Tiffany stood in the receptionists’ hall, face-to-face with the lacquered doors of the hotel’s banquet room. The arches of her feet ached from her shoes, the uncomfortable stitching in the hem of her sleeve rubbed against her skin, and the unbearable stench of the hotel’s lemon freshener filled her nose. But she was used to it. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the fake smiling, the hand shaking, the congratulating, the clinking of champagne glasses, the consumption of flavorless, low-calorie, fat free appetizers served by waiters sporting badly-tailored vests.

Next to baby showers, banquet parties were Tiffany’s least favorite formal events, although she didn’t mind the actual party as much as the snobby, rich people who attended them. Most people weren’t willing to explore topics that didn’t involve their new Lamborghini, renovated mansion in France, or upgraded country club membership that now included customized margaritas. It was hard to like people that measured merit with the number of carats in a diamond ring. Clashing tablecloths, too colorful flowers, cheesy speeches, and distasteful arrangements of the centerpieces weren’t nearly as bad.

The receptionist girl standing behind Tiffany coughed expectantly, her lips clamped together in irritation. Tiffany forced down the urge to give that girl a good punch in the face, and, instead, gave a gentle push to the door, her fingers sliding across the smoothly waxed wood.

~♠~

Luhan gave an amiable smile, biting back a grimace.

“That’s nice, Mr. Kwon. I would be, uh, delighted to attend your dinner next month, but it turns out that I...have a wedding planned that same day. I’m sorry.” Luhan answered, hoping that the man hadn’t noticed his slip-up.

“That’s too bad. I was hoping you could meet my family, especially my daughter. How about next time?”

“Of course, Mr. Kwon. I’d be honored.” Luhan held his breath as Mr. Kwon walked away, probably towards his next target. Kwon JungSoo was known in the business world to be overly friendly-mostly for manipulative purposes, which made him a very successful businessman. Luhan motioned to a nearby waiter and took a flute of champagne from the tray he was holding. As the cold fizz of bubbles slid down his throat, he felt his phone buzz from his back pocket.

Baekhyun: How’s your frou-frou event that you ditched me and the party for? :(

Luhan: It . Happy?

Baekhyun: Very much so. :D Any hotties?

Luhan: No. You?

Baekhyun: Same. Except me, of course.

Luhan chuckled to himself, when suddenly, he realized that the room had gone dead silent, almost as if the whole room had in its breath. Everyone’s attention seemed to be diverted towards the doors. Luhan craned his neck and mentally thanked the gods of the gene pool for his tall height.

It was a girl, one so beautiful it almost hurt to look. As he stared at her he felt a sense of intrigue and mystery growing in him, because he had never seen her before, yet she invoked a strong feeling of déjà vu. She was tall and slim, with skin the color of ivory and hair darker than ebony. There was an empty 5-foot radius around her, as if people were too scared to go near her for fear she wasn't real. She didn't look real to Luhan. For a fraction of a second, their eyes met, and Luhan felt a spark of excitement crawl down his spine, before she turned away and disappeared into the crowd. The room remained silent.

~♣~

Tiffany ducked into the massive crowd of people, trying not to attract any more attention than she already had, which was basically pointless. Peeking over the shoulder of the man standing in front of her, she scanned the crowd. As she found her target, her eyes narrowed in concentration, and almost unconsciously, her hand brushed lightly over the hidden blades in her hair.

~♥~

“Appa, you wanted to see me?” Tiffany clarified, standing in front of her stepfather’s desk. He gestured for her to sit down and slid a thick manila folder across the table. When she flipped to the first page, a picture in the top left corner, almost like a mug shot, caught her eye. It was a photograph of a thin man in his fifties, scowling fiercely at the camera, his eyebrows knit together. She looked up again to meet her father’s gaze.

“...Another mission?”

“Yes. The team has it all planned out for you, so it should be a walk in the park for you. Next week, you will attend the Lu’s annual New Year’s banquet. My sources say that he’ll be arriving at about 11:30, so you must kill him before 12, when I arrive.” he explained.

“What’d the poor guy do?” Tiffany asked wryly.

“The bastard owes me half a million in debts and used a loophole in the contract to slip out of it. He’s had it coming for a while now.” Mr. Hwang replied, the cold edge in his voice painfully obvious.

“Consider it done. I’ll see you then.” Tiffany smirked confidently. Her stepfather just chuckled, his eyes glinting with anticipation.

