Do Your Homework
Written for Universexo for livejournal user spatkisa. Enjoy~
Do Your Homework
Junmyeon is the best spy in all of Exo, the intelligence committee that guards the members of the Star Museum Court. He knows everything that happens in the enormous palace, from the death of one of the enormous lotuses in the private Imperial Gardens, to the secret affair that one of the lesser princes is carrying on with one of the many duchesses’ handmaids. Nothing happens in the court that he doesn’t know of, and nobles are constantly trying to bribe him with exorbitant sums of money to spy on other members of the court.
However, Junmyeon simply brushes them all off. He has only one allegiance, and that is to his Emperor, Emperor Minseok. He had been under Minseok’s service for the past five years, ever since he burst into an Imperial Banquet and had revealed a poisoned dish just moments before Minseok had put his chopsticks to his lips. Junmyeon had pointed out the assassin and had watched with satisfaction as the assassin was dragged off to the dungeons before he was led away to meet the head of Exo, spymaster Luhan.
“How old are you?” A man dressed in scarlet robes with a silver deer mask covering his face was seated at the broad mahogany desk by the window when Junmyeon entered the room.
Junmyeon smiled, his mouth and nose hidden beneath a fine silk scarf. He had taken great pains to hide his true identity; no one would listen to the words of a young, nineteen year old scribe if he had appeared in his normal garb and station. Instead, he’d burst into the banquet with his face mostly covered by a scarf, dressed in sleek black robes that allowed him to move about with ease. The costume made him seem older than he was, and gave him more authority.
“I said, how old are you?” Luhan’s voice sharpened with impatience.
“Why should I tell you? Don’t you already know?”
“How could I already know who you are?”Luhan tilted his head to the side in curiosity.
“You are the spymaster of Exo. You should already know about me. After all, I already know about you,” Junmyeon smirked beneath his scarf.
“You know about me?” Luhan’s head tilted to the side, his golden-brown eyes shining through the eyeholes of his mask. “How old am I, then?”
“You are twenty-one.”
“What is my current position in the Court?”
“You are part of the Emperor’s personal guard.”
“Hm.” Luhan got up from his desk and came over to stand before Junmyeon. “And how would you know who guards the Emperor?”
Junmyeon laughed softly, unintimidated by Luhan’s closeness. “I have my ways of getting information.”
“I’m sure you do.” Luhan took a step back and folded his arms over his chest. “You seem to know a lot, little spy. Tell me, what is my real name?”
“You are Xiao Lu,” Junmyeon answered without hesitation.
Lu stiffened in surprise, and then slowly relaxed. Junmyeon watched in shock as Lu reached up and carefully lifted his mask off of his face, gingerly holding the precious metal as if he were afraid it might break. Lu had warm, brown eyes that sparkled in the sunlight that was coming in through the tower window. His face held an ethereal beauty, enhanced by his small, delicate features and his smooth skin; however, Junmyeon refused to be drawn in by Lu’s charm. He still wasn’t sure if Lu was looking to help him, or to hurt him.
“You seem to know quite a bit about me,” Lu smiled pleasantly, but his eyes were sharp and attentive, taking in every detail of Junmyeon’s movements. “However, I also know more than enough about you. You hid your tracks very well, but not well enough.” Lu turned his back on Junmyeon and walked over to the desk to lay his mask down on the sturdy wood. “Your name is Kim Junmyeon, age nineteen. You are currently a lesser scribe in the court, under the sponsorship of the Master of Coin, Lee Soo-Man. You have no family in the court, or anywhere in the capitol city. You entered the Star Museum Court seven years ago, and I can only imagine some of the things you’ve been up to in that time,” Lu chuckled. “You have a fair face, but you tend to hide it to keep attention away from yourself,” Lu smirked. “I may not know everything you’ve done in the past seven years, but I do know enough. I will not be afraid to use that knowledge against you, Kim Junmyeon.”
“You did not bring me here so that you could threaten me with the events of the past,” Junmyeon said calmly, although a cold sweat broke out across his back. “What am I truly here for?”
“You get straight to the point don’t you?” Luhan mused.
Junmyeon felt his heartbeat quicken with anticipation as Luhan let the silence build between them. Could this be it? Could he really be receiving what he’d been reaching for during the past seven years?
