“You useless bastards!! How the hell did you let him escape? Do you know how far this setback is going to take our plans? Do you know how freaking dangerous this is now? All because of two hopeless little toad warts who can’t get it together!” Hwang Jungkook barked, his eyes glinting dangerously into the gleam of the dimmed street lights, veins pulsing visibly through his dark skin.

Two men kneeled silently in front of him. The small crowd gathered solemnly in front of him shuddered from the winter cold, each secretly relieved that it was not himself.

“It was one task. You had one task and you screwed it up, being the incompetent imbeciles you are.”

“We’re sorry, sir.”

“Sorry?! You should be a whole lot more than sorry!! Apologies won’t be enough to fix this mistake. By letting him go, you are endangering our existence. He still has potential access to all our files and knows enough to extinguish our plans and this organization, my life and blood for decades. And that can’t be forgiven.” Everyone knew what that meant and the air tensed with apprehension. Some averted their eyes.

“But sir...P-please it was, it was a mistake. I-We’re so sorry, we promise, promise it won’t ever happen again, it was an accident, please, sir. Please forgive us just this once, p-please we, we really won’t screw up again, sir. I’m-” He was silenced by the shot of a pistol, his body crumpling onto the pavement, blood pooling. Jungkook looked to the other man, his face blank as he stared into the face of his leader.

“And you? Any reasons as to why I should allow you to live?”

“None, sir. I understand my mistake.” His voice was firm, mouth set in a grim stone line as he lowered his gaze to the dusty alley floor. A shot rang out and he was dead. They were just two bodies lying in the alleyway, no longer anyone or anything more. No one dared make a sound, all eyes watching their leader.

“Dismissed. Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll find that moron.” He growled before turning away. The crowd slowly let out a breath of relief before dispersing into the empty streets of Seoul.

Two figures ducked into an adjacent alley, a boy and girl, their hands intertwining and their eyes meeting forlornly. A moment passed before the boy dropped his head.

“Luhan...are you alright?” She asked worriedly, gulping guiltily.

“No, how the heck would I be alright? Tiffany, those are my friends! Jongin and Minseok are dead." He said in disbelief.

“I’m sorry...I’m sorry for my father...I know how much they meant to you.”

“Apologies don’t mean anything, Tiffany. Just like your father said. An apology won’t solve anything.” He replied bitterly, untangling his hand from hers.

Silence.

“I’m tired of living like this." Luhan contined once more. "Killing, stealing, hiding...I’ve decided...I’m leaving..and I’m not coming back.”

Tiffany’s head jerked up, wishing desperately that this was some kind of sick joke.

“Won’t you come with me, Tiffany? We could go to America. We can leave this cursed place and be together without inhibitions...get married...create our own family...start a new life...Come with me.” His eyes glimmered hopefully at her pale face, darting back and forth for a reaction--a smile, a nod--but the cold shadows cast across her face didn’t shift in the slightest.

“I can’t, Luhan.” Tiffany whispered.

“ This is the place where I grew up, this is my family. And I hate him as much as you do, but he’s my father, don’t you understand? Can’t you stay? When I become the leader of this organization, we can leave...together. Wait for me, Luhan.”

“No, it’s over for me. Come with me, Tiffany. Please. Please don’t make me choose between you and...my pride.”

“Well you’re making me choose between you and my family! You can’t make me do this, Luhan,” Tiffany snapped angrily, her fingers curling into her palm until her hand bled, red crescents appearing on her raw skin. The silence crackled.

“I’m sorry...I can’t decide that...” she added in a softer voice.

Luhan swallowed silently, looking upwards as to keep his tears still. His voice came out choked-

“I guess we’re over then, Tiffany Hwang.”

She cried as he walked away. Unconsciously, tears slid down his cheeks as well, wet against the biting cold of the month’s first snow.

Five years later

Luhan jerked himself awake for the hundredth time.  The stack of papers in front of him stared back unmovingly, and the clock above moved its arms even slower . There was still an hour before work was over. He propped his elbow on the desk, leaning his chin on his hand comfortably, until he was drifting…drifting…drifting away again. Brrrrring! The phone on his desk rang loudly, directly into his eardrum, jolting Luhan back to his sixty-four square foot office in the middle of the shiny glass forest that was downtown Los Angeles.

“Hello?”

“Luhan, can you come to my office as soon as possible?”

“Sure thing, sir.” He slid the phone back into its little crook and went to go find his administrator. He mentally counted the number of sodas he’d taken from the break room in the past week and grimaced. Luhan pinched his arm to try to make himself more awake. And with a yawn, he entered the office.

“Mr. Walcott.” The man looked up from his work before closing his laptop.

“Ahh, Mr. Lu. How have your cases been going lately?”

“Quite nicely, sir. I think I have a good chance of winning that lawsuit that that lady filed two weeks ago and I’m going to court next month for a grand larceny case. My colleague and I have yet to find solid evidence, but I think we’re close,” Luhan explained, feeling inwardly nervous and wondering if the administrator was planning to fire him.

“That’s good, Luhan. Listen, would you be...interested in a promotion? Our senior attorney just retired, and we need a replacement.” Luhan stared at his administrator, jaw dropping, his eyes beaming at the thought of being senior attorney.

“Sir, are you serious?” Luhan asked.

“Of course, Mr. Lu. You’ve been with us for just four years, yet you have proven yourself to be a very capable lawyer. You’re naturally aggressive, resourceful, and you are a remarkable speaker. You have all the qualities that I want for this law firm’s potential senior attorney.” Mr. Walcott praised, cracking a small smile.

“But sir, what about everyone else? Most of my colleagues have been here much longer and have much more experience than me. They surely deserve this promotion more than I, a mere novice, do.” Luhan suggested, trying to restrain himself from immediately snatching up the offer.

