21 Guns (and Codes)
Title: 21 Guns (and Codes)
Author: Anonymous until 1/30/14
For: yeolie
Pairing: Baekhyun/Chanyeol [side: Baekhyun/Tao]
Word Count: 3,911
Summary: Zitao is a data analyst and obsessed with white chocolate mochas, especially if they're from a certain cryptologist in the next cubicle. What he does not know is that he's after him, and not in a romantic sense.
Warnings: character death, murder
Rating: PG-13
One
Wu Yifan stands in his balcony, overlooking Seoul’s nightlife. He reminisces to himself the day’s events: a wonderful morning starting off with poached eggs and toast, a light lunch with the CEO of JYP enterprises, and the highlight of it all, an unfortunate hit-and-run motorcycle accident concerning the executive producer of EXOK Studios and a careless driver.
And so it goes, he smiles to himself. Not bad for a day’s work.
He turns around to go back inside to pour himself a glass of scotch to ease his mood. An almost imperceptible whistle, a prick on the back of his neck, Yifan falls down face down, the bottle of scotch lying shattered next to him, the amber liquid staining the expensive Persian rug.
A stranger dressed in all black climbs from the balcony, silently crossing the threshold. He removes the small dart from Yifan’s neck, making sure not to leave spots of blood near the scene. He disposes the dart in a small plastic bag and as he quietly came, he disappeared into the night.
÷
Baekhyun strips off each of his accessories as he walks across his room, leaving him with black jeans and a wifebeater by the time he enters the kitchen. His partner Chanyeol sits at the end of the room, poring over various blueprints and papers covering the table. Baekhyun rummages in the fridge, bringing out two water bottles and cold noodles. He throws the bottle at Chanyeol, who catches it and chugs the contents in less than a minute. Baekhyun sits in the opposing chair, leafing through the mess searching for new “job opportunities”.
“Mission accomplished in less than an hour. I think this should be one of my record times,” Baekhyun says, smirking as he leans back and stretches his arms.
Chanyeol rolls his eyes and throws crumpled paper balls at him; Baekhyun dodges them and laughs at his colleague’s poor attempt to hit him. “Whatever makes you happy, Baekhyun. Kim sent us another request; he wants us, well, you, to go in and exterminate as many as Wu Yifan’s sources, just in case something disastrous happens for some astronomically odd reason.”
Baekhyun looks up mid-slurp, and questions, “I already got rid of the guy, and I already eliminated some of his spies in the last few weeks. Who else could be involved in this situation?”
“Apparently Boss Kim is too paranoid about having inner spies or something, I’m really not sure, because he never really specified the reason behind it.” Baekhyun grimaces at the new piece of information: usually, there’s always a motive behind a lost life, and he never does anyone’s dirty deeds for a lame reason. “So he’s tracked down some of Yifan’s old informants or friends-“ Baekhyun snorts at “friends” while Chanyeol glares at him from above his glasses, “- and he wants you to get started as soon as possible.”
“Okay, what do I have to do this time?” Baekhyun asks in a bored tone.
Chanyeol threw a file at him, which Baekhyun started scanning for important details. “Minseok-hyung got you some fake identification papers, ID, and a passport just in case. You’re going to be Park Jaejung , cryptologist for FBI. Your target is Huang Zitao, who used to be Yifan’s ex,” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. “Boss Kim thinks that this Zitao person has information about Yifan and the business he done before you exterminated him.”
Baekhyun nods at the report, examining Zitao’s picture. Short, black hair, tall as the assassinated, black, feline eyes, with heavy dark circles. His face shows some innocence, but Baekhyun knows better than to think that this one is not dangerous. Chanyeol goes into the kitchen for a bottle of beer, opens the cap with a hiss and chugs a quarter of the bottle down before coming up for air. Baekhyun narrows his eyes and responds, “You’re going to kill your liver, bro. Cut down on the alcohol already.”
“I’m pretty sure your targets would disappear before my liver fails me.”
÷
Zitao sits at his computer, staring at the long code he’s been working on for the past week. His fingers hit the keys furiously as he tries to decipher the extensive cipher; it’s only been six weeks at his job and he’s chest deep in work.
Literally, he’s chest deep in work.
His supervisor, Kim Junmyeon, keeps providing him new cases to look at; more encryptions to solve, and generally just more work to do (since when was getting coffee for Junmyeon beneficial to society), even though the other trainees and employees had more experience and had no work, unlike him. Zitao heard a knock on the opposite wall of his cubicle, turning around from the LCD screen to see his partner, Oh Sehun, enter the room with a newspaper. His newly dyed lavender hair fell in front of his forehead, brown eyes almost emphatic. Sehun sits down in the chair next to Zitao and hands him a newspaper.
“Hyung, read the front page,” Sehun stutters out, his voice cracking.
“What’s wrong, Sehun?” he asks, still befuddled at the sudden outburst. Zitao was shocked to see stoic-faced Sehun, expressing emotion after his cat died, which was three years ago. He rather put up with Junmyeon yelling at him for three hours straight than see his best friend cry. Zitao untangles himself from Sehun’s arms and picks up the newspaper.
