"Key..." 

It was a voice so familiar. He heard it almost every night, haunting his dreams, plaguing his thoughts when he should be focused on something else. During the lull of the night, he heard it in his mind, the last words they spoke to each other replayed like sad song. Yet, it was different now because it had been a long time since he had heard it in person. He supposed if he heard it every day, he wouldn't notice the slightly deeper tone it had taken. Years couldn’t take away the voice he came to love: unique, beautiful. 

He clutched the phone, years of being raised to behave in society had him conjuring up, "Jonghyun! It's been so long, how are you?" 

His heart clenched when there was a pause. There was no way to know what to expect. He never intended for his phone number to be in Jonghyun’s hands, though he knew Taemin would end up doing something like that. Maybe he had hoped that Taemin would. Now Key braced himself for the rejection, the anger, the distantly cool tone coming from the voice that once washed him with warmth. 

"Fine. We saw you on T.V." 

"Oh." 

"You look good." 

"Thank you. How's everything going for you?" 

He hated this: this meaningless small talk, trivially asking how each other were, catching on the most superficial level. He had always hated mundane talk that led to nowhere, only to be forgotten minutes later. But Key endured it for the sake of hearing Jonghyun's voice again. It sounded nice, drifting through the receiver and into his ears. 

"Can...we meet?" 

The question took him by surprise, and Key suppressed the automatic yes that sprung into his mind the minute it was asked. 

"I'm busy," he said lamely. 

"I'm sure you can spare a minute," Jonghyun urged on the other line. It wasn't a demand, but he found it harder to reject than saying no to his business associates. Surely it couldn't hurt? For a minute? 

Relented, Key said, "is there any way I can email you an address?" He quickly jotted down that Jonghyun told him and nodded though the other couldn't see. "I'll send you the details in there along with the time." 

Then just like that, it ended so quickly and he was once again forced to listen to the humming of his refrigerator. 

A knock on the door had him narrowing his eyes. No one knew where he lived aside from his parents, and they weren't due for a visit. He looked through his peep hole and felt his blood run cold. With a sharp inhale, Key opened the door and was greeted with a pistol shoved into his stomach. 

"Kim Kibum," the man sneered. 

"My old partner," Key returned mockingly, eyes hardened and glittered like a gem. Coolly he swatted the gun away and turned to stride into his apartment, leaving the man with no choice but to follow him in. 

"You've done well for yourself," his former partner gestured at the apartment, his lips twisted with hatred. "Now you're even putting your brothers in jail." 

Key lifted an eye brow, "brothers? I don't recall having such bastard brothers. You are not welcome here, either.”

"You can't touch me." 

"So sure of yourself," with a laugh that chilled bones, Key swung himself onto the couch. He sprawled over the leather, examining his nails with more interest than he did the man standing before him, gun still in hand. "Or are you here to rid yourself of me? Seems like a lot of work for someone who just declared I can't touch him." 

"You don't know what I am capable of," the man returned. His hands were shaking with fury, and Key knew he was dreading dangerous grounds. After all, he had no way to protect himself. He didn't even own a gun but he felt the cool metal against his leg and plowed forward. 

"Maybe you want to turn yourself in? Saves me trouble. Your loyal "brothers" are singing like canaries inside the prison cells, in hopes of a shorter sentence. Really, how long do you think you have until the law catches up with you?" 

" you!"

A shot resonated along the four walls of the apartment. A deafening, unmistaken sound of a gun going off. Screams filled the once empty hallway as bodies rushed towards the nearest exit. No one checked in on each other, all fleeing with only their lives in mind. An ambulance raced through the streets and police sirens howled into the night. Footsteps raced down the expansive hall and into a small apartment in the far corner. 

A man smirked, his grin gleamed in the moonlight as he stared down at the body before him, "goodbye, partner." He kicked aside the hand that reached for him and walked off, the door left wide opened after him. 





Kim Jonghyun rubbed his hands nervously against his jeans, where the hell was Kim Kibum? He knew it was a bad idea but the question was asked before he could stop himself. Even when he had told him there was no point in going, his hand had gone ahead and jotted down the address anyways. He couldn't deny that he wanted to see Kibum, couldn't lie and pretended the call hadn't been made. 

So here he was, shivering in the cold and breaking out in sweats. 

"Just go home," he mumbled to himself. "What're you doing...just leave." 

Jonghyun picked up his abandoned bag on the ground and slung it over his shoulder. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned his heels to walk towards the bus stop when he heard a voice called after him, "leaving so soon?" 

Startled, he turned and was met with a thin figure cladded in a big hoodie and baggy sweats. The man's hair was disheveled, like he had just rolled out of bed. With a gulp, Jonghyun closed the distance and stood awkwardly, searching his brain for something to say. 

"Let's go to the café." Kibum spoke first, breaking their brief eye contact.

He nodded and followed, "ah...you're late." 

"Things got hectic." 

They walked side by side and into a small café that Jonghyun sure people would miss if they didn’t know where to look. It was a tucked away between two department stores; there wasn't even a sign to indicate its presence. Once inside, there were a few people lingered at tables, heads bent in conversations. The smell hit him first before he focused his eyes on the amazing display of pastries before him. 

"Order what you want," Kibum told him, already heading towards the back where a private booth was waiting for them. Jonghyun simply followed, food forgotten. Here was his chance to talk to the person he wanted to see most over the past five years, he didn't think he could stomach food. 

Once they were seated, silence fell upon the table as the two occupants studied the rather dull wooden table, eyes tracing the wood grains. Neither spoke for a long time until their waitress came back with their orders, eyed them quickly in confusion, then left them alone again. 

