“You really think you can trust this guy, Kyuhyun?” Donghae asked as they were currently sitting on another train, getting closer to the city that Mr. Choi resided in. “I mean, you said that he was one of the spies, you sure this isn’t all just a trap?”

Kyuhyun sighed and laid his head back against the headrest of the chair, “I don’t know, I just… I believe he won’t lure us into a trap, he seemed really concerned about keeping Yesung safe, and he even kept some of the pictures that would’ve exposed mine and Yesung’s relationship to Mr. Choi. He could’ve exposed all of that and had a bounty put on my head for it, but he didn’t.”

Donghae shrugged, “Unless it’s all a set-up, I’m going to follow through with you on this, Kyuhyun, because you’re our leader, but I’m going to have a backup plan just in case something goes wrong or if it really is a trap.”

“Don’t worry about that, Donghae; I’m prepared for that outcome as well. I just… I just trust that it won’t be that way.”

“Ah, well, just don’t let your guard down,” Donghae replied. He glanced over at Yesung sitting beside Eunhyuk and staring out the window at the scenery outside. “Have you told him everything yet?”

Kyuhyun shook his head, “I’ve been advised not to, because if Yesung knew everything that was going to happen, he’d be too panicky to follow through with it.”

Donghae nodded in understanding, “That’s true, but do you think he’ll forgive you when the time comes that everything is out in the open?”

The leader glanced over at the angel, watching him for a moment, “I hope so, I really hope so.”

Donghae nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Eunhyuk told me what you said before, Kyuhyun. You’re not just as bad as Mina, I mean; you’re actually trying to help the angel. If you really had turned just as bad as her, then you would take him to our employer, collect the money, and just leave him there. Maybe even torch the place before leaving.”

Kyuhyun was quiet for a moment, mulling over everything, “She’s still been haunting me though, she knows that someone else is taking her place in here.” He pointed towards his chest.

Donghae hummed, “Well, she has been a pesky memory this long; of course, she wouldn’t want to be replaced. But at least, Yesung’s nowhere near as horrible as she was.”

“True. He is something else,” Kyuhyun mumbled in agreement as he watched the angel, hoping that everything would turn out for the best for them.

Yesung glanced over at the man at the feeling that someone was staring at him. He met Kyuhyun’s gaze and smiled at him, causing the man’s heart to soar in his chest, before turning back towards the window. Kyuhyun felt the urge to just reach over Eunhyuk and press his lips to the angel’s, but he simply turned back towards his window to look outside. He really hoped everything would turn out for the best, he couldn’t imagine how it would be without having Yesung there with him anymore.

--

“Kyuhyun, you were right,” the hunter glanced back at the angel as he was about to enter their new hotel room, to see what the angel was saying that he was right about. “The white shoes do get dirtier more.”

Kyuhyun pushed open the door and flicked on the lights, before he started drawing the shades and closing the curtains, “I told you, that’s why you should’ve gotten black or brown.”

Yesung nodded as he sat on the bed, watching the man in confusion, mumbling, “Yeah, your boots don’t look as dirty as my shoes and I know you’ve had them longer than I have my shoes.” He watched Kyuhyun as he moved to the last window, closing the curtains, “Why do you like a dark room now, Kyuhyun?”

“H-Huh?” Kyuhyun staggered for a moment, “Oh, um, I just… I don’t, uh, like waking up too early in the morning when the sun comes in.”

“But you’re usually up before me,” the angel replied, his head tilted to the side in confusion.

Kyuhyun finished with the windows and decided to stop before he created anymore questions for the angel, “That’s because the curtains were too thin and the sun was still coming through them, so I couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“Oh, okay,” Yesung nodded, although he was still confused, but he shook it off, “Does this hotel have a bathhouse too?”

“Yesung, not every hotel we got to has a bathhouse,” Kyuhyun chuckled. “I’m surprised that you actually like them now since you were complaining about the water being to hot in the first one.”

“But that’s because it was too hot, until you forced me to get used to it,” the angel replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “But the others that we’ve been in, the water wasn’t as hot.”