BREAKING NEWS: WU YIFAN, CEO OF EXOM STUDIOS, AFFILIATE OF EXOK STUDIOS, WAS FOUND DEAD IN HIS PENTHOUSE APPARTMENT.
By Kim Minseok
Wu Yifan was found dead in his apartment in the Gangnam district last night. His secretary, Zhou Mi, found him lying down on the ground by the window. “I walked in through the door with his daily coffee and all I saw was Wu-seonsangnim on the ground, unconscious. I really don’t know who would have a grudge against Wu-seonsangnim…” [READ ON PAGE 3].
Zitao freezes in place as he reads, “Yifan”, “dead”, on the front page; he never expected his ex to die, nevertheless to be a target of some larger scheme.
No, Zitao thinks, no, Yifan can’t die. He isn’t dead; no, this is just another scandal, nothing less. He violently shreds the newspaper, refusing to believe that Yifan, the man who meant something to him (even for a little while), his compatriot who had been with him since childhood, just gone all of a sudden.
Sehun sits down on the swirly chair, fidgeting with his hands while Zitao paces up and down the cubicle. Junmyeon passes by the occupied space with a box of spare parts, and peers into the room, surprised to see Sehun crying and Zitao shaking in pure fury.
“Oh, it’s nice to see you two here. I actually have-,”Junmyeon starts off, until he sees Zitao’s sullen face, his eyes red and teary.
“Actually…never mind. Zitao, I think you should have a break. You too Sehun,” Zitao looks at him, bewildered. Did Junmyeon tell him to go on break? All he ever asks Zitao to do is go do this, that, everything possible in his department and more.
“Yes, Zitao,” Junmyeon says, exasperatedly, as if he read Zitao’s mind. “You should go on break, if not go home. You worked hard enough, and it really looks like you need a pick me up.” He pats him on the back and walks out of the cubicle.
Sehun peers up from his hands, his face still wet. Zitao holds out his hand to lift him from his seat.
“I’m going to go Starbucks. You want to come?” Zitao asks. Sehun shakes his head, “Nah, I’ll just head out home. See you later, Taozi.” Zitao groans at the sound of his nickname given from his cousin, Victoria. He nods yes and Sehun hugs him before leaving for his bike downstairs.
Zitao sighs at the mess of work he has to do tomorrow, but thinks of the lovely white chocolate mocha waiting for him at Starbucks.
÷
“A tall white chocolate mocha, no whipped cream, caramel on top,” Zitao monotonously tells his order to his best friend co-worker, Yixing.
“Such a white girl order Taozi,” Yixing rolls his eyes. Zitao looks up at him wide, puppy dog eyes, his only arsenal against Yixing. “Okay, what happened?” he asks, filling up the machine with milk and cocoa.
“You didn’t see ge ge?” Zitao responds. “Yifan’s…passed on.”
“I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear that, so here’s your order,” Yixing quickly reciprocates. He hands Zitao the drink and casually gives a cranberry muffin with a pointed look. Zitao gives Yixing a small smile before turning around to meet a puffy boulder coming his way.
The two collide, the precious drink now covering the man sized marshmallow (oh how ideal), the muffin skittering under a table.
“Oh snap, I’m so sorry, let me help you up,” Zitao offers a hand. He’s crossing his fingers and praying to whatever deity that he didn’t anger a serial killer.
The marshmallow grabs onto his hand, pulling himself up. He dusted himself off with red mittens (oh he’s so cute, Zitao thinks), and wipes whatever of the drink he could with napkins he produced out of his pocket. He looks up at Zitao, no literally looks up, because he’s a few centimeters shorter than him.
“I’m really sorry about that, let me order your drink…,” the marshmallow offers.
“One, it’s Zitao. Two, I’m pretty sure I’m younger than you are,” Zitao defends, crossing his arms. The man lifts an eyebrow.
“If you say so. My name is Jaejung, and my number might as well be on that cup I could order you,” the marshmallow named Baekhyun states. He has frizzy, chestnut hair swept off to the side of his forehead, fair skin, short legs, and scuffed sneakers.
“Are you trying to flirt with me? What if you’re some pedo? Stay away from me,” Zitao squeaks, stepping backwards. In any moment in his existence has Zitao been afraid of some stranger who’s shorter than him, nevertheless one who actually tried to flirt with him (and probably wants to get in his pants).
Jaejung laughs, his laughter like wind chimes in a breeze. Zitao sucks in a breath; he’s so gorgeous.
“So how does that drink sound right now?”
“Yeah, totally, yeah, sounds great,” Zitao stutters out. “Drink. Yes. Great.”
÷
While they chatted over white chocolate mochas, caramel macchiatos, and muffins, Zitao learns that Jaejung is coincidentally working in the same office he is.
“I’m supposed to start tomorrow, but I wanted to come in early so I can look around,” he says bashfully. Zitao almost coos, he looks like a puppy.
“Oh, I could show you around, hyung!” Zitao responds excitedly, almost knocking over his cup. He takes a sip to control his shaking hand. Who knew that he would bump into a marshmallow man who happens to be such a cutie pie? He silently thanks Junmyeon’s poor soul for letting him out today.
Jaejung laughs his twinkling laugh again, his pearly white teeth shining under the fluorescent lamps.
