Chapter Three

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Saturday, Your Bedroom, 8 am, Baekhyun's POV:

- You had just finished getting dressed, ignoring Hunnie who was still asleep in your bed, when you decided to check your pager. Your hopes weren't high, but maybe whatever god watched over spies who bordered on sociopathy had urged Hyuk to send you an update.

- They were funny little machines, the pagers, and to your knowledge, you and Hyuk had the only two in existence. He had found some mechanically minded genius to build them, and each of you had a tiny keyboard that would print a message on the others device with just a few clicks. They really were fantastic for field work.

- Walking over to your nightstand, you opened the drawer and grabbed the pager, switching it on and pressing the blue button which would print out any messages you had received while it was turned off.

- To your overwhelming delight, the tiny machine began to whir, and it spit out a six-inch strip of paper! You and Hyuk wrote in code, obviously, but you deciphered it so often that it was almost as easy to read as normal English.

- The paper read:

- 'Bacon, I don't fully trust your agent yet and he seems like a bit of a dick, so I didn't tell him anything. Plan is going wonderfully. Nini is here, but he's already mad at Namjoon, and Jaehwanie told him off in front of everyone. You should have seen it, fantastic. Namjoon seems mad at everyone, Jin is just confused, your ex hates me and won't leave me alone, and the princes haven't done much. Other guard is a nuisance, may kill him to make life easier. Also, don't boss me around from far away, it's annoying. – Satan'

- You laughed out loud and jumped on the bed. Hunnie woke with a start and exclaimed, "What?! What happened?!" You laughed some more and sat on top of him, holding the paper about an inch from his nose.

- "Look! Hyukkie sent an update!" you replied happily, and then read the deciphered version out loud. Hunnie's eyes narrowed a little, but he smiled when you finished. "Just tell him to kill everyone but Jinnie, I'm sure he'd enjoy it."

Time skip: The Dining Room, 9:30 am Yoongi's POV:

- You were sitting next to Taehyung, sipping your coffee and shifting your gaze around the table. There was something different happening on each side, and all sides but yours worried you. Taehyung and Jungkook were on your side of the table, talking quietly and telling each other stupid jokes. They were fine.

- Directly across from you, in an annoying seating change, were Jin and Namjoon. Yoonsun was with them, of course, and they were the second least worrying. Jin was feeding Yoonsun as always, and both your cousin and nephew looked very content.

- Namjoon was a slightly different story. He was eating, well, drinking his breakfast, in the form of an enormous mug of black coffee, sitting very still and glancing around the table almost as furtively as you.

- You weren't surprised by this behavior, it was textbook 'my husband and child might be in danger and I'm ready to stab the next thing that moves too quickly' Namjoon behavior. You had seen it more times than you would care to mention.

- Yoonsun had caused a tiny problem this morning, through no fault of his own. Somehow, Jin repeatedly telling your wonderful nephew that Jaehwan was his 'Uncle Kenjumma' must have stuck firmly in his tiny developing baby brain.

- This morning was the first time Yoonsun had seen Jaehwan in two months. Since that was a very long time in the short life of a baby, and with the changes in Jaehwan's appearance, you hadn't thought there would be an issue. But it seemed that the two of them had bonded quite a lot when Jaehwan was pretending to be Jin. Maybe Yoonsun remembered his smell or something.

- Whatever the case, Yoonsun had taken one look at Jaehwan and used his ever-growing powers of speech to exclaim, "Keh-Keh," pointing his tiny finger directly at his 'uncle' so there would be no issue of mistaken identity.

- Jaehwan had looked so overwhelmed, that he seemed to forget his anger at all of you and smiled. To your slight relief however, his lord had stopped him when he tried to go to Yoonsun, who happened to be in a very angry looking Namjoon's arms at that moment.

- Turning your attention to Jin and Namjoon's left. In your king's normal seats sat Kai and Kyungsoo. They were the furthest away from you, all the way over by Jungkook, and were neither were speaking.

- In Kyungsoo's case, this was one hundred percent normal behavior. But it was very abnormal for Kai. He appeared to be even angrier with Namjoon than yesterday, and the feeling seemed to be mutual.

