The next morning, I found myself running towards the Tech Department to go get my chain. I stopped in front of the room to catch my breath before peeking in. I saw Winwin, Mark Tuan and Jimin deep in conversation. Winwin must have sensed my presence, the male looking up to see me. I slipped into the room and he waved the other two away before taking out a box.

“You’re here for your chains?” Winwin asked and I nodded, my eyes sparkling. The head of the Tech Department opened up the box and inside was a necklace. It looked like a luxurious high-class necklace and Winwin began to explain to me how to use it. “You press this and pull it out. If you’re able to do that, it whips forward. You aim and it cuts.”

He showed it to me and the necklace turned into chains with sharp edges. I beamed, Winwin turning it in back into a necklace.

“You can come and change the colors if you want but I heard from the costume people your dress will be red.” He pushed the box towards me and proceeded focus on something else. I knew Winwin didn’t like me as much due to the simulation where I butchered his robots. I thanked him, walking out the door with the box in my hand.

Once I went out, I took the necklace out and inspected it carefully. It looked so beautiful and I was feeling the same way as to when I would buy something from a luxury shop. They had placed jewels on it, fake or not—It didn’t matter. What mattered was that it would look good on me.

When I walked down the hall, I heard sobbing and I stopped.

“It’s just so confusing..” Jennie’s voice floated by and I heard Lisa say something before Jennie lashed out. “No! I don’t know! He doesn’t even bother to look at me—”

“At least he doesn’t hate you,” Lisa said softly. “He’s your friend.”

“Lalisa, I don’t want to be friends with him,” Jennie emphasized, hiccupping. I raised my eyebrow at what I heard. Seemed like SM’s love birds were fighting. “I’m so tired—”

Okay. I backtracked and decided to take another way. How awkward would it be if she saw me. I held the necklace in my hand and the box in another and walked to the dorm rooms, taking a U-turn. The path made me pass through my old room, Chenle yelling out to someone in a game. I saw Jeno’s room after mine and the door was wide open so I peeked into the room to see Jaemin fluffing up the pillow.

Jeno and Jaemin’s room looked exactly like mine and Chenle’s, except that Jeno’s side looked like a typical guy room. His things were everywhere and his bed unmade while his sheets were a dark grey. Jaemin’s side was filled with pink and red and colors of the rainbow. In the middle of the room, I saw that someone had taped a line.

“Did Jeno do that?” I asked Jaemin who looked up at me and broke into a smile before nodding. I stepped into his room. “To keep you away from him?”

“Only on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.” Jaemin winked. “Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays; he’s all mine.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, Jaemin cackling crazily.

“He sleeps with me on the same bed on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays and in turn, I don’t pester him if he has missions to go to. His job is important to him. It’s so attractive!” Jaemin gushed and I rolled my eyes. “Don’t roll your eyes at me, pretty girl! You know nothing about infatuation!”

“More like obsession,” I muttered, moving to the wall. I saw that Jaemin had cards stuck to the wall and when I squinted, I saw that it was all our student ID cards. We all needed student ID’s to get into class. I saw Jeno’s ID card with a heart drawn around his face. “Why do you have a copy of our student IDs?”

“So, I can go into other classes,” Jaemin answered. “I asked them from the Tech department. Look at yours, it’s at the bottom because you’re boring. Today, I’m going to go to learn about shooting so I’ll use Jisung’s fake card.”

He flashed me a bright smile and I chuckled. Jaemin, as crazy as he was, liked to learn. He was always running around trying to learn new things and because of that, he was an all-rounder. I heard he had learned how to throw a dagger from Yangyang and he went around throwing daggers for a few hours. He was beginning to get scarily accurate.

“Yeah, well. Good luck with that,” I said to him but he ignored me and I saw him rub Jeno’s fake ID card lovingly while whispering to himself how much he missed Jeno.

“But the love of my life has to work, what to do? Oh, I can’t wait for next Friday and I get to hug him all night!” Jaemin murmured to himself and I slowly stepped away from him before leaving. “Close the door, pretty girl!”

“Okay,” I said to him. “Continue doing… whatever you are doing…”

I left his room and walked past Jisung’s room. He was cleaning his gun and when he saw me, he ran over to me with a big smile. I found myself relaxing every time Jisung was around. It was hard to admit but he was incredibly cute. I saw Renjun on his bed, reading something. When Renjun saw me, he lifted the book up to cover his face and continued reading.

“Noona!” Jisung exclaimed. “Where are you going?”

