They had returned home about half an hour ago but the story of Hoseok as an MC angel had already spread to everybody who was inside the house. Daeun loved that for once she could do the teasing. She couldn’t see his face but she knew Hoseok was scowling as he stood, leaning against the bars of their patio.

                “Please, I don’t want to hear those words ever again,” he pleaded. He had changed once the show finished and after a shower to get all the glitter off of him, he was back to wearing his usual sweatshirt and sweatpants.

                “Hoseok saying please? This is definitely a rare moment,” she continued saying.

                He put out the cigarette and turned to face her. His face was dead serious as he drawls, “You’re enjoying this aren’t you?”

                “Yeah. Probably a little too much, huh?”

                “You think?” the scowl deepens once before he rolls his eyes.

                “But you were so cute,” she pokes him on the arm, “Dancing with the little kids and bringing smiles with all your lame jokes.”

                “You complimenting me does not make any of your teasing better.”

                “Oh, just let me be. You know I never tease you anyways,” she sticks her tongue out at him.

                He sighs before turning back to looking out at the night sky.

                “Are you sure you washed your face properly? You’ve still got glitter on your cheek,” she nagged him.

                With a hand, he reached up and smeared the glitter glue without knowing. This time she rolled her eyes at him. her fingers, she rubbed the remaining evidence of angel MC off his face.

                “Thanks,” he muttered.

                The wind picked up as the night deepened and it sent a chill up her shirt even though it was warm.

                “Go back inside if you’re cold,” he told her.

                “I will, but first, are we good, Hoseok?”

                “What do you mean?”

                “Well, you’ve sort of been avoiding me a lot. Whenever I see you, you seem annoyed and I can’t help but think that it’s because of me.”

                “It’s not because of you,” he lied, “We’re good alright?”

                She had been waiting on the usual buzz but like she had realized in the afternoon, it was no longer there. She tried to focus but besides the usual sensation she felt around Hoseok, there was nothing else.

                “Besides, I’m not avoiding you. We just haven’t seen each other as much because you and Namjoon are dating,” he said. He had turned the tables around.

                 “Oh my gosh. We’re not dating!” she persisted. “At least not officially,” her mind adds on for herself.

                Hoseok laughed. “Right. Try telling that to the guy who’s lost his roommate and now needs to sleep alone in a giant empty room every night. Oh wait, that guy is me.”

                “Shut up,” she hit him on the arm. The topic of Namjoon caused her to remember that he and Yoongi were still not back from their show. Perhaps it’d be another late night. She contemplated on staying up to wait for him again, but then is reminded of her brunch meeting with Robert tomorrow.

                She looked back at Hoseok and saw that he was still standing on the patio, engulfed in his own thoughts. He had told her they “were good”, which was sufficient for her at this point. He had also returned to teasing her, a constant reassurance that things were back to normal between them.

                “I’m gonna go to bed now. Don’t stay up too late,” she told him.

                He raised an eyebrow at her statement. “You’re not going to wait until Namjoon returns home?”

                She sighed. “He’ll return when he’s finished. I actually need to wake up early tomorrow. I’ve got a brunch meeting tomorrow.”

                “Oh? With whom? Wait, don’t tell me. It’s with that snake, isn’t it? The lawyer named Bob Victorious or something.”

                She scoffed at his childish behaviour. “Robert Viktor,” she corrected him, “He’s flying tomorrow evening and might not return. So he invited me to brunch as a thank you for my hospitality. Also, stop calling him a snake. He’s only been the sweetest thing.”

                He pretends to gag when she shakes her head at him before leaving.

                She suppresses her gasp when the car arrives in front of the most gorgeous building she has ever laid her eyes on. The rustic exterior makes it seem as if she’s stepped into a fairy tale castle surrounded by topiary and flowers. The car rolls to a stop at the door where a man – a butler, she was pretty sure actually – steps out to greet her.

                “Ms. Chae, welcome,” the suited man bows. He extends an arm and she walks into the house in front of him.

                Everything inside surpasses any of the expectations she had been building from outside. Crystal chandeliers decorate the ceiling every few meters and statues of unknown beings stand rigidly to salute her. At the end of the hallway, large doors have been pushed open to reveal a crystal dining room. She finds herself breathing in the aroma of exotic spices upon the moment she enters.

                “Mr. Viktor, your guest has arrived,” the butler announces.

