Chapter Text
Stakeouts were always the most grueling part of the job. Minho never liked sitting in a car with his partner for long hours, staring at a door and waiting for that perfect someone to leave. Picking up his phone from his lap when he heard the familiar ding, Minho smiled at the name on his screen before he swiped up to open the text. Minho couldn't help but smile wider when he saw the photo his boyfriend had sent him. Tapping his finger on the thumbnail to make it larger, Minho saw Jisung lying on his living room sofa, pouting at the camera. Something he often did when Minho had to work on nights that he didn't. Since Jisung worked such unpredictable hours, Minho did his best to be around when Jisung was free. Unfortunately, this last-minute stakeout operation threw a wrench into their date night plans. After tracing his fingers along his phone, Minho finally closed out of the picture and went to text Jisung back.
Minho: I wish I were home with you. Right there on the sofa between those legs.
Jisung: Did you catch the nasty man yet? I want you to come home. It's been 4 hours already! Is Seungmin snoring yet?
Minho: Not yet, though he will probably start soon. He just fell asleep. Trust me. I wish I were at your apartment with you. I would be lying on top of you. If this wraps up quickly, I'm going to come over. It would be best if you were naked when I get there.
Jisung: Jagi, don't sext with me with Seungmin sitting right next to you! The last thing you need is a boner while you're chasing after criminals.
Minho: What he can't see won't hurt him.
Jisung: Jagiya!
Minho chuckled, looking up from his phone just in time to see the door they had been watching finally move. He put his phone to the side quickly and sat up. Then, reaching out to hit Seungmin to wake him up, he glared toward the door and grabbed his binoculars. Four men exited the back door, although none of them fit the description of who they were trailing. Minho quickly looked at the photo again before he noticed a 5th man exit the building. Taking time to zoom in closer, Minho quickly gestured for them to leave.
"That's him alright, come on." Minho said, opening the door quietly to slide out without alerting the guy walking down the street they were on to him. Seungmin followed quickly; both of them had their hands on the gun holstered to their hips as they moved around the cars parked on the street before yelling for the guy to freeze.
They typically never freeze.
No quicker had they stood up and yelled, the guy took off down a nearby street. Cursing out loud, Minho took off after him. They needed this guy to get inside information about a large criminal organization they had been trying to infiltrate for several years. This particular guy worked for a man that was the final puzzle piece to the whole web they had back at the station. The thug in question, Park SeoMin, was a bookie for the 1st division of a 4-division faction. They dealt primarily with weapons and cleanup. This boss was the hardest to catch and the most important one to try and stop because the first division of the gang was known for the gruesome ways they dealt with unpaid debts. The number of hospitalizations and deaths caused by these thugs made them extremely dangerous.
Minho knew enough about the gang to track that its center structure was run by four leading men, not just one. Each one was in charge of one of the four central districts within Seoul. They each oversaw several smaller fractions that covered the smaller cities. It would be a massive win if they could get at least one of the top four to fall. He didn't know much about what the four did inside the organization. Minho did know that having the four leaders vs. the one was their key to being so powerful and unstoppable. Unfortunately, too many moving parts to work with kept their inner web a gigantic secret.
Catching up to the thug running, Minho tackled him to the ground. The thug's elbow quickly connected with Minho's eyebrow. Groaning in pain as his head was hit, Minho tried to keep his footing and not let the man escape. His vision was blurred, but Minho managed to throw a hard punch to get him to stop fighting; Minho quickly unsheathed his gun and pointed it at the man's head, making the thug he was chasing freeze a lot faster.
"If you tell me anything I want to hear, I might let you go." Minho said, cocking the gun to ensure his threat didn't come off empty.
"You think I'm scared of you? Compared to what they will do if I talk. Fuck you." The thug said, wincing in pain from the nasty punch that Minho had thrown earlier.
Minho threw another punch, grabbing the thug by the shirt and dragging him to his feet. When Seungmin caught up with them, Minho already had the man pinned the man to the wall.
"Then you can come with us, and eventually you can talk in a nice big room with a two-way mirror. You know what happens when one of you gets brought INTO the station." Minho said. The man groaned and banged his head on the wall several times before finally looking at Minho.
"They probably are watching us right now." Seomin groaned, his head hanging low.
"So you're dead either way, spill." Minho growled, shoving his forearm against the thug's neck.
"You have no idea who you're pissing off right now," Seomin added, looking all over the alleyway. Of course, he couldn't see anyone, but that was usually the point.
"There is a dock on the south side; a shipment is- shipment is. Fuck. A shipment is coming in two weeks. The boss that goes by Ji will be there. He's what we call 1 of 4. Ji is the boss in charge of all the weapons that come in and out of the country. He's also the biggest fucking prick. If my family is killed because of this, I will come after you myself." The thug groaned, looking around nervously.
"See, was that so hard? Run. Before I change my mind." Minho shoved the thug to the side as he put his gun back into its holster and sighed.
"Ji, that name has never come up before. At least now we have a lead on the last big boss we missed. Why was he so hard to start tracking?" Seungmin said.
"Whoever that goon was seemed more scared of him than us, which is not good. This is not how scared the others were in the past. I saw it in his eyes." Minho sighed.
Minho watched the thug run down the alley, not bothering to go after him. Minho knew the man already had a target on his back if anyone saw him being trailed by cops, and he had no interest in protecting the life of a low-life thug. Then, Minho noticed something shiny in the distance, walking toward where he had tackled the thug. He picked up a bronze lighter with a gold dragon on the front careful not to get too many other fingerprints on the lighter as he read an inscription on the back.
"The only way to have a friend is to be one." Minho read, looking up at Seungmin.
"Just like the others. They all seem to say the same thing." Seungmin put his hands on his hips, thinking.
"The weapons are the biggest deal, and we know damn well that Ji deals with fire. The last three thugs we found in his ring all had this lighter on them, all three died in fire related accidents." Minho tossed the lighter to Seungmin.
"He has the biggest number of related crimes with zero ties linking any of them together or even to the gang and is the hardest to find of all four. Like he is always one or two steps ahead of us." Seungmin sighed.