“Probably because the first one we were in was a natural hot spring and the others, they were all just warmed with heaters. They’re still relaxing though, just not as much as the natural hot springs. But I don’t think this hotel has a bathhouse.”

“Me neither, I didn’t see anything on the signs at the desk, and that’s usually one thing that they had written on the signs at the other hotels,” Yesung muttered, sighing in disappointment.

Kyuhyun chuckled at the pouting angel; Yesung really was like a child in some ways, “There’s still the shower,” he reminded him as he walked over to the bathroom and opened the door to look inside, he paused, seeing the shower and tub combination, “Oh, well, you can have a bath in here too, Yesung, they have a shower and a bathtub.”

“Really?” The angel asked, getting up from the bed to walk over to look into the bathroom as well. His face brightened up with the smile crossing his lips at the sight, “Oh, wow, we can take a bath and a shower at the same time, Kyuhyun!”

Kyuhyun shook his head, “No, they’re connected; only one of the faucets can run water at their own time. But we both could fit into that tub,” the hunter said, noting the size of the tub, it was a fairly big tub, “it looks big enough for two.”

Yesung grabbed Kyuhyun’s wrist then, pulling him inside the bathroom, “Then take a bath with me, Kyuhyun. I’m dirty, you’re dirty, we can clean each other.”

“But Yesung, we were supposed to meet Donghae and Eunhyuk later on to get something to eat,” the man protested, trying to pry his wrist from Yesung’s grasp.

The angel whined, “We can go later, or let Donghae and Eunhyuk bring us something back. I want to take a bath.”

Kyuhyun shook his head, finally giving up on trying to pry Yesung’s hand off his wrist and just pulled the angel to him, holding him there, “You can take a bath later, I’ll even wash your back if we can do it later. I’m hungry and I want food.”

“Really?” Yesung stared up at Kyuhyun with those wide and innocent eyes of his, making the hunter’s heart ache at the sight.

He smiled and nodded, leaning down to press a kiss to Yesung’s lips, wrapping his arms around the angel, “Yeah, and then we’ll have the rest of the evening and night to ourselves.”

Yesung laughed to himself, a smile remaining on his lips, “Sounds adventurous, let’s go get something to eat then so we can hurry up and come back!” The angel pulled back from Kyuhyun’s arms to drag the man out of the bathroom and off to join Donghae and Eunhyuk.

--

“So how many more places do we have to go before we reach this temple?” Yesung asked halfway through the meal in the diner. He was currently picking at the vegetables on his plate that he just couldn’t seem to care for, they just didn’t have a good taste to them, he didn’t feel as bad for not eating them when he noticed that Kyuhyun hadn’t touched his either.

“Hmm…” Donghae hummed, then glanced at Kyuhyun before returning his gaze to Yesung, “I think there’s just this city and the next. We’re almost there, so maybe within a day or two.”

“Have you guys seen the temple yet? Is it pretty? I kind of liked my old temple even though I only got to see it a few minutes when I was taken there before being put to sleep, and after I woke up, I only caught a few glances throughout it. But it was pretty. Will I have as comfy of a bed there?” Yesung asked, eagerly staring at Donghae for the answers while he kept rambling on.

Eunhyuk chuckled to himself at the angel’s questions and comments, before throwing a glance over at Kyuhyun to find the man seemed to have zoned out of the one-sided conversation since Donghae still hadn’t been able to utter a word. He figured that the leader was finally realizing just how close they were to reaching their employer’s home, and just how close he was to losing Yesung, or hurting Yesung, because if they had a plan to save him from their employer, the truth would come out, and who knew how the angel would respond to it. Eunhyuk was almost glad that the angel had the necklace on to seal off Yesung’s powers, he’d already been on the receiving end of the angel’s strength, and he did not want to face it again, nor wish the same fate on Kyuhyun.

“Excuse me, did you order another ice water?” The voice caused the four to glance over at the waiter that was beside Kyuhyun with the glass of water waiting in their hand.

