“Anonymous texts were sent out overnight to everyone, sir. They’ll be here shortly if they’re smart enough to show,” I informed Insoo, my hands behind my back politely. I couldn’t afford to piss this guy off after his threats.

“Thank you Minhyuk… If you have any concerns, let me know. You’re like a son to me,” He replied slyly.

Refuse the urge to smack him down, I kept telling myself. Don’t let him get to you, and for god’s sake play nice with him for now. I left the room quickly, rushed down the stairs and went straight outside. I lit up a cigarette to distract myself. I lowered my cap and took a big puff. My hands shook as I realised this was the first time I had to actually reflect on my actions the past few days. I had betrayed my friends, hurt them, and the people they cared about.

I flinched as Shownu rounded the corner to my left. He flicked my cap up and smirked. It faded as he leaned in closer to me. “What?” I grumbled, repositioning my cap.

“You’re way too emotional. I could see your tears from the corner,” He told me.

“That’s not even possible,” I muttered. I turned away and rubbed my eyes before facing him again.

I saw his eyes on my pack of Marlboro’s, and I passed him it. His lips twitched into a smile as he stuck two in his mouth. I gave him a ‘wtf’ look before shrugging and lighting both cigarettes for him.

“You know, I’m sure Insoo won’t do anything to them,”

“He’s already killed Jooheon’s sister; it wouldn’t be hard for him to kill Jooheon, Jisung, Hyungwon, Kihyun, or Wonho either. Well, maybe not Wonho... What I mean is - he doesn’t need them, or me, or even you. Aren’t you -- never mind,” I sighed.

“If they do alright today… you’ll have nothing to worry about,” Shownu reassured me, giving me a pat on the back before heading into the building. “YAH! They’ve already arrived Minhyuk! We’re late!” Shownu stuck his head out of the first floor window and shouted down at me.

“We’re so ing dead!!” I yelled back, spitting out my cigarette and stomping it out, before sprinting up the stairs.

I saw Shownu burst through the door before me. I followed and arrived soon after, shying behind Shownu a little at the sight of Insoo with Jooheon, Jisung, Kihyun, Wonho and Changkyun. No-one looked happy to see us. Not a single person.

Shownu opened his mouth to speak, but faltered when Insoo’s hand went up. I gulped.

“I don’t even want to hear it,” He murmured, gesturing for us to sit down. We pulled up chairs and sat amongst the others.

“There’s a drug trade going on around the border of Busan. The Tae-Oh group have some trucks delivering cargo to an ally over there. We need to ambush them and take over their supplies… since our last partnership fell through,” Insoo announced lazily, directing his gaze to Hyungwon, trying to gauge his reaction.

Insoo huffed out of disappointment at the lack of Hyungwon’s reaction, and stood up. He pointed Shownu. “You’re the sniper,” Insoo told him. Shownu nodded. “The rest of you are on guns, other than Jisung,”

Jisung’s head snapped up at the mention of her name, her eyes wide. Jooheon glanced at Jisung, and she waved his worrying off. Changkyun shifted uncomfortably and looked at his father with desperation.

“Daughter-in-law bonding time, is it?” Wonho scoffed, folding his arms and placing his feet on Insoo’s desk. What was this guy playing at? Does he behave like this on purpose? I kept my thoughts to myself, shocked at his provoking actions.

Insoo stood up and lurched forward. He grabbed Wonho’s face and pulled out his pocketknife. Jisung’s chair screeched as she scooted away from Wonho, who she was originally sat beside. “You talk too much for your own good. Do you want me to cut your tongue out?” Insoo threatened. I was pretty sure I'd heard that one myself before.

Wonho scratched at Insoo’s hands until he was released. He gasped for breath for a few seconds before responding. “Woah, Insoo, we haven’t even had our first date yet and you already want my tongue! I’m flattered, really, but I’m not easy,” Wonho winked.

Insoo looked astounded that Wonho wasn’t fazed by his threat whatsoever. Their eyes met and they ended up laughing it off in a disturbing manner. Insoo opened the door and we left the building in silence. We slid into the van as Insoo passed Shownu the gas masks and the guns. He chucked the masks over to me and I proceeded to hand them out to those who were going to be in the field. Jisung looked at me cautiously.

“We only need to use them in emergencies,” I reassured her. She snatched a mask out of my grip and handed it to Jooheon herself.

Aside from that, the journey was silent, and all I did was observe the people who I considered to be my friends. But I don’t think friendship works if it isn’t mutual. Jooheon and Wonho were comforting Jisung, who looked on the verge of a panic attack, as Changkyun merely watched anxiously. They all seemed so close, and I longed to be on their side of the fence, even if it meant risking my life more than I already have.

We pulled into an empty street. Insoo clambered out of the driver’s seat to the back of the van, dragging Jisung with him, as he motioned for the rest of us to move out silently. I opened the side door as silently as I could, and we filed out. Shownu left a minuscule gap instead of fully closing the door, in case we needed a quick getaway. We tread towards an alley, led by Changkyun. Shownu split, and headed to the roof of one building with his sniper rifle slung behind his back.

We turned around the corner and huddled up. “Good, they haven’t gotten here yet,” Changkyun said softly.

“This’ll make things easier,” I made sure to keep my voice under a whisper.