Lu hopped up to perch on the edge of his desk, his legs swinging above the ground in a childish manner. “I would like to open a position to you in Exo. The Emperor could certainly use a man like you on his side.”
Junmyeon forced himself to stay still and not smile when he heard those wonderful words.“I would be honored to serve the Emperor.” Junmyeon put a hand over his heart and bowed his head as he said the words, trying to convey his sincerity.
“When you join Exo, you will have the opportunity to swear your allegiances to many. All manner of nobles and members of the court will pay you handsomely for your services…especially after that stunt you pulled at the Imperial Banquet.” Lu eyed Junmyeon closely, looking for Junmyeon’s reaction to the thought of riches.
“My only loyalty is to the Emperor,” Junmyeon said firmly. “I will serve him, and him only.”
“Are you certain?” An unreadable expression flitted across Lu’s face as he stared at Junmyeon. “In Exo, we often encourage our spies to accept service for a wide variety of clients. Pledging yourself solely to the Emperor is not something to be said lightly, Junmyeon.”
“I know. But I will give my pledge anyways,” Junmyeon said steadily, raising his head to meet Lu’s gaze square on.
They kept a silent staring match for a few moments, and then Lu slipped off the edge of the desk, clapping his hands together in delight. “Oh, Kim Junmyeon. I think the three of us are going to get along splendidly!”
“The three of us?” Junmyeon blinked in confusion at the sudden change in Lu’s demeanor.
“Yes, of course, the three of us!” Lu walked across the room towards a section of the wall and dug his fingers into a group of grooves in the stone wall. He tugged hard, and the section of stone slid out from the wall, to reveal Emperor Minseok in his royal robes.
Junmyeon fell to his knees and pressed his forehead to the cold stone floor, his heart beating rapidly in his chest from shock. “Your highness!”
“Rise,” the Emperor said calmly, walking out of the stone wall with poised grace. “And remove the scarf from you face.”
Junmyeon got to his feet and hesitantly reached up to tug the silk cloth away from his nose and mouth. Emperor Minseok looked at him for a few moments and then turned to Lu.
“You are right. He does have a very fair face,” Emperor Minseok grinned, and Lu burst into laughter. Minseok turned back to Junmyeon.
“As my personal spy, we’ll be working very closely together. Please, don’t feel the need to be so formal with me,” Minseok smiled kindly. “As you can see, Lu and I are very close. Someday, I hope we can achieve the same kind of friendship, Junmyeon. Of course, you can’t expect me to fully trust you straight away, just as I can’t expect your immediate trust as well. But I hope that we can in the future, fully trust each other.”
Junmyeon ducked his head shyly. “I hope for the same thing, your highness.”
“Minseok. You’re to call me Minseok,” Minseok corrected him. “Now, if you’ll follow me, Junmyeon, we shall adjourn elsewhere to discuss the responsibilities of your new position.”
“Of course, your-ah, I mean, Minseok,” Junmyeon stuttered. He moved to the side so that the Emperor could walk past him and go out the doorway, but to his surprise, Minseok turned around and went back towards the wall.
Minseok turned his head to look at Junmyeon, his eyes twinkling with restrained amusement. “You may have thought that you knew everything that happened inside the stone walls of Star Museum, but you certainly didn’t know about the places we’re about to show you.” Minseok turned back towards the hollow stone wall and vanished, into what Junmyeon could only assume to be a secret passage. Junmyeon hesitantly followed Minseok into the wall, and Luhan carefully dragged the stone section back into place behind them.
Later, when they began to discuss just what Junmyeon would be doing in Minseok’s service, Lu snapped his fingers and brought a halt to the conversation.
“Wait! Before we can talk any further, Junmyeon needs an alias.”
“I suppose he does.” Minseok eyed Junmyeon thoughtfully. “Do you know what the people of the Court have started calling you already?”
“I am unaware that I was being talked of,” Junmyeon said steadily.
“You are unaware?”
“The Imperial Banquet was a scant eleven hours ago, your highness. I was escorted to go meet Luhan, and I was kept in holding for the entire night. I have not had time to gather the Court gossip,” Junmyeon explained.
“Ah, I see.” Minseok turned to Lu and raised an elegantly formed eyebrow at him. Heavens, Luhan, why did you keep him in holding for so long?”
