[-]

  The time was way past eight in the morning. The buses outside are now free of the stream of unless students trying to squeeze their way in as if their lives are dependent on whether they managed to get on this bus or not. The school bell must've rang somewhere already, but here sits a teen who is miles away from school, nonchalently bitting off the edge of a peanut butter jelly toast, shaking his leg rhythmically under the dining table.

  The smell of fried omelettes sizzled in the air and the wrinkled old lady frying them was humming, her body swaying slightly along with the classics from the radio. The peace was disrupted by the sound of rapid footsteps scampering down the old wooden stairs above their heads and the boy looked up with a slow smirk forming on his face even before seeing the one who's obviously in a hurry.

  Dara burst from the turn of the stairway and leaped the last few steps off, her cardigan tied on her waist and her hands frantically pulling her hair together. She halted at the foot of the stairs, staring at the guest at their house. Not that she's surprised- this boy practically drops by everyday. 

  "You're here again." Dara grunted, raising a brow at the teen who had his hair combed up and the sides of his head rebelliously shaved, dressed tardily set of uniform.

  Mino raised his coffee cup in toast to the older girl.

  "Aren't you late for school?" Dara asked, eyeing Mino with contempt. Her grandmother loves to feed these street kids so much that she has lost count of how many of them there are exactly. But this one, Song Mino, a senior in the highschool down by the street, took it to the furthest, self-inviting himself over for meals whenever he cans, and grams doesn't seem to have a problem with that.

  Mino shrugged. "But you're obviously late for work." He taunted, the side of his lips curling upwards into a devilishly good looking smile,  bringing Dara back to reality.

  "Get to school, its good for you." Dara nagged, "Grams, I'm off!"

  The kind old lady hobbled out of the kitchen with her frying pan and spatula.

  "Off to school so early, dear?" She asked, her slight dementia acting up again.

  Dara groaned.

  "Grams I'm twenty-three!"

  After what seems like an eternity, Bom finally turned around from the working computer. Dara had put in extra effort in pleasing her best friend today, not only removing her socks that will now subject her feet to the merciless shredding of those working pair of heels but also buying in her favorite strawberry milkshake with the criossant from the bakery down the road. 

  "So, how did it go?" Dara asked eagerly, wringing her hands together, her eyes wide and full to the brim with expectations.

  "Our supplier from Italy managed to get us another pair of those limited ed sneakers, BUT- " Bom halted, prompting Dara to nod excitedly for her to go on, "it'll take three months at the least." Bom sighed dramatically, looking at her best friend sympathetically, surpressing what seemed to be a snigger.

  Dara stopped and drew a sharp breath. 3 MONTHS? It will take almost a hundred DAYS for the shoes for that mafia boss to arrive? What kind of sneakers take that long to make? Bom is already laughing silently. She thinks its hilarious how it barely took a day for Dara to mess up that big of a time. Dara stared at her counterpart with a disgusted face. How can she be laughing at a time like this? Aren't those fellows supposed to be DANGEROUS??

  "Oh my god Dara," Bom stopped abruptly, straightening up behind her counter. "That's him."

  Dara snapped her head around and true enough, Kwon Jiyong himself, perfectly visible beyond the glass panels, was approaching the shop, while squinting in the sunlight, trying to shield his eyes with his hand. 
 

  FUDGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
 

  Silent panic gripped her. Wide eyed, pupils diliated and suddenly clammy, Dara instinctively dived beneath the counter under Bom's feet as she hurriedly tried to straighten her hair. The glass doors trinkled and Dara could feel her heart racing.

  Why is he here so soon????

  "Good morning." Bom greeted with a small bow , her voice sounding strained. Dara swallowed, pulling herself tighter together. "How may I help you today?"

  The young captain surveyed the seemingly empty shop. His hair was the usual, combed back and slicked neatly. He was however wearing something more normal and less intimidating. The plain white, v-neck shirt, Gucci belt and a pair of old washed out jeans suits him perfectly, giving off the illusion that he is merely one of the harmless, charming boys downtown.

  Not to Dara today, of course.

  "I'm looking for your colleague." Jiyong answered pleasantly, standing with his weight on his left leg, his arms folded across his chest. 

  "I'm sorry, Julie's out for the-"

  "Not her. That new one." Jiyong interrupted, "I'm looking for Park Dara." 

  Dara could feel Bom's feet nudging her mercilessly under the counter as she gave a small, hoarse laugh. Desperate, Dara grabbed Bom's ankles and looked up at her with a pair of puppy eyes.

  "Say I'm not here!" Dara mouthed frantically.

  "She- er- she said- I mean- she's not in today!" Bom squeaked.

  The Caporegime raised an eyebrow, "I see." He muttered quietly, eyeing the two cups of strawberry milkshakes by the counter. 

