"i know that we are all feeling things, but let's push that aside and focus on the job." joshua said, addressing his concerns firmly. he could sense tension in the room, especially between himself and dokyeom, the younger looked troubled and sad.

"lee dokyeom." joshua says softly, looking at him he gave the folder regarding the case "i have a case for you about a ponzi scheme by a famous businessman, bae nam."

as dokyeom opens the folder he seemed worried, but it seems to joshua that it is not just about the case, there is something more that the younger worries about. joshua decided to ignore it for now, hoping he'd concentrate on the job and overcome his worries.

turning to wonwoo, joshua noticed how closely he was watching him, like he was trying to figure something out of him.

"jeon wonwoo," joshua said.

"take on the case of kim soo kyung, a young woman who's been wrongfully accused of a violent crime she didn't commit." he told him handing another folder for the case.

"your client will be here in an hour accompanied by police personnels. i know you can handle it but for this case let's not result to manipulation and cheating, play fair and try to mingle and ease your client. she has a intermittent explosive disorder (IED)." joshua informs wonwoo whose already looking into it.

"i'll review this in my office," wonwoo stands eyes glued at the folder.

as he leaves, joshua looks at dokyeom whose also looking at him. "what is it dokyeom-ah?" he softly says to him, coming out like a whisper.

"joshua hyung." the said name hums waiting for the younger to tell him. but as the younger struggles to make up his words joshua's phone rang, interrupting him.

dokyeom looks at him and smiled halfheartedly "answer it now hyung, let's talk some other time." at that dokyeom left his office in a hurry.

it has been weeks since he last saw the younger's bright smile, where has the dokyeom he loves so much gone. everyday joshua feels regret, he terribly misses jeonghan but the nightmares of them dying because of the choi family hunts him every time he closes his eyes at night. he would wake up with sweat all over him, his breathing heavy and tears running down his cheeks. he cannot let them suffer like that.

"i don't think a call is sufficient for this information hyung, come down the parking lot and i'll tell you."

kwon hoshi's is an efficient worker and a great company. joshua wanted him to be his driver for the time being but seungcheol suggested hoshi should be his bodyguard, and jihoon suggested for hoshi to be his informant for awhile since he wanted seungcheol to rest.

the two of them tries so hard to deny what they have but it is already so obvious how much they care and love each other.

kwon hoshi is actually so fun to be with, his funny, cheerful and bright like dokyeom. his sadness washed away for a while becuse of hoshi and they click, hoshi knows how to handle joshua when he is in his lawyer mode, he knows when is the right time to have fun and pester joshua, unlike cheol who is so stubborn and annoying.

kwon soonyoung came to prison because he was caught stealing from a bar, he went in to prison at the same choi seungcheol came in. and when he was out of prison because his sentence was over he went to prison again for beating a customer to pulp after disrespecting him.

joshua had learned that in physical attributes hoshi is not a tiger, but once you crossed him or once he becomes aggresive the man is a tiger. he finds it funny how hoshi inflicts to him that he is indeed a tiger, he gets offended when he tries to tell him that he looks like a hamster instead and when he says cheol look much more like a tiger than him. joshua always watches his expression and he finds the younger cute. the truth is he sees dokyeom in him.

the past 3 weeks with hoshi has been just a journey of them getting comfortable and getting to know each other. joshua now knows that kwon soonyoung and him actually met before, it was when joshua was celebrating his first win at a case, hoshi was his server at the bar they went to with his friends. and they met again at a convinience store when joshua bought an instant coffee to relive his stress.

hong joshua now knows that hoshi's mother is also a victim of the choi's. joshua still remembers how hoshi's eyes looked, he was still grieving over his mother's death. there was sorrow, anger and grief in his eyes. "she died fighting for her right as a person. she was a single mother working all day, and choi jae hyung just watches as she get beaten up by loan sharks she owes. she owed them money just to get me through high school."

joshua will never forget how much hoshi cried that night, he is still hurting and struggling to cope. hoshi was vulnerable and at his lowest and joshua was thankful for him sharing his burdens.

naturally he finds himself opening to him as well, he opens up about his nightmares about the death of his loved ones. opened up about his anger towards the choi's, he even opened up about his feelings towards jeonghan and how much he misses him. opened up about the mafia group. joshua told hoshi everything that made his heart tight. he thought the younger would not remember it by how drunk he was that night but joshua found himself being comforted by hoshi the next day.

how slow he was to open his heart to cheol, can be compared to how fast he was to open up to hoshi. is it because hoshi seems and is a genuine person? him breaking down in front of him affected him so much that he felt the need to open up too.

