Kai's laughter echoed after him.
He didn't even try to get up.
Didn't try to argue.
Didn't defend himself.
He just lay there on the hot floor of the sauna, grinning like a devil who'd just stolen fire.
"Shibal saekkiya... geu-man u-seo..." Rin muttered through gritted teeth as he yanked open the door, steam rushing out behind him.
"Fucking bastard. Stop laughing already."
But—
His hands were trembling.
And no matter how hard he clenched his fists, he couldn't stop the shaking.
"That could've gone bad. Really bad," Rin thought, his jaw tight, eyes burning with fury and something far worse—fear.
"If he hadn't laughed—if he'd actually followed through—I don't know if I could've stopped him. I would've broken something. Or he would've. He's not the kind of person to pull punches. He doesn't care that we're partners. He doesn't care about anything when he's pissed. That guy's a fucking predator—and the only reason I'm still in one piece is because he chose to laugh instead of kill."
Rin's chest ached. Not from the shove. Not from the heat. From the feeling of being small.
From being prey.
He moved fast, cutting through the corridor outside the sauna, skin still damp, clothes nowhere near his reach, towel clinging to him like it had been glued on.
"I need to finish this mission. I need to be done. I need to get the hell away from that psycho."
Rin's thoughts spiraled, sharp and panicked.
"I can't let him get under my skin again. He's dangerous. Not just annoying—dangerous. If I let my guard down for even a second more—he'll ruin me. The way he talks, the way he moves… he's not bluffing. He's not harmless. He's a ticking bomb dressed in pretty skin."
He turned the corner, fast, almost slipping on the wet tile.
WHOOOSHHH
The wind howled through the treetops like a chorus of ghosts, shaking snow from the branches above. Rin sat cross-legged on a thick blanket of pine needles, half-hidden by the undergrowth, his XX-series scanner binoculars pressed to his eyes. The lenses emitted a faint click.
Beep. Beep.
A green grid scanned across the distant silhouette of the mansion, shifting with every twitch of his finger. Onscreen, red outlines of heat sensors and movement trackers pulsed softly.
Rin's expression was focused. Unblinking. The man could sit still for hours like a panther stalking prey, even with the cold biting through his coat.
"No traces of anyone having passed by." His mind whirred like a machine. "The place is like an impenetrable fortress. I can't find a single way in. They've got more cameras than a goddamn movie set."
He lowered the binoculars slightly and squinted at the structure itself.
"The door… really my only option? There's no cover. And the wind—being where we are, the direction's unpredictable. Parachuting in or landing a helicopter would be suicide. I'd be torn apart by the sensors before I even touched the rooftop."
He sighed and pulled out a cigarette—except it wasn't a real one. It was one of his modified tools: a disguised wind meter with a built-in thermal sensor. It clicked as he flicked it.
Beep.
"Looks like aerial access is out. Whatever's inside that mansion—it's worth enough to scare the living hell out of its owners. You only guard something like this when it's irreplaceable."
He stared out for a long moment. Jaw tight. Eyes narrowed. His stomach rumbled.
Back at the cabin
Rin was hunched over the rickety gas stove, stirring a pot of what barely passed as soup. The cabin was dim, one of the overhead lights flickering with an irritating buzz.
Steam rose from the pot of pelmeni, but his face remained unimpressed. His lips were drawn into a thin line, and his brows were furrowed as if he was about to interrogate the dumplings.
"Ugh... I'm tired of eating this. I need some real food. Japanese food. Donburi. Sushi. A goddamn miso soup. Something that doesn't feel like a punishment."
He stirred harder, aggressively scooping a floating dumpling and slamming it back in.
"I've been working surveillance since dawn. Crawling through mud, freezing my ass off, all for this watery pelmeni? No seasoning. No soul. What I wouldn't give for a hot, spicy soup… just a taste of home."
His mouth was already watering. His pride refused to admit it, but he was starving—not just for food, but for a single shred of comfort.
And then—
SLAM.
The door burst open like divine intervention.
Kai swaggered in, coat tossed over his shoulder, still wearing that stupid, cocky expression he'd patented. He smelled like cold air and bad decisions.
"The manor's still silent," Rin muttered without looking up, poking at the pot like it owed him money. "Didn't see a single person go in or out."
Kai didn't respond right away.
Instead, he stepped further into the room with the energy of a game show host announcing a grand prize.
