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Chapter Text

Hwang Inho entered an upscale bar.

It wasn’t just any bar, no. It was the Alluring Desires, where only the most elite and richest of Seoul could afford the place, where the drinks were an average person’s rent and it served every demand their customers would have. 

But Inho was neither of those. He was Storm Shadow, one of the most, if not, the most lethal and successful assassin of Korea. He worked for the Squid Empire, one of the most prominent and feared underworld empires of Seoul. 

The Squid Empire had its hands deep in the underworld, the politics and in the elite as well. So deep that it could pull any string of Seoul on a whim and not even a bird could breathe without Oh Ilnam’s permission. 

But none of that mattered for Inho. His job was to kill whoever his boss, Oh Ilnam, asked him to kill and get paid for it handsomely. Nothing more and nothing less. 

And that’s why he was at Alluring Desires tonight. Not as a customer but invited specially by his boss, also his mentor and a father figure to him, to celebrate his most recent kill of some idiot chaebol heir who stumbled upon the wrong thing and had to be silenced permanently.

The kill order given by none other than the heir’s parents. 

Speaking of, the kid’s parents were not even bothered about their son’s death, choosing to drink away their night at this bar unbothered while Inho finished their one and only child off.

“There you are!” Ilnam’s frail voice called out to him. “My best assassin and most precious weapon.”

He said and then, led him to the couple who paid for their son to be killed.

“Please tell me that idiot didn’t see you coming in to finish him off,” the man drawled in boredom. 

“No, sir,” Inho bowed. “It was clean and precise without a trace. Just as you instructed.”

“Proof?” His wife asked, eyes sharp and a hand held out. Inho pulled out a small folder from his coat pocket and handed it to her. She studied the polaroid pictures intently for some time and then nodded at her husband.

“You never disappoint us, sajangnim,” the man pulled out a check and handed it to Illnam. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Remember the deal we had.”

“Consider it done by tomorrow,” the man nodded and the couple stood up and bowed. They made their way out, probably about to put on a show of their son’s shocking death in a few hours.

Inho didn’t understand how someone could get their own offspring killed off so mercilessly. He was an assassin and even he had a rule of not killing women or children.

Well, human nature never ceased to amaze him.

“I am really proud of you, Inho,” his boss patted his shoulder. “This kill wasn’t easy, with the security and the time constraint you had but you pulled it off.”

Inho nodded but flushed slightly. “You have trained me for this, sir. I was just doing what was required of me.”

The old man grinned at him. “And that’s why you are the most dearest to me. Tonight, my dear Inho, you celebrate your success at this wonderful bar. All the drinks are on the house so enjoy your night, my son.” 

They settled on the couch that overlooked the whole bar and ordered their drinks.

*

As the drinks were put on the table, a loud round of applause rang out throughout the bar.

Inho looked up to see a man had walked onto the stage, the spotlight on him and a mic in front of him. The man looked to be around Inho’s age, smiling dazzlingly and tapping the mic to test it.

The radiant smile was what caught his attention first.

The second was the outfit. A soft baby pink suit with feathers on the collar of the blazer and on the wrists. There was no shirt beneath the jacket while a delicate necklace adorned his open chest. He carried it flawlessly as if he was born to wear it.

The man was tall, maybe even taller than him, lean and the suit showed off his narrow waist and long legs. 

He had an alluring aura, Inho had to give him that. Even though he was the most disinterested person tonight, that man commanded attention just with his presence.

“Beautiful, isn’t he?” Ilnam commented as the man started to sing. He was a jazz singer, a genre that was dying out by day and his voice was like a siren’s. Even though Inho had no interest in hearing anyone sing, he couldn’t help but be attracted to him like a moth to a flame.

“He is indeed really talented, sir,” Inho decided to play it safe.

But Ilnam only threw his head back and laughed. 

“You can say you find him attractive, Inho,” he turned to him, gaze teasing. “Makes me feel powerful knowing everyone can only see him but not touch him.”

At that particular moment, the man turned to them and continued singing. 

Inho was captivated by the way that man looked at him, eyes knowing of his intent and a small smirk forming on his face. At that, Ilnam leaned back a little and smirked at him.

Like it was a little secret.

“Ah, my beautiful songbird, Gihun,” Illnam confessed to him in a whisper, drunk on the man’s attention.

At that, Inho froze. 

And then remembered with a jolt that Gihun was Illnam’s husband from more than a decade ago. He had only met him once during their wedding, offering his congratulations and forgetting about him soon after.

As far as Inho knew, Illnam’s husband knew nothing of his work and Inho never mingled in Illnam’s private life unless necessary and even then, he never came face to face with the husband.

Until tonight.

Gihun’s gaze was on them while he sang. Or rather him and Inho couldn’t look away, no matter how much he tried to. It was as if Gihun's smooth, sultry voice beckoned Inho to claim him, make him his.

Even though he already belonged to his boss.

“My boy,” Ilnam turned to look at him, eyes now blazing with a look that made every person in Seoul fall to their knees but Inho only froze in his spot in fear. “You can have anyone you want but not him. Do you understand?”

Inho nodded shakily. “Yes, sir.”

And then, the charming smile was back as the audience applauded once more, signalling the end of Gihun’s performance.

“Don’t blame yourself, son,” Ilnam reassured him though Inho didn’t know how much of it was even true. His boss had that habit of being harsh and then turning the charm back on in the same breath. “My Gihun is just like that. No one can resist him. Just heed my warning and we are fine.”

And what could he do except to nod and agree even though he wanted nothing more than to grab Gihun and make him his?

But he turned to the stage once more and saw Gihun make his way towards them. Like an innocent, pure, ethereal angel who had come from the heavens to grace the Earth with his presence. 

Inho wished he could put this beautiful man in a cage and shield him from every horror and bad thing that ever existed in this world.

“Hey, jagi,” Gihun walked up to Ilnam and smiled at him but his boss only patted his lap for Gihun to sit on. Gihun chuckled sweetly at him.

“Are you sure you can take my weight?” He teased, but sat on his lap sideways, nonetheless. Inho suddenly felt a tinge of jealousy going through him. 

“These legs can still bear your weight, yeobo,” Illnam purred at him, stroking his thigh with one hand and grabbing his waist with the other. “I am only seventy-two, you know?”

“Seventy-four,” Gihun corrected him. “But did you like my performance tonight, jagi?”

“I always love your voice, yeobo,” Illnam answered and turned to him. “But you should ask him what he thinks.”

“I think you were fantastic tonight, sir,” Inho gave a slight bow but Gihun only smiled politely.

“This is Hwang Inho, Gihun,” Illnam introduced him and Gihun’s eyes widened for a second in recognition. 

“Ah, your best deal closer and negotiator, right?” Gihun perked up. “I have to say, it’s so good to see you in person.”

Inho, who had killed more than a hundred people in his thirty eight years of life, suddenly blushed like a nervous teenager. Good to see him? Someone who killed for a living?

Then, he remembered that Gihun didn’t know he was an assassin and that sobered him up quickly. But the thoughts of having Gihun, even for a mere fleeting moment didn’t stop. If anything, that comment only fanned the flames and he wondered how Gihun praising him would feel like.