“He could have been dangerous, despite having saved your life. I had to attend to the assassin, and then I had to see what I could find about Junmyeon.” Luhan smiled apologetically at Junmyeon. “I hope you don’t mind too much.”
Junmyeon simply snorted at him.
“Well, anyways, the people of the Court are calling you The Protector, Junmyeon,” Minseok said, pointedly drawing the conversation back to its focus.
“The Protector?”
“You saved my life,” Minseok smiled kindly. “The people of the court think highly of you.”
“The Protector,” Junmyeon murmured softly. “Suho.”
“That will be a good alias for you,” Luhan murmured in approval. “Of course, we’ll have to do something about that flimsy scarf of yours, but this is an excellent start.”
Junmyeon smiled and settled back into his seat. He could really get used to hanging around these two.
But now, only five years after his celebrated success, Junmyeon was already in danger of being knocked off of his throne. There was another man who had entered the Court four months ago, who was only known as Chen. No one knew what he looked like, or what his true name and rank was. All anyone knew was that he wasn’t affiliated with Exo, and that he seemed to know all of the secrets of the affairs of the court.
Junmyeon and Lu had been working tirelessly to try and get anything on Chen, but thus far, it had been to no avail. Chen remained elusive and hidden in the shadows, prepared to flee the moment he even got a whiff of any member of Exo closing in on him. Thankfully Chen seemed benign, and had made no move to take any action beyond gathering information and distributing it to his clients. Yet Lu and Junmyeon still worried about his presence; if someone had been evading their combined efforts for four months, he had to be good. It would be best to try and get Chen over to the Emperor’s side as soon as possible, before someone else snatched him up.
“Junmyeon?”
Junmyeon flinched and nearly dropped his report on to the ground. He looked up and saw Luleaning against the desk, his eyebrows raised in inquiry. “Lu! You frightened me, I didn’t here you at all! What’re you doing, skulking around at night?”
“Minseok sent me here to tell you to go to bed.” Lu chuckled and patted Junmyeon’s head. “It’s always so much fun to scare you.”
“Yes, alright.” Junmyeon gently knocked Lu’s hand away and yawned. Sighing, he leant forward in his chair and rubbed at his eyes in exhaustion with the back of his hand. “There wasn’t anything left in that report anyways.”
“What was it about?”
“Who do you think? Chen, of course. But all it says is that my informant failed to catch a glimpse of his face.”
“That is unfortunate.” Lu put a gentle hand under Junmyeon’s elbow and helped him get to his feet. “I have another informant who might have something for us in two days. We’ll have to hope that there will be something there.”
“We’ve been hoping for more information for four months now. I’m getting worried that we’re going to be too late,” Junmyeon sighed.
“I know, but if he continues to elude us like this, then we can’t do much else.” Lu guided Junmyeon out the door and then let go of his arm. “I have to return to Minseok now, but I trust that you can get to your own quarters without falling flat on your face.”
“I’ll try,” Junmyeon smiled lightly. “Good night, Lu.”
“Rest well, Junmyeon.”
Junmyeon watched as Lu took off down the corridor, heading back to Minseok’s sleeping chambers. He sighed heavily, and then slowly turned away, trudging down the corridor to his own rooms. He reached a heavy stone door and slowly pushed it open, fatigue tightening around his muscles and resisting his attempts to open his door.
The fatigue vanished in a moment when Junmyeon saw what awaited him in his room.
A figure dressed all in black stood frozen in the center of the room, a sheaf of papers clutched in his hands. Junmyeon narrowed his eyes at the black mask that concealed the man’s face, and he debated trying to hide his own face. Could it be, that someone had figured out that he was Suho? But that was impossible; both Junmyeon and Lu had worked together to completely obliterate any connection between Suho and the court scribe under the patronage of Lee Soo Man, and honestly, no one was good enough to go against their combined efforts to hide something-not even Chen.
It was too late for Junmyeon to try and hide his face now, not when he’d been frozen by the door, debating with himself for several seconds already. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Junmyeon asked harshly, his heartbeat quickening when the dark figure shifted his stance.
The dark figure remained silent.
