Chapter One

Nothing Personal

      At one time it felt like he was in an endless passage of monotony that he couldn’t escape from. It was never-ending routine that covered him in a labyrinth of mazes, threatening to swallow him whole. He sometimes feared he would accidentally step into the empty void of nothingness, where he ceases to be Jung Daehyun, and just become another mindless drone of society.

 

    If he had the choice, if he had the money, if he had the time, it would be difficult to say what he’d do with what he’d be given. Having never really had much extra money until recently, he found the extra cash to be quite monotonous and no different than how he was before.

 

    The once difference was that he was currently empty with a flat screen Apple TV and designer suits.

 

    He couldn’t exactly see why ‘designer’ was so popular in the movies these days. He had always been curious as to how it would look like or feel like in comparison to others. But now that he owned it, it wasn’t all too special and he didn’t actually mind his knock off suits that he had worn previously.

 

    Daehyun scoffed, twirling the wine glass in its crystal cup, his eyes never once meeting any of the other faces around him.

 

    I paid 900,000 won for a cheap tag and a stitched in back pocket.

 

    “Stop looking so glum,” came Himchan’s not so witty remark as he easily blended into the crowd of rich girls with their hands down their daddy’s wallets. “You’re scaring away the ladies.”

 

    Daehyun blinked a couple times, before realizing that there was quite a few girls desperately trying to avoid his gaze. “Scaring?”

 

    “Can’t you see Young Mi-ssi trying to drink her way into a hangover?” Himchan continued, as if it were obvious. “You know our mission, right?”

 

    “I feel like a high class hooker.” Daehyun replied simply, blinking without much emotion. Himchan immediately scoffed.

 

    “Just get to the job. You’re not going to get anything done if you just sit there and act like you don’t belong.” Daehyun smirked at that before spiraling the wine in his glass, which had failed in amusing him as he turned to Himchan with a gaze completely different than before. “Careful. Someone might actually think you’re enjoying yourself.” Himchan continued, just as Daehyun moved to walk past the other, shoulder slightly brushing shoulder.

 

    “Wouldn’t that just be a laugh?” Daehyun commented, his eyes flickering like a newly lit candle as he moved past Himchan to get a look at the wine glass that Young Mi had so effortlessly set out in her attempts to stagger for some more alcohol.

 

    He watched her carefully, never missing a detail, from the curve of her back to the slightly oversized heels that made walking sober difficult. Her tiny trips over to the man serving the drinks were slightly amusing, but Daehyun paid little attention as he heard her clumsy heels staggering against the tiles and getting louder as she drew near, having finally seemed to realize that no one would serve her any more alcohol.

 

    He raised an eyebrow, spinning the wine in his cup with an uninterested expression.

 

    “Can you believe them?” Came Young Mi’s annoyed mumble, to which Daehyun made no attempt to look up as she made it clear she wasn’t talking to him. She was known for screaming at things. “Too drunk. Sober up. Those freaking rascals!” She snapped, her eyes were puffy as she used to table to secure her balance. “I’m Song Young Mi! Who do they think their talking too?” She exclaimed, ignoring all the annoyed expressions of the guests.

 

    Daehyun continued swirling the wine, fully aware of the woman’s newly found attention on him.

 

    “Yah!” She exclaimed, and Daehyun slightly glanced up, seemingly unaware. “You just gonna let that go to waste.”

 

    “I was going to drink it,” Daehyun replied, and the woman gave a slight sneer.

 

    “If you’re not going to drink it, just let me have it,” she remarked, not to happy with his response. Daehyun barely gave her a glance.

 

    “Get your own.” He stated back in a monotone.

 

    “Give me yours.”

 

    The tiny spat didn’t last long as sliding over the full glass to the woman was an almost immediate silence to the loud chirping noise the woman had been emitting prior. He heard her almost immediately chug it, making a low sound of satisfaction as she attempted to right her balance that had considerably lessened.

 

    “I need some fresh air,” she muttered, staggering to the balcony.

