By the time night fell Taemin still hadn’t returned. Worry was creeping up on Minho like he’d never felt before, and all he could think about were the half dozen missing persons cases that he and Kibum had worked, where people had vanished into thin air and never been found. He thought about Kibum’s sister, too, and the day the police came to ask Kibum’s parents to identify her body.

“I’m going to look for him,” Kibum said, startling Minho out of his thoughts. Jonghyun had left hours earlier, and Minho had a good suspicion that he was out hunting for Taemin as the seconds passed.

“We should just let him come home on his own,” Minho argued, even thought every instinct was rallying him against it.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go looking for him,” Kibum clarified. “You knew about Jonghyun being his brother and didn’t say anything. I’m just as much an innocent party here as Taemin.”

“No,” Minho sighed out. “We’ll both go looking. He may no want to talk to me, but I need to make sure he’s okay.”

Because Kibum was probably more likely to be accepted by Taemin as an intruding presence at the moment, Minho was more than happy to let him go ahead to the ice cream shop. Earlier Jinki had reported that it was clear of Taemin, but Minho wasn’t so sure he wasn’t just hiding out in one of the tall booths, stuffing his face with ice cream and doing his best to ignore everything and everyone.

Instead Minho went to the places that he thought Taemin had the fondest memories of. He checked around Taemin’s school first, then the recreational area that Taemin played basketball at sometimes. He made a pass by the shoe shop that Taemin spent most of his allowance on, Taemin’s favorite restaurant, and even the courthouse where they’d first signed the papers to make Taemin his and Kibum’s legal ward.

All of the locations were empty of Taemin, but his phone hadn’t gone off, which meant Kibum probably hadn’t found him either.

At least Minho’s headache was receding.

His last shot at finding Taemin was the nearby park. It was a wide area with plenty of foliage for cover, a jungle gym, soccer field, and a large grassy hill that they all sat on together to watch fireworks during the summer. It was warm enough at night still that Minho could imagine Taemin walking the path around the perimeter, thinking about what he’d just learned.

He almost thought he imagined the form of Taemin seated on a bench under a high light.

“You’re not going to run away, are you?” Minho broached carefully. “I’ll go, if that’s the case. If you want your peace, I’ll leave. I just want to know where you are. I want to know you’re safe.”

Taemin didn’t look at him, his hands bunched into fists on his thighs. “I’m sorry I spoke harshly to you. I’m sorry I was rude.”

“You were upset,” Minho said, carefully sitting next to him. “And you had a right to be. I shouldn’t have agreed to keep something that important from you. I was just trying to be a good friend to Jonghyun, and something better to you. I just took for granted your feelings.”

“Key really didn’t know?”

Minho shook his head. “Jonghyun begged me not to tell him. He thought Kibum would tell you right away, and that’s probably true. Taemin, when I found out that Jonghyun was related to you by blood, you were so young. The courts had barely given Kibum and I custody of you. There were a lot of conditions, namely having to do with your schoolwork and behavior and part of me was afraid to put that kind of pressure on you. I was scared to lose you, and that’s why I agreed to keep the secret more than anything else.”

Slowly Taemin’s fingers uncurled. “Jonghyun and I share the same father. Does that mean that our father just stopped loving his mother one day? Would he have done that to my mother, too? Or me? It was easy for him to leave Jonghyun. Did he leave Jonghyun because I was born? Would he have left me for some other baby?”

“These are things you should talk about with Jonghyun, Taemin.” Minho leaned back against the bench. “But I can tell you this, after spending a long time working your parent’s case, and digging up everything I could on them. Your father loved your mother and you very much. And he probably loved Jonghyun, too. People fall in and out of love, and they can’t help themselves. You don’t love with your head, Taemin. But love is also something that doesn’t go away over night, and no matter what, you’re kind of impossible to not love. It’s a fact.”

“That’s so cheesy.”

Taemin cracked a smile and Minho leaned over to take his hand. “I’ve had several years of loving you at this point, Taemin. I know these things. Even when you’re being an absolute terror, you’re still lovable.”

“Like now?”

“Like now,” Minho confirmed. “So be mad at Jonghyun. Me mad at me. We accept responsibility for our actions and understand what we did was wrong. But don’t make Kibum worry like this, and talk to Jonghyun. He is your brother. He is your blood brother. He’s something invaluable to you, Taemin.”

Taemin let himself slump against Minho. “What’s that?”