“Do you think you can show me around today?” Jaejung inquires, picking at his muffin. Zitao was about to say yes, but remembers that he has the day off because Junmyeon said so.
“I’m actually off work today. I’ll definitely give you a tour tomorrow?” Zitao answers. He spares a look at his watch; he really should go home. “I actually have to go now. Meet up with a friend.”
“That’s not a problem,” Jaejung replies with a smile. Wow this man and his smile
Zitao walks out of Starbucks with a full stomach and eight digits a few minutes later.
÷
“Chanyeol, you won’t f*cking believe this,” Baekhyun excitedly says once he burst through the door of their shared apartment. Chanyeol wakes up from his nap on the couch, still sleepy and untangles his long legs from the blanket.
“What or who did you kill off this time?” Chanyeol asks his voice still groggy. “Did you bring me my latte?”
Oops. “Forget the latte! I actually met our target today at Starbucks,” Baekhyun retorts. Chanyeol snaps out of his stupor. “What.”
“Yeah, he’s going to show me around, that idiot. I didn’t know he was that whipped,” Baekhyun smirks.
“Oh really?” Chanyeol responds, his deep voice laced with a dash of insecurity.
“Do I sense some jealousy?” he walks up to Chanyeol, tangling their fingers together. Chanyeol smiles and leans down to give a kiss on Baekhyun’s cheek. “I’m only here for you Chan. Not anyone else,” and pulls Chanyeol down from the collar for a real kiss.
÷
“So this is where the coffee machine is. It doesn’t really work that often unless you kick it here,” Zitao points out to Jaejung, who nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. Zitao kept his promise and gave the tour of the floor, tips from how to manage the filing system to how to please Junmyeon.
“You have to be super careful around this bad boy over here,” Zitao warns. He brings Jaejung to the systems room, computers and TVs neatly stacked one on top of another, wires intertwined and tied together with zipties; overall, it was a giant room with a giant responsibility. “This room literally has every detail on anyone and anything. You can look up something as ridiculous as cats, and it will give you all the information on every single cat in the world. Sehun did that once, and he literally spent ten hours here, searching for the right cat.” Zitao chuckles at the memory. Jaejung looks around the room, shuffling around a random bundle of cable cords, and finds a row of dilapidated filing cabinets. He calls out to Zitao, “Hey what are these cabinets for?”
Zitao rushes in Jaejung’s direction and immediately responds, “Don’t touch those! “ while keeping Jaejung’s hands away from the cabinets. Jaejung pulls his hands away slowly from the handle, and puts them back in his pockets.
“What’s in the drawers, Zitao?” Jaejung asks nonchalantly, eyebrow rising in playful mocking. Zitao gulps. Whipped.
“It’s just, uh, it’s really nothing really,” Zitao stammers, his cheeks draining of color, his heart beating fast.
“Oh really? So you wouldn’t mind if I just opened it right?” Jaejung asked innocently, his face devoid of emotion. He slowly reaches for the handle of the drawer before Zitao gives in.
“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you,” Zitao says. “Those are the files of employees who have worked here ever since the company started. It has everything, like birth certificates, college transcripts, murder, you name it. It’s all in that cabinet. But we’re not allowed to open it, or even attempt because the lock is Junmyeon’s passcode and-“
“What’s going on here?” The duo turned around and sees Junmyeon’s calm and collected face, which means that he’s either really happy or he’s really mad. And considering the situation, he was probably the latter.
“I was, uh, just, uh, showing Jaejung hyung around and-“ Zitao starts off, but Jaejung cuts him off, “Zitao over here is just showing me around, nothing to be suspicious about Junmyeon-ssi.” Jaejung ends with a smile. Zitao holds his breath; this is where they make it or break it and the last thing he needs over his head is being canned in front of, if not together with Jaejung.
“I never really said anything about being suspicious, did I?” Junmyeon counters, his voice still placid.
“It really isn’t anything Junmyeon-ssi. Really, stop being so uptight! You really need a break, don’t you?” Jaejung responds just as smoothly. The tension in the room increases, and it’s so stifling that Zitao speaks up, “Why don’t we just go back? I’m really sorry Junmyeon-ssi. It won’t happen again.”
Junmyeon sighs, his eyes drifting around the room before looking at Zitao directly in the eye. “It better not happen Zitao. Go back and finish your work.”
Zitao nods and holds his head in shame as he walks down to his cubicle. Jaejung follows his tour guide until Junmyeon holds him back from crossing the doorway.
“I’m warning you Jaejung-ssi. Just get your work done and don’t peek into too much.” Junmyeon’s threat hangs over Jaejung’s head ominously, even after he goes home.
÷
“I swear to God, this mission is taking too long Baekhyun, and you and I know it,” Chanyeol breathes into Baekhyun’s neck as he fiddles with his jacket. Baekhyun groans and throws his head back, fingernails scratching Chanyeol’s arms, “You really had to bring up the mission now. Way to ruin the mood.”
Chanyeol bites Baekhyun’s earlobe while rubbing his knee between Baekhyun’s legs, eliciting a moan from Baekhyun. “Sh*t I know okay? I got this under control. How- Oh for f*ck’s sake, Chanyeol, just- I’ll get it done soon, he’s too easy to get to,” Baekhyun controls himself, trying not to give into Chanyeol’s ministrations.
