Railbird [poker term]: Someone who hangs around a poker room who watches the games and/or is looking to get into action.

Leaning back against a pillar, he crossed his arms as he watched the couple he had been waiting for entered the hotel's lobby. He eyed Suzy who was clad in black off-shoulders gown with some silver details. Silver necklace and long dangling earrings matched her silver stilettos. Her hair was tied into a low ponytail, thus showing off her collarbone. She was such a sight to behold indeed.

Too bad he had to use her to destroy her husband.

He watched the said husband whisper something to her ear before she hooked her hand on his arm with a roll of her eyes. Clearly Chanyeol was trying hard to gain the heart of this notoriously cold woman; it amused him. He mentally mused if he should try to make alliance with her instead of use her. Something else caught his attention though: the number of bodyguards trailing behind them. He counted six plus one who was closer to the couple leading the other six. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought they were important people or celebrities.

As the couple and its entourage made their way to a ballroom, he pushed himself off the wall and buttoned up his jacket.

Let's play some game, shall we? A sly leer crossed his face.

Suzy sighed and took up a glass of wine from a passing waitress.

This is what she hated most about parties and events: unimportant conversations with supposedly important people. She had to entertain some guests to business talks before the main event and performances from the employees started. Not to mention she had to stay by her husband's side or her father's side from time to time. Luckily, she could escape and have a time to herself for now.

Taking a sip of her wine, she watched Chanyeol at a distance talking to some of the company's managers. He sure was such a social butterfly. And she had to admit he looked extra dashing today. An eye candy to the females present. At least, she thought, she didn't have an embarrassing husband. A moment later, a few more employees approached him, most of which were females. 

She took sips one after another while watching the group annoyingly laughed louder and louder at whatever her husband said. Especially the females. She scoffed loudly and shook her head, seeing how the female employees stared at Chanyeol with sparkling eyes. For some reason, that didn't sit well with her. As much as she disliked Chanyeol, she disliked it more when people just couldn't leave what was already taken and belonged to someone else.

The thought snapped her as quick as it came into her mind. What the hell, Suzy! Slamming the glass of wine on the table beside her, she mentally cursed herself realizing that she had been thinking of Chanyeol as hers.

She suddenly wished Yixing was there beside her. His presence had become something she was used to that now she felt a little vulnerable without it. Looking around, she saw their bodyguards scattered on different sides of the room. Her eyes finally found Yixing. He was seemingly speaking to the others through his earpiece, and when he saw her too, he bobbed his head with a small smile.

"Hey." A hand rested on the small of her back turning her attention away from Yixing. Before she knew it, a pair of lips captured hers and her eyes were instantly shut in surprise.

When their lips separated, she found Chanyeol giving her a lopsided smile. "Sorry for leaving you too long." He rested his hand on her waist.

Suzy clicked her tongue. "I was actually quiet content until you came," she replied.

Pulling her closer to his side, he led her to walk somewhere else after looking at something behind her. "Maybe you shouldn't wear this dress. Guys are ogling you."

"Like girls aren't ogling you," she sarcastically retorted.

"Sorry about the kiss," he told her above a whisper then bobbed his head to some people they passed by. "I couldn't bear other guys looking at you like that. I'm sorry if it was too sudden."

Suzy dryly chuckled at that. "Don't worry. It was nothing to me. It didn't affect me in any way." She smirked and Chanyeol frowned; their steps coming to a halt. "What, you think my heart would flutter or something?" She smugly asked raising a brow.

Surprisingly, Chanyeol mirrored her lopsided smile. "Will it if I kiss you the second time?"

Suzy scoffed to the side. "I won't let you kiss me again." She eased herself and turned from him, but Chanyeol pulled her to him again.

"Really?" He teased with playful glint in his eyes.

"Yes." Suzy tried to escaped his hold, but he held her arm and waist. "Chanyeol," she uttered his name in warning. "We are in the middle of a room full of people."

"So?" He raised a brow.