“What’s invaluable about him?” Minho asked. “Taemin, he’s an actual, real life link to your parents. He’s someone who loves you, cares for you, and will do anything to protect you. That’s pretty rare, and you’d be foolish to give it up. So try to forgive him, but even if you can’t, talk to him. No matter what, promise me that you’ll talk to him. He’s probably the only other person right now who can understand what you went through losing your parents. His dad died too. He’s been living with the burden of not knowing why just like you have.”

“I’ll try,” Taemin said, his shoulders slumped.

Feeling relieved, Minho remarked, “I didn’t expect to be the one to find you. Kibum had his money on you being at the ice cream store near Jinki’s work.”

“I thought about it,” Taemin admitted. “But I thought Onew might find me there and he’d tell you right away. No offence, but next to Jonghyun, you were probably the last person I wanted to talk to a few hours ago.”

“No offense taken.”

They sat for another minute, then Taemin let out a prolonged breath and remarked a little in awe, “When I put aside all the anger, it’s kind of amazing to think about. Minho, I have a brother. I mean, I’ve considered you and Key to be family for a long time now, but Jonghyun is my brother. He’s my actual brother.”

“Didn’t you kind of consider him a brother before today, anyway? He took you places a big brother would. He bought you things, spent good time with you, and I know you guys talked about everything. Nothing has to change if you don’t want it to.”

“I don’t know if I want it to,” Taemin said honestly.

Minho rocked to his feet, hands in his pockets. “You want to go get that ice cream?”

“Huh?”

Minho elaborated, “Want to go to the ice cream shop? If I know Kibum he’s still circling the place, dead certain that you’re going to show up. We could go get some ice cream and talk a little more. Jonghyun might be your brother by blood, but Kibum and I are still family. We can send him a text saying you’re fine, and then me, you and Kibum can just talk about some stuff.”

Minho could almost see Taemin thinking before the teen stood, gave a firm nod and said, “Ice cream sounds pretty good right now.”

“It sounds like things are going much better for you all,” Jinki said the next time he and Minho were able to meet for lunch.

“Much,” Minho agreed. “With you helping me those couple of days we were able to get a lot of work done, and before Kibum was up completely on his feet I finished his cases. I don’t think we’re going to take anything new for a while, and when Kibum finally manages to get around me blocking him from working, I’m going to watch him more carefully. We won’t have a repeat of him overworking himself.”

“What about Taemin?”

Minho sired his ramen and breathed in the beefy scent. “He’s on vacation, believe it or not. After the truth came out with Jonghyun, Kibum and I decided he needed a break from everything. He already finished his college entrance exam, and he’s on break from school right now, so he and some of his friends are off visiting Jeju Island. He’ll be back next week, and even thought Taemin won’t admit to it, I think that’s when he and Jonghyun are going to have their heart to heart.”

Jinki gave him an encouraging smile and said, “I guess that only leaves your missing person case.”

“I’m dedicating myself to that case solely this week,” Minho said with a flourish to his chopsticks. “I’ve got a good feeling about this, Jinki. I’ve made some real progress, my current lead is promising, and I’m kind of optimistic at the moment. It’s an unusual feeling, but a welcome one.”

“I’m really happy for you. You deserve a run of good luck for once.”

Minho poked around his ramen for a second, then asked, “Did you get in contact with your cousin?”

“Inquiring about someone you don’t like?” Jinki asked with a laugh and pitch to his voice. “That’s very mature of you, Minho.”

“I’m only asking because I know you love him,” Minho responded almost petulantly.

“It’s enough.” Jinki’s foot nudged Minho’s under the table they were seated at. If they were in a less public place Minho had a feeling he would have earned himself a kiss. “And yes, to ease your burdened mind, I talked to Joon yesterday. He’s gone to see Mir. He’ll be gone until tomorrow, then it’s only a few more days before he goes back to Hong Kong. Try not to look so pleased with then news.”

“Sorry,” Minho said, not at all meaning the words. He added, “You know, I’d probably be less jealous of him every time his name comes up if you’d explain who Mir is. He’s a boyfriend? I know Joon is your cousin, but he’s not blood, and I believe I’ve mentioned before that you’re easy to fall in love with.”

Jinki leaned a lazy elbow on the table and said, “I can guarantee you that Joon is absolutely not in love with me. Let me ask you, can you ever see yourself being in love with Taemin?”

Minho’s face scrunched up immediately. “Absolutely not. That kid is … family.”

“Then take my word for it when I say it’s the same feeling I get when you even slightly insinuate that Joon might have those kinds of feelings for me.”

“Then Mir is …”

“A touchy subject, remember?”

Minho pointed out, “I just told you about Jonghyun and Taemin. And as far as my skeletons in the closet go, I don’t have much else.” Only … her, but that felt different.