~♦~

Tiffany watched as the man shifted his feet, conversing with a short woman. She made small talk with the man standing next to her, trying to avoid the lovesick stares he was giving her, as she continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to excuse himself and squeezed his way towards the exit. Bingo. Tiffany excused herself to the ladies’ room and followed, lingering a good distance behind him, pretending to talk casually over the phone. When they finally exited the building, Tiffany felt the air stiffen.

“You can drop your little act now. I know you’re following me.”

“At least you’re smarter than the others.” He turned, so they were standing a few feet away from each other. “Do you know your mistake?”

“Was it that sick bastard Hwang? Because he’s not getting his money back.” he sneered, spitting contemptuously onto the concrete. "And you must be his darling daughter, Tiffany Hwang. The one who does all the real work. How sweet."

“Shut up. I think we’re done talking.” Tiffany snarled.

“I don’t like it when others make decisions for me,” he retorted, reaching for his coat pocket, where suddenly, Tiffany noticed a familiar shape protruding through the material of his jacket. The familiar shape of a pistol. Tiffany cursed in her head and ran, surprised that he had come prepared. She fled into the first alleyway she came across, which happened to have several dumpsters. Covering , she dived behind one, and waited.

The sound of the man’s loafers tapping on the sidewalk got closer, until Tiffany could see the glower on his face through a crack in the metal.

“You little ! You can run, but you can’t hide from me!”

Tiffany watched as he searched frantically. She picked up a handful of gravel and carefully tossed it across the wall, so that the angle of the throw seemed to be coming from the other end of the alleyway. Hearing the stones strike the brick wall, he turned around, pressing himself tightly against the dumpster cautiously. As he neared the corner, he spun to meet an attack he expected on his side, however Tiffany seized the moment to escape the cover of the dumpster and swiftly kick his neck from behind. He dropped like a rock, crumpling against the ground, unconscious. The clock of the town square struck twelve.

The sound of a pistol firing was lost in the booming of fireworks.

~♠~

Mr. Lu smiled goofily at his son, getting ready to deliver his New Year’s speech. Every few minutes, he would look at the manuscript and smile or chuckle to himself. Luhan had been the speechwriter though, and he was fairly sure that he hadn’t written anything even slightly amusing.

“I think this is the best New Year’s ever, don’t you agree?” he exclaimed, in an unusually excited tone.

“Not in particular, dad.” Luhan replied, a little bit worried at his father's uncharacteristic actions. His dad frowned.

“Well, I do.” he answered, before dutifully trudging up the stage. As he adjusted the microphone, it squealed, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

“The past year has been filled with happiness, sadness, losses, and gains. I have found new experiences that have changed my life. I have created new relationships and strengthened old ones. But now, the year has ended and a new one has began. Ladies and gentleman, Happy New Year!” Mr. Lu finished, the crowd cheering. After a moment, Luhan noticed that his father had raised the microphone back to his mouth, yet Luhan remembered that that was the end of his written speech.

“Also, in honor of the New Year, I would like to introduce to you, my good friend and business partner, Mr. Hwang of the Hwang Corporation of Stockbrokers!” A tall handsome man made his way towards the stage. Luhan frowned in confusion at the stranger, because none of this had been planned. He watched as his father handed the microphone to him.

“Good evening, everyone. I am Hwang MinSook, the CEO and founder of the Hwang Corporation of Stockbrokers. Thirty years ago, Mr. Lu and I, together, created the Lu-Hwang Corporation, only to separate ten years later. Today, two decades later, we’ve decided on a merge.” Suddenly the back door burst open and the mysterious girl rushed in, but no one except Luhan seemed to notice. The crowd clapped and Mr. Hwang handed the microphone back to Mr. Lu.

“This merge will be occurring next month, during the marriage between Mr. Hwang’s and my family,” Luhan vaguely wondered who was getting married. “On behalf of my son, and Mr. Hwang’s daughter, Luhan and Tiffany Hwang, I would like to announce their engagement and wedding next month.” The crowd roared even louder. The door slammed and the girl was gone. Luhan felt numb. The empty champagne glass he had been holding dropped, shattering. He felt detached, the sounds of congratulations ringing in his ears, and suddenly felt Mr. Kwon slap him on the back.

“Congratulations, son! I didn’t know you were talking about your own wedding!”