‘Hyesung, Dongwan wants to see you’ Minwoo said when he saw Hyesung lazing around at the meeting room. Why meeting room and not Dongwan’s office? Because Dongwan had clearly pasted a ‘NO HYESUNG BEYOND THIS DOOR UNLESS HE IS CALLED’…

‘Are you sure it’s me, not you?’ Hyesung teased his friend again.

Minwoo just rolled his eyes, ‘I’ll just pretend you didn’t say anything...’

‘But you better hurry up, he’s going out later’ he said before leaving the guy behind.

‘Okay okay’ Hyesung said as he made his way to Dongwan’s office.

Knock… Knock… Knock…

After hearing a ‘Come in’ from Dongwan, Hyesung went inside and slumped his body on his favourite sofa.

‘What’s up?’

‘Here’ he said as he handed a file to Hyesung.

‘Reason?’ Hyesung asked before he opened the file.

‘Based on the information we received, he hacked the country’s database a few times and got all the info he needed from there before selling it to other countries. The proof is in there’

‘Alright’ Hyesung nodded in understanding and headed out. He went back to the meeting room as he liked to be alone especially when he wanted to read his mission and plan his work excellently.

‘So, an assassin kills a hacker. This is going to be fun’ Hyesung smirked before opening the file.

When he looked at the pictures clipped on the files, he wanted to faint. His heart stopped for a minute, his eyes widen as big as a plate and was sweating profusely. He didn’t expect to meet HIM again in this way! Without reading the rest of file, he rushed towards Dongwan’s office.

‘STOP!’ Hyesung said out loud when he saw Dongwan who was about to exit his office.

‘What’s wrong, Hyesung?’ he frowned at his cousin’s sudden weird behaviour.

‘What’s the meaning of this?’ Hyesung demanded an explanation as he lifted the file.

‘A mission for you to kill someone…’ Dongwan stated the obvious. It wasn’t as if it was Hyesung’s first job.

‘No! I mean THE TARGET!’

‘He is someone that you need to kill’

‘And why are you freaking out as if you know that guy’ Dongwan frowned. Then a moment of realisation hit him.

‘Do you know him, Hyesung?’ Dongwan’s tone changed softer.

It was the organisation’s policy that if an assassin from the organisation personally knew the target, they would have to recheck the background themselves. If the target was a threat, they must kill them but if they couldn’t do it, they give the mission to another assassin to do it. Hyesung regained his conscious and shook his head, ‘No, I don’t know him… I’m sorry for being overreacting’ he apologised. It wasn’t like him to be like that and to say it honestly, he was embarrassed.

Dongwan knew that Hyesung was lying but maybe Hyesung didn’t know the target personally, just a brief encounter, ‘If you couldn’t do it, I’ll give the mission to Minwoo’ Dongwan suggested.

Hyesung glared at him coldly. The thought of Eric was going to be killed by someone made his stomach sick. At least if he was going to be killed, it would be Hyesung who was going to kill him.

‘NO WAY! Fck off, Dongwan! And don’t say anything to Minwoo!’ Hyesung turned serious and to be frankly honest, Dongwan was surprised by his sudden behaviour. But he believed that Hyesung took his job seriously and he won’t do anything that would compromise himself nor the organisation. But either way, he needed to take some precautions. He made a mental reminder to have a meeting with the CEO.

‘I’ll do the job’ Hyesung concluded once he calmed down. He left before saying anything as he wanted to be alone in the meeting room. He never had the feeling of not wanting to open the mission file but this time it was different. It took all of his guts to read the content and as he read, his heart ache.

Name : Eric Mun

Age : 28 years old

Occupation : A CEO of SHW+ Agency

Reason of killing : Hacked government’s database on politician statuses and sell the information to people since a few years ago.

Parents : Mum died while giving birth, dad is a politician and he had an older brother who committed suicide

Hyesung calmed himself down and he had forced himself to look at the evidences given. Later, he decided that he should go back home to rest. Hyesung didn’t always thought about Eric but he suddenly remembered about the incident happened a week ago. Because of that, he wondered if he was going to meet Eric again.

Fortunately, he did.

In a worst way possible.

‘I’m starting to hate this job!’ Hyesung hissed angrily as he got inside his car before driving off.