- This was an unfortunate development, considering that Kai was your main ally. Sure, you really didn't care for him either, but Namjoon needed to at least try and be civil. Thank god for Jin, otherwise a whole new war would have broken out right here at the table.

- Kyungsoo was watching Kai worriedly, but the king was glaring darkly across the table. You followed his gaze to the person sitting on Namjoon's right, Lord Sanghyuk, and Jaehwan who was next to him.

- This new seating arrangement, put in place to keep Kai and Jaehwan as far from each other as possible, meant that Jaehwan was also next to you. You wouldn't have minded, if he was being his normal self. But this was the side of the table that had you the most on edge.

- You had been eavesdropping on Kai and Hyuk's argument last night, using a few spy tricks that Jimin had taught you, and it would have been impossible to miss Jaehwan telling Kai off. Privately, you thought he had every right to say those things to Kai and believed he should have said them a lot sooner, but the timing wasn't great.

- His outburst had also given you the first glimmer of hope that the real Jaehwan was still in there somewhere. Kai being a king wouldn't have stopped him from speaking his mind. You had seen Jaehwan be nastier than that to Namjoon on multiple occasions, and he had threatened and yelled at Sehun so much that he cut Jaehwan's cheek in public. Not to mention their other numerous arguments which always ended in someone pulling a knife.

- But that glimmer seemed to disappear with the rising sun. Jaebum had woken you absurdly early, and once you had gotten over your morning grumpiness, the guard had recounted the details of what happened when he went to see why Ravi was outside Jaehwan's room.

- Your friend and his lord pulling knives didn't seem too out of character, but Ravi taking orders from the spymaster certainly was. He had told Jaebum that he didn't want to upset Jaehwan, but that seemed like a flimsy excuse considering the fiery mood your friend had been in. You would be keeping a closer eye on Ravi now, just in case.

- Locking the guards out and proceeding to have loud and, what sounded to Jaebum like very kinky sex, despite the fact that both Jaehwan's old partners were right outside, may not be out of character either. You wouldn't know.

- What you did know, was that this Hyuk person had a distinctly sadistic air about him. It was very well hidden, but you could see flashes of it if you watched closely enough. Last night in Jaehwan's room may have happened specifically to hurt Jaebum. Being with Baekhyun had taught you to think that way, you didn't like it, but it was useful.

- After Yoonsun's adorable but poorly timed declaration, Jaehwan and Hyuk resumed their normal hair-petting and whispering routine. It was still going on now, and you watched the spymaster smile as he fed your friend a bite of pancake.

- Jaehwan seemed completely oblivious, but you saw Hyuk wink in Kai's direction before kissing your friend on the cheek. Shifting your gaze to the opposite end of the table, you noticed that Kai was holding his fork so tightly that you were surprised it hadn't bent.

- Honestly, one side of the table needed to leave. If it were up to you, Kai and Hyuk could leave together and Kyungsoo and Jaehwan could stay here, but that wasn't going to happen.

- Why was it always up to you to watch out for everyone? Without you here, none of them would have a clue what anyone else was doing! But it was what you were good at, so you would sit quietly and just observe. Until, that is, the time came where you could make a move.

Time skip: Ravi's Office, 4 pm, Namjoon's POV:

- Thankfully, Jin and Taehyung were continuing to entertain Kai and Kyungsoo, so you were using the afternoon to question your other guests. After seeing the very agitated state he was in this morning, you forced Jaebum to take the day off. Maybe some time away from everyone would help clear his head.

- Yoongi's unpredictable behavior didn't even faze you anymore. He had been scanning all of you non-stop today and had taken Jaebum's vacant spot in the back of Ravi's office, so he could listen to the interrogation.

- Once Hyuk and Jaehwan left the party last night, Kai refused to say anything else and had gone to bed pretty soon thereafter. His absence hadn't deterred you from asking Kyungsoo as many questions as you could about Hyuk, but the prince didn't seem to know anything. You wanted more information on what Kai had meant when he said pets.

- "So, what was Nini talking about when he said you like to train pets?" you asked, pretending not to be very interested. You had already been asking him random questions for an hour, and the conversation was going in circles.