"Let's go write the report. I want to get home." Minho nodded back towards the car.
"Is Jisung off today?" Seungmin asked, putting the lighter in a plastic bag before sliding it into his pocket.
"Yeah. He said it was an errand day. So, I told him not to worry about dinner; we could keep it casual tonight." Minho gushed, a bright smile on his face as they walked back to the car.
"Just so you know, you're really gross when you talk about him." Seungmin teased. Minho shot him a playful glare, pushing his partner by the shoulder before he climbed into their squad car.
The paperwork and briefing didn't take very long back at the station. Minho texted Jisung to let him know he would head over within the hour. Jisung said he had run out to get them snacks and for him to let himself in if he wasn't back before Minho. Sitting back in his desk chair, Minho rubbed his tired face, looking up at the other detectives working on this case, the endless boards of evidence that never seemed to go anywhere filling the whole back wall of their little unit.
"Chan, if this drop at the waterfront is legit, we might actually catch one of the four. What would you do if we had one of the actual four in interrogation?" Minho seemed hopeful, probably for the first time in a few years. This was the closest they had ever come to uncover factual information about the power structure of the gang.
"I know, I don't know how to feel about it. Could you imagine if- what the hell is that?" Chan looked up as a report flashed up on their screen. He banged his fist against the table and groaned.
"That thug you guys just talked to was found dead. HOW did they find him so fast?" Chan yelled. Minho rushed up to look at the report that came through the computer. Groaning, Minho put his hands on his hips and looked at the wall. It was littered with photos and strings trying to tie together some idea of how the organization was run. He found where Seomin was and walked over, tracing it to the question mark photo they had. He wrote the name Ji on the paper, looking at the other four question marks in the center of their board.
"He told us an hour ago about Ji and is already dead. He even said that Ji was the worst-tempered of the four. I guess he was right." Minho rubbed at his face again before grabbing his jacket.
"Deal with this please, I need to get to Jisung." Minho said, shrugging his jacket up and over his shoulders.
"Speaking of Jisung, you're proposing soon right? You must be so nervous." Jeongin said, flashing Minho a big smile.
"Tomorrow at dinner, I'm going to ask him. It's been well over two years already, and I knew I wanted to marry him from the moment we met. Why I waited so long is beyond me." Minho gushed, always more than happy to talk about his relationship.
"I know he will say yes. The way he looks at you, that kind of love is rare. Bring him around after the engagement so we can all celebrate." Chan added, patting Minho on the back before encouraging him to head out and be with the one he loves.
Minho bowed and took his leave, needing the fresh air to clear his thoughts as he made his way to the car. Sending a quick text to Jisung that he was on his way before taking off. Something about the city felt heavy, knowing that there were monsters among them doing all these dangerous things to people. Nevertheless, Minho was more determined than ever to make this sting at the riverfront successful.
If they still had a fighting chance.
He assumed the thug confessed to the organization about telling the police about the delivery, which meant they could change all the details, leaving Minho back to square one. Minho tried to forget all about work the closer he got to Jisung. He hated taking work issues home with him, his moods were often sour, and that wasn't a stress he thought Jisung deserved.
Pulling into Jisung's complex, Minho parked where he usually did and grabbed his overnight bag. Minho didn't know why he even bothered having an apartment when he spent nearly every night with Jisung, much happier playing house with him at the end of every long shift. Sadly, Jisung worked random hours, so he wasn't always home, but even when he wasn't, Minho enjoyed being there waiting for him to come back.
Typing in the code to the door, Minho noticed Jisung's shoes were left in front of the door, meaning he had just gotten home. Removing his own and hanging up his jacket, Minho walked further into the apartment and smiled wide when he saw Jisung taking snacks from a plastic bag by the kitchen counter. Minho walked up behind his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around Jisung's hips, drawing him closer and kissing his neck before nipping at the bottom of his ear.
"Freeze." Minho teased. Jisung just giggled softly at Minho's teasing. The sound of Jisung laughing at his silly little games had Minho instantly feeling at home.
"Am I under arrest?" Jisung questioned, pretending to be shocked and scared. His hands went up carefully like he was surrendering himself to Minho.
"Depends on what's for dinner." Minho smirked.
"I got us spicy ramen and soy eggs for dinner to go with last night's leftovers." Jisung smiled wide, spinning in Minho's arms to press a big kiss to his lips. Minho melted into his boyfriend, backing him up so he was pressed against the countertop.
"What happened to your eye! Jagi!" Jisung worried, gently touching the top and bottom of his bruised cut.
"I had to stop the bad guy." Minho shrugged. He purred at the affection, pressing his head into Jisung's touch.
"I wish I could get out there and just kick some butt. Nobody is allowed to hurt my Minho." Jisung frowned. Minho melted sightly, the way Jisung was looking at him with such loving, worried eyes.
"I did worse to him, trust me," Minho assured. Jisung smiled wide, returning to his adoring state as he gently kissed Minho's cheek.
"Are you excited for dinner? What do you want to do after?" Jisung asked.
"I already know what dessert will be," Minho smirked, lifting Jisung near his ass to set him down among the many snacks. Jisung laughed loudly, covering his mouth before his arms wrapped around Minho's neck to steady himself. The way Minho handled him so easily had Jisung blushing, eyes growing dark at Minho's dominance.
"Love you." Jisung purred, leaning down to catch Minho's lips in a deep kiss. Jisung was happy to play with the hair on the back of Minho's neck as he melted into their kiss. His favorite part of coming home was how their lips slid together perfectly.
Minho's hands slid up Jisung's thighs, trailing down to his hips. Hooking his fingers in the belt loops of Jisung's jeans, Minho dragged him closer so they were pressed together as close as they could get. Jisung let out a soft moan into their kiss. Minho smirked, reaching behind Jisung to grip his ass, holding him firmly in place.
Things would have progressed, but the kettle on the countertop clicked off, playing a little tune for them. Pulling from the kiss, startled, Jisung put his hand over his heart before he broke out into laughter.
