A/N: I hope the 23rd chapter cleared things up for everyone! ^^ (Chapter 21 and 22 were meant to confuse people heh). I have a few more written for this story, but I'll save that for another time. I shall go finish up an update for my other story now. Please enjoy!

"Changhyun, you okay?" Jonghyun asked, worriedly placing a palm on the small of the said boy's back. Changhyun just nodded, holding onto his cup filled with grape juice. The nod was only half hearted though. Ever since Byunghun got hurt, Changhyun had been more and more down lately. Jonghyun tried his best to cheer him up, but it seemed as if the closer Jonghyun tried to get, the farther Changhyun pushed him away.

Ever since New York, the two still remained on a friendship basis, and that frustrated Jonghyun. It wasn't supposed to play out like this. Of course, he was concerned for Byunghun, and the situation he was in. But he couldn't stand another day being just friends with Changhyun. Being in a relationship could cheer Changhyun up, right? Maybe? The two slept together almost every night, when Byunghun wasn't sleeping in Changhyun's room. Almost. Mostly because Changhyun didn't like sleeping by himself. Jonghyun was ready to love him with everything he had, and he would have asked at that very moment if it wasn't for one thing.

Changhyun seemed so reserved lately. Jonghyun caught him throwing glances at Byunghun every once in a while. There was a nagging feeling that Jonghyun was missing something. 

"He hasn't talked to me in so long…He never tells me anything anymore. Byunghun hyung and I used to be best friends, we told each other everything but now it's just--different. Ever since Chanhee came along. I mean, I love Chanhee hyung but…" Changhyun sighed, turning around and hugging Jonghyun's waist tightly. Jonghyun smiled at the contact, smoothing Changhyun's hair. "Chanhee hyung is Byunghun's boyfriend. Byunghun hyung trusts him, and Chanhee hyung is his first priority, you know that." Jonghyun gently consoled.

He was close to offering Changhyun a date, but quickly stopped himself. There was no doubt that Changhyun would say no, especially because of how upset he was over Byunghun. Byunghun was hurt, and it was considered taboo in the house to have any fun. 

So, Jonghyun just resorted to holding Changhyun tightly, trying to attempt to ease at least some of the pain. 

Chanhee and Byunghun walked into the kitchen, holding hands. 

Jonghyun raised a brow. From what it looked like, Chanhee and Byunghun were through. Byunghun avoided Chanhee for what seemed like forever, and chose Changhyun over him…

He also felt Changhyun stiffen in his arms, but he wasn't that sure why. Shouldn't he be happy for his hyung? Chanhee made him happy, and that's all that mattered, right? Besides, the boys hated it when Byunghun and Chanhee were in a fight. 

Byunghun and Chanhee greeted Jonghyun and Changhyun briefly. Chanhee beamed, obviously happy that him and Byunghun had made up, but Byunghun couldn't even muster up a smile. He gave the younger two a nod. 

"You want something to drink, jagi?" Chanhee asked, walking over to the fridge and opening it, scanning the contents. Byunghun shook his head, back hugging the other boy and burying his face in the nape of Chanhee's neck. 

Skinship between the two wasn't something new. They usually displayed more PDA than anyone could really ask for. 

Chanhee grabbed a water bottle, tossing it onto the counter before shutting the fridge shut and turning around to embrace his boyfriend with a smile. He whispered something into Byunghun's ear, which made Byunghun crack a smile; the first one Jonghyun and Changhyun saw in a long time. 

Jonghyun could almost feel Changhyun staring holes into the other two. What's up with him? 

*****

For the next week, Chunji was true to his word. Byunghun was literally his slave, and had to do whatever Chunji asked him. Usually, it was just meetings, and forcing him to spend the day with him. The only one Byunghun could really talk to about this was Niel, only because Niel already knew half of the story, so might as well fill him in on the other half. Byunghun was afraid to speak of it with anyone else, even Chanhee. He didn't want Chunji going on a massacre, and wanted so desperately to keep Chanhee safe and away from Chunji. 

There was the odd time that Chunji asked for a weird request--cardboard boxes, 'special paper' that one could only get from Hongdae, barrels filled with sea salt…Byunghun had no idea what Chunji was planning to use those for, nor did he really want to know.

One of the many downsides to this was that he hardly had any time to spend with Chanhee; only during the nights and the occasional afternoon when Chunji wasn't on his case. He told Chanhee that there was a family emergency that was keeping him away all the time, which wasn't technically a lie. The boys were like his family, and he was trying to keep them from getting hurt. Chunji seemed to be keeping his part of the bargain--he stayed away from Byunghun's friends. 