“Okay,” Jinki relented, setting his chopsticks down, “But it goes without saying that you can’t tell anyone. Not Key, not Taemin, not Jonghyun. No one else.”

Minho crossed his fingers over his heart. “Swear.”

Jinki pushed up his blond bangs absently and told Minho, “When Joon and I were growing up, it was always impressed on us that the best thing we could do was stay out of trouble and fulfill expectations. And for however you see Joon, and regardless of how he acts, there was once a time when pleasing people was his utmost priority. Back then he thought he could get placed into a real home if he did all the right things, and became what people expected of him.”

“He doesn’t strike me as that kind of guy,” Minho said bluntly.

Jinki allowed, “It was when we were young and still had a chance of placement. As time passed, he stopped caring more and more. He stopped caring about a lot of things. At lot of the boys did.”

“But not you,” Minho said.

With a frown, Jinki asked, “Why would you say that?”

“Your personality.” Minho tapped the back of his hand. “You’re not the giving up type. You’re stubborn and determined and I can’t ever see you just throwing in the towel. It’s your personality.”

“Flatterer,” Jinki swatted at Minho. He cleared his throat. “What I’m getting at here is that Joon started to fall apart right before we were getting out of the boy’s home. But there was this girl, and she was gorgeous, Minho. She was spending time with an aunt in the city when Joon saw her for the first time and all he could tell me was how smart she was, and beautiful and pretty much perfect. She gave him the motivation he needed to keep on the straight and narrow for the time being.”

From reading Joon’s rap sheet, Minho knew that he’d fallen off that wagon a long time ago, and hadn’t ever gotten back on.

Jinki continued, “When Joon and I were too old to stay at the boy’s house I started working right away. I wanted to stay in Seoul, but he went to be near her and he went out to the country where she lived. I honestly thought they were going to get married and have half a dozen kids and that she’d be just what he needed. I was kind of naïve back then, Minho.”

“Back then?” Minho teased.

“If you don’t want me to finish, then I’ll stop now.”

“No, no,” Minho laughed. “I’m sorry. I’ll hold all my comments until the end. Tell me why you think you were naïve?”

A fond smile stretched across Jinki’s face. “Because all that time that Joon was off pretending to be a fisherman near where Eun Ah lived, I thought it was because he was in love with her. It took another year before I realized it was her younger brother that he was absolutely head over heels in love with.”

Minho barked out low laugher, stronger than he’d felt in a long time, his hand clutching at the table. “Her brother? Mir?”

Jinki laughed along with him, nodding. “I don’t doubt that Joon loved Eun Ah the second he saw her, but if you knew Mir, you’d know why everyone kind of pales in comparison. He moved for Eun Ah, but stayed for Mir. Mir was quite a bit younger, too, Minho, so Joon was trying to hide it from anyone he thought might judge them. He was trying to protect Mir by keeping their relationship a secret and carrying on with Eun Ah as a cover. It was a real mess when it all came out.”

Minho sobered, remembering, “Didn’t you say there was something keeping them apart? The disapproval of Mir’s parents?”

The somber look on Jinki’s face said it was much worse.

“Joon only told me what happened once,” Jinki warned, “and there was a lot of alcohol involved in him actually getting the story out. But the way I understand it, there was some bad weather and Joon was driving himself and Eun Ah back to her house. They’d been fighting. She was in love with someone and wanted to date him publicly, and I think she also wanted her brother to stop being hurt by having to hide his relationship with Joon. Then there was an accident.”

“Then …”

“Eun Ah died,” Jinki said, mouth pulled tight. “The car went off the road, she hadn’t been wearing her seatbelt and she died. Joon was perfectly fine.”

“I’m sorry,” Minho said, all the joy fading from his body. “What happened must have been hard for everyone.”

Jinki nodded. “That’s when all the secrets came out. Eun Ah’s family blamed Joon, Joon blamed himself, and there were a lot of accusations thrown around. Mir and Joon did try to fight for each other, for what it’s worth. But Mir was still underage when the accident happened, so he was banned from seeing Joon.”

“He has to be old enough now,” Minho said, especially with the way Jinki was talking about the event. Obviously it had happened years ago.

“He’s an adult now,” Jinki conceded, “but Mir’s family means everything to him. His parents aren’t very healthy right now and he can’t bear to put any added stress into their lives by going against their wishes to have a relationship with Joon. He’s also the only son, and he’s expected to do a lot of things he doesn’t want to. He’s stuck in a lot of ways. I think the only thing keeping him going these days is when Joon comes to visit.”