“The honour is all mine,” he only politely offered. 

A minute later, Ilnam and Gihun got up.

“The night is still young,” Ilnam smiled at him. “Enjoy yourself.”

And walked away with his husband.

The night might have been young but for Inho, there was already a fire ablaze in his heart and mind because as Gihun walked away and took a turn, their gazes met.

For someone, it would have been a total miss but for an assassin like Inho, he caught the fleeting gaze. 

Inho might have given his sinful desires second thoughts but Gihun chose to glance at him at that moment and he knew he was going to do anything just to have Gihun all for himself.

Chapter Text

A fairly assumed misconception was that a successful hit was all about the actual kill and the way it was executed. In reality, it took weeks and maybe even months of observation, tightly formed plans and having backup plans to have a successful hit.

Inho most certainly saw Gihun like he was another of his hits, but here, the goal was to claim, not kill.

And thus, Inho began his first step of observations and collecting information.

For the assassinations, Illnam had an entire team of people whose only job was to find out every information possible about the targeted individual whether it was virtual or physical. 

However, Inho always chose to verify the information himself before carrying out the kill, not trusting his boss’ people enough to feed him the correct information. Sure, it took some extra time to get the job done but it was safer and better than death. Or worse.

Illnam had once laughed at his tendencies, fondly calling him too paranoid for his own good but also proud of it.

Inho used the same skills to find out what he could about Gihun.

In the era of technology and social media where people would sell their soul just for some attention, it had become much easier to gather intel. In the span of two weeks, thanks to the said social media and hacking into some databases, what he found about Gihun was interesting, to say the least.

Seong Gihun was three months older than him, being born on Halloween, and he had been a mediocre student in studies. However, he had a gifted voice so he studied at a music school for six years, specializing in jazz singing which opened up many opportunities for him.

But then, just as Gihun’s career started to bloom as a singer at the age of twenty-six, performing at some prestigious occasions and institutions, he quietly but suddenly disappeared from the music industry altogether and away from any limelight that could trace him.

Inho connected the timeline and found that a few months after Gihun’s departure from music, he had married Illnam. 

That lead to another question. Had Gihun married Illnam for money? Was there a deal between the two which they had to uphold? And then, a thought which had felt so absurd but not out of bounds was….

Was Gihun coerced into a marriage with his boss?

*

With those questions haunting his mind, Inho decided to call Park Kyeong and scheduled to meet him at a deserted rooftop for a smoke and a deal.

Park Kyeong was another assassin working for Illnam and one of the old man’s closest confidants along with Inho. 

And sadly, one of Inho’s closest friends but not by choice.

Unlike Inho, who preferred quick, clean operations that took only mere minutes, Kyeong was infamous for being theatrical about the operations and drew them out as much as he could get away with. Even his codename, The Recruiter, was just as ridiculous as him. 

“You wanted to see me, darling?” Kyeong’s irritating voice called out to him as he joined him on the deserted rooftop and lit up a cigarette. 

“Sadly, yes.”

“So you finally agreed to sleep with me?” He smirked at him, making Inho roll his eyes. Another thing was that the man always loved flirting with him and it never failed to grate on his nerves.

But today Inho was going to turn that little innuendo into his leverage.

“It depends,” he shrugged. “On what your girlfriend has to say about it.”

To say he was elated on seeing Kyeong stiffen up was an understatement. Inho had never, ever felt happier.

Kyeong’s girlfriend was a former prostitute and a sex trafficking victim. Inho knew Kyeong kept the relationship a secret because Ilnam hated prostitutes with a passion and forbade his employees from any and all interaction from them.

To find out one of his employees had broken this rule would put them both into danger and hence, she chose to be on the run to keep them both safe.

“Don’t worry, I am the only one who knows about the whole thing so we can help each other here.”

Kyeong was left stunned and speechless for a minute before he spoke again.

“Well, what have you really called me here for?” He changed the topic instantly, taking a harsh drag.

“I need information on someone,” Inho took a drag himself and then handed him a piece of paper. 

Kyeong took a look at Seong Gihun’s name on the paper and burst out laughing. 

“Really, Inho? Do you even know what happened to the last few people who thought of digging on this guy?” Kyeong asked him, still laughing. 

“Slowly and torturously killed and the videos of their deaths circulated amongst everyone as a warning,” Inho smirked slightly, remembering Kyeong had been the one to do the honours.

“And you are asking me to dig into it?”

“I am only asking you to give me enough information to start digging on my own,” Inho took a drag himself. “I can’t exactly show up in some weird disguise and expect not to get shot in the head.”

“Okay,” he drawled, burning the paper with his cigarette. “But what do I get in return?”

“I’ll give her safe haven until her situation gets figured out.” 

Kyeong thought for some time and shook his head. “Fine, I’ll do it. But I’ll say this only once as your friend,” he warned softly. “Not every satisfaction of a curiosity known can bring the cat back. Be careful.”

Inho only smiled.

“Keep the intel ready. I’ll take care of her in the meantime.”

And then left immediately.

“Oh, and Inho!” He called out, making him turn to the other man. 

“She thinks you are hot so she wouldn’t mind me sleeping with you,” the man smiled suggestively. “Or having a threesome with you.”

Jesus fucking Christ.

*

Inho’s rescue of the woman hadn’t been a breeze either. 

First, he had to subdue her because she thought he was an intruder and tried to fight him until he pinned her to the floor and told her that he was with Kyeong, getting a few nasty scratches on his arm in the process.

“Oh, you look like that Lee Byunghun guy from those action movies!” She commented as soon as he released her. 

And then, within the next ten seconds, they quickly made their way out of the place just as some people arrived to take her, only to find the room she was supposed to be at, empty.

“I am Nithya, by the way,” she introduced herself, as they drove off. “Nithya Saran. I am really sorry for attacking you.”

“It’s okay,” he nodded. “You were paranoid and you were right to be.”

It was a few more minutes before she spoke up.

“You are way more handsome than what Kyeong mentioned to me, Mr. Hwang.”

Oh dear Lord.

“Thank you.”

According to Kyeong’s intel, Gihun was always flanked by two bodyguards, Cho Hyunju, another friend of Inho’s, and Ali Abdul. 

Inho observed himself that there was not a single moment they left him alone and one of them would check every room thoroughly before entering while the other stayed with him. 

The man had a routine so clinical and predictable it took Inho only three weeks to learn all of it. Like a set schedule in the military or a school.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, Gihun would visit the same coffee shop in the mornings like clockwork. 

Tuesdays and Thursday evenings were spent at a mediocre bar with two of his close friends, Cho Sangwoo and Park Jungbae. 

Friday was a day of going to the public library to read books on music and on Saturday evenings, Gihun was at Alluring Desires, Illnam staying with him at all times. 

And he never left his home on Sundays.

But what was weird was that Gihun never stayed outside his home for more than two hours. As if it was an unwritten rule that he would be executed the minute he stayed longer than two hours away from home.