Spending so much time with Chunji taught Byunghun that Chunji wasn't as scary as Byunghun initially thought. He was just…annoying. Chunji got a kick out of ordering Byunghun around, and knowing that Byunghun will do what he asked. Byunghun quickly lost the terrified feeling when being around Chunji, and it was replaced by a sense of irritation. He had no idea what Chunji wanted with him, and why he was bothering Byunghun so much. Sometimes, he caught himself wondering if he could just ignore Chunji's calls and messages for one day. How peaceful would it be…Byunghun could spend the whole day with Chanhee and not have to worry about his psycho twin that could come kill any of them. But he quickly scolded himself. He had to protect his friends. He couldn't let himself slip like that. And most of all, he had to protect Chanhee. Byunghun knew how crazy Chunji was, and that Chunji would, and definitely had the capability to kill someone. He didn't want to suffer through a mistake just to learn that. 

*****

Lee Byunghun. The name twiddled around in Chunji's head, as he smoothly passed a pen through his fingers. A weird feeling sat in his chest. Byunghun's face was perfectly etched into his mind, and Chunji found himself continuously going back to that image. 

"How's the mission going?" Minsoo, a colleague, asked. Chunji just hummed and nodded, not quite hearing what the other was saying. In retrospect, Chunji had lost much of his edge around Byunghun; a natural instinct his mind was taking to open up to the other. That was ridiculous though, right? Chunji could never let anyone close to him. Even thinking about Byunghun was an idiotic move. God, that kid is gonna die, and I'm getting attached to him. .

"Either you're in love, or you drank some bad green tea." 

Chunji snapped out of his thoughts to stare at the bleach-haired boy sitting in front of him. A goofy grin was plastered on Minsoo's face. He was enjoying this. "Stop. I am not." 

"You're not what? Bad green tea?" 

Chunji scowled, tsking. 

Minsoo's face cleared, his eyes serious. "In all seriousness, Chunji, you know very well what happens to our clients. You can't get emotionally attached, you're only going to get hurt in the end. You've never had this problem before, that's why our boss relies on you so much for our missions. Don't screw up, bro. Your life is on the line." 

Chunji just rolled his eyes, spitting off to the side. The breeze suddenly got uncharacteristically cold, in the patio outside the cafe. It swept through the trees, fiddling with the fabric of the black umbrellas mounted on top of each table. 

"How many times have you thought of him?" Minsoo asked, looking to the other with a disappointed expression. 

"…Too much, Minsoo. Too much."

*****

"He's five minutes late." Niel said, in a monotoned voice. He propped his elbows onto the table, a disinterested look plastered on his face. 

Byunghun, on the other hand, wished he could be as calm as Niel was. He was never calm when Chunji was around. And all that nonsense about being his slave. If Chanhee found about this, he would freak. 

"The longer he takes, the better for me. I don't want to see him." 

Niel turned to his hyung with curiosity. "So what exactly is your relationship with him? How do you know which is Chanhee and which is his evil twin?" 

Byunghun scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against his chair. "It's just a feeling. Chunji has this...dark aura about him. It's too unsettling. I never know what's he's going to do." 

"Talking about me, jagi-ah?" A voice called. Byunghun scowled. He could almost hear the smirk on Chunji's face. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. He hated when Chunji called him jagi, and Chunji knew that. It was one thing to keep Byunghun away from Chanhee almost everyday, but it was a whole other thing to abuse a title that was meant for only Chanhee to use. Byunghun had protested, many times. But it was no use. Byunghun eventually shrugged it off. It meant nothing when Chunji said it, anyways.

Niel whipped his head around at the voice. Chunji paid no attention to him. Instead, he walked so that he was in front of Byunghun. Leaning over, he placed his hands on Byunghun's shoulder, forcing him to stand. In a swift movement, Chunji captured Byunghun's lips with his. Chunji knew it was wrong. He wasn't supposed to get emotionally attached to his clients, that was the biggest rule in his line of work. It was prevalent in every spy/assassin/ninja movie, and it was relevant to real life as well. Chunji was supposed to cause chaos in Lee Byunghun's life, rile him up a bit, scare him, make him paranoid. 

There was to be little physical abuse. No, this was all emotional. According to some inside source, Byunghun could withhold physical pain relatively well. So pain was immediately ruled out. The objective was to emotionally break him down to nothing. 

At first, it was easy. Chunji had no interest in Lee Byunghun, or his life. He just wanted to complete the mission, get the cash, and buy some useless flat screen TV, maybe the newest phone model, a new car--a Ferrari this time--, a new penthouse on some exotic island. Then it would be onto the next one. It had been that way for the past seven years. It was supposed to continue to be like that.

