Chapter Text
Entering the building, Lee Minho closed the door behind them as he glanced over to Hwang Hyunjin, his company, who didn’t even bother taking off his shoes at the entrance. Neither did Minho.
“Did you know the highest number of murders are committed around 9 pm?”
Hyunjin chuckled amused as he looked around, remembering how every object had been placed. It was important not to change anything, leave it as they had found it – if possible. “So, we are still quite early, I guess?”
It was shortly after 7 pm and they were just in time to enter the building. The mansion belonged to someone whose name they both had already forgotten the second they had heard it. It wasn’t important, it didn’t matter to them or anyone else, aside from the people who were inheriting all the original Van Gogh’s and Picasso’s hanging on the walls, staring at the uninvited guests walking through the marble floored hallway.
“Kind of,” Minho nodded, shrugging slightly as he stretched. Instead of wasting his money on such unnecessary goods the guy should have used it for a proper security system because it was as good as non-existent. The front door hadn’t even been locked and there had been no silent alarm going off, neither when they had entered the premises nor when they had entered the building.
It was hilarious. Considering the amount of people who wanted this man dead both Minho and Hyunjin had thought it would be more difficult to get to him, but this was one of their easiest jobs this month. Maybe even this entire year. There wasn’t even proper security, barely anyone living with the man in the way too big house and even if, Minho was pretty sure they could walk in and out of the building without anyone seeing them or any troubles arising.
Or so he had hoped. Because the moment they walked around the corner a gurgling sound filled the four walls and something that sounded like sobbing could be heard.
“What the-?” Hyunjin mumbled, lifting an eyebrow while Minho was already rushing towards the half-opened door of the kitchen.
Sprawled out like a starfish was their target and on top of him a skinny young man, his knees pressed against the man’s upper arms while he was gripping the underpart of his tie. There were tears running down his cheeks and he looked angry. Really damn angry.
“I guess someone is doing our job,” Minho said, lifting an eyebrow while looking at the young man on top of their target. “Not the cleanest way though, you’ll leave some traces, baby. I wouldn’t want to leave proof if I were you.”
Flinching horribly, the young man turned around, hand still holding the tie tightly while the man was trying to free himself, only struggling halfheartedly. It was easy to guess that he was as good as dead already anyways. The target’s face was a mixture of red and blue and even those beautiful colours didn’t change the fact that he was a horribly ugly creature.
“What- “The skinny male locked eyes with the two newly arrived and saw Hyunjin seemingly having a glint of confused panic in his eyes, while Minho seemed oddly amused. Yeah, it was quite troublesome to find someone who wasn’t supposed to see them kill their target, but they were clearly on common ground, as the guy was trying to do the same. It was a rather hilarious situation really.
At least for Minho who already had quite some experience with jobs going askew like this. Hyunjin had only joined a year ago and was still a little nervous whenever things were not going as planned – one of the reasons Minho often ended up rather annoyed by him, having to reprimand him over and over – though he was learning and slowly getting there.
The young man on the ground clearly didn’t share his amusement. The anger displayed on his tear-stained face disclosed that he was connected to their target, not only physically but also in an emotional way. Never good circumstances when trying to commit murder.
“Like I said, you are leaving traces,” Minho repeated, grabbing the gun from his holster, and adding a silencer on top. He had come prepared for a more difficult situation though for what they had found instead was some messy personal matters behind open doors.
“Fuck off!” the crying male said, voice cracking in between as he pulled harder on the tie. His eyes were wide as he stared at the men in front of him. “Just- fuck off!”
Hyunjin scoffed as he shook his head in amusement while Minho knelt down in front of the target on the floor. The man was whimpering with the last little bit of energy he had left, trying to gather some air into his already emptied out lungs.
“Chill, kid, we have the same goal as you,” Minho said and then looked away from the skinny male and down at their target. He chuckled. “I’d prefer for you to suffer more, but you know, orders from the top,” he told their victim before he placed the silencer against his forehead. He gave a nod towards Hyunjin who rushed over and covered the nameless man’s eyes, right before Minho pulled the trigger.
It was messy. Shooting someone within such a close range was always messy and bloody. It also meant that they probably would have to get rid of quite a few of their clothes as the only one who knew how to clean blood out of fabric properly would definitely not be in for cleaning up after their chaos again.
“Let go of me!” the crying mess of a stranger called out, pushing Hyunjin away as well as he could. He was stronger than expected and Hyunjin stumbled forward, only missing the puddle of blood by mere centimetres. Clearly, he had been caught by surprise and it was rather visible on his beautiful face. His thick lips were formed into an O and he blinked, utterly confused. He was about to comment on it but was stopped by a surprised cry coming from the stranger, the young male finally letting go of the now bloodied tie.
