Kibum had taken the car. That was at the forefront of Minho’s mind. If Kibum hadn’t taken the car, he’d be at Jinki’s place already. Of all the nights for him to actually need the car. 

His mind blanked shortly after that as his body fell into a running rhythm, his feet pounding the pavement hard.

“Jinki!” 

When Jinki’s apartment building came into sight Minho was fighting for air, exhausted beyond reproach. His pulse erratic from the run and the stress, he clumsily smashed into the main gate, swinging around it to dash up the stairs, still calling Jinki’s name, desperate to get to him.

“Minho!”

Minho saw him standing awkwardly, but alone, before the last stretch to Jinki’s apartment door. He caught the brunet in his arms, and chest heaving hard, he squeezed him tight. 

Jinki’s face buried into Minho’s neck and the two of them clung tightly. Minho’s chest fought to draw in enough air while Jinki sobbed out in relief.

“I,” Minho gasped out, pulling back to get a good look at Jinki, “have never been so scared in my life.”

Jinki’s eyes were red from pent up tears, his complexion flushed, and he looked ready to fall apart at a moment’s notice, but he was whole and alive and healthy. He was okay.

“What happened?”

Jinki’s hands fisted the front of Minho’s shirt as he said, “I was working late. I wasn’t home. There was a big order to fill at work for tomorrow and I volunteered to stay late and help.” Minho kept a firm grip on Jinki’s shoulders, trying to further calm him, as the erratic male continued, Jinki said, “Oh, god, if I’d come home on time I would have been here.”

Minho shushed, “You’re okay. I promise.” He heard the sounds of sirens in the distance. Maybe the police Taemin had called.

Jinki swayed a little dizzily, but agreed, “I’m okay. I just … I need a second to catch my breath.”

Gently, Minho asked, “So you came home  and saw your door had been kicked in?” Minho could see it behind him, the hinges damage, the knob busted off, and all the obvious signs of forced entry. Jinki’s door didn’t look fragile, either, which worried Minho even more.

Against Minho’s strong height, Jinki nodded. “I called you right away. I had your work number stored in my phone from when I called to give you directions.  I was so scared. I’m sorry. I know I should have called the police, but I just …reacted.”

“Hey,” Minho chided, “You called for help. That’s what mattered. You didn’t try to go in and confront the burglar. That was smart.”

“I thought about it.” Jinki shook his head. “I was stupid and thought about it. There’s a closet right next to the front door. I have a baseball bat in there. I thought maybe I could reach it.” Jinki huffed. “I’m so stupid. I must have startled the guy inside, because he ran past me so suddenly I fell. I never saw his face.”

“Minho? Jinki?”

With a frown Minho turned, catching sight of Jonghyun leading the charge up the stairs to the second level. He was in his plain clothes and Kibum was right behind him, followed by two other men and a woman. 

“What’re you doing here?” Minho asked Jonghyun, letting Jinki step back  and dry away and lingering tears.

“Are you kidding?” Kibum demanded, brushing past Minho to throw his arms around Jinki. “Taemin called us  and was hysterical. He said someone was hurting Onew and that we had to get here right away.”

Minho looked at the other people once more. These had to be the friends Jonghyun had invited Kibum to meet. Taemin’s phone call had likely disrupted their night. 

With a shaky voice, Jinki said, “Someone broke into my apartment.”

“Stay here,” Jonghyun ordered, then he and another man were heading down towards Jinki’s apartment.

By the time an on duty officer arrived to secure the scene Jinki had completely calmed down, and Jonghun had verified that there was no one left in the apartment.

“Do you have anything valuable in your apartment?” Jonghyun questioned Jinki while Kibum and Minho pressed against him on either side in a show of solidarity. 

“Nothing,” Jinki said with a shrug. “Nothing worth stealing. Maybe some trinkets, and I once had a client gift an expensive cookware set to me as a thank you, but that’s it. It’s hardly worth breaking my door down for.”

The crowd of onlookers had thinned since the initial burst of activity, but there were a few lingerers that Minho wished would just go away.

“Then why would someone want to break into your apartment?”

Jinki gave a longing look down to his broken door. Police had taped the area off from the public as they went through the apartment, looking for evidence. “I really don’t know.”

Jonghyun gave Jinki what looked to be an encouraging simile, then inquired, “Anyone make any threats against you lately? Anyone on your bad side, or holding a grudge against you.?”

“You already asked me these things once before,” Jinki pointed out.

“And now I’m asking again.”

Kibum blurted out, “You think the same guy who tried to run Onew over is the guy who broke into his place tonight?”

“Key,” Jonghyun said softly.

“But,” Jinki tried, looking from face to face, “that was an accident then. The driver just didn’t see me.”

Minho’s fingers reached for Jinki’s and he held his hand tightly. “What Jonghyun is suggesting isn’t impossible. And he has to consider everything.” It was the last thing he wanted to be the truth, but if there was a chance, it had to be taken seriously. Both incidents seemed too much a coincidence.

