The Diamond Race | discontinued

chapter 10

18:00 Paris, France 48.8566° N, 2.3522° E

After his brother had shown him their room at the hotel, Junmyeon had quickly showered and dove under the covers for a long nap to recover from jetlag. When he had woken up, Paris was bright and the sky was dark.

Shit. Junmyeon thought to himself. His brother had kindly invited him on vacation, even paid for it, and all Junmyeon had done was sleep, instead of spending time with him.

"Well, look who's up." Came a chuckle.

Junmyeon turned to find his brother sitting in the bed beside his, and snickering into a cup of coffee.

"Hyung, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to sleep for so long."

"It's fine Myeon. I'm just surprised you still sleep like that." Xiumin pointed at the pillow Junmyeon had been cuddled to death while sleeping. "It's cute."

Junmyeon blushed in embarrassment.

"You haven't changed either. Who drinks coffee at a time like this?"

Xiumin shrugged. "You know what they say, old habits die hard. So are you up for dinner?"

Junmyeon nodded. "Are your friends coming?"

Xiumin shook his head. He had given everyone the night off to do whatever they wanted. He wanted to have time alone with Junmyeon and the only way to do that was to get the others out doing something else. Kai had immediately headed to the nearest ballet hall, eager to watch a performance of Swan Lake (it had been quite surprising to a particular Byun Baekhyun, who thought Kai had no hobby other than "kissing-Xiumin's-ass"). Baekhyun had gone shopping, insisting that since he was in Paris, it was the best time to catch up on fashion. Chen on the other hand, had disappeared to God knows where. After they had finished at the bank, Chen took the Rubix cube as a souvenir, stating simply that it was the first time he had ever seen a Rubix cube as a security device.

"No, just us. Is there anywhere you want to go in particular?"

"Hyung, I just woke up. Anywhere is good." Junmyeon laughed.

Xiumin tipped his head thoughtfully. "How does dinner in front of the Eiffel tower sound?"

Junmyeon perked up at that.

"That sounds good. I can take pictures, maybe even post some on Instagram."

Xiumin blinked. He didn't want to tell Junmyeon that he couldn't post the pictures. At least not yet. Maybe he could get Chen to prevent them from being shown.

"Get dressed." Xiumin chuckled. "Unless you want to walk the streets of France like that."

He was pointing at Junmyeon's extra large Red Velvet concert t-shirt and Star Wars sweats.

"What's wrong with this?" Junmyeon pouted.

He was a Red Velvet superfan. And he was proud of it. Sue him if you must. He had every single album and all their versions. He also knew every song, each concept, every members voice, and don't even try to argue about choreography. Junmyeon knew it all.

When it came to Star Wars, Junmyeon was a legend among his classmates in M.I.T. He had won three intense Star Wars trivia rounds consecutively, and won a limited edition of Mace Windu's amethyst lightsaber. Life size version.

Xiumin chuckled, shaking his head.

"I think a day shopping with Baekhyun is needed with you. What did you pack?"

"T-shirts, jeans, the basics." Junmyeon replied.

"Here." Xiumin handed Junmyeon a neatly ironed baby blue button down from his suitcase. "Where that with your black jeans and we'll be good to go."

Xiumin waited while Junmyeon prepared. He finished his cup of coffee quickly, anxiousness setting in. He didn't have a clue what to say or ask Junmyeon during their dinner. Should he ask about school? Mom and dad? Friends? Hobbies? What would he do when Junmyeon started asking questions? Just the thought had Xiumin wringing his hands.

His thoughts were interrupted when Junmyeon opened the door of the bathroom.

"All set hyung. How do I look?"

Junmyeon had his hair combed back from his face, a cheerful smile on his face. Xiumin gave him a long once over before stopping at the sight of his shoes. Looking back at him, were Junmyeon's pair of worn black Converse. Xiumin knew Myeon was an entirely different shoes size than him. He didn't have anything to fit his brother, and borrowing from the others was out of the question, so he let the shoes go.

"You look good." Xiumin smiled.

---

Chen sat tucked his feet underneath himself as he watch Junmyeon and Xiumin leave the hotel, just across the street from the little internet cafe he was sitting in. Running a hand through his hair, he couldn't help but smirk. He had no intention of following his team leader, but there was something he wanted to test. Baekhyun had always told Chen to stop obsessing over Xiumin's past, but there was something that always tugged at Chen's mind. He loved puzzles, and the best puzzles out there were people. Xiumin to be exact.

Xiumin had been the agent to test and evaluate Chen before he entered the agency. Whenever Chen asked him about his past, Xiumin deflected the questions. Chen could always see a twinge of fear creeping in his team leader's eyes whenever he asked. Since then, Chen had made it his mission to figure out what it was.

Compared to the rest of his teammates, Chen was the best at reading body language and profiling other people. It had helped Chen survive life at home and more. It also made Chen a hard person to lie to. However, much to his surprise, Xiumin had managed to fool him more than a couple times, and it was just as much infuriating to Chen as it was intriguing.

Xiumin had always evaded Chen's attempts to test him. He could always tell when he was being followed, but with Junmyeon there, would he still be able to do that? Chen contemplated tailing them, but decided against it. Instead a small idea formed in his mind.

It would probably be better to use Junmyeon to test Xiumin. At the thought, Chen's lips pull back into a full blown smile. He knew exactly how to get to Xiumin, through Junmyeon. Humming happily to himself, Chen packed away his laptop and crossed the street to the hotel, practically skipping with glee.

After switching to room with Kai and Baekhyun, Chen had given Junmyeon his key, but that didn't mean that he couldn't get in. After picking at the lock for a bit, Chen let himself into the room. It was blatantly obvious who slept in which bed. Junmyeon, who had taken Chen's bed, had made a complete mess of it. There were clothes strewn on the unmade bed, with the open suitcase on the floor. Xiumin however, had left his bed like he had never slept in it. The white sheets where neatly tucked in, the pillows properly fluffed and set up, with his clothes folded neatly in his suitcase and a pair of shoes under the bed.

Chen crossed from Xiumin's side, to Junmyeon's quickly retrieving the briefing file he got from Xiumin, with the corresponding USB drive and tucks it under Junmyeon's pillow in a way that only he can see it. Gleefully clapping his hands together, he exited the room and headed a door down to where he was rooming with Baekhyun and Kai. Once he's in the room, he takes Baekhyun's briefing file and USB drive, and places them in his bag. He knows what will happen. By the time Xiumin comes to ask them who's missing a file, only Baekhyun will be without one. Xiumin would probably drag Baekhyun for it, but he certainly wouldn't suspect Chen at all.

Sorry Byun, I need you to take this one for me.

Chen tossed his bag aside and decided to call it a night. He couldn't stop smiling to himself though. The thought of being able to test Xiumin making him grin. Hell it made him happy. All he had to do was wait.