"You better let me go now." She couldn't aggressively struggle out of his hold with people around them though they were engrossed in their own conversations. "Chanyeol!" She warned again when his face leaned closer to hers.

"Hey, hey! Go be lovey dovey somewhere else!" A laughter interrupted them.

Chanyeol loosened his hold and returned the laughter with his own. "Chanyoung hyung!" He hugged his brother and patted his back.

"Hey, Suzy! Long time no see, huh?"

Suzy bobbed her head acknowledging Chanyeol's older brother.

"Where's Noona?" Chanyeol asked.

"Talking with some woman I don't know." He shrugged. "What, you think she would be in my arms ready to be kissed?" He playfully elbowed Chanyeol who just chuckled.

Suzy who couldn't bear the teasing excused herself. "I'll be going to the rest room." 

"Don't take too long." Chanyeol grabbed her wrist.

"I'm just going to the restroom, Chanyeol." She rolled her eyes and he let her go with a nod.

Suzy bobbed her head to Chanyoung again before finally leaving them. She felt relieved when she could finally step out of the ballroom though maybe only for a while. 

Yet, she didn't realize that a pair of eyes was watching her every move from a distance. The man had been greatly entertained by what he just witnessed earlier but was now more intrigued when he saw another man, seemingly worried, followed her out of the ballroom.

Chanyeol laughed at his brother's joke. It was nice having his family here. His sister-in-law and parents were there too along with his father-in-law. All he needed now was his wife by his side. Thinking of her, she had not come back from the restroom for a while now. He wondered if someone was holding her up for more business talks.

"Sirs, Madams, the main event is starting," one of the employees responsible for organizing the event approached the family. "Please take your seats on the first row." He gestured toward the rows of seats in front of the stage.

"Alright!" CEO Bae nodded then turned to Chanyeol. "Where's Suzy?"

"Don't worry, Father. I'm sure she would be here any minute. She just went to the restroom."

"Let's go ahead then."

Chanyeol nodded and followed his family but immediately halted when someone at a corner caught his eyes. His eyes rounded in surprise when the guy grinned and waved at him.

Jongin?

Panic slowly settled in him and he immediately approached the devil. While his feet took him closer to Jongin, his eyes looked around for Yixing. He found no sign of his friend but was slightly appeased knowing his other bodyguards were around.

"Long time no see, Hyung!" Jongin cheekily greeted and saluted him with two fingers.

"How did you get in here?" Chanyeol gritted his teeth

The guy chuckled making Chanyeol feel sick. "I just kinda strolled in." He shrugged. 

"What do you want?" Chanyeol growled and glared at him.

"Nothing." Jongin raised his hands in surrender and feigned innocence. "I just want to see you. That's all! Just curious of how you have been. I heard you got married. I'm hurt you didn't invite me." He clasped his hands to his chest and pouted. A sickening laughter then escaped his lips. "So, Bae Suzy, huh? She's a tough one. I'm surprised you conquered her heart. Such a beauty that one!" He his lips and Chanyeol balled his hands into fists.

Chanyeol's eyes darted to the closest two of his bodyguards and tried to silently give signal for them to standby. 

"Oh, don't worry," Jongin all of a sudden patted his shoulder. "No need for such a hassle of bodyguards. I'm leaving soon. You don't need to worry about me, Hyung." He slyly grinned then took a step closer and leaned to his ear. "Worry about your wife instead," he whispered; his tone dropping low. "She hasn't come back from the restroom, right?" Pulling away, he stared and smirked at Chanyeol whose eyes were widened.

"What did you do?" Chanyeol grabbed Jongin's collar.

The younger guy's innocent pretense returned. "Nothing." He pulled Chanyeol's hands away; lips curled into a tight smile. "I was just saying I saw her going to the restroom a while back. That's all." He shrugged then patted Chanyeol's shoulder again. "Just so you know, I got more eyes and ears than you imagine."

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," the voice of the MC on the stage boomed through the speakers.