“But that’s exactly what makes you so suitable for this position. This will be an experience for you to learn and grow from, Mr. Luhan. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some other matters to attend to. I’d appreciate it if you’d consider my offer.” Before Luhan could interject, Mr. Walcott stood up, folder in hand, and left his office.

⋘⋘❆⋙⋙

The strong autumn wind ruffled her hair, toying with the ends of her new scarf. She stared into the surface of the unfinished reservoir, the dirt from neighboring grass leaking into the murky green water, forming dark swirls of mud, the ugly color that she would get after mixing all her markers together when she was little. Some children were laughing on the other side of the park, catch me if you can, running across the freshly cut grass, birds flitting from tree to tree, trying to escape the grasps of invisible hands. An old couple strolled leisurely through the park, their timeworn hands clasped together. Her phone buzzed impatiently from her pocket. Luhan. She smiled at the picture of them together, his goofy smile illuminating the screen of her phone.

“Hello?”

“I have amazing news and a surprise! Yoona, guess what?”

“Mmm…you picked up five dollars from the sidewalk?” Yoona teased coyly.

“It’s even better than that! Guess again.” His excitement could be felt in his voice. Yoona imagined him grinning stupidly into the phone, eyes glittering, and she felt excited too. But that didn’t mean that he had to know.

“You…picked up ten dollars?”

“No, I got a promotion. I’m going to be senior attorney!!”

“Whoa, you’re the best! But what was your surprise, Lu?”

“I’m taking you out for dinner tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at your apartment.”

“Great! See you tomorrow. Bye!” Yoona hung up immediately, pressing her phone against her chest, pumping her fist into the air, silently celebrating her victory. It would be their first date that month. She couldn’t really blame Luhan, because he was always busy with work, and even if she tried to get angry, she couldn’t resist that face. It suddenly hit her that if he got the promotion, he would have even less time to spend with her and her balloon deflated a little bit.

But, that didn’t matter right now, she reminded herself. It was Luhan’s time to shine, and as the good girlfriend she considered herself to be, she wouldn’t overshadow his excitement with her own doubts. She walked home, wondering to herself whether she should feel good or bad about this promotion.

When she reached the floor of her apartment, she found her elderly neighbor, Ms. Won, waiting at her door, a small valise in hand. When she saw Yoona approaching the apartment, she smiled meekly.

“Hello, sweetie, would you mind if I stayed with you for a few days? My air conditioning broke and it’s terribly uncomfortable for an old lady like me.” Ms. Won inquired with her thick Korean accent.

“Of course I wouldn’t mind, Ms. Won. You’re always welcome to stay with me.” Yoona assured her, taking out her keys and unlocking the door. After a few moments of struggling with the lock, the door swung open. She waved her neighbor over, and showed her to the guest room. “It’s not much, but it is my only spare room, I’m sorry for any inconvenience.”

Ms. Won only nodded understandingly, crow’s feet appearing as she smiled amiably. “It’ll do just fine, darling. Thank you.”

“I’ll go make dinner now, Ms. Won. Make yourself at home.” Yoona replied.

⋘⋘❆⋙⋙

Luhan entered the store, the cheesy, romantic posters on the wall making him cringe inwardly. But he would endure this for the sake of Yoona. Yes, that was right. He was doing it for her, he told his aching pride.

“Hello, sir, can I help you?” a lady asked, appearing behind the counter.

“Yes. I’m planning to…propose to my girlfriend and I’m here to pick an engagement ring.” He answered proudly, scanning the brightly lit displays.

“In that case, would you come with me, sir, I’ll take you to the engagement rings,” her eyes glinted with the newfound interest of a potential sale. “Are you prioritizing stone size, quality, style, or…price?” Her voice cinched. Luhan followed her to a deeper corner of the jewelry store, where a massive arrangement of rings waited, blinking in the dim lights.

“The price won’t be a problem, but my girlfriend is an exceptionally…conservative person, so I think it would be best to prioritize style and quality rather than size.” Luhan answered, slightly dazed by the endless selection of rings. Dinner would have to wait.

⋘⋘❆⋙⋙

Yoona sliced the tomato carefully, making sure that each slice had the same thickness.

“Uh, Yoona, would you mind if I spoke to you in Korean? As you can tell, my English is not very good.” Ms. Won wondered aloud, surprising Yoona. Her knife slipped and the cut was too thick. Yoona bit her tongue to muffle a groan of frustration.

“That’s alright,” Yoona answered in Korean, pushing down her irritation.

“Also, dear, could you turn up the heating? It’s too cold for these old bones,” Ms. Won requested, kneading her elbows methodically. Yoona nodded, adjusting the air conditioning. “Oh dear, could you turn the heating up a little more?” Yoona continued turning the knob, watching the little numbers on the digital thermometer rise.

“Tell me when the temperature is right.”

“Ah yes, that’s perfect. Thank you.” It was a little too hot for Yoona, but she smiled anyways and returned to slicing her vegetables. By the time she was finished cooking, her neck was sweating uncontrollably. She called Ms. Won to the dining room, setting the plates on the center of the table, proud of her work.

“Oh goodness, my throat’s been a little scratchy, would you make some nice soup for me? I’m so sorry for the trouble, but I don’t think I can eat the same things that you young people do.”

“Of course, Ms. Won. I understand,” Yoona said through gritted teeth, forcing a small smile onto and returned to chopping vegetables, thwacking the chopping board with each of the vegetable knife.

“Oh, and by the way, I have a mild reaction to onions which causes diarrhea. And go easy on the salt, yesterday I saw on T.V. that salt is bad on the kidneys. I’m old, you know.” Ms. Won informed her from her seat at the dining table.