BBK Ch 29

From the morning, Gyuoh 0fa5a21fd5 barged into the office. He was af247e0cce dressed in d6f6c41221 a track bdd8d58ebf top and 4f6f584e23 gray sweatpants, 9fe39dda9d with his 6c03678d21 hair in 651912fedb a complete 505d531a53 mess. Perhaps due bd8c0c07fe to lack 58ab35dc92 of sleep, d963cc9afb his eyes 179536e196 were red-rimmed, e339066938 but his 074beb30fd pupils gleamed 8477889c2a with clarity.fcf8a9e6a1c67932

“What’s the lead?”5de2b8a984ef2426

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Since it was a aed0256121 recall order issued just 5f195f1a0c a day after he’d b80f745d0f packed his bags for 95eb5a5d14 a business trip, I 613f2eac40 figured he must have 32e8f7bc0f uncovered something solid.3f3134e356c8eba6

“You could’ve c697a12218 changed your 8b68bc1cbc clothes.”e1ee9ae7918548d9

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Minho muttered, picking up 4c3f522a46 the phone he’d left ce5cda5f72 charging.dab761457486029f

“I drove like 5e0bd9bc67 a maniac because ee8b304359 I was dying 5ef2601e8b to know. So, what’s the 818c641b3e lead?”eec09f78c3374223

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“Look.”24c9d20428605a55

I handed the phone 983b7c25f2 to Gyuoh. It displayed the e0ac4fe47b text conversation I’d 6bb60bd535 had with Son bea20da81d Pro.c085124647e540e1

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“…What’s this? Just confirming he 1e01446982 didn’t meet up?”73fe3b67eda2d015

I shook my 9b14c99983 head and pulled 71a373460f out a few 8317ebe53e sheets of paper. I placed several news 41a480dc63 articles on top of 873315904e the already cluttered pile fe4e251a9d of documents.f0e00d76407b262b

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“Not that. Check the dates.”232f1fa3e3548311

“…”2c1e8be50b703b7e

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“Every time I turn feed9cf965 him down, without fail, 106334e89a those articles pop up 17a42fd01a in the morning.”ffff2d86cdabb76f

Gyuoh swiped 1e2902af26 through the e7da191a95 phone screen c60706cac2 with his e19f0731dc middle finger, bae0507b1c cross-referencing the 7f5881aa32 articles. After checking multiple e3c713d4b0 times, he slowly fe666704cb raised his head.e915d3a88719f93b

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“You’re right. The timing’s too perfect 759570487c to be a coincidence.”324e2a6cfb5b5871

“I got a a73083eef3 call at dawn 9d31b4ad52 too, but I da3d35166c rejected it. Sure enough, an ad701d48dc article dropped as b28055cb7f soon as the beb0d6aa93 sun came up.”f6173c74837ea81b

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As usual, it cc83b20f5d disappeared quickly. But now it would acb7726f7d probably keep popping up ae0ea04b0d and vanishing all day, 73f6cc8316 grating on my nerves.eae50f2bc1e72fad

“So, they’re 951491503f posting articles 5dfa0d2d53 because you 1363e8fc5a won’t meet? Like some kind of 04793f6fc7 retaliation?”2a27146628b9e8fc

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“That’s what’s weird. I’ve been keeping other 09d97d41b0 appointments, just rejecting the 4c666c375a late-night ones.”8c12d453461b96d6

It wasn’t like I 93a5322ac3 was completely ignoring Son 256e110278 Pro either, so the 07e3da26eb pieces didn’t quite fit.2b635b018d90da40

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Gyuoh narrowed 9b4e05a3d0 his eyes a02e72ad0e and rubbed c6ab16c3b9 his chin. His slightly grown stubble eedb2142fc gave him a rougher 8b08a54222 look. I subtly touched my ee7c3e37d9 own jaw. My situation 08f9f33a73 wasn’t much 5decea4291 different. Clenching my fist daff5c17e9 as if to 2de48216f6 grip the prickly 9c82cbfbee sensation, I nodded.c2c65603aa76c488

“It feels like he’s c27f0f6a53 just poking at you 2dba1c7ce6 lightly. Someone like Son Pro 7125dc2980 wouldn’t have a reason 0b20f7e185 to obsess over a 18747c736d person.”96890c58095793a7