  Dara almost heaved a sigh of relief before her nose twitched and she was filled with a sudden, overwhelming itch to open .

  Oh no- not now- not-
 

  ACHOO!

  Bom almost cursed under her breath. Dara clapped her hand to , mortified. 

  The Dragon glanced down at the counter, folding his arms together. She's not here today huh.

  With a small smirk, he kicked the desk.

  Dara jerked forward, yelping as Bom decided that this is the limit of her loyalty, raising her hands in the air as she backed away from the counter, shaking her head at Dara's stupidity. Seriously, she can't even hide herself properly!

  Dara mouthed and pleaded miserably for her only ally to come back as Jiyong calmly walked behind the counter. There was a sharp inhale of air as the pair of well polished shoes for guys halted infront of her. She froze, and the Capo bent down, cupping one side of his face in his hand. 

  "Who knows confined spaces are actually this comfortable?" Dara laughed hoarsely, sounding like a chicken being strangled. The Capo squinted his eyes into half moon lines at her humor.

  "Let's go, I don't have a lot of time." He said plainly, dragging the yelping girl up while ignoring her mumblings of protests, leaving her best friend behind in the shop with a worried stricken face.

[DARA]

  WHEre is he taKING mEEEeeeeee????

  So this caporegime sort of thing pulled me out of our boutique and forced me into his car. We have been driving for 10 minutes and I have no idea where we are heading.

  Wait- its not some weird place where these gangs dump their victim's bodies right?? Some rundown warehouse or the outskirts of Seoul where my decomposing body will lay never discovered.

  I swallowed , shrinking into the seat as I peep a glance at him, managing to catch only his side profile. GAH! Despite all these he's still freaking hot! Being a mobster is seriously such a waste of that face!

  "I er- ordered your shoes." I stuttered, knotting my fingers together. 

  "Great." He answered, his eyes straight ahead.

  He said great. I think that sounds like some sort of assurance that today wouldn't be my death anniversary.

  I sneaked another look at him. He's still cute. And dressed up like that in those old faded jeans while driving made him seem pretty decent, like a normal wealthier post-graduate. 

  The car slowed and reversed into an empty spot by the side of the road. We don't seem far from the boutique and this place certainly isn't deserted and dark. In fact, its lined with a chain of different cafes.

  "Do you need me to open the door for you and help you out of the car?" Jiyong said cynically, and I looked up to realise that he's already out of the car with his door open, drumming his fingers impatiently on the roof of the vehicle.

  WELP.

  I scampered out of the Bently immediately and followed his tail. 

  With his hands in his pockets, the Mafia boss strutted into one of the cafes and plonked himself down on the couch nearest to the glass pane window. I struggled to keep up. I mean, my feet are already a gone case from being stuffed in these heels for a full morning (without socks!!!). The surrounding smelled like coffee beans and that seems to settle me a little. Maybe he just wants to talk, you know, like a civilised person.

   "So, since you're going to be working under me, lets set some ground rules for each other." The Capo said, leaning behind into his chair. 

  "I get to set mine too?" I asked, feeling a small ball of hope lighting up within me. 

  "No, but lets hear it." 

  GAH, he's a jerk.

  "Um, no dragging me off somewhere without my consent?" I tried. Jiyong laughed, his laughter sounding like tinkles. Even though I'm new to Itaewon after moving here only days ago, I could see that he's obviously attracting the eyes of the female population in the cafe. I think those were an envious kind of look they were throwing me. Hmm.

  "Nope." He said flatly.

  "Forget it." I said frustratedly, throwing my hands in the air. He's out to toy with me. He'll never agree to any of my requests.

  "First rule, never ask why." Jiyong the mafia started. I inhaled sharply. That sounded dangerous. I wouldn't disobey him with that one. "Second, pick up your phone whenever I call."  

  "Would you pick up mine when I call?" I asked back rather daringly. Way to go, Dara! This thing should at least work two ways!

  To my surprise (and horror), the capo leaned foward, placing his elbows on the coffee table on his chin on top of his interlocked hands. He gave that devilish smirk and I backed away, threatened. 

  "Finally desperate for my attention?" He asked in a low voice.

  GAHH, MY OVARIES ARE GONERS! WHY DID HE HAVE TO USE THAT SEDUCTIVE VOICE WHICH, WHEN COMBO-ED WITH HIS GOOD LOOKS, COULD FIRE OFF ANY FEMALE ENDORPHINS!

  I swallowed and blinked at him, feeling like my cheeks are rapidly turning into a giant tomato.

  Jiyong gave another smug look at my obviously stupified face and leaned back again, folding his arms together, as if he's weighing up my capabilities.

  "So, what can you do? Why're you in Itaewon?" He asked.

  Er, well I'm rather talentless for the first part.

  "I er- can drive." I tried.

  "Wouldn't bet on that."

