“Jade. Right now, I’m Jade.”

“Jade? You mean the YG assassin? Is that your alias Jina-” Hyunjin was cut off by Jinah’s hand covering his mouth.

She was still looking around for cameras and listening devices in the storage room. Hyunjin smiled and took off her hand.

“There’s no cameras or listening devices in this storage room.” 

“How do you know, prince?” 

Hyunjin raised his eyebrow. 

“Isn’t the answer obvious? I know how they work and they won’t put one in here.” Jinah rolled her eyes. It wasn’t an answer that was concrete enough for her but it would have to do.

Hyunjin took off her mask and lowered his hand back near her waist, close enough to feel the slight warmth radiating from her from her recent feeding but not enough to touch her.

“Well isn’t this unfair? For only one of us to have their mask off.” Jinah was semi-conscious of their distance, or the lack of the distance in between them. She reached up to remove his mask, half waiting for him to move out of the way and avoid her touch so he could keep his mask on. When he stayed still, she took off his mask.

“So princess, what have you been up to tonight?” Hyunjin smirked when he saw Jinah blink at his nickname for her. 

“...Nothing much.” It was a lie. And they both knew it. 

“Well I know for a fact you’ve saved a prince’s life.” Hyunjin smiled, completely knowing that this was a distance that reminded both of them of their first meeting. 

“What else have you got planned tonight, princess?” Hyunjin’s smile disappeared when he remembered the note that Jinah left for him. Jinah looked at his expression harden and she could tell that he remembered what she warned him of.

“You’re not going to die, prince. Neither is the princess or the queen. I am supposed to get the King, though.” Jinah found herself replying to a question she didn’t even have to reply to.

“...But you have to do something to us don’t you? You can’t just let us go.” Jinah sighed. Hyunjin was smarter than she had originally credited him. 

“I thought 3racha were the smart ones.” Jinah mumbled, slightly confused on how Hyunjin had figured out the chink in her plan.

“What do you have to do Jinah?” Hyunjin inched closer, caging her in with his arms. His wrists were now touching her sides and if Jinah’s heart was beating, she was sure it would have been beating fast.

“Poison. I poisoned the Crown Prince. He’s going to die. I have diluted ones for the three of you to knock you out. I’m supposed to kill the King.” Jinah couldn’t lie when he locked eyes with her. 

“I can’t let you do that, princess.” Hyunjin took another smaller step forward, decreasing the distance to the point that his legs were in between hers. His hands left the wall and went to her hips.

“Why do you keep calling me prince, Hyunjin?”

“Why’d you stop calling me prince, Jinah?” Jinah frowned when he used her name. 

“It’s Jade right now.” This made Hyunjin frown.

“What’s the difference?” He assumed that Jade was supposed to be the assassin. The cold-blooded killer, the one that had the near-perfect, if not perfect kill rate. But the one in front of him wasn’t Jade, it was Jinah.

“You’re not Jade right now. You’re Jinah.” It was cramped and the room was rising in temperature. It didn’t help that Hyunjin’s hands were on her hips, causing her to lose her train of thought midway.

“What makes you say that?” Jinah raised her hand and put it on his chest, attempting to put some distance between them. She gave a weak push and gave up when he didn’t budge. Hyunjin grabbed her hand that she let fall and guided it to his neck. Jinah looked up at him in confusion, trying to figure out what he was doing.

“It’s obvious. There’s no difference than any of the times you were with me beforehand. And it’s the same side you showed Jeongin and there’s no way that was Jade.” Hyunjin let out a light chuckle when she laughed when he mentioned Jeongin.

“That’s true, prince.” Jinah laughed, combing her hair back with her other hand. Their masks laid on the floor while they looked at each other in amusement. 

“Wouldn’t lie to the innocent young one like that, would I?” She winked at him and laughed when she imagined herself being ‘Jade’ to Jeongin.

In Hyunjin’s ear, his mic clicked and he heard Bang Chan’s voice.

“Hyunjin, you need to come back. The dancing started and we need you out on the floor. I think Yeji’s noticed your absence.” 

Noticing Hyunjin stare at the wall intently, Jinah waited for him to explain what was going on. It wasn’t hard to assume that the clan were mic’d up together. It was a strategy that was used often and it was used throughout most of the clans. She took his unfocused stance to her advantage and pushed him, leaving enough space between them to allow movement.

