Jin Ho stood stiffly in the living room of the ty apartment he was staying at and stared at the expensive cardstock in his hands. There were two envelopes addressed to him, slid under the door when he entered his house. There was no return address and after a long internal debate he decided to open them. It wasn't like it could be a bomb.

But he didn't know what he expected with the contents tumbled out of the white envelope.

How well do you know the man you're working with?

It was typed out in standard font, nice and big, centered in the card and a few font sizes too big, as if the sender was afraid he'd miss it.

He raised his eyebrow at the note until he noticed that there were more things in the envelope.

He dumped them out and looked at the photos of the man he was forced to trust. They looked like they were taken from a far, without his knowledge. He squinted his eyes to make out background. His grip tightened and his eyes widened when he recognized the familiar setting.

He was at the cemetery where Eun Ah's parents were buried.

He was holding what looked like two bouquets and stood in front of a pair of graves with a grim expression. Jin Ho flipped through the photos, his face getting darker at each angle that the photos were taken.

The photos weren't the only thing that threw him off, it was the fact that the man didn't look sad, grieving or morbid. He wasn't wearing the normal expression someone would have when visiting the graves of someone they were closed to.  

It looked like he was staring at the graves like one would stare at paintings at an art gallery. Almost in wonder, trying to interpret it's meaning while deciphering the hidden intentions of the artist.

He frowned, anger slowly rising in his blood. He had no idea how this man was related to Eun Ah or Himchan but the fact that he was taking his own private interest in their lives was disturbing. He refused to indulge any information with him and that just unsettled him even more.

Especially since he wouldn't tell Jin Ho anything.

He placed the contents on the table and tore open the next envelope and pulled out the exact same card but there was something different written on it.

What would you give to know the truth?

Jin Ho stared at the 8 words over and over again, trying to decode the meaning. He had no idea what 'truth' he was being teased with and he had no idea who would send him this. His eyes were drawn to something on the corner of the card. Something that wasn't on the first one.

DRC

DRC?

His eyes flashed to the small multi-pointed star when he put it together.

Devlin Ryu Clan,

.

If Ryu personally knew the man that Jin Ho was working with, then his involvement in Eun Ah's life might have been bigger than he expected.

Was he just putting himself and everyone else in more danger by trusting a man that he had never met before in his life?

But Jin Ho wasn't stupid. Ryu wouldn't never present something for free. He had a price and he had a purpose. He wouldn't give him any answers unless he had a reason for even offering them to him. Ryu would want something in return if he was going to give Jin Ho any information.

Somehow, Ryu was going to benefit from whatever secrets he was bribing Jin Ho with.

When he heard a key going into the  front door, Jin Ho quickly grabbed everything off the table and shoved them into his inner pocket, hiding any sort of evidence just as the older man stepped in through the front door.

Since the envelope was addressed to Jin Ho, he had no reason to share this development just yet. He would hold on it and figure out later what he would do about it.

He watched the man kick his shoes off and enter the living room. He nodded at Jin Ho with a smile but the man didn't return it.

"Where have you been?" Jin Ho asked with hostility.

The older man slowed to stop and stared at Jin Ho's face in confusion. "Out. Why? Did something happen?"

He grit his teeth, his words coming out in animalistic growls, "I asked you a question. Where have you been all this time?"

The man's eyes narrowed at Jin Ho's demanding tone. He didn't care who Jin Ho was, he wasn't about to be spoken to like that.

"I was with Woon. What's wrong with you?"

Jin Ho didn't flinch, he never did. "You sure you were just with Woon and not following Eun Ah and Himchan around?"

The man just stared blankly at Jin Ho before walking away, into the kitchen. Jin Ho followed him, not finished with their conversation.

"Don't ignore me. If you're doing something sketchy, that's going to put any of them in danger you better ing own up to it now, because if you do anything to hurt them I--"

The man snapped and spun around, poking his finger at his chest.

"You don't know me. You don't know what I'd do for the people around me. You have no right to suspect me of hurting them when we all know who's causing the most pain. You don't have anyone else. So no matter how much you hate me or how badly you don't want to work with, you don't have a choice. I'm the only one who agreed to help you. I'm your only hope." He hissed, darkly.

Jin Ho scoffed, "You're not my only hope. If I really wanted to, I could do this on my own. The only reason you're even here is because of Woon and you know it."

The man laughed incredulously, "Whatever the reason is, we need to trust each other if we're going to continue working with each other. If you want to survive, we need each other. You scratch my back I scratch yours."

"That's the thing! I want to know what my involvement is going to help you with. If working with you means people I care about are going to get hurt then I'd rather do this alone."

The old man shook his head, "I told you trust me already. I have no bad intentions but that doesn't mean I want to share mine with you. I don't want to hurt anyone. I have my own mistakes to fix."

"How can I trust you? How do I know that you're not the enemy." Jin Ho asked accusingly.

"You don't. There's no way for you to know that I won't betray you somehow. But keep in mind that even enemies can help each other out when they need to. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." He said gravely.

"So is that what we are? Enemies?" Jin Ho challenged.

The man looked away, "I hope not."

Jin Ho opened his mouth to snap at him but the man cut him off sternly. "But at the end of the day, before any of our personal conflicts get in the way, we have one goal. To take Ryu down. Nothing else should matter until that's completed."  

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Jin Ho asked, his voice softer and filled with confusion.

The greying man just turned his back to him with the same grim expression from the photo, "When an animal has its back against the wall, it has no choice but to fight."

-----

"You have to admit, Eun, there are certain animals that know there's one perfect mate for them." Yongguk said, an amused tilt in his voice as he straddled his fiancée on the kitchen floor.

She wasn't sure how she ended up with her back pressed against the kitchen tiles or how she ended up under him, breathlessly, but she knew that if she had the strength to push Yongguk off her, she probably wouldn't. She was far too comfortable.  

"Bull crap. Complete and utter bull crap! Prove to me that monogamy exists in the natural world, without environmental influence."  She challenged.

Yongguk's eyes traced the ceiling as he thought carefully. He looked back down at her and pinned her hands on either side of her head. "Swans."

Eun Ah snorted, "Too easy. And not true! A quarter of black swans cheat on their mates."

"Wolves."

Eun Ah raised her brow, "They've been known to mate with another wolf if their mate is kicked out of the pack or isn't able to breed. That's circumstance, no true love."

"I wish I knew that you loved animal biology before I fell for you. How did it take you so long to tell me that?  I bet your idea of a Valentine's heart probably has aortas." Yongguk said in mock exasperation as he kissed down the side of her neck.

Eun Ah shrugged casually, "Is it a crime to be biologically relevant?"

She sat up and rolled so that he was pinned to the ground. He was lying beneath her, her hair swinging over his face. To someone else it might have looked like they were fighting if it wasn't for the bright smiles on their faces.

"Do you know that a vulture caught cheating on his mate will be attacked by others?"

Yongguk raised his brow, "Is that supposed to scare me?"

Eun Ah bent down and kissed the tip of his nose, "I'm just saying."

Her moment of dominance didn't last long when he spun to hover over her again. "Prairie voles."

Eun Ah smirked, "I literally just read about them in one of Youngjae's books. It's only because of the oxytocin and vasopressin released in their brains. It's not love, it's chemical commitment."

Yongguk gave her an unamused look but she only returned it with a warm smile. She felt her stomach flutter and her heart beat rhythmically to a song that she didn't know was playing.

God, she loved him.

She slowly slid her hands up his chest, past his shoulders and laced her fingers behind his neck. "Actually, now that I think about it, there is one species that's completely monogamous. The ma