“I’ve never been here before,” Jinki said as the sun was setting behind them and they came upon the provided address. “I’ve never been to this part of Seoul.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Minho said. He’d never been either, and that was probably because it wasn’t exactly the best part of town. Minho had avoided the area on purpose, forbidding Taemin to go within a twenty minutes of it and knowing very well the kind of reputation it had.

“It’s there,” Jinki pointed out, tracing his finger to a large building with out windows and a rusted infrastructure. “And it does not look inviting.”

Minho parked the car, and shielding his eyes from the setting sun, took a deep breath.

“Of course it doesn’t,” he told Jinki. “You see anyone lurking around?”

Minho pulled out his phone, flipping through his contact information until he found Jonghyun’s number. With Jinki distracted he sent out a quick text, hoping it would be received right away.

“No,” Jinki replied. “I think we’re alone out here.” He darted to Minho’s side.

“When we get in there, you stay behind me, okay?” Minho said, tucking the gun behind his belt and out of sight. He looked over to Jinki sternly. “If things go bad I want you out of the line of fire.”

“But--”

“No buts.” Minho watched the way Jinki held the diamonds to his chest. “If the worst happens, I need a clean shot. I have the training, and I’m competent in my ability, but I won’t risk hitting you, and I don’t want to have to hesitate until you get out of the way. Jinki, I don’t think they’re going to just let us walk out of there. We’re probably going to need some insurance.”

“Okay,” Jinki grumbled, falling in just behind him. “But I don’t like it.”

Jinki could not like it all he wanted, Minho thought, as long as he stayed behind him.

The man with the scarred face was waiting for them. He and half a dozen other men were scattered along the inside of the building, each looking more menacing than the one before. It was not lost on Minho how a good deal of them were blocking the other available exits, and rest were slightly out of his line of sight.

Minho’s hopes were falling fast.

“We have what you want,” Minho said, feeling sweat already pooling at the small of his back. He hoped his nerves weren’t showing on his face. “The diamonds. Diamonds, I add, that you could have told us about on the phone. Neither of us are involved in this. Neither of us knew that diamonds were stolen.”

From behind Minho, Jinki demanded, “Where’s my cousin? Where’s Joon?”

The scarred man said simply, “Diamonds first.”

Minho shook his head, stopping Jinki from moving. “We want proof that Joon is alive, and then you get proof that we have what we claim to. That’s fair, because out of all of us, Jinki and I are the more trustworthy. And I dare you to deny that.”

Minho could see people shuffling around in his peripheral and he fought the urge to look away from the man in front of him. He was obviously in charge and something told Minho it would be a bad idea to look away.

“Joon!”

Minho grabbed desperately for Jinki as he rushed forward but he was too slow. He could only stand his in place, refusing to give up the little ground he had, watching as two men tossed a bloodied and battered Joon onto the ground nearby. Jinki reached him in seconds, demanding if he was okay.

“Why?” Joon demanded, lisping as the spoke. It was a moment more before he turned his head and Minho could see the cause of his lisp in the manner of several broken teeth and bloody lips. “You idiot, Minho!”

“Me?” Miho asked aloud, surprised.

Joon fought to get himself up to his knees, breathing hard enough to indicate a serious injury. “How could you let him come?”

The scarred man said roughly, “He’s alive. You have your proof. Now, the diamonds.”

Jinki pulled his jacket down by the zipper and pulled free the scarf of diamonds. He handed it off easily to a nearby man and went back to fussing over his cousin.

“There,” Minho said, his voice echoing in the building’s high ceiling. “You have your diamonds. Now let us leave.”

The scarred man clicked his tongue and said, “Behavior isn’t simply ignored because guilt is recognized.”

With a desperate tone, Joon begged, “I know I did wrong. I take full responsibility. But Onew didn’t know anything about what I stole. He didn’t know what he had. He’s innocent.” Joon’s eyes narrowed at Jinki. “Why did you come? You should have left me.”

“To what?” Jinki demanded harshly, “I should have left you to be hurt some more?”

“It seems unlikely you are innocent,” the scarred man said.

“We found the diamonds by accident,” Minho argued. “And for the record, I don’t even like Joon. I don’t like him at all, so I could have gone to the police. I could have brought them down on you without a second thought to his welfare. But I didn’t. I came here. I brought you your diamonds. I righted a wrong.”

Minho slid his feet a bit more apart, anchoring himself more firmly as a man bent to whisper something into the scarred man’s ear.

