warnings: some violence. suggestive implications. 

"act like friends"

❀

Kai blames Chanyeol for putting ideas in his head. The guy is a chatterbox, says a lot of things that sometimes don’t make sense, and to many, it could be a little off-putting (Kai seriously wonders how someone like him landed in this kind of profession), but he surprisingly doesn’t mind it.

Chanyeol fills the silence with his nonsensical rambling and Kai prefers it over the ugly topics his other comrades normally talk about.

So yeah, Kai blames him but at the same time, he wouldn’t have gotten Minzy a birthday present if it weren’t for him.

Before Minzy changed the venue of their meet-up, he mulled over at how to see her again because when he told her his first visit to the club was a one-time thing—it was. To be a customer meant money and it was a sum he didn’t have.

So what had been his options? Chanyeol suggested he take on little jobs outside of Suho’s ring for extra cash and he did just that. That was how the days before Minzy’s change of plan, he had been slaving away in the arms trades with Lu Han so he could buy a moment of her time.

But everything seemed to be all for nothing because he’s here in Beijing anyway and her birthday has already passed. Since then, only one thing haunts his mind.

“…As my client, you pay for my time, but here I am, giving it to you for free. Isn’t it better like this?”

Once more that dreaded sentence is floating around in his head again; even now while his back is pressed up against the wall of the warehouse he arrived in an hour ago. On his right hand, the gash he received from the episode with Suho is bleeding again through the bandage.

He grits his teeth until his ears pick up a sound. Footsteps. Coming from his left. Closer and closer it prowls and tighter and tighter he grips the gun in his left hand. It’s not his dominant hand but it’ll have to do. In the darkness he’s hiding in, he begins the countdown in his head.

One…

Two…

Three.

He swings an arm out and the of his weapon lands smack in the middle of his victim’s forehead. Before he can yelp, Kai’s bleeding hand has already reached for his dagger. He plunges the blade into the man's throat.

A jet of crimson splatters across his face, and the lifeless body drops to the ground.

Why? He finds himself thinking amidst it all, why did Minzy say that? Was that a way to reject the idea of him ever becoming a client of hers?

The earpiece in his ear crackles to life.

“Where are you?”

It’s Lu Han. He’s asking where he is. Kai gives him a vague description of the east-side corridors. His senior’s about to reply when a series of footsteps begin to thunder down the corridor his previous victim just came from. He readies himself again.

As soon as the first person he sees steps into his view, Kai drives his knife back out—only to be thwarted by a block of an arm. . Kai doesn’t even blink when his other hand whips out his gun as a counter.

Click.

Someone cocked their gun.

It’s not him.

“It’s fine.” It isn’t directed at him but at the other person who also aimed a gun at Kai’s temple. He recognises the underling that pulls back. Lu Han finally turns to him with an amused smile. “It’s just Kai.”

Calming the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he lowers his gun. Also the knife Lu Han managed to block with ease.

“So much for worrying when you’ve made quite a mess.” The older male nods towards the hall he just came from. It’s a bloodbath, littered with bodies. It’s the violent path he had to make for himself earlier. “You held out quite well.”

They became separated after the meeting that went wrong with their former ally—former because it was that heated squabble that caused this mess. Guns were fired, people scattered and that’s how Kai found himself hiding out here.

“But where did he go?” Kai is referring to the man they met for the meeting. There’s a flicker of annoyance in Lu Han’s face.

“Got away. ing Zitao got him out before we could do anything about it.” Lu Han then grimaces. “GD’s not going to be happy but at least we’ve driven a mole out.”

Lu Han then tells him of the suspicions they’ve had and Kai finally understands why Lu Han warned him to be on his toes the whole time. Their ties to this gang have apparently already been dwindling.

It’s just too bad Kai doesn’t particularly care.

He’s back to thinking about Minzy again and how he itched to be back home already. Beijing is nice and all, but when you’re too busy agonising about a certain girl, it’s hard to appreciate anything.

Especially when she’s the reason he’s here in the first place.

