Chapter 2
Assassins"Yes, we kill people. Keep your mouth shut, we're in a motel - you never know who is listening" I pushed his hand away, I didn't want any of them touching me. I thought that I'd just stay here for a while, play along with their stupid games and then get back to my reality. I didn't think any of this was serious. What had I gotten myself into?
"Fine.. Whatever.. What mission is for today?" I tried to keep myself as calm and suited to the situation as possible, walking over to the dressing table and tying my hair up in a high messy bun.
"Getting equipment. We're running low on lots of stuff, so we need to get it all back to base quickly and quietly. We'll need guns, bullets, smoke grenades, etc. I'll be using you as bait so make sure you do whatever you need to do to calm yourself down. Here's the portfolio, read it thoroughly while I shower and then we'll hit the road, okay?" He slapped a small booklet onto the dresser in front of me and walked into the bathroom. As soon as I heard running water I picked up the booklet, sat down on the bed, leaned back and sighed deeply.
Just what the hell was going on here? What was this madness? Portfolio? I'm assuming this was going to be about whatever arms dealer these freaks were connected with. Why did I even need to read up on them?
"Wait.. Bait?" I whispered to myself as I flicked open the booklet to the first page.
Kang Lee Jung, aged 23.
I knew that name. I knew it.. I knew it. I recognised it instantly. I flicked further through the book, hoping for a picture to confirm my thoughts. My mouth went completely dry as a photo filled one of the pages. I let out a gasp. I knew this man. I knew him. He had offered me a job a while back - he'd been so nice about it too, although he didn't actually give me a job description so I declined. He was so nice! Well, all we had to do was meet him and pick some equipment up, so I guess I should keep quiet about knowing him. They're obviously aquaintences and I didn't want to cause a fuss for him about offering me a job before.
"We have to meet this guy today?" I called out, standing up and pulling some clothes out of a black drawstring bag that had 'S' written on the front in white lettering.
"Yeah. I'll be out in a sec. Get dressed."
I closed the booklet and placed it neatly back on the dresser. I didn't need to read anymore. I stood in front of the mirror after I had gotten changed into some black jeans and a black vest before sighing once more. I wasn't going to bother doing much with how I looked today, I wanted to remain as discreet as possible - if there is such a thing as being discreet as a western woman in Korea with bright pink hair. That's probably the only thing I hate about Korea - you get attention drawn to you so easily by being even slightly different to the 'norm'. I stood out a lot more than most though, mainly due to my body shape, as well as not being Korean. I'd lived in England until I was 21, when I'd finished my military service. I've lived in Korea for about 3 years now. I initially came here to study as my mother got a new job here, but she ran off with my father and left me with no money and no means to live. I was forced to get a job and remain in Korea, scrounging around for cash and living off of instant packet noodles in a run down studio apartment. I never really had a chance to make friends either. I just isolated myself, learnt the language as best as I could and hoped I could get by until my next paycheck.
"What are you daydreaming for? Come on, we have work to do." I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at the man - I still didn't know his name.
"Ah, sorry.. I- I don't think I caught your name before either..." I stuttered, standing up and scurrying after him, out of the door and towards a out mercedes. Way to be inconspicuous...
"Jimin. Sorry for being snappy earlier too, it's just that this job can get stressful for me sometimes. I know the guy we're about to meet. We were friends a while back - we went to school together." He smiled slightly as he started the car up and pulled away smoothly. He had pearly white teeth, almost white enough to make me question how real they were.
"It's okay... So, uh, what do we have to do? Why will I be used as bait?"
"Well, you'll go and meet the guy, I'll be up on the roof on the building opposite and you just have to talk to him. Just be sure not to move much - I don't want to shoot you by accident. RM would kill me.." He sounded so calm, his voice soft and soothing. So much so that I didn't quite take in what he was saying.
