Chapter Text
Rain always had a way of making the city look calmer than it actually was.
And, from far away, the streets almost seemed peaceful. There were neon signs that reflected in puddles, traffic lights which glowed softly through the mist, and the hum of late night convenience stores spilling out onto the sidewalks. But, the closer you got, the uglier it looked.
Cracked pavement, cigarette butts stuck to the gutters, rust creeping down the metal shutters of closed shops.
Han walked straight through it like he always did.
His hands were buried deep in the sleeves of his oversized sweater, and he kept rolling a pebble down the road with the tip of his shoe. It rolled down the wet sidewalk, splashing lightly through the puddles.
Behind him, Changbin groaned.
"You always walk this fucking fast?" he complained.
Jisung didn't turn around "you're the one who made me stay late, asshole".
Changbin jogged a couple steps to catch up "yeah, because your ass said you wanted to finish the track tonight".
"Yeah, but not at midnight!"
Jisung rubbed his eyes tiredly.
University had been kicking his ass lately. Half his day was lectures he barely gave a fuck about, the other half was spent working at the campus cafe just to pay rent. The only part he actually enjoyed was music.
Late nights in empty rented out studios with Changbin. Writing down lyrics in his messy notebook and recording rough rap demos that lowkey sounded terrible but still made him proud.
Music was the only thing that made sense in Jisung's head.
Changbin bumped his shoulder with a grin "relax, bro nothing even happens around here".
Jisung didn't answer right away.
Because sometimes he wasn't so sure about that.
Jisung had sensed that strange feeling before.
Never clearly- just small moments.
A tall guy sitting alone near the window at the campus cafe once, when he was writing down lyrics with Changbin.
Standing across the street from the music building another night.
Jisung had always just assumed he was just another student.
Still...something about him always felt like he was watching.
Every once in a while, walking home like this, he always got the strange feeling that someone was watching him. It wasn't obvious, no shadows moving in the corners of his vision.
Just something small.
A pressure at the back of his neck.
Kind of like eyes on him.
Jisung slowed slightly and glanced over his shoulder.
The street behind them was empty except for the rain sliding down the asphalt and like 7 parked cars along the curb.
One black car sat beneath a flickering streetlamp.
The windows were tinted and too dark to see inside.
Jisung stared at it for a moment, then turned back around. It was probably nothing, right?
Changbin noticed the glance.
"What?"
"Nothing"
"You're doing that paranoid thing again".
Jisung rolled his eyes "shut the fuck up man".
Changbin laughed quietly "jisung-ah, even if someone was actually stalking you, they'd give up after five minutes. Your ass talks way too much".
"Thanks".
They turned the corner together and disappeared down the next street.
⋆˚✿˖°
Across the road, inside the black car, Minho watched them leave.
The streetlight outside briefly illuminated his face.
His black hair was neatly combed back despite the rain, each stand, perfectly in place. Dark tattoos crawled up the side of his neck and disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt.
A small mole rested beside the right side of his nose, while his expression stayed unreadable as he watched the street where Jisung had just disappeared.
He sat quietly in the driver's seat, one hand resting against the steering wheel. His eyes followed Jisung until the boy vanished completely from view.
A small camera, clipped near the dashboard, blinked with a pale red light.
Recording.
Minho leaned back slightly.
Hyunjin noticed the camera first.
"You're fucking doing it again" he said from the passenger seat.
Minho didn't answer.
Hyunjin leaned forward and glanced out the windshield.
"The loud one again?"
Minho reached over and switched the camera off. The red light disappeared".
"Don't fucking call him that ever again".
Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, his vertical eyebrow piercing tilting.
"You've been watching the guy for goddamn how many months now? What do you want me to call him?"
Minho didn't reply.
Because Hyunjin wasn't wrong.
It had been eight months. Eight fucking months.
Eight months since Minho first noticed Han Jisung sitting in a cafe near the university. He'd been laughing way too loud, arguing with Changbin about music while scribbling down lyrics into a notebook.
Minho had looked up for only a second. But something about the boy never left his mind.
So he came back the next day.
Then again.
And again.
Eventually he learned Jisung's routing without really trying. The cafe he liked. The streets he walked home through. The nights he stayed out late working on songs with Changbin.
Hyunjin stretched in the seat beside him.
"You know this is goddamn creepy, right?"
Minho started the engine.
"We have a deal tonight".
Hyunjin grinned.
"Now, you're talking".
The car rolled slowly into the rain.
⋆˚✿˖°
The underground base sat beneath an abandoned motor parts repair shop on the edge of the industrial district.