"I'm throwing that in the trash." Minho laughed, turning to look at the boiling water.
Jisung playfully pushed Minho back and slid down off the countertop before he started preparing their dinner. Minho gave Jisung's ass a playful pat before he went into the bedroom to set his things down. Jisung had given Minho half of the closet and some drawers for his stuff, so he added the bag's contents into his drawers before sliding it under the bed. When he returned, Jisung had the little table with side dishes, the leftover bossam from the night before, and the two ramen. Minho grabbed the drinks and chopsticks before sitting at the table to eat.
"How many bad guys did my Jagi catch today?" Jisung asked, blowing on his noodles before taking a large bite.
"Two in the morning, and one in the evening. That stakeout was really, really good for my case. I am soooo close to closing in on this big weapons circle." Minho sighed, helping himself to his dinner. Jisung just nodded his head, looking at Minho lovingly.
"If anyone can catch them it will be you. Just do it quicker next time, I almost had to eat all of this alone." Jisung teased. Minho smiled at his boyfriend lovingly before turning back to his food.
This was one of the reasons he loved Jisung so much. Everything came so naturally for them. Minho never went into too much detail with his cases; he didn't want Jisung to worry about him more than he already did. Jisung didn't ask that often either, which Minho appreciated. They could exist in a world together, away from it all.
After dinner was cleaned and the dishes were put away, Minho found himself back behind Jisung. His hands rubbed at his stomach under his shirt as Jisung tried to wash the final few dishes in the sink. Minho nipped at the back of his neck, rubbing his nose along the soft skin. Jisung knew what that meant all too well. Minho was an addictive lover, his body instantly responding as the dish in his hand was put back into the sink, his hands bracing the sides of the sink as his backside pressed into Minho.
"Here? In the kitchen?" Jisung smirked, Minho just shrugged and moved his head. Peppering the other side of Jisung's neck with soft and gentle kisses.
"Am I supposed to control where my body wants you? If you didn't look so good right now…." Minho slid his hand up Jisung's shirt further. Jisung's eyes fluttered, his head falling back to rest on Minho's shoulder.
"Washing dishes?" Jisung knew he was being a brat. Minho bit down on his shoulder to show him a lesson.
"Jagi!" Jisung yelped. Minho's hands pressed against him tighter, and Jisung knew what that meant. Minho quickly rid Jisung of his shirt, tossing it on the floor before he slid his hand down to work on the rest of him. Jisung let out a small whimper at the feel of Minho's strong hands brushing against him as his zipper was pulled down.
"I neglected you for too long today." Minho whispered, kissing Jisung's shoulders between his words.
Over two years together and they still acted as if they were in the honeymoon stages of their relationship. It didn't matter where they were; if the mood struck, they did whatever they could to make it happen. Which was usually fine when they were at home and adventurous, to say the least when they were out.
"Get your cuffs." Jisung smirked.
Minho smirked, pulling from Jisung to move over to his jacket. His cuffs were usually in his pocket after a shift. He didn't always like using them because of the bruising they left on Jisung's wrist. Jisung had learned over the years how to get out of them quickly. Minho was most surprised because half the time, Jisung was naked when he did it.
Minho moved Jisung towards the flat countertop, pushing him down on his stomach before getting his hands behind his back. Jisung hissed when the cold metal wrapped around his wrists, tugging on them gently.
"Are you bad tonight?" Minho said, voice low. Laced with lust.
"Always, Jagi."
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A sharp shrill buzz in the middle of the night woke Minho up. Groggy eyes looked at his nightstand, where his phone was ringing off the hook. Checking on a sleeping Jisung, Minho smiled before grabbing his phone. The time on the top of the phone said 4:37. He blinked several times at the bright screen before he answered the call. Coughing off some of the sleep as he sat up.
"Detective Lee." Minho said. Climbing out of bed so he didn't wake up Jisung. Minho went into their bathroom, shutting the door halfway.
"Minho, it's Jeongin. I'm sorry to wake you up but Chan and I caught someone interesting I think you need to come interrogate. He has that same lighter on him you guys brought back earlier. He's branded though, which means he's already on their watch list. If he's a man with nothing to lose why would he still protect his boss? He wont talk for us though, we need you to help." Jeongin said. He looked through the two-way mirror at the man sitting with his head on the table. The traitor brand on the back of his neck meant he was a walking target already.
"We haven't caught a branded one alive.. I'll be there in a bit. Let me wake up first." Minho said. He hung up on Jeongin and rubbed his eyes.
Minho took a few minutes to splash water on his face and brush his teeth, attempting to style his hair before he left the bathroom. Jisung turned in the bed and reached a sleepy hand out for Minho. Sinking on the bed, Minho slid closer to his sleeping boyfriend, kissing all over his face.
"Are you sore?" Minho asked. Jisung nodded happily.
"When am I not after you pull out the cuffs? My Jagi loves to throw me around." Jisung said. Rubbing at his tired eyes, Jisung curled up into Minho's side, trying to fall back asleep with him.
"I have to head into the station for a while. We caught a thug that might be a bigger break than earlier. You have work later, right?" Minho asked. Jisung just nodded his head.
"Yeah, the club is doing inventory later. We are still going out to dinner tonight right?" Jisung asked. Minho nodded his head, kissing Jisung's face several more times.
"Get some more sleep. I'll see you tonight. I love you beautiful boy." Minho whispered as he pulled the covers up over Jisung's shoulder.
"Love you, Jagi." Jisung mumbled, pushing his face into Minho's pillow happily.
Minho was quick to get dressed. Kissing Jisung's sleeping cheek before he left the apartment. Anyone that had him leaving his boyfriend sooner than he wanted to was going to get a rather nasty interrogation. Especially since he had such an important night planned out for Jisung.
Getting to the station, Minho took a few moments in the car to prepare himself. Opening the glove compartment, Minho pulled out the small velvet box, opening the lid to see the ring he had picked out for Jisung sitting on the small pillow. His fingers traced along the side as he grounded his mind. Everything he had done in his career launched him to become one of the youngest detectives, which put him on such a high-profile case, which oddly enough was how he met Jisung.