SHALALAAAAA~
"I heard East Asians go crazy over this stuff," Kai said casually.
In his hand—a packet of spicy ramen. Bright red. Korean print. And not just that—two eggs, cradled in his other hand like rare gems.
Rin jolted upright like he'd been electrocuted. His eyes locked onto the ramen with the intensity of a man who had just seen salvation. His body trembled—not from cold, not from fear—but from sheer desire.
"W—where did you get that?" he whispered, voice hoarse, eyes wide.
Kai tilted his head, smug.
"From the owner of this place, obviously. Said some Korean guest left it behind as a gift. Thought I might want it more than his stale bread."
Rin's face dropped.
"But he never said a single word to me…"
"I've been eating this slop for days and the man had ramen just sitting there? Does he hate me or something? Am I cursed?"
He moved instinctively, reaching out to grab it—but Kai smirked and lifted the packet out of reach.
Rin lunged.
Kai tossed it to his other hand with a lazy ease, like a parent teasing a child. The eggs jiggled dangerously in his other palm.
"You're really going feral over this, huh?" Kai said, grinning like the bastard he was.
Rin was panting. Not dramatically—just short, shallow breaths like a man barely holding himself back from committing an act of unspeakable violence.
"Hahaha..." Rin chuckled through clenched teeth. His smile was all canines. "Give it to me, Kai."
"Not for free," Kai said smoothly, turning his back to Rin as he placed the ramen pot over the fire, the metal clinking softly against the stove.
Rin stood behind him, arms crossed, posture rigid despite the tantalizing aroma creeping into the room like smoke from a holy offering.
"What do you want?" Rin asked, voice flat but tight. Like he already regretted asking.
Kai didn't look back. He stirred the noodles lazily, as if the ramen was just a minor side quest.
"Nothing big," Kai said. "But I guess that depends… on how you look at it."
Rin's heart sank like a rock in a bowl of soup.
"I knew it. It was never gonna be easy. With him, it never is. I don't know what kind of outrageous request he might pull out of his psychotic grab bag. I can't just agree. Gotta stay in control. Gotta—wait. Shit. That smell."
The ramen's aroma was invading his senses. Spicy. Garlicky. Sharp. His stomach growled audibly, and he had to clench his jaw not to drool. He tried to trick his brain—he leaned in slightly, hoping the smell would fool his taste buds, would give him something.
He took a bite of the half-cooked pelmeni on his plate.
Chewed.
Swallowed.
Instant regret.
"Ugh. No. Nope. This tastes like regret and childhood trauma. My brain isn't that dumb. I need that ramen before I start hallucinating."
Rin shifted uncomfortably on the old wooden chair, leg bouncing.
Then—
TADAAA.
Kai turned, bowl in hand, eyes gleaming with smugness. He placed the hot, steaming bowl of ramen on the table right in front of Rin, as if he were delivering a final boss prize.
Rin didn't hesitate.
He moved to grab the fork, hand twitching with anticipation—
Slide.
Kai shifted the bowl out of reach with one smooth motion.
Rin's head snapped up.
"Oh my God, if you don't eat it, it'll go soggy, you idiot!" Rin snapped, half-panicked, half-murderous.
Kai shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me."
He smirked.
That damn smirk again.
But there was something else this time.
A wild gleam in his eyes, like he wasn't even fully focused on the food anymore. Like the scent had awakened something darker. Animalistic. He looked like a beast stalking a kill—but the prey wasn't the noodles.
It was Rin.
Rin clenched his fist, trying to stay calm.
"Okay. Deep breath. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe he really does just want to trade this for something simple. Like information. Or a favor. Or—ugh, who am I kidding?"
He glanced at the bowl again.
"It's shrinking… it's shrinking by the second. I can't lose this battle to some ego-tripping bastard with high cheekbones. I'll hear him out later. Eat now. Survive first."
With that, Rin snatched the bowl.
He didn't even wait.
He dove in.
First bite.
Explosion.
Spice. Heat. Comfort. Pain. Nostalgia.
His eyes fluttered shut briefly, a soft sigh escaping his lips.
"Fuck, I missed this."
He slurped the noodles, the broth burning his throat just right. He was hunched over it like a starving wolf, shoulders relaxed for the first time in days. His brain quieted. For a moment—just a moment—there was peace.