 

    Daehyun gave a tiny sigh of apprehension as he immediately slipped off into the crowd, wondering through them without catching attention. His stare caught her back as she slipped outside the open doors. Almost immediately the couple already out there came back inside when they realized their alone time was jeopardized by a drunk slurring woman.

 

    Daehyun gaze went back to the guest’s, whose attention was pulled towards the party. When he saw that he was unnoticed, he carefully slipped himself outside as well. Almost immediately his gaze went to the woman struggling to hold herself up, using the railings as her support while her legs visibly shook.

 

    “You don’t look so good.” Daehyun stated simply, observing her frantic shiver as she slowly turned to face him. Daehyun smiled slightly, instantly recognizing the bags under her eyes. “I think you should rest.”

 

    “I must have drank too much,” came Young Mi’s remark, and Daehyun slightly smiled as he took a step forward. “I don’t usually get like this….how embarrassing.” Her tears of shame were all too apparent, although he wasn’t too sure the situation deserved tears.

 

    Women.

 

    “Don’t feel too bad,” Daehyun began, noticing her gaze flicker with a grateful light. “You’re not that drunk. Come on. You’re just drugged.”

 

    “W-What?” She replied, surprise apparent on her face.

 

    “I know what you’re thinking. Drugs in a cup?” Daehyun gave a bitter frown. “Such a tactless way to get the job done, but how can I resist such an opening.”

 

    She paused, trying to get away from him as her legs shook in fear and weakness. His form blocking the door made such difficult, and yet she still tried.

 

    “I’ll scream.” She stated weakly, her voice cracking.

 

    “What am I, an amateur?” Daehyun retorted, taking a step forward. “The first thing that will disappear is your voice, as that is where the liquid slid first. I do love the sound of silence.” Daehyun smiled. “Then you will start to feel a tingling sensation down your spine, that’s my favorite part. I like when things tingle.”

  

    She opened to retort, but nothing came out. Her hands slid across the railing, rather clumsily as her heels scraped against the ground. He was impressed that she hadn’t fallen over yet, so he couldn’t find her completely deplorable.

 

    Her breathing was ragged as he drew near, and she tried to raise her hand to strike him, but her balance left her, causing her to fall into his arms. He felt her shake and try and get away, but no such solace came as her legs gave way. She would have fallen to the ground if it weren’t for his arms keeping her up.

 

    “It really isn’t personal,” Daehyun whispered into her ear, and he saw form into the syllables of ‘why’ to which he had no true answer. He didn’t know why. He didn’t ask. “Just business.”

 

⚉—•♚•—⚇

 

    Himchan sighed, his face stricken with boredom as his eyes scanned the room for Daehyun, who (like always) was nowhere to be seen. All he wanted was to leave the party and take a nice and steamy bubble bath, but sadly, Yongguk didn’t approve of leaving comrades out on their own.

 

    He wasn’t exactly certain as to why he should watch over a person as completely unpleasant as Daehyun, but a mission is a mission.

 

    Himchan took went to take another chug of his drink just as someone snatched the glass from his hand.

 

    “We should go,” Daehyun stated, handing the glass (undrugged this time) to a random girl who took it without complaint.

 

    “Yah!” Himchan whined, staring at his martini with an expression close to longing.

 

    “I’ll just leave then,” Daehyun stated, and without another thought the boy disappeared from the crowd just as an uproar of screams echoed in the room. Himchan then decided that getting drunk can wait as he quickly attempted to catch up to his quick on his feet partner in crime.

 

    The night was a rush as people crowded over a small spot outside, making a blockade that was impossible to see past, not that Himchan particularly wanted to in the first place. There were many people crying out of sheer horror, giving the two men an easy escape route, undetected.

 

    Himchan didn’t see Daehyun for the rest of the night, but the text message on the screen of his phone lifted his doubts for the night. 

           

            We need better drugs.

 

            What are you telling me for? I just said to hit her over the head with a chair or something.

 

            No.

 

            Are you denying my skill in the business?

 

            Just your skill overall.

 

    Himchan scoffed, peeved that he was allowing some kid talk to him like a child. Sadly, he had learned the hard way that whatever he said went in one ear and out the other.