He was trying to stand up, stumbling backwards instead.
“Y-You killed him!”
“Well, yeah,” Minho said as he cleaned his silencer on his blood-sprinkled shirt, putting the gun away. He was leaving traces, making sure that they would not lead back to him in any way and so was Hyunjin. The stranger was the only one who could cause any problems now but in the end that wasn’t their responsibility. “Just like you wanted to.”
The shock seemed to sit deep in the man’s bones, clearly evident for Minho to see. It caused him to frown and he sighed. Great, had they gotten themselves a stray again?
It would not be the first time they picked up someone from one of their crime scenes and took them in, but most of the time it was something that Minho preferred not to do. The less people in their group, the less dangerous for them. And aside from that it meant that there were less people they had to take care of and to stop from fucking up. Because, unfortunately, that happened way too often.
“I’ll make sure the unwanted traces are covered,” Hyunjin said, realising the situation as soon as he looked at Minho. That was why they were working together. Hyunjin could often read what was going on inside Minho’s head and could act on it accordingly and appropriately. Before, they both had been paired with different people but it had often ended badly, with Hyunjin picking fights and Minho going on one-man-missions just so he knew everything would go well.
Half a year ago they had been forced to see if they would work as a team and while they had a love-hate relationship they had clicked right away when it came to doing their job which currently was the most important thing for both of them. They could trust and rely on each other and that was all they needed in the moment. A partner in crime.
“Thanks,” Minho said before he grabbed the stranger by his arm, pulling him away so he didn’t have to look at the dead body of the man he had just tried to kill. Trying to kill someone was one thing but actually seeing someone get killed right in front of their eyes was something utterly different, no matter if the person was wanted dead or not.
“Let me go. Don’t hurt me!” the guy cried out and Minho was sure he was a few years younger than him. Maybe only two or three but he looked so lost right now – something that Minho was already so used to. Death was something people preferred not to encounter, especially not if it came in the form of another person actually taking the life.
Shaking his head, he took off his gloves, gently cupping the young male’s cheeks. “Deep breaths. I’m not here to hurt you,” he said and looked at him, taking a deep breath himself, hoping the younger would imitate his behaviour. “Neither is he,” he nodded towards Hyunjin who was making sure the stranger hadn’t left any fingerprints or anything else that could incriminate him. “You can call me Lino and I’m a friend.” It was only halfway true because, well, Minho wasn’t exactly the other male’s friend, but right now that didn’t matter. “Mind telling me your name?”
For a long moment, the stranger was silent, gasping for air every few seconds while there were still tears running over his pale, puffy cheeks. He was shaking and something inside Minho felt pity for him. He would have probably reacted the same if he wasn’t so used to death – death was something he served others for breakfast, so it was easy for him to deal with it. In the beginning though it had been horribly shocking, suffocating even but all of that was long gone and it was difficult for Minho to remember these feelings.
“Han,” the male then said and licked his lips, looking at the man in front of him. “Han Jisung.” He carefully took Minhos’ hands from his cheeks and gulped. “You really are not here to kill me?”
A small chuckle left Minho’s lips as he shook his head. “No. If I wanted to take your life, it would already be mine,” he said, causing Hyunjin to snort, amused.
“He isn’t wrong but man that sounded sappy,” Minho’s partner called over from the other corner of the room, almost hitting his head on a cupboard as he cringed at the words.
Minho rolled his eyes – served him well for commenting on it. And for being so tall. Hyunjin was the tallest of their group and sometimes Minho was a tiny bit envious of those few centimetres that kept them apart.
Jisung still looked so very lost. The anger his face had held earlier was gone and instead was replaced with gnawing fear.
“Jin likes to make everything rather… ew,” Minho sighed and rolled his eyes, wishing he could just throw his gun at Hyunjin, but he couldn’t risk any other accidental traces. He was a professional after all. He could just do it once they were at home. After taking out the bullets of course, safety first – especially when throwing guns at people. But now he had a skinny male in front of him who looked like he clearly didn’t find any humour in this situation and, honestly, Minho did understand. Hyunjin and him both had a weird kind of humour and to an outsider a crime scene was probably not the best situation for their usual bickering.
A small sigh left Minho’s lips as he looked at the other. “Jisung,” he then said and hoped he gave off a calming vibe. He knew it worked with animals, but it was rather rare that he actually had to calm down a person. And while Hyunjin might be gentle, Minho was often better with lost creatures. “You are safe. We are not here to harm you.”