Until—
"Don't move," Kai muttered behind him, voice low. Close.
Too close.
Before Rin could register what was happening, two cold hands slid beneath his worn singlet.
Palms pressed flat against his chest.
Fingers tracing the muscle lines like they had a right to.
Rin flinched mid-bite, noodles halfway into his mouth.
"W-What the hell—?"
Kai's thumbs brushed over his nipples.
"Jiggle them for me," he whispered in his ear.
Silence.
Rin's eyes went wide.
"Jiggle what!?"
He choked slightly, dropping his fork.
But before he could swing around and deck him—
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The tracker on the nearby table lit up, blinking like salvation.
Rin jerked forward, yanking Kai's hands out from under his shirt with one hand while grabbing the tracker with the other.
"The target's finally moving," Rin said, breath heavy, trying to push down the wave of fluster and fury bubbling in his chest. "Looks like that punk finally had his long-awaited shit."
He snatched up his coat and earpiece.
"Thanks for the meal," Rin muttered, sarcasm oozing from every syllable. He patted Kai on the shoulder once—firm, almost violent—and brushed past him like he hadn't just been groped mid-bite.
The door slammed behind him.
Kai stood alone in the cabin.
Motionless.
His fingers hovered in the air for a second before curling slowly into a loose fist. He looked down at his hand. Then, without a word, he brought it up—
Inhaled.
A slow, deep breath.
Like he was committing Rin's scent to memory.
Then rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Fuck…"
A low, near-growl escaped his throat as he tilted his head back, neck muscles taut with tension.
A dark grin spread across his lips.
He licked them.
"When I get my hands on you, Rin…"
Night drew nearer, the mountain air curling against the cabin like a cold warning. Rin, finally alone, laid back on the top bunk bed with an audible exhale, arms folded behind his head, eyes staring up at the wooden ceiling.
"Haa... I can finally breathe now that Kai's gone out on patrol," Rin thought, letting the silence of the room blanket him. "I really prefer working alone."
The air was still, heavy with pine and distant smoke. The creaks of the old cabin were familiar now, almost comforting. Rin closed his eyes for a second, hoping to let the silence eat away at the tension Kai always dragged in like mud on boots.
"He did help me out to some extent..." Rin conceded. "But a partner that does more harm than good is better off not having."
Suddenly—a buzz.
Vrrrrt.
Rin cracked an eye open. Phone.
He leaned over the bunk edge, eyes narrowing. It wasn't his. His own phone remained cold and unused beside his coat.
"Since Kai's the one who got me this phone, I don't even have anyone else to contact..." he thought, sliding off the bed. The buzzing had come from another device—Kai's phone, left carelessly on the table.
"Oh. So it was from Kai's phone," Rin murmured.
The screen was glowing faintly, a message waiting. Rin hovered his finger over it.
"Eh... It's locked. Of course." He paused. "Wait... what was the code he used in the e-basement again?"
He tried it.
Click.
The screen unlocked.
"It... unlocked?" Rin whispered. A strange weight settled in his gut. "Why do I feel weird about this...?"
He stood there, gripping the phone.
"I don't really feel good about looking through someone else's phone... My motto in life is to not interfere in other people's business and not have them interfere in mine... Plus, this is my partner we're talking about, and this could be a private email that has nothing to do with me..."
But even as he thought it, Rin found himself reaching for the laptop.
"No. This might be my only chance to see what the true Kai is like. What exactly is he up to? Did he really join this mission to get his hands on the blueprints? Who is he close with? I need to have at least one of these questions answered."
Rin connected the phone.
"Ah... thankfully, it's working," he muttered as the data began to mirror and extract into his laptop.
"If the notification was untouched, he won't be able to tell that his phone was hacked."
He clicked through.
And then—
His eyes widened.
His stomach dropped.
His heartbeat slowed.
The error in Scythe-9 has been fixed. It's currently being inspected for any other issues. The result will be announced in two days when everyone is present. We look forward to seeing you then.
Rin stared.
"What the hell...?" he whispered.
His fingers trembled slightly as they hovered above the trackpad.
"There was an error in Scythe-9. And it's recently been fixed? But it sounds like this email is meant for all those who are involved in the weapon's development... Then why has Kai received it?"
Before he could process further—
Click.
The door creaked open.
Kai stepped in.
"All that for nothing," he said breezily, tossing his gloves to the side.