From the outside, the building looked completely dead. Rust covered the garage doors and the windows were thick with rust and dirt. Anyone who passed by would probably assume the place had been empty for years.
But underneath it, the operation never stopped.
A hidden hatch opened to a long staircase leading down into a wide concrete room filled with harsh fluorescent lights.
The air smelled faintly of chemicals.
Workers moved constantly between tables and crates. Some counted stacks of cash, while others sealed plastic bags, or checked shipments arriving through the back corridor.
Drug trafficking wasn't glamorous.
It was organization, money, and people who knew not to fucking go around telling everyone and knew when to keep their mouth shut.
When Minho stepped off the stairs, the room quieted slightly.
Hyunjin followed him from behind and tossed his jacket over a chair, revealing the sleeve tattoos running down both of his arms, complementing his long, brownish- blond well styled hair.
One of the workers approached the main table nervously.
"Shipment came in earlier" he said.
Minho nodded.
"Open it".
Several packages sat neatly arranged across the clean metal surface.
Minho put his gloves on, and picked up a knife, slicing one open.
White powder spilled onto the table.
He studied it silently for a moment.
Hyunjin leaned against the table.
"You hear about that detective?"
Minho didn't look up.
Detective Bang Chan had been circling their operation for months now- he was the kind of cop who never quit even when things got difficult, so very patient and careful.
Hyunjin tapped the knife against the table.
"Another damn warehouse got raided last week".
Minho brushed the powder aside.
"They didn't find us though".
Hyunjin shrugged "still getting close".
Minho wiped the blade clean and slipped it into his pocket.
Then he pulled out his phone. The screen lit up with folders labeled date by date.
Inside were dozens of short recordings. Every single one showed the same person.
Jisung. Jisung. Jisung.
Jisung walking down a street. Jisung sitting at a cafe table. Jisung laughing at someone Changbin said.
Hyunjin looked over his shoulder and sighed "you're fucking obsessed".
Minho closed the phone.
⋆˚✿˖°
Across the city, Changbin slammed a folder down onto a desk.
Detective Bang Chan looked up from his paperwork.
"What's going on?"
"My friend is fucking missing, and I'm so worried sick about what the fuck would've happened to him, and I know that no matter how goddamn stupid he is he wouldn't just go missing like that".
Chan straightened.
"How long?"
"Two days".
Chan opened the folder.
Photos of Han Jisung filled the first page.
He flipped to the rest carefully- phone records, addresses, timestamps.
Something about the last known location made his stomach tighten.
Because the area where Jisung disappeared sat directly in the middle of an investigation Chan had been working on for months.
Drug Trafficking routes.
Underground distribution.
And one name kept appearing in the background.
Lee Minho.
Chan closed the file slowly.
"Anyone suspicious?"
Changbin rubbed his face tiredly.
"I don't know. But he wouldn't just disappear like that".
Chan nodded.
"I'll look into it".
Changbin let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you".
⋆˚✿˖°
Jisung woke up with a pounding headache.
Cold concrete pressed against his palms as he slowly sat up.
The room smelled of dust and metal.
Memories came back in fragments.
Walking home alone. Rain falling softly. Footsteps behind him.
A hand grabbing his arm.
Something covering his mouth.
Darkness.
Jisung's eyes snapped open.
The room was dimly lit by a single hanging bulb. Concrete walls surrounded him, bare except for a metal table and a chair.
Someone was sitting in it. Watching him.
Minho leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees as he studied Jisung quietly. Up close he looked, even more intimidating. His black hair was yet neatly combed back, untouched by the chaos of the situation. Dark tattoos running up the side of his neck, disappearing beneath the collar, a mole resting on the right of his nose- intimidating.
Meanwhile, Jisung probably looked like a complete mess- glasses slightly crooked, hair sticking out everywhere from the rain.
"You're awake".
Jisung's heart started racing.
"Where the hell am I?"
Minho stood slowly.
"You're safe".
Jisung stared at him.
"You fucking kidnapped me".
Minho didn't argue.
Instead, he reached into his jacket pocket and placed a small flash drive on the table.
Jisung frowned.
"What is that?"
Minho's voice was calm.
"You".
Jisung blinked.
"What?"
"I've been watching you".
"How long?"
Minho hesitated.
"Months".
Jisung let out a disbelieving laugh.
"You're fucking insane".
Minho tilted his head slightly, studying his reaction just like he has studied everything else about him.
Then footsteps echoed down the hallway. Hyunjin appeared in the doorway.
"Hyung".