“Like how easy I can unravel you with a few touches?” Chanyeol adds with a smirk.
“Go away I don’t even know why I’m even going out with a loser like you,” Baekhyun whines while he tries to untangle himself from Chanyeol’s body.
“You love me!” he hears Chanyeol call out from the bathroom.
“Sure I do, Chan. For sure.”
÷
“When do we take out the guy? We’re not getting any younger here.”
“Just wait. Patience is key after all. When the time comes, you strike faster than a cobra, and your enemy won’t even know he’s been hit.”
÷
Zitao wakes up to his ringtone and blearily cracks open his eyes to see who would call him at this hour. He reads “Satan Junmyeon hyung” on the LCD screen, and debates whether or not to pass up on the call. In the end, he answers, “Hello? Do you know what time it is right now at this godforsaken hour,” he glances at his alarm clock, “three in the freaking morning do you know who wakes up at this time it is Satan, so if you don’t mind, I would love to go back to sleep, so unless it’s a life or death emergency, just push it back to ten in the morning when I can actually function like a regular human being-“
“Zitao I will fire you so badly there will be scorch marks on the way out if you don’t stop talking,” Junmyeon threatens. Zitao immediately shuts his mouth. “This is a dire situation; someone broke into the control room and hacked the whole system. I’m at the building right now and our locations around the world have databases that are being wiped clean as of this moment and I need you to come here right now.” Zitao sighs, puts on his sneakers and runs to the workplace to save the world (as he knew it).
÷
“What about now?”
“I swear to God, if you comment on something one more time, I will shove this AK-42 up somewhere you don’t want an AK-42.”
“Wow, I wasn’t aware you were this kinky outside of the bedroom.”
÷
“Sh*t, sh*t, where’s my key card, for freaking Christ’s sake, did I just f*cking leave it at home?” Tao mutters to himself as he searches his pockets. He drops down to his knees, seeing if he dropped it. Meanwhile, Junmyeon is probably stressing out about saving the databases and cursing Zitao out because he’s not there to help him. He feels a cold metal pressing on the back of his neck and a familiar voice, “Move and I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.” Zitao stops fidgeting and stays frozen.
“If you follow my orders, you just might get out alive. Emphasis on the might ,” the gunman says carefully. “I’m going to knock you out and you’re going to fall, and then I’ll blindfold you, and my friend and I will put you in our car. Do you understand? You can nod if you want.” Zitao nods his head and allows his captor to put chloroform on his face. The last thing he notices is how the air speaks of Jaejung hyung.
÷
“Now do we get to get rid of him Baekhyun?”
“Yes Chanyeol for God’s sake yes we can! I’m up to here with you and your constant pestering!” Zitao stirs in his seat. “Oh he’s waking up right now,” the person named Chanyeol says.
“Well no sh*t Sherlock. Chloroform doesn’t keep a person knocked out for a long time,” the person who sounds suspiciously like- Jaejung hyung? responds sarcastically.
“Whe-where am I?” Zitao asks, his head pounding.
“We’re in an abandoned warehouse somewhere near a port,” Chanyeol responds.
“Who are you?”
“Wow I’m hurt you don’t remember me, Taozi. I’m your hyung after all,” the other person says, his long fingers gripping the handle of his rifle.
“Jaejung hyung?”
“Nope,” he smiles, his eyes sparkling. “I’m not Park Jaejung; that was just a cover. I’m Baekhyun. Still your hyung,” he adds at the end.
“What is going on?” Zitao presses on.
“Well aren’t you such an inquirer?” Baekhyun counters with a grin. “I’m here to kill you after all, so I could answer some of your questions before your time of demise. So lay it on us!”
Zitao sits, shell shocked from the sudden events, sputtered. “Why do you want to kill me?”
Jaejung- Baekhyun shrugs his shoulders, “If I knew the answer to that, I would honestly tell you.”
All of a sudden, a boom followed with a thump, and Zitao lies on the floor with a bullet through his head, his eyes faraway and glassy.
“I told you this would have to be done as fast as possible,” Junmyeon irritatingly said, stepping out of the shadows as he put his gun back in his pockets.
“What the h*ll we could have answered his questions before he died god*mmit, Junmyeon! He deserves to know what happened,” Baekhyun yells.
“Did he really? Did he really want to know that you killed off his childhood friend and ex? Did he really want to know that his whole death was because of revenge?” Junmyeon responds, his shouts echoing in the warehouse.
“We wouldn’t know now, would we?” Baekhyun whispers. Chanyeol comes up behind him and rests a hand on his shoulder.
“We had to do what we had to do, Baekhyun. What would you do if you were in his position?” Chanyeol asks soothingly.
“I would have shot myself right then and there to avoid the misery ahead,” Baekhyun looks down at his feet, and lets himself get led by Chanyeol out of the warehouse and into the world, whispering of unanswered questions and abandoned dreams.
A/N:
Hi there it’s your secret Santa! I tweaked your prompt a little, and I’m sorry if it’s sort of rushed and incoherent at some parts, but I really did put a lot of effort into this, so I hope you enjoy it! I hope you have a nice year!
