I stepped through the threshold of our apartment, almost calling out to Hyukjae before I noticed him asleep on the couch. I quietly shut the door behind me, swirling the passionfruit flavoured lollipop in my mouth and stepping over to the figure on the couch.

Hyukjae’s thin arm dangled over the edge, and his copy of the book Gone With The Wind rested over the front of his face along with his other hand. His shirt had been slightly pulled up, revealing a creamy white strip of perfectly flat stomach. I smiled at the sight, and even though I couldn’t see his face, I could tell by the sound of his light snoring that he was napping.

I wonder if I should wake him up.

Biting my bottom lip in a grin, I lifted up the edge of the book, peering at his sleeping face underneath. I placed the book on the coffee table, staring at his adorable parted mouth. I brushed the golden brown bangs which fell gently over his nose aside, kissing him gently on the forehead.

No. He’s a sleeping angel. I wouldn’t want to wake him.

I carefully pulled his shirt back over his tummy, crunching off the last of my lollipop in my mouth, creeping to the freezer to replace it with a popsicle.

Hyukjae wasn’t particularly fond of sweet things. Well, not in the sense that I was, and he always encouraged me to eat healthier foods and drink less often. All of which I did… Sort of.

I led on the icy treat, seating myself cross-legged atop the coffee table, watching my beautiful boyfriend sleep off the rest of his lazy afternoon.

I was startled by the sound of my laptop across the room, sending off extremely irritating alert sounds for Skype.

I jumped up, almost tripping over the edge of the rug as I sprinted in a mad dash to silence the computer and not wake up Hyukjae. I muted the sound, looking at the username of the caller.

Heedictator.

My eyes widened and a smile crept over my mouth. I hadn’t heard from either Kyuhyun or Heechul in almost a month. My stomach dropped slightly, causing me to take the popsicle out of my mouth.

What if he’s calling with bad news? I glanced back over at Hyukjae, still sleeping peacefully, undisturbed by the noise all the noise I had created.

I impatiently picked up the laptop, and carried it out onto the deck, sliding the door shut behind me. I placed the laptop on the table, taking a seat and answering the call.

Heechul’s low lit face appeared over the screen, only this time, his hair had been dyed a light hazel brown. I smiled at the sight of him.

He mouthed something, before I suddenly realised my laptop was still on mute.

“Hey Heechul!” I smiled, wavering my popsicle at the screen. “Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”

I looked at his face in the darkness of what ever room he was in.

“Hey Donghae.” He whispered, his expression remaining unchanging.

“Why are you whispering?” I crinkled my nose.

“It’s three ing a.m here Donghae.” Heechul said, running a hand though his hair in frustration. “I have to keep it down. My room is right next to Yesung’s.”

I mouthed an ‘oh’, wondering why Heechul was calling me at three in the morning all crotchety.

Why are you angry at me? You’re the one who called.

I opened my mouth to say something, when Heechul cut me off.

“Listen Donghae,” He said, his voice sparking unease. “We have problem.”

I slightly raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to the screen and listening intently, trying not to let any unnecessary panic arise just yet.

“Wh-what is it?” I said, throwing my unfinished popsicle into the trash and my fingers.

Heechul’s eyes darted away nervously, before falling to the centre of the web cam again. 

“Donghae, they’ve arrested Kyuhyun.” Heechul said, his voice lagging slightly over the internet connection.

I almost fell backwards off my chair.

“What?!” I exclaimed, totally speechless. . How the could they have gotten Kyuhyun?

“They were able to identify him from the chopper.” Heechul continued. “And since he’s not even on any of the governments records, they spent all these months trying to track him down, hoping he’d lead them to you and Hyuk. Kyuhyun‘s been in hiding for most of the time since you left, playing his cards safe and laying low.”

I bit my lip, listening intently to Heechul.

This is not good.

“So after like what, four months,” Heechul said. “They finally got a lead from someone, with a description fitting Kyuhyun’s. The feds showed up at his apartment last Tuesday.”