Jonghyun crossed his arms. “It’s something  I want to look into. We’ve finished sweeping the apartment and to be honest, it looks like someone went at everything you own on purpose. Even if you don’t know who, it looks like someone has a grudge against you.”

Jinki ran his free hand through his mused hair. “But why?”

“It’s okay,” Kibum said, patting Jinki’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, okay? Jonghyun is the best detective I know. He solves all his cases. He’s going to find the guy who did this to you, who scared you and broke your things, and he’s going to throw him in jail.”

The light pink hue to Jonghyun’s face was almost worth watching Jinki turn into Kibum’s embrace.

“I want you to stay with family for the next few days,” Jonghyun said, clearing his throat. “We need to let the situation cool off a little, and while we start up an investigation you’ll be safe with people you trust.”

Minho knew the stiffening of Jinki’s back for what it was. Jinki had confessed to him earlier that very day that he was an orphan. He didn’t have any family to turn to. There was no one for him to stay with, and imposing on friends didn’t seem to be Jinki’s way.

“I’ll get a hotel,” Jinki said, gnawing on his bottom lip. “It’s just for a few days, right? There’s a hotel near here.”

Jonghyun shook his head. “I’d rather you stayed with family.”

Before Jinki could say anything, Minho cut in, “That isn’t possible.” He caught Jonghyun’s gaze and held it as best he could, trying to convey that it was a touchy subject, one he’d explain to the man later on. “So Jinki is going to stay with us instead.”

Jonghyun raised an eyebrow. “In your small apartment?”

“I am?” Jinki mirrored.

Minho said confidently, “Taemin ends up in Kibum’s bed most nights anyway. They like to spoon together.” Minho avoided the flick Kibum sent dangerously close to his ear. “I’ll take the couch, and Jinki can have my bed. His work is within walking distance from our place, and if it’s too far, either Kibum or I will take him in the car.”

“Minho,” Jinki said, squeezing their fingers together determinedly. “I can’t let you--”

“Let us what?” Minho asked, grinning. “Help out a friend? Someone we care about?”

Kibum nodded vigorously. “You’re our friend, Onew. And it won’t be cramped. I promise. Minho always gets up extra early and Taemin is at school all day.”

“Taemin,” Jinki tried. “He won’t--”

“Taemin thinks of you as a friend, too,” Kibum said. “So don’t try using him as an excuse.”

“It doesn’t seem right,” Jinki said quietly. 

Minho prepared to dig in for a long fight, if necessary. Jinki could have been seriously harmed if anything had gone differently, and until they knew more, unnecessary risks were to be avoided. “Sounds right to me. And it’s just for a couple of days. I think you’ll survive.” Plus, there was no way he was letting Jinki stay by himself in a hotel. Minho knew he’d sleep much more soundly knowing someone would have to get through him, before they even had a chance at Jinki.

Defeated, Jinki agreed, “Okay. But just for a few days.”

Kibum cheered while Minho promised Jinki it would be fine once more. 

“It’s really a mess in here,” Minho commented as he followed Jinki through his apartment a few minuets later. There was a police officer filling out a report sheet near the kitchen, but otherwise they were alone. He couldn’t wait for Jinki to pack a quick bag so they could get out of the space which was starting to feel a little claustrophobic to Minho. He’d had such nice memories of the apartment,  the place that he’d had his first date with Jinki at. But now he wanted to be far away, with Jinki safely at his side. 

“This is the bedroom,” Jinki said, stumbling his way over a broken flower pot and past what had been a framed picture of several teenaged boys.

As Minho stepped into Jinki’s bedroom, he couldn’t help saying, “This was personal, Jinki. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

The bedroom, like the rest of the apartment, had been completely wrecked. The bed was overthrown, the wall shelves had been torn down and just about everything had been smashed. There was no way, in Minho’s mind, that any of this had been a bumbling burglar looking for things of value.

“I’ll just get a bag packed,” Jinki said quietly, trying not to fall on anything in the small space.

Minho took a uncomfortable step forward to help and winced as his foot cracked something.

“Jinki,” he breathed out, picking up a small jade figurine. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even see it.”

Jinki peered over, then shook his head. “It’s okay. What’s one more broken thing?” He waved a hand across the contents of the floor. “And I have a ton more.”

When Minho stopped to look, he could see more figurines on the floor, some smashed, and miraculously, some were unharmed. He supposed they’d been too small to be bigger targets. 

“Look,” Minho told him, holding up one of the intact figures. “A couple of them survived.” And upon further investigation, more of them had been kicked safely under the overturned bed, probably on accident by the intruder. 

“I collect them,” Jinki said a little absently as he pulled clothing into a spare bag. “I buy them on vacation, and my friends get them for me. I like the color and the history of the jade stone.” Minho filed that bit of information away.

As Jinki moved to the attached bathroom to pick up his toiletries, Minho was able to determine that at least one of the wall shelving units was still undamaged. He fitted it back into place and as he listened to Jinki mumble worriedly to himself, Minho began picking up all of the jade figurines that he could find unharmed. By the time Jinki was ready to go he’d recovered a little over a dozen.