(A few days later)

Hyesung figured that he shouldn’t let a guy who he barely knew compromised his work, so as usual, he did his ‘one week’ rule. The rule was to observe his target to know more things about him and on the very last day, he would kill the target in a merciless manner that no one would ever see the target again. Therefore, the first day of the stalking was at a luxury apartment. The apartment was one of the most expensive apartments you can afford in Seoul that looked at exactly like the ones in NYC. He lived at the second highest floor and you could see everything inside Eric’s apartment except that Eric had curtains blocking it.

(7 o’clock)

Hyesung woke up earlier than usual as he wanted to watch Eric using the telescope when he rented an apartment next to Eric’s. Eric’s bedroom was blocked by the curtains, the only visible place was the living hall and the kitchen. Suddenly, the curtains of Eric’s room was opened and to make things worse on Hyesung’s case, Eric only wrapped his waist with a towel leaving the upper body exposed to the world. He could perfectly see a rock solid abs together with a muscular back that could make his heart thumped. Hyesung swore that every girl would wanted him in bed for a one-night stand or forever. Hyesung quickly shifted his gaze when Eric changed his clothes and later, Eric made his way to the kitchen for breakfast.

‘Oh, his future wife must be happy to know he can cook’ Hyesung mumbled when he saw Eric who was cooking something for breakfast.

After breakfast and washing the dishes, Eric exited his apartment. Hyesung didn’t have to leave the apartment as he can observe Eric from his iPad because he put a tracking device under Eric’s car. Don’t ask him when or how he did it. He just did. To kill time, Hyesung figured that he should sneak in Eric’s apartment. Luckily, all the things have prepared for him to make it easier for his job. He used a fake card to get inside the apartment and he started to snoop around the house.

All the clothes Eric have was branded items but all were in trend. Hyesung thought that Eric was a guy who took a great care of his face and body but he was wrong. The only beauty stuffs Eric have was shampoo, shower gel and shaving cream together with a razor and they were all cheap brands. Hyesung made his way to the kitchen and when he opened his fridge, not many stuffs were inside.

‘Single man life. Typical…’

Then, he noticed that there were many utensils placed nicely in the cupboard and it indicated that Eric had people over to his house.

Family maybe?

But speaking of family, Eric didn’t have any pictures in his house. At all! Except for a picture that was hung in the middle of the living room. It was a picture of an old woman, two small boys. Hyesung assumed that the older one was Eric judging from his exotic features. After roaming around and rummaging the stuffs he wasn’t supposed to, Hyesung exited his apartment as he couldn’t find anything suspicious.

(At 5 o’clock)

After feeling like waiting for a thousand years, Eric finally came home. He straight away went to his room and closed the curtains much to Hyesung’s dismay. After 20 minutes, he came out to the kitchen with his pyjamas on. Hyesung thought that he would cook something fancy but instead, Eric cooked ramen.

‘Yah, that thing is not healthy for you!’ Hyesung growled angrily.

Eric went to the living room with his ramen in his hands and switched on the TV using a remote control. After watching some news while eating, he threw away his ramen plastic bowl and went back to the living room. He opened the cupboard under the TV because he wanted to take out his xBox to play some video games. Hyesung was getting hungry since he watched Eric eating, so he ordered some takeaway after he took a bath.

(At 9 o’clock)

Playing a game one last time, Eric switched off his TV and took his laptop from his room to resume his work. To add fun, he played some songs while working and after an hour, he decided to go to sleep. Hyesung felt odd as it was just the same old boring routine for a young guy like him. He thought that Eric would go out every night, having fun, partying at clubs but he was wrong.

‘Maybe he will go tomorrow’ Hyesung concluded. He also concluded that every time Eric used the computer, he wasn’t doing his office work but instead his ’side’ job.

The next two days, it was the same routine for Eric! And to be honest, Hyesung could’ve killed him as he got many chances to do so. The guy didn’t go out partying, he preferred to stay home and played some video games.

Boring life.

But on Wednesday, the routine changed a little and it made Hyesung excited. He quickly changed his clothes and followed Eric who was going to exit his apartment building. But it turned out that Eric was just going to a grocery store to buy some stuffs.

‘Tsk, a grocery store… I didn’t expect that’ he rolled his eyes.

