Third Person P.O.V

 

As Giselle slowly laid Jimin's unconscious body to the ground, she turned to look at The Mother who looked amused as they met gazes. It was weird to see The Mother's face again, closer at that, after all the years had passed. She never wanted to cross path with her again if the circumstances were different.

 

"I must say, I'm impressed," The Mother spoke as she drew closer.

 

"I never thought you would go through with your plan, considering you looked uncertain when you approached me days ago."

 

Giselle retained her neutral expression even if she wanted to smack the woman in the face, "I held my end of our bargain, now I want you to hold up yours." she said seriously, causing the woman to laugh hysterically.

 

If Giselle hadn't known her better, she would have been insulted at how she laughed at her but instead of feeling that way, she patiently waited for the woman to compose herself as she didn't want to ruin her only chance of becoming a Red Circle.

 

"You haven't changed Aeri. You still make me laugh so hard," The Mother said teary-eyed.

 

"I wonder which part was funny." Giselle retorted.

 

"The fact that you killed your friend to be a Red Circle, which, in that matter, I remember how you despised becoming one of us long time ago."

 

"I've changed and I just proved it." Giselle said, gesturing to Minjeong's body. 

 

The Mother briefly glanced at the lifeless body and remembered the disappointment of still not knowing the Yoos whereabouts. Minjeong knew their location but she wasn't able to coax the information out of her because Giselle had to put her down.

 

"No, you failed. You killed the only one who knew the Yoo's location." The statement caused Giselle to clench her jaw and curled her hands into fist, thinking what she did wasn't easy but she did it anyway and yet she still failed in her eyes.

 

"Killing her was hard but I had to do it. You don't know Minjeong like I did and I knew she would stop at nothing to take down the Red Circle. You should be thanking me instead because I got rid of the one person that could take you down... And if you just consider, I can assure you that if you'll have me...I will bring the Yoos to you."

 

The boss raised her brow, seeing the determination in Giselle's eyes. She admitted, she liked the change in her. She was different and had grown so much since the last time she saw the young girl. Even if she didn't want to admit it herself, deep down, she truly missed her Aeri.

 

"Okay. I'll give you a chance, if you'll answer my question."

 

"What is it?" she asked eagerly.

 

"After all these years...why decide to join us? Why now?" Giselle thought for a moment. She had her reasons but there was only one thing she could tell to The Mother.

 

"I realized I made a huge mistake for running away. I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have abandoned you and I truly regret it...that's why I like to make it up to you if you'll let me...Mom." Giselle bit back her lower lip as the word tasted foreign in . It has been a long time since she called her mom and it weirded her out.

 

Hearing her daughter said the 'mom' word, The Mother couldn't help but smile. Before Giselle ran away, she was her only life, the one she cared for the most, after her brother died. So when her daughter left, she had been devastated. She searched for her, for months and yet she couldn't find her, until her hunger for revenge overcame her, making her forget the pain of losing her daughter. But now her daughter was back. Even though seeing her again made her happy, she still couldn't trust her, after all, why would she come back now?

 

The Mother smiled, "I miss hearing you call me that."

 

"And I miss calling you 'Mom'.

 

The Mother wanted to hug her daughter but she decided not to for she didn't want to show that she was somewhat happy at her comeback, instead, she just flashed a small smile before averting her attention to some of her guards who were standing in the distance, waiting for her instructions.

 

"I take it you didn't bring an army? Several of my guys are still standing."

 

Giselle shook her head, "No. It's just me and Minjeong. Part of the plan."

 

"Clever girl," The Mother complimented before calling her guards and instructed them to clean the mess and dump the bodies. Hearing this, Giselle immediately objected and volunteered to dispose Minjeong's body causing The Mother to stare at her suspiciously.

 

"She was my friend, a good one at that and even if I'm the one who killed her, I owe her a proper...disposal." The Mother stared at her daughter, trying to intimidate her to slip up if she had something on her sleeve, but Giselle had kept her stern expression, making it harder for her.

 

She didn't trust her daughter and felt that she was planning something and what would it be, she had to find out.

 

"Okay then, but my guards will help you out. I know you couldn't do it alone," she said suggestively, gesturing to several of her guards.

 

"And I'll be expecting you later my dear, we're going to have a drink. Consider it a mother-daughter time." She walked to her daughter and cupped her cheek which she usually did back then, before getting in to the car that had just arrived.

