Sometimes Sungjong heard things he wasn't supposed to hear. It wasn't that he tried to eavesdrop, but more that he had a bad habit of being in places at the wrong (sometimes right-- he and Sungyeol enjoyed gossip) time. Sungjong had just returned from a reap, coming through the shops back door and was prevented from entering the shop front by Dongwoo and Sunggyu's loud voices. He wasn't sure whether Sunggyu's voice meant this particular conversation was going to be a good or bad thing yet. Mostly Sunggyu sounded desperate and Dongwoo sounded... tired.

"What do you mean he recognizes you?" Dongwoo asked him, and by Sunggyu's exasperated sigh, Sungjong figured this wasn't the first time Dongwoo had asked.

"I don't know." Sunggyu answered anyway, "He looks at me too long, like I'm not a stranger. He calls my name even though I should be different."

"You think he knows something is up?" Dongwoo asked, out of curiosity, it seemed more than worry.

Sunggyu took a breath, "Maybe he's a little bit psychic, but maybe it's just. Me. Does this happen?"

"No." Dongwoo answered immediately, "This never happens. Not ever. I've seen plenty of people multiple times."

"Well there are exceptions right? Sometimes there are anomalies?" Sunggyu tried, but Sungjong could practically hear Dongwoo's raised eyebrow. "Near death experiences! That happens!"

"Do you think this is--" Dongwoo began, leaning back, but Sunggyu shook his head violently.

"No! No. Not Woohyun. He's fine. He's perfect." Sunggyu swallowed audibly, "He greets me like I'm not a stranger. He calls me by name."

"How does he know your name?"

"I told him."

Dongwoo put his head in his hands and Sunggyu kicked at him, "I didn't think he'd remember. No one remembers!"

"Well maybe he's psychic? Maybe there’s some psychic in him somewhere?"

Sunggyu frowned, "I don't think so. Myungsoo would probably know, but he would definitely be able to tell if he was psychic. I think it's because I--"

"Don't." Dongwoo said shortly.

When they said nothing for a moment, Sungjong took the chance to peak in and saw them looking at each other; their faces didn't look entirely happy.

And then someone was banging in the front door and startling him away from his hiding spot. Sunggyu and Dongwoo became quiet and Sungjong almost cursed trying to back away innocently. He was never caught but their conversation stayed at the top of Sungjong's mind for a few days, practically driving him insane.

Sungyeol laughed when Sungjong said that out loud. "you don't have to be a reaper, if i didn't eavesdrop so much i'd never know what was going on." he leaned in with a thoughtful frown, "i don’t think I realized how annoying your eternal man pain was going to be when I was eleven. It’s kind of weird that I’m the only sane one now."

Sungjong wouldn't ever say Sungyeol was the sane one, but he wouldn't argue with him here. "So you know everyone's business?"

"Of course!"

"Wanna trade gossip?" Sungjong wasn't keen on letting what he'd heard get around, but if he was careful he could probably get anything he wanted out of Sungyeol without giving anything back.

Sungyeol's face turned gleeful and devious, "Depends what you've got for me!"

"Umm. The woman who runs the laundry mat down the street is having an affair-- um. Laundry isn't her main priority. She uses the back room for uhh... ual favors with men. Particularly wealthy men who bring in their suits."

The face Sungyeol made was twisted in disgust, "Okay one-- that makes sense and is gross, thanks for that. Two, that's cheating! Gossip about this house! You know how this works."

"Okay.... you remember the summer you turned twelve and got in trouble for breaking the register?" Sungyeol's eyebrows furrowed and he nodded, "Your mother broke the register and told your grandmother it was you."

"My mother sold me out?" Sungyeol gasped, slapping his hands down on the counter, "I had to plant grandma's smelly healing herbs for a week because my mom broke the register?" He shook his head, devastated.

Sungjong laughed, "You had to wonder who really broke it."

"Grandma smacked my ears so much she made me believe I did it! Wow. Everything I knew was a lie. I'm going to call my mother tomorrow and have a little talk about what else she lied about."

"Yah, be nice to your mom." Sungjong glanced at the hallway, wondering how many times he himself had been secretly listened to, "Okay, your turn."