Minho wondered what it would be like, having to sneak way just to see Jinki, and only getting to see him a few times a year at that. It seemed impossible to take.

“I don’t know how they can do it,” Minho said. “I couldn’t.”

“Maybe something will change,” Jinki said. “Maybe they’ll get their chance. But for right now, Mir won’t go against his parents, not even for Joon. Not while they’re so ill. And Joon won’t push him for more. Joon’s too afraid to ask for more and lose everything.”

Minho picked up his chopsticks and pulled up a good clump of noodles. “If that were us, I’d just take you and run away.”

“Running away never solves anything,” Jinki insisted. But then he added, “That’s good to know anyway.”

Regardless of the people around them and the impropriety of it, Minho snuck a kiss in.

After lunch with Jinki it was straight back to the office to work on finding out everything he could about Leo’s stalker. Song Yong Sook wasn’t hard to trace, either. He was an insurance adjuster and worked in the heart of Seoul, a good job for someone as young as he was. He attended a Buddhist temple just outside of the city frequently, seemed to have no friends, no social life, and a bad case of OCD.

Minho followed him for the next few days, tailing from his house, to his work, and home again. There was little to note on his behavior, Song not leaving his apartment for much other than grocery shopping and small errands. He never spoke to people if it could be avoided, he didn’t seem to make eye contact with those he did talk to, and his behavior indicated a severe introvert.

Song was incredibly dull.

And not exactly what Minho had expected from a stalker.

In fact after half a week of following him, Minho was near ready to start switching his attention to other parts of the case when Song made his first diversion from his regular schedule.

When it came, one early Monday morning, Minho followed him to the outskirts of Seoul and to a small building that Minho recognized all too well.

He ended up not following Song back to his apartment once his business was finished, instead staying parked in front of the short building that he’d been in too many times to count in the past.

It was a sharp knock to his car window that startled Minho.

“Hi, Minho,” a beautiful girl greeted, tucking red tinted hair back behind an ear. “Can I ask what you’re doing parked out here?”

Mouth dry, Minho returned, “Krystal. It’s not what it looks like.”

Krystal straightened up, looking as pristine as ever. She was a bit like a doll in Minho’s eyes, untouchable and gorgeous. “It isn’t? It looks like you’re waiting for Sulli to come out.”

Minho gestured for her to step back, then he was climbing from the car, telling her, “I’m not here for Sulli.”

He hadn’t even thought of Sulli. Not in months. And with Jinki busy lighting up his life, he wasn’t likely to think of her again. Not like he once had.

“Then what are you here for?”

What little cover he’d had was completely blown as Minho could now see familiar faces in the building’s window. Amber and Victoria looked equally as surprised to see him as Minho was to see them, and Luna was already half out the door, waving at him. Only Sulli hung back, curiosity written on her face.

“Minho,” Sulli said when Krystal managed to pull him into the building, all but shoving him down into a spare chair. “Why are you here?”

“I’m working a case,” Minho said, trying not to let himself be swayed by her beauty. She looked exactly the same to him now as she had the last time he’d seen her, six months ago when she’d asked him not to come around anymore. Or call.

“A case that brought you here?” Amber asked, feet swinging from the desk she’d hopped up on.

Minho had to admit, “I’m tailing one of your clients, apparently.”

There was no point in Minho ever deluding himself. The first thing that had attracted him to Sulli when they’d both been young and disinterested in college was their shared passion for helping people. Back when they’d been wet behind the ears and greener than the grass, they’d entertained the idea of opening up a detective agency together.

Laying on their backs, staring up at the too blue sky, Sulli had said, “We’ll stick Key and Krystal out on the corner to wave in traffic because they’re so beautiful. And when business is booming, we’ll make the others go out and get us some really good take-out and we’ll stay up all night working on our cases and solving the things that others can’t.”

Sulli was the closest, at least before Jinki, that Minho had ever come to true happiness. He would have married Choi Jin Ri if things had been different. He would have been married to her right then if she hadn’t lost the baby, and if they’d been able to work past their grief. If they hadn’t blamed each other instead of comforting each other.

“Guy who just left?” Amber wondered, nails tapping the top of the desk. “He’s your client too?”

“No,” Minho said, unable to tear his eyes away from Sulli’s. “My clients are paying me to follow him.” There were a million private investigators in Seoul. Why Song had chosen the one run by his ex-girlfriend and her best friends was about the worst luck Minho had ever encountered. “Sulli. Can I talk to you privately?”

“You can talk to all of us,” Victoria cut in, a warning in her tone. “There’s nothing you need to say to her privately that the rest of us shouldn’t be able to hear.”