One
Author: Anonymous until 1/30/14
For: yeolie
Pairing: Baekhyun/Chanyeol [side: Baekhyun/Tao]
Word Count: 3,911
Summary: Zitao is a data analyst and obsessed with white chocolate mochas, especially if they're from a certain cryptologist in the next cubicle. What he does not know is that he's after him, and not in a romantic sense.
Warnings: character death, murder
Rating: PG-13
One
Wu Yifan stands in his balcony, overlooking Seoul’s nightlife. He reminisces to himself the day’s events: a wonderful morning starting off with poached eggs and toast, a light lunch with the CEO of JYP enterprises, and the highlight of it all, an unfortunate hit-and-run motorcycle accident concerning the executive producer of EXOK Studios and a careless driver.
And so it goes, he smiles to himself. Not bad for a day’s work.
He turns around to go back inside to pour himself a glass of scotch to ease his mood. An almost imperceptible whistle, a prick on the back of his neck, Yifan falls down face down, the bottle of scotch lying shattered next to him, the amber liquid staining the expensive Persian rug.
A stranger dressed in all black climbs from the balcony, silently crossing the threshold. He removes the small dart from Yifan’s neck, making sure not to leave spots of blood near the scene. He disposes the dart in a small plastic bag and as he quietly came, he disappeared into the night.
÷
Baekhyun strips off each of his accessories as he walks across his room, leaving him with black jeans and a wifebeater by the time he enters the kitchen. His partner Chanyeol sits at the end of the room, poring over various blueprints and papers covering the table. Baekhyun rummages in the fridge, bringing out two water bottles and cold noodles. He throws the bottle at Chanyeol, who catches it and chugs the contents in less than a minute. Baekhyun sits in the opposing chair, leafing through the mess searching for new “job opportunities”.
“Mission accomplished in less than an hour. I think this should be one of my record times,” Baekhyun says, smirking as he leans back and stretches his arms.
Chanyeol rolls his eyes and throws crumpled paper balls at him; Baekhyun dodges them and laughs at his colleague’s poor attempt to hit him. “Whatever makes you happy, Baekhyun. Kim sent us another request; he wants us, well, you, to go in and exterminate as many as Wu Yifan’s sources, just in case something disastrous happens for some astronomically odd reason.”
Baekhyun looks up mid-slurp, and questions, “I already got rid of the guy, and I already eliminated some of his spies in the last few weeks. Who else could be involved in this situation?”
“Apparently Boss Kim is too paranoid about having inner spies or something, I’m really not sure, because he never really specified the reason behind it.” Baekhyun grimaces at the new piece of information: usually, there’s always a motive behind a lost life, and he never does anyone’s dirty deeds for a lame reason. “So he’s tracked down some of Yifan’s old informants or friends-“ Baekhyun snorts at “friends” while Chanyeol glares at him from above his glasses, “- and he wants you to get started as soon as possible.”
“Okay, what do I have to do this time?” Baekhyun asks in a bored tone.
Chanyeol threw a file at him, which Baekhyun started scanning for important details. “Minseok-hyung got you some fake identification papers, ID, and a passport just in case. You’re going to be Park Jaejung , cryptologist for FBI. Your target is Huang Zitao, who used to be Yifan’s ex,” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. “Boss Kim thinks that this Zitao person has information about Yifan and the business he done before you exterminated him.”
Baekhyun nods at the report, examining Zitao’s picture. Short, black hair, tall as the assassinated, black, feline eyes, with heavy dark circles. His face shows some innocence, but Baekhyun knows better than to think that this one is not dangerous. Chanyeol goes into the kitchen for a bottle of beer, opens the cap with a hiss and chugs a quarter of the bottle down before coming up for air. Baekhyun narrows his eyes and responds, “You’re going to kill your liver, bro. Cut down on the alcohol already.”
“I’m pretty sure your targets would disappear before my liver fails me.”
÷
Zitao sits at his computer, staring at the long code he’s been working on for the past week. His fingers hit the keys furiously as he tries to decipher the extensive cipher; it’s only been six weeks at his job and he’s chest deep in work.
Literally, he’s chest deep in work.
His supervisor, Kim Junmyeon, keeps providing him new cases to look at; more encryptions to solve, and generally just more work to do (since when was getting coffee for Junmyeon beneficial to society), even though the other trainees and employees had more experience and had no work, unlike him. Zitao heard a knock on the opposite wall of his cubicle, turning around from the LCD screen to see his partner, Oh Sehun, enter the room with a newspaper. His newly dyed lavender hair fell in front of his forehead, brown eyes almost emphatic. Sehun sits down in the chair next to Zitao and hands him a newspaper.
“Hyung, read the front page,” Sehun stutters out, his voice cracking.
“What’s wrong, Sehun?” he asks, still befuddled at the sudden outburst. Zitao was shocked to see stoic-faced Sehun, expressing emotion after his cat died, which was three years ago. He rather put up with Junmyeon yelling at him for three hours straight than see his best friend cry. Zitao untangles himself from Sehun’s arms and picks up the newspaper.
