Hongjoong is still drowsy when he gets up in the morning, but his sleep is instantly gone when he walks to the living room to see Seonghwa putting his shoes on. He had completely forgotten that he's at his house.

"Wait- aren't you going to have breakfast and go?"

Seonghwa shakes his head, quickly tying his laces. "I'm running late, I'll pick up something to eat on the way or something".

Hongjoong nods awkwardly as he watches the other pull the door open and quickly head out, he follows him out the door.

The latter suddenly stops and turns around to face him. "Thank you Hongjoong, really. I knew I was too tired last night but I was stubborn, thanks for convincing me".

Hongjoong offers a smile "it's no problem, you can stay over any time-". He mentally hits his head, that came out wrong.

Luckily Seonghwa doesn't notice or chooses not to. "Please keep this a secret, don't tell Yeosang"

Hongjoong doesn't question the strange request and just nods, watching the other run off to work. As he turns to head back in, he sees Yeosang looking at him, confused.

"Did I just see Seonghwa hyung?" He questions out loud, more to himself rather than Hongjoong.

The older looks at Yeosang, who is holding a trash bag, he must have gone to take out the trash and saw them.

"Uh... yeah he stayed over" Hongjoong figures there's no point lying when he literally saw Seonghwa, oops.

Yeosang widens his eyes. "Really? Thank god. How did you convince him to stay?"

He shrugs. "I just suggested it and he agreed"

Yeosang sighs in relief "thank you thank you hyung. I know it might have been uncomfortable with a stranger in your house but thank you." He pulls Hongjoong into a tight hug. "I was really worried about Seonghwa hyung last night." Hongjoong hums and pats Yeosang's back, he was worried too. Only a bit. Maybe.

~

"Yeosang, do you know this number?"

Wooyoung shoves his phone into his face, which displays an unsaved number and a strange message.

+82 XX-XXXX-XXXX
Jung Wooyoung, please meet me at this cafe today an hour from now. It's urgent. Please.

Yeosang looks at the number, it's not his mother's, or anyone he knows. "I have no idea" he says with a frown.

Wooyoung scans the message, he's always skeptical of these kind of things, who knows what would happen if he goes. "Should I go?"

The other glares at him "of course not. Just ignore it".

He sighs, the sender had said please twice and it made him feel bad if he stood them up, it really does seem urgent and Wooyoung honestly has nothing better to do.

With a final nod, he gets himself ready to go.

As he opens the door to leave, he's held back by a hand pulling him away. "Ow- Yeosang what are you doing"

"I told you to ignore that text, why are you going to meet a stranger?"

Wooyoung listens to Yeosang scolding him like a parent. "I'm just curious, this person seems genuine"

"How can you tell someone's genuine through one sentence!"

He shrugs, its true. But something in his gut is telling him to go, and hoping it's not a murderer. "Are you worried about me" Wooyoung says with a bright smile.

Yeosang rolls his eyes "what a stupid question, even if a stranger showed me a random text and asked me if they should go I'd still say no, I'm just saying this is a bad idea."

The smile is replaced with a pout as Wooyoung sighs. "No need to be so rude. Just say you think I'm dumb and go. I'm going"

Yeosang panics as the other storms off and he quickly stops him again, grabbing his arm. "Wait! I'm sorry, I am worried of course" he frowns, finding it difficult to admit it and Wooyoung melts, he's too soft hearted to be mad at anyone. "It's okay" he pats his shoulder.

"Be cautious ok? Even if something feels a little off just leave, ok?" Wooyoung stares into Yeosang's pleading eyes, getting lost in the eye contact for a second, then nods. "I will, don't worry, see you".

~

The cafe is in a popular area, meaning that the streets are crowded and full of life, which reassures Wooyoung that at least if he gets kidnapped, many will notice. Looking around the half empty store for anyone sitting alone, he doesn't know what kind of person he's expecting, a thug? A blind date? His old boss?

He almost missed the man sitting at the back of the cafe, alone and looking around, as if waiting for someone. They make eye contact and Wooyoung gathers the courage to walk up to him.