                Robert stands up from his seat at the end of the table. Although his clothing was not extravagant, he did not look out of place amongst the grandeur of the mansion. In fact, he looked like he belonged in it and everything looked straight out of a story book.

                She glances at herself in the mirror when she walks by, noting that she seemed underdressed in her summer dress compared to him.

                “Thank you, Bruce,” he nods at the butler before Bruce walks away. The doors shut behind him.

                “Daeun, take a seat,” he gestures to the single seat across from him. A wine glass and cutlery had already been prepared for her convenience.

                She notices that his cup has already been filled and teases him saying, “It’s a little early for a drink, don’t you think?”

                He laughs. “It’s only champagne. Besides, we’re here to celebrate the memories we’ve made together, right?”

                She offers her own laughter at the comment and nods when a woman starts pouring the same drink into her glass.

                They bring the glasses together and gaily sip from the cup.

                “Okay, I’m extremely curious. Do you own this place?” she asked.

                He shakes his head. “It’s my uncle’s. I asked him if I could borrow it for the afternoon for a friend and me.”

                They were interrupted as the servants of the house filed out with their course for the day. The spices she had inhaled before finally appeared before her in the forms of dishes that she had only ever seen in gourmet magazines. Following the line of people, a skinny moustached man steps out with a tall chef hat. He greets Robert and they converse in a language Daeun vaguely recognizes as Italian. After they speak, Robert picks up his knife and fork. He meets her eyes and urges her to do the same.

                The chef waits patiently to the side as they both take a bite of the food he has prepared for them. Her taste buds seem to explode with flavour; simultaneously bombarded by fruity sweetness that is complimented by a savory aftertaste. The expression on her face seems to tell all of that to the chef who watches her with a growing smile. He then turns to Robert who has finished swallowing. Robert says a few words to him which seem to please the chef and he beams another smile at the two of them before shuffling away.

                Once they were left alone in each other’s company again, Robert says, “Am I allowed to ask you a question?”

                She nods, half distracted by whatever new dish had been placed in front of her.

                “You don’t seem like a woman who’s been brought up in this type of business. What led you to work for Hong Jung Yee?”

                The question takes her aback. She gives him a sheepish lift of her lips and says, “It’s that obvious huh?”

                He laughs. “Slightly. I’ve had to work with many of my father’s clients before but there’s something… different about you. It’s not inexperience per say, just um… a different aura.”

                “I was a waitress at a diner,” she tells him.

                “Oh? And how did you find yourself to be working with the commander of this city?”

                “Ah… Through connections. He, uh, scouted me.” Her mind tries to spin a believable story but she was drawing blanks.

                “You must have been one damn good waitress for him to scout you,” he laughs.

                She nervously follows up with her own.

                “And how about yourself? Do you plan on continuing on your career?”

                He tilts his head. “What do you mean?”

                “Oh. I just thought that maybe if something were to…um… happen to your father, you would…” her voice trails off. Her face flushes when she sees that she spoke of something she should not have.

                He smiles at her to tell her that he knows she meant no offense. “My father wants me to succeed the business but in truth, I’m not sure if I can. I’ve never agreed with his methods,”

                His words remind her of her own emotions when Hong Jung Yee first asked her to start working. “Have you thought that if you were to succeed after him, you can then change your father’s business into your own? You’d be able to impact it and change his methods into something better.”

                He looks at her warmly. “Perhaps it wasn’t your waitressing skills that caught Hong Jung Yee’s eyes. It must have been the way you’re able to speak and offer advice.”

                She blushes under the compliment. “It’s just those were my thoughts when I first started working for him. I wasn’t given as much authority as you will have, but I wanted to make a difference. Help and protect any of the girls to the best of my abilities. I felt that it was better than me sulking and allowing things to continue as they have,” she said.

                “I’ll keep your words in my heart when I return back to see my father. I know he’ll be speaking to me about the business anyways,” he assures her.

                He puts his utensils down and takes a sip of his drink. “Alright. Enough talk about business. We’re here enjoying a meal as friends and I’ve realized that whenever we see each other, I complain about my problems. I know nothing about you. So, would you please enlighten me?”

                Daeun squirms in her seat and takes a long inhale before she then proceeds to answer his question.

                The wind gently blows from the open windows. It is warm and clean. She stifles a yawn and her tired groan echoes off the wall. She cracked open an eye and saw that she had been moved to rest on the sofa. Robert had kept urging her to take another glass of champagne and she had agreed. Her head pounded and now she knew never to go for an early morning drink.