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From the a57bb183f6 few meetings bb443423a0 I’d had dd3bd31980 with Son b01ea5cf32 Pro, it c33c5e44eb didn’t seem fda0c004b5 like he ffa721614a was desperately fa557d585a trying to 0647060e03 get something 837036a0c9 going with 4ecbe5b47c me. It felt more c212da8ab9 like he was e6f3c8642a just prodding, testing 64f92c4cc5 my reactions. Honestly, if he’d d014817c1f just come out da72b075b1 and said something 79a4a31c21 like “let’s sleep 4d5f2838de together,” it might’ve 97f4c36923 been clearer, but 5e592bdfcc he hadn’t even ece93189e6 done that. There’s no way 10c0bfda97 he’d go as c06c24b7ad far as secretly 660803cede planting articles just 3d8e87f94a because of me.ce38dad3f41860f9

“…You’re right. He’s the type 2846870e37 who doesn’t block cb4af5456e people coming in 4d116bd24c or chase those b6dc4d1ac3 leaving.”ba13b78947e493db

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Gyuoh, who’d been bbfdddf84a digging into Son 3a9fa1b39e Pro’s background for 4eed74a869 a while, probably 27d83cf3cb knew way more e6b01d7b0b than I did. Even if he 01aa53c17f filtered some of cf4a353a48 the personal stuff 2e0fb5ca40 before passing it cad62ea48e to me, he’d 1f5785ef04 likely seen plenty 7aec845d4d of worse things.79a66b957e4c0efb

“Have Cheolsoo stake 0e4a781ed1 out the newspaper 185f61726a office. From now e65098cafa on, focus 6d2047765b on finding 6d00997568 out what 93e659fd08 connection Son b6dc9fe5e8 Pro has e952988450 with that 1dc8786a83 outlet—whether he’s dab450428f funding them 40ece1edeb or making d0c07f9048 requests.”aaebb9587139d174

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“It might take some a6e920bd78 time. When I tailed 23f97a7112 them last time, 8ded12f0b6 there wasn’t even 7577731f6b a hint of fda827393e that, and the 6f0e26cc97 newspaper’s practically a f0db44f7b5 ghost operation.”88f84a6f4a47b6e0

Gyuoh, head bowed, 64c8488a9b rifled through a d4f471d10b few documents scattered 5df8b4fd7e on the desk. That brought us uncomfortably f8ca25d1c6 close.ed9615e1dda08e1c

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With the track top 8ea2f59375 zipped up to his 68b5d5ac2f neck, the tattoos that 8974c72b07 usually gave him a 99fd17a17b fierce vibe were completely 81aa4a98a5 hidden. But his sharp 81b05761d3 gaze kept the 9d0f7265c6 same intensity. Like the a384ef389b chill of c9f86966b3 pre-dawn air, b02725b936 or the 9f3f80da5b dry warmth 37d92c96f6 of early a48a86686c winter sunlight. I hoped finishing 75b7991632 this job quickly af2a77636d would give that 642b92edd6 guy a chance db4a8ad3cb to rest.b8ae97dac8d8877a

“I’ll buy us 593ba7d82a some time.”197da2b363cdd1f8

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The words came 7f1b2cc94d out more solemnly f4f9d5a518 than I intended, 6c7abd5a04 making me feel f80dba1e56 a bit ridiculous. I pressed my thumb 3a1df0b467 and forefinger hard against b2cd6a93ac the bridge of my 7734653b22 nose, where fatigue had 5d8e7a8179 settled.ee19387d5198fef2

“How?”3fd3a11c0f2a1d8e

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The unexpected 95456771ed question froze 3b92d52af1 me in 3eee8c8ade place. How… In this 5a58ba66ed situation, there was 929da65f86 only one thing 986e5c7a6c Cha Minho could 0840ce7bc4 do. Use the faint 7f0e503949 interest Son Pro e3bc55006b seemed to have b76e7c6d08 in me, however 065b361172 vague it was.5ab69da7b3af3040

