Recap

She was the stupid one. If Chunhei recognised her, not only would that be extremely troublesome but since everyone in Fire was in the room, even the police wouldn’t be able to save her.

She bit her lip. Everything that happens in the next few minutes might be– her very last. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*

The tension in the air was definitely suffocating. Yongguk stood impatiently tapping his foot, waiting for Hailey to turn around and show herself. While Chunhei stood beside curiously.

Hailey took in a deep breath and with one fluid movement she pivoted on her left foot, turning 180 degrees so she was now face to face with the FBI.

She saw Chunhei’s eyes widen, either from shock or sheer terror.

“Why are you trying to hide? Got a guilty conscience?” Yongguk questioned eyeing Hailey suspiciously.

Hailey tried to display a serious face, showing Yongguk that she was tough and wasn’t easily swayed.

“Well?” He asked again.

“I have nothing to hide,” Hailey replied. Her tone was as cold as the freezing temperatures of winter.

Yongguk stared into her eyes, not removing eye contact. He smirked.

“You know, the gateway to every truth starts here,” he pointed two fingers towards his eyes, “and yours are definitely hiding something. I can tell.”

Hailey tensed her jaw. Her voice was stuck and no words came out of . He was right. She was hiding something, just not what he thought it was.

Yongguk’s smirk irritated her to a degree that was unexplainable. It was as if he was laughing at her. Underestimating her abilities, and she hated that. Hailey took a quick glance in Chunhei’s direction, confusion and surprise spreading across her face. 

Hailey saw Chuenhei shake her head slightly in disbelief. Seeing that felt like millions of daggers targeting her heart. Each one aiming and hitting precisely in the same spot, guilt.

"So what is it? You secretly working undercover here or somethin'?" Yongguk suggested and his words nearly made Hailey drop to the floor. He was only suggesting it but that was exactly her reason. How could he even tell?

"Hey! You! Scary-faced policedog. She obviously has nothing to hide so stop with the questions," Sunggyu announced and stepped forward.

Yongguk took a look at the expressions of the members, hatrid flowing in his way. Not wanting to drag Chunhei down with him in this mess he decided to let Hailey off the hook. 

"Well fine. Back to business then, move aside! We’re searching this place.” Yongguk demanded when Hailey didn’t give him the answers he wanted.

Hailey moved accordingly and Yongguk stormed his way through the group. Chunhei followed behind, stealing a glimpse at Hailey as she walked past.

Hailey gave her an apologetic look and Chunhei turned away, disappointed at the innocent girl she met at a bakery. In a way, Hailey was relieved that Chunhei didn’t expose her to the world. Her secret was safe for just a little longer now.

After Yongguk couldn’t find anything, he reluctantly walked out the hall, leaving the crowd murmuring.

“Hey what was that all about? Why didn't you stand up to for yourself? You got some secret you not tellin’ us?” Sunggyu walked over and nudged Hailey in the arm.

“He was just trying to intimidate me.” Hailey replied.

Sunggyu nodded understandingly.

“Well gang, emergency over. Go back to your duties.” Sunggyu shouted and the members dispersed. Hailey sighed and walked back into the main building to look for Sungyeol.

She reached the entrance to the lounge area and saw Sungyeol standing in the middle, hands hiding in his pockets and his weight leaning on one foot. Such a typical pose for a gangster. Hailey thought as she observed him from afar.

The FBI exited with discontent, they couldn’t find a single trace of evidence to officially take Fire into custody, or even charge them with a criminal offense.

“If we hear anything suspicious, expect us to be back.” Yongguk announced and disappeared with his crew. 

Sungyeol turned around and the first thing he saw was Hailey looking back at him. Hailey jumped, she wasn’t expecting the sudden eye contact. Sungyeol walked over to her with a smirk. Hailey was expecting him to talk to her but instead, he stopped beside her.

She turned to face him. Sungyeol was facing forward, revealing his side profile. His arm suddenly shot up and ruffled Hailey’s hair, making strands fly in every direction. Hailey was about to punch him as revenge but he walked off. Not saying a single word.

What was that?

Hailey patted down her hair and was about to follow Sungyeol when Min stopped her.

“Hailey, I’ve got errands for you.”

Hailey blinked. “Oh.”

“Come to my office.”

Min never personally asked Hailey for a job. Something was definitely up. Hailey was once again faced with the twin doors to Min’s office. Min opened it and gestured her to come inside. Hailey followed suit and waited for her orders.

“There’s something I want you to do,” the door clicked shut behind them, “you’ve heard of Layla’s gang right?”

Hailey nodded.

“Good. Well I’ve arranged some business with them and I want you to handle it.” Min said and chucked a file towards her.

Hailey caught it unprofessionally and the contents spilled to the floor. She closed her eyes in embarrassment and quickly bent over to retrieve the documents. Hailey heard Min tsk, and she felt a burning sensation tingle her ears.

When she had finished putting everything back in place Min continued with her instructions.

“I know this is short notice but this is a job I want you to do, alone. Don’t tell anyone about it. Especially Sungyeol, if you couldn’t tell, he doesn’t get along well with Layla’s peeps.”

“No problem. What do you want me to do?”

Min smiled. “This will be your first trade.”

Hailey looked perplexed, Min was going to send someone as inexperienced as her to an important job like this? What could she possibly be thinking… or maybe plotting?

“I’ve set a meeting at a club in the next suburb. The address is written inside the file,” Min went to her desk and pressed something. The button triggered the floor to vibrate and just centimetres away from Hailey’s feet, two floor boards automatically opened, revealing a black leather briefcase. “This, is what you’ll be trading them, 10kg of the finest .”