“You were here to kill,” Jisung mumbled and bothered his bottom lip, frowning a little. “Like I was,” he then added, almost a whisper. Minho barely heard it.
“Yeah,” he nodded and tilted his head to look at the probably younger man. “I would ask you why, but we should probably get going as soon as possible.” He looked around and Hyunjin nodded towards him, showing that he was ready to leave as well.
But instead of giving an answer Jisung just stared at the other for a very long moment, glancing back at the dead man on the ground.
Despite staring at him this intently, he would not be haunted by these happenings. There was only relief. The man would not be able to affect him anymore like he had these past few months.
“I have nowhere to go,” Jisung said and looked at Minho, his gaze defeated. “I didn’t think I’d succeed or even survive here.”
Technically, he indeed hadn’t succeeded though his goal had been reached. The man of his nightmares was dead and gone and if he was honest, he hadn’t thought further than that.
Hyunjin sighed and even before Minho could say anything, he jumped into the conversation. “Then we’ll take you with us,” he shrugged slightly. “Maybe the others will know what to do with you.”
Rolling his eyes, Minho looked at Hyunjin before he nodded, turning his attention back onto Jisung.
So, he really was a stray.
-
“Jeongin, you owe me money,” Seungmin said, sitting on a couch with a laptop on his lap as Minho and Hyunjin entered the living room. They had a rather overwhelmed looking young man with them and it was easy for Seungmin to guess what must have happened.
“Bitch what- “a voice was heard from one of the other rooms; clearly Jeongin who had been in the kitchen. Only a few seconds after, they could see a face popping out of a room and a young male with high cheekbones and small eyes stared at them. “A stray?”
Hyunjin nodded as he took off his bloody jacket, throwing it towards the trash. “Yep, a stray,” he confirmed as he stretched his long limbs. He went to the sink to wash his hands before sitting down next to Seungmin, observing what the other was doing. He somehow had expected Seungmin to work, after all they were still in the headquarters – a big apartment in the middle of a busy building where no one cared who you were or what you did. Aside from that they had a backdoor they could take without anyone else noticing. Not that anyone would really say a word if someone walked through the lobby, covered in blood – the headquarters had been chosen wisely.
“Damnit,” Jeongin groaned and rolled his eyes. He grabbed his wallet and handed Seungmin a handful of banknotes.
“What was that about?” Hyunjin asked and looked from one to the other, eyebrows furrowed since this entire situation didn’t make sense to him.
A small chuckle left Seungmin’s lips, all gentle and calm. “Jeongin and I bet on when one of you would bring home another stray. Jeongin said it would take at least a year while I said you will give in and end up bringing a person home sooner than that. So, I won.”
“You make bets about us?” Hyunjin huffed and shook his head, as he grabbed the wool blanket to cover himself with it. He wasn’t even considering introducing Jisung to anyone else, that was now Minho’s job. Minho was the one adopting cats, so he was the one who was in charge of taking care of any other type of stray as well. One way or another.
“Not the first time,” Jeongin shrugged as he walked over and looked at the latest addition. He could see the confusion in his eyes. “So… Nice to meet you, I’m Jeongin. This is Seungmin.” He pointed over to the man at the laptop which gained him a small nod from the newcomer. It was easy to notice that he was slowly starting to relax around the young man in front of him.
Jeongin usually had that kind of impact on people.
“I’m Jisung,” he then said, introducing himself. “Han Jisung and uhm,” he trailed off. Damn, he wasn’t sure what else to say. He wasn’t even sure why the other two had brought him here. Minho had told him it was where they worked and other people would probably know what to do with and how to help him but Jisung was still uncertain about everything that had happened. The entire day had been draining and meeting two men who were in for the kill of the man that had haunted him for so long had been incredibly confusing to say the least. Aside from that, Jisung just felt so very lost. He had been full of anger and despair these last few weeks, these last few months even but now that the feeling was gone, he was left with an awkward emptiness that he just didn’t know how to deal with.
He was taken out of his thoughts when Minho bumped against him, carefully. He was holding out a glass of water which Jisung gratefully took, before turning back and nodding at the young man in front of him.
“Can… can I take a shower or something like that?” he asked, holding the glass, and taking a sip. While Hyunjin had covered his eyes earlier, the rest of his body was covered in random splatters of blood. Most of it was on his clothes but there were a few splotches dried against his tan skin that bothered him. He had never been a fan of blood.