- Hyuk looked supremely bored, and he gave you a lazy smile as he replied smoothly, "I have a very skilled and very loyal unit of soldiers at my disposal. I trained them personally, and can occasionally be a little harsh, so my friends call them my pets. I think it's because they feel a bit threatened."

- You didn't doubt that he had his own soldiers, but that seemed like a lie. It was like he had given you an answer to a question that you hadn't asked. And he wouldn't stop messing with the collar of Jaehwan's shirt, it was getting on your nerves.

- "Bullshit," Yoongi said coolly from behind you, very succinctly expressing your own disbelief. Hyuk tilted his head and smiled a little wider, replying evenly, "It's true, I can bring them here and show you if you'd like."

- That wasn't going to happen. Having one, or more probably two, enemies behind your walls was enough. No way were you going to give Hyuk his own personal mercenaries.

- "Try again. Who are your pets and what do you use them for?" Yoongi asked coldly. You didn't have to turn around to know that he was giving the spymaster his signature appraising stare.

- "I just told you. It's not my problem if you don't like the answer," Hyuk replied calmly. All of his attention was now on Yoongi, and he had thankfully stopped touching Jaehwan's collar, but was now playing with his hair instead.

- "Jaehwan, did you ever see any of these soldiers?" you asked, not caring if you sounded rude. Your old guard captain hadn't even been paying attention, and only seemed to come out of his day dream when you said his name.

- "Hyoggisent some scary looking guys with swords to run errands occasionally, but not very often, and I don't know what the errands were. He doesn't need guards obviously, so they weren't really around unless he was gone. Then, four always watched me, but they were poorly trained, and I think they were Sehun's."

- That wasn't a helpful answer! You sent guards to do things all the time! His response seemed to make the spymaster happy, though, because he gave Jaehwan a very patronizing smile before looking back at you.

- "See, even my lovely boy knows I have no use for a personal guard. Sehun and I had the same fighting teacher, and I'm sure you're aware of how skilled he is with a knife. Our teacher used to say that I was just the tiniest bit faster."

- He was probably just bragging, although Yoongi had told you how quickly he nearly stabbed Jaebum the other night. The prospect of anyone being better at killing than Sehun put your guard up even further. And if he said 'lovely boy' one more time, you were going to throw something.

- "Get back on topic," Yoongi snapped, and you realized with frustration that you had let the spymaster distract you. That only reinforced your belief that he was hiding something.

- Hyuk sighed and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling, replying in a disinterested voice, "I thought we were moving on. I gave you your answer." You still didn't believe him, but you didn't know how to get him to tell you the truth.

- This time, it wasn't Yoongi who broke the silence, it was Jungkook. He hadn't done any questioning yet today, and the first thing he chose to say was a bit... strong.

- "Is Jaehwan your pet now?" Jungkook asked in a slightly accusatory tone, leaning forwards in his chair and watching the spymaster suspiciously.

- Everyone in the room moved at once, all but Yoongi and Hyuk.

- At Jungkook's question, Jaehwan reached behind him and pulled out an absurdly ornate knife, almost the length of his forearm and dripping in rubies, before standing and pointing it at Jungkook as he hissed, "I'm no one's pet! Watch your mouth!"

- Before his weapon was fully drawn, Jungkook was unsheathing his twin daggers, and so were you. The two of you held your knives defensively, but Ravi had stepped quickly behind Jaehwan and was pressing a blade to his throat in case he tried anything.

- You didn't know why Yoongi hadn't made a move and had even less of a clue why the spymaster was smiling!

- Jaehwan was panting a little, and he glared at all of you through narrowed eyes for a few seconds, before the corners of his mouth turned up in a stupid little smirk.

- Ravi must be really on edge, because a single drop of blood ran down Jaehwan's neck. His dagger had broken the skin, just barely, but Ravi was normally so controlled that any slip-up was a dead giveaway.

- Jaehwan hissed a little under his breath, but he smiled wider and then laughed so menacingly that you gripped your knife tighter on instinct.Seriously, what the hell was wrong with him?!

- "Go ahead. Kill me, and then go explain it to your husband and key ally. I'm sure they would be overjoyed, Your Majesty," he said in a very nasty tone, looking directly at you.

