Casino Royale (Part 2)

The Target
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The guy sat down at the empty chair next to Tae Min, a smile glued to his face. He acted like a complete stranger, not even sparing the others a look. His eyes were completely fixated on the cards being dealt by the dealer, and his fingers tapped the tall glass of his sweet fragranced Moscato white wine.   Hyun Mi found herself staring at him longer than intended. First, she couldn’t comprehend why or how he appeared at the casino. Secondly, he looked undeniably attractive in the linen black suit he wore with his hair combed backwards. It made it nearly impossible for her to look away from him. She gave up on trying to calm her heart down at his sight.   Sung Gyu’s casino was big, so he was used to seeing public figures roam around. Nam Woo Hyun was no exception. But his interest was never on the public figure in the first place.   “Deal?” Sung Gyu asked, grabbing Hyun Mi’s hand for a handshake before she had a chance to reply. What other choice did she have? She’d have to depend on her incredible bad luck to miraculously win the game. She complied for now.   “Hit or stand?” The dealer asked the first player, which was Hyun Mi.   She hesitated, scanning the others for a slight bit of help. And suddenly, she noticed Woo Hyun’s fingers brushing through his already perfect hairdo. Was he perhaps giving her a code?   “Hit,” she answered, following along blindly. At this point, she would willingly follow whatever form of assistance was available.   “Hit,” Sung Gyu followed her.   Tae Min and Woo Hyun chose to stand, only because Hyun Mi had to win against them all to win the bet.   The dealer flipped the cards over as did the players. Hyun Mi’s cards were surprisingly the closest to 21, so she won.   “Yes!” Hyun Mi yelled in pure joy as she got up with her hands in the air. She never won at such games. But upon realizing she still had to act like the cool, elegant, and seductive Oh Nari, she quickly sat down on her chair and cleared .   Woo Hyun watched her openly, smiling in amusement. When she tilted her head down in embarrassment, he continued staring while sipping his fancy wine.   “Seems luck is on your side,” Sung Gyu remarked, slightly impressed.   “Seems it is,” she spoke. Her luck being named Nam Woo Hyun. She softly brushed her fingers on Sung Gyu’s arms and paired it with her best attempt at sounding sultry. “Do I get the list of the company’s names now?”   “You only won once,” Sung Gyu replied, her cheek with his other hand. “You gotta win two more to seal the deal.”   A loud cough came from Woo Hyun’s side now. “I could very easily report you for behavioral misconduct. And in public? Do you have no shame as the casino’s owner?” He openly challenged Kim Sung Gyu by directing the question to him.   Hyun Mi was surprised at his sudden interruption, begging him to just stay low through her eye contact. She let out a convincing chuckle and quickly held Sung Gyu’s hand in hers, looking as interested in him as possible. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying. Let’s continue the game,” she convinced him to stay out of a fight.   Her eyes met Woo Hyun’s once more, and this time he looked pissed. He probably didn’t realize his lips were protruding into a childlike pout. The worries suddenly disappeared and she chuckled at how adorable he looked. He now frowned at her.   The dealer dealt the next batch of cards, and Woo Hyun was closely watching it, finding the true count in his head.   Hyun Mi was beyond impressed, once again. Woo Hyun had been playing a virtual soccer game on the Playstation with her brother when they were going through the secret codes. But somewhere between the gameplay, he must’ve eavesdropped on their plan and learned all the codes as well.   “Miss?” The dealer questioned the only female player at the table.   Hyun Mi subtly gazed at Woo Hyun whose fingers were now tapping against the table surface like he was deep in thoughts. “Hit,” she said with confidence this time.   The two guys chose to stand as Woo Hyun folded his cards. The dealer once again turned everyone’s card over and found Hyun Mi’s card being the closest to 21.   “You won again. Remarkable,” Sung Gyu told her with a crooked smile.   “I am a very lucky person,” she bluffed, smiling with genuine happiness. She made a mental note to thank Woo Hyun later.   “Can’t you lose for me on purpose? I know you want to be in my room as much as I do,” Sung Gyu told her with a low purring sound.   “Disgusting,” Woo Hyun muttered under his breath. His fingers clenched so tightly against the glass of white wine he would’ve smacked it against the casino owner’s face if Tae Min didn’t tap him to calm down.   “What?” Sung Gyu harshly turned to the guy.   “The fact I keep losing,” Woo Hyun quickly thought of a camouflage and grinned. “I find it utterly disgusting.”   