 

As soon as the unconscious Jimin had been settled beside The Mother, the car started moving, leaving Giselle with a bunch of guards as she watched the vehicle slowly disappeared from the view. Without much ado, she turned to the guards with a determined look.

 

"Okay, I just need two guys to help me out here, the rest, you go help with the others in the warehouse." As if her instruction had fallen into deaf ears, nobody moved from their spots as they stared hard at Giselle, causing her to snort humorlessly.

 

"Look, I'm sure you all heard my conversation with your boss... to say I'm The Mother's daughter, I suggest you follow my orders like how you follow my mother's to avoid punishments. Are we clear?" 

 

There was silence in the air and Giselle couldn't help but notice their piercing glares but she didn't care about them for she just wanted the job to be over as soon as possible.

 

"Okay, you and you, stay here and help me," she continued, pointing to two random guards. 

 

Soon after, the guards reluctantly obeyed her as they turned their backs to her and walked towards the warehouse, leaving the two she pointed earlier.

 

She waited for the others to get inside the warehouse before turning to the two she chose and instructed them what to do. The two guards obeyed as they walked to Minjeong's motionless body to lift her up. 

 

Little did they know, Giselle had already drawn her gun as she put a silencer on it, watching the guys' backs. As the guards had lifted the body, inches from the ground, she instantly aimed the weapon and fired at the two, both instantly dropped to the ground.

 

She then walked to Minjeong and hovered beside her.

 

"You can stop pretending now Minjeong" she said, bored.

 

Minjeong cracked an eye open and smirked before pulling herself up into a sitting position. 

 

"Phew! That took long enough," she said as she looked up at Giselle.

 

"Well, she's not that easy to convince..." Giselle retorted as she stretched her hand which Minjeong gladly held, lifting herself up from the ground, "...and I'm sure she doesn't trust me yet, even if I'm her daughter."

 

"What did you expect? You ran away, leaving her while she was still mourning over her brother's death. And then out of the blue, you popped up, wanting to join her organization all of a sudden. That's suspicious enough."

 

"You know I had to run away. She changed. Turned into a monster... Until now, I don't want to join the Red Circle but I have to as part of the plan."

 

Minjeong shrugged, "Yeah I know... Just so you know, I almost cringe when you called her 'mom'."

 

"Yeah, well, you're not the only one. Anyway, we have to dispose these bodies immediately."

 

"I have an idea." The two girls started lifting the bodies one by one and put them in the wrecked car which The Mother and Jimin were in earlier.

 

Apparently, the fastest way of getting rid of the bodies as of the moment was using the car and make it jump into the water, as what Minjeong thought. Although, it wouldn't be long til someone could find the but it would do, for now.

 

"So, does she have another name aside from The Mother?" Minjeong asked curiously as she closed the car door. 

 

Giselle didn't answer right away for she was in deep thought. She hadn't consider thinking about her mother's real name for the woman who bore that name had been long gone. Her mother wasn't the same anymore since she took over the organization...since she had became The Mother, an evil drug kingpin who would stop at nothing to get her revenge.

 

"Helena. Helena Uchinaga" Giselle answered in a strained voice.

 

"Is your whole name fake all this time?"

 

Giselle sighed, "I only faked my last name to stay hidden. My full and real name is Aeri Giselle Uchinaga. No father, he abandoned us since I was little. It was just me and mo--...Helena."

 

Minjeong slowly nodded, "I see..."

 

Silence took over once again as they continued their work. Once everything was settled, Minjeong started the engine then the two watched as the car plunged into the water and slowly sank under.

 

"Are you ready to do this?" Giselle asked all of sudden without making eye contact as her gazed was still glued to the water where the car was at moments ago.

 

"As ready as I'll ever be." Minjeong answered with determination.

 

"Then let the games begin."

 

 

***

 

 

Jimin

 

I woke up in the same bed of the hotel room they had put me in, feeling exhausted from the events that happened last night. Before I could realize, tears started pouring from my eyes as I recalled the moment when Giselle shot Minjeong. It was like my heart had been crushed thinking that I wouldn't see her again. Minjeong is dead and the worst part was that I did nothing while she tried to save me and I just stood frozen when she was on the ground, dying.

 

How could I get through this? This pain, it was unbearable. I couldn't stop crying my heart out as I couldn't get rid of her final moment out of my head. This was so unfair! How could I tell her how much I cared about her when she was gone? How could I tell her that I love her?

