Kris looked like hell.

With his bloodshot eyes, unkempt hair and-Lay could barely believe his eyes-pimples across his face, the man looked barely ready for a mug shot (never mind a photo shoot).

"Morning!" Lay said cheerfully. Kris grunted and  flopped down onto a chair, plunking his head on the kitchen table.

"What's wrong?" Xiumin asked with a slight frown.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Kris raised his head a fraction of an inch. "Couldn't sleep," he mumbled in a hoarse voice. A round of coughs followed the declaration.

"Wow, you're really burning up," Xiumin muttered as he pressed a  hand to Kris's forehead. "Go back to bed and get some rest. I'll grab some medicine for you."

Slowly, Kris got to his feet and allowed himself to be ushered back to his room by Xiumin, who called out, "Lay, run down to the convenience store and get some lemon tea. Oh, and some honey as well."  

"But-"

"Now!"

And so his grand plans for Kris were foiled yet again by the inopportune intervention of his fellow members (who were honestly too nice for their own good). Although he did feel a twinge of guilt for causing Kris unnecessary pain, Lay knew he had to press on. His infallible secret-sensor was absolutely sure that their esteemed leader was hiding something. Something big.

*****

He met a pouting Sehun at the elevator.

"What's up?" he nodded.

Sehun crossed his arms. "The hyungs refused to go out for a snack with me."

Lay rolled his eyes. "Grow up, kid. Don't expect people to buy food for you when you're making money like the rest of us."

Sehun eyed him and the frown suddenly vanished from his face. He slung an arm around Lay's shoulder and smiled winningly. "Hyung, will you treat me to lunch? Pretty please?"

"You're unbelievable," Lay muttered, but he nonetheless pulled out his wallet. He had just enough for two, and maybe a little food would persuade Sehun to joining his cause...

Half an hour and two steaming pots of kimchi stew later, the two strolled leisurely back towards their apartment complex. The sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky and the spring air was just warm enough to make him drowsy. A glance at Sehun told him that the maknae had lowered his guard, which meant it was the perfect time to strike.  

"I need you to do something for me," Lay began. "As Suho's roommate, you have access to all his stuff right? I want you to poke around and tell me if you find anything related to Kris."

"Why should I?" Sehun whined. "Suho's been super scary lately. Besides, last I checked, you owe me for the Luhan fiasco."

"That's what lunch was for so I say we're even."

"Wait, you can't decide on your own. No fair!"

Maybe it was time for a more proactive approach. "Listen up, kid. If you don't help, I might start interrogating you about what you do on that laptop of yours," Lay said as he stared coolly at the maknae. It was no secret that he was very, very good at digging up other people's secrets. 

Sehun chewed on his lip, evidently torn between childish pride and the probability of his survival. Finally, he let out a sigh and nodded.

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