Jinki paused in the room and gave it a final look over, wondered, “Who would do this to me? And why?”

Minho held a hand out for him, and when Jinki took it, they made their way quickly from the apartment. Minho wanted to give Jonghyun the benefit of the doubt, and truly believe that the man would catch whoever had just terrorized Jinki,. But if he didn’t, Minho swore that he’d take matters into his own hands.

When they were back at Minho’s apartment, he passed Jinki off to Kibum, and caught an upset looking Taemin by the arm, reminding him, “You have school tomorrow.”

Taemin pulled free and demanded, “What happened? Is Onew okay? You guys were gone forever.” It was probably a miracle Taemin hadn’t trailed after them. 

“He’s fine now,” Minho said after explaining the situation to Taemin as quickly as he could. “But he needs a few anxiety free days, so try not to pester him.”

“I resent that,” Taemin said, but it was good naturedly. 

“I shouldn’t be putting you out on your own couch,” Jinki protested once the sheets had been changed on Minho’s bed and both Taemin and Kibum had already retreated to the bedroom they’d share for the next few days.

“It’s not a big deal,” Minho tried to assure him, fitting the couch with sheets and a blanket. “Taemin’s a teenager, and sometimes he just needs his own space, so I sleep out here once in a while so he can have a bedroom to himself. Kibum and I take turns. This won’t be the first time I’ve slept out here, and the couch is really comfortable. So don’t think about it anymore.”

Dressed in his pajamas and face freshly washed, Jinki continued to linger in the main area of the apartment. Minho couldn’t help thinking how much he looked like he belonged. 

“Aren’t you tired?” Minho asked, taking a seat on the couch. He rested his elbows on his knees. “You worked all day and then had that nasty surprise waiting for you at home.”

Jinki shook his head, bangs flopping around. “I think I’m still too worked up.”

Minho patted the spot on the couch next to him, saying, “To be honest, I’m not sure I could get to sleep now even if I wanted to. I keep …” He stopped, trying not to frighten Jinki who’d sat down next to him and tucked a leg under himself comfortably.

“Go on,” Jinki urged. 

Minho huffed. “I keep thinking about what could have happened.  What if you’d been home? What if you’d tried to go after this guy in the apartment? What if you got hurt?”

Jinki tipped sideways, his head settling against Minho’s shoulder easily. “Did you run the whole way?”

Minho wrapped an arm around Jinki, settling back on the sofa. “I did. Kibum had the car. I probably would have gotten into an accident if I’d had it. I wasn’t thinking. I wasn’t fit to drive.”

“Sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

Jinki turned more fully into Minho with a sigh. “I don’t know why I called you. I should have called the emergency number. But I called you instead. I just wanted you.”

Tiredness was starting to creep over Minho, even if he’d told Jinki moments earlier that he was too alert to even consider sleeping. Maybe it was the combination of the soft sofa and having Jinki in his arms.  

Briefly, as he felt Jinki pull his other leg up onto the sofa and settle in for a comfortable wait, if this were one of his mother’s dramas, or romance novels, this would be the first time that they kissed for real. They’d had plenty of kisses cheeks, but for as nice as they were, Minho had yet to find the resolve to kiss Jinki on the mouth. This could have been their moment.

Instead Minho felt himself come awake from a shake to his arm, and as he blinked heavy eyes open he realized that he’d fallen asleep the night before without realizing it. And Jinki was still curled up next to him, sleeping soundly.

“Is there something you want to share with us?” Kibum asked. He and Taemin were standing next to the couch, identical looks of amusement on their faces. 

“We just fell asleep,” Minho said quietly and with a groan. His whole right side was numb, probably due to Jinki’s weight, but he wasn’t moving for the world. “We’re still dressed in our night clothes, Kibum. Stop being such a ert.”

Kibum shrugged. “If you two were going to end up together, the both of  you should have just gotten in your bed last night.”

Minho fought the urge to give him a certain gesture. 

Kibum reached over and poked Minho in the arm. “Come on. It’s time to get up. I have to go out this morning, so you can take Taemin to school and Onew to work.”

Taemin trailed into the nearby kitchen, calling out, “I can walk.”

“Take him,” Kibum said pointedly, a hint of something fearful in his tone. “Make sure he gets there. Okay, Minho?”

At the sound of more voices, and Taemin moving around in the kitchen, Jinki moaned into Minho’s shoulder and his eyes cracked open.

“Morning,” Minho offered, letting his cheek rest against the side of Jinki’s head for a second. Then he slowly pulled his arm back and tried to shake proper blood flow into it.

“I fell asleep on you,” Jinki said, his voice scratchy from sleep. “Sorry about that.”

Kibum offered a hand to Jinki and pulled him a little clumsily to his feet. “We’ve all fallen asleep on Minho before. True story. He’s very comfortable.” He nodded down the nearly hallway. “The bathroom is at the end, remember? I put clean towels in there for you to wash up with. By the time you finish Taemin and I will have breakfast ready.”

Gratefully Jinki bowed his head, and after sneaking a flustered look to Minho, he took off for the bathroom.