BREAKING NEWS: WU YIFAN, CEO OF EXOM STUDIOS, AFFILIATE OF EXOK STUDIOS, WAS FOUND DEAD IN HIS PENTHOUSE APPARTMENT.
By Kim Minseok
Wu Yifan was found dead in his apartment in the Gangnam district last night. His secretary, Zhou Mi, found him lying down on the ground by the window. “I walked in through the door with his daily coffee and all I saw was Wu-seonsangnim on the ground, unconscious. I really don’t know who would have a grudge against Wu-seonsangnim…” [READ ON PAGE 3].
Zitao freezes in place as he reads, “Yifan”, “dead”, on the front page; he never expected his ex to die, nevertheless to be a target of some larger scheme.
No, Zitao thinks, no, Yifan can’t die. He isn’t dead; no, this is just another scandal, nothing less. He violently shreds the newspaper, refusing to believe that Yifan, the man who meant something to him (even for a little while), his compatriot who had been with him since childhood, just gone all of a sudden.
Sehun sits down on the swirly chair, fidgeting with his hands while Zitao paces up and down the cubicle. Junmyeon passes by the occupied space with a box of spare parts, and peers into the room, surprised to see Sehun crying and Zitao shaking in pure fury.
“Oh, it’s nice to see you two here. I actually have-,”Junmyeon starts off, until he sees Zitao’s sullen face, his eyes red and teary.
“Actually…never mind. Zitao, I think you should have a break. You too Sehun,” Zitao looks at him, bewildered. Did Junmyeon tell him to go on break? All he ever asks Zitao to do is go do this, that, everything possible in his department and more.
“Yes, Zitao,” Junmyeon says, exasperatedly, as if he read Zitao’s mind. “You should go on break, if not go home. You worked hard enough, and it really looks like you need a pick me up.” He pats him on the back and walks out of the cubicle.
Sehun peers up from his hands, his face still wet. Zitao holds out his hand to lift him from his seat.
“I’m going to go Starbucks. You want to come?” Zitao asks. Sehun shakes his head, “Nah, I’ll just head out home. See you later, Taozi.” Zitao groans at the sound of his nickname given from his cousin, Victoria. He nods yes and Sehun hugs him before leaving for his bike downstairs.
Zitao sighs at the mess of work he has to do tomorrow, but thinks of the lovely white chocolate mocha waiting for him at Starbucks.
÷
“A tall white chocolate mocha, no whipped cream, caramel on top,” Zitao monotonously tells his order to his best friend co-worker, Yixing.
“Such a white girl order Taozi,” Yixing rolls his eyes. Zitao looks up at him wide, puppy dog eyes, his only arsenal against Yixing. “Okay, what happened?” he asks, filling up the machine with milk and cocoa.
“You didn’t see ge ge?” Zitao responds. “Yifan’s…passed on.”
“I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear that, so here’s your order,” Yixing quickly reciprocates. He hands Zitao the drink and casually gives a cranberry muffin with a pointed look. Zitao gives Yixing a small smile before turning around to meet a puffy boulder coming his way.
The two collide, the precious drink now covering the man sized marshmallow (oh how ideal), the muffin skittering under a table.
“Oh snap, I’m so sorry, let me help you up,” Zitao offers a hand. He’s crossing his fingers and praying to whatever deity that he didn’t anger a serial killer.
The marshmallow grabs onto his hand, pulling himself up. He dusted himself off with red mittens (oh he’s so cute, Zitao thinks), and wipes whatever of the drink he could with napkins he produced out of his pocket. He looks up at Zitao, no literally looks up, because he’s a few centimeters shorter than him.
“I’m really sorry about that, let me order your drink…,” the marshmallow offers.
“One, it’s Zitao. Two, I’m pretty sure I’m younger than you are,” Zitao defends, crossing his arms. The man lifts an eyebrow.
“If you say so. My name is Jaejung, and my number might as well be on that cup I could order you,” the marshmallow named Baekhyun states. He has frizzy, chestnut hair swept off to the side of his forehead, fair skin, short legs, and scuffed sneakers.
“Are you trying to flirt with me? What if you’re some pedo? Stay away from me,” Zitao squeaks, stepping backwards. In any moment in his existence has Zitao been afraid of some stranger who’s shorter than him, nevertheless one who actually tried to flirt with him (and probably wants to get in his pants).
Jaejung laughs, his laughter like wind chimes in a breeze. Zitao sucks in a breath; he’s so gorgeous.
“So how does that drink sound right now?”
“Yeah, totally, yeah, sounds great,” Zitao stutters out. “Drink. Yes. Great.”
÷
While they chatted over white chocolate mochas, caramel macchiatos, and muffins, Zitao learns that Jaejung is coincidentally working in the same office he is.
“I’m supposed to start tomorrow, but I wanted to come in early so I can look around,” he says bashfully. Zitao almost coos, he looks like a puppy.
“Oh, I could show you around, hyung!” Zitao responds excitedly, almost knocking over his cup. He takes a sip to control his shaking hand. Who knew that he would bump into a marshmallow man who happens to be such a cutie pie? He silently thanks Junmyeon’s poor soul for letting him out today.
Jaejung laughs his twinkling laugh again, his pearly white teeth shining under the fluorescent lamps.