"W-Wait.. What!? You're going to kill him!? N-No. We can't. I know him. He was a friend! STOP THE CAR RIGHT NOW!!" I screeched at Jimin at the top of my lungs, lunging towards him to try and grab the handbrake. Tears begun to stream down my cheeks - I couldn't kill someone. I couldn't even kill a spider, let alone a human being, and one I know at that. I knew that I was wailing like a baby but couldn't help it. We were talking about a man who had tried to help me when I was at my lowest, he gave me money when I had none and offered me a job. And now.. Now they wanted me to assist in his murder? I couldn't do it. I refused. I couldn't... Jimin pulled the car over and grabbed me by the straps of my vest.
"Listen to me. We have to do this. You know what happens when we fail to complete a mission, right? We die. Either that, or we're tortured and left half dead in a ditch somewhere. I'm not risking my life for you. If you don't want to join in, that's fine, you can die alone - but I'm not risking my life for you. I'm doing this. It's how we stay alive. We were once hoodrats, on the streets alone with nowhere to go and nobody to help us. We had no other choice but to do this. Stop being so ing selfish and thinking about only what you want. You're risking my life too! I've grown up around blood, tears and death for the last 25 years. I'm not having that put to waste because of some cheap foreigner who just so happens to have a pretty face and decent training. You know, I wanted so much to be a part of BTS. I never had family, I never had friends, I had nothing, no one. These guys rescued me. They saved me. They took me in as one of their own. Fair enough, we have to take peoples lives in order to save our own, but isn't it worth it? Not dying, that is. We have a chance here. A chance to be rich. A chance to have everything we've ever wanted. A chance to overpower everyone who has wronged us. You can choose not to join in with this, but that just means that you'll die alone. Get out now if you're not going to do this. If you're going to do it, then I suggest you just shut up, sit down and do as you're told." He was practically yelling by the time he had finished, tears welling up in his eyes, his grip tightening on my vest. I was in shock. I didn't realise we would both actually die if we didn't do as we were told. I couldn't die. Not yet. I had to fix so much first.. I couldn't die.. I had to go along with this and become one of them to save my own life. I guess this was the first step to living. I rebuckled my seatbelt, sat back in my seat and stared straight ahead of me, willing to do anything to survive. I wasn't ready to die and this ridiculous death game wouldn't be what took me.
"Let's hurry up and get this over with then."
"Good girl. Wise decision." Jimin paused to wipe his eyes furiously with his sleeve before returning to the conversation. "Once he's down, run into the apartment, get as much stuff as you can and load it all into these two bags. I'll be outside by the time you're done. You've only got about a minute to get in, grab the stuff and get back out. Good luck." He stopped the car inside a small secluded multi-storey car park and stepped out.
"You too" I responded in a whisper. I watched as he pulled a large green sniper from the boot of the car. My legs turned to jelly. This was it. This was the first time I'd watch someone that I cared for die. I knew it wouldn't be the last time, but it was scary nonetheless.
I made my way down the stairs, the way Jimin had instructed me to go, across the road and into a small apartment block opposite. I noticed a tall, slender man ahead of me - it was him. I knew it was. Instinct kicked in and I waltzed up to him, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Hey, you! Long time no speak! What are you doing around here? I thought you lived in Gangnam?" I pulled him into a hug, then stood a few steps away from him, ensuring there was a reasonable amount of distance between us.
"Oh , it's Sharlotte! Hey! It's been a while. What's up? Yeah, I moved here a few months ago. Gangnam got a bit too rough and you know me, I like to stay out of trouble. How's work?"
"Work is the same really, busy busy, y'know?" I begun to feel nauseous. I didn't want him to die, but I wasn't going to give my life up for him.
"I see you've still got the pink hair. Some things never change!" He chuckled
"Yep, gotta love the attention it brings" I giggled and stuck my tongue out at him playfully.
"Ah, you're still as beautiful as ever. I mi-" He was cut off as I heard a zipping sound. A bullet shot into the side of his skull, throwing him to the ground, blood splattered around him. I screeched, not quite as prepared as I thought I was.