“No,” Sulli said with a deep sigh. “It’s okay. It’s not about … us, right?”

“No.” Minho shook his head.

“Whatever,” Victoria said, rolling her eyes.

“You know I can’t tell you anything specific about why my client was here, right?” Sulli asked after the rest of the girls had scattered and they at least had the appearance of privacy. If they raised their voices in any way Minho was sure the rest of them would be able to hear whatever they were saying. “His privacy is just as much my business as his case.”

“I know.”

“Then what do you want to talk about?” Sulli asked.

She had just as much integrity as Minho did, and he knew asking her to violate that would end poorly for the both of them. So instead he said, “I want to tell you about the case I’m working instead, and then you can decide if there’s anything at all that you can say to me in return.”

“Minho …”

“Just hear me out.”

She quieted and agreed with a simple nod.

Minho held up his hand. “I’m working a missing person case. And there are five people looking for someone who’s been missing for over two months now.”

“A missing person case?” Sulli said, her voice so quiet it was almost a whisper. “I thought you and Key didn’t … like to take those cases.”

“We don’t,” Minho said. “But they have a way of creeping under our skin.”

Sulli’s eyes locked on Minho’s hand. “There are five clients?”

Minho wiggled his fingers at her, remembering instantly how easily talking to her was. “They have a unique relationship, and this person who is missing is very important to them. Now, the police don’t suspect any foul play with the disappearance. There’s plenty of video indicating he left all on his own, and with no one forcing him. And it’s what it looks like when you don’t put any effort into it. But I have the time to go digging for what’s beneath the surface. I have the time the police don’t.”

“And you found something.”

“My clients found something,” Minho said in a still astonished way. “Before this was a missing person case, it was an issue of stalking. Your client, the one that was just in here, employing your services for whatever reason, spent nearly a decade stalking the person who is missing. My clients are insistent that he’s played a part in the disappearance, and I have my suspicions as well. I think this guy, Song, had something to do with my client’s friend going missing. I’d bet my life on it. Too much is becoming coincidence.”

After a moment, Sulli asked, “What do you want me to tell you?”

“Give me an impression of Song. What type of person does he seem to you. You can’t tell me what you know about his case with you, but you can tell me what you think of him.”

When she nodded, Minho knew he had her. He had her in a place that she was able to say something.

Sulli said, “Victoria and I have been handling his case. He’s been employing our services for … over two months now.”

Minho’s stomach flopped. “Go on.”

“He’s the desperate sort,” Sulli said, “but not overtly desperate. He’s very controlled, very subdued, but there’s a lot of anger under the surface. He’s been upset with our lack of progress. He walks like he wants to be invisible to the world, rarely looks us in the eye and there’s just something threatening about him. I don’t like him, Minho. I don’t like anything about him.”

Bluntly, breaking protocol, Minho said, “I think he hurt my missing person, Sulli. I think he stalked my missing person, threatened him, scared him, and then did something that pushed him over the edge. I think this is something that’s been building for almost ten years, I have the proof of it, and I truly believe Song did something terrible to one young man who is now missing.”

“Minho,” Sulli said, her voice shaking. “Is your missing person named Leo?”

Minho nodded slowly. “Break the rules with me just this once. Help me find my missing person. Help me find Leo for five people who desperately want him back. Tell me why Song came here.”

Sulli rubbed long, pale fingers over her forehead. “I …”

“This guy is a monster, Sulli. I know that’s what you didn’t tell me when you were describing him. You saw it in his eyes, and you know what the signs are when dealing with someone disturbed. Tell me about your case.”

Minho saw her decision the second she made it, his body going boneless.

“We’re looking for the same person,” Sulli said, leaning her head close to Minho’s. “Song came in over two months ago, claiming his boyfriend was missing. A boyfriend named Leo.”

“Leo is not his boyfriend,” Minho bit out, surprised at his own anger. “There are five people who will tell you that adamantly.”

Sulli confided, “Song said that Leo was being harassed by his roommates. His five roommates. He said that his boyfriend was confiding in him how uncomfortable they were making him, and how much he wanted to get away. And then he disappeared. Song is paying us a lot of money to find Leo as quickly as we can.”

Minho wrapped his hand around Sulli’s thin wrist. “He’s been stalking Leo for the past eight years. He’s been writing him threatening notes, verbally harassing him, and doing everything in his power to try and force Leo into a relationship with him. It’s possible Leo disappeared to get away from this guy. Leo may have run because he was afraid of Song.”

“And we’re helping him find someone he hurt,” Sulli said, her eyes suddenly wet.