He never went to shop or eat at any restaurants unless it was with his husband. Whatever Gihun needed was delivered right at his boss’ mansion, the several dedicated staff assigned to this specific job.

No wonder Inho never got to meet him in all these years if he was that secretive. Hell, he didn’t even remember Gihun existed until he saw him at Alluring Desires because he was never even seen or even heard of whenever Inho visited the mansion personally.

*

Then, he talked to Cho Sangwoo and Park Jungbae under the guise of someone looking for Seong Gihun because he was one of the few rare jazz singers left in Korea.

The talk to them revealed so much more than he could have imagined. Sure they didn’t say anything outright but the way they turned sour and rueful when the marriage was mentioned told him all that was needed.

Gihun was stuck in an abusive marriage and Inho was going to save him. 

As soon as the revelation struck him, it was as if Gihun had occupied every single one of his thoughts.

Inho thought about all the ways he would treat Gihun so much better. How he would give him anything Gihun wanted, no questions asked. 

And those thoughts led him to the café Gihun would visit, trying to see what he saw in the place. 

It was a late afternoon on a Tuesday. Inho was smart enough not to coincide his schedule with Gihun’s, lest Hyunju or worse, his boss found out.

However, as his order arrived, he was in for a massive shock as a voice called out to him.

“Hwang-nim?”

It was Gihun, dressed in a black coat and standing near his table. It took Inho everything not to choke on his coffee in shock and calmly turn to face him.

He was not supposed to be here on a fucking tuesday, much less without his bodyguards.

“Hello, sir,” he stood up, composed and bowed to him slightly, hiding his heartbeat increasing. How was he even here all alone? 

“Fancy seeing you here,” Guhun commented with a smirk and sat directly on the seat in front of him. Inho opened his mouth to protest but a quick scan revealed the entire café had been occupied and this was the only place left.

“Likewise,” he replied politely and his nerves were starting to get out of control. He had been spending weeks finding out everything he could about the man he dreamt to have and now he was right in front of him. “But I am really surprised your husband isn’t here with you.”

Gihun only laughed, the melodious voice awakening something in him. “He’s my husband, not my owner. I am free to do anything I want to.”

But Inho caught the slight catch in the first line. He had interrogated enough people over the years to know when a person lied. Gihun was a good actor, but not enough to hide from Inho.

“I apologize for my wrong assumptions,” Inho offered but Gihun only waved him off.

“You aren’t the first person to assume this and you won’t be the last,” he rolled his eyes. “What brings a deal closer to this humble café?”

“Downtime, sir,” he nodded. Inho couldn’t help but notice how easily he was talking to him. As if Inho made him comfortable. “As soon as a deal would need closing, I would be back in business."

“Oh, drop it with the sir, okay?” Gihun grinned at him, leaning back on the chair and sipping on his coffee that just arrived. 

Macchiato, Inho noted. With some vanilla flavoured cookies. He wondered what would be his opinion on a basic chocolate cookie and pure black coffee. 

“We look nearly the same age, just call me Gihun, okay? Keep the sir for my husband.”

“Gihun-ssi,” he tried it out, tasting how the name felt rolling on his tongue. Gihun looked slightly proud and happy about it and Inho felt his breath hitch for a second. “Then please call me Inho. That would be only fair.”

“Okay, Inho,” he agreed nonchalantly and Inho nearly combusted on the spot. He was this close to begging Gihun to say his name again and again just to see how beautiful it sounded from Gihun’s lips.

“Actually, I had a question if you don’t mind answering?” Gihun asked him and Inho nodded politely. “Do you have any idea where you can buy the most beautiful and exclusive watches? I am looking to gift my jagi a gorgeous watch for his birthday this year.”

The question filled Inho with so many emotions all at once. Rage, at Ilnam having what is supposed to be his, curiosity and a daydream of how would Gihun surprise him when they got together and honoured that Gihun chose to ask him this. 

But one thought that overruled them all, as his logical mind quickly calculated, was he found it.

The opportunity.

However, for now, he wrote some locations and shops for Gihun as recommendations on a piece of tissue. 

Gihun took the paper and thanked him profusely, making his heart flutter once more. 

As he left the café, leaving Inho alone with his thoughts, Inho realized he had to act fast or miss his chance for a year.

Because Ilnam’s birthday parties were nothing less than a celebrity bash and it was the perfect occasion, place and time to strike.

Chapter Text

It took Inho nearly four weeks to come up with a strong plan. 

He studied the mansion’s blueprints, made notes of every party he had attended over the years and made a plan that would be airtight enough to leave no mistakes.

The basic plan was to separate Gihun and his boss and stage a distraction strong and long enough to kidnap him away.

Then, he would take Gihun to one of his safehouse apartments and keep him there until Inho dealt with his boss once and for all. 

Sure, he might have to keep Gihun locked away like some princess in a tower until he was done but if all went well, his love wouldn’t have to be trapped for more than a day or two. 

He wouldn’t let anyone or anything get in his way to have the man of his dreams.

But to carry out such an insane plan, Inho needed more people to help him. Someone who wouldn’t rat him out to his boss, be close enough to be a part of the party and willing to help him as well.

For the first pick of his allies, he hatched an elaborate plan to recruit Cho Hyunju. 

Cho Hyunju had been one of the best assassins Korea had ever seen and the only one who could give Inho a run for his money but then she came out as trans seven years back. 

Inho had been nothing but supportive of her but when Illnam heard about it, he summoned all the hitmen under him one day. He stated only men can be assassins and if she wanted to be a woman, she would be treated accordingly and pointed a gun at her head, intending to kill her for something out of her control.

At that time, it was Inho who had stepped in and saved her from getting shot, saying demoting her would be an excellent message and sure enough, she had been relegated to being a bouncer for Alluring Desires until she got assigned as Gihun’s bodyguard.

But for him to talk to her in private, he needed to get her alone. And for that, he planned to get her as his spotter for his next hit, a high ranking official in the government who needed to be silenced during his visit to Tokyo.

It took him a conversation with Ilnam so tense that it could only be cut with a chainsword and his boss relented only because she was the best that he succeeded in his idea.

“Take that pathetic man masquereding as a woman with you if that’s what you want but I want this done neatly with no mistakes,” Ilnam told him venomously and Inho bit back the urge to correct him. 

*

“So you put in a good word for me, hm?” Hyunju asked him as she adjusted her scope. Inho hummed at her positively. “Thank you.”

“Sure,” he nodded slightly, adjusting his sniper rifle one more time.

20 minutes till the shot.

Despite everything, Inho was her friend over the years. Sure they had their friendly rivalry but they trusted each other and she owed him for saving his life years back. 

Which was why she approached the topic as his friend rather than Gihun’s she had been wanting to for some weeks.

“I am gonna ask something and I expect an honest answer,” she started. “Why are you following Seong Gihun?”

Inho stilled but deflected her question. “Am I?”

“Don’t bullshit me,” she retorted calmly. There was shot to be taken in less than ten minutes and she was professional enough to keep her emotions aside. “I caught you by the third week.”

“Did you? Or was it one of his two friends?” He asked cheekily which made her smirk slightly. There was a reason his codename was Storm Shadow. No one caught him unless Inho wanted them to. 