“When they arrive, Minhyuk, Kihyun and Wonho grab as much as you can, and we’ll cover you,”

“What?! We’re going to get killed if we do that!” Kihyun whispered angrily. “I can handle a gun just as well as anyone else here,” He continued.

Changkyun rolled his eyes and was about to respond when I heard the screech of tyre tracks. I pushed Hyungwon and Kihyun, who were either side of me, to the ground. Changkyun crouched even lower than before and pointed to the opening of the alley around the corner from us. Another rumbling of a truck came into earshot. I glanced at Changkyun and mouthed, ‘You hear that?’

He nodded and held up two fingers, resembling the number of trucks awaiting our ambush. Changkyun, Hyungwon and Jooheon readied their weapons, attaching silencers to their guns. Kihyun attempted to do the same, but earned a harsh look from Changkyun, and reluctantly handed the gun over to him. The trucks pulled into the alley and we exchanged glances.

Shownu fired the first shot. The bullet sliced through one of the tyres, and the truck slowed as the tyre went flat. Changkyun aimed for another tyre, and Jooheon put a shot through the windshield. The second truck reversed and made a quick getaway. “,” I hissed.

The first truck, however, skidded to a halt after hitting one of the brick walls of the alley, and I took my chance to hurl around the corner and towards the back of the truck. The front doors of the truck opened, but were quickly shut as Jooheon, Hyungwon, and Changkyun shot at them. I yanked open the back doors, Wonho and Kihyun by my side, and I took in the sight in less than a second. There were stacks of , sacks full to the brim with , and several syringes, pre-filled with what I assumed was heroin.

Unfortunately, there were also four men sitting among the drug stash, each with machine guns, and my heart dropped. I ducked along with Kihyun, as Wonho moved quickly. I watched as he grabbed a machine gun off one, kicked another in the face, slammed the of the rifle into someone else, and put a bullet into the leg of the fourth with the stolen gun. “You gonna sit there like lemons, or what?! Give me a ing hand here!” Wonho yelled over the men’s yells. Wonho put two in a headlock, and I hopped into the back of the truck with Kihyun, taking on one guy each.

I swung but my punch was blocked, and I was flipped onto my back. I jabbed at his shins and he fell to his knees before he could pin me down. I shuffled up to my feet and landed a punch to his jaw, which I heard click. Blood began to drip out of the side of his mouth like drool, as he lurched forward and latched onto my throat. I clawed at his hands to get out of his grasp, before going for his eyes. I reached out and strained to get closer to his face.

My eyes widened as my hand was covered in the man’s blood. It was a headshot. I spun around to find Shownu on top of the nearest building giving me the thumbs up. “Looked like you needed help!” He yelled.

“I totally would have handled that!” I shouted back.

“Yeah, right!!” Shownu laughed, taking a shot at someone attempting enter the building below him.

Wonho had incapacitated his two, and Kihyun’s was begging for mercy. Wonho pressure pointed him until he fell to the floor, lax. Echoes of gunshots still rang throughout the alley. “Hurry the hell up!!” I heard Jooheon holler. We glanced at each other, gathering up as much of the illegal substances as we could. I heaved a couple of sacks over my shoulders, and grabbed a few bags of weed, locking them in my grip with my elbows. I sprinted out of the truck last, and followed the others to the street where we had parked the van.

Kihyun halted first, and shouted out immediately. “ONE’S AT THE VAN,”

He was opening the door, holding an SMG tightly in his hand, aimed at the van where Jisung and Insoo were hidden in. The door opened and Jisung held a crowbar in her hands. She lifted it back, preparing to swing. A bullet ran through the man’s head before she could do anything, leaving the back door swinging back and forth.

I looked back, expecting Shownu to have fired, but it was Changkyun who had his gun raised. “I can’t believe you did that!” Jisung’s voice rang through the street. She stormed over with her crowbar still in her hand. She threw it to the ground in anger. “Why did you just shoot him?!!” She asked Changkyun.

“He had a gun! He was about to shoot you! Would you rather me watch you die!?” Changkyun yelled back at her.

“No! I just… I could have taken him down! We didn’t need to kill him…” She sighed.

“He’s right, Jisung. We can’t take any chances,” Jooheon rubbed her back. Hyungwon nodded in agreement, and Wonho ruffled her hair. We checked our surroundings, making sure we were in the clear, when Shownu exited the building. He was being held at gunpoint.

Insoo clambered out of the car, his hands up in surrender. “Now, there’s no need to do anything drastic here,” Insoo began.

“ you,” The man spat, pressing the gun against the side of Shownu’s head. “Who the do you think you are, interrupting a harmless transaction!?!”

“Tae-Oh,” Insoo sighed. “There’s nothing left for you; you don’t need to bring innocent lives down with you,”

I heard Wonho scoff at the innocent part.

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right. There’s nothing left for me at all. I’ll be killed anywhere I go,” He nodded. Insoo stepped forward cautiously, as Tae-Oh was seemingly off guard. Tae-Oh looked at each of us, and up to the sky. He smiled a little. Insoo reached Shownu, and pulled him back to the van. Tae-Oh raised the gun to his own head and fired.

Jisung gasped and put her hands to in shock. I sighed and kept my head angled away from the bloody sight. “Let’s get out of here,” I said.

“Yeah, we’ve made one hell of a mess,” Shownu muttered, staring at the lifeless bodies sprawled on the concrete.

“On someone else’s territory for that matter,” Insoo stated bluntly, not bothered a single bit.