Breakfast was an easy affair, even with them a little short on time after four people sharing a single bathroom. They all sat crowded around each other, leaning into each other’s personal space, eating quickly, talking at the same time, and acting like they’d been doing it forever.

It was nice to see Jinki really starting to come out of his shell. 

“Shotgun!” Taemin called after the meal was finished, grabbing his book bag and racing down the stairs. Kibum rolled his eyes from the kitchen, stacking breakfast dishes in the sink.

“You don’t have to drive me to work,” Jinki said, looking between Kibum and Minho. “I can stay and help with the dishes, and walk afterwards.”

“No way,” Kibum said definitively. “The whole point of you staying here is so that we have a buddy system going on. You don’t go anywhere by yourself, Onew. At least for the next few days.”

“We should go,” Minho said with a grin. “And Jinki, don’t even think about fighting Kibum on this. He’s annoyingly stubborn when he wants to be.”

Taemin was waiting for them in the car already, and Minho found himself enjoying the exercising of driving two people he really liked to their respective destinations. Kibum was almost always the one who drove Taemin when the weather was bad, and the teen walked other than that. Chatting with him on the drive was something Minho wanted to do more of.

When Taemin was safely at school, tucked in between several of his friends and headed to his first class, Jinki said, “I know we made an agreement to have lunch together, but I won’t be able to today.”

“Big order, right?” Minho recalled. “And plus, we decided that we’d only have lunch when it was convenient for the both of us, remember?” Not to mention Jinki was now staying with him. It could be considered overkill if he spent that much time with Jinki, no matter how much he enjoyed his company.

Delighted, Jinki’s face lit up as he told Minho, “It’s our biggest account ever. Almost four hundred plates. It’s a very big wedding.  It took us months of planning just to get to this point, but it’s going to be a madhouse today.”

“Then I should pick you up late?” Minho wondered.

“I can walk.”

As Jinki’s work came into view, Minho said, “You have my cell number now, and the office number. Call me when you’re done, no matter how late, and promise me you won’t walk. I’ll worry if you do.”

The car pulled to a stop and Jinki made no move to get out, tugging nervously at his short hair. “I hate making you go out of your way.”

“Hey.” Minho risked the bold movement of putting a warm hand on Jinki’s thigh. “Did you ever stop to consider that I like going out of my way for you. I like you. This isn’t a burden for me. I like spending time with you. I like driving you to work. I like it.”

“I like you,” Jinki countered. He smiled, pressed a kiss to Minho’s temple and climbed out of the car. He ducked back in for just a second to say, “I’ll call you when I’m done tonight,” then he waved quickly and headed inside. 

This, Minho realized, was how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. He wanted to wake up with someone truly special to him, having breakfast with that person, and do all the normal things that he’d considered out of his reach before. He wanted Jinki to kiss him every day before work, and promise to call, and have dinner with him to look forward to.

That was why he couldn’t let anything happen to Jinki.

“You’re diligent. I’ll give you that much.”

Minho crossed his arms against his chest as he stood in front of Jonghyun later on. “I just--”

“You just want information on Jinki’s case,” Jonghyun interrupted. “Which you know I can’t give you.”

Minho took  a quick seat in the chair in front of the desk. He leaned forward and said quietly, “You’ve given me information before.”

Jonghyun shook head. “Any information I give you is with the expressed permission of my superior, or pertaining to cold cases that we have no chance of solving. I give you that information so that you have a shot at putting to rest what I can’t. I know you understand that and the difference between me giving you confidential information to a case that is currently still under investigation.”

Minho took a deep breath and adverted his gaze.

“I understand, you know.”

Minho met Jonghyun’s gaze at the words. “Understand what?”

“Wanting to help someone you care about.” Jonghyun rested his arms on his desk surface. “In the beginning, when you were just this guy that I didn’t know and pretty much resented, I wasn’t helping you out from the kindness of my heart. I mean, I was confident you thought you were better than me for being outside the law. That’s what it felt like, and I wouldn’t have helped you if it weren’t for Taemin.  If it wasn’t for what you were doing for him, you understand. Before I got to know you and understand what kind of person you were, I only helped you for Taemin’s sake. So I understand wanting to bend the rules and pull strings to help someone important to you.”

Minho could recall so clearly in his mind the first time he’d run into Jonghyun, the then young rookie showing up on his and Kibum’s doorstep with accusations of false promises to Taemin and even worse false hope. 

For as good friends as they probably were now, they’d been that unfriendly in the beginning. 

“Jinki is very important to me,” Minho admitted quietly. “Maybe as important to me as Kibum is to you, even if it’s taken you all this time to actually do something about those feelings.”

Jonghyun cracked a smile. “You live with Kibum. He’s not as easy to deal with as he seems, as you know.”

“But he’s easy to like.”

Jonghyun agreed with him there. “But regardless, I can’t tell you much about Jinki’s case. We’re still looking into it. We’re still going through the security footage on his building. I can tell you that I’m not handling the case personally, I have no idea when it’ll be closed, and I won’t sneak you any information. That’s not what you want to hear, but you wouldn’t tell me about your cases out of a matter of respect for you clients, and I have to return the favor. It’s nothing personal.”