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened when he realized who it was. The black hair, those eyes, and that child-like smile of his, the only difference was the clothes. Lee Sungmin. He wondered what the spy was doing, approaching him like that with his partners and Yesung around him was just asking for his cover to be blown. But the man simply smiled at him and nodded towards the glass. That’s when he noticed the napkin that was around the glass of water.

The hunter nodded, hesitantly, taking the offered glass, making sure to take the napkin as well, “Uh, yeah, I did. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sir,” Sungmin winked at him before glancing around the table, flashing the others a smile before leaving their table, heading towards the area where the restrooms were.

“That was strange, aren’t we only supposed to have one servant get our food and drinks?” Yesung asked, not paying attention to Kyuhyun as the hunter started looking over the napkin, trying to keep the tiny message hidden from the angel.

Donghae nodded, noticing Kyuhyun’s interest in the napkin but trying not to draw any attention to the man, “Yeah, maybe the other waitress was busy and couldn’t bring Kyuhyun his glass of water.”

Yesung shrugged, “I figured she would’ve wanted to though, she seemed really happy when she was listening to Kyuhyun order and talk to her.”

Donghae thought he detected a bit of jealousy coming from the angel but Yesung didn’t seem bothered by the fact that the waitress was flirting with Kyuhyun earlier. Maybe the angel wasn’t the jealous type, or just didn’t realize what was going on. He was about to reply to Yesung’s comment but Kyuhyun spoke up, balling up the napkin in his hand.

“I need to go to the bathroom, I’ll be right back,” Kyuhyun didn’t wait for a reply as he stood up from the table and quickly made his way towards the restrooms.

Donghae and Eunhyuk stared after the man in confusion at his abruptness, but Yesung’s talking quickly directed Donghae’s attention back to the angel. He knew that Eunhyuk would keep a check on their leader while he occupied Yesung’s attention. He still wondered what was on the napkin and what was up with the waiter.

“That was a bit of a risky move back there, Lee Sungmin,” Kyuhyun stated after he got inside the men’s restroom and locked the door behind him.

“It was, but I had to get in contact with you some way since my partner is busy with something that Mr. Choi wanted right now, so I’m by myself in this city with you four,” Sungmin shrugged, untying the bowtie from around his neck and loosening up his shirt collar, “I’ll never understand how boys can wear something so tight around their necks, unless they like being choked as they work.”

“Steal someone else’s clothes?” Kyuhyun questioned, overlooking the attire.

“Well I had to fit in, and get my message to you in time before the guy wakes back up to find himself in only his underwear in the stockroom,” Sungmin smiled teasingly, before it dropped within seconds as his tone turned serious. “I’ve found a way to help you.”

“I’m listening.”

“The switch for Yesung’s necklace is located in Mr. Choi’s office somewhere, and I have a key to still get into his office from my days as one of his servant boy. He only allows servants in his office since most of his servants are too scared of him to cross him, unlike all of his guards that he doesn’t allow in for fear that they might try to steal information about him, so that’s one plus for my past. And another plus for knowing where mostly everything is in his office, having had cleaned it so many times, so it should take little time to find the switch’s location.

“Anyway, you already know to take Yesung to him in the morning hours, Mr. Choi will be too busy to do anything other than tie him up or have his servants do that, so that’s in the clear. My idea is that you come back later that evening, around maybe six o’clock is when he stops his work for the day, and confront him about something. I don’t know, just make up something to get him to the door, get your two partners to sneak into the mansion and grab Yesung.

“I’ll slip into Mr. Choi’s office and get the switch for Yesung’s necklace and free him of that device. Once I make sure that’s done, I’ll sneak back out of the office and address Mr. Choi of some phone call or something, I’ll decide when I get there, and you’ll be free to make sure your partners have Yesung and then you get out of there and go into hiding or whatever. Just keep him safe and keep yourselves hidden, got it?”