“Do you think you can show me around today?” Jaejung inquires, picking at his muffin. Zitao was about to say yes, but remembers that he has the day off because Junmyeon said so.
“I’m actually off work today. I’ll definitely give you a tour tomorrow?” Zitao answers. He spares a look at his watch; he really should go home. “I actually have to go now. Meet up with a friend.”
“That’s not a problem,” Jaejung replies with a smile. Wow this man and his smile
Zitao walks out of Starbucks with a full stomach and eight digits a few minutes later.
÷
“Chanyeol, you won’t f*cking believe this,” Baekhyun excitedly says once he burst through the door of their shared apartment. Chanyeol wakes up from his nap on the couch, still sleepy and untangles his long legs from the blanket.
“What or who did you kill off this time?” Chanyeol asks his voice still groggy. “Did you bring me my latte?”
Oops. “Forget the latte! I actually met our target today at Starbucks,” Baekhyun retorts. Chanyeol snaps out of his stupor. “What.”
“Yeah, he’s going to show me around, that idiot. I didn’t know he was that whipped,” Baekhyun smirks.
“Oh really?” Chanyeol responds, his deep voice laced with a dash of insecurity.
“Do I sense some jealousy?” he walks up to Chanyeol, tangling their fingers together. Chanyeol smiles and leans down to give a kiss on Baekhyun’s cheek. “I’m only here for you Chan. Not anyone else,” and pulls Chanyeol down from the collar for a real kiss.
÷
“So this is where the coffee machine is. It doesn’t really work that often unless you kick it here,” Zitao points out to Jaejung, who nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. Zitao kept his promise and gave the tour of the floor, tips from how to manage the filing system to how to please Junmyeon.
“You have to be super careful around this bad boy over here,” Zitao warns. He brings Jaejung to the systems room, computers and TVs neatly stacked one on top of another, wires intertwined and tied together with zipties; overall, it was a giant room with a giant responsibility. “This room literally has every detail on anyone and anything. You can look up something as ridiculous as cats, and it will give you all the information on every single cat in the world. Sehun did that once, and he literally spent ten hours here, searching for the right cat.” Zitao chuckles at the memory. Jaejung looks around the room, shuffling around a random bundle of cable cords, and finds a row of dilapidated filing cabinets. He calls out to Zitao, “Hey what are these cabinets for?”
Zitao rushes in Jaejung’s direction and immediately responds, “Don’t touch those! “ while keeping Jaejung’s hands away from the cabinets. Jaejung pulls his hands away slowly from the handle, and puts them back in his pockets.
“What’s in the drawers, Zitao?” Jaejung asks nonchalantly, eyebrow rising in playful mocking. Zitao gulps. Whipped.
“It’s just, uh, it’s really nothing really,” Zitao stammers, his cheeks draining of color, his heart beating fast.
“Oh really? So you wouldn’t mind if I just opened it right?” Jaejung asked innocently, his face devoid of emotion. He slowly reaches for the handle of the drawer before Zitao gives in.
“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you,” Zitao says. “Those are the files of employees who have worked here ever since the company started. It has everything, like birth certificates, college transcripts, murder, you name it. It’s all in that cabinet. But we’re not allowed to open it, or even attempt because the lock is Junmyeon’s passcode and-“
“What’s going on here?” The duo turned around and sees Junmyeon’s calm and collected face, which means that he’s either really happy or he’s really mad. And considering the situation, he was probably the latter.
“I was, uh, just, uh, showing Jaejung hyung around and-“ Zitao starts off, but Jaejung cuts him off, “Zitao over here is just showing me around, nothing to be suspicious about Junmyeon-ssi.” Jaejung ends with a smile. Zitao holds his breath; this is where they make it or break it and the last thing he needs over his head is being canned in front of, if not together with Jaejung.
“I never really said anything about being suspicious, did I?” Junmyeon counters, his voice still placid.
“It really isn’t anything Junmyeon-ssi. Really, stop being so uptight! You really need a break, don’t you?” Jaejung responds just as smoothly. The tension in the room increases, and it’s so stifling that Zitao speaks up, “Why don’t we just go back? I’m really sorry Junmyeon-ssi. It won’t happen again.”
Junmyeon sighs, his eyes drifting around the room before looking at Zitao directly in the eye. “It better not happen Zitao. Go back and finish your work.”
Zitao nods and holds his head in shame as he walks down to his cubicle. Jaejung follows his tour guide until Junmyeon holds him back from crossing the doorway.
“I’m warning you Jaejung-ssi. Just get your work done and don’t peek into too much.” Junmyeon’s threat hangs over Jaejung’s head ominously, even after he goes home.
÷
“I swear to God, this mission is taking too long Baekhyun, and you and I know it,” Chanyeol breathes into Baekhyun’s neck as he fiddles with his jacket. Baekhyun groans and throws his head back, fingernails scratching Chanyeol’s arms, “You really had to bring up the mission now. Way to ruin the mood.”
Chanyeol bites Baekhyun’s earlobe while rubbing his knee between Baekhyun’s legs, eliciting a moan from Baekhyun. “Sh*t I know okay? I got this under control. How- Oh for f*ck’s sake, Chanyeol, just- I’ll get it done soon, he’s too easy to get to,” Baekhyun controls himself, trying not to give into Chanyeol’s ministrations.