He clears his throat, trying not to sound nervous "are you the one who sent me the text?"

Despite him not wanting to look nervous, the other man seems to not care as he looks intimidated by Wooyoung, bouncing his leg rapidly "yes, sorry if it sounded suspicious, thank you for coming".

Wooyoung frowns, he recognises his voice from somewhere, sitting down as he tries to remember the very unique voice.

The other man fortunately doesn't keep him waiting and gets to the point. "I'm the one who tipped you about crush a few months ago".

He widens his eyes, remembering his deep voice from the call as he told Wooyoung about crush's scandal. He opens his mouth to speak but the other speaks again. "I know all about how crush deleted the article, and that you're infamous for it and you cant find anyone to hire anymore. I know, its all my fault and I just want to say that I'm so sorry-"

"Then why did you tell me a lie, did you want me to get fired? Why would you- no, I should have known this was a prank call or something, I was dumb enough to believe you and-"

The man in front of him bites his lip, looking like he's seconds away from full on crying and Wooyoung eyes him skeptically, then sighs. "Why did you call me here"

The man blinks a few times to sort himself out then looks up at Wooyoung. "It wasn't a lie. I promise, please believe me".

Wooyoung frowns, "what do you mean you weren't lying?"

"I had a feeling crush would make you take it down but people need to know, they're dangerous! I didn't know you'd be fired. I'm so sorry, please forgive me"

The other is just babbling a string of apologies as Wooyoung drowns out the sounds, trying to register what was said to him just now. "Wait, so you mean its true that the ceo has been taking people hostage for things in return?"

The air around them is silent for a few moments before the man replies, it looks like he was gathering the courage to speak again. "It's true, I wanted someone to write about it to put an end to it."

Wooyoung nods, "but... how do you know about this?" He asks the other, who gulps and looks away. "I was taken too"

An unintentional gasp escapes Wooyoung's mouth "what- how? Why didn't you tell the police?"

The man scoffs. "They didn't believe me obviously, told me I was crazy and to stop telling lies".

Wooyoung scans his face, the eye bags a clear indication of restless nights, how long had this been haunting him? He remembers him mentioning that some models that had worked with crush had mysteriously disappeared. "Are... you a model? What's your name?"

The man nods, "I'm Song Mingi, under KQ modelling agency".

He gives Mingi a reassuring smile, "thank you for telling me, I'm sorry I was rude to you at first".

Wooyoung feels guilty about not believing Mingi, the poor man has probably been through so much, he knows how hard it is to go up against a huge company and him being petty about losing his job wasn't helping. "No, I'm the one who's sorry, I'm the reason why you got fired, I should have gathered more evidence before calling you, you had nothing to go off apart from my call, I've humiliated you"

Wooyoung scoffs "its not your fault Mingi, I'm the one who should have gotten more evidence, its my job for goodness sake"

Mingi chuckles "how about we work together to stop this from happening again?" He proposes and Wooyoung agrees, it gives him something to do and who knows? Maybe he could make a comeback with a sensational story and everyone would be begging to hire him.

Wooyoung shakes his head quickly, cursing himself for being so selfish, this is not about him, its about Mingi who has gone through something traumatic and wants justice. "Are you okay with talking about it, from start to finish, everything you know?"

Mingi nods and Wooyoung is glad he brought a notepad as he writes down everything he says.

There is a rumour going around that the top makeup company, crush, is on it's way it becoming bankrupt within the next few years. The ceo, not wanting that to happen, is willing to do anything it takes to replace what is lost, even if it means kidnapping the models they work with and threatening them and robbing them of their job and money.

"Do you remember that model Cha Yujin?" Mingi says, whispering slightly.

Wooyoung definitely remembers, her story was all over the news "yeah, she's the model who had a drug scandal" now that he thinks of it, he has no idea what she's doing now... could it be? Was she-

"Oh she wasn't in any drug scandal, she was kidnapped by the crush ceo a few weeks after her company had worked with them, and forced to play along with the drug scandal so shed get fired. They even force fed her drugs so that her tests would come out positive".