“.” I breathed, my mind racing with a thousand possibilities. “Do they know where we are? Are they coming for us? Did they get the files off of Kyuhyun? How much involvement are they charging him with-.”

“Relax Donghae.” Heechul said, dragging his hands over his scalp once again. “This is Kyuhyun we’re talking about here. No, they still have no idea where you two are, or are even close to finding you two. Anyway, they went to Kyuhyun’s apartment, and of course, that little genius managed to wipe his entire system before they could gather it for evidence. They know Kyuhyun’s involved though. The whole set-up of his system is enough evidence to charge him for the operation. They don’t have any of the actual records though. After what you  managed to destroy, and Kyuhyun’s network which has been wiped, they still can’t figure out how the this all happened.”

They have Kyuhyun. They have all the evidence they need to put that kid in prison for the rest of his life.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, still trying to tie together lose ends in my mind.

“Okay,” I said calmly. “So what do we do? As long as Kyuhyun wiped all the data-.”

“That’s the thing.” Heechul said desperately. “He didn’t. When he zipped everything off of the system in his apartment, all of the files and account information was automatically sent to the backup drive at the safe house.”

. How could I have forgotten?

Kyuhyun had managed to set up a safety network where all our files could be stored on a remote hardware system at the safe house back in Korea. So if anything were to happen, we got raided, a large scale power failure, all of our software was backed up.

“But the safe house is secure.” I explained. “The only ones with direct access are Kyuhyun, Hongki and myself. Not even you can-.”

“I’m not talking about just the storage at the warehouse Donghae.” Heechul stressed. “I’m also talking about the fact that since you are over there, and Kyuhyun’s with them, the vault at SM with our hard copies of the system coding is completely out in the open.”

. . !

I balled my hands in my hair, tugging at the brown locks in complete panic.

“ Heechul!” I yelled a little too loudly. “If the cops get lead to the SM Entertainment facilities, we’re ed.”

Because of Heechul’s contract with SM Entertainment, we were actually using their secure lock-up system to store all of the hard files for the passwords which gave us direct access to the entire system Kyuhyun had set up. If anything were to go wrong, either Kyuhyun or myself would be able to gain access to the building through Heechul and destroy the files we had stored there.

The reason we had chosen the SM Entertainment company building to store such crucial data was because for an entertainment firm, the security was extraordinarily maintained. Nobody could get in or out of that certain part of the building without clearance. It was one less thing we had to worry about. Plus, storing them at any other location, such as on our persons or at bank deposit, would have not only been risky and raised a lot more questions, but the police had almost direct access.

It was the perfect system. If we had considered the fact that now both Kyuhyun and I were unable to get to the vault.

“B-but it’s okay, right?” I asked. “I mean, it’s not like they know that vault even exists.”

I tried to calm myself.

“Wake up Donghae!” Heechul snapped. “They have security footage showing you waltzing right in and out of that building, going in there on several occasions for nothing related to the entertainment company. Do you think these guys are stupid Donghae? They’re already conducting a full investigation on the company! That’s the whole reason that every one here is being questioned! I’ll be next you know!”

“!” I exclaimed. I was too late. They’re going to have access to everything. They will be able to get onto the system, tracing our transfers right over to Miami where Hyukjae and I were living.

“So can’t you go and get the files?” I asked, giving a heavy stare to Heechul. “You have access to SM Ent-.”

“I can’t.” Heechul groaned. “Kyuhyun wiped his files, remember? That was the only access I have to those pass codes for the safe. You’re the only one who can access it aside from Kyuhyun with the numbers you have on the hard drive you took with you.”

.

These were all major complications.

I couldn’t just send Heechul the codes. Pulling a risk like that could end all three of us straight in prison if we were caught.

I took a deep breath.

Okay Donghae. You outran federal police, stayed out of capture for four months and still manage to maintain a steady relationship with the most amazing man on the earth. If you can do that, then sure as hell you can find a solution for this.

