Jeongin started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Half an hour later he was walking through Chan’s front door. Hyunjin was already there.

Waiting.

Pacing.

Again.

“Seriously?” Jeongin sighed. “Does nobody in this house sit down?”

Hyunjin ignored him.

“What did you find?”

Jeongin immediately knew Felix was the reason Hyunjin looked like he hadn’t slept.

“A hello would’ve been nice.”

“What did you find?” Hyunjin repeated.

Chan appeared from the kitchen carrying three cups of coffee. 

“You’re not helping Hyunjin.”

“I’m trying.”

“No,” Chan said calmly, handing him a cup. “You’re panicking.”

Hyunjin snatched the coffee.

“I’m not panicking.”

“You wore a path into my carpet.”

“I was thinking.”

“Sure.”

Jeongin dropped into the couch.

“Can I talk now?”

The two older men looked at him.

“I’m not entirely sure what it is I found.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure?” Hyunjin asked immediately.

“I mean I don’t know what I’m looking at. I found something hidden in one of the filing cabinets.”

Chan immediately straightened.

“Hidden?”

“Like intentionally hidden.”

He opened the photos and handed the phone over.

Chan’s eyes narrowed as he scrolled.

Hyunjin leaned over his shoulder.

The room slowly grew quiet.

Until neither of them were speaking.

Jeongin frowned.

“What?”

At first Chan’s expression didn’t change.

Then his eyebrows furrowed.

Then he zoomed in.

Then back out.

Then into another picture.

Hyunjin leaned over his shoulder.

“What is it?”

Chan didn’t answer.

Which wasn’t a good sign.

“What is it?” Hyunjin asked again.

Chan handed him the phone.

“You tell me.”

Hyunjin frowned and looked through the pictures himself.

One page. Then another. Then another.

The room fell silent.

Jeongin shifted uncomfortably.

“Okay, you’re both doing that thing.”

“What thing?” Chan asked.

“The thing where you’re staring at something and making me nervous.”

Chan blinked.

“I don’t know what this is.”

“What?”

“I have no idea what I’m looking at.”

Hyunjin nodded slowly.

“Neither do I.”

Jeongin sat up straighter.

“Seriously?”

Chan swiped through the photos again.

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“How?”

“It’s not bookkeeping paperwork.”

“Okay…”

“But it isn’t loan paperwork either.”

“What do you mean?” Jeongin asked.

Chan turned the phone around.

“Look.”

Jeongin leaned closer.

Rows of information.

Dates. Names. Numbers. Notes. Columns.

Everything looked official enough.

But the information seemed random.

Disconnected.

Like pieces of a puzzle from different boxes shoved together.

“I don’t get it,” Jeongin admitted.

“Neither do I,” Chan said.

Hyunjin rubbed his eyes and started asking multiple questions at once.

“Could it be coded?”

“Maybe.”

“Could it be fake?”

“Maybe.”

“Could it be completely unrelated to the business?”

Chan sighed.

“Maybe.”

Jeongin groaned.

“That’s a lot of maybes.”

“Exactly.”

Chan leaned back in his chair.

“What bothers me is that somebody hid it.”

The room quieted.

Because that was the real problem.

Not the paperwork.

The fact that someone had gone through the effort of making sure nobody found it.

Hyunjin stared at the screen.

“If it’s important enough to hide…”

“Then it’s important enough for us to figure out,” Chan finished.

Jeongin nodded.

“So what’s the plan?”

Chan’s gaze drifted toward the photos again.

“You keep digging.”

A slow grin spread across Jeongin’s face.

“Now that’s the answer I was hoping for.”

Hyunjin didn’t smile. His eyes stayed fixed on the phone. On the strange pages. On the growing feeling in his chest that somehow, somewhere, Felix was connected to all of this. And that thought scared him more than anything.

The front door clicked shut behind Jeongin. For a few seconds, neither Hyunjin nor Chan spoke. The room was quiet except for the ticking of the clock hanging on the wall. Hyunjin stared at the photographs still displayed on Chan’s phone from when Jeongin had texted the photos to Chan.They weren’t any closer to understanding what they meant than they had been an hour ago.