Wooyoung stares in shock at what he's hearing. "What the fuck, that's a make up company ceo, not a fucking gang leader!" He exclaims and Mingi nods sorrowfully.

"What... happened to you?" Wooyoung cautiously asks, not wanting Mingi to feel pressured to experience it again in his head.

The other smiles sadly, "I was fortunate enough to be rescued before anything serious happened, my company thankfully gives their models bodyguards, so I was kidnapped and taken away but its wasn't long before my bodyguard found me. I explained everything to him and we both tried telling the police, our ceo, anyone. But no one believes us. You were the only one who had, and wrote something about it, thank you Wooyoung."

Wooyoung sighs, he wants to help Mingi and all the others who have been in this crazy situation. This time he'll really do everything he can to make people listen and gather evidence, work with Mingi to write something and get it read by everyone, so that they'll have to listen and believe them. Help Mingi and the others get the justice they deserve.

"Don't worry Mingi, I'll do everything it takes to help you, save my number and I'll call you, I think I know where to start".

Mingi beams and its the first time Wooyoung sees a genuine smile "thank you so much" he stands up and holds out his hand to Wooyoung.

"It's no problem" he says, shaking his hand, then pulling him into a hug. "You did well, thank you for contacting me"

Mingi melts into the hug but it only lasts a second before Wooyoung is roughly shoved away. "Jongho!" Mingi says with a frown "why did you do that, you heard the conversation, he's on our side"

Wooyoung looks confused as he looks at this man called Jongho. "You never know hyung, I don't trust him yet."

Mingi shakes his head "he's working with us now so don't be mean to him" he pinches Jongho's cheek, making him whine. Wooyoung awkwardly looks at the two in front of him, he didn't even notice the other man was sitting in the table next to theirs. "Oh, Wooyoung sorry, this is my bodyguard Choi Jongho" Mingi says and Wooyoung hums in understanding.

"Ya!" Jongho elbows Mingi's stomach, making the other groan in pain. "Why would you tell him my surname?"

Mingi rolls his eyes "stop being so dramatic, he's not some mafia leader, what's he going to do with your name if he was anyway"

Wooyoung looks away from the two with wide eyes, Jongho has wrapped his arm around Mingi's waist. "I'm just being cautious, I don't want anything happening to you again" he says with a pout. Mingi sighs and ruffles his hair "I know, but don't waste your energy worrying about good people okay?" He pinches his cheek again and Jongho nods.

Mingi notices Wooyoung's awkward stare out of the window and chuckles "ah, sorry for making you uncomfortable, Jongho is my boyfriend as well as my bodyguard." Wooyoung looks at the two, intimidated by Jongho's stare as if he's silently telling him 'yeah, do you have a problem with that?'

"That's nice, you two look good together" Wooyoung says in an attempt to get on Jongho's good side, which seems to have worked as he notices the faint blush on his cheeks.

"Don't we?" Mingi beams, grabbing Jongho's hand proudly and it makes Wooyoung's heart warm. He wonders if Jongho was his bodyguard before being his boyfriend or after.

~

When Wooyoung comes home, Yeosang runs out of his room making him look up, startled by the sound of him slamming the door. He clears his throat awkwardly "oh, you're back".

Wooyoung nods, going into the living room and Yeosang follows him, he looks at him questioningly "do you need anything Yeosang?". He cant help but notice that his roommate had been acting weird ever since this morning, did anything happen?

He shakes his head "no, just- who did you meet?" He asks and Wooyoung is surprised he even cares but he's actually glad because he loves to gossip.

"You'll never believe what I heard today" Yeosang listens intently as he tells him evetything, Wooyoung wants him to know that he's making an active effort to fix his life, and help people on the way.

He knows that Yeosang's uncomfortable with him around and that he doesn't like his family prying into his personal life, he'd seen it on the day of the party. He should be able to get out of his life soon once he gets a job, he just has some extra steps now.

