Ri Young can feel her heart pounding against her chest so hard, she’s surprised it hasn’t burst out of her body yet.

She shouldn’t be scared. Chief Lee once told her to never show fear. The pseudo-father had once told her fear is a weakness never to be seen by anyone, not even by one’s self.

And so she keeps her poker face on, the look of surprise passing as quick as it crossed.

She responds a second too late though as he pulls the trigger, the bullet thankfully only whizzing past her right ear, lodging firmly into one of the room’s pillars. Ri Young flinches out of reflex and tries to calm her breathing, looking straight at Aiden Lee.

“I’m a very impatient person.” He explains in a hauntingly quiet voice. His face is grim, all evidence of his easy grin disappearing within a few seconds. He the gun again and points it in between her eyes. “I also never miss twice in a row.”

Ri Young can feel the cold sweat trickle down the side of her face as Aiden’s index finger encloses itself around the trigger slowly, teasingly. She trains her eyes on his though, trying to remain as calm as she can look. For the first time since her mother’s death, she finds herself at a loss on what to say, her voice ultimately failing her. At the very least, she thinks, if she goes down, she goes down alone.

Long, slender, effeminate fingers deter the gun tip, moving it to the side and out of Ri Young’s line. Her eyes dart from the hand to the person who owns it, as does Aiden. She says a quiet thanks to whoever is up there listening and to Kim Heechul, wondering silently how he had moved so fast that even she couldn’t sense his movements until he was in her line of vision.

“We’ve checked her records, Aiden. She’s about as clean as a nun.” His voice is clear and stern, leaving no room for argument. Perhaps this is why Kim Heechul is such a successful lawyer. His fingers grip the mini-gun, prying them out of Aiden’s hand while his eyes never leave the younger one’s own orbs. Once the weapon is out of his possession, he flashes Ri Young an apologetic smile.

“My sincerest apologies; it’s just in my line of work, trust is about as rare as a teenager’s ity.” He mocks, and sighs contentedly. He smiles brightly and continues, “It’s a bit of a reflex for me as well. Not a single day goes by without someone at the very least threatening to end my life as they point a gun at my head. No big deal; but a handsome bastard like me isn’t too keen on dying just yet.”

Ri Young still can’t find her voice, but she at the very least manages to give off a weak smile. Heechul examines the scene wordlessly.

Aiden continues to grin brightly as he spreads his arms, shrugging and showing off his relatively toned torso. “Anyway, welcome to the family. I do hope you enjoy your stay.”

Unsure of what to do, Ri Young stands awkwardly in front of him with arms folded in front of her as she nods and mumbles a small yes. Unfazed, Aiden drops his arms and leans closer to Heechul. He mumbles something that seems to be serious, with Heechul’s brows furrowing and his eyes growing dark. The older man casts a quick glance at Ri Young before he nods, straightening up and clearing his throat.

Aiden smiles warmly at Ri Young, but his voice pierces her skin like ice, “Welcome aboard, Jung Jin Rae.” He gives her a quick wink before sauntering out of the room, shirtless still and leaving a trail of droplets on the ground from his wet hair.

Once his footsteps are out of her hearing range, Ri Young lets out a long sigh of relief, clutching onto her chest for dear life. She keeps her head down and tries to mentally shake off the image of her possible death out of her mind. Heechul snorts lightly and out of reflex, Ri Young throws him an icy glare. Remembering her place though, she coughs awkwardly and mumbles a half-hearted apology.

“Aiden won’t do anything to harm you if you don’t do anything for him to even think about doing so.” Heechul warns carelessly. Ri Young raises a brow and with another scoff to cover up his laughter, Heechul throws the gun to her. Thankfully, years of practice in the police force manages to be useful as she expertly catches the weapon before it drops to the ground. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be too careful.”

Ri Young looks at him warily and Heechul shows her a vague, smug smirk.

“See you around, kid.”

Just as she is about to protest, Heechul exits the room and is replaced by a weary looking Yesung. He bows slightly.

“I’m sorry for earlier.” He mumbles out. Clearly, years of being with Aiden does not seem to erase his manners. Ri Young manages to make a small smile. “It was inappropriate of me to do so.”

“Orders are orders.” She shrugs, trying to remain nonchalant as she hides the mini-gun again. Yesung himself manages to give her a faint smile before he clears his throat and straightens again.

Yesung offers to show her to her room at the very least, knowing she’ll get lost at the mere largeness of the villa. Without much thought, Ri Young agrees. In a way though, she feels guilty. She knows that in order to get to the big fish, she’ll have to reel in the little ones first. And that means breaking the lackeys before she even has the slightest possibility of taking down the big bad boss.

A shame though, Yesung seems to be just the kind of guy she’d be friends with.

“Just one question though…” she mumbles as they leave the room, her baggage already shipped beforehand. They pass through corridors and hallways and Ri Young doesn’t even have time to put their passageway into memory trying to keep up with Yesung’s steps. The older man grunts to let her know he’s listening.