That couldn’t be good.

“You claim to be innocent?” the scarred man asked, “and yet you’re just as much a thief as my former associate.”

“What?” Minho said, looking over to Jinki.

The response was swift. “You’re short. There are several karats missing.”

“That’s all we had,” Jinki insisted. “We didn’t keep any back.”

The scarred man remarked, “I believe you need motivation to return the entirety of what was taken.”

With a flick of the scarred man’s wrist two men came into view, dragging a limp Mir. He had a strong discoloration to his temple area that would likely bruise within a day, and was barely conscious as his feet slid along the dirty floor of the building.

“I’m very good at motivating people,” the scarred man said, lifting a gun that Minho hadn’t even seen him reach for. “There are several areas of the body that can sustain the impact of a bullet without causing severe blood loss. Many, in fact, before the person in question is incapacitated.” The gun turned towards Mir.

Joon threw himself forward, screaming for Mir as Minho reached for his own pistol, never more thankful for his flawless reflexes. His fingers found the trigger easily and he had his gun pointed at the scarred man before Jinki could press himself fully over Joon to keep him in place.

“I’m not going to let you shoot him,” Minho said, his arm steady as he lined the barrel up with the scarred man’s head. He could hear the click of other firearms coming out, and he knew he was outnumbered, but there was nothing else he thought he could do. Maybe the scarred man would value his own life over a theft.

“You are vastly outnumbered,” the scarred man remarked.

Minho nodded, feeling Jinki’s gaze on his body. “I understand that. And when everyone starts firing, I assume I’ll go down right away. But it won’t be before you do.”

“Mir!” Joon called out again. “Don’t hurt him! He didn’t know anything! I never told him anything!”

The scarred man looked more amused than anything else. “You are confident in that assertion?”

Minho shrugged, hand steady. “I’ll chance it. So we can do that, and both of us can die, or you can take your diamonds and live to fight again.”

The scarred man shook his head slowly. “The imbalance is too much. Maybe I’ll take my chances as well.”

“I’ll stay,” Joon cut in, pausing to spit a clump of blood out on the ground. “Mir and Onew go and I’ll stay. I stole from you. I’m the one, not them.”

Jinki said shrilly, “I’m not leaving you behind!”

Minho’s arm began to burn from holding the gun up perfectly. But refusing to show the strain, he told the scarred man, “I told you earlier that I could have called the police the second we found the diamonds, but we didn’t. I just didn’t say anything about calling the police afterwards. So you can let us go now, or we can hang around and wait for them to show. Your accent is thick and Korean is obviously not your first language. And I’m guessing you’re not in the country legally, right? Not to mention your very questionable behavior, including kidnapping and extortion. All of that put together tells me that the police will likely flag you right away, and then it’ll be straight to jail for you. Chew on that. I don’t know you. I don’t care who you are. Your business is not my business. And if you give me what I want--what I’m proposing, I will wipe this from my mind completely.

Minho nearly held his breath waiting for the scarred man to think over his words. He desperately needed the man to believe him. This was a situation that Minho couldn’t see any other way out of, and he had to keep Jinki safe. He had to get Mir to a hospital. Joon … he’d already admitted to something Minho couldn’t save him from. But if Minho could get the others away, he could bring the police down on the warehouse, and maybe do it just fast enough to rescue Joon.

Then finally, after an agonizing wait, the scarred man said, “Joon stays. You can take the others.”

It wasn’t the outcome Minho knew Jjinki would be okay with, and he didn’t know how to make things okay for Jinki, but it was better than all of them dying. He hoped Jinki had sense enough to do what was necessary to save Mir.

“No!” Jinki shouted, desperation in his voice.

“Jinki!” Minho snapped.

Joon’s head bowed in defeat and Minho understood.

“I am not letting them have my cousin!”

Minho’s arm dropped as he saw Jinki jump up to his feet and smash into the man nearest him, wrestling for the gun in his hands. Minho turned his attention back to the scarred man a second too late and there was a burning pain in him before he was falling backwards.

Gunfire. Minho heard more gunfire and he was certain he was about to die. He waited for it.

It just never seemed to come.

Then eventually, someone bent over him and said, “You’re in trouble, Minho.”

Minho’s eyes were squeezed shut, but he opened them at the feminine voice, first seeing the blood on his arm, and then the face of Jonghyun’s old partner, Lee Chaerin. “Am I in heaven?”