"So... what are you going to do now?"

"First, I'll start off at the police station" Wooyoung days and Yeosang frowns "I thought you said the police wouldn't believe you?"

He shakes his head "yeah but, there is one person that would, my friend is a police officer". Yeosang nods slowly, not really knowing what to respond.

"I'll visit him now actually, you know him, its Yunho" Wooyoung gets up as Yeosang exclaims "you didn't tell me Yunho is a police officer"

To be fair, they don't know each other that well yet, let alone what their friends do for a living, it doesn't really come up when you've got only one reason to talk to each other.

Wooyoung thinks they should stop acting like business partners and more like roommates. "You never asked? Come, lets go together, San will be there too"

"Is San a police officer too?"

"Nah, he's a forensic scientist, but his lab company is in partnership with Yunho's police department. It's how they met actually a few years ago, San wouldn't stop talking about this hot police officer and then boom, a few months later, they're dating". Wooyoung shakes his head, San was lucky enough to find someone so perfect so easily, Yunho is one of his best friends now too.

Yeosang nods, finding it interesting listening about other peoples lives, everyday is like a surprise. He'd never had any surprises in his life, everything being written out for him like his career path, he had freedom over who he dated though, but they always turn out horribly. At least he has some sort of freedoms now, though his mother is still pestering him about Wooyoung. He has no idea how he's supposed to end it smoothly.

They arrive quickly to the police office with Wooyoung happily skipping in and Yeosang hurrying behind him nervously, he's never been in a police office and he's a little intimidated. "Oh? Wooyoung! What are you doing here?"

Yunho waves from his desk and the pair take a seat in front of him "Yeosang you're here too!" Yeosang sends him a bright smile, ok, maybe this isn't as scary as he thought, Yunho must be some sort of happy virus or something.

"Is something going on? I'd never thought both of you would be visiting here" He chuckles and Wooyoung clears his throat, getting ready as if he's about to propose a business plan. "I have a special case for you to investigate" he says in a serious tone.

Yunho looks puzzled "what kind of case?"

They explain the whole situation, about how they need to find more about crush and their ceo, what happened to the missing models and how to stop it. Yunho ponders for a while, Wooyoung had said it's unbelievable and to just trust him that it's true. And he does believe him, Wooyoung wouldn't lie about something as serious like this, the problem is getting permission to open a case about this.

"It's going to be hard to get information on the ceo, I don't think any other of the officers would believe me, or even if they did, they be too scared to file an investigation against crush, you know they're one of our biggest sponsors?"

Wooyoung scoffs, what would a makeup company benefit our of sponsoring a police department?

"I'll do what I can on my own and I'll send you whatever information I find". Yunho says and Wooyoung claps, pulling him into a hug over the desk which is a bit uncomfortable for the both of them. "Thank you Yunho, it's alright if you can't find anything, don't go overboard trying to gather information" Yunho nods.

After listening to their conversation, Yeosang has an idea. It's not much but he hopes it could be useful, for some reason he really wants to help, finally have something interesting to do, and helpful. He turns to Wooyoung to speak but gets distracted when a loud shout is heard.

"Yunhooo"

All three of them turn to see San jogging towards them with a bright smile, stopping abruptly upon seeing Wooyoung and Yeosang then running to them. "Hi guys! What are you doing here?" He says, clearly happy to have more company.

"Hey San, we're here on official business" Wooyoung says and San lets out an interested hum, standing behind Yunho who is sitting down, and wrapping his arms around his neck. "What kind?"

Yunho lifts his head up to look at him "very serious stuff, ill tell you when we get home" he says and San nods.

"Since we're all here, should we eat lunch together?" Wooyoung suggests happily but San pouts "sorry Woo, I have some bullet wounds to analyse soon, I just came here to hug Yunho before heading off".

"It's okay, maybe next time, we can plan a double date!" He says and Yeosang snaps his head to Wooyoung confused, only getting an innocent smile in return.