Sungyeol shook his head again, and then looked at Sungjong, "You're still a cheater." He told Sungjong, but his face told Sungjong that he really wanted to tell what he knew just as it also grew serious, "Alright. Sunggyu's been coming in much later. I've caught him leaving at night and coming back but sometimes I just catch him coming in." He took a deep breath, "That's not really surprising though, is it?"

Not really. Not when Sungjong thought about it. From the beginning Sungjong had seen there was something. Hearing Sunggyu and Dongwoo talking about it-- hearing that Sunggyu had gotten attached to Myungsoo's brother further than he should have-- well that just seemed like natural progression. Sungjong should have paid more attention to the way Sunggyu's eyes had fallen on Woohyun the night they'd reaped Myungsoo, like he'd been surprised almost and like he was falling apart inside at Woohyun's grief. He should have recognized it because he'd felt the same.

"No." Sungjong finally answered. "Well. Your gossip was bigger than mine but I don't have anything else." Sungyeol scrunched his nose up.

"Filthy, cheating reapers in my house, all of you." But he didn't mean it and he nudged Sungjong's shoulder with his own as he gathered his hoodie from the counter. "Goodnight Jongie. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sungjong muttered a goodnight back but decided to stay at the storefront sitting on the counter for a bit longer. He thought about Dongwoo and Sunggyu's conversation and Sungyeol's findings, unsure of what to make of it. He didn't actually get to contemplate for very long , though, because Myungsoo was padding into the storefront lightly in his pajamas, looking tired and warm. The corner of his mouth lifted when he saw Sungjong there. He saw Sungjong's suit and asked, "Did you just come back from a reap?"

"A while ago yeah. Sungyeol and I were talking." Sungjong said with all the breath he had because Myungsoo was coming closer, until he was almost, almost standing within the v of Sungjong's begs. As a rule of thumb, they'd pulled back from the touches and clinging-- unspoken agreement that it'd make it easier to be around each other that way. For the most part it worked, but it would never take away the longing. Sungjong knew that.

"Do you want to be alone?" Myungsoo asked quietly. Sungjong just looked at his face and his expression, soft and open and ready to be concerned-- inching towards concern the longer Sungjong stayed silent. Sungjong wondered how much Myungsoo had put together about Sunggyu and Woohyun. Sungjong could read between the lines. He knew that if Woohyun was beginning to recognize Woohyun and Dongwoo didn't want him to talk about it, then it had to be bad.

"Sunggyu and your brother." Sungjong prompted, trying to feel Myungsoo out about how much he knew. Whether he knew just how attached Sunggyu had become to Woohyun, so much that it had begun to affect Woohyun's life. Myungsoo huffed out a laugh and looked down,

"Yeah, I know." He scratched at his temple, "Sunggyu told me yesterday. Well. He made a bunch of hand gestures and noises. I can actually kinda see it, but I didn't think it'd actually happen. I feel bad for Sunggyu. How did he fall for my dumb, living brother?" Finally he looked back up at Sungjong and Sungjong wanted to say he should be sorry for Woohyun, if they were right about Woohyun recognizing him. "No one should have to deal with this."

Feeling frayed at the edges, Sungjong pulled himself together, "It's not so bad." He murmured, feeling unimpressed by his own conviction. It wasn't bad really. Like he said, the longing didn't leave, but he wasn't unhappy.

Running his tongue over his bottom lip, Myungsoo took a breath and lingered there in front of Sungjong, letting the moment become heavy and then he took a deliberate step back. That was as far as he'd be able to go.

When things really went to hell, Sungjong never saw it coming. He was watching Sungyeol do the dishes as he sat on the counter's edge and contentedly finished his bowl of soup. Sungyeol called him a lot of names, but Sungjong wasn't fazed by it; it was hard to feel intimidated by someone you met when they were still wetting the bed and when they learned the bad names they called you now.

"How do you even dry wood utensils?" Sungyeol asked, holding a wooden spoon up and inspecting it like he'd find the answer written on the spoon.

"Air dry, like always?" Sungjong raised an eyebrow. A noise came from the front of the store like someone was unlocking the door and coming in. Sungjong figured it was Hoya and Dongwoo coming back from their reap. Dongwoo usually liked to do key and soul retrieval himself, but he often brought Hoya along anyway.