His mind flashed to that day. It was right after a 48-hour standoff at a warehouse downtown. They couldn't catch the guy they wanted, and Minho felt more defeated than ever. Storming into the first bar he saw, determined to sit on that bar stool for 3 days and drink himself to death, he spotted the most beautiful bartender he had ever seen in his entire life. The smile that greeted him when he walked in the door, the same smile that greeted him when he walked in the door the night before. Minho promised right then and there that he would stick around if it meant getting to know the man behind the smile. It wasn't easy. Jisung was painfully shy and anxious; trusting Minho didn't come easy. Nevertheless, the day he won Jisung over and got him to accept a first date would always be one of his most significant accomplishments.
Jisung had become the one light in his life.
Minho closed the case and locked it back up, heading inside the station with a sour look. Chan looked over when he walked into their office and giggled at Minho when he saw him.
"I don't want to be here either." Chan said, raising an eyebrow at Minho.
"I feel so guilty leaving him. I've hardly been home the last week AND I'm proposing tonight." Minho groaned, sinking down into his chair.
"Well this guy works or worked for Ji. Apparently he was close to the thug you caught earlier who was brought in for a full workup while you were gone. Same situation as before. The lighter was missing but I assume it's because he lost his. He was found in a weird location, more public than the others. Which means the danger is starting to spread into the smaller neighborhoods even more." Seungmin said, looking up finally from his computer.
"Which is great. Let's get this over with. I have too many things to set up for today I can't be here long." Minho said.
Getting into the room with the thug, Minho set the case file down on the metal interrogation desk and sat across from the thug. He read over everything Seungmin had typed up before looking at the man.
"You're already as good as dead, who do you really have left to protect?" Minho asked. The thug just laughed and shook his head. Crossing his arms over his chest.
"Myself. Just myself. I have no family, no friends. Just a fuck ton of money that I would like to use to get far far away before people find out that you punks brought me in." The thug spit. Minho closed the file and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
"So this isn't going to be a quick talk, got it."
The two went back and forth like this for what felt like hours. The man had zero will to cave even if he was a dead man walking. The organization did an excellent job clarifying that talking would never be an option. Even if they could save their own life with the help of the police, they would rather rot in prison than give up what they had. However good the organization treated them had these men in a weird, brainwashed state. The loyalty made no sense to Minho. The more frustrated Minho got, the more the man laughed at him, setting him off even more.
"Who is it you're really scared of? Judging from the lighter they found on you at the time of your arrest I would suspect it's a man named Ji?" Minho asked, cocking his head to the side.
"What the fuck would you know about Ji. Whatever you think you know you don't. The man is a ghost. Out of the 4 of them he's the one most people have never met yet seems to do probably the most damage. You should be scared that you even know his name, he probably already knows who you are. He knows who you are, he knows who you're married to, he knows who you're fucking. He will destroy your lives." The thug shook his head, looking away from Minho.
The idea that someone would go after Jisung, that he was being hunted now because Minho was closing in on this boss, had a rage building in his chest like no other. Gritting his teeth and closing his fist tightly, Minho started seeing red. He got up fast, kicking his chair back from under him. It fell to the floor with a loud thud as he circled the table. Minho grabbed the thug by the neck and slammed his head against the metal table.
"Then why don't you do us a fucking favor and start talking about how we can catch this guy." Minho narrowed his eyebrows. The door swung open quickly, Chan ran in, and Minho raised his hand to stop his friend from getting in his way.
"Catch him? He's a fucking ghost I just said it! The ONLY person who would know where Ji is would be one of the other four. Good luck finding them, either. They don't deal with the thugs, they only deal with each other. The whole organization is set up so that if a guy like me at the bottom falls, the guy above me is still safe. Ji deals with weapons, Aus deals with international affairs, Bin deals with all of the cash that moves in and out of almost everyone's hands, and Jin deals with drugs. Nobody knows who is who. I've heard rumors that the four do business out of a building by some dock. Nobody knows what building. Nobody knows what dock. If you do know, you're either very high up or very dead. I will die the second I leave here, so what difference does it make anymore." The man finished. Minho finally released his neck and crossed his arms over his chest.
"So without one, the whole operation falls. None of them do the same thing." Minho sighed. Chan looked at the two of them scoldingly as he picked up the seat that Minho had thrown.
"How could they even know you're here!" Chan asked.
"Who the fuck knows! They know everything. EVERYTHING. What do you fucking people not get about that?" The man snapped, looking away from the two cops before laying his head on the table.
"There is no way. They would have to have someone inside somehow." Minho leaned back against the nearby wall.
"Half the cops in Seoul are on their payroll, you can't be that stupid." The man laughed.
"Half is a… you're probably right." Chan sighed.
"I know the second I leave this place, I'm going to be killed, so just release me and let them do it already." The man mumbled against the table. Minho and Chan looked at each other briefly before agreeing it was probably better that way.
They seemed to have gotten all of the information out of the man that they could; they didn't want to waste any more time talking to him. Chan undid the handcuffs keeping the man attached to the table, before he nodded toward the open door. Getting out of the chair and rubbing his face, the gentleman bowed his head and walked out of the room. Minho watched him leave, a pit in his stomach, knowing he would be wheeled back into their morgue by the morning.
"Don't worry about the thugs. They sign up for this when they take the oath." Chan reminded. Minho sighed and grabbed the case file before leaving.
The four detectives worked for several more hours logging all of the information, cross referencing what warehouse could be the headquarters in question. So far, they have five possible locations. Then, shutting his laptop for the night, Minho leaned back in the chair and thought about what would happen before jumping out of his chair.
"Tomorrow, when you see me, I will be engaged. Hopefully." Minho clapped his hands together before doing a spin. Chan started to laugh before he rushed up to hug Minho.
"He would be a fool to say no. You two are the definition of soulmates." Chan said. Minho smiled wide, nodding at his friend's words before taking his leave. He heard them all yell something encouraging as the door closed behind him.