“I asked you because Gihun is my friend,” she said absentmindedly, watching the mark intently and realizing two seconds late what she had just revealed.

Fuck

“Is that so?” He asked neutrally. “Then you do know what Ilnam must have done to him all these years.”

She froze. 

“Yet you chose not to do anything about it,” he only stated. “What’s the status?”

“Seven minutes to go,” she informed first. “And what do you think I would have done?”

“I don’t know that but for now, you can simply start with what made Ilnam marry a man half his age and go ahead from that.”

“I would rather kick your ass with my hands tied. Five minutes.”

He scoffed but they both stayed silent after that, choosing to focus on the kill. Sure enough, when Inho pulled the trigger, the bullet pierced the man’s head and they both started to make their exit.

“I have an offer for you,” he said as he slung the sniper gear bag over his shoulder. “Help me save Seong Gihun and I promise you revenge against Ilnam for the way he humiliated you.”

“You are delusional if you think I’ll help you with this,” she scoffed.

“Am I?” He asked her back. “You don’t think I don’t see the way you look at Ilnam like you want to snap his neck yourself?” 

She hesitated for a second because she knew he was right. “I have a plan and I need some people who’ll help me carry it out to perfection. I chose you first because you hate the old man and you want to save Gihun from him. If you join me, you can hit two birds with one stone. Think about it.”

*

She did think about it until they sat in the car and made their getaway.

Two birds with one stone, indeed.

“I might hate Ilnam but I am loyal to Gihun,” she started as she drove. “I swore I would protect him from anyone and everyone and that includes you. I won’t let you take him from me.”

“I expect nothing less.”

“So here’s my counter offer,” she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and turned to him. “I’ll help you kill Ilnam if that’s what it takes but I will stop you if you even think of touching Gihun.”

Inho’s lips twitched in a smirk. She didn’t have to know he orgasmed every night with Gihun’s name on his lips and imagining his touch on him.

“We have a deal, then.”

The other two people he had on his mind were Kyeong and his girlfriend and he found himself at the safehouse apartment three days later.

“Oh, hi!” Nithya greeted him. “Come on in, Mr. Hwang!”

“Kyeong will be here in a minute but would you like to have something?” She asked him as they settled on the couch, but he refused to have anything.

At that moment, Kyeong arrived and took a seat next to her.

“What brings you here, Storm Shadow?” 

Inho’s gaze flicked to Nithya for a second but Kyeong continued. “She knows, don’t worry.”

“And I don’t mind,” she answered with a smile. “Seen and been through too much to really even care.”

Inho gave a curt nod and continued. “I have a plan and I need you both to help me carry it out.”

They exchanged a look before Kyeong spoke up. “What kind of plan?”

“A plan to save Seong Gihun from his husband.”

It was a moment before Kyeong spoke. “You are insane if you even think about it.”

“That’s why I am asking you to help me.”

“Have you even considered the consequences?” He retorted. “Ilnam will do everything to keep Gihun and he’ll burn down the world if it comes to it!”

“And that’s exactly why we need to save Gihun,” Inho answered. “That old man is insane and we all have an idea of what his husband has been put through for years. I think it’s time we do something right.”

Kyeong narrowed his eyes at him but Inho kept his face neutral.

“Since when do you care about doing something right, Storm Shadow? You are a killer, Inho, not a saviour.”

Not a saviour. Those words struck something in him. 

“Then why did you save her, Kyeong?” He clapped back, both of them stiffening at his words. “No offense to you, Ms. Saran-”

“Not really taken.”

“-you were just a client, she could have done something herself. So why?”

It was a moment before Nithya spoke up.

“Because he fell in love,” she whispered. “Because he saw something worth saving in me even when I myself didn’t.”

And this was exactly why Inho wanted to save Gihun. To save him from his monster of a husband even if Gihun himself didn’t think he was worth saving. But then Kyeong smirked as he realized something.

“Wait, so you are doing this because you fell in love?” He laughed in surprise as Inho was now stiffened and Nithya rolled her eyes in annoyance. “You saw that guy, like what, once and you fell in love?”

“You are a mad fucker, I have to respect that,” Kyeong recomposed. “You know what? I’ll do it. It would be fun to see how a guy who doesn’t know you exist would react to all of this hullabaloo.”

“So is that a yes?” Inho asked instead, even though he wanted to shoot Kyeong in his face right that instant. “From you both?”

“You saved me and gave me a safe haven so it’s only fair I pay you back,” Nithya nodded. “I am in.”

His recruitment didn’t stop at that. 

Inho got Kim Junhee as well, a cook at the Oh mansion, who is actually a very talented hacker but Ilnam chose her lesser talented boyfriend Lee Myunggi over her because he believed women were only good for household chores and bearing children. 

It hadn’t been easy recruiting her, the young woman fearing recuperations from her boss but Inho’s carefully chosen words and playing on her years long pent up resentment made his work easier.

“You are only wasting your talents in the kitchen, kid,” Inho told her at last when he approached her discreetly at a supermarket, while buying groceries. “Help me save Seong Gihun from him.”

“What do I get in return?” She asked back. She was smart and perceptive, he had to give her that. But he had done his research on her as well, courtesy of Hyunju providing basic information and him following up on that deeply.

She had broken up with Myunggi and is currently pregnant with his child. The man had wanted to do nothing with her after she refused to abort the child and she was currently going through it all alone.

“New identity, three hundred million won in an offshore account to start over afresh and guarantee safety for you,” he flicked his gaze slightly at her stomach. “Think about it.”

*

A few minutes later at the cash counter, she cut the line in front of him and whispered.

“Make it five hundred and I am in,” she gazed ahead, not even looking at him. “150 in advance and rest when the work is done.”

Inho almost balked at that. 

Almost.

But then, love demanded a price and Inho would have given the moon to have Gihun for himself.

“Consider it done.” 

Nearly three months after first seeing Seong Gihun, Inho found himself in Alluring Desires once more. 

Gihun was performing tonight once more so Inho found himself sitting at a corner barstool, away from all the prying gazes and waiting for the singer to start once more.

“I see you couldn’t resist my songbird, son,” It took everything in Inho to not flinch as Ilnam’s voice crept up behind him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Why else would you be here tonight?”

“I am actually here to personally thank you for inviting me to the eve of your birthday party,” Inho bowed his head slightly, lying smoothly as his boss was on point about his intentions. “I know you never invite any of your employees so being there is the highest honour you can bestow upon me.”

His boss only chuckled slightly at that. “Inho-yah, I invite you and Kyeong every year and you still act like you are in a dream.”

But Inho was drawn to Gihun again once more. 

Tonight, he was wearing a fur black coat with his chest exposed and adorned with another necklace and slim trousers. He looked like sin tonight instead of the sweet angel from the first time.

“Inho-yah, I am hearing things, you know?” He casually said but Inho held onto his composure like his life depended on it. Because he had an idea of what was coming. “Someone else is having their gaze on my songbird and everyone knows how much I hate that.”