“Have to get back on the dance floor?” Jinah smiled, picking up their masks from the floor. She handed his mask over to him and tied her mask on.

“You should go out first. It’ll look weird if we go out together.” Jinah started shuffling around so Hyunjin could reach the door easily and she would be hidden in the shadows just in case any vampires were passing by.

“Weird? Princess you’re naughty.” Hyunjin laughed, winking at her. He put his hands on her waist again, smoothly moving her to the back of the small room. 

“I’ll see you out there, Princess.” Hyunjin opened the door and left, leaving Jinah flustered alone in the cramped room.

“Stupid Prince.” She whispered, annoyed with his antics and with herself for always seemingly falling for them. 

Jade gave it a few minutes and made sure no one was around before leaving the small room and making it down to the ballroom where the dance was currently happening. Quickly scanning across the room, she realized that although Yeji and the Queen were still in the room walking around to different higher officials, the King and Crown Prince were missing. 

Jade made her way down the stairs when she saw a group of guards coming up. Praying that her dress and mask hadn’t been spread through the guards, she continued to make her way down. 

“The Crown Prince is being tended by the Royal Physician right now but I heard it’s not looking too good.” One of them whispered to the other. The other one whacked him on the head, signaling him to stop talking. The guards continued walking, distracted by their conversation to realize that the one that had been behind the poisoning had been walking towards them.

Finally reaching the dance floor, Jade stuck out like a sore thumb standing alone. Everyone was dancing in pairs, waltzing along the floor to the sound of violins and cellos. Trying to avoid bumping into others and creating further disturbance, she was inching towards the end of the dancing circle when someone tapped her shoulder to ask for a dance. 

“Can I have this dance?” A familiar sounding voice asked her with a hand reaching out. Although his head was bent forward slightly, his piercing eyes matched hers. Jade looked back at him with the same piercing and cold eyes, trying to see what his intentions were. She swept her eyes across his body, taking in his broad chest and protruding arms through the suit. 

Her lips pursed, realizing who it was and slipped her hand in his.

Their feet slowly fell into the beat of the song and they joined the waltz, blending in with the hundreds of vampires that were dancing. It was silent for the first few twirls and steps of the song, making Jade wonder what his reasons were in approaching her. 

He leaned forward while pulling her waist in, causing her to basically rest her head on his chest. “Why’d you do it, Jade?” Changbin’s voice rumbled out quietly, his mouth next to her ear so no one else could hear.

However, Jade didn’t want to risk anyone else hearing it or thinking that they were talking to each other so she just looked up and raised her eyebrows, nonverbally asking her question. Do what?

“Why’d you save Hyunjin?” Jade couldn’t answer the question without talking. Changbin knew her problem, and offered a proposition.

“One tap for yes, two for no?” Jade tapped his shoulder once; Yes. They took a step to the right and continued to waltz alongside the other vampires.

“Are you trying to kill Hyunjin?” Jade furrowed her eyebrows. Didn’t Changbin see her save him? She was irritated and gave him two hard taps on his shoulder. 

“Mandatory question. Mic.” Changbin buried his head in her neck to whisper it, making completely sure no one else could hear it. It might look like a y move to others but it was necessary to clear up the confusion. Jade still glared at him.

“Are they trying to kill Hyunjin?” One tap.

As Jade twirled around the ballroom, she realized that Changbin would often lead her to certain parts before asking questions as if someone there would see the taps. Jade looked around at those moments and saw Stray Kids members stationed at certain parts of the room, sipping on champagne or pretending to talk to someone.

“Are they trying to kill the royals?” One tap.

“Have you been successful?” There was a moment of hesitation. Jade had been, but only in one case. Changbin picked up on this hesitation quickly.

“Have you been successful with the Queen and Yeji?” Two taps. That was all he really needed to know. 

The song slowed to a stop and Changbin slowly let her end the dance. Before Changbin could leave and switch to another partner as was the tradition, Jade wrapped her arms around him and yanked him down. To others, it might have seemed like she was kissing him on the neck but she was taking the chance to whisper.

“I would never hurt Hyunjin. But they will. They know. Be careful.” 

All the members that were mic’d up heard it because Changbin had pressed the small button to channel the voice through the moment she yanked him down. Shivers ran down their spine with Jade’s warning.