- Teaming rudeness with proper titles was an obnoxious new thing he had started doing this morning, and as always, it earned a soft chuckle from Hyuk. But, Jaehwan was right, you couldn't kill him. Yet.

- Jin had forbidden you from hurting him at all until you had concrete proof that he hadn't really been kidnapped, and Kai would probably have a temper tantrum and go join Sehun's side tonight. You couldn't let that happen.

- Doing your best to push your anger aside, you gritted your teeth and nodded once at Ravi before lowering your own knife. Ravi glanced at the top of Jaehwan's head, but he slowly stepped back as Jungkook put his daggers down as well.

- "That's what I thought," Jaehwan hissed, his smile vanishing, and he glared at you for a moment longer before carefully sheathing his knife behind his back and sitting down.

- Hyuk draped an arm over Jaehwan's shoulders and used his thumb to wipe the blood off his neck, before giving Jungkook a bored smile and saying calmly, "I believe that answers your question, my Jaehwanie is no one's pet."

- His boyfriend had been seconds from death, but the spymaster hadn't even blinked! And Jaehwan pulling knives on people as well as being more unpleasant than usual pissed you off, lying traitor.

- They really were two of the most infuriating people you had ever met.

Time skip, The Parlor, 7 pm, Jaehwan's POV:

- After your reward for standing up for yourself during the questioning, and sitting through another stupid dinner, you were stretched on the floor and using Hyoggi's lap as a pillow. He had his back against the far wall of the parlor and was absentmindedly playing with your hair as he read quietly to you.

- This was what heaven must be like. You were so calm and happy that you had forgotten about Ravi who was standing five feet away, watching you like he had been for the past two days.

- You didn't particularly care that he had cut you earlier, either. He was just doing his job, and any feelings of friendship or loyalty you once had for him were long gone. You guessed that was mutual.

- Kai's presence had made you uneasy the moment he and Jin walked in, but Hyoggi's reassuring warmth helped balance you out again, and now, you barely remembered he was there.

- "Kenjumma? Can I talk to you outside for a second? Just you, me, and Yoongi?" Jin's voice asked from above you.

- Hyuk had stopped reading, and you opened your eyes to see Jin peering down at you. Yoongi was a few steps behind him, but you didn't want to speak to either of them, so you shook your head.

- "Please?" Jin asked, smiling at you in the way you knew meant he wasn't going to leave you alone until you gave in.

- You glanced up at Hyoggiand saw that he was already watching you. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he was going to stop Jin's pestering, so looked back at Jin and shrugged.

- As you pushed yourself up off the floor, you felt Hyuk's hand trail down your back and you couldn't help but smile a little. You smiled every time he touched you, it was like a magic trick.

- "Leave your crazy new mini sword here please," Yoongi said sharply. Jin was no threat, and you could take Yoongi whether you were skinny or not, and whether you were armed or not, so you shrugged again and reached back to pull it out.

- "Jaehwan! Don't pull knives on Jinnie!" Taehyung exclaimed from his spot on the couch. The prince looked startled, but you ignored both him and a slightly worried looking Kai as you replied calmly, "I'm not."

- You crouched down and placed your knife on the floor beside Hyoggi. He ran the tips of his fingers along your jaw, watching you move as he said evenly, "Don't be gone too long."

- You nodded, and he kissed you on the cheek before you stood up again. When you looked around, Jin was staring at you like he didn't even know you, which you guessed he didn't anymore. You didn't know him either.

- The Jinnie you knew wouldn't have just sat back and done nothing if he really believed something had happened to you, no matter what Namjoon said. He would have talked Namjoon in circles until he gave in, and it probably wouldn't have taken too long. Jinnie always got his way in the end.

- So, he either didn't think you really had been kidnapped, or he believed it and just didn't care. You weren't sure which one was worse. But whichever it was, he clearly hadn't cared about you as much as you cared for him, you had just been too stupid to see it until now.

- Hyoggihad already told you to play nice with him. You could be rude to everyone else, but he wanted the two of you to stay here and thought the main thing that might jeopardize that would be you yelling at Jin some more. It was why you weren't speaking, no reason to risk accidentally upsetting him and getting kicked out.

- You guessed Ravi

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