“Put down those papers,” Junmyeon said steadily. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
The dark figure slowly let the papers fall from his hand, and then suddenly, he darted past Junmyeon and out the open door. Junmyeon cursed and whirled on his heel to take off after the dark figure, but by the time he had made it back out the door, the figure had vanished.
Junmyeon quickly retreated back into his room and shut the door behind him, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead. Luckily, he had made very careful precautions to never leave any materials that could be connected to Exo in his private chambers. He walked over to the floor and picked up the papers that the mysterious figure had let fall to the ground; they were merely simple court transcripts and a record of the patronage he continued to receive from the Master of Coin. There was nothing conspicuous about the papers, and Junmyeon had no idea of who could have been holding them, or what they could have wanted with them; he had been unable to tell anything in the relative darkness of the room except that the man had had a rather wiry build.
Junmyeon sighed heavily and rolled his shoulders, wincing at the ache in his muscles. He was tired, and had been hoping to go straight to bed, but that would have to wait: it was entirely possible that the stranger had taken something else from his quarters that he hadn’t noticed yet.
Junmyeon searched through his entire quarters for several hours, well past the break of dawn. At last, he found something suspicious-a small, purple bottle containing a dark liquid was carefully hidden amongst his personal collection of inkpots and writing utensils. He frowned and carefully lifted the bottle up, gently shaking it from side to side. The dark liquid sloshed back and forth, but showed no other special properties; if anything, it looked very much like a bottle of ink.
Yet Junmyeon doubted that the bottle simply contained ink, because the intruder had made a point of carefully concealing it. He didn’t know what was in the bottle, but he was certain of what the spy had been doing in his quarters.
He was trying to frame Junmyeon for a crime.
Junmyeon felt as if he had barely closed his eyes before someone was pounding on his door.
“Junmyeon? Junmyeon? Junmyeon!”
Junmyeon grumbled sleepily and slowly extricated himself from his sheets. He grabbed a robe and threw it over his shoulders and stumbled out of his bedroom towards the door. He threw the door open and glared at the person on the other side. “What?!”
Lu stood on the other side of the door with his arms folded over his chest and a rather unimpressed expression on his face. “What do you mean, ‘what’, today there’s an Imperial Banquet! That’s why Minseok sent me to tell you go to bed last night!”
“Oh.” Junmyeon blinked blearily. “Whoops.”
Lu scoffed in exasperation. “Hurry up and get dressed. Tonight, you’ll be disguised as a servant.”
“As usual,” Junmyeon sighed. He was there to watch and make sure none of the servants or nobles attempted anything suspicious amongst themselves. “Oh yes, before you go back to Minseok-a man broke into my chambers last night,” Junmyeon said seriously. “He left a bottle of unknown substance concealed in my bedroom. It looks like ink, but I suspect that it might be poison.”
“Someone broke in?” Lu stared in bewilderment; he knew how tightly guarded Junmyeon’s quarters were, both by Exo and the Palace Guard. “But how?”
“I don’t know. I set all manner of traps guarding the entrance to my chambers in addition to the fortifications Minseok provided, and yet the thief still managed to enter. Only Exo, or a spy of great skill would be able to enter my rooms.” Junmyeon eyed Lu carefully; he knew that his friend wouldn’t turn on him, but it was possible that someone else from Exo was acting out against him.
“Hm. Well, it wasn’t Exo, I would have heard if someone was acting out. And besides, our brothers would not turn on you,” Lu frowned. “A bottle of unknown liquid? And you think it’s poison?”
“I believe someone may try to frame me for a crime. Perhaps they will try and pull a similar stunt to the one I did five years ago,” Junmyeon smiled faintly. “I don’t think whoever is planning this knows who I am. I think he simply chose someone who he thought no one would notice, and who no one would mind casting the blame upon if someone, maybe even the Emperor, was poisoned.”
“Perhaps. It would be incredible if the person knew who you were and still tried to do this.” Lu sighed and rubbed at his forehead. “Alright, well, get dressed for the banquet. I’ll report this to Minseok.”
“Very well. Could you take the bottle with you? Just in case any investigations have to be made in my quarters to assuage the rest of the Court.”
“Of course. Quickly, Junmyeon, you know I can’t stay away from Minseok for long.”