Rin quickly straightened, eyes sharp, phone behind his back.
"A simple 'can I see?' would've done the trick," Kai added, voice far too casual as he approached.
Rin stepped forward, holding out the phone, tension etched in every muscle.
"Explain this to me," he said coldly.
Kai arched a brow, then shrugged.
"I may or may not have 'borrowed' it permanently," Kai said.
"What do you mean?" Rin asked.
Kai grinned.
"Remember that Anastasia chick I met at the Romanovs' place? Yeah, she wanted my number. So, while she was all smiles and handing me her phone… I dropped in a cute little app. Not your basic malware—nah, this thing's a ghost. Even the best wouldn't catch it. It just… hops around on its own through messages."
He leaned closer.
"And lucky for us? Ana's basically a family group chat addict. Now we're sitting pretty with front-row seats to every convo on their phones."
Kai casually handed the phone back.
Rin took it, eyes narrowing.
His mind raced.
"So he's infiltrated them through social engineering. Of course he has. Even his surveillance is manipulative. He didn't even bother telling me about this—was he planning to keep this to himself? What else is he hiding?"
Kai leaned back slightly, the edges of his mouth curled into that maddening smirk that Rin had come to associate with lies, danger, or both. He shrugged like he hadn't just admitted to embedding a ghost app into a foreign heiress's phone for weeks—like it was just some fun prank he pulled at a summer camp.
"Even a small app like that," Kai said, stepping forward slowly, "can be used as a weapon these days. Hell, it's got more demand than those big, shiny chunks of metal everyone thinks are scary. The real power?" He tapped his temple lightly. "Is data. Information. Control."
His voice had that familiar rhythm again—low, smug, rehearsed like a lullaby meant to disarm. Rin's eyes didn't leave the screen.
"Okay, that's all fine and dandy," Rin said through gritted teeth, his tone sharp but even. "But why the hell have you been hiding such a useful tool until now? Were you planning on keeping it from me forever if I never found out about it?"
Kai didn't flinch.
Instead, he laughed under his breath and casually strolled behind Rin, resting his elbow on the back of Rin's chair like he owned the air around them.
"Well," Kai said lazily, "I didn't exactly feel obligated to share my trade secrets with a guy I was only supposed to work with temporarily. Think about it, Agent Scarlet…" he leaned in, voice a whisper against Rin's ear. "Did you ever consider me your comrade?"
Rin's eye twitched.
He exhaled slowly and rolled his eyes, dragging one hand down his face.
"Smart son of a bitch," Rin thought bitterly. "He knew I don't trust him from day one, and he's using it against me. That smug little grin, that tone, like this was a game I was bound to lose."
Still, Rin had to admit—Kai had a point.
Rin's fingers hovered over the keyboard one last time before he let out a quiet sigh and moved to close the laptop.
But before he could, Kai's hand clamped over Rin's wrist.
The hold wasn't aggressive—but firm enough to make Rin freeze.
Kai leaned in closer, invading the space Rin kept so obsessively to himself.
"So that's how it is, huh?" he said softly, voice too calm for comfort. "Even if it's just for now, we're still partners… and you still went and hacked my phone."
Kai's breath brushed against Rin's neck like static.
"That kind of move," he said, "says a lot about how little you trust me."
Rin's stomach twisted.
He hated how close Kai was standing. He hated how calm he sounded. He hated that he was right.
"I didn't want to trust him. I didn't want to need him. But I didn't expect he'd catch me like this… cornered. And I sure as hell didn't expect him to throw guilt in my face as if he's the victim here."
Kai didn't let go.
"If you keep freezing me out like this…" he continued, voice dropping even lower, "don't be surprised if I start thinking you don't care at all."
That was it.
Rin's jaw clenched so hard it ached.
"Oh, geez. There's only so much bullshit I'm willing to hear before I start throwing hands."
He yanked his wrist away and snapped the laptop shut with a hard clack, standing up to face Kai head-on. For a second, their faces were just inches apart—calm, unreadable, but tense. One wrong word and the air would crack.
Rin's eyes burned cold. His tone was razor-sharp.
"I didn't hack your phone because I don't care. I did it because I don't know you. And maybe that's on you."
Kai blinked—once.
Then he grinned again. That slow, mocking grin.
"Now that sounds more like the Rin I know," he said, hands raised in mock surrender as he took a step back.