Let Me Protect You

Seungri looked down at a man who was on his knees, begging for forgiveness.

“Please, don’t kill me! It was n-not my fault! Th-that was a mistake, I swear! I will let you go the Master’s room right away! The code is 386126! There! I told you!” the man sobbed, “Please… I-I have a family! A wife and two young d-daughters! I beg you... ”

Seungri’s gun was pointed at the man’s head. With cold eyes and without any hesitation, the boy pulled the trigger.

“Tsk, tsk...” the maknae rolled his eyes, “Seriously, Master? You cannot even train your dogs to be loyal. Although it was the last one who actually spilled the code, but still. I am glad that he finally broke and let the secret out.” 

He took a deep breath and looked down on the doorknob which had a small screen with numbers on it. After entering the code, ‘Access granted’ was displayed on the screen and Seungri pushed the heavy double doors. He slowly stepped inside room which was lit with three chandeliers. Tall gothic windows, spreading across the whole wall, were hidden behind heavy maroon curtains embellished in floral gold patterns. The walls were dark blue, but most of it was covered by shelves with countless books. The white marble floor contrasted with the dark furniture embellished with golden handles.  

Seungri stepped forward, his heels loudly echoing against the floor. The clicks made him shiver as a flood of memories washed through him. He remembered clearly when he first entered this room as a lost child. He also recalled when he got scolded, along with Mark, for escaping the headquarters to buy some games. A small smile formed on his lips, but he bit his lower lip to make the grin disappear. It wasn’t the right time to get sentimental.  

Once he stopped, he heard a familiar voice,  “Welcome, Riri,” a deep voice echoed from the walls.

“Hello, Master,” Seungri greeted back with voice full of hatred.

“Oh, you seem to have regained your memories,” the man said as he turned around on his leather armchair, “What brings you here on such a lovely day?”

“You.”

“How extremely kind of you to say that, but I am afraid that I don’t have time to play with you,” Master waved his hand in dismissively.

“You lied to me,” Seungri said, ignoring what the man in front of him said. He took out his phone and pressed a few buttons. The curtains started to part to reveal the tall gothic windows in all their glory.

“You seem to have broken into my controlling system. I did not expect any less from you,” the man slightly chuckled.

Then he stood up from his long mahogany table and walked towards the large cabinet full of alcohol on his left. Master was wearing a dark navy suit with a snow white shirt underneath it. He sighed and rubbed his chin in wonder.

“Hmm...” the older man hummed under his nose, “Would you like some red wine? Or maybe something stronger, like whiskey?”

“You erased my memory,” the maknae continued as his gaze followed every Master’s movement, “You basically used me and brainwashed me.”

“How about Rémy Louis XIII Diamant Édition Précieuse? I just bought it from Paris,” the head of the Rose Project took out two beautifully carved glasses and filled them with the red wine, “Shall we drink to this marvellous reunion, Riri?”

“You took advantage of a desperate young child,” Riri hissed through his clenched teeth and raised his gun.

He fired and the glass with the wine shattered in the man’s hand. Master let out a tired sigh and looked towards the idol. The older man’s face wasn’t very visible and only his figure’s contours were highlighted by the light coming from the windows behind.

“Yes, I did. I really enjoyed your service, because it was extremely cheap in comparison to other agents’ deals. I only had to support your mother and basically that was it. You never told me to cure her; therefore, I just made sure that she was alive,” the head of Rose Project smirked, “She was very easy to manipulate. Just like you and any other peasants.”

Seungri shut his eyes and he pressed his lips into a thin line. A second later he was already by Master’s side. While charging forward he took out one of his knives covered in poison and started to attack the head of the Rose Project, who easily avoided every blow. 

“Your condition got worse, Joker. You aren’t as fast as the last time I have seen you. What a shame, I thought you could entertain me with some of your old challenging moves. Then again, it didn’t take us long to train you to perfection; therefore, getting you back to your form shouldn’t be that hard. It would be nice to have you back. The work would also be much easier to manage,” the older man said as he continued to dodge the strikes. 

“You must be joking to even think about me wanting to go back to you,” Seungri growled. 

“Well, you never know. You never ceased to surprise me with your unpredictable actions; thus, you cannot blame me for considering that. Now, shall we have some fun?” Master asked, as he swiftly grabbed Seungri’s hand and twisted it.

The maknae groaned under his nose in agony and let the knife fall. Despite the pain, he supported himself on the shelf behind him and kicked the man with both his legs with all his might. The Master's eyes slightly widened in surprise.

“Reckless as always, aren’t we? I could have tore off your hand,” Master said as he brushed off the dirt from his suit.

As Seungri was about to attack him again, a sound, which he didn't want to hear the most caught his attention. He cursed under his nose and turned towards the doors and bit his