"kang bin jin, this is the primary suspect of the prosecution. kang bin jin and mayor yoo nara has been going out for years, yoo nara has been cheating on her husband for the last 2 years with kang bin jin. days before she died it was reported that kang bin jin was hurting yoo nara. the people next to the hotel room reported shouting and breaking of glasses from their room. and when the security team came to check, the room was clean and yoo nara was well."

"the cause of her death is strangulation right? jihoon hacked the cctv near her death place and take look at the shadow here." hoshi gave him his ipad.

the footage showed something different from what they thought. there were no signs that yoo na ra was strangled while she was still alive. that must mean that the marks on her neck were made after she died.

"this changes everything," joshua said, feeling a surge of determination. if yoo na ra wasn't strangled while alive, then how did she die? 

why would someone make it look like she was strangled?

as he thought about this, joshua knew they had to dig deeper into the case. the new information from the cctv footage was important, but it meant they had to start over in figuring out how yoo na ra died.

choi jae hyung is hoshi's and joshua's primary suspect. yoo na ra was third in the lead in the overall ranking for senatorial seat. choi jae hyung must've started doing dirty work to ensure his victory. but why? why yoo nara when he could take down park gang tae? to be safe? no the choi's doesn't know what safe means, as long as they get the result they want no matter how dirty and how chaotic it could get, they could fix it.

yoo na ra was already dead before the body was hung to the the ceiling of the room. her husband was out for a business trip. kang bin jin and her already ended things a month prior her death. the prosecution is claiming the kang bin jin killed her but the lawyer of kang bin jin is claiming that it was suicide, and if not kang bin jin is still innocent.

but why is joshua involving himself to the case? yoo nara and the lawyer was supposed to meet a day prior her death. joshua wanted to support her financially for her campaign but joshua had to deal with cheol who had suddenly opened his wound after working out. he cancelled their meeting and went to hospital instead, after that he hadn't heard from her.

5 days after their supposed meeting, joshua received a call from seungkwan informing him about the mayor of busan's death. and that lead him to investigate himself, he had a hunched choi jae hyung is involved in the case.

if you think about it, the only female running for senatorial seat died months before the voting starts. she was one of the most popular having been loved by many for beauty, brain and personality. why would yoo na ra suddenly get killed when she has done nothing wrong? even in  his own investigation, joshua saw no reason for her to die, she was neither suicidal nor have enemies that would want to kill her. so why? why did she die?

choi jae hyung came to his mind. no one murders someone for fun but him. he especially like women suffering, the misognynistic fucker likes killing women for fun. joshua admires choi jae hyung's wife for being an exemption to this excitement.

if he could get evidences that would lead to choi jae hyung's involvement in the case, it would affect his impact on people. he may lose senatorial race if joshua can ruin his image before voting starts. there is 3 months left until then.

"have you been to busan?" he asks hoshi from the driver seat, giving his ipad back to him.

"i haven't, are you taking me there? are we going to investigate ourselves?" hoshi's eyes lit up in excitement, smile big and wide causing joshua to return the smile. joshua nodded and the younger shouts in celebration.

"but i have to call someone first." hoshi nodded, watching joshua leave the car.

dialing a phone number, joshua's anxious. today is the day he had to tell his beloved friends about the shadows. he has to turn them over for evaluation from the yoon jeonghan himself.

minghao and wonwoo explained to him the other day that when someone wants to join their mafia group they go through multiple tests and they have to be evaluated in order to know their skills and abilitie.o know where they are lacking and needs to be further trained to, as well as know if they will loyal to the mafia group when circumstamces occurs.

joshua feels sorry for what he had done to his friends. he practically made their life even harder by entering the mafia group, he didn't think through his death wish. and he couldn't really face jeonghan and tell him to pull the contract because wonwoo told him that when a person is an official member the only way they can break through the mafia is through death, like what happened to lee christian. and as cruel as unfair that sounds like, joshua understand the rule jeonghan made. that's why he cannot do anything to save them, for now.

minghao gave him time when to turn them over, and he also told him that since they were his friends they would only stay in the headquarter for more than a month, unlike others who usually spends 3 to 6 months.

"seungkwannie, go home and pack your essentials. packed clothes that would be comfortable enough to run around with. packed your things that would help you lasts a month and meet me at my apartment." he orders his secretary, immediately ending the call.

dialing another number, joshua bites his lips as he waits. "minghao, i'll turn them over to you today at my apartment. please give me time to inform what's happening and to say goodbye. come after 2 hours, alright?"

"alright shua, i'll give you an extension for another hour. see you in 3 hours then." minghao sounded so excited, and here is joshua nervous and worried as hell for them.

"you really cannot tell me where you are taking them?" joshua's tone was asking but at the same time he's begging minghao.

"sorry joshua but leader's orders."