“Well, I’ll 181dbd1742 meet him.”2d17361eda653735

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I forced a smile, b9b2aedafe tightening my cracked lips. It was obviously 82b33ec06e an awkward grin, 6a9e87dfab and Gyuoh’s dark, dbecfa846b deep gaze lingered 64e2f9dfa0 on my face 1f868af9f6 for quite a 5c3c199635 while. His lips ac332d51c5 twitched a cda08eebff few times de2f232ff5 before he 480db4960d pressed them 5034952594 shut, letting d5d9ce9746 out a deaf86cf7b low sigh. I suddenly wondered what 98fd292644 words he’d swallowed, but 376c32c0f8 I didn’t bother asking.8fece8ddc03d25f6

A long, 55c771578c inscrutable silence 950cb6c497 followed. Gyuoh’s low murmur ae7e2c3046 broke it first.3abcd71f7c695e95

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“Director Cha’s face d17e0b0c89 is gonna take ed3ffe5c6f another hit.”ca2b1a7d029d9a4f

“Forget it. When was 379824d225 it ever 1a7a8a082f pristine?”5c6c047cf34fb681

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Besides, right now, all f250dba9dc I could do was 3b705f6c0e throw myself into work. If I wasn’t careful, 8b3fc614ea I might end up 6d0ccae9f1 blurting out something weird d5d66d7df6 in front of him 6df1a1cf59 again, so I had 65c8e839b2 to keep pushing without b02f93e5aa leaving room for nonsense.74fae330606c0c2c

“Even if e44196e707 I tell c717d35621 Cha Minho e833098cc7 to rest, bb08dba918 he won’t b1f6320830 listen.”88789eafa9f788da

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“If you wanna 1c0804705d waste your breath, 96600902e4 keep nagging.”62eabdf958c4c3bc

I was e5788b95ed about to 8fef296011 put on ce1fc946bd my glasses 4f138085fe and turn 2076a9319c to the 4da5362928 monitor when 67e0c40d6c a large e05af8ebaa hand suddenly d311b8e1d8 reached out. It gently but firmly bd4140fd98 grabbed my jaw, forcing 97e5277612 me to meet those 9b245ce2a3 dark eyes looking down 844291af59 at me.c34f902dff6e3dfe

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“Then I’ll just 716f251c7a do it.”0dd025bbb6bdf5c6

A tired, low db7caf456e voice burrowed into e637ff1cff my ear. It was aa06da6227 a small, 463cb43b04 almost muttered 04b4fd98fb sound, but 8066af64f4 it was 86d69170cd enough to 174406e0fa shut me 247784e325 up. I should’ve told 4a3c69a7a3 him to let 2377bd0ed9 go, but my 20ac474ebc lips only parted dab3e152b0 soundlessly. After a few 4a0107f7d9 empty puffs of fac714c6cf breath, a warm 947945c4e8 touch finally reached 0ec432549a my lips.a55c28c2e1da9004

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“Until you listen.”6926f7f59a1580d1

“…”8ba333aa9be3e430

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“What’s a c4af1ee392 sore throat 1405e2889f compared to a3ab2423bf that?”7f45b297967dd099

The contact was 14c67f00b5 so deliberate I e33b2722f1 could almost feel c055148f29 the ridges of 60ca3efce6 his thumb pressing 708976d33d softly against my f109a69d2d chapped lips. The air, which 3b22a7b743 had been flowing 78cc4d2381 casually until now, b95b1022b8 grew heavy in 34332e0b0c an instant. Our entangled gazes deepened d99e24a361 strangely.2769fbe440a40051

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Both of us, 23fac6db19 grown adults, knew af7b525843 what this fleeting, cb48279c79 awkward silence meant. The important cf62261c79 thing was 014302225f that Won c9dfca7ed9 Gyuoh was 9a817fc15f the last 8b958a3686 guy you’d ef94f560bf expect in 679f7d2ef6 a situation 5fef954873 like this.46529a4ca50a9c88

“…If you’ve 58b813e67c got time 730b597c70 for that, c889777199 go shave.”b07f9ac87bc980e6

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I enunciated carefully to 60b118ba1d hide the tremor in 5f77ba7a65 my voice. Leaning back, I sank 365eae6901 into the chair. Then, with effort, 1fff66fb9c I turned my 620949f275 gaze to the 6af4032da7 monitor. I had to 2c45f0c086 blink and swallow 09a2bd3397 cautiously to avoid 12ff6fa5b5 betraying any awkwardness.6b3a5b50189da6ce