Kibum laughed first, a small chuckle, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Go ahead." 

"Really?" 

"Yes." 

Jonghyun his lips; brows came together in a small frown. "Why did you leave five years ago?" 

"Pass." 

"Awah...but you said I could ask questions!" 

"I didn't say I'd answer," Kibum smiled, playing with steam coming off from his mug. 

An exasperated sigh escaped his lips and Jonghyun's frown deepened. He watched as Kibum pushed back the hoodie and was rewarded with an electrical surge that coursed through him without any warning. Kibum's face had matured, his features softened, but they remained much the same. Kibum's lips were still in the same of a bow, the most unique pair of lips he had ever met. But something else caught his eyes... 

"How'd you get hurt?" 

"Huh?" Kibum ran a hand over his face and laughed slightly when he saw blood. His head was still bleeding a bit. Taking a napkin, he pressed it to his hairline and tried to smile reassuringly. 
"Oh. I had a run in with my old partner." 

"How'd you escape?" Jonghyun tried to sound casual but the lump that was forming in his throat made it hard. 

"I'm handy with a blade." 

Without thinking, he reached out to trace the trail of blood down the side of Kibum's face and down his collar bone. The younger's eyes darkened and he knew the attraction wasn't one-sided. He saw his own needs mirrored in Kibum's eyes and knew he only had to take the first step. Hands sprawled over the table, Jonghyun stood up to lean over the wooden barrier. He cursed at the discomfort of having wood jammed into his stomach but ignored it when Kibum smiled up at him, eyes amused and aware. 

A soft brush of lips, something sweet stirred in him, something light and almost delicate. Then it wasn’t so soft or sweet as need took over. Silken tongues danced as erratic breaths mixed, their lungs labored to pull in enough air. Each breath was filled with each other’s presence, a treasure, a gift, a reward for all those years they were parted. Jonghyun couldn’t get enough, couldn’t conjure a single coherent thought. Their surrounding was forgotten, time drifted away. 

Finally Kibum pulled back and smirked, “uh…maybe we should go back to your place?”

“Hm?”

“Your place, Jjong…now.”

It was the urgency in Kibum’s voice that had him mutely nodded his head and grabbed his things with more speed than necessary. They both raced to the bus stop and waited for the bus that would prove to be the longest fifteen minutes ride of their lives. 

Two bodies stumbled into the empty apartment, there was no future or past. There was simply the present.





“.”

Kim Jonghyun stared at the note left on his kitchen table, tears swelled in his eyes before he was aware. He rubbed them back with his hands. 

“Jonghyun. Get out of your apartment. Don’t look for me.”

He supposed this was his price to pay for trying to dig up a past that was best left alone. He hadn’t allowed himself to reason about the next day when they were together. This was his price for losing his sanity. Nothing came without a price, after all.





A figure quickly crossed the street, sticking to back roads and dark alleys. He used the longest route he knew, the most complicated. He hoped the shadows would provide some protection. Key knew he should have listened to that buzz that came as a warning last night, but he had ignored his better judgment. He knew putting Jonghyun in danger meant he was also putting Taemin, Minho, and Jinki in harm’s way. But there was no other option, Jonghyun was the last piece of his puzzle. 

Key sighed in relief when his office was in sight. He let himself in through the back way and took the stairs up to his floor. There was no time to dress or somehow make himself look decent, so he would lock himself in his office today, Key decided, and maybe look over the abandoned stack of papers that were waiting for him. But first, he had to take care of something.

Lifting the receiver to his ear, Key quickly dialed the number he knew by heart and waited for two rings. When the other side answered, he gave them Jinki and Jonghyun’s addresses and ordered for guards to watch over the building twenty four seven. Once it was confirmed that men were being sent out, Key slumped back in his seat and rubbed hands over his face.

It was going to be over soon. But there was no room for any mistakes now; he knew his mission was in its most dangerous stage. Everything he had was at risk, he was gambling with his own life and the lives of those he loved. The boss of Lockets hadn’t been found, not even a trace, but Key knew he would show up sooner or later. One day he was going to make the mistake of coming after someone in Key’s life, and that would be his downfall. But Key knew the dangers that came with dealing with his former boss. Just as he knew the person Locket’s gang leader would come after.

He just hoped when the day came when the person he loved became the captive, he would not be too far behind. One minute could be the difference between saving his friend, and forever living with the guilt that he had sacrificed an innocent being.

Kim Jonghyun, I’m sorry. Please be careful.





“You did what?” Taemin’s eyes widened when Jonghyun reluctantly told him the whole story. “You mean…you and Key…spent the night and then he just took off?”

At the pained expression on his friend’s face, Taemin sighed, and patted the other’s hand awkwardly. Well, this certainly was a weird turn of events. He knew that Jonghyun and Kibum would make contact. He had hoped they would meet up. He never meant for them to hook up! Taemin sighed again; Minho was going to kill him for breaking his friend’s heart…indirectly.

“He told me to get out of my apartment.”

Jinki’s eyes narrowed, “what do you mean?”

“He said to get out of this apartment…”

“You mean you guys went back to your place?” Jinki demanded, his normally calm voice took on an unfamiliar hysteretic that was rarely heard. 

Jonghyun meekly nodded.

“Are you stupid?” The older boy went on, much to the surprise of Taemin and Jonghyun himself, “you know how dangerous Key is? How many people want him dead and would go through any means?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, Kim Jonghyun, you just threw yourself out as the bait.”

Taemin released another long breath: great. Now Minho will really kill him.