The Diamond Race | discontinued

chapter 3

10:00 Barcelona, Spain 41.3851° N, 2.1734° E

This was nice.

He was lounging on a beach, a fresh margarita in hand, with the sun above him, giving just the right amount of warmth. This was paradise.

"I can't believe!" A voice sang loudly in the air.

Baekhyun couldn't believe either. This was a lovely day at the beach. It was everything he could ask for and more.

"I can't believe!" The voice was much louder now. It was almost real.

"Don't mess up my tempo!"

Baekhyun frowned. Now that was definitely not a part of his dream. The beach and sun faded vanished from his eyes, giving away to darkness. Baekhyun could feel himself turn over in his bed, the springs creaking.

"Morning call!"

Waking up to his best friend's loud singing was not how Baekhyun pictured his morning would be in beautiful Barcelona.

"Chen! I swear to God. If you don't shut up!" Baekhyun yelled over his friend's unwanted morning serenade.

It seemed this morning was going to be a terrible one, because not even five minutes after Chen's singing stopped, Baekhyun's door was busted down as Xiumin walked in.

"Get up, Byun." He nudged Baekhyun's reluctant form with his foot, before proceeding to yank open the curtains.

Baekhyun hissed, recoiling from the sudden burst of sunlight, but wasn't given the pleasure of ducking under his covers, because Xiumin quickly snatched them away.

"Xiumin, what the heck?" Baekhyun whined.

Although years of training had required them all to be able to function on little sleep, Baekhyun still preferred to stay under his covers. Baekhyun reached out for the blanket Xiumin had tossed aside, still wanting to fall back into his beach dream.

Xiumin fixed Baekhyun an exasperated look.

It was always a wonder to him how Baekhyun had been one of the recruits with one of the shortest training periods in their agency. The rumpled, sleepy eyed, pouting, bed headed person in front of him did not fit the description in any way shape or form. Especially with the trail of dried drool running out of the corner of his mouth.

"Get down to the living room in ten, we have work to do." Xiumin sighed.

He desperately needed a coffee, maybe with a shot of vodka in it.

"Work to do" only meant one thing. They had a new assignment. This caught Baekhyun's interest immediately. He perked up, shooting out of bed and in front of Xiumin as he was about to leave.

"What is it?"

"Come get breakfast, you'll know soon enough. It's all over the news."

Baekhyun threw on a sweater and sweatpants, before heading down the stairs. He was greeted by a sleepy Kai at the kitchen island, whose eyes were practically closed as he munched on a pincho de tortilla with a cup of steaming milk.

"'Morning." Kai croaked.

"Do you need to go back to bed Kai?" Baekhyun laughed as he helped himself to the coffee beside Kai.

"No, I just wish Chen hadn't started singing at five in the morning."

"Just for the record, I started singing at nine. It is now ten. Besides you all love my voice and you know it." Chen smirked as he joined them at the island.

"Quiet."

Xiumin walked in, having already changed from his pajamas into street wear. He turned on the t.v.