This was one of the rare moments Minho actually felt nervous about something.
Heading to the car, Minho made sure to text Jisung the address. When Jisung confirmed he was almost ready, Minho's nerves kicked in even more. He slid into the car and grabbed the ring, putting it in the breast pocket of his jacket before he took off out of the station garage. With Seoul's evening traffic, he arrived 15 minutes later than he wanted. Jisung was still not there, meaning Minho had 10 minutes to set everything up. He had reserved a private room for them in the restaurant, paid for their meals and drinks ahead of time, and had the room filled with Jisung's favorite things. Flowers, stuffed animals, cheesecake. Anything Minho could think of that he knew Jisung loved, Minho made sure it was there for him.
"WAH! JAGI, WHAT IS THIS." An excited voice yelled from behind him. Minho turned around and saw Jisung looking like a vision. He had dressed up as Minho asked him, taking Minho's breath away. Watching him with such fond eyes, Minho held his hands for Jisung to come closer.
"Come here, my love." Minho smiled wide. Jisung skipped towards him, happily grabbing his boyfriend's hands before he snuggled up close to him. Minho wrapped his arms around Jisung, kissing his forehead before he ushered Jisung to his seat.
"This looks amazing. Did I miss our… no. Our anniversary isn't for a few months." Jisung said. Thanking Minho when he took a seat.
"Tonight is simply another day to tell you how much I love you. We haven't had time to do anything big together lately." Minho said. He was downplaying the situation but wanted to wait until after they ate to propose to Jisung.
"Alright, let's eat then. I am starving." Jisung said, looking around eagerly at all the presents he had scattered around the room.
Waving the food in, Minho sat back and watched Jisung. The smile never left his face as Jisung grabbed one of the flowers and put it in his hair. He was so careful with it to ensure he didn't break the stem. Minho pulled out his phone, snapping a photo of Jisung when he wasn't looking. Looking up to see Minho holding the phone facing him, Jisung blushed. His hands covered his face momentarily, peaking through his fingers to see his boyfriend lift his phone again. Minho snapped another picture with a giggle before he put his phone away. The food was laid out in front of them seconds later. Thanking the gentlemen helping them, Minho and Jisung began their meal happily. It felt like they were home, conversing casually about various things. Nothing ever felt forced or uncomfortable. Jisung went on about inventory, talking about how mad it was at the bar. Minho nodded his head listening. He didn't talk about the case tonight, wanting to completely forget about any potential danger to Jisung.
When they finished their dinner, and their plates were cleared by staff, Minho got up and walked to the cheesecake. Jisung clapped his hands happily, eyes never leaving his boyfriend's frame as he walked over with two plates and set them down. Minho pretended to drop Jisung's fork, bending down next to the table to get it. Jisung carefully watched Minho move around the room, gasping when he peaked back out from the table, holding the ring box in his hands. Covering his eyes as he started to tear up, Jisung hadn't even heard Minho ask him, and he was already a wreck.
"You are my other half. The most beautiful man I have ever met, inside and out. Since the first time I saw you, I only wanted to marry you. Make my life with you and only you. Jisung you are such a beautiful soul. Everything about you is addictive. From your smile, your laugh, those eyes. Han Jisung, will you bless me in this life and spend the rest of your life with me?" Minho asked. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as Jisung nodded yes countless times. A choked sob escaped his mouth as Minho carefully slid the ring onto his hand.
"Yes. A thousand million times, yes. My other half." Jisung started to cry, moving quickly to tackle Minho to the floor. Letting out a loud thud as he hit the floor, Minho hugged Jisung back, kissing his wet face as he locked this memory in his mind forever.
"My Hannie." Minho cooed.
"Please tell me we can take the cheesecake to go." Jisung giggled, hiding his face in Minho's neck.
"Already?" Minho asked, his eyes narrowing into bedroom eyes as he looked at Jisung.
"Always, Jagi."
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The night before the big sting, a party had been arranged for Jisung and Minho by the guys at the station. A warm party to celebrate their engagement. Jisung arrived at the restaurant after working, thanking the driver before he went to Minho, who was waiting for him. Yelling his name, Minho turned and opened his arms to embrace his fiance. Jisung greeted him with a long kiss before taking Minho's hand. Then, the happy couple walked inside the restaurant, greeted by the other three detectives who yelled congratulations at the happy couple. The other people in the restaurant looked on with wide eyes at the party happening. Jisung giggled, happily smiling at Minho before he hugged the three men throwing the party.
"We are really so happy for you both. Maybe now Minho won't be so cranky at work when he has to return to his apartment." Jeongin said, laughing at the blank expression that Minho threw his way.
"If he's cranky, just call me. I can fix it." Jisung said, looking over to Minho as he sat beside him. Minho couldn't even pretend to be cross with Jisung. On the contrary, he started to smile the second he saw his fiance looking up at him with those wide eyes.
"He's probably right." Minho confirmed.
"Hyung, how long will you take off for your honeymoon?" Jeongin asked. He started to pour drinks for all the elders at the table. Jisung thanked him, handing his glass over to Minho first.
"Depends on how long he wants me away for. I assume it will be at least a month knowing this one." Minho added; Jisung didn't even try to deny it. Instead, he smiled and wiggled in his seat, pressing the button to call over the waitress.
"Can we do both combos in large, way more beer and soju, please?" Jisung asked when they were around. The waitress nodded her head and walked off. Minho moved his hand to grab Jisung's thigh under the table, needing to always touch him somehow.
Maybe it was a safety thing; knowing that Jisung was safely there made him the happiest.
"But really, almost three years and you two will finally do this. Let me tell you, a lot has changed over these years, but we are happy you're the one he picked." Seungmin said, holding up his glass in a toast. Jisung did the same, blushing lightly as he tapped his glass to the others.
"It's not easy being a detective's partner in life." Chan said. Jisung nodded his head, agreeing.
"I think I need to become a criminal just so I can spend more time with him." Jisung laughed. He felt Minho squeeze his thigh, and it caused him to shift closer to his fiance.