“Does he always walk around half-?”

A few steps behind him, Ri Young can hear him stifle his laughter.

“It’s been a long while since we’ve had a female agent. Usually the only women her are one of his es so it’s usually much, much worse.” He muses out loud and the girl behind him begins to cough awkwardly. He shows her another small smile though, looking over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry. The boss will make sure to cover up at the very least with a woman who he isn’t sleeping with around. I think.”

.oOo.

It has been three weeks now since she has arrived at Aiden Lee’s manor, and not once could she even call Eunhyuk for a status update. More or less, it is because there isn’t even anything to update him about. Ri Young continues to sit quietly in her room, staring somberly at the wall opposite her bed.

Ri Young glances at the curtained window by her closet. Positioned to face west, the girl watches as her room is slowly consumed by the orange rays of a setting sun. Groaning, she rests her head on one of the multiple pillows on her bed. Another day wasted.

Ri Young hasn’t been given a whole lot of work, mostly just paperwork and statistics she isn’t really sure she understands. Ri Young finds herself under Heechul as he seems to be the only one willing to work her like a horse, drowning her in his paperwork and several other falsified documents. The others don’t give her much to do. The most they had her work was to order take-out during one Friday night when everyone seemed to be on edge and more or less just too tired to even press a few buttons.

For the time she had spent, she hadn’t seen Aiden Lee even once and had not even been allowed to Cho Kyuhyun’s sacred center of technology and video games. Aiden doesn’t seem to trust her very much. Yesung reassured her that it was only because she was new and that their boss never truly trusts anyone other than his two constants, Kyuhyun and Heechul.

Ri Young stares at her phone, contemplating whether or not to just call Eunhyuk. Though she would never really admit it, Ri Young does actually miss her normal life; her colleagues, her terrifying boss, and even her mediocre lifestyle. Compared to the constant fear she has of being found out to be a fraud, Ri Young would gladly take boring, safe Han Ri Young instead of daring, dangerous Jung Jin Rae.

And honestly, she does just miss Lee Hyukjae.

Her thumb hovers over the call button as “Asia’s Anchovy”, a nickname given to Eunhyuk during one of their office Christmas parties, flashes on screen. Just as she is about to press the green button, the door slams open and her phone slips out of her grasp, bouncing dangerously near the edge of her bed.

Grabbing the hidden Ruger SR9C from underneath one of her pillows, Ri Young focuses it almost impulsively at the figure by her door. Aiden Lee raises a curious brow and leans on her doorway, much like her first day at the manor. Thankfully now though, he decides to wear a shirt. A grin plays on his lips as Ri Young sees his gears working from his eyes.

“I thought we were over trying to kill me?” he jokes. Awkwardly, Ri Young puts away the gun. Aiden doesn’t seem to be too fazed by it, and even seems amused by it all.

“I’m sorry. Reflex.” She mumbles under her breath, unable to look him in the eye. “Just please… don’t do that again.”

“My house, my rules.” He says and Ri Young wonders slightly how he is able to hear her from across the room.

He steps in without any permission and practically throws a box onto the female’s bed, dropping black stilettos onto her bedside table as well. Upon closer, cautious inspection of the box, Ri Young is greeted with a midnight black dress. Glancing at Aiden curiously, she holds out the garment with one hand, wondering what in seven hells is he doing giving her these.

“Get dressed, we’re going out.” He practically orders, flipping his hair to the side. He crosses his arms over his chest and looks down at her. “I don’t have anyone else who can go on such notice and going to this event without a date is not an option.”

Ri Young gives him a deadpan look. It had been obvious enough, but it seems Ri Young’s arrival had meant lesser around for Aiden’s pleasure, courtesy of Heechul who had argued it would have been awkward for both their newest female agent and Aiden’s women. Heechul hadn’t been hired as Aiden’s lawyer for nothing.

Oh, well. It’s not as if being Aiden’s date would be the worst thing to ever happen. And a little field work wouldn’t be too bad.

Ri Young nods faintly and sighs almost inaudibly. Aiden somehow catches it though and in a matter of moments, he has her pinned against her own headboard, one arm on either side of her face with breath hot on her ear.

“Trust me; you’re not the only one who’s not liking this set up.” He whispers into her ear, leaving her stunned and silent. He pulls away and with his face mere millimeters from hers, he smiles at her. “Understand?”

With a meek nod from Ri Young, Aiden pats her cheek and pulls away completely. He moves towards the door with Ri Young’s eyes following his every move. He pauses when his hand reaches the handle of the open door and he turns back to her.

“Oh, and… try to look pretty, tonight, wouldn’t you Jin Rae? It’d be embarrassing for me to show up with a date that’s only half as beautiful as the ones I used to go with.” The stiletto narrowly misses his head and crashes on her wooden door as he closes it quickly behind him. Ri Young doesn’t miss the familiar childish grin on his face as he leaves though.

