April 11th 2019, 5:42 AM

", , !"

Minho looked up from his watch. He had thirteen minutes to get to his deal spot. He hadn't meant to wander this far outside of his usual selling grounds, and now if he missed this morning's deal Suho would give him hell. To be fair, he hadn't expected the cops to be in the area when he went out, since usually they were in other parts of the city at this time. While he might've been fine even if they'd noticed him, he didn't want to risk it. It was better this way, even if he missed the deal and angered his supervisor. 

He quickened his pace. He could make it, as long as he was careful. After glancing behind himself, he ducked into an alleyway. He was on 17th, so this should take him straight out to 15th, and he wouldn't have to walk all the way around down and around through 16th. He took another quick look over his shoulder. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being followed, but there was nobody behind him. 

Briefly, Minho considered running, but he immediately dismissed the thought. Running would only draw attention to himself, which was the last thing he wanted. He took a deep breath. Everything was fine. He wasn't being followed or watched, and he'd make it on time. All he had to do was make it to the alley intersecting 6th and 8th before 5:55. 

Minho moved as fast as he could without appearing out-of-place, which wasn't very fast considering how few people were on the streets at this time of morning. He checked his watch again. 5:48. 

"." Minho whispered to himself.

He was on 13th, and there weren't any alleys to cross through until 11th. Hopefully this buyer wasn't jumpy, which was unfortunately unlikely considering that they were a first-time customer. The chances that they would flake out if Minho didn't show up by even a minute after 5:55 were high. He just had to hope that he could make it on time. 

Still feeling as if he weren't alone, Minho listened carefully for footsteps behind him. There was nothing, just as he'd hoped. Maybe the feeling was just because he'd been unnerved by seeing cops in his area earlier. He tried to stay as aware of his surroundings as possible, scanning the quiet city for anything unsual or telling of a threat as he moved. Turning a corner, he headed up 11th. He was almost there. From here he'd end up on 9th, and then he'd just have to make it to the alley on 8th. He could make it. 

His watch read 5:51. 

Should he run? It really wasn't a good idea, but he was so close, and so worried about making it to this deal on time--no, he wouldn't run. It wasn't worth the dangers that came with the potential attention running could attract. 

5:53. He was on 9th, walking to 8th. So close. 

5:54, on 8th. Walking up to the alley.

Minho spared one last glance behind him. Spotting no one, he headed down the alleyway. 

It was 5:55. He'd made it. But where was his buyer? He walked further down the alley. Squinting through the darkness, he could make out a slight figure a little ways away from him. 

"H-hello?" The voice sounded young, female. 

"Shh!" Minho hurried closer to the figure. "Are you Ahra?" 

"Yes," Now the figure was moving towards him too, closing the distance between them. "Y-you're Choi, right?"

It took Minho a minute to answer. He still wasn't used to hearing that name, but it was much better than being called his old one. 

"Yes. I have your item. Do you have the money?"

Ahra was close enough to him now that he could hear the sound of her nervous breathing. He couldn't see her face well through the darkness, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the exchange taking place. She held out her hand, showing Minho a roll of money. 

"Good. I'll take that, and then I'll give you what you want, ok?"

Ahra nodded. Minho took the money from her, bringing it close to his face. He unrolled it and counted the bills, making note of their value. It was all there--the exact amount he'd asked for when Ahra had contacted him. Perfect. He reached into his inner jacket pocket, pulling out a baggie. He handed it to her.

"Thank you for doing business with us." He smiled as he said it, although he doubted she could see. 

"Thank you. I-um, I'll be in touch." Her voice shook as she said it.

Minho watched her walk away until he could no longer see her. Satisfied, he turned around, heading back towards 8th street. Now he had to meet up with Suho at Head Office and deliver the money. This morning he'd been told not to call Suho like he usually did, because it could draw attention to himself. Everyone was on edge today, and understandably so. After all, it wasn't every day that a perfectly healthy and relatively young crime boss dropped dead from unknown causes. Honestly, Minho was so low down in the organization's hierarchy that it didn't really affect him--he was more worried about being caught by the cops than being assassinated--but he could understand how it would make anyone with even minor relevance nervous. So he walked carefully and quietly to Head Office, making sure to look behind him every once and a while the whole way there.

***

Head Office was eerily empty when Minho arrived. He'd thought that it would be busier than ever now, but instead, only a few cars sat outside it, and there was almost no one in the halls. Suho didn't have an office, so Minho was meeting him in one of the common areas. As he made his way to the specific place Suho had told him, Minho's attention was snagged by a quiet noise in one of the empty offices to his right. He stopped walking, peering closer at the doorway of the dark office. Gingerly, he took a step towards it, then another, until he was just inside. He switched on the lights. 

A young man was sat on the floor of the office, looking up at him with startled eyes. 

"Who are you?" Minho asked, voice hard. 

He took a closer look at the man. He had soft features--big, pretty eyes and full lips--framed by shaggy black hair. He looked young, at least a good few years younger than Minho. This wasn't a man, Minho realized, this was a kid. Maybe one of the older organization members' son or something, perhaps he should have spoken to him more respectfully. Although he had to wonder why someone's son would be in an empty office with the lights off, as if they were hiding. 

The kid's startled expression turned to one of irritation.

"I should ask you the same question. And what do you think you're doing, barging in here like that?"

Minho swallowed. This was definitely the son of someone with status. He should be careful. 

"I'm Choi Minho. And with all due respect, I didn't 'barge in here,' this is an empty office, and the door was open. I heard a noise and I decided to investigate, since we need to be on high alert right now."

The kid stood up, appearing to consider what Minho had just told him.

"And... you don't know who I am?" The kid asked.

"I have no idea who you are, but I apologize for disturbing you. Clearly you were doing nothing wrong by being here. I'd appreciate it if no one were informed of my actions, if you know what I mean." Minho hated that he was speaking like this to some kid, but he'd rather do this than potentially lose his job with the organization. 

The kid cracked a sly smile. 

"Don't worry about it. Go back to whatever you were doing before." 

Minho didn't hesitate to leave, immediately turning around and walking back down the hallway. Why did that kid smile like that? Cocky bastard. He was definitely the spoiled son of someone close to the boss. Kid probably got a kick out of being spoken to so respectfully by someone older than him. Minho shook his head, sighing. Well, hopefully that kid wouldn't tell anyone about their encounter, and Minho could keep his job. He arrived at the common area where he was supposed to meet Suho. Pushing all irritation and thoughts of the kid aside, he headed to where Suho sat, preparing to give him the money and details of the sale.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N

Hello! It's been a couple months since the last chapter, oops. But I finally have some time to write now, so hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long to come out! Also, I would just like to say that this chapter was written entirely in one sitting, with minimal editing, so I'm sorry for any errors. I will be going back and editing it eventually. 

I hope everyone is safe and healthy! 

Thank you for reading!! <3

-H