Jongin looked down at his watch and grinned. "Oh look at the time! I have to go now. Nice meeting you again, Hyung!" 

Chanyeol wanted to chase after Jongin but he was more worried about Suzy at the moment. Cheers erupted behind him, but he could care less about the event. Gesturing for his bodyguards to follow him, he quickly walked out from the ballroom leaving the proceeding event.

The water stopped flowing when Suzy shut the tap. Taking some tissue papers, she grumbled, "What the hell was he thinking?" She balled the tissues and threw it into the bin. "He's lost his mind!" She took out lipstick from her pouch applying the red color to her lips.

As she stared at her reflection on the mirror, the kiss flashed in her mind again. The thought made her blood boil. She took a deep breath to compose herself before stomping out of the restroom. She really needed some fresh air. Her steps came to an immediate stop when she saw Yixing leaning against the wall across the restroom with arms crossed and head hung low.

"What are you doing here?" His head snapped up at her question.

"Waiting for you." He smiled.

She didn't ask any further and, with Yixing trailing behind her, rode the elevator up to the hotel's rooftop. Strangely, Yixing didn't ask anything and just followed while he usually would try to strike a conversation whenever there was a chance. Once reaching the top
level, they opened a door and were greeted by the whistling night wind, the sounds of cars with their distant honks, and the view of the city lights.

Suzy made her way to the edge of the rooftop and leaned forward on the railing. Breathing in the night air helped clear her mind. Yixing came to her side and imitated her.

"I saw," he suddenly said.

She knitted her brows but didn't turn to him. "Saw what?"

"Chanyeol kissing you."

Suzy mentally groaned because that was the very thing she didn't want to think about at the moment. "You must be delighted then. You've been wanting me to warm up to him."

Yixing didn't answer right away causing Suzy to glance his way. His eyes were lowered down and he seemed to be contemplating. "I supposed I should," his answer came out without his usual chirpy tone.

All of a sudden, the metal door banged open startling both of them. Four men came through the door and closed it behind them. They were wearing the hotel uniforms, she noted. Suzy knitted her brows when her eyes landed on the metal rods each of them had. Her view was blocked by Yixing's back when he stepped in front of her and hid her behind him while holding on to her wrist.

It was obvious that those men came for them and clearly with no good intention. Yixing gave her wrist a squeeze before he cautiously pulled her with him. 

"Let's go back," he said without turning to look at her. His voice sounded heavy; her heart picked its pace.

Strangely, the group of four parted to make way for her and Yixing to pass. She was too soon to feel relieved, though, because when they were only few steps away from the door, one of the men grabbed her upper arm to pull her away from Yixing. Luckily, Yixing had a strong grip on her wrist. In just seconds, he swiftly pulled her back and kicked the man in his gut.

The other three immediately charged at them. One of them swung his metal rod at Yixing, but he ducked pulling Suzy to crouch down with him. Yixing tackled the man in the process causing him to stumble and hit his friend instead.

"Watch out!" Suzy shouted when the other man almost hit Yixing just when they stood back up.

Yixing was quick to dodged it, thanks to Suzy, but failed to realize one had stood up again to hit his back. Another one who had regained himself separated Suzy from Yixing. He circled an arm over her collarbone holding the metal rod in his hand while taking out a handkerchief from his pocket with his other hand.

"Let go off me now!" She struggled to pull away his grip around her when he brought her with him. "Yixing!" She shouted and saw Yixing still struggling to fight the other three. Before the man holding her could cover with the handkerchief, Suzy bit his arm, elbowed his stomach and stepped on his foot with her stiletto.

The man shrieked in pain as he let go of her. He was jumping on one foot grabbing his other stepped one and cursed, "Why you little bitc-" His cuss was cut off when Suzy introduced her knee to his crotch causing him to fall down with a loud grunt.

"I don't like to be touched by filthy hands like yours," Suzy blew the strands of hair covering her face and turned around at the sound of a loud thud.