Even though it wasn’t Hyesung’s expectations but he was glad that Eric at least made an effort to go out. As he saw Eric passing by a park, they heard a sorrow bark. Rather than ignoring the bark, Eric went to the park to look for the bark. Hyesung fasten his pace and watched Eric from outside the park. Then, he saw an adult size Husky dog inside the loop under the slide. Eric carefully squatted in front of the dog. Wanting to know what Eric was doing, Hyesung secretly walked closer to them.

‘What’s wrong, Husky?’ Eric asked and Hyesung found it adorable.

The dog just whimpered quietly.

‘Are you hungry or thirsty?’ he asked again but this time, the dog barked.

‘Let’s see…’ Eric mumbled as he rummaged his bag.

‘I don’t have suitable food for you… Can you wait here for me?’ the dog barked again.

Eric put his stuffs near the dog because he found it nuisance if he ran with the plastic bag. Eric ran as fast as he could to the grocery store while Hyesung waited for him behind the bushes. While Eric was gone, Hyesung saw the dog slowly walked out from the loop and took the plastic bag that Eric dropped with it inside the loop to guard it. When it heard Eric’s footsteps, he peeked out to see if it was really Eric. Eric took out two bowls and poured food and water into separate bowls. The dog barked happily before eating the food that was given. Eric smiled like a child and watched happily as the dog ate and drank. After it ate, it gave Eric’s plastic bags back to him.

‘Thank you for keeping it for me…’ he smiled fondly.

‘Listen, I have to go now because it’s getting late. I hope that you’re not hungry anymore now. Bye bye~’ Eric waved his hands childishly at the dog before making his move.

After Eric left, Hyesung started making his move but halted when he heard the dog whimpered. The dog slowly went out from the park and looked for Eric. When it saw the guy, it ran towards him. Hyesung quickly followed them.

‘WOOF!’ it barked loudly.

Eric was surprised by the bark and looked around.

‘What are you doing here? It’s cold tonight’ Eric said. The dog barked.

‘I’m going to my house now. Quite late now’ he said again and continued walking with the dog following him from behind. Eric must’ve noticed the dog, so he turned behind.

‘What do you want exactly?’ Eric raised his eyebrows. The dog barked again.

‘Do you want me to take you home?’ he asked. The dog barked excitedly with his tail wagging.

Eric gave a faint smile, ‘I can but I don’t know how to take care of dogs. And I’m scared that I don’t have time for you’ he said sadly. The dog barked and moved closer to Eric.

‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’ he asked and as always, it barked.

‘Then, you are now officially my pet. I’m going to name you Husky’ Eric said happily and together with Husky, they went back home. Seriously, looking at the scene warmed Hyesung’s heart as it was a completely different side of Eric he knew.

(Back at the apartment)

Hyesung went to his apartment faster than Eric because he wanted to see what was going to happen. Eric brought Husky home and he put his stuffs on the table before attending the dog. He changed his clothes into more comfortable ones before giving Husky a bath. After that, he dried Husky at the living room and for the first time, Hyesung saw Eric’s laughter and it was charming. He laughed because Husky was wagging his body for it to dry faster. Then, they went inside Eric’s room. Hyesung rarely used the night vision because that night he was curious, so he used it. He saw that the dog was sleeping on the floor when suddenly Eric gestured the dog to sleep with him on the bed. The dog wagged his tail happily and climbed on the bed. Hyesung just smiled at the lovely scene and after seeing them sleeping peacefully, he went to sleep as well.

(Next day)

As his usual routine, he woke up earlier than Eric and when Eric walked out from the room, Hyesung remembered that Eric now had a dog as a pet. He wanted to make breakfast for himself and when it came to the dog, he forgot to buy dog food. He quickly rummaged his stuffs in the cupboard and fridge to find something appropriate for it to eat. He just found some things that can be eaten and when he realised he left the bowls at the park, he wanted to hit himself. Hyesung was already laughing at Eric’s chaotic morning. With that, Eric decided not to make any breakfast for himself and focused mainly on the dog. He just gave Husky anything to eat and said something to it before leaving the apartment.