Hyun Mi let out a long sigh, realizing she couldn’t possibly be mad at the guy. Instead, she flashed him a weak smile of defeat. He had somewhat become her weakness.   “One more to go,” Sung Gyu focused back on the game. He flashed the dealer a harsh glare. The cards were being dealt again and he carefully watched Hyun Mi’s movement this time. A two time winning streak was suspicious, so he wondered whether she cheated.   This time, Hyun Mi kept her eyes on the card. She didn’t need anyone’s help for this one. “Stand,” she told the dealer. And seeing her confidence the other two guys chose to fold and surrender. Sung Gyu played and mimicked her action.   The dealer turned the cards around, and as it turns out, Hyun Mi had the perfect Ace paired with the King of spades.   “Three wins,” Hyun Mi said and proudly turned to Sung Gyu with her hands open. “May I have the list please?”   “As promised.” Sung Gyu nodded and took out a paper from his deepest pocket inside the blazer he was wearing. The list was incomplete and contained several companies that didn’t get invested in by Choi Min Ho, but she didn’t need to know that. He handed it over between his finger.   “Thank you,” Hyun Mi spoke, accepting the list and putting it in her clutch. She then excused herself from the game, not wanting to be in Sung Gyu’s presence any longer. Woo Hyun’s spot was empty now and she wondered where he had gone off to.   Tae Min continued staying at the table, watching Sung Gyu silently discuss something with the dealer. He tried to read their lips and figured out he found the winning streak too suspicious.   “He’s onto us,” Tae Min whispered to the earpiece for everyone to hear.   “We need to escape,” Maerin told Ki Bum and was the first one to leave their table. They had to leave at different times to make things less suspicious. Hyun Mi was at the slot machines, so she and Tae Min decided to go exchange the chips obtained for cash.   Hyun Mi clenched the clutch tightly to herself and strolled towards the elevator as instructed by Dong Woo. A sudden presence appeared from the side, placing his hand against her lower back as he joined her walk. The touch was too familiar.   “Well played,” Woo Hyun told her, keeping his sight to the front. He didn’t refer to her real name in case it would blow her cover.   “What are you doing here?” She hissed at him in response. Yet, she was unable to wipe that grin off her face. She was more than delighted to see him actually.   “You don’t really seem to mind,” he noted her expression.   “I don’t- I mean I do…” She trailed off, wondering how he always made her lose her focus like that. He was dangerous in that sense alone. And when he watched her with such interest, she couldn’t help but look away from his alluring gaze.   But a new problem hindered their way in the most unexpected way possible. Because soon, a distinctive familiar voice called out.   “Oh! It’s Nam Woo Hyun and Jang Hyun Mi.”   The two halted, wondering who recognized her through her disguise. They turned to see an unexpected figure dressed in soft pink sitting in front of the slot machines, waving them an overly friendly hello.   “Lee Bi Ah?” Hyun Mi recognized the woman as the nurse who treated her wounds at the hospital. Also known as the girlfriend of the dangerous police man Lee Hoya.   “Nurses play at the casino?” Woo Hyun silently asked with genuine confusion, and Hyun Mi had the hardest time holding her laugh at his stupid comment. She had to focus.   “Yes. I’m here on a date with Hoya oppa,” Bi Ah said proudly.   Hyun Mi gulped and quickly scanned the surrounding for any signs of him. “Ah, so your boyfriend Lee Hoya is in the casino right here with us?” She repeated, this time for the built in microphone in the earpiece to catch. Everyone had to know the message and plan their escape as soon as possible. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Ki Bum and Hana also leaving their post after Maerin and Tae Min had escaped together earlier.   “Are you two here on a date as well?” Bi Ah asked them with a cheerful smile, not knowing she was obstructing their plans.   “Uuhh… Yes!” Hyun Mi spoke with barely any conviction. As she remembered, in Bi Ah’s eyes, they were a couple. So she laced her fingers with Woo Hyun’s and leaned closely against him, being the one who became flustered at their skinship instead.   “Now if you excuse us, my sweetheart can’t wait to spend the rest of her night with me,” Woo Hyun played along perfectly. He planted a small peck against the side of her head, not knowing how immensely flustered it left her. Her cheeks were red.   “Aw, I wanted to introduce my boyfriend to you,” Bi Ah pouted.   “Maybe some other time,” Hyun Mi said in a rush, tugging on Woo Hyun’s shirt to
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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.