“Back to the room…” I told him and his face fell. “Why, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out. Jaemin hyung said he would come and sit in class with me and, to be honest, he scares me a little…” Jisung said and I chuckled. The fact that Jisung used honorifics with everyone was endearing and I found myself ruffling his hair. With my action, he smiled his gummy smile.

“Noona would join but I’m really tired.” I found myself saying before I shuddered at myself calling myself “Noona”. But damn, Jisung was adorable. I wanted to squeeze him and dote on him whenever I saw him; it was hard not to.

Jisung nodded sadly and I found myself promising that I’ll join him some other time. He broke into a smile and waved before retreating back to the room. I heard Renjun tell him to close the bathroom door and I made my way to my room. As I reached the room, I opened the door and was about to step through the doorway when I saw Johnny on the bed doing something on his phone.

No, if I walked in, I would have to act.

I wanted to show him my chains first.

“Hey, Johnny,” I said and Johnny looked up, sitting up at my presence. “I got my chains today.” I showed him my glittery chain that was a necklace.

“Good for you,” Johnny replied.

“I saw your girlfriend crying a moment ago. Shouldn’t you check on her?” I asked him and Johnny frowned.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“I’m talking about Jennie,” I said. Did he forget about Jennie?

“I know,” he replied and I crossed my arms across my chest. He was mean. Johnny Suh was an . Couldn’t he pretend to at least care?

“I think you should check on her.”

“Why would I?”

“Because she’s your girlfriend.” I didn’t care about Jennie much, but it was basically a girl code to support other women especially when she was spilling tears over an . Also, the way Johnny was acting was pissing me off.

“She’s not,” Johnny corrected me.

“Then what is she?” I asked, Johnny telling me that it wasn’t my problem. I let out a grunt, dropping the subject before whipping out my new chains. “Look at this, isn’t it pretty? Close your eyes!” I ordered. “It’s a chain. Now open them—It’s a necklace. It’s beautiful and deadly. So my style.”

“Nice,” Johnny said dully.

“Winwin did such a good job,” I told him. “Apparently, it goes with my dress! When I’m done with the mission, I’ll ask him to change the color to rose gold. Gold is so last season.” I grumbled, placing the necklace against my neck.

“Why don’t you come inside the room first?” Johnny asked as I refused to step inside the room.

“No, then I’ll have to act,” I told him. “Anyway, look. Spikes… no spikes! A necklace, not a necklace! You confused now?”

“Come inside the room,” Johnny said, his tone of voice sounding like an order.

“Is this a test?” I asked, Johnny shaking his head. “Last time I didn’t act in the room, you took out a star!”

“Do you want it to be?”

“No. I just got my chains,” I told him. “You think they can add a Gucci logo to it? Maybe Chanel? How pretty! I love it—”

“Come into the room, Dana. I won’t grade you,” he told me, motioning to the cameras that weren’t moving. “Kyungsoo is handling Yuta’s and Doyoung’s mission.”

Realizing that what he said was true, I walked into the room and closed the door behind me. I stood there warily, waiting for Johnny to act but when he didn’t, I relaxed. I guess he really wasn’t going to grade me. I bounded onto the bed, showing the chains to him as my eyes sparkled.

“It’s so shiny. I love it,” I whispered and I heard Johnny chuckle.

“I pity your husband,” he said and I looked at him.

“You are my husband,” I reminded him, Johnny shaking his head. “Oh, you mean my real husband. Why?”

“He’ll have to buy you so much jewelry,” he told me and I nodded, agreeing with him.

“But he’ll be very rich. I won’t marry someone poor.”

“Aren’t you already very rich?” Johnny asked.

“I am. But I’m a girl. The guy has to be richer.”

“What does that mean? What kind of ist ideals do you have?” Johnny scoffed. I put the necklace down on my chest, patting it lovingly.

“You wouldn’t understand, Johnny. You’re not rich,” I told him. “I was almost sold off to marry one of the Ong brothers. You know the Ong family, don’t you?”

The Ong family was known by everyone. Ong Harin, Ong Seungwoo, and Ong Wooseung the heirs of their business. I would be surprised if Johnny didn’t know them, but he nodded.

“Of course, I know them. Your family and their family were on the news.”

“Yeah, I was supposed to marry one of the brothers. But Ong Wooseung is dumb and Ong Seungwoo is too boring.” I paused. “And they look exactly the same so I couldn’t choose. Good thing Sehun got engaged to their younger sister, Ong Harin so I was off the hook.”