Hyesung felt pity for Eric as he remembered the CEO said about not good of taking care of the dog. Then, Hyesung decided to be a guardian angel for Eric. He went to the grocery shop and went to buy two bowls and dog food. The same as what Eric bought the day before. He went straight to Eric’s apartment and knocked, showing that he didn’t mean harm to the dog who was barking from inside. He slowly crept in and when Husky saw it wasn’t its owner, he barked angrily.

‘Woah, chill boy… I’m Eric’s friend, Hyesung’ Hyesung smiled but the dog was still barking.

‘I don’t mean harm. I just wanted to help Eric by feeding you. Look here, food for you!’ Hyesung showed him the dog food and that was when Husky stopped barking.

Hyesung smiled and prepared Husky’s food which he ate deliciously when he served it. He didn’t want to leave soon as he wanted to play with Husky and thank goodness, the dog wanted to play with him too. They spent their time together for a few hours before Hyesung had to leave. The dog was sad when Hyesung had to leave, but Hyesung promised that he will come back. He took Husky’s bowls and the dog food so that Eric won’t get suspicious. When Eric came back that day, he didn’t suspect a thing and he bought the usual stuffs for Husky.

The routine went on as usual except that Husky came into his life. But on weekends, Eric’s routine changed completely. He packed his bags as if he was going to stay somewhere and he brought Husky along with him. Hyesung followed Eric’s car and after spending 45 minutes on the road, he arrived at a cosy house near a forrest. The air was cold as it was located up the hill but on a stable land. Hyesung watched from far when he saw Eric and Husky got down and were greeted by an old woman and a cute guy. Then, a moment of realisation hit him! The cute guy was the one from the workshop and the old woman was from the picture! Somehow, knowing that Eric and the cute guy were related made him so happy. It turned out that Eric spent his weekend staying at the house and on Monday morning, he left with the cute guy. Hyesung noticed that the dog stayed behind which he assumed that Husky was going to live there since Eric lived alone at the apartment. Hyesung followed the BMW i8 and saw that the car stopped at a college which was the cute guy’s college. After that, Eric went straight to his office. That was how Hyesung spent his week stalking his target.

Target..?

Hyesung nearly forgot that Eric was his target! He was enjoying watching Eric and his usual boring routine. Now that he knew he need to kill Eric, he had to make a choice. Feeling stress, Hyesung went back to his home to think about what he was going to do next.

(Following week)

‘Minwoo, I thought you’re in Thailand’ Hyesung remarked when he saw his best friend perfectly sitting on the couch with Dongwan.

‘I finished my work early. What about you?’ he replied.

Hyesung kept quiet as he contemplating whether to tell them or not. But since they knew Hyesung since he was in elementary school, he thought why not.

‘That’s the thing I want to talk about’ he hesitantly said and took a seat opposite to him.

Hyesung took a deep breath, ‘I didn’t kill him yet…’ he declared which made them nodded.

‘We knew it…’ Minwoo said expectantly.

‘You told him?!’ Hyesung glared at Dongwan.

‘He knows these kind of stuffs better than me!’ he defended himself.

‘Point taken’ he nodded.

‘I’ll just ignore that’ Minwoo rolled his eyes and continued, ‘But what are you going to do now?’

‘I am going to spy on him more!’ he said determinedly.

‘What…?!’ they couldn’t believe his ears.

‘I am going to work at his company and observe him’

‘Didn’t you observe him enough?’ Dongwan asked raising his eyebrows. Hyesung wasn’t never the kind of assassin that would go undercover. Only Minwoo and other people.

‘Nope, not enough! There’s something more than the name. I just knew it’ he said dramatically.

‘Well whatever you say…’ Dongwan just played along with a shrug.

‘Okay then, I will ask the rest to prepare the things that I’m going to need’ Hyesung announced and when he left, Minwoo and Dongwan made a bet.

‘He won’t kill the guy’ Minwoo said.

‘Then?’

‘He will fall in love with him’

Dongwan looked at him in horror, ‘What?! No way! He’s not that kind of person’

‘I’m serious… He’s going to fall in love with his target. Now he is already attached to that guy’ he replied firmly.

Dongwan just sighed and played along, ‘Let’s just see…’

‘If I win, I want to go on a vacation with you. No work. Just holidays’ he started to make a bet.

‘Even if you lose, we’re going to go still’ Dongwan replied and wrapped his arm around Minwoo’s shoulder.

‘Call!’ Minwoo grinned widely.