"I guess." Sungyeol shrugged, pushing his bangs back with his dry wrist. Loud footsteps were coming towards the kitchen. Sungyeol's smile turned mischievous, "Technically you could say you dry wood by blowing on it," The door to the kitchen burst open with a pale Hoya standing behind it, "couldn't you?" Sungyeol finished, spinning towards the noise. Whatever was making Hoya look like he did had Sungjong immediately aware and putting his bowl to the side, sliding off the counter. "What's wrong with you?" asked Sungyeol, pulling off a glove.

Hoya, still pale and vaguely looking like he was going to throw up, took a deep breath. "Someone took Dongwoo."

Neither Sungyeol nor Sungjong could say anything for a moment and then Sungyeol asked carefully, "What do you mean?"

"A man in a suit came to us after he took his scheduled soul today and asked him if he was Jang Dongwoo." He took a shaky breath, "And then he asked if Dongwoo would hold himself accountable and he just took him!"

"Do you know who it was?" Sungjong asked the same time as Sungyeol repeated "Accountable?" Incredulously.

"Yeah, accountable, but I don't know who he was. He could see us though and knew who Dongwoo was. He felt like a reaper."

"Wait you just let him take Dongwoo?" is what Sungyeol asked, putting his hands on his hips, and Hoya's face became whiter-- if it could.

"I didn't let him do anything! They disappeared!" He shouted, and both Sungyeol and Sungjong shrank back. Sungjong had never heard Hoya raise his voice before. He'd never seen Hoya in this kind of panic before.

"Okay." Sungjong told him, "Hoya it's alright. Dongwoo can take care of himself. We don't know what's going on."

"What did the reaper-kidnapper mean by 'accountable'?" Sungyeol. Hoya's head dropped, making him look guilty as well as terrified. Sungjong felt his stomach fall.

"We've been--" He made a false start and sighed, "Dating for a while."

"What do you mean a while?" Sungjong asked immediately, not processing the words.

"We've been dating for a year."

Suddenly a lot of things made sense to Sungjong that really should have dawned on him earlier. An entire year and he hadn't even known! It wasn't really that long, in the scheme of things, not considering how long they'd been dead. They must have started around the time Myungsoo died and joined them. What pulled Sungjong out of his thoughts was Sungyeol's voice.

"Damn." Sungyeol pulled his other glove off finally, making it snap. "I knew there was something-- why am I surprised?"

"We didn't mean-- we didn't want--" Hoya groaned in frustration and it was really getting to Sungjong because Hoya didn't fall apart in frustration. He never became like this.

"It's okay." He cut Hoya off before he started again.

"It's not okay." Hoya pushed a hand into his hair, "Remember? Dongwoo said reapers have rules and when they were broken there were punishments."

"Reprimanding." Sungyeol repeated Dongwoo's words.

"He told this guy that he'd be held accountable." Eyes falling shut and throat moving, Sungjong was sure Hoya was thisclose to crying.

"It's Dongwoo. He wouldn't lie." Sungjong reminded gently. "But remember, he's been dead a lot longer than we have. He can take care of himself." Just by looking at Hoya he was sure his words wouldn't really bring him any relief. He couldn't blame Hoya.

"I'm sorry, Sungjong. We didn't really mean to keep a secret from you." Hoya said late, lowly, in a voice only Sungjong would hear even thought they were alone.

"It's alright." Sungjong told him honestly. It was alright. He knew Hoya and Dongwoo hadn't meant to keep things from him, they just meant to protect themselves from exactly what was happening.

Myungsoo came in late but his eyes were wide and awake when he pushed into Sungjong's room. He didn't cross the room though, Sungjong noticed. He took a few feet away from Sungjong and Sungjong ached at the distance, knowing that Myungsoo would have heard about Dongwoo if he'd had to pass Sungyeol on his way up and would try to keep space between them. The look on his face, though, seemed like he wanted to come closer.

okay sorry if this sounds choppy, i just want to get it out because Iiwon't have much time for ~the internet~ I have a little more of life come to life written that i will put up soon but i'm in missouri for Family Business