It really wasn’t, and that was why Minho found himself nodding and offering an apology to Jonghyun for trying to press him for information. 

Jonghyun surprised Minho by adding, “Be careful, okay?”

“Careful?” Minho questioned. 

Jonghyun didn’t say anything for a while, letting the silence linger between them as the police station’s activity whirled around them. 

“Jonghyun?”

“Sometimes you’re too generous.” Jonghyun said, “I want you to be cautious with bringing Jinki into your home. Especially with Taemin and Kibum there at the same time. Whoever this guy is who broke into Jinki’s apartment, the force behind it tells me he wasn’t playing around. This wasn’t random and it was ruthless. Jinki seems like a nice guy, genuine and worth looking out for, but you don’t really know him, and we don’t have a clue what’s going on.”

Anger made Minho flush a dark red. “You think I’d put Taemin and Kibum in danger for what … a bootycall?”

“Maybe not intentionally,” Jonghyun eased out. 

Minho’s fist pounded down on Jonghyun’s desk, surprising the man. “I would never risk the two people I love the most in this world. Kibum is my brother. His safety is something I would never compromise. And don’t talk to me about Taemin. You have no room to talk about Taemin.”

Calmly, Jonghyun argued, “I think I do.”

Who was Jonghyun to say the things he was? It made Minho’s skin crawl to think that Jonghyun presumed, even with their friendship, to say the things he was.

“Taemin is still a kid,” Minho said, “and it is my responsibility to protect him. I love him as if he were blood, and for you to think that I’d put him in danger by bringing Jinki into our home is more offensive than anything else you’ve ever said.”

Minho stood suddenly and without another word to Jonghyun he was racing out of the police station.

Jonghyun caught him just outside the station, by the crook of his arm and turned him so forcefully that Minho reeled nearly completely off his feet.

“You want me to say thank you?” Jonghyun demanded. “For all that you’ve done for Taemin? For the things that I couldn’t do?”

“I want you to recognize that I would put Taemin over Jinki any day, no matter what I feel for Jinki right now.” Minho ripped his arm out of Jonghyun’s grasp. “Do you get that? What I feel for Jinki is real. I want to make him a part of my life and have him next to me for as long as I can, but I could never put anyone before Taemin.”

Swallowing visibly, Jonghyun swallowed. “I apologize, Minho. Truly, I apologize.”

Minho tipped his head, but he was still so angry. “I have to go. And for your information, the only reason I asked Jinki to stay with us is because he doesn’t have anyone else. Literally. He’s an orphan and he doesn’t have any siblings, at least that he knows about. But it’s something he came to grips with a long time ago. I was thinking that maybe he could help Taemin out with that. It’s something they both have in common. Being alone. Or at least that’s what Taemin thinks.”
 
“Wait,” Jonghyun called out, “Minho. Wait.”

“What?”

Johngyun looked so crestfallen that Minho was beginning to feel nothing but regret at losing his cool.

“Taemin’s struggling?” Jonghyun asked, face set with sorrow.

Slowly, Minho said, “He’s much better now, especially knowing how much Kibum and I love him, but birthdays are hard. Christmas is harder. He still doesn’t have his closure and it eats away at him when he lets it. Jinki might help. He couldn’t hurt. But you know what would be even better? If he knew that he wasn’t standing all alone.”

“You’re asking something impossible, Minho.”

“Why is that?” Minho demanded. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know how important it would be to Taemin to know that he has a brother.”

“Half,” Jonghyun corrected, voice cracking. “And I couldn’t tell him now. This is the most important time of his life. He’s getting ready to become a man. His college exams are less than a month away. He’s deciding the kind of life he’ll have right now. Who am I ruin all of that? And what, to make him feel guilty?”

Minho hardly thought Taemin would feel guilt. “He wouldn’t.”

“If it hadn’t been for Taemin being born,” Jonghyun said bluntly, “our father wouldn’t have left my mother. He wouldn’t have left us alone to struggle and gone off to start a new life with his new family. Taemin has a nasty habit of blaming himself for stuff. I couldn’t stand it if he blamed himself for something like that.”

Minho rocked back on his heels. “It’ll come out eventually. And then how will you explain that you’ve been around forever, and never said anything? It won’t be a comfort to him.”

No, Minho was sure, Taemin would be livid. He wouldn’t see Jonghyun’s constant presence as anything but a taunt, especially if the man kept the secret of their real relationship from him for very much longer. 

“You should tell him,” Minho said again. “Stop pretending to just be a concerned friend who promised him to never stop looking for his parent’s murderer.”

Resolved, Jonghyun said, “He already has a brother, Minho. He has two. What he needs from me is a good friend, and we’re going to leave it at that. That’s our deal right? I give you my cold case information, and help you how I can, and you keep my secret.”

