather tell the story himself. Then he could choose what to include and what to exclude without revealing too much. If Kyuhyun continued his integration, it would be weird if Changmin decided not to say anything to some questions. No, it was better that he told the story like he wanted to, satisfying Kyuhyun’s need to know. But also avoiding Kyuhyun to find out who he was speaking off when this had happened.

“You left?”

“Yeah,” Changmin answered resigned.

“Do you regret it?” Kyuhyun couldn’t help but ask intrigued.

“Sometimes, but it gets easier,” Changmin told Kyuhyun. It was hard to admit that sometimes he wanted to go back to the nostalgia of New York. However, it was always followed by harsh feelings about how it really was. Sure, he missed being able to kiss Yunho or being treated like he was the only one Yunho had eyes for. However, he didn’t miss the dismissal, the hurt whenever Yunho refused to take their relationship further or the feeling of being used for . Changmin was better without it. “I’m over it now,” he continued. The way Kyuhyun was looking at him was way too intense for Changmin’s liking, it felt like he was examined. It was unnerving, and Changmin wondered in Kyuhyun believed him or not. He didn’t mention anything about it though and continued his questioning.

“Did you ever come back together?” The way he said it made Changmin aware of the hopefulness in his voice. He was silent for a while because he realised what this was all about. Yunho and Changmin’s relationship reminded him a little of Kyuhyun and Ryeowook’s. Only in this scenario, Changmin was closer to being Ryeowook than Kyuhyun.

“No,” he settled on. His voice sounded heavy even to himself, and Changmin briefly wondered if he was bothered by this fact or not. He didn’t think he was, but maybe he was subconsciously. “No, we didn’t,” he repeated this time more certain. He paused for a while and looked at Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun wasn’t looking at him, his eyes were following the floating bottle cap. “Reminds you of yourself and Ryeowook, doesn’t it?” he could help himself but ask him. Changmin already had the answer, but he wanted Kyuhyun to confirm it.

“Yeah,” Kyuhyun answered after a long time. Changmin could tell Kyuhyun had been struggling with the confession, and that only made it more worth it. There was nothing Changmin loved more than Kyuhyun getting in touch with his feelings.

“Look Kyu, I’m not saying you’re in love, but I can tell that you have serious feelings for this guy. If he really left you, he might not want anything to do with you. But on the chance that he does, and that he does return, you got to fix it. If you want him you have to behave as you do, and not just during ,” Changmin lectured him. Changmin couldn’t deny that it felt weird to lecture Kyuhyun on matters of the heart, but he figured that he had more experience than Kyuhyun. Even if his own relationship hadn’t turned up very successful.

“I … it’s just,” Kyuhyun began but interrupted himself. Changmin couldn’t help but be reminded of Jay Gatsby once again. However, this time he was thinking of how Gatsby was reaching out for a green light, a light of hope. Something that he thought connected him and his love Daisy. Kyuhyun was a little like that as well. Reaching for hope, reaching out for Ryeowook. Ryeowook was out of reach, but there was still a glimmer of hope. Light a weak green light on the other side of the lake. Just within sight, but out of touch. Kyuhyun was reaching, and Changmin wondered if he would get his desired price, or if he’d end up like Gatsby.

“If you really care about him, you better fix it before he slips away,” Changmin told him. Kyuhyun said nothing, but Changmin didn’t need him to. He could tell that he’d gotten his message across.