"Please don't. We are having a hard enough time finding this Ji scumbag." Jeongin shook his head. Chan nodded in agreement before sitting upright more. The name made all of them more obviously stiff and annoyed.
"There is a bad guy named Ji? People aren't that creative anymore." Jisung rolled his eyes, looking up at Minho with a frown.
"He's not any bad guy. But, unfortunately, he seems to be THE bad guy." Minho had such venom in his tone when he talked. Jisung jumped a little, resting his head on Minho's shoulder.
"You'll catch him in no time baby." Jisung cheered. Minho's mood switched, seeing how encouraging Jisung was being. Minho nodded, a bright smile coming to his face as he leaned down to kiss Jisung's head.
"Good. I should throw a party for you guys when you catch him. Celebrate taking another mean one off the streets." Jisung decided, doing a little happy wiggle in his seat.
The four detectives seemed amused by the idea. It wasn't often they truly celebrated a win of this size or even had one. They had been after this organization for so long that Minho didn't know what he would do if he could bring it to an end. Typically if they were after some high-profile person, once that case was buttoned up, it was out for drinks and on to the next tomorrow. Everything that went into the four of four deserved a little more attention.
They didn't talk about it anymore. The food came shortly after, and Jisung demanded he wanted to be responsible for cooking. Minho knew to let him have his way, so he just sat back in the seat and rubbed Jisung's back as he grilled away at the table. When Jisung held a piece of meat to him, Minho leaned in and ate it right off the tongs. The loving way Jisung was looking at him had his head spinning.
"Will you eat, Jagiya." Minho said sternly. Jisung pouted as he pushed the meat around the fire. Minho carefully took the tongs from him, loading his plate with food.
"You have to eat, baby." Minho encouraged. Jisung nodded, kissing Minho's cheek when he leaned over him to cook. Minho just smiled, turning his head to meet Jisung for a proper kiss.
"Are you not hungry?" Chan asked. Jisung shook his head no, sitting back in the seat a little.
"It's not that; I just get worried about you all and don't focus. You've been working hard. This is dangerous for many people, and you four seem caught up in the middle of it. People talk about these stupid gangs all the time. I just don't want anything to happen to you guys." Jisung said. Minho knew that was on his mind, rubbing Jisung's back carefully before he pushed his plate closer to him.
"I think you should be more worried for the other guys. Once Minho has someone in his sights he will always get his man. Look at how quickly he won you over." Jeongin smirked. Jisung sat up proudly, looking at the two detectives before him.
"This is true, Jagi. If I can land the most beautiful kindest soul of them all, then taking down the worst of the worst will be nothing." Minho confirmed.
With that said, Jisung nodded, finally starting to eat.
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The two weeks were up, and Minho and his team were camped at a warehouse. The four detectives had discovered a hidden money trail that couldn't be traced back to anything in one of the five warehouses they were researching. They had to play their cards perfectly for this sting. This warehouse was not the one they were told about. They managed to get in and set up cameras all over, noticing that a meeting room was being set up in the back of the warehouse over the next few days. This gave the four detectives hope that they picked the right one.
When the day finally came to camp out and be there to watch, Minho was standing by the window, taking pictures of the various thugs walking around outside. Chan and Seungmin were watching the cameras, noting down anything of interest. A few hours passed, and nothing significant happened. Finally, four men showed up, but they didn't seem important to the guards at the door. Nobody was bowing, and nobody came to open their car doors. When they got to the main entrance, they were asked to show a pass before being let in, which led the detectives to think they were the guests for the evening. Whoever would show up had to be high up in the ranks to warrant the unamused greeting these other gangsters received.
About 7 minutes later, four expensive jet-black cars showed up, and Minho whispered for the others to pay attention. Minho watched as four guards raced to the driver's side doors. Each one fixed their shirts and hair before opening the doors.
"Four Of Four!" Everyone yelled, falling to their knees. Even the men in the distance fell to their knees in a perfect bow. The men standing by the cars bowed all the way to the ground, their heads wholly covered by their hands and the dirt. The angle of the parked cars made it hard to see who was coming out, but if the chanting had any meaning, this was a whole different sting than they had initially planned.
This was the four. The main four.
Could they have really gotten so lucky? The four men now walking towards each other all appeared close to the same height, all dressed in black and white. The listening device they had planted picked up some conversation. Minho motioned to turn the speakers up so they could all hear the men talking better.
"Look who actually showed up instead of being here via phone call." One of the men said, earning him a shove from the one he was talking to.
"This is one of the few things I care enough about to leave my house for."
"These idiots are wasting our time. Ji you know damn well this is a trap. Why would we even entertain this." One of the men with longer blond hair said.
"Just make this quick; there are so many other things I could be doing right now." The one they referred to as Ji said.
"Like that toy of yours? If this new formula is imperfect, I will kill them all myself, and we can be out of here in no time." The one with darker hair added.
"Formula…" Minho mouthed, zooming in further with his camera.
"Leave the killing to me, you're so fucking messy. Every time you get trigger happy and I always get blood on my shirt. This is with you KNOWING what I go home to." Ji said. He shook his head, turning to look back towards the cars to make sure his doors were locked.
That's when he saw it.
That's when all four detectives saw it. Sungmin choked on his drink in the back, setting down his water on the table before he got closer to the monitor.
"Is that fucking Jisung?" Chan gasped, looking at the footage on the monitors before he looked up at Minho.
"Ji… Jisung. There is no way, he has to have someone that looks just like him." Jeongin groaned.
"Minho… Call him right now and see if he answers." Chan asked. Minho was frozen in place, looking out of the window. He knew the curve of that mouth anywhere, even from this distance. Minho quickly jumped off the ladder and ran to the room's corner, feeling sick. He pressed his hand against the wall and dry heaved a few times, a faint feeling coming over him.
Indeed this was some mistake.
There was no possible way that Minho saw that correctly. Fighting the urge to throw up, Minho sank to his knees and fought the urge to scream.