Minho waved a hand. “I’m starting to feel like I’m getting the short end of the stick here.” And lately he’d been beginning to think about how mad Taemin was going to be at him when he realized Minho had known for years. He didn’t want to lose Taemin over something so preventable. 

“Minho?”

“I’m going now,” Minho told him. “As always, your secret is safe with me.”

After his frustrating meeting with Jonghyun, Minho did a bit of grocery shopping, circled Taemin’s school a few times nervously and then headed back to the office.

“Why do you look so sour in the face?” Kibum asked from his desk.  He was slipping a thick file into a locked cabinet they kept their closed cases in. At least, Minho reasoned, Kibum had managed to solve his case. They’d get to eat for another week or two, sustained by the revenue from that case and the wire payment for the missing person case Minho was knee deep in.

“I argued with Jonghyun,” Minho admitted, flopping onto his chair.

“About what?” Kibum’s eyebrows rose.

“Not you. About Jinki, actually.” And Taemin, of course, but that would be giving too much away. It would raise too many questions, and Kibum still had no idea that Taemin and Jonghyun were related. Minho himself had only found out by accident.

“What are you taking about? Why would you  and Jonghyun argue about Onew?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Minho promised, but the last thing he wanted to do was talk about it with Kibum.

Kibum let it go easily enough and said, “We should go out for dinner tonight. We haven’t had western food in a while, and I know a new hamburger place that just opened up downtown.”

Minho opened his laptop,  prepared to work for a while to get his mind off Jonghyun. “Jinki has to work late. We could go tomorrow.”

Kibum reminded, “Tomorrow Taemin has plans, remember? His friend’s birthday? We should go tonight. We’ll wait for Onew.”

“Kibum.” Minho’s hands froze at his laptop.  Guilt creeping over him, he asked, “Do you think it was a mistake to let Jinki stay with us? Did I make a mistake, or not think things through? Am I … endangering Taemin because I want to keep Jinki with me?”

Kibum surged to his feet. “Is this what you and Jonghyun fought about? Did he tell you that you were putting Taemin in danger? I swear to god, Minho, I’m going to go down to that police station right now and--”

“Kibum!”  

“You are my best friend,” Kibum said, rushing to Minho’s side and pushing his shoulder roughly, “and if you think I’m going to let Jonghyun talk to you like that, you are sorely mistaken. He does not get to--”

Minho pulled Kibum into a tight hug. “Don’t be mad at him. I mean, he said it like a jerk, but I understand why he did. He’s just looking out for Taemin.”

“We’re Tamein’s family,” Kibum said, refusing to release Minho. “We make the choices about his safety, and I’m telling you that we would never put him in danger. Onew is our friend, and when our friends are in trouble, we help them out. Onew just needs to be around people he trusts right now, and that isn’t hurting Taemin in the least bit.”

Minho let his cheek rest against Kibum shoulder and closed his eyes. “If Jinki put Taemin in danger, or you, no matter how much I like him, I wouldn’t let him stay here.”

“Is this a bad time?”

Minho let go of Kibum immediately, turning to see Ken standing in the doorway. It had completely slipped his mind that he’d e-mailed the boy, asking for additional information. Of course he’d expected a reply from the computer, not in person.

As if sensing the unspoken question, Ken said, “My parents have a store not too far from here where I work, and it was easy to get away. I decided it was better to come in person.”

Safer, Minho realized. It was safer.

With a forced laugh, Kibum asked, “Can’t two guys who are closer than brothers hug once in a while?” Kibum thumbed towards his desk. “I’ll just be over here, working.”

As Kibum departed for his own space, Minho gestured at Ken to take a seat in the chair in front of him. He rose from his own chair to get them refreshments.

“You wanted to know about Leo’s family, right?” Ken asked, accepting a glass of water and settling in. “About his parents and his sisters and why no one is looking for him except for the people everyone considers to be just his friends.”

Minho broached gently, “I hardly speak to my parents these days, we had a bad falling out some years ago, but I’d like to think that if I went missing, they’d still look for me. I want you to tell me about the relationship between Leo and his family and why they wouldn’t look for him.”

Ken’s eyes crinkled as he said, “I guess it goes way back to when Leo and I were kids. We went to the same primary school together. Leo was always quiet. Always reserved. He never wanted to talk to anyone if he didn’t have to, and some of the kids for it. They thought he was weird because he didn’t want to play with them, or wasn’t as social as them.”

“But not you?”

Ken shrugged. “I figured if I pestered him enough, and never really left him alone, then eventually he’d figure out that if he took a chance on me and was my friend, I wouldn’t ditch him the first chance I got. It also helped that we got older and started taking singing lessons together, and then dance, which meant spending a lot of time together. Maybe that’s when Leo just decided it was easier to give in and be my friend.”

“You sing?” Minho arched an eyebrow. “And dance?”

“We were going to enter the trainee program together,” Ken said, “and try and debut some day. Leo was good at soccer, too, he just was the best at singing.”

It was all interesting information, but none of it was particularly relevant. “How does this relate to Leo’s family?”