Junmyeon turned back and went to go get the bottle from his bedside table. He hurried back and pressed the small bottle into his friend’s hands before bidding Lu farewell and shutting the door behind him.
Junmyeon scowled and stalked back to his bedroom. The intruder had picked the wrong person to mess with; he was Suho, the one who protects the Emperor. He was not about to lose his crown to a little upstart who was trying to make a name for himself.
Junmyeon sighed and shifted in his servant’s robes; the stiff cloth chafed at his wrists and ankles, and he twitched slightly in discomfort. He cast an exasperated glance at Lu, who was seated by the Emperor’s side, his deer mask glimmering in the light as he carefully watching each dish as it was brought up to the table. The banquet had been going on for several hours already, but no one had made a move to accuse Junmyeon of a poisoning yet. Junmyeon felt a thread of anxiety start to weave through his chest; could it be that the plot was not against the emperor, but against some other noble, and he and Lu were too late to stop it?
Junmyeon barely got the thought out when a great shout echoed through the hall. Junmyeon whipped his head around and stared as several feet away from him, a young man fought his way out of a crowd of servants who were trying to stop him.
The young was rather thin-looking, but Junmyeon could see strong muscles standing out in his arms as the man shoved servants away from himself as he made his way towards the table. He had brown, wavy hair and a kittenish mouth that twisted at the corners as he shouted at the servants to let him go.
Minseok’s eyes swung to the scuffle and he glanced over at Lu. Lu instantly rose to his feet and leaned over to whisper in Minseok’s ear before he glided over to the young man.
The servants instantly quieted as Lu approached, and Junmyeon watched with interest as Lu grabbed the young man’s arm.
“This is an Imperial Banquet. Only servants and nobles of the highest ranking are allowed in here,” Lu said in a low voice. “However, you are neither of those, Kim Jongdae. I’ll have to ask you to remove yourself quietly, without creating a further scene.”
The young man froze in surprise. “How do you know my name?”
“That is irrelevant. Once again, I must ask you to remove yourself,” Lu said coolly.
The young man recovered from his shock and tried to shrug the servant’s hands off of his arms once more. “I can’t leave! The Emperor is going to be poisoned, and I know who and how!”
Junmyeon’s eyes widened in surprise; could it be that this Kim Jongdae was the one who had planted the little glass bottle in his room? Junmyeon held back a snort; Jongdae would probably have had more luck if he claimed that a lesser noble was going to be poisoned, rather than Emperor himself.
Lu seemed to be thinking the same thing. “Poisoned with that little bottle that you left in Kim Junmyeon’s room?” Lu smirked when Jongdae’s eyes widened. “You must be good to have gotten into his quarters, but not good enough to find out his true identity.” Lu tightened his grip on Jongdae’s arm. “Junmyeon!”
Junmyeon glided over and gave Kim Jongdae a cool stare. So you were the one trying to bring me down. “Yes, Luhan?”
“See that Jongdae is taken down to the dungeons. I’ll be down to see him when the feast ends.”
Jongdae’s eyes widened in alarm, and he began to thrash and flail against Lu’s sturdy grip. “The Emperor is going to be poisoned! You have to let me go!”
Lu ignored him and allowed Junmyeon to signal three guards to grab Jongdae and take him out of the Hall. He exchanged a calm look with Junmyeon before heading back to Minseok’s side, while Junmyeon followed the guards out.
“I would calm down if I were you,” Junmyeon said coolly. “The guards won’t be beyond knocking you out.”
Jongdae opened his mouth to respond, but the guard behind him struck him on the base of his neck. Jongdae’s head lolled forward and his body slumped to the ground; Junmyeon and the three guards sighed with relief at the sudden silence in the halls. A guard hoisted the limp body over his shoulder and they continued walking down the corridor, winding deeper into the maze of the palace. Junmyeon narrowed his eyes at Jongdae’s face as it jostled from side to side; so this was the little upstart who was trying to frame him? Well, it seemed that Kim Jongdae had a lot more to learn.
It was several hours before Lu finally came down and joined Junmyeon in the dungeons.
“What took you so long?” Junmyeon got to his feet and stretched his arms over his head. “The prisoner hasn’t woken up yet, the guards gave him a good one.”
“Sorry.” Lu handed Junmyeon a flask of water. “Drink up. Have you eaten anything since you came down?”