Kyuhyun slowed nodded, “It doesn’t sound like a bad plan, but won’t my partners have a problem with any of Mr. Choi’s men that might be guarding the place? Surely he can’t just leave it for only his security cameras.”

“The majority of the security cameras are fakes, to be honest, and he’ll send everyone out of the mansion that night though. That’ll be his reunion night with Yesung, and he won’t want to be disturbed, you see? If he’s got the mansion to himself and Yesung, then he’ll be free to make the angel cry as loud as he wants.”

That statement made Kyuhyun cringe, “Don’t say that stuff to me—”

Sungmin nodded, sympathetic, it wasn’t something he wanted to imagine either, but he knew his boss, and he knew how the man was. “My apologies, but it’s the truth.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I want to hear it or think it,” Kyuhyun glared at the man, before shaking the image away, “Now, you said that he’d have the whole mansion to himself, how are you going to explain your appearance there if you’re supposed to signal to me that you’ve unlocked Yesung’s necklace and distract him long enough for us to get away?”

“I’ll create some bogus problem or something, don’t worry about that part, your only job is to distract Mr. Choi long enough for your partners to get him and then hit the road and don’t stop running until you’ve reached the best hiding place you know of.”

The hunter thought over everything, the whole idea of the spy’s, and he had to admit that it did seem like a good plan. Now if only they could follow through with it without any complications, and hope that Mr. Choi would cooperate as Sungmin predicted. Kyuhyun just hoped that the timing would be good because he did not want Mr. Choi to come within an inch of touching Yesung that night.

“It sounds like an okay plan. Any plan Bs in case this one doesn’t work out?”

Sungmin chuckled, “Well, if it doesn’t work out like that, then the mansion will be empty aside from myself and you could just go in with your guns blazing and shoot your employer and take off with the angel. Either way, the choice is yours.”

Kyuhyun laughed quietly to himself, “I have to admit, plan B sounds a hell of a lot better, a bit more messy, but we’ll go with plan A for now. If all else fails, then we’ll continue with plan B.”

“Smart move. I have one small request of you though,” Sungmin said, pulling a black cloth-like bag from his pocket. “Use this to blindfold Yesung just before you get to the mansion, you can come up with whatever excuse to get him to put it on, but make sure he can’t see where he’s going until after you’ve left him with Mr. Choi.” He tossed the item to Kyuhyun, the hunter catching it easily as he started examining it. “I’m not sure if he remembers what the mansion looks like or if he’d recognize any of the servants throughout the place but it’s just a precaution that you do blindfold him.”

“Huh,” Kyuhyun looked over the item before shoving it into his coat pocket. “You really thought of everything, huh?”

“I’ve known about Mr. Choi’s plan to get his angel back for awhile now, Kyuhyun, he hasn’t given up on trying to find Yesung since he was taken from him, so I’ve thought of a few hundred things,” Sungmin replied, before glancing down at his watch, “You should get back your partners now, I won’t contact you again since we’re only two cities away from reaching the mansion, just remember what I said, and know that I’ll be there when my part comes in to action, alright?”

“Alright,” Kyuhyun nodded.

He left Sungmin in the men’s restrooms as he made his way back to the table that his partners and Yesung were at. He was met with the questioning looks of both Donghae and Eunhyuk but he shook his head at the two, reminding himself to fill them in on the plan later. They couldn’t talk about it there; Yesung would hear and know something was up.

But he just hoped that Sungmin’s plan would go smoothly. If not, plan B was still an okay thought to go with.

--

“I like the scent of this hotel’s soap, it smells like berries,” Yesung said as he poured of the soap onto the hand cloth to rub across his chest and neck before rubbing it down the legs that were on either side of him.

“It doesn’t smell bad, but it kind of makes me want some cherries or strawberries to eat now,” Kyuhyun noted, rubbing his hand cloth down the angel’s back and over his shoulders.

“Me too. At least we’ll both smell good tomorrow,” Yesung smiled, glancing over his shoulder at Kyuhyun.