But as he spent more time with Byunghun, he had gotten himself smitten. Chunji, of course, was an expert in masking his true feelings. He was happier than he'd like to admit when he had received the phone call from his boss, the call that explained the next phase of his mission. Chunji was to get Byunghun to succumb to his every will; make Byunghun Chunji's slave. That meant Chunji could treat him how he pleased, and Byunghun would just have to deal with it. Chunji had to get into his head. Deceive and manipulate Byunghun's friends; get close to them, and eventually, have them turn their backs on Byunghun. Byunghun was a lot more vulnerable without his circle of pathetic friends. Chunji almost caught himself disliking the part of pushing away Byunghun's friends. He remembered the exact thought he had: Not my Byunghun. I don't want to hurt him.

Chunji nearly laughed at himself. His Byunghun? No. Byunghun wouldn't belong to him. At least, not yet, not now. And it was too late for the whole 'not hurting him' aspect. Chunji had already sent Byunghun multiple physical blows, as well as emotional ones. Besides, Byunghun was only doing this because he didn't want Chunji to hurt his actual boyfriend. Chunji, through his harsh words and obnoxious actions, wanted Byunghun. He hated to admit it. Byunghun was nothing special. Just a school kid, with a sharp tongue, and a bold look that could drive anyone away. Feeling this way about Byunghun was pointless. Byunghun saw Chunji as a monster. An enemy. Byunghun had said so. Byunghun would never love someone like Chunji. 

Chunji could see how much hatred Byunghun had for him. How disgusted he was. But Chunji didn't care. It just gave him more motivation to be aggressive and dominant with the other. He wanted Byunghun anyway he could. 

As these thoughts swirled across his mind, Chunji pulled away, and put on his signature smirk. He released Byunghun from his grip, finding amusement in the dazed and confused look Byunghun had on his face. Chunji leaned forward. "Remember, I still have him over you." He whispered, lightly tracing his index finger along Byunghun's jawline. Byunghun angrily slapped Chunji's hand away, sitting down on his chair. 

The loathe he had for Chunji increased. He hated when Chunji kissed him. Chanhee and Chunji may look alike, but they were NOTHING alike. While it felt right to kiss Chanhee, kissing Chunji felt so…wrong. Evil, almost. Byunghun specifically said that he didn't want to be kissed by s, especially not Chunji. But Chunji played the 'I'm gonna kill your boyfriend if you don't let me do what I want' card again, and Byunghun had no real choice but close his eyes and dread the seconds until the kiss ended.

Chunji smiled, a smile too sweet it was venomous. The boy beside him was staring at both of them, obviously trying to hide his surprise. "No need to snappy. Besides that, jagi, who's this?" Chunji asked Byunghun, eyeing Niel as he sat down in front of Niel. The boy looked vaguely familiar--was that fish lips?

Byunghun looked a bit more distressed and refused to meet Chunji's gaze. 

Chunji expected some witty, snarling remark. He was surprised when Byunghun replied in a soft, yet slightly irritated tone. "Niel. And don't call me that." 

"Whoa. WHOA. Back this train up--he actually listens to you? Kudos to you, dude." Niel said to Chunji, a grin on his face. Byunghun shot him a side glare, but said nor did anything more. Chunji raised an eyebrow. "Is he usually disobedient?" 

Niel nodded. "Byunghun hyung doesn't listen to anybody. Except--" Byunghun shoved his elbow into Niel's side. "Niel, shut up. You two can bond, but keep him out of it." Chunji saw Byunghun hiss. 

Chunji felt what he presumed to be jealousy. He wasn't sure, though, since he had never been in a relationship. No time, no opportunities. And on top of that, Chunji hadn't been interested in anyone, until recently. For a brief few moments, he let himself get overwhelmed with the thought of when Byunghun would be possessive over him. When Byunghun would start to love him. If you spent so much time around a person, and acted like a couple, wasn't feelings a guarantee? Chunji hoped. It would happen. It just needed time. By the time this mission was completed, Byunghun wouldn't even have Chanhee anymore, anyways. But he quickly stepped out of his thoughts before he was completely submerged. Chunji always had to be alert. A second of spacing out, a second of redirecting his attention elsewhere could make him miss something important, lose his place in the train of things. He always had to be paying attention, always had to be alert, so he could be one step ahead of everyone else. 