“Have you found him?” Minho asked suddenly. “Do you know where Leo is?”

Sulli shook her head right away. “We’ve been able to track him on CCTV to the south, but the trail goes cold right around the time you start to hit the places in the country where surveillance isn’t readily available. Minho, what have we done?”

“You didn’t know any better.” Minho pressed his forehead against hers in an affectionate manner. “Your client lied to you, and he sold you an impressive story. I would have done the same as you. I would have believed my client.”

“Can you go to the police with this information?” Sulli asked. “Can we do anything?”

“We could,” Minho said, “but I want to find Leo. I think he’s alive out there. I think he’s hiding, and I have five people who are depending on me to bring him back. If we take this to the police, Song could clam up and we could lose our chance to find Leo.”

Sulli’s free hand reached up to cover Minho’s. “But Song doesn’t know where Leo is.”

Minho agreed, “He doesn’t. But I believe with every fiber of my being that he’s the reason Leo left. There had to be some event. There had to be something that happened the day that Leo disappeared. If I find that out, I might be able to put more of the pieces together. Leo’s sister … I think she knew that he was being stalked. I think she knew and she may have helped him get away. She’s a rough character, but I believe that she truly loves him, and he may have bought her off with a lot of money.”

Sulli’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve seen the surveillance footage of Leo at the bank, too?”

“Leo’s sister has a shiny new car,” Minho said. “And I’m willing to be it cost just about the same amount as the money that was withdrawn from Leo’s account. It was his life savings and I think he knew he could buy her silence with it.”

“What will you do?” Sulli released her hold on Minho and drew back. “Will you confront Song?”

“I will,” Minho promised. “But first I want to look back on the day Leo went missing again. I was busy watching him the entire time. I want to watch for Song instead.”

Sulli was pale as she said, “You called him a monster, earlier. And the truth is, he scares me. I don’t want him to meet my eyes, because when he does, I get scared. He could hurt you, Minho. He told Luna that he’s had years of martial arts practice. He’s strong and dangerous.”

“I’m not stupid,” Minho said, climbing to his feet. “I’ve got Rosie for backup.”

“That does not comfort me, Choi Minho.”

“Sulli.” Minho gave her a kind look. “I will be careful. I’ll be safe. But I have to find Leo. I have to do everything I can before I even think about giving up, and I’m close.”

Sulli stood slowly too. “If Song comes back I’ll throw him off your trail. I’ll tell him we picked up Leo somewhere else than down south. I’ll try to keep him as far away from your missing person as possible.”

Unable to help himself, Minho told her, “I really missed you.” Gone was the deep love he’d felt for her. It had been replaced by fondness and an ache to keep her near him. They’d never be in love again, but she was still important to him. He’d do anything for her, and she was probably the last thing he was keeping from Jinki. She was the last thing he couldn’t help keep to himself.

“Go,” she said simply, nodding towards the door. “Go find your missing person.”

Minho let her walk him to the door, and when they reached it, he said, “I’m sorry for coming here. It wasn’t intentional. I know you don’t want to see me, but I really appreciate this. I just want you to know that.”

Nervously, she blurted out, “I’ve been seeing someone.”

Was this the point he was supposed to tell her about Jinki? About how they were both moving on?

“I--”

“She’s helping me a lot.”

Minho flinched back. “She?” That was something he hadn’t anticipated. He’d always been fully open with Sulli about his own preferences, but it seemed there was something she’d held back from him.

“You should think about seeing her too,” Sulli said, an odd look on her face. “Or at least get some kind of professional help.”

Psychological help. That was what she meant. Minho took a deep breath at that.

Sulli continued, “I know it’s been a few years for us, but the pain still feels fresh every day. She was … we almost held her in our arms, Minho. She would have been ours in less than a month. It feels like I lose her again every day.”

Minho said honestly, “I try not to think about it.” It was too painful, too raw, and Sulli was right, if he let himself think about it, was like losing her every day all over. It was the kind of pain he couldn’t take.

“I promise. Talking to someone helps.”

It was hurtful that she could talk to a stranger about their daughter, but she couldn’t talk to him.

“I’ll … think about it. Okay?”

That seemed to be enough for her, and Sulli said, “Call me.”

“Call you?” Minho echoed.

“About this case,” she clarified a second later, speaking maybe a little too fast and too nervously. “You aren’t the only one invested. I broke every ethical code I have, telling you what I did today, so you better call me when you find Leo.”

“You’re that confident?” He’d forgotten what it felt like to have her believing in him.

She raised her fist in the fighting gesture that she’d often given him when they were young. “I know you will. You’re too stubborn not to.”