“I sent upstairs for something earlier.” Junmyeon gratefully accepted the flask and took a sip of water. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Lu peered into the darkness of the dungeons; Junmyeon had been waiting in the dungeon master’s office, rather than pacing around in front of Jongdae’s cell. “You’re not going to believe who that little rascal is, by the way.”
“I’m not?” Junmyeon capped the flask and set it down on the table by his side. “Why?”
“He’s Chen.”
Junmyeon choked. “What? How can you be sure?”
“I’m nearly positive of it. Everything that I’ve looked into points towards it.”
The pair was interrupted by the warden poking his head into the small room. “Sirs? The prisoner has come to.”
“Very good, Warden.” Lu got to his feet, but Junmyeon remained seated, still reeling in shock. “We’ll still have to speak with him to confirm it, but I’m nearly certain that he’s Chen.”
“But…how? Chen was so good!”
“I know, I was a little disappointed as well,” Lu sighed. “He had been doing so well…it was a pity that he picked you as a target. If he had chosen someone else, he might have had more luck.”
“What will we do with him, if he really is Chen?” Junmyeon was dumbfounded; he had taken a tiny liking to Chen and his evasive ways, but if Chen was Kim Jongdae…Junmyeon could feel the all of that quiet affection drying up inside of him.
“We’ll stick to the plan, he still has to join Exo; he could be dangerous if he doesn’t. And besides, now you don’t even need to worry about him dethroning you; he clearly has a lot to learn,” Lu snorted, and Junmyeon chuckled.
“That he does.” Junmyeon tucked the small flask of water into his belt and followed Lu out of the room; Jongdae would undoubtedly want some water when they saw him.
When they arrived at Jongdae’s cell, it was to see the thin young man huddled in the front corner of the cell. Junmyeon eyed him closely, and realized that once he got past how thin he was, Jongdae had a very beautiful face. He could understand the appeal that Jongdae held for the majority of the court; he had used the same exact tactic when he’d been on his rise to fame. The nobles had been drawn in by his pretty face and apparent talent for finding information, which had allowed him to build trust and connections among the Court.
“Kim Jongdae?”
Jongdae shifted slightly, his clothing rustling as he drew his knees in towards his body. “What do you want?” he croaked.
Junmyeon laughed softly and knelt in front of the bars. He pulled the flask out of his pocket and carefully edged it through. “It’s water. Drink up, you’ll feel a bit better.”
Jongdae didn’t move to touch the bottle. “How do I know it’s not water, but something else?”
Junmyeon rolled his eyes. “You’re stubborn, aren’t you? You’ll have to trust that there’s water in there.”
“Why should I trust the man who I just tried to frame for high treason?” Jongdae peered up at Junmyeon in confusion. “Besides, you’re just a low-ranked court scribe. Why are you even here?”
“At least you ask the right question,” Junmyeon smiled pleasantly and got back to his feet. “I was disappointed, really, when I realized what you were up to, you know.”
“Disappointed?” Jongdae looked completely baffled. “Why?”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Kim Junmyeon, a court scribe under the patronage of Lee Soo Man,” Jongdae said immediately.
Junmyeon shook his head. “And that’s why I’m disappointed.”
Lu cut into the conversation. “Jongdae, what does the name “Chen” mean to you?”
“Who’re you?” Jongdae scowled up at Lu. “Do you even have the proper authorization to be here?”
Lu gave him a cold look. “I come down here bearing the silver robes of Exo, Kim Jongdae. I will not tolerate insolence.”
Chen’s eyes widened slightly, and he took a closer look at Lu’s clothing. “It’s hard to tell in this light. But if you’re from Exo, why are you showing me your face?”
“I can hide my face if you would prefer it,” Lu said pleasantly. “Would you?”
Chen ducked his head at that. “No, this is alright.”
“Very good. Now, answer my question, you insolent brat,” Lu said, his voice hardening at the end of his sentence.
Jongdae flinched, and then relaxed, shadows flickering across his face in the weak torch light. “Chen?”
“You must’ve heard the name ‘Chen’ before. Everyone is talking about him,” Lu folded his arms over his chest.
“But no one knows who he is though, isn’t that right?”
“Lies,” Junmyeon scoffed. “Just own up to your glory already.”
