Casino Royale (Part 1)

The Target
Please Subscribe to read the full chapter
Seven Luck Casino lived up to its name being the most prestigious and luxurious casino to visit in the country. Many wealthy upper class people were gathered to try their luck on attaining the richest monetary value they could obtain. Numerous slot machines and other games were scattered around the vast area that was decorated with golden embroideries on all their furniture. The carpet was a rich orange golden color that complemented the creamy white walls. It was lit up by modern chandeliers and the light that came from the game machines itself.   Despite the variety of games available, they had intensely studied the art of playing Black Jack over the course of two days. It was the only way for them to trick Sung Gyu based on Ki Bum’s plan. Everyone had studied their parts carefully.   “Ah, I lost again,” Maerin yelled in disappointment and banged her fist on the table. She was sitting at one of the Black Jack table, purposely losing all the games. Her role was to be a low stake player or a counter, meaning she had to keep losing but secretly kept count of the cards being played, calculating the probabilities of winning. She was the best at mathematics and had spend the entire two days memorizing how to read the cards being dealt.   “You wanna play again?” The dealer asked.   “Sure,” she motioned lazily. In fact, she had been hopping tables from time to time, and knew that all the risky cards were used up a lot at this table. Whoever came and played the right bet right now had a higher chance to win a big sum of money.   Her eyes quickly scanned around the room, trying to spot someone she knew. They had all agreed to scatter about, pretending to be total strangers who each had to play their role perfectly. Finally she spotted Ki Bum at the bar, and like rehearsed, motioned him a sign by slightly stretching her body.   “If I don’t win this game, I’m out,” Maerin told the dealer.   “Well, make that the two of us.”   Maerin looked sideways to see a glass with white colored liquid being placed before her. Ki Bum had taken a seat beside her, and she had to sustain herself from smiling. Their big player had arrived, someone who was gonna make all the high bets based on her signals.   “I have been losing so much money, I need a true miracle to win,” Ki Bum spoke a little dramatically. The dealer eyed him suspiciously, but Ki Bum proceeded to take a gulp from his drink.   “Let’s hope miracles do exist,” Maerin said, smiling at the dealer who started distributing the cards. She looked very aloof in her attitude, which was really a cover to how sharply she was watching the number on each card. She quickly motioned a subtle sign by twirling her hair strands outside her hairdo, telling Ki Bum to hit the card.   “Come on, you lil freak. Show me what you got!” Ki Bum was starting to talk more nonsense and impatiently asked for the next card to be dealt.   They all turned their cards around, and surely enough, Ki Bum had a higher total compared to the dealer. Just as she calculated.   “This is a miracle!” Ki Bum got up from his seat and shouted out loud like an insane person when he was handed the chips to be exchanged for money later on. “I need more drink. Waiter!”   He began snapping his fingers demandingly, and soon a female waitress approached, someone who was also part of their team and disguised herself as a staff member simply by obtaining an employee’s uniform.   “What can I get for you, sir?” Hana asked, holding a round tray against her chest. The black and white waitress outfit matched her so well.   “Get me some gin and tonic please. Luck is on my side. I can play all night long!” Ki Bum was growling with excitement.   “Of course, sir,” Hana took the empty glass and soon returned with the gin and tonic he requested. No one had to know it was regular tap water to keep Ki Bum sane as he continued to act like a drunkard. This was a way to keep suspicions away from the big player.   They continued playing, and Maerin sometimes made Ki Bum lose just so things wouldn’t seem too suspicious. But once they won, they won a big amount of money. The dealer was getting suspicious.   “Excuse me as I go to the bathroom. You will be dealt by my colleague,” the dealer said with a straight face and excused himself.   Ki Bum and Maerin exchanged a quick glance with each other, feeling the adrenaline rush at the anticipation whether their cover was blown.   “Relax, don’t worry,” came Dong Woo’s voice through the small beige colored wireless earpiece they were wearing. As part of the plan, the IT genius was in one of the hotel’s suites above the casino, casually settling in as he controlled whatever needed to be taken care of. “I already entered your fake data so you’d have the reputation of a man who is famous for losing at multiple casinos.”   “I don’t understand why that matters,” Maerin quietly spoke, making sure she remained unheard.   “Because this is now a psychological game. If the dealers encounter a person who has dealt with losses his entire life and watch him suddenly win, they’d feel that proud sense of achievement for that loser. So Ki Bum needs to act as pathetic and as drunk as possible to keep it believable.”   “Got it,” Ki Bum uttered lowly and began to take a sip from his glass. He peered around the room, seeing the other member’s current position as they anticipated the next move. They had the more dangerous job of interacting directly with Kim Sung Gyu instead.   “Kim Sung Gyu has just exited the car and is heading to the premise,” Dong Woo narrated for them as he was leisurely watching everything through the casino and hotel’s CCTV cameras he had gained access to.   Right on cue, the front entrance opened and Kim Sung Gyu was walking inside wearing a tacky leopard printed blazer. His outfit was so peculiar it somehow made him appear like a billionaire. He was surrounded by several bodyguards who luckily gave him some space as he went straight to his favorite game, which also happened to be Black Jack. He spotted a table that peaked his interest and casually took a seat next to the girl in red who had her hair up in a high ponytail.   “For whatever reason would a beauty like you be here all alone?” He spoke, proving his pathetic weak point in women. Unfortunately for him, he had fallen right into their trap as it was Hyun Mi who turned to meet his eyes, smiling.   “To be accompanied by someone as charming such as yourself,” she spoke with her pretentious smile. Of course she was inwardly cursing K
Please Subscribe to read the full chapter
Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #1
Chapter 24: I finally finished this today.
I should have seen it coming with Ki Bum since I do watch a couple of spy movies/dramas.
I think my favorite part is seeing Hyun Mi threaten Mr. Lee and then her conflicting view on their mission in the plane.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #2
Chapter 21: I love how there's another reference to HIPS with Hee Jin mentioning she nearly killed someone with a curling iron. It makes me wonder if that's where she got the idea to use it as a weapon.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #3
Chapter 19: I love how Hyun Mi and Woo Hyun are closer which makes it sadder with what happens to him in HIPS.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #4
Chapter 17: I like how this is kind of like a foreshadowing of HIPS and love the cameo of Hee Jin and Min Seok.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #5
Chapter 14: I don't think Woo Hyun is lying to Hyun Mi.
I like how Hyun Mi and those close to her want to change what their company does. I couldn't help but think maybe one of the higher-ups in their company or maybe Ki Bum is using them for their own goals.
rajnbow #6
Chapter 14: Wait whatt that was unexpected... I've been feeling that Ki Bum and Mr. Lee were slightly off though, so I think they're both probably lying. There's no way Woohyun would actually deserve to be killed...

But on a happier note, yay Taemin and Maerin! The hand holding part was really cute XD
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #7
Chapter 12: Love the appearances of the other characters from HIPS, Seollin and Taehyung introducing themselves made me laugh.
I think my favorite part is when Taemin touched the check because one thing I learn from a game called "Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet" is that people tend to press a bit hard when writing. So whatever they wrote might be indented into the next sheet of paper.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #8
Chapter 11: The part where they nearly got caught is so intense. It reminded me of a level I played in "Hitman 2", where Agent 47 has about at least 3 to 5 minutes to kill his target before his identity gets discovered.
Also, the two finally kissed! I laughed at the part where Hyun Mi realized the others might have seen it from the CCTV.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #9
Chapter 10: Woo Hyun to the rescue! I find it sweet he's there to save Hyun Mi from Sang Gyu since she and the others were stuck on what to do.