Minho glanced back. Stern.
"What".
Hyunjin's expression was serious now.
"Police raid".
Jisung froze.
Minho slowly looked back at him.
Then he said quietly, "looks like you're coming with us".
Above them, faint police sirens began cutting through the rain.
And they were getting closer.
For a second the room went completely still.
Han's brain lagged behind the sound, as the sirens echoed faintly through the concrete ceiling on top, it felt distant, but it was happening, real. Like the city itself suddenly remembered this place existed.
"You've got to be kidding me" Han muttered.
Minho stood up slowly from the chair.
Not rushed not panicked.
Just that same calm expression that made Han want to punch the fuck out of him.
Hyunjin shifted at the doorway "they're sweeping the block" he said "two cars, maybe three, I'm not sure".
Minho nodded once.
Then he grabbed Han's wrist.
"Hey- what the hell-"
"Move".
Han immediately tried to jerk his arm away.
"Get the fuck off me!"
Minho didn't even look at him. His fingers immediately tightened around Han's wrist just enough to stop him from pulling free.
"We don't have time for this".
Han glared at him "okay firstly you fucking kidnapped me and now you're dragging me off somewhere else? Are you fucking insane?"
Minho stopped walking and slowly turned around.
Their faces were suddenly inches apart.
Han faltered.
"Right now" Minho said quietly, "either you walk with me, or you get caught in the middle of a police raid inside a trafficking base.
Han blinked.
"...that's so fucked up"
Minho shrugged faintly.
"Probably".
Hyunjin rolled his eyes "can you two argue later? we need to move, like right now".
Minho didn't respond, he just pulled Han into the hallway.
This time Han followed- mostly because the sirens above were louder now, and the thought of explaining this to the police sounded like an absolute nightmare.
The hallway stretched long and narrow, and it was dimly lit by flickering yellow lights which hummed quietly overhead.
Footsteps echoed everywhere.
Workers rushed past them, carrying crates, bags, and stacks and stacks of cash as someone further down the tunnel was shouting orders.
"Move the shipments!"
"Clear the west hall!"
"Shut those godamn cameras off!"
Han stared as they walked.
He never realized how big this place actually was.
The tunnels branched off in various directions, rooms which kept lining the walls up- seemed like a maze carved under the city.
"What the actual hell..." he muttered.
Minho tugged his arm.
"Keep walking".
Hyunjin glanced back. "tunnel B's clear" he said "but if they find the hatch upstairs, we're fucking done for".
Minho nodded "take everyone through the east exit".
Hyunjin frowned. "What about you, asshole?"
"I'll handle him".
Hyunjin followed his gaze and sighed quietly.
"You're damn unbelievable".
Then he disappeared down another corridor.
Han stared after him.
"Did he seriously just leave me alone with you?"
"Yes".
Han groaned loudly.
"This is a fucking nightmare".
They moved deeper into the tunnels.
The further they walked, the quieter place had become, the chaotic noises faded behind them until only their footsteps could be heard echoing through the concrete corridors.
Han's eyes kept scanning everything.
Rooms packed with crates and tables covered with plastic bags and small scales.
Men sealing packages and sliding them into secret hollow compartments in wooden boxes.
Han slowed down
"Holy shit".
Minho tugged his arm.
"Don't stare".
"What the hell are they doing?"
"Working".
Han pulled his arm free.
"No, seriously what the hell is all this?"
Minho stopped, and just for a moment- he looked like he was debating how much to say.
Then he looked back at Han, and gestured down the tunnel.
"This network runs under half the industrial district".
Han frowned.
"So?"
"We move products through it".
Han stared.
"You're not joking".
Minho raised an eyebrow.
"What did you think we were doing here?"
Han ran a hand through his hair, stuttering.
"oh my god this is fucking insane I'm gonna fucking die in a fucking police raid this is insane".
Minho rolled his eyes.
He just opened a metal door along the hallway.
"This is were you're staying".
Han looked inside.
The room wasn't horrible.
It wasn't a stinky ass prison cell like he expected.
There was a bed with clean sheets, a small lamp on a table beside it, and a chair in the corner. The walls were still bare concrete, but the space didn't feel like somewhere meant to torture someone.
Han turned slowly.
"You kidnapped me and gave me a damn guest room?!?"
Minho leaned against the doorway.
"I'm not a monster. I'm not trying to hurt you".
"Well that's fucking hilarious" Han muttered.
Minho stepped inside.
The door shut behind them with a quiet metallic click.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Minho's gaze stayed fixated on Han, intense enough to make his skin feel warm.