The man chuckled, leaning up to press a kiss to Yesung’s cheek, “I think we’ll wear off the smell after while, Yesung. The night is not over.”

The angel’s cheeks darkened slightly, he laughed to himself, “True.” He was quiet for a moment, enjoying the feeling of Kyuhyun gently rinsing off the soapsuds from his back. “Kyuhyun… will you still… think of me after I’m put back to sleep in the other temple?”

Kyuhyun’s hand stopped, his eyes widened at the question, but before he could answer, Yesung continued, his voice was quiet, sad, but he didn’t stop. “I know that it was pointless to let myself come to love you and pointless to ask for the same from you in return, because we’ll be separated in the end, but… will you still think of me?”

“Yesung…” Kyuhyun started but couldn’t find the right words to say for a moment. He hated that he had lied to the angel now, making the angel believe that they were just taking him to another temple for the continuation of his punishment, when really, his punishment had already ended when he awoke. Or rather, it seemed like it did; they had encountered no other angel on the whole journey, no one had came after them to enforce that the angel be put back in the temple. It was almost as if Yesung was forgotten, and perhaps, he really had been forgotten by the other angels.

He heard the angel take a shaky breath, “I mean, I won’t be sad if you don’t think of me, I’ll be asleep, so I won’t know what’s going on in the world anymore, but I guess… I guess the thought of it would be comforting to know. Maybe even a little selfish,” Yesung chuckled humorlessly, “here I am asking if you’ll remember me when I won’t have the mind to think or remember you. When I should just be saying that I hope you’ll find someone better or find someone that isn’t messed up or have to be—”

“Stop, Yesung,” Kyuhyun cut him off, he wrapped his arms around the angel’s waist, pulling him back against him so the angel’s back was pressed up against Kyuhyun’s chest, his head coming to rest against Yesung’s shoulder. “Don’t say things like that, please.”

The angel gasped when he felt something warm dripping onto his skin, his own eyes began watering up, “K-Kyuhyun, I didn’t mean to make you cry… I’m sorry…” he tried to move out of the man’s grasp so he could turn around and hug the man to comfort him, but Kyuhyun’s grasp wouldn’t loosen up. “I was just… I just wanted to know, maybe it’d make the next few days easier to get through. Just the thought that I’d still cross your mind and not be forgotten, I felt like it’d be easier to go through with everything again.”

Kyuhyun tightened his grasp on the angel, careful not to hurt him, but he still couldn’t take hearing the angel’s words, knowing that that was what Yesung had been wondering about. “Ye-Yesung, I’ll always think about you. You’re always in my head, no matter what I’m doing, you’re always there, and you’ll always be. I love you.”

Yesung’s hands moved themselves over Kyuhyun’s hands that were wrapped around him, “I love you too, Kyuhyun. Please don’t cry.” He turned his head slightly to the side where Kyuhyun’s head rested, and placed a gentle kiss to the man’s temple. “I just… I-I just—” he was interrupted by Kyuhyun as the man lifted his head, meeting Yesung’s teary gaze with his own before he pressed his lips to the angel’s in a soft but desperate kiss.

He pulled back, releasing the angel’s waist just to turn him around so he could wrap the angel in his arms again and press his lips back to those soft, trembling lips. Yesung clung to the man, hoping that if he could, after he was forced back into his punishment of sleep that he could forever dream about this moment, and the rest of the moments he’d spent with Kyuhyun. The first man to love him, and make him feel loved in return, the man that he knew he annoyed, knew that he’d gotten under his skin, and knew that he was so weak compared to, but he loved him. Kyuhyun loved him. He hoped that when he’d sleep, he’d forever know that this man truly loved.

That night as the two moved from the bathtub to the bed, no more words were spoken between either of them as they gave themselves to each other. The touches were softer, the kisses seemed to be just a tad bit sweeter, the noises filling the air weren’t just out of desperation, and the heat between them felt warmer as Kyuhyun took Yesung.

Kyuhyun’s voice finally broke through the air around them just as he buried himself in the angel, looking down at Yesung’s face to see the bliss written all over his face, his eyes closed as he bit his bottom lip, “I love you, Yesung.”