“What if the guy you like isn’t rich?” Johnny asked and I frowned, thinking.

“Is he handsome?”

Johnny fell into thought before asking back. “What is your definition of handsome?”

I tilted my head to the side, thinking deeply. What was my definition of handsome? Tearing my eyes away from the necklace, I looked up to scan Johnny’s face closely. I have never studied him before and this time I did, leaning forward to take in his features. When I was done, I sat back.

“Someone who doesn’t look like you.”

Johnny glared at me and I saw him huff, crossing his arms across his chest. “Unbelievable, Oh Dana! Sometimes I think you forget that I’m the one grading you. You’re becoming too comfortable.”

“But you asked,” I told him pointedly. “Why ask if you can’t handle the answer?”

“I mean! I mean…” Johnny stuttered.

“Johnny Suh, I have dated Korea’s top actors and models.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m friends with Jeffrey for god’s sake! Do you know how much I get for being friends with Jeffrey?”

Johnny paused, nodding to himself. “I guess… Jeffrey is pretty good-looking.”

“He is,” I reached over to pat Johnny’s shoulder. “It’s okay, you’re not that bad looking. But thank god you wear masks on your missions or you’ll scare everyone off.”

“OH DANA!” Johnny exclaimed. “Can you—Okay, what is so wrong with me?”

“I just…” I studied him closely. “Your eyes, they aren’t very symmetrical. You have a lazy eye.”

“A what?”

“Look at me. Look at me!” I reached over to grab him by the chin, scooting closer to him to look at his eyes carefully.  I inspected them, shaking my head with a sigh. “There it is. The flaw. One eye bigger than another.”

I felt him shift closer, Johnny blinking rapidly before trying to widen his eyes. He opened his eyes with all his might, asking me if it was now better.

“Is it equal now?” he asked and I shook my head telling him that it was just bigger but not equal, leaning back against the headboard. “I give up.” Johnny groaned. I nodded, patting his shoulder sympathetically.

“I know. I would too, if I were you.”

“Oh Dana,” Johnny said warningly when I saw the camera’s move. Kyungsoo seemed to be back and I knew it was time to act. Johnny noticed it too, pointing at the necklace. “Nice necklace. Where did you get it from?”

“My boss gave it to me. It’s my birthday. You forgot, didn’t you?” I asked him and Johnny looked momentarily flustered before standing up to grab a wine bottle. Johnny was an alcoholic, I could tell. He drank either coffee or wine all the time.

“I didn’t. Happy birthday, my love,” Johnny sang smoothly, leaning down to peck my cheek. I was about to grab the alcohol bottle in his hand but he held it above his head, shaking his head. “Buuuut you’re not drinking anymore.”

“But I want to.”

“But you’re pregnant.”

“Why do you care? It’s not your child.”

“Dana,” Johnny shot out and I gave him a sweet smile.

“Don’t say my name like that or I might fall in love with you all over again after ten years.”

“You’re cheating on me, aren’t you?”

“Nope.” I shook my head.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you’re not cheating on me,” Johnny demanded and I tilted my head at him, staring at him.

“Which eye do I look at? The big one or the small one?” I asked and Johnny let out a groan of frustration, his eyes fluttering shut. “Yes, keep your eyes closed. You look better like that.”

Johnny’s eyes flew open and he was about to say something, his hands going to his hips when someone knocked on the door. I bounded off the bed and went to open the door to see Jaemin standing there.

“Oi, underground lord, and e. It’s getting steamy in here!” Jaemin chortled before looking at Johnny who was still pissed at me. “Hey, tall boy. Have I ever told you that your eyes are uneven?”

With Jaemin’s words, I pumped my fist into the air, grabbing Jaemin by the shoulder and giving him a high-five.

“I just said that!” I told him and Johnny threw his hands in the air.

“I give up!” he groaned, and Jaemin nodded before shaking his head at Johnny.

“As you should, Johnny. As you should,” he mused before breaking into a grin. “D.O is calling for us. Something important. I came here to get you guys. Come, pretty girl!”

I nodded happily knowing that Jaemin agreed with me about Johnny’s asymmetrical eyes and looped my arm through the pinked haired male, Johnny trailing behind me. We walked forward to the office and I saw that Taeyong and Kyungsoo were already there with Chenle and Renjun. Haechan was also approaching from the opposite side and when we seated in the meeting room- I saw that they were in a call.