"Minho." Seungmin quickly ran to his side, rubbing his partner's back as he became emotional. Seungmin had known Minho long enough to know he would react in the worst way, holding him down the second Minho started to rush up.
"No. You are not going out there if they are the FOUR we have been after! That makes them the four most dangerous men in the whole country. Don't fucking do it." Seungmin dragged Minho towards the cameras, sitting him down in the chair. Minho let out a cry that had all of them get emotional. To see him in so much pain broke them.
"There has to be a reason. Stay focused. We will catch him and talk to him, and even if we don't you can corner him at home. This is still a win for all of us. Minho..." Jeongin sighed, sliding the water closer to Minho.
Minho's eyes narrowed, watching the monitors with a face that said he had nothing to lose.
The four main targets had entered the meeting room, sitting at the table across from the four men who had arrived earlier. Switching the cameras from the outside ones to use the ones inside the room, Minho jumped up and grabbed the controls from Jeongin as he zoomed in on Jisung and growled.
"Minho, stop. We have to listen." Chan ordered, being the only one with authority over him. The four went back to paying attention to the cameras.
"Aus, examine for us." Jisung said. Aus nodded his head, reaching for a briefcase. He opened it and pulled out a strange vial containing a green liquid. He looked at the color label on the vial and held it up under a peculiar light before tapping the bottom of the vial on the counter. The four men across from them didn't react at all. Nodding his head, Aus looked over to Bin and held up 2 fingers.
The other dark-haired gang member set a bag on the table and shoved it toward the men. One of the guys opened it up and pulled out a few stacks of money, flipping through it before he tossed it down on the table.
"Do you guys think we're stupid?" The visitors said.
"Do you want an honest answer?" Bin asked, cocking his head to the side.
From deduction, the one that hadn't spoken yet was Jin. Meaning the other dark-haired guy was Bin. They had all four out of four right there in their sights. Minho had never felt a rage in his body like he currently was.
"This isn't even half of what we're owed." The man bounced the bag in his hand. Jisung just giggled, pulling a gun out of his jacket pocket. He aimed it at the man talking without a care in the world.
"This is a fraction of what we were promised, so I'm not getting your point. You're wasting my time, so I suggest finding a solution. Quick." Jisung added.
"What you guys are asking for is going to take more time! You gave us 2 months and a half a budget to develop this. We can't do it in big batches. It keeps destroying everything." One of the men argued. Jin just laughed, leaning forward with his own gun exposed.
"And? Once this is perfected, the money will be endless. Who cares how much you have right now? Your building burns down? We will buy you another one. This should get you to the next level of development." Jin said, scratching his head with his own gun. None of the other three seemed phased.
"The second and now third batches are all weak, watered-down versions of what we asked for. The real stuff would burn a hole in this cheap glass. I knew it was tampered with. None of you flinched when I hit it on the table." Aus said, setting the vial back in the briefcase before he locked it up and got to his feet.
"Sit down, we aren't done with you guys. We have done everything you asked, and this is how you repay our boss?" One of the men asked, standing up and pointing his gun at Jisung. Bin started to laugh, leaning back in his seat some.
"Buddy, not a good-" Bin said. Before he could even finish, the man was falling back. A square shot right between his eyes had been fired from Jisung, who didn't even flinch. Minho jumped back from the screen, watching the thug fall to his feet, lifeless.
"I hate my time being wasted." Jisung sighed, getting to his feet.
"You're cranky today." Aus said. Jisung rolled his eyes, itching his nose a few times. When Minho saw the engagement ring on his finger, he groaned, feeling like he would be sick again.
"I want to go home." Jisung said. The three men scrambled, guns pointed at the four of four. This messy situation was turning into a standoff between the two different gangs.
"Do we go in? What are we supposed to do in this situation?" Chan panicked, looking at the fight between the two gangs getting ready to start. His eyes kept looking from the other officers to the monitors. He couldn't have anything happen to any of the four; they needed all of them to bring the faction to its knees.
"We have to go in there!" Seungmin added, looking from the camera to Minho, who couldn't take his eyes off Jisung. When the next shot was fired, barely missing Jisung, Minho ran out of the door without another thought.
All the officers heard in the distance was rapid, open gunfire, which was enough. Getting to the main building proved to be problematic. There were a few more guards around than anticipated. Not as many as you would think if four out of the four were there. It made more sense now when all the thugs said it was almost impossible to know who the top four were because they didn't surround themselves with many people. The four officers still had to take out a slew of thugs around the property as they ran around the side of the building toward where the four were.
Minho's vision wasn't in focus; driven by the idea that someone might be hurting Jisung, he forgot in the heat of everything going on that Jisung was one of the main guys he had been after for years. So the second he saw that bullet almost hit him, he returned to being his fiance. Jisung, the man with the brightest smile, wouldn't even know how to hold a gun if you tried teaching him.
The fighting got worse when the four of them busted into the room, Most of the other factions lay dead on the ground, and bits of wood and glass was all over after the chaos of the shooting. Aus and Bin pointed their guns at the cops, and Jisung yelled.
"Let's go." Jisung grabbed Jin by the shoulder and nodded toward the doors.
"Nice to meet you finally, lover boy." Jin said, giving Minho a wink.
The four started to run away. Jisung made eye contact with Minho for a brief moment before he dashed out of the room. Minho was quick to shoot the thugs in question before he went chasing after Jisung as quickly as his legs would carry him. The other three detectives were hot on his trail, knowing they couldn't let the four slip away. The chase lasted a while before the eight faced many more members from the opposing gang than planned. It was a total ambush that blindsight all of them. They were so focused on fighting each other that they didn't notice the very obvious trap set for them. Finally, the main four stopped running, and the officers quickly rushed toward them. Jin turned around, pointing his gun right at Minho. Jisung looked over and pushed his friend's gun down.
"Point your gun at my fiance again, and I'll kill you right here." Jisung got in his face. Jin rolled his eyes and gestured the gun toward Minho.
"Who kept this fucking idiot alive all this time?" Jin growled.