“Like how easy I can unravel you with a few touches?” Chanyeol adds with a smirk.
“Go away I don’t even know why I’m even going out with a loser like you,” Baekhyun whines while he tries to untangle himself from Chanyeol’s body.
“You love me!” he hears Chanyeol call out from the bathroom.
“Sure I do, Chan. For sure.”
÷
“When do we take out the guy? We’re not getting any younger here.”
“Just wait. Patience is key after all. When the time comes, you strike faster than a cobra, and your enemy won’t even know he’s been hit.”
÷
Zitao wakes up to his ringtone and blearily cracks open his eyes to see who would call him at this hour. He reads “Satan Junmyeon hyung” on the LCD screen, and debates whether or not to pass up on the call. In the end, he answers, “Hello? Do you know what time it is right now at this godforsaken hour,” he glances at his alarm clock, “three in the freaking morning do you know who wakes up at this time it is Satan, so if you don’t mind, I would love to go back to sleep, so unless it’s a life or death emergency, just push it back to ten in the morning when I can actually function like a regular human being-“
“Zitao I will fire you so badly there will be scorch marks on the way out if you don’t stop talking,” Junmyeon threatens. Zitao immediately shuts his mouth. “This is a dire situation; someone broke into the control room and hacked the whole system. I’m at the building right now and our locations around the world have databases that are being wiped clean as of this moment and I need you to come here right now.” Zitao sighs, puts on his sneakers and runs to the workplace to save the world (as he knew it).
÷
“What about now?”
“I swear to God, if you comment on something one more time, I will shove this AK-42 up somewhere you don’t want an AK-42.”
“Wow, I wasn’t aware you were this kinky outside of the bedroom.”
÷
“Sh*t, sh*t, where’s my key card, for freaking Christ’s sake, did I just f*cking leave it at home?” Tao mutters to himself as he searches his pockets. He drops down to his knees, seeing if he dropped it. Meanwhile, Junmyeon is probably stressing out about saving the databases and cursing Zitao out because he’s not there to help him. He feels a cold metal pressing on the back of his neck and a familiar voice, “Move and I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.” Zitao stops fidgeting and stays frozen.
“If you follow my orders, you just might get out alive. Emphasis on the might ,” the gunman says carefully. “I’m going to knock you out and you’re going to fall, and then I’ll blindfold you, and my friend and I will put you in our car. Do you understand? You can nod if you want.” Zitao nods his head and allows his captor to put chloroform on his face. The last thing he notices is how the air speaks of Jaejung hyung.
÷
“Now do we get to get rid of him Baekhyun?”
“Yes Chanyeol for God’s sake yes we can! I’m up to here with you and your constant pestering!” Zitao stirs in his seat. “Oh he’s waking up right now,” the person named Chanyeol says.
“Well no sh*t Sherlock. Chloroform doesn’t keep a person knocked out for a long time,” the person who sounds suspiciously like- Jaejung hyung? responds sarcastically.
“Whe-where am I?” Zitao asks, his head pounding.
“We’re in an abandoned warehouse somewhere near a port,” Chanyeol responds.
“Who are you?”
“Wow I’m hurt you don’t remember me, Taozi. I’m your hyung after all,” the other person says, his long fingers gripping the handle of his rifle.
“Jaejung hyung?”
“Nope,” he smiles, his eyes sparkling. “I’m not Park Jaejung; that was just a cover. I’m Baekhyun. Still your hyung,” he adds at the end.
“What is going on?” Zitao presses on.
“Well aren’t you such an inquirer?” Baekhyun counters with a grin. “I’m here to kill you after all, so I could answer some of your questions before your time of demise. So lay it on us!”
Zitao sits, shell shocked from the sudden events, sputtered. “Why do you want to kill me?”
Jaejung- Baekhyun shrugs his shoulders, “If I knew the answer to that, I would honestly tell you.”
All of a sudden, a boom followed with a thump, and Zitao lies on the floor with a bullet through his head, his eyes faraway and glassy.
“I told you this would have to be done as fast as possible,” Junmyeon irritatingly said, stepping out of the shadows as he put his gun back in his pockets.
“What the h*ll we could have answered his questions before he died god*mmit, Junmyeon! He deserves to know what happened,” Baekhyun yells.
“Did he really? Did he really want to know that you killed off his childhood friend and ex? Did he really want to know that his whole death was because of revenge?” Junmyeon responds, his shouts echoing in the warehouse.
“We wouldn’t know now, would we?” Baekhyun whispers. Chanyeol comes up behind him and rests a hand on his shoulder.
“We had to do what we had to do, Baekhyun. What would you do if you were in his position?” Chanyeol asks soothingly.
“I would have shot myself right then and there to avoid the misery ahead,” Baekhyun looks down at his feet, and lets himself get led by Chanyeol out of the warehouse and into the world, whispering of unanswered questions and abandoned dreams.
A/N:
Hi there it’s your secret Santa! I tweaked your prompt a little, and I’m sorry if it’s sort of rushed and incoherent at some parts, but I really did put a lot of effort into this, so I hope you enjoy it! I hope you have a nice year!
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