“Jeno’s on call,” Taeyong told us.

“JENO?” Jaemin’s voice rang out excitedly. “Oh, JENO! How are you there? Are you eating your meals? I miss you so much—”

“Uh…” Jeno’s voice came out from the speakers. He ignored Jaemin before continuing to speak, awkwardly. “So, I followed him last night. The guy I’m trailing is named Zhou Mi. He went to a club and got really drunk. He was all over a girl and she sent him back to the hotel. I went close enough to hear her say, ‘See you in the auction tomorrow' and then she left.”

“Tomorrow? So, it’s today. Isn’t the auction in a week?” Haechan asked, Taeyong brooding.

“Is it possible that they would move it up?”

“Sometimes they do that to weed off people so there will be less competition. Not everyone can make it to the auction with very little notice.” Kyungsoo told Taeyong who looked worried. “So, we know that the guy you are trailing is actually in Macao for the auction? What would YG want to do with the Marvel Drug?”

“Yes, it should be confirmed with what the girl said to him,” Jeno concluded. “Maybe Chenle should—”

“Already on it,” Chenle said, tapping onto the computer before speaking. “There has been an influx of luxury suite bookings in the nearest hotels near the casino. I think that’s enough confirmation. People are beginning to travel and book rooms so they can make it to the auction. You should leave now.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. Jaemin—change your hair color,” Taeyong told Jaemin who reached up to touch his hair. “When you reach there, it should already begin to start. We’ll finalize the plan one more time. Follow the plan. We can’t make mistakes.”

_­_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Namjoon, Vice of Transportation]

It all happened very fast, Hendery coming to tell us that he was on the phone with his father and that Hotel Del Luna was ready for all of us. Apparently, there are hotels, stores, places all over the world that are affiliated with SM and if an agent is ever in need of help—all they have to do is look for the SM logo on those landmarks and the agents will be given automatic help. Hendery’s father is the director of Hotel Del Luna and the hotel brand is for all SM agents to stay in.

“The bags are already packed. Everything you need is here.” Yangyang told us. The Cleanup Crew was coming with us in case we needed extra help and somehow, Yangyang’s and Xiaojun’s presence seemed to have calmed Johnny down. I didn’t know the Cleanup Crew was also responsible for packing up luggage and making sure the costumes and items were picked up and ready.

We were getting ready to board the plane and I sat by the window, seeing Johnny talk to the pilot. I saw him once when Yuta came in for the meeting to allocate me to a faction. I guessed that he was the Vice of the transportation department.

“Namjoon,” Johnny was saying. “How was Russia?”

“It was good. I just came back and I’m flying again,” Namjoon replied, but he adjusted his uniform, chuckling. “Nothing feels better than ongoing work.” He joked and Johnny nodded, agreeing.

Workaholics. All of them.

I heard Namjoon tell everyone to sit down and to fasten their seatbelts. I was used to business class and even though the plane was private, it was uncomfortable. Making a face, I turned and leaned against Jaemin’s shoulder who was already sleeping. His brown hair fell over his face and I chuckled. He had quickly sprayed his hair to see how it would look like and I liked it better when it was brown.

Jaemin stirred, opening one eye to see me. Giving me a wink, he smiled and then went back to sleep. I saw Johnny on an earpiece, Mark with his legs draped over Johnny’s as the younger male talked in his sleep. Slowly, I closed my eyes and finally entered slumberland.

Three hours passed by really quickly and it was already 6 pm when we reached Macao. Korea was one hour ahead of Macao so it was 7 pm there and we quickly headed towards Hotel Del Luna. The auction would start at 8, Macao time but we wanted to be there as quickly as we could so we could scout out the area.

I was given my own room and the Cleanup Crew automatically went to the casino. I heard that they would be finalizing the final details of the auction and that would mean helping Chenle in making sure the real auctioneer wouldn’t make it.

I quickly put on my dress and the necklace. The dress was a little to the conservative side, but it looked classy. The necklace shone beautifully and I grabbed the lipstick from the makeup bag before dragging the color over my lips.

Beautiful. 

Me, I was beautiful.

Slipping on my heels, I put on the earpiece and I could hear Yangyang and Xiaojun doing something in the background before Yangyang reported.

“Auctioneer tied up and held back.” 

“Good. Make sure he won’t be a problem,” Taeyong said. “Dana, the rest are waiting for you. Remember what you are.”

A e.

I rolled my eyes, making my way down the stairs of Hotel Del Luna to see Johnn