.oOo.

Feeling the silk in her hands, the gown had been innocent enough. Now on her body and hugging every curve she had though had her questioning Aiden’s taste in clothing… and women.

Ri Young had originally refused to come out of her room and had only been forced by an awkward Yesung trying to calm her down. She eventually gave in when he gave her his jacket to cover up before they went to wherever Aiden needed to be, Yesung told her it was another charity ball he had been invited to. Ri Young wonders what exactly is wrong with people’s head, inviting a well known crime syndicate to a charity ball. Then again, Aiden’s big, fat wallet usually does the talking.

The car ride to the event was a whole lot more awkward though, Ri Young sitting as far away as possible from Aiden as the other merely played with his scotch glass, not even sparing her a second glance. Heechul, she had been informed, was taking the other car along with some of Aiden’s other lackeys. Why they needed to come as well, Ri Young had no clue. But she did know trying to endure this silence with Aiden was unbearable. She had never wished for the snarky attorney so badly.

Once Yesung had stopped driving, Ri Young practically slammed open the car door, not even bothering to wait for either Aiden or Yesung to be gentleman enough to open the door for her. She breathes in the coolness of fresh air and hugs her borrowed jacket closer to her. Yesung coughs awkwardly next to her though and she turns to see the both of them staring at her, Aiden a little more irritated than usual.

Flushing, she mumbles a quick apology before stepping around the vehicle over to Aiden.

“Lose the jacket, will you?” Ri Young rolls her eyes at his commanding tone but does so anyway in fear a repeat of her almost shooting might take place in front of the manor where this so-called charity ball is to be held. Turning a deeper red, Ri Young thanks Yesung as he refuses to look at her and takes his jacket, returning to the car quickly to find a parking spot.

Aiden looks at her from head to toe and Ri Young has never felt more unconfident under his judging eyes.

This has never been her usual style, and even when Eunhyuk had replaced her closet, it was never this bad. The gown had been made as black as midnight with a texture softer than silk. Ri Young wouldn’t have minded too much if that had been it, but she soon learned Aiden had about as much questionable taste in women’s clothing as he did his women. She has never known a neckline that could have been carved so low, nor of clothing that revealed so much of her back. Infuriated by his implications though, she had gone full out with every trick she knew. Smokey eyes, curling hair, glossy reddish lips, and a rosy glow. Aiden had wanted beautiful, Ri Young was up to the challenge.

Once finished with her transformation to a goddess, even Yesung had been speechless. However, the thought of Aiden judging her had made her nervous for some odd reason and she had refused to come out of her room. Again, she begins feeling the same churning in the pit of her stomach as Aiden continues to silently evaluate her appearance.

Finally, he steps closer to her and smirks. Aiden wraps a protective arm around her waist and leads her towards the entrance.

“Good enough.” He whispers, amused. Ri Young looks at him, mouth agape, before ridding herself of all her nervous thoughts out the window. She crosses her arms over her chest, trying to cover up as much as possible. They pass the guards with a nod and he leans closer to whisper in her ear, his fingers dancing lightly on her . “I’d rather see you not wearing it at all, though.”

Ri Young pauses and stands rigged as she looks up at him, her face tomato red. He grins back down at her, indicating he had merely been jesting. With a release of an irritated grunt, she rolls her eyes and escapes from his grip. Ri Young makes her way through the crowd, ignoring the stares and double takes men give her as she passes by.

With a laugh, Aiden quickly catches up and winds his arm around her waist again, pulling her close. “I was just kidding. Lighten up.” He grins, and she isn’t completely sure what it is he finds amusing anymore. His grip on her waist tightens as both notices the amount of attention she’s receiving though, and it’s Ri Young’s turn to smirk.

“Who’s just ‘good enough’ now?” she leans in and whispers, taunting him. Just as he’s about to retort, he notices Heechul appear suddenly from the crowd. The lawyer exchanges a look with Aiden and the younger man drops his arm from Ri Young’s waist. With a sigh and a rub on his neck, he nods at Heechul who makes his way to the staircase leading towards the second floor.

Aiden turns to her and with their faces once again merely inches apart, he whispers. “Stay here. Don’t go anywhere.” Stunned from the seriousness of his voice, Ri Young can only nod. Aiden gives her a small, childish smile before disappearing in the crowd.

Releasing a sigh, Ri Young clutches onto the front of her dress. What is going on?

A hand shoots out and grabs her arm, pulling her and forcing her to turn around.

“Yah, what are you!” she is cut off when she looks at the hand’s owner. Ri Young gasps in surprise, her eyes widening twice its size as she wills herself not to just throw her arms around his neck and tell him how much she misses him.

“Hyukjae?” 

A/N: Incredibly late, I know. LOL.;; I just hope people are still reading this. XD Trust me, this fic is far from over. LOL OTL

Once again, comments, subscriptions and the like are well loved! <3