She pursed her lips. “I’m flattered. Now get up.”

His senses came back to him. “Jinki!”

“He’s fine.”

Minho let her help him up into a seated position, and his eyes searched frantically for a second before he spotted a whole and healthy Jinki still bent over his cousin. Then Minho noticed the police officers around them, and the unmoving body of the scarred man.

“CL,” Minho said, addressing her by her nickname. “No offense, because I’m pretty sure you just saved all our lives, but why are you here? How are you here?”

CL knelt down next to him, her pearly white teeth flashing. “I’m probably the only competent officer that Jonghyun knows in the area. He called me when he realized you were about to rush off into danger. You’re very good at finding danger. Jonghyun should be here, before you ask, in about ten minutes. You know traffic.”

“Minho,” Jinki called out, rushing to his side as soon as Minho was on his feet. “You’re hurt!”

“I’m shot,” Minho clarified. “But it’s a graze. I’ll be okay.” He held a hand to his bleeding arm and let Jinki fuss over him, at least until he was distracted away to check on Mir who was slowing coming to his senses.

“You’re the luckiest man I know,” CL said with a laugh.

It was a far cry from Jonghyun, who said immediately after he saw Minho being attended to by newly arrived paramedics, “You’re the stupidest man I know.”

Minho couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “I know. Thanks for coming.”

Jonghyun scoffed. “What was I supposed to do? Let you get yourself killed ? Key would have my head.” He paused to truly take in the pale sheen to Minho’s face. “Are you okay?”

Minho nodded, looking down to his gauze wrapped bicep. “I need stitches, but it’s not life threatening.” Minho nodded across to one of two ambulances on the scene. “Joon got the tar beat out of him, but he’ll live. And Mir’s okay, too.”

Jonghyun frowned and asked, “Who’s Mir?”

Angrily, Minho realized the scarred man and his associates must have grabbed Mir off the street before he’d even made it to the police station.

“Where’s Onew?” Jonghyun asked, looking around.

One of the ambulances was leaving and Minho gestured to it, saying. “He’s going to ride with Joon to the hospital. I think he’s afraid to let his cousin out of his sight.”

“I bet you regret us not being partners anymore,” CL teased Jonghyun. “Look at all the fun we could be getting into. But you wanted to ride a desk.”

“I don’t remember you being this crazy, CL,” Jonghyun pointed out.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She gave him a victory sign and headed off to talk to a nearby officer.

Jonghyun demanded, “Okay, Minho. You’re going to tell me everything. And then we’re going to go to the hospital to get our questions answered.”

“Fine by me,” Minho said, exhaling deeply. He was ready for everything to be over.

Joon was ridding a heavy painkiller when Jonghyun and Minho finally got their answers. It was almost two full hours after Minho had gotten his stitches, and a hour after Jinki had finally stopped looking at him like he was fragile.

Joon’s words slurred a bit and he was loopy to an amusing degree, but he was still able to talk and fill the gaps. Getting Jinki out of the room was just as impossible as Minho imagined it to be. It was easier to just leave him curled up next to Joon on the bed, hugging his cousin tightly.

With complete professionalism, Jonghyun questioned, “So it is your given statement that for over a year no one noticed that you were smuggling diamonds out from under the noses of the most notorious triad leaders and into this country without any of your Korean contacts noticing either?” He scribbled on an official note pad as he spoke, never looking away from Joon. Minho had seen the look on Jonghyun’s face before. He was looking to root out any lies that might be told to him.

Joon nodded slowly. “It was easier than you think, especially since I know the ins and outs of the system. One diamond here, two there, and shifting the blame is child’s play. I was trusted. I was believed. I wasn’t a suspect until I rushed the process.”

“Why?” Minho cut in. “And why send them to Jinki? Why make him a target?”

Joon took a long drink of water, with the process being a little bit of stretch as he was handcuffed to his hospital bed, then said, “I didn’t do it to make him a target. I did it to make his life better.” He caught his breath after that, his lisp still bad, teeth still mangled. “I didn’t steal those diamonds for myself. I stole them for Onew.”

“For me?” Jinki asked, head rising from Joon’s shoulder. “What?”

“For you,” Joon confirmed. “You … your whole life you’ve worked hard. You work and work and work, and you never get the payoff you should. You live in a cramped apartment and can’t even afford a car. You are so deserving, but you never receive. I wanted you to have the things you deserved. I was going to tell you where I’d hidden the diamonds after things cooled down. I didn’t mean to get you hurt. I’m ashamed.”