 

            Did I hurt your feelings?

 

            no

 

            Are you crying?

 

            no. bite me.

 

            put an order in. I don’t want to stand around the entire party waiting for a drink to stop sizzling. miss the good old days.

 

            then knock her out next time.

 

            What next time? She’s like SpongeBob.

 

            what?

 

            Soaked up.

 

            stop.

 

            in blood.

 

            Seriously. Stop. That’s gross. Doesn’t even make sense.

 

    Daehyun didn’t text back, which Himchan was quite thankful for.

 

 

⚉—•♚•—⚇

 

    Daehyun sighed, sitting back as he adjusted his hood, his view securely trained on his laptop that was sitting mindlessly in front of him. Next to both was a latte and a cheesecake, the prime reason he was sitting in the half empty establishment in the first place. Once again his eyes glanced back at the keyboard as he scrolled through recent news.

 

    A single article caught his attention, placed in bold letters out in front of him. He took a casual sip from his straw as he read said article with a rather complacent expression. The TV’s blaring noise interrupted his thought process and forced him to look up for a moment at the attractive news lady, sporting a microphone like a gun.

 

    “I am now on the scene of the recent tragedy of the minister of security and public administration, Song Young Mi. We have gathered evidence of her spiraling downfall after the shame of her carrier reached public knowledge. Her supposed affair with the nameless minister, along with her steamy bribery with the law.” The reporter continued on, just as Daehyun slurped a bit more from his drink, making a rather annoyingly obnoxious straw sound fill the room and disturb the people who were actually trying to watch. “The body on the scene has been confirmed as Song Young Mi, but whether the minister’s young life was taken by suicide or pure accident, remains unknown, but-”

 

    Daehyun decided to tone out the rest as he scanned the article one more time, before closing his computer and leaving the café. The leather bag was securely around his shoulder as a car pulled up next to him. He attempted to ignore it, but it almost immediately followed and matched his steps.

 

    Being rather deft in the art of ignoring the unpleasant, he continued walking. The black tinted car never stopped following him and continued matching his steps until the tinted windows finally rolled down.

 

    “You can either get in with dignity or pulled in kicking and screaming. You’re choice,” came Yongguk’s calm and deep voice.

 

    “Buy me dinner first,” was Daehyun’s response, and he heard Yongguk’s scoff as the car continued to follow his steps.

 

    “Kicking and screaming it is,” Yongguk waved his hand and almost immediately a man dressed in black grabbed him by the crook of his neck and all but threw him inside the car door that Yongguk had kindly opened for him.

 

    Daehyun blinked, his dignity still in tact as he turned his gaze to Yongguk. “It’s my day off.”

 

    “Funny how I don’t give a damn.” Yongguk replied, pulling out a black box from his jacket. It was tiny, with the tiniest engraving of a golden brand name.

 

    “You’re not asking me to marry you? I am going to need more than dinner for that to go down,” Daehyun retorted, and Yongguk’s expression didn’t change.

 

    “I need you to give this to someone.” Yongguk said simply, handing the box to the other, who easily took it and made no motion or interest at opening it. “Not going to ask what’s in it?”

 

    Daehyun scoffed, leaning back against the seat. “While we’re here, drop me off at my place.”

 

    “Get out of my car.” Yongguk replied.

 

    The other sighed, opening the door before turning towards the other. “So no to that dinner?”

 

    Yongguk leaned forward, his lips centimeters from Daehyun’s and for a moment he felt a twinge of anxiety that usually followed in Yongguk’s presence. “Walk away on both legs or walk away on one.”

 

    “Got it.” Daehyun replied, as he quickly shut the door. The car made no pause or hesitation and immediately drove off into the distance before disappearing behind a corner. Daehyun looked down at the velvet box before tossing it into his bag without a second thought and continued walking forward.

 

    The only sound that came out were the near silent echo of his own footsteps.