“Of course, I’ll show you,” Jeongin said happily as he nodded before gently taking Jisung’s wrist and dragging him along. Their youngest was always glad to entertain people, especially those who were new. He had been just as excited when Hyunjin had joined as well so Minho wasn’t surprised, watching them disappear down the hallway. Maybe they could bond a little. Even if Minho had repeatedly told Jisung that they were no danger, he was certain that they both held a bitter aftertaste in Jisung’s mind. After all they had killed in front of him and while the other had tried to do the same thing, it was different to see a death like the one he witnessed, one without any sign of regret or pity on the murderer’s face.
Minho sighed and took off his pullover. It was an old one as he had chosen it wisely, knowing it would get dirty during their jobs. He of course could have put on particular work clothes but doing that would make it so much more obvious that he was at the intended location to hurt someone or even to kill. To put it simply, he rather preferred having the moment of surprise.
Sitting down on an armchair close to the couch he rolled back his shoulders before sipping on his own glass of water that he had gotten earlier. He would need to throw away the shirt he had worn under the pullover as it probably also was covered in blood stains but right now, he just needed a moment to sit down and take a breath. Murder was something he could deal with but taking in a shocked young man, especially one who had tried to kill their victim in such an emotional way was something he wasn’t the best with. Human interaction easily tired him out if it was like that. He wasn’t a good caretaker unless it came to animals.
“So?” Seungmin asked, looking at both Hyunjin and Minho, his face halfway covered by his laptop.
“So what?” Minho gave back a sigh on his lips as he knew what Seungmin wanted to know.
“So why did you bring him?”
A chuckle left Hyunjin’s lips. “Firstly, we found him trying to strangle our target, secondly he has nowhere to go and I found it cute how Minho was all friendly and gentle towards him so I thought why not take him in for a bit. We could need the help; I mean we did just recently lose a few co-workers.”
Unfortunately, a mission gone wrong had taken a few people out of their organisation, leaving them understaffed and until now they had had a hard time filling up those positions. It had caused all of them quite some trouble.
“Are you sure this guy is a good idea?” Seungmin asked, looking at the other with doubt written all over his face. He was straightforward which had caused a few fights before, but it had also solved so many problems as well.
“He might have it in him,” Minho admitted and looked at Seungmin. “Maybe not as a hitman or anything like that, but definitely as something along the line. Maybe he could work here. Not with you or Jeongin, but from the headquarters.” He shrugged a bit and leaned back, not really minding that Seungmin was judging them both. He was used to it as Seungmin had already been in position when he had joined – Seungmin had probably been here when all of them had, seeing as he was the one who had been part of the organisation the longest.
“You might be right,” Seungmin said, glancing over to the hallway where Jeongin and Jisung had disappeared earlier. “He looked pretty messed up though.”
“Oh, I am sure he is messed up,” Minho chuckled slightly. “You should have seen him. Knees on the guy’s arms while pulling on his tie. It was impressive.” He nodded slightly. “The boy cried so much which, well that’s the rather not so impressive part, but he would have killed him if I let him.”
But he hadn’t. Not because Minho didn’t think Jisung couldn’t take it but because Minho knew just how much weight going through with that would have put onto the younger’s shoulder, dragging him down.
Seeing death inflicted on anyone was already hard to take – no matter if it was a friend or a mere stranger whose death was witnessed. But actively taking someone’s life was a lot more drastic, especially to someone who probably never even had considered harming the people around him. To Minho, that was the vibe that Jisung gave off, a person who had never wanted to harm anyone. Not if it wasn’t necessary. It made him wonder what had tipped him over the edge?
“Aren’t we all a little messed up?” Jeongin said, leaning against the door frame. His lips held a small smile as his words were accompanied by a shrug “I couldn’t name any person in Clé who isn’t at least a little messed up. Yes, even you Seungmin.”
Jeongin walked over and let himself slump down onto the free armchair. Seungmin made a small, disagreeing sound though he knew that their youngest was right. They all were a little messed up in one way or another. Be it difficult or turbulent pasts or other major key events that had eventually led them to the doors of Clé, an organisation to help the people. What kind of help they received was a different question though since not all people were morally good people, asking for the right things. If they did, they might have gone to the police or someone else who would be able to help them in a possibly more legal way.
Clé clearly wasn’t the right place for that, their alignment more morally grey with enough resources to act on it.
“Jeongin is right,” Minho confirmed as well and the others gave a small nod of agreement, silence slowly sneaking up between them. In the background the shower could be heard running and eventually Seungmin started typing again, noting something down on his laptop.
They were comfortable together, even in their silence.