Hailey tried to stop her eyes from widening. The FBI was right! They did have possession of illegal drugs.

“So you up for it?” Min asked, purposely asking to doubt Hailey.

“Leave it to me.” Hailey responded and grabbed hold of the goods she was soon going to sell.

Min’s red lips curled upwards. “I’ll be expecting good news from you then.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Neon lights and heavy bass music set the club alive. Taking small uneasy steps, Hailey walked up to the bouncer.

“Meeting with Layla,” she whispered into his ears and held up the black briefcase.

The bouncer looked at her. Hailey was all dressed up, fitting in with the other girls that went clubbing. She was wearing a black mini dress that revealed too much skin in her opinion. Her back was exposed and the front had a low cut. She wore heels that would stab straight through someone’s foot if she stepped on them hard enough and silver hoops dangled from her ears. Her hair was curled and the ringlets bounced as she walked. All this was borrowed from Min. She guessed that Min wanted her to appeal y. However, she didn’t find herself that way in the least. She felt uncomfortable and would have rather came with a flowing dress and flats.

After the bouncer gave her his approval, he led her towards a private room separated from the rest of the club.

Once Hailey stepped foot inside, the smell of alcohol immediately hit her nose, nearly making her puke. She couldn’t help it. Her body was conditioned to feel this way in the presence of alcohol, her father being the main cause.

Three men with girls crawling over them turned their heads to look at the newcomer.

“Oh what do we have here? A lamb that entered a lion’s den.” The bald man out of the three teased. Hailey immediately recognised him. From the file she recieved earlier, he was the one that she had to sell the to.

The other two laughed at his comment as if it was the funniest thing on Earth.

“I’m from Fire. I believe we have some business to do,” Hailey replied and patted at the briefcase in her hands.

The three of them promptly sat up, dismissed the girls and fixed their clothing. The bald man jerked his head, signally Hailey to sit down. Hailey sat down a little too quickly and her dress consequently rolled up, making Hailey feel as uncomfortable as ever. She secretly tugged it down and slid the briefcase towards the bald man.

He unclipped the locks and took a look inside, a grin forming as he picked up a small packet and examined it. One of the other two peered at the contents. He lifted another briefcase from underneath and placed in onto the table.

“That’s the amount for 12kgs.” He said as he pushed the briefcase towards Hailey.

12kgs? But there’s only 10! Hailey thought and hoped they wouldn’t notice the missing 2kgs.

She looked up and saw the bald man testing the drug. His face filled with euphoria. “Fire is definitely the best when delivering goods to us. Tell your boss that Layla said it was nice doing business with you.”

Hailey nodded and stood up. Grabbed the briefcase full of money and prepared to leave.

“Wait!” One of the three males said. He held the briefcase up and weighed it with his hands. “There’s not 12 kgs here!”

“What?” The bald man responded and took hold of the briefcase.

Hailey gulped.

“Where’s the missing drugs? Don’t tell me you took them for yourself?” The bald man questioned as he smashed his champagne glass onto the table with rage, sending tiny shards scattering everywhere. A piece flew across the room and speared towards Hailey’s direction, cutting her cheek as it soared past.

The three men started to encircle her.

“This was all I was given. I don’t know where the missing is,” Hailey stated, trying to sound as calm as possible.

The bald man suddenly looked at her from head to toe, examining her figure. A devious grin occupied his expressions. He let out a laugh. “I guess you could make up for it then, since it was your responsibility,”

Hailey’s eyes widened. No way was she going to let these three thugs lay a finger on her. She turned around and darted to the door but her hopes to escape were crushed when one of them stood blocking her way.

“Boy’s we’re spending the night here.” Hailey heard the bald man call out and she turned around to give him a sneer.

Ok Hailey. Calm yourself. Remember what Jongup taught you. Remember all that hard training he put you through. This would be a perfect time to use it Hailey. HAILEY!

She was mortified. She didn’t expect that her body wouldn’t listen to her in this situation. The men were slowly getting closer, constricting any moving space for Hailey to escape.

Screw it!

Hailey thought as she secretly removed a pair of her heels. With a flick of her ankle, it flew directly in the bald guy’s face. The sharp heel stabbing under his chin. The grown man bent down in agony and the other two charged towards her. Hailey quickly took her other heel off. She easily dodged one of the them and hit the other’s face as hard as she could with her shoe. The path to the exit was obstacle free and Hailey charged towards it. The dance floor was sticky as she ran into the crowd with her bare feet.

The three men quickly recovered and chased after her, shoving clubbers out of their way. They raised their heads to peek over the dancing mob but the girl in the mini black dress had disappeared from their viewing span.

Profanities escaped their mouths as they retreated back into their room.

“At least she left without the money,” the one that got hit across the face said.

“Shut up! That’s not important. How are we going to explain where the missing went?” The bald man grumbled and whacked his mate across the head.

Hailey finally exited the club. The night breeze prickled her skin and the cold gravel floor made her feet numb. She was at the brink of tears. Any moment longer inside and she would’ve lost her innocence to a bunch of filthy gangsters. She rubbed her arms to generate heat and silently walked back to Fire’s base.

For some reason, she had a feeling Min had planned this from the very beginning…

Author's Notes

Sorry this update was a little delayed...

but thank you for reading everyone! Arg. Min, why is she treating Hailey like this?

Please anticipate the next update ^^

I love you all <3