“So what you’re saying…” I sighed. “Is that we have two options. One, we leave Kyuhyun in there to die in a prison cell, and let the police find the files, leading them straight over to me and Hyukjae. Or, I come over to Korea, break into SM and steal back those files and risk possibly being caught, along with Hyukjae?”

Heechul nodded.

“Option one is out.” Heechul said. “If they find those files, I’m ed. We all are. You have to come back to Korea.”

I felt my heart race slightly. I knew he’d say that.

What about Hyukjae? I’m not just risking my own future, I’m risking his too. I have to start thinking for the both of us.

I thought about it for a moment, trying to come up with an alternative solution. I had nothing.

I only had one choice: Return to Korea.

“What about Hyukjae?” I asked. “I can’t just leave him here. How much time do we have?”

“Based on what I already know,” Heechul said. “The sooner we do this, the more chance we have of pulling it off. As for Hyukjae, you can drop him off at the safe house. He’ll be fine. I promise.”

I ran my hands over my face. Heechul had given me so much to think about.

“Okay.” I announced finally, hating the words as I said them. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, then we can pay a visit to the vault. I guess I don’t have a choice.”

Heechul nodded, assuring me I was making the only right decision I could.

“Good. I’ll see you when you get here.” Heechul nodded. “Then we’ll do this.”

“I’ll make contact when we arrive.” I said finally, bidding him goodbye as we ended the Skype call.

My mind felt heavy and clouded with murky thoughts.

What if this goes wrong? What if something happens to Hyukjae?

I swallowed, shakily closing my laptop and carried it back indoors.

I slid the door shut, feeling a sharp pain in my heart seeing Hyukjae, still sound asleep on the couch, the sun soaking his face as it poured through the window.

Oh god. What am I going to tell Hyukjae? He’s so happy right now.

I put my laptop onto the bench, walking over and standing against the back of the couch. His thin, slender body was still sprawled out, his mouth still parted and his tongue sitting on the edge of his lips.

I brought my hand to my mouth, almost feeling like crying at the very sight of him.

I had put him through all of this, and I was about to cause him more trouble. He loved it so much here in Miami, and now I was potentially throwing it all away, and even risking both of our futures together, all because I hadn’t been careful enough.

I stood there for almost ten minutes, watching him sleep while I drowned in my own sense of guilt of being the worst boyfriend in the world.

I sighed, closing my eyes and listened to the sound of his light breathing for a moment.

How could I do this to him?

I knew what I needed. I needed to think.

I hurried to our bedroom, pulling on a pair of sports shorts and a pair of runners and set off out the door.

I ended up jogging almost two miles down the beachfront, ignoring all the passers-by and trying to clear my mind and come up with a failsafe plan of action.

I returned back to our apartment after almost two hours, my entire body was drenched with sweat.

“Hyuk?!” I called, wiping off my forehead and taking a bottle of water out of the fridge, downing almost all of it. My heart was still racing, and I had finally been able to clearly arrange my thoughts. “I need to talk to-.”

I spun around, stopping mid sentence to see Hyukjae, standing at our bedroom door with his arms crossed. He did not look happy.

I swallowed my mouthful, replacing the cap on the bottle and setting it down.

. I thought. Why does he look so pissed?

“Donghae.” Hyukjae said, narrowing his eyes in a sharp glare. His tone was ice cold. “Is there something you would like to tell me?”

I my lips, not taking my petrified gaze from his and trying to read what it was about. Then, it all came to me.

He uses my laptop all the time. I panicked. What if Heechul called back and told him the entire thing? Maybe that’s why he’s angry.

Sure, this wasn’t the first time my boyfriend had been mad at me. He had been mad countless times. One time, I let Choco drink some of my vodka, just to see what would happen. I thought it was hilarious. Hyukjae, did not.

But this time, it wasn’t just anything. He had possibly just found out that we had to leave the Miami apartment, to go back into the danger zone which was Korea. I didn’t think a kiss on the cheek and a back rub was going to solve things this time.

“W-what do you mean?” I asked, even though I knew perfectly well.

Hyukjae unfolded h