"I didn't know you two were...on those terms. Last time I saw, you hurt him pretty badly. Byunghun couldn't snap at anyone for days because it hurt him to do so." Niel asked. Chunji couldn't tell if Niel was judging him. Chunji couldn't tell what Niel thought of him. Not that he really cared, but he found it off putting. Chunji always knew what others thought, and what they were planning, based on facial expressions and body language. He was taught how to read people, how to interpret their next course of action by their eyes, their expression, and their standing or sitting position. Life is like chess, Chunji. You always have to be better, smarter, and more advanced than your opponent. You have to carefully scrutinize your opponent's move, and you can never let them beat you.

"Why I did that is my business, not yours." The amount of defensiveness in Chunji's voice made the said boy wince. 

Chunji cursed at himself after he snapped like that. He couldn't show signs of weakness, vulnerability. It would be too beneficial to other people. Nobody could know how his mind worked, his thought processes, his thoughts. He had to keep them secret. He was the winner, always was, always has been. He couldn't let someone beat him at his own game. Chunji couldn't afford measly slip ups; he was trained better than that. Luckily, neither that idiot nor Byunghun seemed to notice. Chunji didn't have any real explanation or cover up for why he had to abuse Byunghun like that. He was just following orders, but it wasn't as if he could showcase that to them. 

"What do you want to do today, Chunji. Let's just get this over with." Byunghun mumbled. Chunji turned to look at him. When Byunghun wasn't looking, that was when Chunji could get those clear pictures of Byunghun into his mind. He admired everything about that stupid boy--the way his lips quirked when he was amused, the way he brushed his hair out of his eyes by combing his fingers through it, the way his lips would press together when he was deep in thought, the way he bit his lower lip when he was concentrating on something, the way he would his lower lip and gently graze the right side of his lower lip with his teeth when he was thinking of a response, the way he walked with his hands in his pockets, staring just a few feet ahead of him. This wasn't a natural feeling for Chunji. And he knew he had to get rid of these feelings. But he had watched his share of mediocre romance movies (he was forced; no man would voluntarily watch those films, seriously) to know that getting rid of feelings was a lot easier said than done. Girls gorged on ice cream and watched sappy movies to scream at the male lead and wave their spoons crazily in the air, talking to the lead as if he could hear them. Males would drink small glasses of soju in those red tents set up on street sides, on picnic benches as if they could literally drown their sorrows away. 

There was no way Chunji was doing either of that. He wasn't as stupid as to try to get rid of his feelings. No, he had to come to terms with them. It wasn't a problem as long as nobody knew about it. And for that, he couldn't let even an ounce of his heart to be exposed. In fact, he had to make it seem like he didn't have one. And he was doing a good job, by the looks of it. 

"A date." Chunji replied, his usual smirk and cocky undertone to his voice replaced by a neutral expression and a lot gentler voice. "Without your sass, you sound exactly like Chanhee." Niel stated. 

Byunghun sighed, getting up. "Niel, that's enough. Leave." 

Niel shrugged, getting up as well. Chunji followed. 

"I'm guessing you don't want me to say anything to Chanhee about this." 

Byunghun gave him a look. A terrifying look. "Don't get yourself killed, Byunghun." Niel told his friend. Chunji wanted to snort. If Niel thought that Chunji would kill Byunghun, he was terribly mistaken. 

****

A long day, with an even longer date, put Byunghun in a foul mood as he walked into Woohyun's apartment, that was now his second home. The only thing that would make him feel any better was the thought that he would be with his Chanhee. 

He walked inside to be greeted by Niel. "How was it? You have fun?" 

Byunghun gave him a pure, murderous look. "Does it look like I had fun, you good for nothing piece of--"

"Where have you been, kid? You left early morning and you're coming back now?" Woohyun asked. He had just come out of his room, and looked as if he was headed to the kitchen. Byunghun bit his inner cheek. "I asked him to do me a favor. He owes me big time." Niel fibbed, playfully slapping Byunghun's shoulder. 

"Where's Chanhee?" Byunghun asked, after giving Niel a brief look of thanks. "Should be in his room, doing homework. Which is what you should be doing too, Byunghun, instead of acting like Niel's slave." 

Woohyun had a grin on his face. Byunghun knew it was a joke. But that didn't stop his face from hardening, his jaw clenching as he approached the room he shared with Chanhee. 

Niel had observed all this, even though Woohyun was unaware. Byunghun...what the did you do to get yourself in this mess?

****

Chunji's phone rang in his pocket, disrupting his movie. He groaned, pausing the film on his TV and fished out his phone. When he read the caller ID, his face dropped. Why was his boss calling him at such an odd time? The boss always timed his calls--midnight every other week. Chunji swallowed thickly, accepting the call. 

"Mr. Hwang, is everything okay, sir?" 

"I need a status report, Chunji. Come on, quickly." 

Chunji cleared his throat. "Everything's going according to plan, sir. On standby."