And then, somehow in the crowd, Gihun turned and found his gaze. Gihun’s lips curled in a sweet smile and he gave a small wave in his direction that could have easily passed off as a part of his singing routine. And that emboldened him.

“Is that so, sir?” He asked calmly, boldened by Gihun’s small gesture for him. “I wonder who it might be.”

“Don’t play innocent, Inho,” his boss’ voice turned sharp. “I warned you once before. You can have anyone you want but keep your hands off my songbird.”

“I don’t even know what made you come to this conclusion. I can assure you the things you are hearing are just that. Things.”

His boss scoffed, knowing he was lying but he turned to Gihun’s singing instead. 

It had been some time before he spoke up, visibly calmer now as Gihun’s melodic singing soothed him over.

“My songbird always makes me happy,” Illnam sighed in reverence. “Where would he be without me, huh?”

Probably mine, he thought bitterly and clenched his jaw. That old man had enough of his deranged fun and it was now time for Gihun to see what love really felt like. 

As the applause rang out and Gihun made his way over to Ilnam, his boss sighed out.

“And where will I be without my songbird?” 

Probably dead, Inho thought. Ironically, that is what is going to happen tomorrow and Inho will make sure of it.

“Hey, jagi,” Gihun purred to his husband who quickly grabbed his waist while Gihun only laughed. “Did you enjoy my singing? I tried something new tonight.”

“And I loved it so much, yeobo,” Ilnam whispered and Inho looked away as they leaned in for a kiss. 

Gyeonseok had really polished the bar counter well. So well, Inho could see his reflection on it and started counting the speckles on the marble. He had reached thirty seven when the sounds of kissing stopped and Gihun called out to him.

“Ah, Hwang-nim?” And it took all of Inho’s self control to meet his gaze with composure. “I hoped you liked this performance as well.”

“No, sir, it was my honour to hear you sing,” Inho bowed and bid them a goodnight quickly, leaving the bar.

“Inho-yah,” his boss called out to him. “Remember my words well.”

His voice was still cheerful from having Gihun in his arms but the underlying message was clear.

Stay away from Gihun.

Well, let him try and pry Gihun away from Inho now.

Chapter Text

The D-day had arrived and so had the eve of Ilnam’s birthday.

Inho, dressed in a complete black suit save for a red tie, showed his pass to the security outside and made his way in as he smirked lightly at the irony of tonight.

8:30pm

If all went well, the old man would die on the day he was born and on a milestone nonetheless. He went inside, took a good look at everything and tapped on his comm in his ear to activate it.

“Does everyone copy?” He asked and received a positive reply from everyone. He saw Hyunju, standing with her partner Ali at the beginning of the staircase, and met her gaze subtly. He then moved his gaze to Kyeong who was at one of the tables sipping a drink slowly while mingling with the guests flawlessly.

Inho knew Junhee was waiting in a hotel room nearest to the mansion with her computers and starting to work her magic already and Nithya was waiting for her cue to enter the mansion as a guest.

There were around a hundred ‘VIPs’ invited which included important government officials, billionaires, and spouses of some of the attendees, the list supplied thankfully by Hyunju and Junhee. There were also three hundred staff members hired for this occasion who were moving to and fro and making sure the party ran along smoothly.

Inho’s main agenda was to blow the mansion to smithereens at midnight, the only time when the staff members will have to leave the mansion for a few minutes because his boss didn’t want any ‘lower scum’ tainting his birthday with their presence. 

The staff would be absent between 11:55pm to 12:05am and the mansion would be in lockdown to prevent any outside threats or the staff from coming in and Inho was going to use this to prevent any of the guests from going out.

For that, he needed to have Gihun kidnapped by 11:10pm with the help of Hyunju and then Junhee to put the lockdown in as soon as Gihun’s absence would be noted. Kyeong and Nithya will have subtly made their exit by then and the staff and the four of them would be much, much farther from the point of explosion.

The ones dying in the explosion were deserving to die anyway, with their history of stealing, corruption and the kind of debauchery they indulged in which would make any sane person sick with disgust. He was doing the world a favour by getting rid of them.

8:50pm

Everyone had been drilled in their roles in the plan and now as Inho grabbed his drink and stood at a table, he only hoped everything went according to the plan.

“Junhee, status?”

“I am in and everything is under my control.”

“Good. Hyunju? Kyeong?”

“On immediate standby, waiting for the package,” Hyunju replied, her words answering questions for her own security team and Inho at once.

“I am just waiting for the chaos to be unleashed,” he cheekily replied but Inho knew from his tone he was ready.

“Ms. Saran?”

“Waiting for your signal,” she replied nervously. Right, she had to play the most important part of tonight.

Unleashing a chaos that would hide the true storm.

Nithya had been shocked at first when Inho told her she had to be the distraction. She was a bit too apprehensive about being the centre of attention until Inho revealed a lot of her former clients would be in attendance, while handing her the guest list, and her presence would stir up a storm.

“That’s like, nearly 38% of my former clientele," she had whispered in awe and disgusted surprise as she finished ticking off all her former clients from the guest list. 

She had calculated that in her head as soon as she saw the names and yes, Inho verified it with a calculator and found it was indeed 37.8%. But when Inho told her she could get back at one person who treated her the worst, she was immediately ready to do it. 

*

At precisely 9:00pm, the man of the hour walked down the staircase with his husband on his arm, making Inho’s breath hitch on seeing Gihun.

The man looked like an ethereal angel tonight once more. He wore a pearl pink suit with a copper pink shirt and first shirt button open to reveal a necklace on that delicate neck and chest. 

Looking around, he saw that he wasn’t the only one with the opinion. Many of the guests looked at him with a lustful gaze, intending to stake claim on him had he not been Ilnam’s husband. Inho clenched his jaw at the way they looked at his Gihun like they were worthy of him.

9:12pm

“I am sorry to ask this but,” Nithya's nervous voice broke him out of his thoughts. “How much time do I have before I come in?”

“I’ll tell you five minutes before,” he instructed her and saw his boss and Gihun making rounds throughout the hall and greeting their guests. “Be prepared.”

At that moment, Gihun met his gaze. He gave him a small smile and Inho returned it right back. But then, Ilnam saw it and decided to approach him with Gihun.

“My favourite son is here,” Ilnam smiled but there was venom in his words. 

“Good evening, sir,” Inho bowed slightly. “You look amazing tonight.”

And dead by the strike of midnight, he thought.

“Then, I hope you will be on your best behaviour tonight?” He teased but there was a warning.

“When have I ever worried you with my manners?” Inho innocently replied with a smile. Well, he can play this game too.

“Alright, let’s move on,” Gihun interrupted, gripping his husband’s arm slightly firmer. “We have a lot more people to meet and greet, jagi.”

“Have a great time tonight, Hwang-nim,” Gihun smiled at him and moved on to greet some governor.

It had been quite some time when Inho spoke into his comm.

“Nithya, you are a go,” he instructed and leaned forward on the table he was standing against. 

At precisely 9:50pm, Nithya walked into the mansion, though slightly nervous, and caught everyone’s attention. She had worn a red gown with a knee length slit and her heels clacked as she entered, looking like revenge and sin at the same time.

