Fifteen minutes later, walking through and abandoned subway station, they'd lost the first tail within six blocks and it was definitely not easy with Leo's constant whining of how tired he was and how he needed to rest.
"I thought you were a gym instructor?" Mingyu had asked. "You're so lazy for someone who's this muscular."
Leo was panting hard. "I....uh...
I'm an influencer. Bro we need to rest please! I'm gonna die..." He continued whining as Mingyu pulled him along till they go past the first block.
The second block on the other hand, took way longer. Mingyu had to drag Leo through a drainage tunnel that reeked of food waste and stagnant water. And by the time they surfaced in the abandoned station, Leo was bent over, hands on his knees, breathing like he'd run a marathon. Mingyu, infuriatingly, looked like he'd taken a casual stroll.
"Okay." Leo straightened up, hands on his hips. "Okay. Wow! I needed that. I really did."
Jae fidgeted bit before patting Leo's back. "You did good. Well done. That was just the beginning."
"Oh hell no! First of all, I need you to explain what the just happened. Everything. Starting with why you're dressed like a backup K-pop dancer — you look good by the way, I love your fit. But don't you dare lie to me."
Mingyu was scanning the shadows, checking exits and calculating their next moves. Then he turned to face Leo who was staring at him, arms crossed, waiting for the explanation.
"You need a shirt."
"Oh, don't you dare change the topic. I need an explanation. now!"
Mingyu let out a deep sigh. This guy was making him talk way too much and he hated it. But he definitely had to tell him what was going on. Because going forward from here? it won't be as easy at all.
"Look, you livestreamed my face during a classified intelligence operation. That footage is now in the hands of at least three hostile organizations who will pay substantial money for information on my location and for my head. And if it's not already obvious to you, yes – i am a spy."
"So you're, like, actually a spy." Leo said with an eyebrow raised in suspicion and doubt. "I don't believe you."
Mingyu grunted in frustration. "Weren't you listening to anything I just said?" He Sighed. "I am an Industrial espionage specialist."
"So....that's just a fancy way of saying spy. I'm I correct?"
His jaw tightened. "Yes. The company that owns that gym is a front for Helix Dynamics. They're developing a weapons system that can do so many terrible things and destroy humanity basically. It could totally rewrite digital reality, falsify evidence, crash economies and erase people and anything in its way, from existence. I was retrieving the data that proves it exists."
Leo stared at him. "And I just... accidentally ruined your whole mission by filming you?"
"Yes."
"And now we're both going to die."
"Most likely."
There was a pause. A very long one. Then Leo started laughing. A loud, full-body, doubled-over laughter that echoed through the empty station like he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. Mingyu watched him with the expression of someone observing a particularly confusing biological specie. He was so close to landing and air-knocking kick to his neck. "Are you having a mental breakdown?"
"No, absolutely not." Leo said waving his hands in defense. "It's not that." He wiped his eyes. "I just wanted to film a workout video, that's all. And i woke up early today. At 5 AM in fact. On Valentine's day. I did my skincare routine. I put on my lucky orange shorts and stepped out to the beauty of my first morning in Korea and now I'm in an abandoned subway station, shirtless, with this cold hearted pink-haired assassin who's dressed like a K-pop idol, and apparently I'm on a hit list."
"Should I feel sorry for you? Of course not this is all your fault!" Mingyu barked. Surprising himself. He'd promised his therapist he'd do his best to control his temper but this was getting hella annoying.
"My fault?!....." Leo went on and on about how he did everything perfectly and how Mingyu ruined his morning and Mingyu was watching and waiting for the right moment to knock him out. But he remembered his therapy and controlled his breathing to relax.
Calm down, Mingyu. Calm down.
Slap!
"You slapped me?"
"Keep it down!" Mingyu interrupted. The slap hurt his hands a little. "...I understand your frustration but we can't draw unnecessary attention to ourselves right now. We have to figure this out."
He caught Leo's hand before it could make it's way to his face. "This is the best worst day of my life." Leo grunted pulling his hands away.
Mingyu's eye twitched. "Yes." he responded cold-heartedly. Leo finally caught his breath, bending and straightening himself up. His expression shifted, still relaxed, but something sharper underneath now. "So, real talk now. How much danger are we actually in?"
"Substantial."
"Like, 'they'll find us in a few days' substantial, or 'they're hunting us right now' substantial?"
"The latter."
Leo cracked his knuckles. He looked relaxed physically but in his head, he was already running around and screaming 'This is not cool! I'm gonna die! Wnere are you mama?!' but he had to hide that from this cold hearted spy of a guy so as not to get on his and side. "So what's the plan?" He asked.
Mingyu blinked. "The plan?"
"Yeah, man. You're the spy here. Clearly, we gotta work together now, right? That's how this works."
"No."
"No?"
"I work alone."
"Okay, but counterpoint:" Leo gestured broadly. "You are stuck with me now. Literally. Plus, I'm also in the video so my face is out there as much as yours. And fun fact…" he said gloating with pride. "I even have eleven million followers who are probably losing their minds trying to figure out where I am right now. So either you help me stay alive, or we both die separately. Your call."
Mingyu stared at him for a long cold moment. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a zip-tie handcuff. Leo's eyebrows shot up. "Whoa, hey. I know it's Valentine's day and I'm flattered, but I usually require dinner first or a," he was joking but he didn't like where this was going.
Mingyu snapped one cuff around Leo's wrist and the other around his own. "You're a liability to me right now. Until I figure out what to do with you, you stay in my sight."
"You're handcuffing me to you?"
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"Until you're no longer useful or you're dead, which hypothetically, would happen sooner than you think."
"Dude!"
"Sorry." Jae said. Not meaning it. "Are you ready?"
Leo looked down at their joined wrists. Then at Mingyu's face. He had sharp attractive features. His pink hair falling across his blue eyes that looked like they'd never smiled in their entire life. Then he grinned. "You have no idea what you just got yourself into."
Mingyu's expression didn't change for a bit.
"Whatever." He muttered. "We're leaving the country. In three hours, there's a cargo flight to Osaka. If you slow me down, I'll leave you in a shipping container."
"Wow, so romantic." Leo snapped rolling his eyes.
"Move." Mingyu turned toward the north exit, yanking Leo along with him.
***
Behind them, in the shadows, something chirped. A surveillance drone. It was small and nearly silent. It detached from the ceiling and followed them quietly.