Minho dug into his pocket for his keys and with one final look at her, he took off towards his car.

“Bye, Minho!” Behind him Minho could see the rest of Sulli’s coworkers and friends waving at him, half of them hanging out the windows and door. It was impossible to know which had shouted his name, but it was clearly Amber yelling, “Come back soon now that Sulli doesn’t hate you! We miss you!”

“Yeah,” Minho said to himself, willing to admit it out loud, “I miss you all too.” Then he went home to work.

When Kibum saw that Minho was watching the surveillance video’s of Leo’s last day, he asked, “Do you think you missed something? Or are you just obsessing in the way that you tell me not to?”

Distracted, Minho said, “Probably a little of both.”

He wondered how far back he needed to go with the footage. Weeks? Months? It was a necessity, but it was quickly becoming time consuming.

“There’s Onew.”

Minho looked up suddenly, a little surprised to see his boyfriend.

“Your face doesn’t bode well for us,” Jinki said, mirroring back Minho’s look. “You forgot we’re supposed to go out , didn’t you?”

With a wince Minho nodded. “I’m sorry. Let me finish up really quick.”

Jinki gave him an indulging look, then headed over to Kibum calling out, “Maybe I’m dating the wrong private investigator.”

Kibum wrapped his arms deftly around Jinki and told Minho teasingly, “I always have time for Onew. I’d remember our dates.”

“Very funny.” Minho shut his laptop and stood. “I’m coming now. I swear.”

“I’m going for bubble tea,” Kibum stated, his hand in Jinki’s. “And I’m taking my new boyfriend with me.”

Minho rolled his eyes. “I’ll be sure to let Jonghyun know about these recent events when I see him tomorrow. I’m sure he’ll find this all just as amusing as me.”

Kibum pointed out, “He actually has a much better sense of humor than you. He’d find it funny. He’s not a stick in the mud like some people I know.”

“I just have to put everything away,” Minho told Jinki, ignoring Kibum. “Less than a minute.” He held a couple of files out to Jinki and said, “An extra set of hands will make this go faster.”

Jinki reached for them, asking, “Cabinet on the right is for solved cases, right? The one on the left is for the open ones?”

Minho gave him a thumbs up.

“I think we need to get you a desk,” Kibum said. “The twins have a desk, and you’re just as important as they are, Onew. Do you want a desk?”

Minho gestured to their cramped office space. “I think we barely have enough room in here for what we have. Stop trying to clutter us up more.”

“I’m not--”

“What’s this?”

At Jinki’s voice Kibum broke off and Minho looked towards him.

“A case file?” Minho guessed, unable to see the words printed on the file from the distance he was from it. “Why?”

There was something utterly devastating in the look Jinki was giving him and it immediately made Minho’s stomach bottom out.

“Minho,” Jinki said, his eyes shinning. “Why do you have a file with my cousin’s name on it?”

Minho felt his breath catch. “I …”

Jinki opened it, quickly flipping through the contents, passing over pictures, police reports, notes and a full workup of information.

“I …”

“You what?” Jinki demanded ruthlessly, still not meeting his gaze. “What’s your excuse?”

Frantically Minho looked to Kibum who was silently backing away.

“Why do you have a file on my cousin?” Jinki asked once more.

“I … I asked Jonghyun to look him up for me. I was worried.”

Minho jumped visibly as Jinki threw the file down as hard as he could, papers and pictures flying everywhere.

“You were worried?”

“Yes.” Minho said slowly. “I was worried about what kind of person he was. What kind of danger he could be to you.”

“I’m not a child,” Jinki seethed, fire burning in his eyes. “I am not yours to look after.”

Minho moved towards him. “I know he’s your cousin, and you love him, but he’s not a nice person. He doesn’t do nice things. What I found out--”

“I don’t care what you found out!” Jinki dashed back from Minho, putting more distance between them, his body shaking. “You had no right! You had absolutely no right to do any of this!”

“I did,” Minho argued.

“You did not,” Jinki said pointedly. “Because I told you that he was my cousin. I trust him. I love him. And for anyone else, that would be enough. But it wasn’t enough for you. You went snooping. You dug through his past. I’m not stupid, Minho. I know he hasn’t always been the best person possible, but this … this is crossing a line.”

Minho felt himself flush with shame and anger. “I had to make sure he wasn’t a criminal, and I’m still not sure if he is or not. There’s a lot of evidence pointing towards him being involved in some pretty illicit activities.”

“How could it be so hard for you to leave him alone?” Jinki asked, voice going weak. “Why couldn’t you just let this go? Why not? What gave you the right to think this was okay after I specifically told you to leave him alone?”

