I'll be with you

Minho threw his bag under the table, sitting down opposite Jisung and exhaling a little aggressively: "Did you have to meet so early?" He leaned his elbows on the table and stared at the guy. He adjusted the hood of his bright sweatshirt, another this time. Interesting, how many of them he has? "Yes, this is important. We couldn’t meet yesterday, and the case has been going on for quite a long time, so we can’t hesitate,” he sighed, frowning, “you see, Bang Chan will soon go and hang himself because of this case... he told me most of the details, but not all." "So, you think that I will agree to become your partner in investigating the case of some crazy person who is threatening me and two other people whom I don’t even know, which could endanger my life, if the maniac is enough crazy in order to move on to more specific threats? And all this for your cop friend who just can’t handle the case himself?" Minho raised his eyebrow skeptically, "What made you think that I would agree?" Jisung had obviously already thought about this question, because he was silent for only a short time before starting an awkward argument: "I can say you several reasons why you would be interested in this case." “I’m listening carefully,” Lee sighed, leaning back in his chair, inadvertently looking at the menu sign behind Jisung. Since he dragged him to some coffee shop, it’s worth at least understanding what Minho was losing by eating only coffee brewed personally. “Well, first of all,” Han cleared his throat, “you know one of the victims before you. This is Kim Seungmin. You are friends, if I understand correctly?" Minho looked from the sign to the guy, thinking for a couple of seconds. “I wouldn’t call us good friends,” he muttered finally, noticeably softening, “but this does change things a little. Seungmin is having a hard time right now..." "Yes, I’m talking about the same thing. You and Seungmin are both in roughly the same situation right now, so... you will both be interested in one way or another in what I say next." Jisung looked around quickly, leaned towards Minho and noticeably lowered the tempo of his voice, "I heard that you have a suspect, right?" “As I see, your friend isn’t very good at keeping secrets,” Lee muttered, “but I have to admit that yes, I have some thoughts. I would even say very specific." "That’s what I’m talking about!" Han exhaled, "This is who I’m thinking about?" "I have no idea who you are thinking about. And I honestly don't think I can talk about these things too loudly. We're in a public place, after all. As someone who has started receiving threats, I wouldn’t take the risk." "Okay, I'll ask it differently. Is this the new owner of “Racha”?" Minho frowned and looked at Jisung intently. "Maybe. But what exactly are you getting at?" Han looked around again, looked at the young man again, raised himself on his elbows and bent even closer to him and quietly whispered: "Do you have any idea how much money you could sue Seung from if you found evidence of his guilt?" However, Minho for a few seconds after the incident could not concentrate at all on how much money Seung had. He was much more worried about something else... The sudden acceleration of his heartbeat at Jisung's warm breath on his cheek and the smell of some kind of mint candy that seemed to be coming from his mouth. Lee's ears became noticeably hotter, and he could only pray that they didn't turn red. However, after five seconds of slight shock, Minho managed to collect his thoughts and mutter: "Oh... yes, I think..." he took a deep breath, making his voice less trembling, "I think this fact made your offer very attractive." He cleared his throat, looked away and quietly continued: "But this, frankly, does not change the fact that someone still threaten me. Wouldn't it be stupid to get into the very epicenter of events just because of the hypothetical possibility of suing him?" "Don’t forget, no one is threatening me. I will act mainly as a person who knows quite a lot about the matter. But you will help me find out what I don't know yet. After all, Bang Chan definitely didn't tell me everything. Well, in theory, you will help me communicate with two other victims..." "You could have just as easily turned to Seungmin, by the way. But why me?" "Because I kind of saved you from a robbery,” Jisung reminded, "And we communicated at least once, so you at least agreed to come here and talk to you. Through you I will get to Seungmin, and through him to Jeongin, the first victim. That's all! Easy enough, right?" Minho winced nervously, but nodded. "Yes, that makes sense. Well... if it doesn't require me to do something crazy and risky..." "Of course! I’ll just need a little help,” Han smiled radiantly, extending his hand to Lee, “so, okay?” Minho sighed and shook Jisung’s hand, nodding. "Yes, we agreed. If we actually get the chance to sue this idiot, that would be absolutely wonderful." "Great," Jisung’s smile seemed to become even wider, "You just can’t imagine how happy I am that you agreed! I would never have decided to take on this alone, you understand." Lee raised the corners of his lips, trying to smile more confidently in response. It didn't turn out very believable, but he tried. "Okay, since we came here, let's order some coffee or something?" he suggested awkwardly, holding Jisung’s hand a little longer than he should have. "Aren’t you tired of coffee at your job? In your place, I would have been turned away from it a long time ago,” Han raised his eyebrows a little in surprise, “but in any case, why not, since you don’t mind..." He walked up to the counter, waving at the man behind it rather friendly. He adjusted his glasses on his nose and muttered: "Jisung, what the hell? I already thought that you would use our establishment purely to have a place to sit,” he turned his gaze to Minho and nodded gloomily, “hello.” “Good afternoon to you too, Changbin,” Han nodded, “well, excuse me, I had to bring a person somewhere... and you work right next door. It won't hurt you if we sit here for a short time." “On a date, I could have behaved more decently,” Changbin noted, taking out