I begun to panic but realised I had a mission to do. Adrenaline kicked in and I began to run up the stairs and pushed open the door to the apartment. I only had around a minute to get inside, get the gear and get out. I grabbed everything I could and jammed it into the duffle bags Jimin had given me before running back down the stairs and outside the apartment block. As I reached the entrance, Jimin pulled up and opened the passenger door for me. I threw myself into the car and dumped the bags in the back seat before slamming the car door and buckling my seatbelt.
"Good job. You're fast, nice timing skills too. I can tell you were trained well." He said, looking over at me. "How much did you get?"
"I honestly don't know. It's a blur. I just.. I can't believe that he's dead. We killed him. We killed someone that helped me.." The reality slowly began to set in. By the time we had reached the warehouse I was crying and shaking, completely in shock. That's when Jimin hugged me.
"Don't cry. I know it's hard, believe me I do. But do you know what? You'll get used to it. I was probably the most emotionally unstable one here, but after a while I just begun to get used to it. It always seems worse in the beginning. You'll be fine, I promise. Now c'mon, cheer up, the boys will take the piss if they see you whining like a little ." He chuckled as he pulled away from me and smiled sincerely. I was surprised that I let him hug me though - it was the first time in nearly 10 years that a man had even looked at me without me feeling complete fear and terror. There was something about Jimin that I couldn't quite work out...
We got out of the car and pretended as though the small encounter and conversation we'd just had hadn't happened. Jimin grabbed the bags out of the back seat and we headed inside. The boys were sitting in a circle and as we entered, they all stopped their conversation and turned to look at us.
"That was quick. Did everything go smoothly?" RM asked as he stood up and made his way over to us.
"I think so. I have no idea what she collected though. She used herself as bait and I sniped him. She ran into the apartment and by the time I was outside she was waiting for me, both bags full. She's not bad you know, RM." Jimin flung himself onto the sofa as RM tipped the contents of the first bag onto the floor. His eyes widened as he saw what was inside.
"You.. You do know what these are, right?" I shook my head at RM's question. I begun to tremble with the fear that I'd done something wrong, despite Jimin's earlier approval. RM burst out laughing and grinned brightly. He leapt up and hugged me tightly. I immediately pushed him away and staggered backwards. Why was it so hard to understand that I didn't want to be touched? By the time I'd gotten myself back to my feet properly, everyone was crowded around the bag and was grinning.
"What did I do that was so amazing?" I tilted my head and stepped towards the guys.
"These guns.. These are the only ones of this type left.. They're so powerful. Oh my God!" There was another man talking to me, whose name I didn't know. He had red hair that swept across his forehead perfectly. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was excited about what I had brought back from the apartment. "How did you get these?"
"They were just on the table. I grabbed as much as I could and they were the first things I saw.."
"I've always dreamed of owning these. Good work, kid." Suga said, smiling at me. I suddenly felt a sense of achievement. Why was I so happy that they were praising me? They were scum, murderers, delinquents...
"You're gonna need one of these for tomorrow" The red haired man shouted at me, throwing me a gun. He was softer and more gentle in his approach to me than the other guys, I wondered why, immediately assuming he was being a creep.
"Why? I'm just bait, not a murderer." I caught the gun and held it at arms length, not wanting to get too involved in this side of things.
"We have a little gun training session tomorrow, you'll need a gun to be able to do that" He began walking towards me, and I instinctively stepped back, but he stopped as I did so, a thoughtful look clouding his face. "Anyway, I'm J-Hope and I'll be working with you tomorrow. Meet me outside at 11pm so that we can head to the motel close to where we need to be in the morning." I nodded and sat down in the corner of the room, my eyes scouring them all. I felt so out of place. Why were they all so fascinated by these guns? It's not normal, that's for sure, and I've allowed myself to be dragged in to this insanity.
I started to think back to Jimin. Why wasn't I fussed when he hugged me? Why did it make me feel so comforted and warm? More importantly, why was I drawn to him more than the others?
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