“I won’t be sorry for caring about you! I won’t be sorry for trying to protect you from bad people!”

“My cousin is not a bad person!” Jinki gave a vicious kick to the nearby filing cabinet. “You know nothing about him. And for all you claim about loving me, you really know nothing about me. I feel violated, Minho. I feel violated on behalf of someone who didn’t deserve you digging into his past with no context and making the assumptions I know you did.”

Bluntly, afraid that he had already lost complete control of the situation, Minho said, “Your cousin has ties to both the Chinese triad and Korean gangs both inside and out of Seoul.”

Incredulously, Jinki wondered, “What would it actually take for you to stop? For you to realize that Joon isn’t one of your cases?”

“You guys,” Kibum said, hands up. “Let’s just all try to calm down.”

Jinki brushed angrily at the wetness on his tears. “You’ve done something so unforgivable, Minho. And you don’t even have the decency to be a little ashamed. You’re upset you got caught. Not that you did it in the first place.”

“You were asking me to--”

“--to trust me!”

Minho shot back, “To trust someone who isn’t trustworthy. Who has physically hurt people in the past. Who will end up getting you hurt.”

“You’re the only one who hurt me.”

Minho took a shuddering breath. “Please,” he said, his voice cracking. “Don’t cry.”

“How can I not?” Jinki bent forward, his bangs falling into his eyes. “You don’t understand what you’ve done. Oh, Minho.”

“I’ve done the one thing I promised myself I wouldn’t,” Minho said, his own eyes burning. “I made you cry. I … I’m so sorry.” He bent in a low bow, offering sincerity to his words. “I never meant to. I just wanted to protect you. I love you.”

With red eyes, Jinki said, “This isn’t love, Minho. You doing things like this, isn’t love. And it isn’t trust. I don’t … I don’t want to say what I have to.”

“What?”

Jinki’s eyes searched the pictures on the ground, and the police report on top of them.

“Minho, I told you once before that I can’t be in a relationship with someone I can’t trust.”

Minho felt dizzy. “What are you … saying?”

Jinki’s face scrunched up as more tears leaked free. “I’m so sorry, Minho. I just …”

“No,” Minho bit out. “Don’t say it.”

Behind Jinki Minho could see Kibum, his hands pressed over his mouth and tears in his own eyes.

Straightening up, Jinki said, “I don’t want to see you again, Minho. I can’t. We’re done.”

“Don’t,” Minho begged, feeling his own tears. “Don’t do this to us.”

“You did this to us.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Minho knelt down and pressed his hands flat against the floor of the office. “Please forgive me. Please don’t say this. I’ll do anything. I’ll apologize to your cousin. I’ll beg him on my knees like this. I swear, Jinki, nothing like this will ever happen again.”

“Minho,” Jinki said quietly, “I can’t trust you to keep your word. If I can’t trust you with that, how can I trust you with my heart?”

Minho felt his head drop, his body feeling like it weighed a million pounds, and once the tears began in earnest, he couldn’t stop them. He could barely breathe.

When he felt a kind hand on his shoulder, he sobbed out, “Jinki?”

“He left,” Kibum said, arms wrapping around Minho’s shoulders. “Come on. Let’s get you up off the floor. We haven’t had Taemin around to sweep and mop it for a while.”

“Leave me alone,” Minho said, pushing weakly at Kibum.

“Leave you alone to feel sorry for yourself?”

“Sorry for myself?” Minho choked out. “Jinki just … he … we …”

“Up,” Kibum commanded, pulling him up to his feet.

“Leave me alone!” Minho gave him a harder push, struggling to breathe in and contain his tears. “Go away!”

Minho felt Kibum’s forehead press against his back, and then his best friend was whispering, “I know you’re hurting. I know you’re in so much pain. Just breathe through it, okay? I’m here.”

Jinki was gone. He was gone and there was no getting him back. The finality of their parting was … absolute.

“Minho?” Kibum asked. “Can you get up for me?”

It seemed unfair that he’d hurt Jinki so badly while attempting to protect him from a real threat. At least what he’d perceived as a real threat. Had he been wrong? He still didn’t feel wrong. He just felt … hurt.

“I didn’t mean to make him cry,” Minho said, feeling desperate as he still fought to breathe in enough oxygen. “I feel like … the worst person in the world. I’m horrible, Kibum. How could I do that to him?”

“You’re going to be okay,” Kibum promised. “I know it doesn’t feel that way, but you will.”

Minho was pretty sure, having just lost the love of his life, he wasn’t going to ever be okay again.