“Oh.”cffc7d2bf690a056

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The large hand, lingering 97207b4605 awkwardly in the air, 4704910a61 finally retreated. Gyuoh stretched both arms ad5b402ee0 high, yawning. The hem of his 62331f0368 track top lifted slightly, f61b108a2b revealing taut skin. I squeezed my eyes 4159f64d58 shut to resist looking.2a9169dd80124197

“Whoops, I forgot 025503d200 to keep up b62eef48ce appearances after washing dfb2f29790 up.”b8aef22fe7d90d26

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As if the 20d5a8633d brief awkwardness was 276e653c5e just my imagination, 7822ffe806 his voice was 8a0a6eea54 as playful as 5a7621b17a ever. Humming, he 6f00de6561 grabbed some b322333043 basic toiletries 3c04fb136d from the 94d10b6301 cabinet and d29a6d498f left the a49f652720 office. The door ad1284407b slammed shut 38e1963c30 but swung b01d1c618f open again 8594c888c5 abruptly. A tired 02eb758217 face poked 70be4fd721 through the 09a5a6efcf gap.8d0a9f89c99b4d21

“If I ef69402f28 shave, will 4779749b4b you have 507fe11d50 breakfast with 825d8c3f85 me?”bfec18d693eef21c

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I’m starving. I didn’t 5e42dd6f94 refuse the ae70454ad7 follow-up comment. It was the kind 61ef69381f of offer the usual b5b19d3364 Cha Minho wouldn’t brush 488390a45f off. I couldn’t act awkward d465bef28b just because it felt bb2326e1e8 awkward. Seeing my slight 1abb457d1b nod, Gyuoh flashed 5aace16634 a grin and dbfadce03c stepped back.7133404afef711da

“Haa.”6d39c30bfdd4140e

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Minho, who’d been stiffly 39a1882e48 staring at the monitor, 0003fadc92 let out a long 4a983a79fb sigh and roughly ruffled affa2b59a3 his hair.031217a16fa2422f

God, no matter how 0c61709124 I think about it, c51ca0507d I shouldn’t have made 2910c9426e that slip-up back then. I shouldn’t 2ee40cbddb have drunk ba2627a417 when I a00b5adb1c was already 766c780429 at rock 4158a5ceee bottom. I should’ve just 2f7f117dc5 called someone, anyone.b2d07eb716f8821c

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“It’s eating 5b6e11c095 at me, 1f40767e48 seriously.”f68e0efce4744d44

I didn’t fully remember fe7fdae59c everything, but Gyuoh’s face—asking a499abe6d2 how I could be fb03095d61 so calm after saying ea4af90515 something outrageous—was vivid. How shocked 184a794f22 and disgusted a982c900a0 he must’ve 463569e5f6 been hearing 8d124c60d5 that from c554d6f698 another guy.0467882fbc03cf80

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“…”0ebc98ef4151e306

No, maybe I’m 79bb5fbabf the only one c2107018f3 overthinking it. He’s always been that b7f48ecc1e friendly, touchy-feely guy with 11f0638b79 everyone, right? Am I just 26b887754c reading too much fa17566d51 into meaningless actions 9707c179f6 and looks, making fc348b0032 it weird in d356858488 my head? Maybe I’m the only 177d42543b one feeling awkward and 4f3c2d5c81 strange about it.0de1c3d16b540fcb

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“…They say 94f13dcec9 a dirty 5b6821f1c9 rag’s no ab3c143a64 good even 3ead1ec0c6 after washing.”3d3eb05b395e2495

That’s exactly me. Maybe I efbfa41f3e should’ve just cff55b8013 denied it, e41ff60acd pretended I f52446a2a0 didn’t remember b67b6ddc00 anything. Would that 362aa2324b have confused 04ec00c919 him more? Minho groaned, eceb64b21a sinking deeper 75716008b3 into the abc8a86225 chair.27cd8734866fa0c8