a glass, apparently for Jisung’s usual order, “I would have ordered something in advance for the young man, since I invited him... I need to teach you everything.” “This is not a date, Changbin,” Jisung clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes, “by the way, I had a business conversation here.” “In that case, I’m very sorry,” Changbin answered without a drop of regret in his voice, “mister, what will you do?” “Americano with ice, please,” muttered Minho, who barely understood what was happening. Changbin nodded as he began fiddling with the coffee machine. Jisung turned to Lee, resting his palms on the counter. "This is my roommate, don’t wjrry. We just know each other very well." Minho nodded, smiling awkwardly. "I understand... Relationships with rommates can be... very specific. The wait for an americano has never been so intense. Minho needed to be alone and really think about what happened right now. What was it? Why did embarrassment occur from such an innocent thing as an ordinary whisper in the ear? Minho had fallen in love with guys before, but to fall in love with a guy so quickly? This is quite stupid. He's not a little teenage girl. Lee took a deep breath, shook his head, and snorted quietly. He didn't want to think about it. "Your ice-Americano." Changbin gave him a paper cup, "and yes, I’m warning you right away, Jisung is not the best partner in financial matters." he chuckled, "he’s a good person, but he’s too childish for any serious events." “Changbin, don’t bother me,” Han muttered, taking two coffee and taking Minho aside, “see you in the evening, idiot.” “Good luck, idiot,” he answered with the same tenderness. “Now let’s go, before he realizes that I only paid for one coffee,” Han snorted, taking Minho with him, “in the evening, of course, I’ll get it for this, but for now you got a free Americano.” *** Actually, the day wasn't that bad: Minho sat in class, drank his free Americano and chatted with Jisung, who detailed what he already knew from Bang Chan. In general, Minho got the feeling that Han spoke about Chan like a child talks admiringly about what an amazing older brother he has, who is superior to anyone in his knowledge and skills. The situation was not out of the ordinary: at first, threats began to come to a certain Yang Jeongin, in content they were quite close to the threats of Minho. They also did not have any specific claims or demands, but some were much more serious than Lee’s. For example, one of the threats was written in the blood of some animal on the bathroom mirror. It was creepy not only because the mirror still had to be cleaned of blood, but also because the maniac had a way to get into the house. Jeongin himself did not want to go to the police, and therefore kept silent about the threats for a long time, until his new roommate, Seungmin, also began receiving threats. Then Jeongin already insisted on going to the police. Jeongin and Seungmin had no suspects at all. Actually, they said almost nothing; they rather wanted to prevent the maniac’s threats from moving from words to actions. Now the case was almost cold due to the complete lack of progress, which is not very clear, because Bang Chan mentioned that there were some serious suspects, but all of Chan's management assured him that this case did not need to be investigated at all, and that these two were only victims someone's stupid prank. He almost began to believe it, but only until yesterday. Yesterday Minho entered the game, which ruled out the prank version. *** In the evening, Minho, still actively texting with Han, returned to the apartment. As he pulled out his keys, he saw skulls neatly glued to the surface of the front door, like the ones sold on Halloween eve for decoration. “You’re losing your grip, buddy,” Minho snorted, turning into space, “nothing special compared to an apple and a bird.” "Oh, yes?" a voice came from behind, "I thought you would like it." Lee yelped and spun around, but quickly calmed down when he saw only Felix behind him. "Oh my God... you're crazy. I almost had a heart attack,” Minho muttered, wiping his forehead with his sleeve and opening the door with the key with a trembling hand, “Hyunjin told you everything, right?” "Yeah.” the guy nodded, "These two days have been terrible for you, of course.” he sighed gloomily, trying to pat Minho on the shoulder supportively, but it didn’t come out too sincerely, "Well.. listen, the main thing you need to remember is that Hyunjin and I are always close and all that..." he drawled hesitantly. "It’s okay,” Lee smiled, entering the apartment, "I can handle it. From what I know, this maniac doesn't go beyond empty threats. Let's just be a little more careful and not get into trouble, right?" Felix nodded and pursed his lip, as if he wanted to say something else, but decided against it. Instead, he just stroked one of the cats that came running to meet the guys and went into the living room, leaving Lee in ringing silence. He sighed sadly, going to his room. The situation seemed more depressing than dangerous. The money had to be taken from somewhere, and Minho simply had to work. Lee didn’t understand well how Han decided to bring Yang Seung to light, because judging by what could be found on the Internet, suing this brawler was simply an unbearable burden. If they succeed, it will be simply a miracle. Ah? Han... he is a strange guy. His motivations are very transparent, he is simply worried about his friend and wants to help him, albeit in such a stupid way. But he was worried. There was something... threatening about him. The danger did not come from Jisung himself; he seemed extremely harmless. However, some specific aura of adventurism, some childhood dreams and hopes emanated from him, and this equally repelled and attracted. Minho accidentally looked at himself in the mirror, catching himself that while thinking about Jisung, his ears were actually turning red, which was extremely strange. He was not particularly romantic or sentimental. From a purely psychological point of view, Lee could explain what happened by saying that the first meeting with Han took place in such strange