If anything, Hyunjin felt more frustrated now. Every answer seemed to create three more questions. Most of those questions somehow led back to Felix. Chan sighed heavily and set his phone on the coffee table.

“Well.”

Hyunjin rubbed a hand over his face.

“This has been worth the headache.”

Chan snorted.

“I know. I hate mysteries.”

Hyunjin huffed a quiet laugh.

“That’s because you’re impatient.”

“Coming from you?”

That earned the faintest smile.

“I was hoping we’d finally get something concrete.”

“So was I.”

The silence returned.

Hyunjin sank back into the couch and rubbed his hands over his face.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Felix. Not the Felix from their date. Not the Felix who smiled shyly when he laughed. Not the Felix who had looked at him like maybe, just maybe, he wanted something more.

No.

He saw the Felix Chan had described. Exhausted. Empty. Walking out of that building looking like someone had taken every ounce of life from him. The image wouldn’t leave him alone. Something twisted painfully in his chest.

“You’ve got that look again.”

Chan’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

Hyunjin lowered his hands.

“What look?”

“The one where you’re thinking too much.”

“I always think too much.”

“Not like this.”

Chan studied him carefully.

For someone who constantly teased him, Chan could read him frighteningly well.

Hyunjin looked away.

His chest felt tight.

“I don’t like this.”

Chan glanced over.

“The documents?”

“No.”

Hyunjin shook his head.

“ I keep thinking about Felix. Do you really think something’s wrong?”

The question came out quieter than he intended.

Chan didn’t answer immediately.

That alone told Hyunjin everything.

“I don’t know,” Chan admitted.

“But I know what I saw.”

Hyunjin swallowed.

The knot in his stomach tightened.

“How bad was it?”

Chan sighed.

“Worse than I told you.”

Hyunjin’s head snapped toward him.

“Chan.”

“I didn’t want you doing anything stupid. Plus, I keep thinking maybe we’re overreacting. Maybe nothing is wrong and we are being over dramatic…” Chan says unconvincingly.

“You don’t believe that.”

“No.” Chan said simply.

Because Hyunjin didn’t either. Not anymore. Not after everything Chan had seen. Not after hearing how isolated Felix seemed. Not after learning about the security surrounding his house. Not after seeing how nervous Jeongin had become after only a few days inside that building.

Felix had seemed lonely before. Now it felt like his loneliness wasn’t a choice.

It felt like isolation. Like a prison. A prison he willingly walked back into every day. None of it felt normal. Chan leaned back against the couch.

“What are you thinking?”

Hyunjin stared at the floor. For a moment he considered lying. Then decided against it.

“I keep thinking about him.”

The admission slipped out before he could stop it. Chan didn’t tease him. Didn’t laugh. Didn’t make a joke. Which only made the words feel heavier.

“I know.”

Hyunjin laughed softly. A sad sound.

“I barely know him.”

“Doesn’t seem to matter.”

“No.”

It really didn’t.

Because somewhere between their first conversation and their date, Felix had lodged himself firmly in Hyunjin’s heart. And now every new thing he learned made him worry more.

“I want to see him. I just…”

His voice faltered.

“I want to know if he’s okay.”

The confession hung between them. Raw. Honest. Chan’s expression softened.

“You care about him.”

It wasn’t a question. Hyunjin stared at the floor.

“Yeah.”

The answer came embarrassingly fast.

Chan smiled faintly.

“Figured.”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

Chan leaned back and groaned instantly and over dramatically.

“There it is.”

“What?”

“I knew we’d get here eventually.”

“Get where exactly?”

“Get to the point where you FINALLY admit you like him.” 

Hyunjin shot him a glare.

“Yah! I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

Chan crossed his arms.

“I understand you want to see him…but how do you expect to do that? You realize you can’t just show up at his house.”

“I know that.”

“You can’t walk into Lee Loans.”

“I know that too.”

“You definitely can’t follow him.”

“I know.”

Chan narrowed his eyes.

The look made Hyunjin immediately defensive and guilty.

“What?”

“You have an idea.”

“No.”

“Hyunjin.”

“Okay, maybe.”

Chan pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I hate when you say maybe.”

“It’s not a bad idea.”

“Those are usually the words people say right before a bad idea.”

Hyunjin ignored him.

“What if I accidentally run into him?”