                The door creaked open behind her and she swiveled in her seat to see who had come in. It is not to her surprise to see Robert walking over with a cup of tea in one hand.

                “I didn’t think you’d knock out so quickly,” he commented when he saw that she was awake.

                “I didn’t think so either. Must have been the combination of food and drink. I know I already felt sleepy sitting out in the patio after brunch,” she said, watching as he set the drink on the table.

                After brunch, the two of them had moved outside to enjoy the sunshine. The view the patio offered was extraordinary with dotted flowers and splashes of colour everywhere. The garden extended far beyond what her eye could make out and a small fountain had been positioned as the centre piece. There, they had continued sharing about their lives and she had come to the consensus that Robert was an extremely hard working man. He had very specific values and he was not afraid to voice out any of his opinions. She found herself seeking his advice on things more than once during their conversation and a growing level of respect blossomed within her.

                He took a seat on the table across from her and brought the tea to his nose. Closing his eyes, he inhaled and said, “Very earthy, with a hint of nutmeg.”

                Her body was still waking up from its slumber state and she yawned. She brought a hand up to rub her eyes of its tiredness.

                However, it never reached her face as chains brought it only as far up as her side.

                Alarmed, she looked down and saw that both her arms had been chained to the back of the chair. Consecutively, she tried to move her feet but found them bound in the same situation. She could not move her body at all. All traces of her previously dazed state was immediately washed away by alert.

                Robert must have noticed the predicament she found herself in as he set down his cup of tea. He observed her with a tilted head and brought a finger to his mouth.

                “Robert, what’s happening?” she asked. Everything about this was all too familiar.

                “We had a nice chat this afternoon, didn’t we?” he ignored her question, “We asked a lot about each other. For example, I found out that you used to be a waitress. You lived in Seoul for a while and after university you had gone straight to being hired at a top-notch company. I just don’t know why you gave up such a prestige position.”

                She tugged at the cuffs that weighed her arms down with no avail. She had been tied in ropes before but never in chains. They hung heavy and the metal was cold against her wrists.

               “Truthfully, I had fun playing our version of Twenty Question, Daeun,” he looked at her with pity, “But now it’s time to ask the real questions.”

                “Robert, let me go. I don’t know why you’re doing this but stop it. This isn’t you,” she persuaded.

                “And how would you know anything about me, Chae Daeun? For all you know, my name could be an alias I’ve created. This whole life could have been a charade, created just for you,” he sneered.

                Her eyes scanned the man in front of her. There was nothing different with his exterior. He still had his symmetrical facial features and the dazzling smile was ever present on his lips. However, a steely and dangerous look had settled in his eyes. It was this that made her heart pound in her chest.

                He put his face close to hers. His eyes go over all the features of her face. This whole plan had been in the works for months. If he could be summed up in one word, it would be that Robert Viktor was patient. He enjoyed seeing how she squirmed under his scrutiny. He enjoyed seeing the small flicker of fear in her eyes.

                “Just to let you know, this isn’t the first time I’ve been tied up to a chair. Whatever you want from me, I’m not going to be giving it to you,” she said. The persuasion tactic had not worked so she turned to the only other thing she knew: standing her ground.

                He sighed. “Yeah. I know. But tying somebody up to a chair is so…. Last decade. I prefer something a little bit more exciting,” he smiled at her. He then got up from his seat and returned with a box of cigarettes. “Do you smoke?” he asked.

                Not waiting for her answer, he proceeded to tap one out. “I don’t either, if you’re wondering,” he said. From the top of his jacket pocket, he produced a lighter. The cigarette sat between two fingers as he lit it.

                “I never understood the reason as to why people smoke. There have been so many studies about how detrimental it is to your health, yet people do it anyways. 35% - that’s the number of diagnosed lung cancer patients who are former smokers. Do you think that’s why people do it? Even if they quit, they’ll be diagnosed with cancer anyways,” he holds the cigarette vertically. The tendrils of smoke wisp into the air and slowly disappear.

                “Robert, what do you want?” she asked again.

                He turned his attention back to her. “I want to know you. You’re just so intriguing,” he said.

                She could not tell whether or not he was lying. Never had she thought that she would be in a situation where she missed the aching at the back of her head.

                “Tell me, do I look familiar to you?” he suddenly pressed his face close to hers.

                She smelled the liquor that remained in his breath as well as the smoke of the cigarette that still danced between his fingers.

                “No,” she replied, glaring defiantly back at him.