 

While I was on the verge of breaking, the door suddenly flew open and came walked in Giselle. Seeing her, I was instantly overcame with anger and I immediately jumped off the bed, storming towards her.

 

"You!" I hissed before connecting my fist to her jaw making her head to sway to the side.

 

"!" she snapped as she touched her bleeding lip while glaring daggers at me. The punch didn't satisfy me so I threw another punch and another but she easily evaded them.

 

"How could you kill her? How could you do that to her?" I sobbed feeling all my strength escaped me but it didn't stop me from throwing weak punches.

 

She caught my wrists and pulled them close to her chest, bringing my body close to her. My breath hitched because of our proximity.

 

"I had to Jimin..." she said seriously, "She was a threat to the Red Circle that's why I had to get rid of her."

 

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

 

"Minjeong needed to die because she was crossing The Mother...my mother..." 

 

I wanted to ask what she meant by it but I chose to shut my mouth when I felt something on my hand. 

 

"The Mother is my mom, that's why I had to kill her because she was giving her troubles," she added.

 

With one last tight grip, she pushed me away causing me to almost stumble back.

 

"The Mother...she's your mom?" I breathed.

 

She nodded, "I know Minjeong and I know what she was capable of so she needed to die before she could hurt my mom."

 

"She was your friend Giselle. She cared about you." I said weakly.

 

"I know but I'm not sorry. Thought you should know that." She stared at me briefly before turning her back and walked out of the room. Fresh tears escaped my eyes as I walked back to the bed and laid down, curled like a ball but when I remembered the thing Giselle had slipped on my hand.

 

I grabbed the cover and dragged it overhead before opening my hand, revealing a small piece of paper. To think that Giselle had secretly slipped it into my hand, I knew she didn't want to let the people watching through the surveillance camera see the paper.

 

I unfolded it and I immediately saw her handwriting. As I read the message, my eyes instantly shot wide as it said:

 

‘Minjeong is alive. Part of the plan. For now, just go along with me.'

 

After all the tears, I managed to smile. "Oh Minjeong, you ."

 

 

***

 

 

Minjeong

 

Three days had passed since our little play and Giselle had gone radio silence putting me on edge the whole time. Negative thoughts had crossed my mind, thinking that what if she had been caught by her mother? What if they hurt her now that they found out about our plan? And what if they would also hurt Jimin again?

 

I was anxious the whole time, I couldn't just sit by, but as if Giselle knew what I was going through, to my relief, she called me from a secured line earlier, letting me know she was coming over. I was reluctant at first because I didn't want to risk everything, putting her life and our plan in jeopardy. But in the end I relented when she mentioned that she found out something.

 

"Did Giselle call already?" Ning asked as she descended the stairs, hair disheveled and her pjs wrinkled.

 

I took a sip from my cup before looking up to her, "Oh you're awake. Yeah she did. She's on her way right now." I answered, flashing a small quick smile and she nodded before walking in my direction.

 

For those three days, she had been constantly asking me about Giselle which weirded me out for she didn't usually ask about Gi's well-being. She may be worried about her and so was I, it was just that the whole asking thing was new to me.

 

She then grabbed a cup and poured some of the coffee I made.

 

"I'm glad she's okay," she mumbled.

 

I nodded. "Yeah, me too."

 

A comfortable silence took over as we both sat down, opposite each other. I could tell she was in deep thought as she was staring blankly into an empty space, holding her cup of coffee. I was curious about what she was thinking but I decided to stay quiet and thought about Jimin instead. I wondered how she's doing right now. The last time she saw me was when I got shot and pretended to be dead in front of her which was hard because I didn't want her to be devastated over nothing. I just hoped Giselle had told her about that plan.

 

"Minjeong?" she spoke up, breaking me out of trance.

 

"Hmm?" I looked up, meeting her gaze.

 

She hesitated for a moment before opening . "There's something I've been wanting to tell you."

 

"Okay?" My forehead creased noticing her stern look. Whatever she wanted to tell me was probably a serious thing.

 

Her forefinger started tapping the brim of her cup as she briefly avoided my gaze. I patiently waited for her to speak up and when she looked back again, I gave her a faint nod.

 

She took a deep breath and steadied her gaze. "Giselle and I, um...we kissed."

 

"Oh.." was all I uttered as I simply stared at her urging her to tell me more.

 

"I'm sorry, I know I should have told you sooner."

 

"Look, um...it's fine Ning... I'm not mad or anything if that's what you were thinking."