“Everyone be on high alert,” Inho instructed.

Just like Inho had predicted, her entrance had caused a wave of confusion and discomfort amongst the guests because her presence meant a threat to the carefully curated pristine white image they had portrayed to their families and public because of their sexual relations with her.

“Sweetheart, head up high,” Kyeong’s voice gently instructed her. Huh, that man was never gentle with anyone. “You look really beautiful.”

Nithya settled at a standing table nearby and nodded discreetly, Kyeong's words alleviating some of her nerves. 

The party had gone back to like it was normal but the undercurrent of tension stayed with the guilty parties, not knowing the reason she was here and whether they would be her target. 

“Junhee, how are we looking?” Inho asked her. “Anything abnormal happening?”

“Negative, everything is proceeding as per normal.”

“Good, prepare to hack into the emergency protocol measures,” he instructed. “Hyunju, it’s time.”

The emergency protocol measures were a last case scenario, in case there was an attack and nothing was left to retaliate against the enemy. The mansion would blow up and Ilnam would escape from the underground bunker. 

He had told him and Kyeong about this, as a last step of cementing his full faith in them both and now, Inho was going to use this to ensure his death and prove to Gihun how far he was willing to go for him.

*

Hyunju nodded slightly and whispered to Ali about a problem she needed to check out but her actual job was to provide Junhee access to the emergency security protocols.

She slid away from the hall discreetly and went to the computer room using the blind spaces between cameras. She inserted the pendrive Junhee gave her into the computer and waited for the young woman’s confirmation of the access to the system.

“Okay, I now have complete access to the emergency protocol,” Junhee whispered after a good fifteen minutes of making her wait in tension and fear.

She came out at 10:20pm and apologized to Ali for being late but he only waved her off, telling nothing interesting had happened so far.

*

Inho looked at Nithya moving around the hall like she owned it, meeting people who didn't know her and making small talk like she had been doing this her entire life.

Her actions kept her former clients on high alert and now almost everyone’s attention was starting to divert to her rather than Ilnam or Gihun. By quarter to eleven, she had even caught Ilnam’s attention who was annoyed by her presence but also slightly intrigued.

10:50pm

“Alright, Nithya,” Inho spoke up. “It’s time. The plan is a go.”

The plan for her was to create a commotion for at least twenty minutes until Inho would kidnap Gihun and left the mansion easily without anyone noticing.

Nithya politely excused herself out of a conversation and approached Lee Joseph slowly with a shocked look, as if she had just seen him. The man had been looking at her since her arrival and his eyes widened at her approaching him.

Lee Joseph was a former client of hers who had, to put it veru mildly, treated her horribly. He forced her into every kink he wanted fulfilled and then beat her bloody to unconsciousness when she used her safeword to stop.

“Joseph-ssi?” She started, making the man look around uncomfortably and trying to avoid the conversation as Inho nodded at Kyeong to be on the standby. “I-I have been looking for you all these months, jagi.”

“Why is this woman here?” His wife next to him hissed. That woman had cornered her in a parking lot a few days later, calling her names and hitting her when she was already badly injured, for ‘seducing her husband’, as if he didn’t pay for her to have sex with him.

“Is she your sister?” Nithya looked at her in disgust and the woman, Lim Sara, balked at that.

“Hey! I am his wife!” she yelled and caught everyone’s attention.

“Your….wife?” Nithya asked, feigning surprise. “You-you promised me you were single!” Her voice rose. “I left everything for you! Just so we could be together!”

Inho smirked slightly as the commotion started to rise and even his boss’ attention was drawn to it now. He could hear Kyeong’s stifled chuckle and Hyunju’s amused scoff in the comms.

“You son of a bitch!” She shouted. “You lied to me! Ruined me!”

“You are creating a scene here,” Joseph hissed at her but she retorted. 

“Oh, I am creating a scene? Fuck off!” she yelled.

But Inho’s gaze was on his boss and Gihun. Ilnam was debating whether to step in or not but Gihun decided to do it in place of his husband’s.

And that’s when the plan hit the first roadblock because it was Ilnam who was supposed to step in, not Gihun.

Chapter Text

Fuck.

“Nithya, listen to me,” Inho whispered frantically to her as she was in the middle of an argument. “Gihun is approaching you from your six. It's Gihun, okay?”

The original plan was for Ilnam to approach the guests, leaving Gihun alone and Kyeong would have ‘accidentally’ spilled a drink on him, forcing him to change his shirt in his room upstairs. 

But the woman didn’t seem to hear him, calling that man several colourful names and it was the most important moment of his plan.

However, as Gihun tapped her shoulder lightly to get her attention, she spun back fast.

“What?!” She yelled and then crashed into Gihun, spilling her wine all over his shirt and her glass shattering to the ground.

The whole room fell into a stunned silence as Gihun’s shirt had now been drenched with red, making Nithya put a hand over her mouth in shock. 

Inho was going to kiss her for that brilliant move.

It was a few seconds before Nithya broke the dead silence of the hall.

“I am so sorry, sir,” she apologized frantically. “I was so startled I didn’t see you. Sir, I really didn’t mean to. I am so-”

And then, Ilnam marched up to her, furious.

“Hey! What the hell you think you are doin-”

“Jagi, calm down,” Gihun calmed his husband, putting a hand on the old man’s chest, as she was still apologizing to him. “It was an accident.” 

And then, turned to her. “Hey, are you okay, miss?” He asked her gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Are you hurt?”

She was taken aback for a second at his concern but recovered quickly and answered.

“Yeah, yeah, I am okay, but I am so sor-”

“It’s alright,” he cut her off, gently. “I get it was an accident, okay? I’ll just go change and be back right now,” he gave her a reassuring smile and left.

11:00pm

Ten more minutes of Nithya keeping everyone distracted.

*

As soon as Gihun went upstairs with Ali and Hyunju and Ilnam had made Nithya his target of verbal lashing, Inho gave a quick nod to Kyeong and slipped out of the mansion unnoticed. The eye witnesses were busy with the drama unfolding in front of them and Junhee’s takeover of the cameras gave him the perfect cover.

He quickly removed his suit jacket and tie and put on a coat and its hoodie. He then put on a black geometrical mask, activating the voice modulator, and pocketed some ties and a gun with a silencer.

*

Nithya had been judging the injury on her right foot while the old man kept screaming about something. The glass had shattered right on top of it, the pieces cutting into the skin and leading to some bleeding in her foot. She would rather bite her hand than admit it hurt like a bitch.

“Who even are you, you little minx?!” Ilnam finally yelled at her, making everyone, including Kyeong, flinch but Nithya had more pressing problems in the form of her injured foot so she clapped back.

“Well, who are you, grandpa?!” She mocked him, trying to distract herself from the pain, and everyone shared a shocked gasp.

*

Inho climbed up the balcony to Gihun’s room in under three minutes and found there was no one there.

But just a second later, Ali entered the room to check on Gihun. Inho quickly crept up behind the man, knocked him out with his gun and then opened the door to let Hyunju in. 

