At a quarter to 4, Fei is on her way to drop off some papers to T.O.P. As she usually does, she lets herself into his office after knocking softly and bows at the door. She keeps a steady gaze with her boss, her eyes not leaving his as she sets the papers down on his desk.

There is no compassion in her eyes as she looks at him, no fear and no hesitation. She might as well be a robot for all the emotion she shows.

Fei bows again and is about to leave, when T.O.P indicates for her to sit. A slight frown of confusion creases her usually smooth brow, but she does not ask what he wants, or why she's having to sit, though she wants to ask both questions.

Though Fei is an empty book on the outside, in the 12 years that she has worked at CS, she has never been able to think of her boss with anything but loathing, as she does now, seething on the inside at the sight of his face. There is nothing Fei wants more than to smash his head onto the desk, then hang him by his toes from the top of the building and make him beg for mercy for everything that he's done.

But now is not the right time. Now she has to grit her teeth and show no expression whatsoever, because all of this is a game, one that only she is aware of and consequently, one she is sure she'll win.

"So, Fei," T.O.P says, steepling his fingers. "Have you done what I asked you to do?"

She has not, in fact, done what he'd asked her to do. Sure, she had filed his paperwork and led all the CS thieves who had visited that day to his office. But about that thing he'd asked her to do...

Fei shakes her head. "I didn't quite understand what you were asking of me."

His expression darkens. "It was a straightforward and uncomplicated directive," he says. "Quite possibly the easiest task I have ever given you."

"You asked me to destroy Max's file," Fei says coolly.

"Ah, so you did understand," T.O.P says. Fei wants to choke him for being so condescending. "And yet, you did not follow the order."

"Because I can't," Fei interjects, snapping a little; for anyone else, it would be nothing, but to someone as controlled as her, it's a volatile change of temper. "I can't destroy a thief's file until he or she is deceased. You made that rule yourself."

"So, seeing as you are well aware that I created that rule, don't you think I know what I'm asking you to do?" T.O.P raises his voice at the end.

"But Max is not dead," Fei says.

"He will be soon enough."

Fei narrows her eyes. "What do you mean?"

In response, T.O.P picks up a cream coloured envelope and hands it to her. She takes it, weighing the heavy papered envelope in her palm for a moment. Her insides twist with distaste; even his envelopes reek of his horrible taste.

Fei opens the envelope, conscious of T.O.P's eyes on her slender fingers. Things slide out and onto the desk when she tips the envelope upside down. At first she thinks they're post cards, but when she turns one over, she realises they're photos.

And she knows who they're of. Alarm bells are ringing in her mind, but on the outside, she keeps herself composed. "I see," she says stiffly.

T.O.P smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "You'll do as I asked now, won't you?"

She nods woodenly. "Yes, sajangnim."

***

When Fei gets back to her office, she knows exactly what she's going to do. She looks around at the spacious area. As the only secretary, receptionist and assistant at CS, she has a lot of space to herself. Her office is as large as a plush staff lounge, and she has her own bathroom, TV, fridge and water cooler. And it's all hers.