Yixing had managed to take down two of the three remaining men, but the last one standing charged from behind him. Seeing that, Suzy immediately took off one of her shoes and threw it toward him hitting the man right on his head.

Hearing the cry of pain, Yixing whipped his head around and stared at the fallen man with rounded eyes. His eyes rounded even more when they landed on the silver stiletto beside the man. When his eyes met Suzy's, she just shrugged. With long strides, the panting Yixing approached her after grabbing her stiletto. He silently put down the shoe in front of her before straightening up. Only now did she realize he had a cut on his lips and a bruise on his cheek. 

Yixing suddenly touched his ear. "Yes, the Queen is with me. I need assistance at the rooftop now!" He placed his warm hands on his shoulders when his attention was averted back to Suzy. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Are you sure?" He asked turning her to the left and right.

Suzy frowned. "Yes." But despite her answer, Yixing examined her arm. "Yixing!" Suzy stopped him causing him to look at her. "I'm alright." She looked at him right in his eyes. "There's no scratch on me. Okay?" 

Yixing finally let out a breath. "Good." His hands lightly squeezed her upper arms as if wanting to pull her toward him.

Suzy's eyes trailed down from his eyes to the cut on his lips. Raising a hand, her fingers grazed the corner of his lips causing him to flinch. "You have a cut."

Clearing his throat, Yixing let her arms go and took a step back. "It's nothing."

The door burst open again but this time it was the pack of Suzy's bodyguards that came out.

"Round them up," Yixing immediately told them gesturing toward the sprawling four men who was grunting on the ground.

Coming behind the bodyguards was Chanyeol who looked haggard. His eyes were momentarily rounded when he saw the beaten men, but he then scowled when he set his eyes on Suzy. "Why are you here?" He immediately demanded for an explanation. "Damn it, Suzy! You should've gone back to the ballroom right away!"

Suzy breathily chuckled throwing her head back. "I was going to be kidnapped again, and those were the first things you say to me?" She scoffed to the side. "So much for trying to make me want you," she mumbled to herself then glared at him from the corner of her eyes. "You better interrogate those guys."

She saw Chanyeol tousling his hair when she turned to walk away. She paused when she opened the door and called for Yixing to follow her. Briefly looking back, she clicked her tongue seeing how her bodyguard was reluctant to follow her request. "Yixing," she called again in warning.

Chanyeol nodded for his friend to go and he finally complied.
 

Chanyeol took a deep breath to calm himself down once Suzy and Yixing left. He was too carried away; he forgot to ask how she was feeling first. Turning around to his bodyguards that were struggling to get the four men up, he clicked his tongue. One was more conscious than the others though was obviously in great pain. Chanyeol made his way to that person and crouched down in front of him.

"Who's your boss?" He grabbed the collar of the man's uniform.

"I swear I don't know. We were all just paid by some guy, told to kidnap that lady earlier and given these uniforms. I s-swear!"

"What does he look like?" Chanyeol demanded while gritting his teeth.

"H-he wore a cap and a mask. I don't know who he is. We were supposed to only pretend to kidnap her too."

"Pretend?!"

"Y-yes. Look. We just needed the money, dude! Please don't report us!"

Chanyel tossed the guy to the ground and stood up while groaning loudly. His mind was in a haze, but he was so sure this was all Jongin's doing. Just then, his phone vibrated indicating a text message. Fishing out the phone from his pocket, he frowned when he saw the unknown number.

unknown [20.47]: Found your wife yet? :)
unknown [20.47]: Were you panicked? You thought I kidnapped her huh? Haha! Don't worry. I'm kind enough to not do that.
unknown [20.49]: YET ;P Oh don't scowl. Just sit back and relax. Because I will take my time too.

His breathing suddenly became shorter than normal and he could almost feel boiling blood rushing to his head. He paced back and forth to calm himself down but failed. There was no way he could prove that this message was from Jongin. Even if he could track the number down, the phone might have been thrown away.

"Damn it!" He punched the metal door to let off some steam, startling the bodyguards. "Damn you, Jongin!