“Oh, I have always wanted to do this,” he whispered to her and punched her face once as she rolled her eyes at him. He had just finished faux tying her when Gihun exited his walk-in closet.

This time with a black shirt underneath the pearl pink blazer.

“Hey, I am re-” and faltered as soon as he saw the person in complete black and both of his bodyguards subdued.

“Wha-what’s this?” He asked, astonished. “Who are you?!”

But the person only kept his gun trained at Hyunju and spoke in a mechanical voice.

“Come with me quietly or they die.”

“Gihun-ssi, don’t listen to-” but the figure quickly fired a shot into Hyunju’s shoulder, making Gihun squawk.

“The next shot will be in the head.” And true to that, the barrel of the gun changed its direction.

“Wait! I’ll come with you!” He yelled. “I’ll-I’ll do anything you ask! Just please don’t kill them.” He begged, voice breaking at the thoughts of his friends dying while Hyunju protested. “Please.”

The figure only nodded and pointed to the balcony while keeping a gun trained at Hyunju.

Gihun let out a shuddered gasp as he saw the rope from which he had to climb down.

“Now!” The figure barked, making him squeak and flinch violently so he climbed down as fast as he could, praying he wouldn’t fall down and break his neck.

*

“Oh, so I am a cheap whore who seduced this man?!” She retorted to Ilnam, who has been defending the abusive asshole and singing his praises since the last few minutes as if he was his defense lawyer.

“Oh, no, no, no,” she chuckled. “I was a very expensive escort, you see. Hey, Joseph, can you tell this old gentleman how you paid five million won to have me for a whole weekend while your wife thought you were on a business trip?” 

All the guests gasped in surprise and started muttering and whispering amongst them while some even started chuckling. Nithya smirked as both the men balked while Sara looked torn between rage and embarrassment. 

For once, she enjoyed having the power over someone as she held the key to ruin their life, just like they had ruined hers.

The smirk didn’t leave her face as Joseph hurled childish insults at her in a last ditched attempt to save face. 

“You are nothing but a street whore!” Joseph yelled at her, breathing heavily to take a pause from all the yelling as some scattered giggles could still be heard.

And that’s when she threw her biggest bombshell with a grin.

“Bold words coming from someone who was on his knees begging me to peg him in the ass.”

And then, the whole hall burst into a roaring laughter.

*

At precisely 11:10pm, Inho drove off to the safehouse with Gihun tied up, blindfolded and gagged in the backseat of the car.

“Package is secured,” Inho announced on the comms, still masking his voice. “Move to phase two.”

“Noted,” everyone except Nithya reported, waiting patiently while some old man was going off at her in Joseph's defense. 

“Hey, do you want them distracted for some more time?” Kyeong whispered in the comms with a mischievous glint in his eye.

When Inho’s positive hum came, he grinned and then instructed Nithya with something.

*

“Wait, what?” Nithya whispered back. 

“Are you deaf?!” That old man barked at her.

“Oh, but not blind like his wife here. Or limp dicked like you," she sniped back loudly, drawing another round of oohs and giggles from the crowd as the man gaped like a fish out of water. 

Even the security didn’t want to step in just because it was all too hilarious. It was fun to see the entitled assholes getting their just desserts handed for once.

“Your parents will be ashamed of you,” a third old man chided her, coming in support of Joseph. 

Seriously?!

“Sadly, they are dead,” she snipped back but her voice nearly broke at their mention. “And I don’t want a pedophile like you lecturing me,” she bit back with the same sharp bite.

The man gasped. “How dare you?!”

“Oh, please! Everyone knows you have fucked 19 year old girls so shut the fuck up.”

*

“I can’t believe I am saying this but,” Junhee spoke into the comms at 11:18pm. “Nithya unnnie is really keeping everyone distracted with her antics.”

“I agree with that,” Hyunju replied, having escaped her binds and was now carrying an unconscious Ali out of the mansion discreetly. “Please tell me you have the audio and visual footage of this whole drama.”

“You don’t have to ask.”

“You are sending this to me as soon as this is finished.”

“Only if you go on a date with me,” Junhee cheekily replied.

“What?” Hyunju whispered as she put Ali in the car’s passenger seat and prepared for phase two.

“What?!” Kyeong whispered from where he was watching the chaos unleash.

“Nice,” Nithya whispered.

“What?!” Inho barked with his distorted voice modulator as he was ten minutes away from reaching the safehouse. Then recovering quickly, he pulled out his phone and texted Kyeong.

10 more mins at minimum

Kyeong, who immediately saw the text relayed the message to her via the comms.

“Oh, wow,” Nithya said in surprise at the message from Kyeong and realized a second later she had an audience.

Ah, fuck.

“Something amusing?” Sara taunted her. “Maybe you found another lie to cook up, you whore?”

Oh, dear. Sara did not just hand her a weapon, she thought as she smiled. She handed her a full nuclear bomb.

“I am lying?” She grinned. “Then tell me this.”

She took a wobbly step back and spoke out loud. “How many of the guests here tonight have slept with me and yet would lie to your face about it?”

Sara had no answer but Nithya had to keep them distracted for the next few minutes so she took a deep breath and decided to expose everyone.

“No answer? Well, then, allow me to tell you.”

Gihun’s gag and blindfold was removed as he found his hands tied to the arms of a chair and he blinked a few times to take a look around his surroundings. There was a series of monitors in front of him and they were playing live footage of the camera feed.

Specifically, the feed of his home. 

“Oh, hello Gihun-ssi,” the familiar voice called out to him and he turned to the side to look at Hwang Inho standing calmly. “I am sorry I had to do this but there was no choice.”

“You were the one behind all of this?” Gihun whispered in realization.

“Yes, I was,” Inho replied nonchalantly. And then, Gihun tried to spring up in anger but one push from Inho had him settled down.

“Why?! Why would you do this?!” He yelled and Inho took a breath to calm down his own distress. He hated seeing Gihun like this. “What the fuck do you even want?!”

Inho debated on holding out the confession but he remembered he needed to blow up the mansion in less than twenty five minutes.

“You,” he confessed but Gihun looked at him like he had gone mad. “I want you and I am going to prove it why I deserve you.”

Gihun shook his head, as if to unhear the words he had just heard. “You are crazy! I love my husband and that’s the truth!”

But Inho had picked up a decanter and threw it across the room, the crashing of the glass making Gihun flinch.

“You don’t love him,” Inho hissed. “You never loved your husband. You were forced into all of this and I am saving you from him.”

“Who even said I needed saving?!”

“I saw it,” Inho explained. “Every time you looked at me, you were pleading for help.”

“I never, ever did anything like that! You are delusional and beyond saving!”

“Then why did you look at me like you wanted me?!” Inho yelled for the first time. “Everytime I saw you, you had this look. Like you wanted me to be yours.”

“I didn’t even look at you like that.”

“But you did. You always did. And now that I am acting upon your message, you say I am delusional?”

“That’s because you fucking are, you sick fuck!” Gihun snarled, eyes blazing. “There’s nothing you can do that will make me even like you.”

“Oh I know just the thing for you,” Inho leaned in. “And I am going to prove to you how far I am willing to go to have you. I promise you are going to love it.”