“He’s rumored to have skills comparable to those of Luhan and Suho,” Lu said casually.
“Luhan and Suho? Why, I wouldn’t put it quite that far.”
“How far would you put it, then?” Lu and Junmyeon shared an amused glance between each other; the disappointment would come later, but for now, they enjoyed having someone fall so easily for the traps they set them.
“I don’t find myself comparable to either of them.” Jongdae’s eyes widened in horror when he realized his slip, but it was already too late. Both Lu and Junmyeon had triumphant smirks on their faces as they stared down at him through the cell bars.
“I thought the name Chen didn’t mean anything to you,” Lu said snidely. “But it looks as if you are he.”
“Fine, I’m Chen!” Jongdae snarled, curling in on himself defensively. “You’ve got me.”
“You know, I also was disappointed when you chose to try and frame Junmyeon of high treason. You’d been doing so well-you evaded all of Exo’s attempts to identify you or contact you, you were getting accurate information but no one could figure out your sources. You looked so promising-but then you made the biggest mistake you could have ever made, second to choosing the Emperor as your target. You would have been far more successful if you had chosen to poison someone less important.”
“What was my biggest mistake then, if it wasn’t choosing the wrong target?” Jongdae peered up at them, defiance glimmering in his eyes.
“First of all, do you really not know who I am?” Lu peered down at Jongdae, who shook his head. Lu groaned and turned to Junmyeon. “Heavens, at least you knew who I was when we met.”
“Yes well, we already know that Jongdae didn’t do his homework. Don’t be too mean to him, Lu.”
Lu sighed and turned back to Jongdae. “I am Luhan. At least tell me that you know who he is.”
Jongdae went visibly pale, even in the weak light of the dungeon torches. “You’re Luhan,” he said weakly. “Oh god. What kind of mess have I gotten myself into?”
“Yes, you begin to realize just who you’re involved with. And this lovely young man by my side is Kim Junmyeon, but he’s also Suho, who you must know of because you were trying to copy his debut.”
Jongdae flushed scarlet with shame. “It wasn’t true copying-”
“Yes, because none of the dishes that were served at the Imperial Banquet were lethal. You had slipped in something that would make anyone who ate it very ill for a long period of time, but it wasn’t the same as the poison that you put in Junmyeon’s chambers. Luckily, we were able to apprehend that particular dish before it made it to the table. No one was harmed in your little attempt to gain attention.” Lu scowled and crouched down so that he was eye-to-eye with Jongdae. “So yes, it wasn’t true copying because Junmyeon was smart enough not to actually attempt to poison anyone, and simply uncovered a plot. You, on the other hand, are guilty of high treason, among several other things, including fraud and illegal possession of toxic substances.”
The blood rushed out of Jongdae’s face, and he swayed slightly in his seat. “What’s going to happen to me?” Fear darkened his eyes to a deep brown, and his knees knocked audibly together. “Are you going to execute me?”
“Alright, Lu, that’s enough.” Junmyeon put a gentle hand on Lu’s shoulder and drew him to his feet. “There’s no need to scare him that much.”
“He needs to understand the consequences of his actions, Junmyeon.”
Junmyeon loosened his grip, and then let go of Lu’s shoulder. “Alright.”
Lu turned back to Jongdae. “If you couldn’t tell from our little interlude, which you might not have been able to because you seem to bear catastrophic amounts of idiocy, we are not going to kill you. Despite your incredibly rash plan to try and jump to fame, you bear a lot of promise as a spy, Kim Jongdae. We would like to offer you a position in Exo.”
“I nearly poisoned the Emperor, and you’re offering me a position in Exo,” Jongdae said slowly, color slowly returning to his cheeks. “You’re both mad.”
“The saying is “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”.” Junmyeon sighed quietly and rubbed his hands over his shoulders as the chill of the dungeons began to seep through his clothes. “The choice is up to you, but understand that you have very…limited options, shall we say, if you refuse to join us.”
Jongdae scowled. “What do you mean?”
“Well, if you don’t join Exo, we’ll have no choice but to execute you for treason. The Court will be crying for your blood if word of your little stunt gets out,” Lu said calmly as he examined his finger nails.
Jongdae let out a defeated noise. “I’ll join Exo, just stop threatening to execute me already.”