"Jisu—Ji are you FUCKING kidding me??? You're a bartender. A BARTENDER." Minho yelled. The emotions in his eyes had Jisung's stiff persona faltering.
"Do you guys REALLY need to do your couples therapy RIGHT now? We are a little fucking busy." Bin yelled.
"We only need you four. The others can die." One of the thugs said, pointing his gun at Minho.
"Here we go." Bin said, throwing his hands up as Jisung didn't hesitate to shoot the thug between the eyes. No emotion on his face as the man fell backward. A perfect shot yet again.
"Jagi.." Minho let out a whimper, bending over as the urge to throw up came back.
A thug hurled toward Minho, and Jisung tackled him, punching him repeatedly until he lay limp under him. Minho did his best to drag Jisung off the man, physically tossing him away from the fight.
"You are going to kill him!" Minho yelled.
"He was going to kill you!" Jisung tried to reason. He quickly pushed Minho out of the way and shot a man charging toward them. Minho moved behind Jisung, guarding his back for him.
The distraction from Minho kept causing Jisung to waver. Finally, with the four of them paying more attention to the cops, the ambush started. They realized it was too late when they were being grabbed and pummeled. A fistfight between the two sides and the police got ugly. The fight quickly took a turn when more men arrived. The eight of them were overpowered within minutes, struggling to get away safely. They were pushed onto the ground one by one, their hands tied behind their bags with a standard rope.
Jisung gave his other 3 a look that only they seemed to understand as the 8 of them were dragged to their feet and pushed outside. The thugs holding their binds kicked them in at the knees, so they fell. Jisung sighed, emotionless, as a gun pointed directly at his head. Minho tried to fight the binds seeing Jisung being threatened like this. Fortunately for them, because there were eight of them when the final boss arrived, he couldn't tell who the primary four he was after were. After observing them, the man ordered them to be taken away and left to die.
The four detectives tried to fight their binds as bags were thrown over their heads. Jisung gave his men another look, keeping them calm as the bags went over their heads last. The eight men were dragged by their shirts and thrown into the back of a van. Minho, Jisung, Jin, and Bin were put in one car, while the other three detectives and Aus were placed in the other. Jisung sighed, leaning back against the van wall as it sped off.
"Do you think they are dumb enough to bring us to their factory?" Bin asked. Jisung let out a laugh before sighing.
"Yeah probably. They don't have any other holdings in town do they?" Jisung asked, his eyes falling shut under the hood that was placed on their heads.
"They have a small operation outside of Seoul. It's hard for anyone to get buildings here without going through you two first." Jin said. He kicked out his legs, knocking into Minho, who groaned in pain.
"Sorry. Didn't actually mean to hurt you that time." Jin said. Minho mumbled under his breath before he leaned against the van wall.
"I spent years tracking you fucking guys and now I'm going to get killed with you." Minho laughed. The van hit a sharp bump sending a few of them up in the air. Jisung crashed into Minho and groaned.
"Nobody is going to die." Jisung assured.
Once the vans stopped, the eight men were dragged out and carried a short distance. Jisung counted the steps and the turns in his head before they were thrown onto some chairs in a room. The masks were removed, and the eight were left alone. The room was dimly lit; dirty overhead lights barely illuminated the space. From the sound of it, the door was shut and locked from the outside. Jisung looked around, seeing the four cops placed on the chairs opposite them. It was an awkward staring match, to say the least.
"Are you going to introduce us finally?" Aus said. Jisung rolled his eyes and looked over to Minho.
"He never invites us for dinner." Aus added. Jisung kicked the bottom of his chair.
"Felix, enough." He cursed under his breath. He wasn't loud, doubting any of the detectives heard him. At the sound of his full name, Felix glared at Jisung.
"Oh, you are so going to pay for that." Felix mumbled, fighting against the ties.
Jisung waited until he couldn't hear people outside, shaking his arm to let a lighter fall through his sleeve. He flicked the top off and sparked it to life, allowing the flame to burn the rope in the right place so it would snap but not burn him. Once he heard the strands start to break, he ripped his arms apart quickly, and the rope fell to the floor in a burning heap. Rubbing at his wrists, Jisung took a moment to make sure they were alone before he got up and moved to let Minho free first.
Bending down before him, Jisung reached around his fiance and started to undo the ties. His fingers brushed with Minho's as he made eye contact. Minho watched him for a moment before he looked away, lower lip quivering with emotions. Once Minho was free, Jisung kept close for a few more seconds before moving to care for his other three. Minho got up with a confused look before he untied the other detectives.
"FREEZE." Chan and Seungmin raised their guns at the four of them the second they were free. Jisung turned to look at them with an unamused glare before he sighed. Jisung walked closer to the guns, letting Chan's gun rest on his forehead. Minho panicked, rushing forward to try and yank Jisung away from the weapon. Jisung put his hand up to try and stop him.
"You betrayed him…." Chan narrowed his eyebrows, cocking the gun so it was loaded and ready to go. Jisung never took his eyes off, Chan.
"I never betrayed him. Ever." Jisung growled.
"How is this not a betrayal! He loves you more than life itself." Chan yelled.
"I have NEVER allowed any of you to be killed, and I have never gotten in the way of your investigation OF ME. You have been looking for me the whole time, and I did nothing to stop it." Jisung reminded.
"It's true. He has been really fucking clear about it." Felix said, leaning back against the wall near the window.
Minho moved the gun, grabbing Jisung by the shirt before dragging him to the wall. He pushed Jisung up against it roughly. Felix and Bin pointed their weapons at Minho for touching Jisung like that. The three detectives pointed their guns out of fear. Nobody seemed to know what Minho was going to do.
"Jagi..." Jisung whispered. Minho watched him for a moment before he pressed his forehead into Jisungs chest and let out a low whimper.
"I need to know one thing, just one thing, and you are not allowed to lie to me. The answer to this question will determine what happens next." Minho kept a tight grip on Jisung, his eyes locked with Jisungs.
"Go on..." Jisung said, carefully watching Minho back.
"Was this entire thing, us… Everything between you and I. Was it all staged?"