Ken continued, “Because I’m telling you that in all the years I’ve known  Leo, I never once saw them. I didn’t see his mom come to watch him sing, I didn’t see his dad drop him off for practice, and I didn’t see any of his three sisters for more than half a second. Leo’s family was never really involved in him. What I mean is, they never cared about him from the start. I made extra time for him, because they didn’t have any.”

“Were they abusive?” Minho asked, wishing it hadn’t come out so abrasively.

“They didn’t hit him or anything,” Ken assured him. “But when you’re a kid there’s more than one way to be abused. Neglect is abuse, too.  That stunted him in a way, at least emotionally, so maybe that’s why it worked out between us. My family likes to smother the people they love with affection, and Leo needed some.”

Ken had plenty of information to give him about Leo’s family, the kind of information that police reports couldn’t give. Ken knew almost everything that Minho wanted to know, detailed accounts that proved he and Leo were as close as he claimed, and bits of insight that Minho desperately needed. 

“How did …” Minho stopped, not sure how to ask.

Ken laughed. “You know, you gave us that speech about how important it was for us to be honest with you, but we can’t be honest if you’re afraid to ask the questions that you want to.”

“Some questions I’m curious about might not be relevant to the investigation. Half of my job is determining what is and isn’t.”

“Just ask,” Ken said wearily. “You want to know how six people get into a relationship that actually works.”

“Does it work?” Minho wondered. Relationships were difficult with just two. Six seemed incomprehensible.

Finally, Ken seemed to crack a real smile. “We fight all the time. There’s some jealousy, and everyone annoys everyone. Plus there’s the constant hiding because some people don’t understand while others are just cruel. Hyuk doesn’t even graduate from high school until next year, so we don’t get to see him every day, and half our parents are shunning us because we’re doing what we want, and not what they expect of us. So how does it work? Honestly, I don’t have a clue how it works, it just does.”

Minho asked, “You all live together?”

“Except Hyuk,” Ken corrected. “We have to wait for him to graduate, and then he’ll move in with us, but right now he lives with his parents. The rest of us are together. We basically live on top of each other in one place, but it’s mostly to save money so we can get a house together later on. Most of our money goes to saving for that, and school. Half of us are in school.”

“How did the six of you even end up together?” What they were talking about probably should have been Ken’s personal business, but Minho couldn’t contain his curiosity, and he was pleasantly surprised to find he accepted it as easily as he did.

Ken ticked off on his fingers, “Leo and I were together first. It was just the two of us for a long time in high school, but then we met Ravi and N. They’d been together just about as long as us. And after spending so much time together, and becoming so attached to each other, coupled with the fact that we were young and impulsive and hormonal, switching things up just became and idea we wanted to try. It was supposed to be just once and it ended up with the four of us just clicking perfectly.”

The way Ken told the story, the youngest member of their group Hyuk had found out about them by way of pure luck, and by his sixteen birthday had determinedly nosed his way into the fold without so much as a glance back.

“What about the sixth? Hongbin?”

Ken rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “Leo can be difficult on a good day. It takes a lot to draw him out of his shell, but it’s because he’s shy. Underneath it all, he really is just shy. Hongbin is a whole different story. He’s self deprecating in a lot of ways. He was just as attracted to us and interested in us as we were in him. The difference is, he wouldn’t admit it and thought the best way to deal with it was to avoid us. We were persistent to say the least.”

Minho tapped his fingers against his desk. “What if one of you wanted to leave the relationship?”

“We’re not a cult!” Ken insisted. “Anyone can go at any time. But the truth is, for however unconventional our relationship is, we love each other very much. We’re in love with each other. Some people only find one person that they can love with their whole being, and even that’s a miracle, but each of us found five other people, and that’s not something you give up lightly. That’s how we’re certain Leo didn’t just run away. He could have gone at any time just by telling us he wanted to and we would have understood and still cared for him. He wouldn’t have just disappeared. What happened isn’t right. That’s why we hired you, and I hope you understand a little bit better now how serious we are.”

Leaning back in his chair, Minho nodded. “But what about your parents?”

Ken turned a finger on himself. “My parents? Well, they think I have one boyfriend, not five. When Leo disappeared, they helped a lot with the reward fund we put together, also Hongbin’s parents . I should point out, if you find Leo for us, that reward fund is yours.”

“You’re paying me for a job, and I’m not interested in the reward money.” The truth was, he’d already looked at the invoice that Ken had sent over the previous day. It was more than the agreed upon number, and Minho had half a mind to try and give it back. “If I find Leo, and I want you to remember that’s an if, you should use that money to buy the house you want.”

A dreamy look crossed Ken’s face. “We want to buy a house outside of the city, one with space for all of us. N and I like to drive so we won’t mind commuting, so we don’t want to have any neighbors for a really long distance.”

Minho guessed that was probably the best option for the group. He hardly thought that the majority of people who came across their odd relationship were going to be okay with it, and even fewer were going to want to share an apartment or housing area with them. A house in the country was safe, secluded and private. 