 

I've been hoping that Giselle would find some girl that could make her happy and I am certain that Ningning could be the one, and just knowing it made me happy.

 

"So how was it? The kiss?" I teased, grinning at the same time to lighten the mood. She blushed instantly and sipped from her cup. I smiled watching her acting so adorable.

 

"Um, I don't really know. I was surprised when she leaned in and kissed me. Though it was just for a moment because I pushed her and walked away, so my training was cancelled that day."

 

I arched my brows, "Training?" I asked making her eyes widen.

 

"Oh I haven't told you, have I?"

 

"Ah no?"

 

She took a deep breath and cleared . "When you told me to distance myself...I asked Giselle to teach me how to fight, so after classes and weekends she would train me, teach me the basic skills I needed to know...That's when the kiss happened also." I leaned back on my chair as I was processing what she just said.

 

So that was why they were always together, acting a little suspicious around me and how she managed to fight off the Red Circle that night Jimin was taken. It all made sense to me now.

 

"I know I should have told you and I'm sorry that I went behind your back," she added as she noticed my silence.

 

"Oh no, it's okay, I'm glad Giselle taught you and if there's someone who should be apologizing, it's me Ning...for pushing you away. At that time, I couldn't risk getting you hurt so I had to tell you to distance yourself, I'm sorry for doing that."

 

"No Minjeong..." she said, putting her hand over mine on the table, "You did what you had to do and I understand that."

 

I smiled, "Thanks."

 

"I'm home!"

 

I quickly pulled my hand and looked up to Giselle who just announced herself. I could tell she saw our hands judging by her blank expression as she stood in the doorway but she quickly recovered when she beamed and walked in our direction.

 

"Giselle.." Ning greeted as she stood up and hugged Gi. Smiling, I walked around the table and hugged her once Ning pulled away.

 

"I'm glad you're okay. How's Yooji?" I asked as I pulled away to look at her.

 

"She's fine, for now, I somehow managed to convince Helena." I let out a sigh of relief for something heavy had been lifted off my chest.

 

"Oh that's a relief," I breathed.

 

"Yes but it won't be for long. Anyway, here..." she said, handing me a photo of an unknown man in black trench coat, crossing the street, 

 

"That's Micky Yoochun, an ex-soldier who manages some of Helena's drug facilities."

 

I hesitantly took the photo from her, "So, business talk in the morning, got it."

 

She sighed, "As much as I want to stay longer, I can't. I barely managed to escape her guards.

 

I nodded then scanned the photo she gave me."Um, he looks...dangerous."

 

"Because he is and he's ruthless. He's one of the three entrusted by The Mother to run her business... And as for the other two, I'm currently working on it."

 

"So a triad manages Helena's drug facilities..."

 

"Yes. Eliminating them one by one..."

 

"Is like hitting where it hurts the most," I finished for her.

 

"Hitting the business would crumple the Mighty Mother."

 

"Exactly!"

 

"How are you gonna do that?" Ningning spoke up, looking a little distress.

 

I smirked, "I guess it's time to call in the Violent Storm."

 

 

***

 

 

"Ready to infiltrate?" I asked through my comm while I watched two enemies in the distance, lingering by the entrance, carrying big guns.

 

"Let's get it on." Yeji, our new member and Hyunjin's younger sister answered excitedly. The first time I met her earlier, I instantly grew fond of her, with just a short conversation with her and hearing her sarcastic remarks earlier.

 

I smirked at her who was laying on her stomach beside me and pulled up the mask, covering the lower half of my face. She did the same and with a nod, I stood up and scurried towards the guards by the door, training my gun with a silencer on, to them. One of them saw me but before he could lift his big gun, I already pulled the trigger, instantly dropping him to the ground. I shot the other one effortlessly before leaning my back flat to the wall. As I watched Yeji did the same. Hyunjin, Mark and Haechan stood in front of us, facing the door.

 

"Alarms and cameras have been deactivated." Hyunjin spoke up as he put the iPad to his vest's chest pocket.

 

"Way to go Toothless!" Yeji said excitedly as she raised her fist in the air directed towards her brother.

 

I looked at her with amusement. Is she referring to that dragon from the movie?

 

I shook my head thinking it was funny as Haechan spoke impatiently.

 

"Can we storm in now?"

 

I raised my arm, gesturing to the door, "Be my guest."

 

With that, Yeji kicked the door open and all hell broke loose. One guard to another, our bullets hadn't missed any of them and I could tell, the four were enjoying it for it has been a while since I gave them