and exciting circumstances that this guy in a bright sweatshirt seemed to become the personification of all the problems that befell Minho at the same time. This was quite rude to him, because Han himself seemed like a nice guy, and he didn’t want to brand him with such an unflattering nickname as “the cause of all my problems.” Lee chuckled softly, patting the cat's back again. "Doonie, what do you think? Would Jisung be offended if he found out that he had inadvertently become associated with problems in my head?" Doonie purred in a rather positive tone, which could be considered a good sign. Jisung is a good guy who would at most find such a coincidence funny. Minho chuckled, leaning back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. A skull appeared on it in a play of shadows... or does Minho just want to sleep, and is he already imagining everything? He smiled weakly, closing his eyes. Yesterday and the day before yesterday he was tired, but due to stress, fatigue did not allow him to simply fall asleep, without nightmares and nerves. But today fatigue spread sweetly over his body, lulling him to sleep and allowing him to simply close his eyes and doze off. He was still in the thick of things, he didn't have a job, he was receiving threats, some complete crap was going on with his former colleague, but all this was so unimportant when he was lying on the bed, surrounded by cats and with a stupid smile on the face. Finally, the soothing purr of the cat put Lee to sleep, giving him the opportunity to take his mind off these strange events for the first time. *** Lee opened his eyes with difficulty, sincerely thinking for a couple of seconds about how strange it was that he woke up not from an alarm clock, but from loud, demanding cat cries demanding a hearty breakfast. He yawned and stretched, picking up his phone. Then he finally realized that with all these events he was completely lost in the days of the week. Today was Sunday. Minho looked tiredly into the mirror, rubbing his face. The apartment was very quiet for a Sunday morning. Considering that his roommates hadn't announced any plans for the day, it was strange that the kitchen wasn't full of clinking dishes and hushed conversations. Suddenly Lee's eyes widened. What if they also became victims of threats? He jumped up, startling the cat and running out of the room, looking around the room with fear in his eyes for more threatening messages or, as he feared, the bodies of Hyunjin and Felix. However, he quickly calmed down when he saw a completely calm and safe picture. His roommates were just still sleeping. Hyunjin leaned his back against the wall, and Felix was lying right on top of him, hugging a friend... god, what "friend"? Minho sighed with a slight hint of sadness. He had long suspected that Hyunjin and Felix were dating, and just did not tell him about it, so as not to remind Minho of his hopeless engagement with work. Did Minho want a relationship? He definitely wouldn't say no, but he didn't really want to take risks, try something new, or go all out by fucking with everyone. He wanted someone reliable, someone who could stay with him as long as possible. Minho fell in love quite strongly, clung to the object of his adoration and did not let him go. Not everyone would agree to such conditions, and it would be strange to start an acquaintance with the words “you won’t leave me right after you get something you want?” So Lee thought and thought... and each time he changed his mind, returning to his only reliable love, work. But it also betrayed him. It left him, abandoned, almost broke his heart. This dismissal really became something of a breakup for Minho. And he needed something to fill the emptiness inside that arose after this difficult breakup. He's probably being overly dramatic...or is he? After all, three years is not such a short period of time. During this time, anyone can truly become attached to anything. But still, Lee rarely thought about actually dating someone. He hardly envied his roommates. These two are happy together and are really good for each other, so why not be happy for them? He walked into the kitchen, pouring food for the cats and putting water on to boil. The morning really didn't start out that bad. Minho sat down with a mug of tea on the sofa, opposite the sleeping Hyunjin and Felix, and simply began scrolling through his social media feed, relaxing, as if there were no problems around. There is only him, the sofa, tea and cats. "Oh... good morning?" a slightly alarmed voice rang out. Lee looked up at Felix, smiled tiredly and sighed: "Well, what time did you fall asleep yesterday?" no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hide the mockery in his voice, "Usually by this time you’re already picking me up." “At about three o’clock in the morning,” Felix estimated, getting off Hyunjin and covering him with a blanket, “nothing special, I just didn’t want to sleep. I guess I completely lost my routine." "Not only you, apparently,” Lee shrugged, "well, at least you didn’t make any noise. And thanks for that." Felix chuckled nervously as he stood up from the bed and stretched. He then glanced around quickly, obviously having analyzed the situation in his head, and looked back at Lee: "Did you somehow react too calmly to the fact that Hyunjin and I are dating... or is this the calm before the storm?" Minho snorted, shook his head and answered quietly: "I just no longer have the strength to be surprised by anything new in my life. And what's the difference? It doesn't matter who with whom, just let me sleep, that's all. And no problem, right?" Felix, noticeably calming down, smiled and headed to the kitchen. The tea gradually ran out. Minho sighed sadly. It was time to return to harsh reality. He opened the front door, expecting to see writing in blood or his name burned into the door, but there was only a small note pinned to the door. Lee took off the paper, unfolded it and read the surprisingly polite note: “I’m not making any threats on Sunday. Rest easy, Sir Lee Minho.” The guy chuckled, folding the note and putting it in his pocket: "How touching, Mr. Seung."