  "I can take notes fast, you know, in case you have meetings and stuff..." I muttered. That's rather out of context.... knowing the sort of work he does... but hey he did ask me to be a PA and that would be one of the most basic job scope for a PA GENERALLY.

  Except that he's proabably not that general.

  "You think my industry needs note taking?" He laughed out loud, obviously enjoying my failues. "Think harder, Park Dara." He said, bringing his ordered latte to his lips.

  "I have a doctor's certificate."

  And with that he almost spit his drink out.

  With the back of his hand, Jiyong wiped his mouth and stared straight at me for a moment, trying to associate the human ball of physical clumsiness infront of him and his idea of a medical cert. I know I'm not cut out to be a doc (which is why I ended up here!) but hey, I was pretty good at studying. To put it bluntly, I ended up getting the certificate because I outlasted many of my classmates who eventually quit from the burden of having to study day and night.

  "You're a salesgirl." Jiyong said flatly, his brows knitted together. I opened my mouth to retort but I didn't got the chance, His phone started buzzing somewhere and he whipped it out distractedly, his eyes still frowning on me before pressing the slick Iphone 6 to his ear.

  I watched as his focus slowly diverted from me to whoever that was on the end of the line.

  "What sort of trouble?" He said and I held my breath. What? Is the action drama coming up so soon?? 

[-]

  "Ghost's deals were blocked by the cops before they could reach the shores." The caller from the other line, Eclipse, Jiyong's longest time friend reported quietly. "He suspects that there's a rat in the family. He wants to counsel."

  The Caoregime glances up at the confused girl infront of him who isn't trying to cover her apparent eavesdropping on his call. 

  "I'll be there." He answered plainly and hung up. "This place isn't far from your workplace." He said, tucking his phone back into the pocket of his jeans before looking up. Dara blinked. That's it? He's allowing me to leave like that?

  "Remember what I said about picking up calls. I'm not done with the rules yet." Jiyong said, standing up.

  Dara stood up after him and felt the urge to ask what was that call all about that he had to leave but remembered what he said about not asking questions and shut again.

  "Bye." Dara said and the Capo who had already started towards his car paused and turned to look at her, seemingly contemplating the weird personality of the girl who just dropped the biggest bomb of all time that she is actually a doctor. Without a word, he turned back again and got into his car swiftly, leaving Dara alone on her way back.

  The weather was thankfully great so that Dara didn't have to suffer from the scorching sun. Luckily, the road to this place was easy to remember, only a long straight stretch of road down and then followed by a right turn.

  The lines of cafes diminish into a few luxury apartment blocks. Grocery stores were here and there across the road but this lane was mainly an array of private landed property. Strangely enough, some of them didn't looked like houses at all. Itaewon is a strange district indeed. Dara continued down her path, surveying and taking in the new surroundings around her leisurely, her spirits significantly higher now that she's alone and free from the stress of constantly fearing for her life and her potential in receiving a criminal record when suddenly, she saw a familiar arched back in one of the gates.

  "Grams!" Dara shouted in surprise, immediately taking off for the her grandmother. What is she doing so far from home? Must be out feeding the community kids again. She could've lost her way home! What was Mino doing?

  The old lady straightened up and blinked at the familair face in front of her, struggling to recall her name and identity. 

  "I'm Dara, grams. DARA." Dara said patiently, attempting to lead her grandmother away before she was suddenly aware that they weren't alone. 

  In fact, there seem to be a small crowd behind her.

  Dara turned around and her sight was immediately greeted with a dozen unfamiliar faces, all looking skeptically at her. Some of them were slacking on the floor and others were leaned against walls. The similarity between them was that they are all very tall, rather buff, and they all have identical, scorpion shaped tattoos inked on their arms. 

  Gang members.

  Another gang problem????????? Dara screamed inwardly, immediately backing away. In their hands or on the floor near them was the signature packet lunch that grams prepare all the time.

  GAHH, why is grams feeding gangsters????

  "So sorry to intrude..." Dara instinctively lowered her head and tried to get out ASAP with grams hand in hers. They didn't look like the bunch of guys Jiyong was with in the club the other day. How many of these organisations do they have in Korea?? How many of these things exist in Itaewon only???

  "You're granny Lee's granddaughter?" A smooth voice behind stopped Dara. She turned around nodding, and a guy with frizzy brown hair with covered his forehead and a sleek face walked up. "Your name's Dara?" He asked again.

  Dara nodded slowly.

  The guy smacked his lips and grinned, revealing a deep set of dimples.

  "You just stepped into the turf of the Traids." He declared.

Welcome!!!

Finally plucked out some time to write! Sorry for the long wait!

I'm just going to write the same stuff here 

which is to shamelessly ask you to upvote and subscribe if you haven't

Anyway, thank you for reading, as always, and let me hear you down below!

I'm out to crash into bed.