 

⚉—•♚•—⚇

 

    Daehyun sighed, glancing out the window as he lay on his bed, throwing the velvet box into the air and immediately catching it. His eyes once more narrowed in a monotone as he carelessly threw a rather expensive (knowing Yongguk) and possibly breakable item into the air. Being bored and mission-less did have its downfalls, making him rather regret his one day off of the week.

 

    His apartment was rather empty, despite the constant downpour of money had coming out of his pockets like a piñata. It felt even emptier as the grandfather clock ticked on in monotonous rhythm, making time less meaningless. He thought about just breaking the thing completely, but decided against it as he had no desire to clean the mess or stumble into his apartment and step on the remnants of glass it would leave behind.

 

    He sighed as he threw the velvet case once more into air, just as the sound of his doorbell echoed throughout his apartment. Catching him off guard, the case slipped from his next catch and wacked him in the face. He winced but allowed it to bounce away from him, soundlessly disappearing on the tile and under couch.

 

    He walked, rather annoyed, to the front door, not so eager to look into the screen and see who was by the door. As he peered at his security screen, all he saw was an empty hallway. Daehyun scoffed, pressing a single button on the touch screen that was built into his wall. He made a motion to go back to almost breaking the box when he saw something next to his door.

 

    He walked to it, recognizing it as a thick manila folder with his name written in sloppy cursive Jung Daehyun.

 

    The boy slightly sighed, but for the most part, didn’t much question how someone got past his door so quickly. He opened it on his way into the kitchen his scrutinizing gaze trained on each document he pulled out while he poured himself some water out of the crystal jug on the counter. His lips wrapped around a bagel as a picture on the front caught his attention.

 

    He could right away tell it was taken from a car from a safe distance as the woman in the photo looked completely unaware she was being watched. The rest of the pictures were no different as they all involved her in more than compromising situations.

 

    Daehyun slowly nibbled on his bagel as he overlooked her profile. Yoo Seoyeon.

 

    He went through more documents, mostly skimming, as he overlooked her life and went straight down to the actual mission at hand.

 

    His phone rang almost immediately, and he answered it with a monotone. “I got it.”

 

    “Did you actually read anything I gave you?” Came Yongguk’s response.

 

    “Her name.”

 

    “Just read the rest and implant the bug onto her. I don’t care how. Kidnap her and insert it into her brain if you have to, but make sure she has it.” Yongguk retorted, and Daehyun could practically hear his impatience through the phone.

 

    “Bug?”

 

    “Read the damn packet.” The line went dead and Daehyun let out an exasperated sigh as he read the details. Letting out another exasperated sigh, he immediately attempted to search the floor for the velvet box he had carelessly abandoned. After a long search and many curses, he found the damn box.

 

    Without pause, he opened it, revealing a tiny device that was an oval shape with the smallest of barbs, used for being attached onto something.

 

    He glanced back at the profile and scoffed at the ridiculous amount of information given. He wasn’t sure what he was expected to do with knowing her blood type and weight, but he didn’t make much move to question it.

 

    He mindlessly tossed aside the photos of her family, a deceased mother and father, along with some dorky kid fresh out of high school.

 

    He hadn’t even met them, and he was already sick of all of them. 

 

---

Author's Note

Well, now that that's out of the way, I want to say thanks to all the people who were quick to subscribe when I came out with the forward. 

This is my first Daejae fic, so I'm really excited. I always start off with character development in the first chapter, apologize if anyone wanted a bit more. 

It's quite different than my other BangDae fanfic, 'Awkward Turtles' which is riddled with F bombs and a dry sense of humor.

This one is less funny, more angsty-ish. Well, sort of.

Being funny is a real hassle you know. I always gotta think of new jokes. It's so hard, especially since my sense of humor is on the demented side, ya know? Like I swear. The things I laugh at are really wrong. But that's besides the point.

Mostly, I wanted to give credit to Cheese-cake and her story "A Worth Obsessing Over" as she is my new favorite fanfiction writer for an appealing story. I may have taken a few components of her layout-ing into this story (like the text messaging thing)

I suggest you check out that story, cause it is one of my favorites.

Daehyun's kind of a jerk. I know.

Well. I'm out.

Thanks for reading. :D