"okay, will you be fetching them alone?" there's silence in the other line, joshua awaits for his respond, hoping one of the two he misses the most will come see him.

"y-yeah, it will only be me, i will be fetching them using a black van." joshua sighs in his reponse, guess he shouldn't have hope for them.

"alright, see you hao." joshua ends the call sighing deeply and fighting himself not to cry.

as he settled himself in the car, joshua sighed. "hyung did you know that a haircut relieve stress and makes someone feel better." hoshi says looking at him, his whole body turning to him.

"let's get a haircut hyung!" hoshi invites him, but joshua wasn't in the mood to cut his hair. his long hair though yes bothering him, is alright for him. he doesn't have a time to even think of getting a haircut right now. he has a revelation to say later and a haircut will not be helpful.

"hoshi-yah i have no time fo-"

"one of my mom's job before was cutting hair, and she would always cut my hair. i have never experienced my hair being cut by another, its either my mon cut it or i cut it. please hyung come with me, it will be my first time i need someone and be my witness. plus, you look like you need it yourself." hoshi cuts him off, using his dead mother to him. joshua closes his eyes, internally screaming, he is stressed out. he can't handle it anymore.

"alright lead the way." he gives up. there is nothing much worse than hoshi's persistence right now.

sitting in front ot the mirror joshua can't help but notice how he looks like. eyes visibly tired, face gray and dry. his hair already covering his eyes.

after his hair was cut, "see hyung. you look so great, hot and cool, why haven't you taking care of yourself. you're so handsome." hoshi compliments him, making joshua laugh at his remarks and overeacting expression.

"do you feel a little better? lighter?"

joshuad nodded and smiled sincerely. he does feel better, not fully but a part of him feels better. it has been a while where he has seen himself this good looking. his long plain jet black hair, was turned into undercut, his hair not covering his eyes anymore. "thank you soonyoung-ah."

"no problem, let's go to your apartment now, shall we."

joshua had already informed cheol what he said to seungkwan and asking him to relay it to jihoon. arriving to his old apartment, he felt a rush of pain in his stomach where he was stabbed. the memory of the night still haunting him.

opening his door, the 3 people he expected to come sits at his couch, talking as they wait for him.

"everyone." joshua starts, breathing heavily. anxious of their reactions.

hoshi stood silently behind joshua, observing the tense atmosphere in the room. joshua sat in front of the three, his expression grave as he prepared to deliver difficult news. "i'll keep this simple and fast. please don't react badly, and know that it wasn't my intention to do this." joshua began, his voice tinged with regret.

"you're making me worried, shua. by the way, your haircut looks so good on you," seungcheol interjected, trying to lighten the mood, but quickly turned serious when he met jihoon's eyes.

joshua continued, "a person will take you to a place later on. in this place, you will be trained and evaluated for your skills and abilities."

confusion and concern filled the room as the three tried to make sense of joshua's words. "who? why?" jihoon questioned, his voice trembling slightly.

joshua took a deep breath before explaining, "ever since i was a child, i've been associated with a mafia group. and one of my death wishes was that when i die, the mafia group will take you in under their care where you will be safe."

"mafia? what?" seungkwan exclaimed, disbelief evident in his tone. he stood up, trying to release the tension he feels.

"yes, seungkwan. a mafia group," joshua confirmed, triying hard to keep together as he watch his friends expressions.

"the person who will fetch you will answer your questions, but i want you all to forgive me for this. i was at the brink of death, and someone assumed i was going to die, so he made you three official members of the mafia group."

"are you in it?" jihoon asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"no," joshua replied solemnly.

"why should we? can we refuse?" jihoon questioned, his brows furrowed.

"no, jihoonie. i'm sorry, the only way you can be free is through death. i tried my best to remove you from this situation, but i can't. i'm sorry, really sorry," joshua explained, his voice filled with remorse. he bowed at the three.

"are they the good guys? will they hurt us?" seungkwan inquired sitting down, his eyes searching joshua's face for reassurance.

"no, they won't. you will just be evaluated. just do your best, and you're there for protection, not for harm." joshua brought himself up, assuring them. his voice steady despite his inner turmoil.

suddenly, the doorbell rang, revealing minghao wearing an all black clothes standing in front of them. he immediately signaled for them to leave joshua's apartment.

"he's the one fetching you. cheol you know him right?" the said name nodded, remembering he is the proffessor friend of joshua and also the owner of hai cheng bar from his investigation.

joshua and minghao exchanged a few words as they walked down to the lobby, with the four men following closely behind.

"hao, promise bring them back to me unharmed. please." joshua desperately says, holding the man's hand as he looks at him in desperation, his doe eyes glistening as he tries hard not to cry. joshua feels so sorry for a