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You drum your fingers restlessly on the coffee table.

15 minutes.


And your blind date still hasn't shown up.


What a tremendous first impression. You sigh inwardly and pick up the phone to call the culprit who had you wasting your already dwindling moments of youth.

 

"He's late." You gripe when Shinae picks up the phone at first ring.


"Well, just give him some time, he's probably stuck in a traffic jam or something?"

"He should at least call?" You groan.

"Maybe... He's just really busy?"

"And I'm not?" You roll your eyes. "At least if the agency gives me a real name, I can still curse him properly but what is it about these secretive code names? D.O... Brrr... What is that even? So when he approaches me, I'm supposed to ask him, excuse me, are you D.O.? Hi I'm G.E... That's so cheesy..."


"That's the agency's rules, I guess it makes the introduction more... Fun? So you can start the conversation by asking your real names?"

"Yeah yeah, always the rational one, Lee Shinae... Why did I even agree to this, urgh..."

"Because you love me?" She asks sweetly.

Your blood curdles.

"No, I hate you and I want to leave now." You frown.


"You won't!"

"I will and I can too."

"I'll make sure you won't."

"And how will you do that?"


"I'll pull your right back in that ugly brown chair you are sitting on right now!" She hisses.

You snap up in shock, searching the entire restaurant with your eyes and spotting your best friend holding her phone and snarling at you a few meters opposite you.


"You DID NOT follow me Lee Shinae... Yah!" You storm over and smacks her arm.

She yelps and rubs the spot exaggeratedly.

"Why are you here?" You demand.


The two of you are creating a little commotion in the cafe but fortunately, it's still largely ignored because of the noisy lunch crowd.

"To make sure you don't bolt, you ingrate." She pulls you down on a chair beside her.

"So I'm supposed to thank you for forcing me to agree to a stupid blind date and stalking me like a creep?" You snort.


"So says the person who stalks people for a living."

"Yah, I only do those shady characters, it's justice served right."

"By invading into people's privacy? I really don't see the righteousness in that."
 

"Why am I even trying to convince you." You scowl, but deep down inside, you know integrity is certainly not part of your job.


"To be honest, I wouldn't give the guy a second chance if he's late on the first meeting." She admits.

"You see? So I can leave now?" You raise an eyebrow.

"Well, at least have your lunch?"


You are about to reply when someone catches your eye.


The heiress of ES Entertainment. And she's with two guys.

"I have to go." You mutter lowly.

"What? Of course you can't you..." Shinae starts objecting but you are already out of your chair.

"I'll call the agency later to explain."
 

And with that, you dart out of the cafe to follow the rapidly diminishing figures.

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Dammit Zitao, why aren't you picking up the phone?


Exasperated, you shove your phone back into your bag and peers at the targets from behind a pillar.

The two males beside the heiress are looking around meticulously as she rounds the corner into an alley. By experience, you reckon they are bodyguards.


Following as closely as you dare to get, you tiptoe towards the alley, hiding behind a huge trash bin.

The heiress gives a cursory look around her before she disappears through a back door. You don't recall seeing any restaurants or fancy dwellings befitting her status in this part of the street, so where has she gone to?


The two males are standing guard outside the back door and you see that it's ajar. Soon, there's quiet chattering and you squint to focus on the spot where the light lets in to reveal the two figures inside.

Fishing out your phone, you snap a picture and is trying to capture a clearer shot when you knock over a loose cardboard box from the trash bin.

It lands with a soft thud, but it may as well be a crash because the effect is jarringly amplified in the quiet alley.

Two heads turn in your direction simultaneously and time seems to slow. You feel your heart hammering before your legs remember to keep up with the screaming in your head.


RUN!

So you do.


But it seems the trash bin has really taken a liking to you because one, two steps back, you trip on a black plastic rubbish bag and goes sprawling to the ground.


You quickly straighten yourself up, ignoring the pang in your ankle.

But it's too late.



The two males close the distance and is now hovering over you, faces unreadable.

.

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.

Kyungsoo curses to himself as he steps on the accelerator.


He's late.

He's never one to be late, not even fashionably late, as Baekhyun likes to call it.
 

But now, not only is he late, he's also a good 30 minutes away from the stipulated time. It's not like he wants to impress the blind date or anything, but in Kyungsoo's book, polite boys keep time and Kyungsoo is strictly brought up to be a well-mannered boy.


He had arrived at the children's shelter a good two hours earlier to celebrate Yoogeun's birthday. But kids, he realizes quickly, can be extremely persuasive with just a pout of the lip or crinkling of an eye.

So a "10 minutes more" became another "10 minutes more" and now the deejay has officially broken his record of being late for his entire adulthood.
 

He groans, feeling hot and bothered in his dark green sweater even though the air is cool from the approaching winter.


Urging a bit more on the pedal, Kyungsoo is relieved to see the desired street name appearing and he keeps to the left, eyes searching for the specified location.

He slows down and spots the cafe's signboard at a distance.


Lips curling into a smile, he is about to step on the accelerator again when he notices a familiar face turning into a lone alley.

 

What's her name again?

Ga-eun?


What is she doing here?

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"We'd just like to see your phone for a bit, if you don't mind, Miss..." One of the guys says mildly.


But the flare in his eyes is anything but.



"I-I was just about to call my friend? I didn't mean to walk in here, I'm sorry..." You muster your most innocent smile and is about to turn and go when the other guy blocks your way.


"Phone, miss." He stretches out a hand.


Swallowing hard, you know it's wisest to do according to what they say.



You hand over the phone gingerly, heart thumping as you follow his gaze to the still open camera feature. The man calmly exits the function, pockets the device, and turns to nod at his partner.

Before you can register what that means, you feel a tight slap across your left cheek, the sheer force and brutality of it leaving your head spinning and liquid clogging inside your mouth.


You hardly have time to blink when your head is being slammed back on the wall with a sickening thud, held in place by one of the guys. A choked gasp falls out of your mouth and all you can feel is the burning heat on your cheek and the ridges of the uneven wall behind your head where the guy is pressing your skull into.
 

Everything is painful.


"Let this be a warning, my lady." The guy gripping your head reveals a short, tiny blade.

You thrash in his hold, opening your mouth to scream, but grappling fear makes it come out as a strangled mewl instead.



The man tightens his grip on you and you feel your strength giving out with each passing second.

Please.

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