“You shouldn’t have felt obligated to give me a better life,” Jinki said, resting his head back on Joon’s shoulder. “I never asked for better. I never wanted better.”

Minho crossed his arms. “What about Jinki almost getting hit by the car? And the person who broke into his apartment?”

“It’s all my fault,” Joon confessed. “By the time I left China they knew I’d stolen the diamonds. They assumed I’d come to Korea to hide, maybe just until I could get further away, but they also knew I had ties over here. That car almost hitting Onew was a warning for me to show myself, and his apartment was them taking things into their own hands.”

“But they didn’t find the diamonds,” Jonghyun said.

Joon agreed, “They didn’t. They thought maybe Onew didn’t have them after that, and they turned their attention to Mir. When I realized they were starting to harass and threaten him over something he had no idea about, I had to come out of hiding.”

There were more explanations from Joon, about how he’d been able to buy himself more time to keep Jinki and Mir out of the line of fire, promising the diamonds plus interest, and wagering his own life on payment.

“Did you really think they were just going to leave Jinki alone once you disappeared with Mir?” Minho asked roughly, ignoring the look Jinki shot him. “They would have come after him again. You would have only made things worse for him by disappearing with your boyfriend.”

“I thought I could handle it,” Joon said simply. “I was stupid.”

“You’re right you were,” Jinki said, pinching him viciously, no sympathy on his face when Joon gave a loud groan of pain. “You’re an idiot.”

There was a sharp knock to the door and then Mir was being escorted in by a nearby police officer.

“Mir,” Joon breathed out, reaching for him. “Are you okay? They wouldn’t let me see you earlier. I was worried.”

Mir was a little unsteady on his feet, but he made his way over to Joon’s side easily enough, leaning on the railing and reaching for his hand. “I’m okay. And if Onew hadn’t told you already, you’re an idiot.”

“I’ve been called that,” Joon assured. “But if it makes you feel better, you can call me an idiot too.”

Jinki asked Jonghyun suddenly, “Is Joon going to go to jail? I know he broke the law, but … how much trouble is he in? Technically he only stole things that were already stolen. And Minho and I got them back for you.”

Jonghyun replied firmly to Joon, “You’ll have to go. There’s no getting around it. But you were working in a very extensive smuggling ring for a good amount of time. With the amount of information you know, and the faces you can put names to, if you cooperate, there’s a chance we can get your sentence reduced. It depends on who you help bring in and what kind of damage it does to their operation.”

Joon nodded in acceptance. “I understand.”

“Joon,” Mir said sadly.

“Mir.” Joon squeezed Mir’s hand. “What I did was wrong. I accept responsibility. And I know I’m going to prison. It isn’t fair to ask you to wait for me, so I won’t.”

Mir rolled his eyes and said, “You think after all those years you waited for me to run away with you, than I wouldn’t wait for you in return?”

Joon’s face scrunched up a bit, his eyes going wet, and Minho knew they were going to be okay. Maybe there’d be awkward holidays for the four of them after all.

Jonghyun and Minho left the other three to themselves a minute later and stepped out into the hallway.

“Crazy,” Minho said, shaking his head.

Jonghyun laughed. “This isn’t what you thought you were getting when you got involved with Onew, right?”

“Not even close,” Minho chuckled. “But I think we’ve put the worst behind us. And I guess everyone has that crazy in-law who’s a party crasher. Mine is just a little more … thorough in his abilities.”

“Still,” Jonghyun said, “you know what’s bothering me?”

Minho shook his head.

“According to the diamond estimates we got from some of the men now in custody, there really is a sizable amount missing from what Jinki and you found. And no one can come up with where those diamonds might be. It seems like they just vanished into thin air, which you and I both know is a ridiculous notion.”

“You think Joon still has them?” Minho asked. “Tucked away somewhere?”

“I don’t know,” Jonghyun said honestly. “But something tells me they’re not going to surface anytime soon.”

That was something Minho had to agree with. But neither did he care where those diamonds were. Everything paled next to the knowledge that the main threat to Jinki was gone, and the person Minho loved wasn’t getting ready to burry a cousin. As far as Minho was concerned, he couldn’t ask for more.

Six weeks later, with a brand new air conditioner humming quietly, filling Minho and Kibum’s office space with blessedly chilly air, Jinki raised a cup filled with champagne and demanded, “To Taemin! Because we all knew he was destined to be brilliant and show up everyone.”