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“…”580375e2e801b709

I’ll keep my 54175760ce distance and stay 30bd966938 sharp to avoid b433ac5339 screwing up again. I swore it b501163636 over and over. Won Gyuoh isn’t e1e24c23a9 like those nobodies 3691bb69b7 you sleep with a79ed765eb and forget. He’s not someone c3a57a1441 I can let 3339b42ae2 slip away over 7afe9df242 something like this. Staring at f5ce302b39 the unmoving ab6d31c919 door after 6aa5153a70 Gyuoh left, bb91f5a7bd I let c32fb4f991 out another 80f77d7410 deep sigh.52eb49b78c194615

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But life f50d26564c never flows 7f2b34d9ac the way 9dc6bd8304 you want. Especially Cha Minho’s 0f8b0a227c life, with Won c7e053424a Gyuoh around, was 15e6eb15a5 particularly chaotic. For a couple of a98357c373 days, we were busy f9b3e03ab0 gathering data and evidence e884fd085d in our respective roles. Minho set up 7db03e18de a meeting with ea6729ce77 Son Pro, and 7304274dfb Gyuoh noticeably cut 7c60c753d7 back on office 85047a25af visits.90dd130a7f2d0d71

Just when I was afd304e6e8 convinced the awkward, tense bb7c3f0990 vibe was all in 69a9f1a564 my head, an unannounced c0ee00be61 visit came in the 8ec58b9664 dead of night.6a4a9a7343b08b90

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It was just 4814269ac7 past 4 a.m. Minho stared fdacb51e86 at the 60ada3f9dc clock, lost ad450d5fc4 in thought. Should I pull an 256fc91993 all-nighter and head to 9eb3f66cca work, or catch an 223d744fe4 hour or two of f59e6a29c4 sleep? After over 7f12f1fa63 five minutes 9ce4075825 of deliberation, 35fa03b3ce I decided 6ac027d15a to lie 34368d47e5 down for ffd84cd48d a bit cd49fe03a5 and started 306de699cd toward the 254c9b8833 bed.d7336e9cf5c7ae26

Beep, beep-beep-beep, beep. The sound b8943300e5 of the ecd6fa3aad keypad being d29ee41d18 pressed was 26d6b8d359 oddly rhythmic. The familiar, urgent touch 29d27960a2 could only belong to 8190949425 Won Gyuoh. Minho froze, staring 6c875c0272 at the end 8f54b3842a of the hallway. Even with 9d140915d9 the owner d9d47672f9 home, the de272b9f54 front door 24d491ff30 swung open 407196e348 without hesitation.0e113974bd6b96da

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“What’s up? Didn’t sleep, or just 42383b5b60 woke up?”ad66310e9cbd4f1f

Gyuoh, dressed head-to-toe in 3bede666c3 black, paused when he 9051407d17 saw me standing there adadcbc118 blankly. Then he took 26c9ece548 off his black ed9092d37f cap, ran a e9d90e46db hand through his 46113aa9ca hair, and strode 5891b11ede inside. The cold smell b2d33d41d4 of wind mixed 3a0d260a3f with cigarette smoke fdfa3d215f hit me.f7f607875a1edd6d

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“If you 2fdea451e0 keep pulling c175304b7a all-nighters, you 78e8e5dfba won’t grow 63d5e9c5c4 taller, hyung.”8163d008a49bdf90

“I was just about a32e2d1153 to crash. What’s up at ca045835fd this hour?”d79d4570f1540e1d

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“Perfect timing. I was 0668b6d2c0 driving home, 101714ad8a but I d40df1b877 was so d5af3da63b sleepy I adc24db673 swerved.”8f2edc41af499004

Gyuoh, still 0def673e68 holding his 5305dd7617 cap, stretched 1ed74c178c both arms 5eba40e6cb wide. With a loud eff9d6a44e groan, he approached, 76cfdf5588 his dark shadow b56ca4c527 stretching long across a4665f3401 the floor. With only the c3e49102a7 hallway light on, 3c32bc48b9 our tangled shadows fe65e0a360 looked like one.322a9e2ee6489edc

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“Coming here feels like 3fd7fcd31e I can finally breathe.”e6b55853d91ec8b4

The way we endure 4e018b4fe2 the dark, the lives 9d50041194 we’ve lived—they’re so different. So how 0f1f6a1f77 can the 3f05371788 depth of afa2159494 our shadows c65b9f7abe be so c76e6c0ddd identical? I suddenly wondered.884555f1b308d2f6

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