“Oh don’t sound so depressed, it was what you were aiming for in the beginning,” Junmyeon scoffed.
Lu laughed slightly and straightened out his sleeves. “Right, well, it looks like we’re done here.” He turned on his heel and beckoned Junmyeon to follow him, leaving Jongdae bewildered at the abrupt turn of events.
“Are you just going to leave me here? Hey! Don’t ignore me!” he shouted down the corridor as Junmyeon hurried off after Lu.
Lu turned back just as he was about to turn the corner. “Well, you can’t have been expecting to go completely unpunished, Kim Jongdae. Enjoy your stay in the palace dungeons…I’ve heard that the rats make lovely companions. You should be down here long enough to make lots of new friends.” Lu and Junmyeon left the cells at that, ignoring Jongdae’s echoing calls for them to come back.
“What an idiot,” Lu snorted. “What was he trying to achieve with this little stunt? He had to know that Exo would be on his tail, we’ve been hunting them for months.”
“Perhaps he didn’t realize how much attention he’d attracted.”
“Junmyeon, the whole point of his little adventures and tricks that he’s been pulling off were to attract attention.”
“He doesn’t seem like the type to think very far ahead,” Junmyeon said softly. “Perhaps it was that.”
“Hm. Well, he’ll learn a lot once he gets out of the dungeons.”
“How long are you going to leave him there?” Lu and Junmyeon nodded at the warden as they passed by his office and began ascending the steps that would take them above ground.
“Perhaps a couple of months, if not longer. I intend to visit him frequently, and to teach him a few things while he’s in there, but honestly, even a few months is too little for attempting to endanger the Emperor’s life,” Lu said seriously.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll enjoy your visits to him. I’m sure there’s more to him than meets the eye,” Junmyeon said, rubbing his shoulders again to try and warm himself up.
Lu sighed and reached over to wrap his arm around Junmyeon’s shoulders. “What do you mean “you”? You’ll be coming with me, won’t you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t particularly want to deal with him…he was a very poor copy-cat,” Junmyeon sniffed, even as he snuggled into Lu’s side.
“But he had a very pretty face, didn’t he?”
“What is it with you and pretty faces?” Junmyeon sighed in exasperation. “No thank you, I don’t intend to visit Jongdae until I can get over the fact that he tried to copy me, and nearly hurt Minseok in the process.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” Lu shrugged and removed his arm from Junmyeon’s shoulders as they stepped out into the sunlit courtyard. “Sun yourself for a bit and warm up. I’m going back to Minseok, he’ll be eager to hear all about Chen.”
“Yes, alright. Tell Minseok that I’ll be up to see him shortly.”
“Alright.” Lu patted Junmyeon’s shoulder and then melted off into the shadows, leaving Junmyeon by himself in the small garden off to the side of the main courtyard.
Junmyeon sighed heavily and settled himself on to the small bench that sat in front of a clear pond full of silver fish. He was disappointed that Jongdae had made such a grievous mistake when he was planning his little stunt, and he was even more disappointed that Jongdae had been willing to risk the Emperor’s health in order to gain popularity and fame.
Junmyeon had always felt a strong fealty towards Minseok, ever since he was a little boy; he had grown up in an extremely patriotic household, and his parents had nearly wept with joy when he left them to go serve under their beloved Emperor. To his parents and him, Minseok was the light who guided the nation, and was the strong warrior who protected his people from harm, and was a figure who was meant to be worshipped and protected. Junmyeon supposed that his fervor towards protecting Minseok was a little odd most people, considering that the Court was full of conniving nobles who were trying to gain the Imperial power and glory for themselves.
It also seemed that Jongdae was no stranger to such plots and betrayals of Minseok’s trust. And Junmyeon knew that if Jongdae was planning on trying to get close to either him or Lu in his quest for fame, it was going to be very difficult for him to worm his way into their hearts. Anyone who dared to try and harm Minseok was their sworn enemy, and would never regain their trust.
Notes: So…the ending just kind of happened? I’m sorry that the ending was a little rushed, and if I continue to write in this universe, I’ll be sure to let you know if you’re interested.
a/n: But yeah, I don't know if I like the ending or not ahaha. Thank you all for reading, and let me know what you thought in the comments below~