Taemin blushed madly, cider in his own cup, pushing playfully at Jinki, demanding, “Stop making it such a big deal, Onew.”

Minho chuckled loudly as Kibum all but shouted, “A big deal?” Instead of a drink in hand, Kibum had Taemin’s college acceptance letter. He’d hardly put it down since it had arrived the day before. “Taemin, do you have any idea what a big deal this needs to be?”

As Kibum continued to rave, reaching out for Taemine, Minho put an easy arm around Jinki’s shoulders. Taemin gave a shout and ducked around Kibum, making for Jonghyun with a demand for the older man to hide him.

“I’m really proud of Taemin,” Jinki said quietly, pressing a quick kiss to Minho’s jaw line. “Early admission into Yonsei University? That’s incredible. Not only did he test in the top five percentile, but he gave an amazing presence at his interview.”

It really was incredible, Minho supposed. But Taemin had always been smart, and when he could focus himself long enough on something to put real time and dedication in, he was absolutely brilliant. Minho had never felt prouder in his life, or more content, either.

“No, Key!” Taemin wailed desperately as Kibum pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek, Jonghyun laughing loudly. “Onew! Help me!”

This was it, Minho realized. This was what happiness was.

“Excuse me,” Jinki said, playfully ducking under Minho’s arm. “I believe I’m needed.”

Jinki took off towards Taemin, sweeping him up in his own hug, holding him still for Key as Taemin shouted about betrayal.

Things weren’t perfect. He and Jinki were still working on their relationship, and while they’d made great strides over the past few weeks, there was plenty more room for improvement. Neither would Taemin’s university pay for itself, which meant more stress for himself and Kibum. Plus, they were only beginning the first stages of the trial Joon would likely be wrapped up in for years to come. No doubt Jinki would find the entire process trying at best.

But as Minho looked around him, he could only see the faces of people he loved. He was going to marry Jinki. Minho had never been more sure of anything in his life. He and Jinki were going to get married and have a family and grow old together. Kibum and Jonghyun looked at each other like they were half a moment away from marital bliss themselves. And Taemin was just beginning the most amazing time of his life, and Minho had all the confidence in the world that he’d have a spectacular life.

“Cake!” Taemin demanded, pulling both Kibum and Jinki towards the three tiered white masterpiece that Jinki had insisted upon providing for the occasion. In fact his whole work had catered the small party, providing them with far more food than they could possible eat, not that Minho didn’t think Taemin would try.

“Not bad, right?” Jonghyun asked, coming up to stand by Minho. “All in all?”

Minho’s heart swelled with love as Jinki waved him over, refusing to let Taemin cut the cake until they were all clustered around.

“Not bad,” Minho agreed, head dipping in agreement. “In fact, it’s pretty good.” He made his way quickly to Jinki, and Taemin was cutting into the cake within second.

“Not such a big piece,” Kibum cautioned Taemin. “That’s a lot of sugar.”

Jonghyun protested, “Aw, let him, Key. He deserves it.”

And then miraculously, Minho watched Kibum give a decisive nod and say, “Okay.”

“What’s wrong with your face?” Jinki asked, startling Minho a little.

“Huh?” Minho reached a hand up and felt along his features. Everything seemed fine.

A smile broke across Jinki’s face just after that and he gave Minho a quick kiss. “I just meant I’ve never seen you look this happy before. I can hardly believe it, but all this happiness is making you look even more handsome.”

Minho put both hands on Jinki’s waist, anchoring him in place. Then he leaned down for a forceful, passionate kiss. He felt Jinki almost fall against him, in pleasure and Minho took it as his cue to allow his hands to move further up Jinki’s back, pulling his shirt up a little.

Something cold smashed into the side of Minho’s face.

While Jinki laughed almost hysterically, Kibum gave a devilish grin and wiggled icing covered fingers. “There’ll be none of that here, thank you.”

Minho wiped away cake and icing from his face.

“Minho?” Jinki sobered a little, watching for his reaction.

“Key,” Minho said, his use of Kibum’s nickname seeming to rattle all of the people watching him. “You’d better run.”

“Run?” Kibum echoed faintly.

Minho snatched up the piece of cake from a nearby Jonghyun’s plate. “Run. Now.” Then Minho took off after Kibum at breakneck speed, fully intending to return the favor of cake to the face.

Kibum gave a loud squeal and dashed away.