“You know,” Ken said, interrupting Minho’s thoughts. “We couldn’t tell the police some of this. I’m upset sometimes that we couldn’t tell them some of the really important things, because it could hurt us, and Hyuk is still too young and N has a good job that he could lose. But we just couldn’t tell them the whole story, not like I’m telling you.”

Minho’s eyes narrowed. “What else couldn’t you tell them?”

Ken said, “That Leo didn’t touch a dime of the money that he’d contributed to our future house’s fund.  He took out a really precise amount before he disappeared, and it wasn’t any of the money that he’d put into the saving account after we all decided the kind of future we wanted to have. The bank account was originally under Leo’s name only, before he signed us on to access it, and the only money he took out on that day was the money he’d had in a savings account there since he was a teenager. He never touched the money that was ours.”

“How do you--”

“Go after his sister, please.”

Minho was taken back by the sudden change in topics. “His sister? Leo’s sister?”

Ken nodded furiously. “His eldest sister. The other members of his family never looked for him, but they answered all our questions. They didn’t care about Leo, but they didn’t try to stop us from looking for him. His eldest sister wouldn’t even return our phone calls. She wouldn’t cooperate with the police. She never liked Leo, she was always meaner to him that she had to be, and she’s the only one in his family who knew the truth about us. Talk to her. Make her talk. Please. She knows something, maybe about what happened. We couldn’t make her talk to the police because she threatened to tell our secret, but you already know, and you’re being independent contracted. We’ll pay extra if it’s a matter of money.”

Minho scoffed and dismissed the offer. “It’s not about the money. I’ll talk to her.” In fact she’d just moved up to his number one spot of suspects to check out. “I’ll contact you again in about a week.”

Ken stood and held out a folded piece of paper to Minho. “This is our landline. Call us anytime. Someone is always home and we will always pick up the phone.”  Just as Minho reached for the paper, Ken added, “We know he’s still in the country. He didn’t take his passport with him and Ravi’s father works in the government sector and has access to a list of who leaves and enters the country at any time.  He’s still here, we just have to find him.”

Minho stood as well to stand at eye level with him. “You know that there’s always a chance that he  …”

“No.” Ken thumped the area over his heart. “I’d feel it here. When you love someone that much, you just know.”

“I know you think that--”

“I know it.” Ken grimaced. “Because even though I’m parted from him, I still feel him in my heart. That’s how I know for sure. So please, find him, and prove me right. I can’t be wrong.”

He could feel Kibum’s eyes on him as Ken disappeared through the front door quickly.  “You can say it,” he called over his shoulder.

“You’re getting too attached,” Kibum whispered. “But I really want you to find this guy.”

Minho looked down at the pad of paper where he’d written the information down. “I’m almost ready to move on what I know.”

Kibum kept his distance. “And what are we talking about realistically here? A snowballs chance in hell?”

“It always is,” Minho admitted. But this case was special. More than any of the other missing person cases they’d taken, he wanted this one to work out. After meeting with Ken and the others, he sort of needed it to. Part of him needed it to, at least. He was tried of letting people down. 

“Are we still getting hamburgers later tonight?”

Minho rolled his chair over to Kibum’s desk and picked up the phone. “Let me call Jinki and ask him how late he thinks he’ll be.” He pulled his fingers back from dialing. “Unless you want to go early and without him?”

Kibum shook his head. “Of course we’re not going without him. What’s wrong with you Choi Minho?”

Minho grinned. “Just checking. Want me to call Jonghyun too? Make it a family outing?”

Kibum leveled him with a serious gaze. “The scary part is, that’s not completely untrue.”

Even though all of the animosity Minho had felt to Jonghyun was gone by the time the moon was up, Minho still let Kibum make the call. Then it was only a short trip to pick up Jinki and they were on their way to dinner.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jonghyun asked quietly as he sat next to Minho in a booth. Across from them Taemin and Kibum had been sure to squeeze Jinki into the middle and they were busy arguing with each other over which burger to get.

Minho propped an elbow on the table and set his chin in his palm, watching the animated way Jinki talked with his hands, demanding each of them get different burgers so they could share. “No. We’re fine.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” Minho turned to look at him. “There are more important things to do than fight over the people we love.”

Kibum waved a hand in front of Minho’s face. “We have to order soon. Are you guys ready?”

“I guess so,” Minho said, and met Jinki’s smile across the table.

That night it was much harder to get to sleep. From his position on the couch he could just see the door to his bedroom that Jinki had cracked open. He could imagine Jinki stretched out across his bed, staring up at the same ceiling that Minho did each night, or maybe already asleep and completely carefree.

“Oh,” Taemin said in concern when he saw Jinki in the morning. “You still look so sleepy.”

There was a distinct look of fatigue on Jinki’s features as he accepted a strong cup of coffee from Kibum.

“You didn’t sleep well?” Minho asked. “You don’t like the bed?”

“Sorry,” Jinki said, looking down into his coffee. “No. It’s fine. I just didn’t sleep well.”

Kibum handed Minho a cup as well and mumbled under his breath, “Maybe you guys should snuggle on the couch tonight instead.” 

Minho pinched him hard.