The angel’s eyes fluttered open, finding Kyuhyun’s gaze as he felt the man’s release, “I love you too, Kyuhyun. I love you, I’ll always love you.” He smiled, pulling Kyuhyun down to kiss him.

Kyuhyun’s lips moved over the angel’s, slowly and softly, making sure to taste just as much of Yesung’s lips as he could. He broke away to finally pull out of the angel, once was enough for that night. Once was all that the night called for, because it wasn’t their lust that had them wanting the other, it was their need for intimacy, their need to etch the other in their memory, the need to show just how much the other meant to them.

As the two finally settled into the bed, the blanket pulled over them despite the mess that Kyuhyun did not want to leave Yesung’s side to clean up, they lied in each other’s arms. Yesung’s head rested against Kyuhyun’s shoulder as his arm wrapped around the man’s waist, while Kyuhyun’s arms enclosed around the angel, bringing him closer to him, and making Yesung feel like he was in the safest place on earth.

“I love being in your arms, Kyuhyun,” Yesung smiled up at the man before snuggling against that sweaty chest. “You make me feel so safe.”

Kyuhyun chuckled, kissing the top of the angel’s head, he tightened his hold teasingly, “I love having you in my arms.”

Yesung looked back up at him, the smile still on his face, but as he gazed up at Kyuhyun, his eyes became cloudy; Kyuhyun could tell he was thinking about something. The angel finally spoke, his smile turning a little bit sad, “I know you’ll move on, Kyuhyun, I hope that you do, and find someone that’ll love you and make you happy for the rest of your days, but please remember me. I’m so scared that you’ll forget me.”

Kyuhyun shook his head, “Yesung, I won’t forget you, and…” he wanted to confess everything, confess their plan to save him, confess all the lies that he told the angel, confess that he wasn’t really going to another temple, that he wouldn’t be put back to sleep for the rest of an eternity. It hurt him to know that this was what the angel was worrying about, what the angel was thinking about. He knew that it must’ve crossed Yesung’s mind, because he believed he was just being transferred to another temple, so instead, he simply requested, “Yesung, when the time comes, I can’t tell you everything now, but when the time comes for us to arrive at the t-temple… will you just trust me? Trust me with everything that may happen?”

Curiosity filled the angel’s eyes at the request, but he nodded, “Of course, I trust you.”

“I know you do, but what may happen after we get there, it may hurt you, but will you trust me that I’ll make everything up to you?”

“Kyuhyun, it didn’t hurt when I was put to sleep before, you don’t have to worry about that part hurting me,” the angel started to smile in reassurance but the look on Kyuhyun’s face caused his smile to falter, the man looked pained.

“I know… but just… just trust me. Even when it may feel like I’ve betrayed you, just trust me. Please,” the man almost pleaded.

Yesung nodded, still confused by everything Kyuhyun was saying, but he would trust the man. After all, Kyuhyun was his protector; he wouldn’t do anything to cause the angel harm, not intentional anyway. “I’ll trust you, Kyuhyun.”

“Thank you, Yesung,” Kyuhyun murmured, bringing their lips back together in a soft kiss before they finally settled down to sleep.

Yesung still wondered what exactly Kyuhyun was talking about or what the man meant, but he didn’t question it anymore, instead he just snuggled up to the man, enjoying the feeling of Kyuhyun’s arms around him. Kyuhyun held the angel close as he closed his eyes, praying to whatever gods that were listening that fate would be on their side, that Yesung wouldn’t end up hating him once the truth came out, and that Sungmin’s plan would successfully work out. Because he knew now that he couldn’t go on with Yesung by his side, and he knew that the angel wouldn’t want to go on without Kyuhyun. So all he could do right now was hope for the best.

The hunter was just about to fall off to sleep when he heard Yesung nuzzle his nose against his chest, and he couldn’t stop the smile from crossing his lips when he heard Yesung mumble, “We still smell like berries...”