Han crossed his arms.
"Stop fucking looking at me like that".
"Like what?"
"Like I'm some kind of dumbass project you're studying"/
Minho tilted his head slightly.
"You kind of are".
Han blinked.
"...what?"
Minho stepped closer. Just so close enough Han could see the faint scar across his eyebrow and the tattoos disappearing beneath his shirt collar.
"I've been watching you" Minho said quietly.
Han frowned.
"That's not romantic man, that's creepy as hell".
Minho didn't react to the insult.
"You laugh way too loud".
Han blinked.
"You argue with your friend about music in cafes.
"...what?"
"You hum when you think no one's listening. I notice everything about you, Han Jisung".
Han stared.
"You're fucking insane".
"Probably".
For a moment neither of them moved.
Han could feel his pulse raising.
"You should've left me alone" he muttered.
Minho's jaw tightened slightly.
"I tried".
Han frowned.
"What?"
"I tried to stop watching you".
The words sounded frustrated. Like he actually meant them, though his facial expression was still stern.
Han opened his mouth-
Then he suddenly spun around and bolted.
He opened the metal door and ran down the hallway as fast as he could.
Shoes slamming against concrete. Left turn. Then another hallway. And another corner. He had no idea where he was going. He just needed that distance.
Behind him footsteps echoed sharply.
Fast.
Too fast.
Han barely made it ten meters before a hand grabbed his loose tshirt and yanked him backward.
He slammed into the wall with a grunt.
Minho pinned him there instantly.
One hand pressed against the wall behind Han's head.
The other gripped his wrist.
"Let go! you idiot!" Han snapped.
Minho didn't move.
"You're not not leaving".
"You kidnapped me1"
"Yeah".
The word came out quiet.
Certain.
Han shoved him hard.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Minho stared at him. Something dark flickered in his eyes.
"You".
Han blinked.
"what?"
Minho leaned closer.
The distance between them disappeared.
"You're the problem" Minho murmured.
Han scoffed.
"That's the dumbest thing I've heard tonight".
Minho's hand moved from Han's wrist to the side of his neck. Warm and steady.
Han's breath caught for a second.
"Months" Minho whispered.
Han's brows furrowed "what the hell?"
"I've been watching you for months".
Han laughed doubtfully.
"You're fucking insane".
Minho didn't disagree.
Instead, he studied Han's face as if he were memorizing it.
Then suddenly he leaned forward.
Minho's mouth found Han's at the wrong angle, yet neither of them fixed it right away.
Han's breath caught- a small, fractured yet surprised sound that disappeared between them. His lips were slightly chapped, dry at the edges and warm in the middle, and Minho felt the exact moment the shock wore off because Han stopped being still and started pressing back, hesitant at first, then not.
It was clumsy. Sober in a way that made it all worse, somehow.
Han tasted like the coffee he had earlier that day- well before all this chaos happened.
Their noses bumped. Neither pulled back.
Minho's hand tightened on his shoulder. Han's fingers curled into his sleeve. The kiss slowed without stopping- less desperate, more like they were both learning something, turning it over carefully, not ready to put it down. Until-
Han shoved him away.
"What the actual fuck is wrong with you?!" he snapped.
"You".
Han ran both hands through his hair.
"Okay so you kidnap me, drag me into some dumb fucking underground drug empire, and then you just-" He gestured angrily between them "- do that?!"
Minho leaned back against the wall "you tried to escape".
"That's because you kidnapped me!"
Minho shrugged faintly "...and yet you kissed me back".
Han groaned.
"I hate you".
Minho didn't respond. He simply nodded back toward the room.
"Go inside".
Han hesitated. Then walked past him. Mostly because right now he'd no clue how to escape this place.
After a while the silence started bothering him.
So he stepped out into the hallway again.
He wandered further down the corridor this time, until eventually reaching the end.
One door stood apart from the others. Locked.
Han frowned, yet curiosity pulled him closer and closer. He looked through the small glass panel to see rows and rows of screens- security monitors, each showing a different camera.
Street corners. Hallways. Entrances.
And so, Han leaned closer- and what he saw made his stomach drop.
Because several screens showed him. Walking down the street. Sitting in the cade with Changbin.
Laughing.
Weeks. No, months of recordings.
A cold realization hit him hard in the chest, as a quiet voice spoke behind him.
"You weren't supposed to find that yet".
Han turned slowly to see Minho stood at the end of the hallway. Watching him.
And this time the look in his eyes wasn't just obsession.
It looked like something dangerously close to love.