                He shrugged his shoulders. “I thought so. I mean, I do look quite different without blonde hair. I didn’t particularly like that look either. It made me look too mundane; too cheap,” he said.

                She continued to glare at him. She did not understand anything he had said and her mind spun, trying to figure out a way to talk herself out of this. Another thought crossed her mind: she should stop trusting people who offered her drinks.

                “Really, after all I said, you still don’t recognize me?” he put a hand on his chest. His face contorted into an expression to symbolize that he was hurt. “Let me jog your memory then.” With that said, he leaned toward her and kissed her on the lips. She tried to shake him away but her body was already pressed against the back of the sofa chair. He pulled himself away from her, but not before his tongue darted out and her bottom lips.

                He smirked when he saw the anger spread through her face by his act of violation. Slowly, the anger changed as she understood what he was talking about.

                A flash of blonde hair appeared in her mind. There was loud music pumping in the distance and the background of the club she and Seohyun had been in months ago in Seoul came crashing into sight. She had let his hands roam her body, intoxicated by the music and environment. She had let him touch and kiss her. She had let him watch her all night long.

                “How long?” she whispered once the flashback ended.

                “Months,” he answered, “Nearly a year, to be honest. I was curious as to why a nobody like you got picked up by Ryukwan’s favourite gang.”

                Upon hearing the name, her ears perked up. “How do you know that name?”

                “Ryukwan and my dad are “frenemies”, I think that’s the word everybody is using these days. They’ve got a love-hate relationships and my father got curious about what his old friend was up to. He sent me on a recon mission and I stumbled across you. I didn’t think following you would bring me anywhere but you certainly surprised me! They brought you along with them on all their missions and then shared their pay with you as well. I was so curious as to what it could be that you could offer them. Nevertheless, that’s of no interest to me now. I’ve only got one question for you:

                What does Hong Jung Yee want with Ryukwan?”

                She clenched her jaw. Fear had spread through her body with each word he said. Yes, there had been times when she felt she was being watched, but she attributed it to the fact that everybody got those feelings once in a while. Never did she think that her instincts had been warning her.

                “Hmm? C’mon, Daeun. Just tell me. It’ll save the both of a lot of time. Why does Hong Jung Yee seek out his boss’ most hated enemy and try to strike business? It doesn’t make any sense at all,” he said, “And more importantly, how did you and your friends end up being involved in this?”

                He received no answer to his question – something he had anticipated. Observing her for the long time he did, he knew she would hold her stance for as long as she could. The only confounding factor here was how long that could be. The cigarette had still been burning between his fingers, reaching the length of a stub. He turned it with his fingers such that the burning end was no longer facing the ceiling.

                “Remember when I told you I didn’t agree with my father’s methods?” he scooted himself closer to her. “Truth is, I always thought that he was a little too kind. He would try and persuade information out of people – be eloquent and talk with them.” with each word, he had slowly lifted the hem of her dress higher and higher until it reached her mid-thigh.

                “I want to thank you for your kind advice. When he’s dead, I’ll finally be able to lead the business much more efficiently. And what’s the most efficient way of getting information you ask? Good question,” he said.

                His fingers gently caressed her bare skin and it sent shivers up her legs. She willed herself to stay calm and not let her face betray any emotion he could further use against her.

                “People speak through pain.” The corners of his mouth lifted as he brought the end of the cigarette onto her skin.

                The scream lurched itself from her chest and she bit down on her tongue to suppress it. The fire burned its way into her skin and even when he took the away, she can feel the pain that stabs her leg a million times. She releases her tongue from between her teeth and in air.

                He looks with amusement on his face. With a free hand, he taps out another cigarette and lights it again. There is dread that builds within her.

                “Shall we go again? Or will you give me an answer? I want to know everything about Hong Jung Yee,” he yelled, stabbing the cigarette onto another part of her leg.

                She draws blood from the inside of when she bites down to distract herself from one pain with another. Tears form at the edge of her eyes, but she refuses to say anything.

                He presses the cigarette further and inhales the burnt smell that emits off of it. There was a thrill he felt whenever he saw his victims in pain. When he first discovered his interest in torture, he had thought it was a phase any teenage boy went through. It wasn’t until his friends started looking at him with contempt and fear that he realized he was different. He quickly threw his passion into the first job he could think of: a persecuting attorney. It did not help at all. Fighting in court did not give him the satisfaction he got when he gained victory and control over a victim.