11:40pm

“Prepare for lockdown and evacuation,” Inho spoke into the comms. “Kyeong, get Nithya out of there.”

*

“Copy that,” Kyeong answered and cracked his knuckles. 

He hated time passing by so fast because the party had gotten even more entertaining after Nithya had started pointing out her former clients and guaranteeing at least three divorces on the spot. 

In a matter of just twenty minutes, she had pointed out more than thirty of her clients who slept with her and what kind of deranged kinks some of them had though Kyeong knew she had made up half of them on the spot.

He was sure if there was more time, all of the couples present might have been divorced by sunrise tomorrow.

“And that city council guy,” Nithya pointed at another man, making him pale and his wife looking at him in shock. “He had a nun kink! Can you believe that?! A fucking nun kink! Maybe you should keep that one away from your local church!”

Her former clients were now getting uneasy and embarrassed with her callouts but the rest of the crowd ate it up from the palm of her hand, enjoying the gossip that would surely be spread around. 

Ilnam tried to intervene to stop her but everytime he tried, he was stopped by someone because they wanted her drama to continue so the only option left for him was to be left seething as she tore into her clients person by person.

She was on cloud nine and almost done with them all when she felt someone grabbing her arm.

Kyeong.

“Alright, as much as this was entertaining,” Kyeong started to drag her off. “Everyone’s had enough of your shenanigans. Let’s get you out of here.”

She feigned a little protest but Kyeong only led her to the exit. And that’s when Ilnam said the most damning line.

“Take that illiterate bitch out of here!” He shouted furiously. “If you had studied in school, you wouldn't be spreading your legs like a whore!”

They both stilled, Kyeong a bit slower than her. 

Nithya pretended to struggle to escape his grip as he silently handed her a full glass of wine discreetly. She then stormed up to the old man, limping slightly from the pain and eyes blazing.

Then, to everyone’s surprise (and it was an achievement to one up all the drama she had created tonight), she threw the wine on Ilnam’s face.

“I actually have a Master’s degree, you illiterate chaebol scum!”

And then, startled everyone as she threw the glass somewhere across the room, the delicate glass shattering as Kyeong grabbed and dragged her outside quickly just before the clock hit 11:45pm and the mansion went into an early lockdown.

*

“Did she just call him an illiterate chaebol scum?” Inho asked in surprise as the comms were on full speaker now, Gihun also listening to it. 

“Wait, does she actually have a Master’s degree?” Gihun asked in confusion, forgetting for a second of the predicament he was in.

“Oh, she does,” Inho answered. “In economics, I think.”

“And also, threw wine on his face!” Keyong’s chuckle came from the other side.

“Oh wow,” they both commented in wonder at the same time. And then, Gihun remembered once more the situation he was in.

“What are you even going to do?” Gihun asked him in confusion.

“You will know soon,” Inho smiled. “For now, we can just talk.”

“I don’t want to even talk to a psycho like you!” He snapped. “I just want to leave!”

11:50pm

“The evacuation procedure for the staff has been done,” Hyunju reported and Gihun took a shuddering breath.

“Is-is that Hyunju?” Gihun’s voice broke, now realizing the betrayal from a friend. “No, how? Why?”

“The controls are now in your hand, Inho-ssi,” Junhee’s voice came and Gihun shook his head in shock, realizing another betrayal from another friend. 

11:52pm

“Why?” He whispered. “And for what?”

“For you.”

“You say it’s for me and you had my friends betray me and you hurt me! What kind of love is this?!”

“I apologize for the hurt I caused but it was necessary. I wouldn’t have saved you from your husband otherwise.”

“Wait,” Gihun whispered in realization. “No, where is he? Where is he?!” he roared.

“Inside the mansion that is locked down.”

“No, what are you going to do?!” Gihun yelled. 

“I am blowing up the mansion.”

“Wait, no, don’t do it!” Gihun yelled, panicked. “Listen, whatever it is you want, I’ll give it to you. Just please don’t do it. Please don’t kill him.”

“I am sorry he has to die.”

“Okay, look, I’ll do anything you ask. Anything. But don’t kill him. At least not him. Yo-you can kill everyone else but not him!

In a last ditch attempt, he tried to appeal to Inho’s humanity. “Listen, Inho-ssi, He’s-he’s like a father to you! You love him as well!”

“Not tonight.”

12:00

“Please think about it. Just please don’t do it.”

“I am sorry, but it has to be done,” Inho apologized and then pressed the button. 

The feed showed the mansion blowing up.

“There was no other way,” Inho whispered apologetically as Gihun shouted out a no in horror.

“Everyone, status update.” He spoke into the comms, his back to Gihun who looked defeated. He would get back to him as soon as his team let him know of their status.

“The explosion is confirmed,” Junhee spoke. “The emergency services are on their way to mitigate the damage and look for survivors.”

“If there were any,” Kyeong piped up but his voice was slightly strained. Something was off here. “We witnessed the explosion as well and it’s a confirmed hit but I am taking Nithya to a hospital right away.”

“Is she okay?” Inho asked in concern.

“Yeah, the glass shattered on her foot during the commotion and it looks bad,” Kyeong explained.

“Nithya?” Inho asked her.

“Yeah, my foot hurts but otherwise I am fine,” she replied. “But Kyeong is-”

“Fine,” he cut her off sharply. “We are both okay and going to the hospital.”

Inho could sense something was up with them both but he after a moment of thinking, he decided to leave them to it. They were both capable enough to handle whatever was going on.

“Okay, take care, you two and call me tomorrow for your updates. Hyunju?”

“The staff members were evacuated on time so no one got hurt,” she reported but there was some groaning in the background. “Can you shut it, cunt?! You have been hurt worse than this!”

“Is there a problem?” 

“No, I think you hit Ali a bit too hard but we are okay as well.”

“Yes, but you never replied to me asking you out, Ms. Cho,” Junhee’s teasing voice was heard on the comms. 

“Not this again,” Inho sighed in annoyance though he wished Hyunju would say yes. She needed to get laid soon.

There was silence on the other end for a minute before the reply came.

“Alright, I’ll go on a date with you,” Hyunju’s fond exasperated tone could be heard. 

“Everyone, log off now.”

Inho commanded and the comms could be heard destroying but at the same time, he felt something really sharp prick into his neck. 

Inho spun fast to retaliate but the drug was faster and he could feel its effect kicking in. He saw Gihun standing over him, now free from his bonds and holding a syringe in one hand.

But gone was the soft look he had and instead, his face had hardened as he watched Inho try to fight the drug’s effects. 

Instead of bolting, like the captive would usually do in these situations, Gihun calmly threw the syringe away and caught Inho in his arms as he collapsed.

“You are safe, my love,” he whispered and started stroking his hair softly, as Gihun slowly lowered them both to the ground. It made Inho even more confused. Wasn’t he raving about despising him just a few minutes ago?

As the darkness finally caught up to him, the last thing he felt was a press of lips to his forehead and words he heard chilling his blood.

“I’ll be here when you wake up, my beautiful assassin.”