“Homesick?” It’s as if Lu Han read his mind. Well, a part of it. He smirks at him. “Don’t worry, Kai. We’re going home soon. And you’ll get your money.”

Kai doesn’t reply but this pleases him.

❀❀❀

"I heard it had been a magnificent affair.” Fingers trace across her jaw delicately. “Champagne, cake…” He reaches her bottom lip and traces the bump. “It almost upsets me to know I missed such a grand occasion.”

Minzy swipes a tongue over her bottom lip, tasting lipstick and the Sprite she’s been drinking. It catches his eyes, his gaze burning.

“I’m sorry, Jongdae,” she apologises sorrowfully. “If I could’ve moved the date, you know I would have.”

“Of course,” he murmurs.

It’s not really a lie and she even told Yifan the same thing. But considering how much she’s missed Yifan since his absence the past week, she’s glad to have been able to spend time with him before he left.

She refills the half-empty glass. Offering it to her client, his gaze remains on her even as he swigs it down. So possessive, Jongdae could be. It’s kind of flattering.

“So, did you get me a present by chance?” She leans in teasingly. “Just because you couldn’t attend, doesn’t mean I don’t expect one from you.”

“How vain of you.” Jongdae tsks playfully. “But I have nothing to give you. Not that you would need it. I see you’ve received plenty of gifts from last week…like this, interesting clip for example.”

Her hand flies to the clip Kai gave her in her hair. It’s quite gaudy to what she normally wears, heavily crusted with counterfeit jewels but its weight happily reminds her of him. She gives Jongdae a mild glare.

“Is there a problem with my clip?”

Jongdae looks amused. He won’t take it seriously, of course, even if Minzy meant it.

“Nothing,” he says. “In fact, I’m quite relieved—” he lowers his mouth to her ear. “I see my competition is rather weak.”

A scoff leaves and the quirk in his mouth deepens.

“You’re right,” Jongdae discloses. “I don’t have anything to give you at the moment, but there is something.” This piques her interest. “It’s the offer I made last time. Do you remember it, by chance?”

Minzy feels her heart flip at the memory and Jongdae waits patiently for her reply. She bites her lip, lowering her eyes to her lap. She spies her fingers twisting the satin skirts of her dress.

It’s been weeks since he first brought it up and Minzy is still uncertain of her answer. She opens timidly.

“I don’t know, Jongdae.”

There’s a gentleness in his touch when he pulls her closer. He caresses his lips against her ear.

“When you’re ready. I’ll be waiting.”

❀❀❀

“He asked me again,” Minzy blurts out of the blue.

It catches the attention of both of her friends who were lounging on the sofa, watching re-runs on the TV. She, herself, is sitting on the dining table with a cup of tea in front of her. Luna speaks first.

“Who? Jongdae?”

“Yeah.”

Krystal raises a brow. “The same thing he asked last time?”

“Mhm.”

Both girls on the sofa share a look before Luna speaks again.

“I think the answer is quite obvious. It’s no.”

Krystal gawks. “What do you mean no? She can say yes!”

“Krys,” Luna groans. “Why would she say yes, huh? Do you understand what will happen if she does?”

“Oh c’mon, Luna. It’s not against the club rules and Jongdae has the money. And we all know if we were given the chance, we’d take it in a heartbeat.”

Luna scoffs. “Would we really? That means one of us will leave and we’d be separated.”

Krystal is adamant. “C’mon, unni. You know we don’t need the club to be together. And isn’t it better that one of us can get out of this hole?”

The other girl is silenced as if contemplating Krystal’s words. Minzy does the same from where she sits. Luna finally looks up again and Minzy meets her gaze.

“Would you like that, Minz?” Luna says softly. “To leave the club and your life as a hostess to live with Jongdae?”

She won’t be really living with Jongdae. He just wants to give her a condominium located in the heart of the city as a gift. He doesn’t mind paying for all the expenses, he just wants her all for himself. His and his alone. No other clients but him. Forever.

“How about Yifan?” Minzy finds herself asking. “Even Jiyong…”

The other two tenses at the last name.

“I don’t see Yifan do