Yumi felt no better pulling into her nightjob than she did when she woke up to receive Kwangho’s text this morning saying he wouldn’t be able to work this night’s shift. She merely said a few things back about how he would owe her several things (joking, of course) and went on with her day. Her first two jobs weren’t that much of an issue, but her third… She sighed. Let’s just put it this way. Welcome to Club Kane. Where your craziest fantasies can happen if you’re willing to spend more than three and a half weeks’ salary worth. Needless to say, it was a strip club for the higher ups. You wouldn’t get erted weirdo jobless ic men here. Oh no. This was where this month’s featured attorneys and judges went when their wives went for a Ladies’ Night Out. Name a high-paying profession and Yumi had seen it all from doctors to CEOs to mafia men. You’d think they’d be a little more respectful for themselves, but not. Even. Close.

Which was why all her hope went away when her favorite co-worker wouldn’t be able to work tonight. With him there, she usually had no need to worry about these men trying to grab at her while excusing themselves as attempting to grab another bottle of an alcoholic beverage. It didn’t help that she fit into the top five hottest waitresses there, but on the good side, tips here were her best money makers.

Already staring at her far-too-revealing outfit with disdain, a ritual she did every day, she exited her car and entered into the club, her makeup already done and heels already slipped on. She was immediately greeted by flashing multi-colored lights and the intense stench of tobacco and alcohol. When she’d first received this job, she came in each day with a hand to her nose, but she’d already realized it would do no good.

“Yumi! Ah, no Kwangho?” Yumi glared at her co-worker, Eunmi, who was indeed the most annoying person she’d ever met in her life. The girl was incredibly tipsy on the job most of the time and constantly left Yumi wondering why she hadn’t signed up for being an actual stripper. She’d seen her exchange…pleasantries with her customers more than enough and she still expected that Kwangho would want her. She shook her head.

“Not tonight. And it’s going to be hell without him.” She muttered the latter and eyed a man who also just entered seating himself at the bar. The first thing being noticed was his incredibly tall structure. She was sure he was one of the tallest people she’d seen ever. He easily towered over the rest of the members of the club, his dark eyes lingering over a few of the women’s bodies before scanning the menu in curiosity. By the look on his face seconds later, she could tell he’d already chosen.

“Oh new customer?! I got this.” Her previous conversation ended as left to accompany the new customer. She wasn’t able to place it, but he definitely didn’t seem to be the type to come to clubs. His face was far too kind-looking for that, but she found herself staring. He had the perfect proportions. He was already tall, a definite plus in Korea, she could see the light trace muscles that lined his arms even in the dim club light. His face was nearly as perfect as his proportions. His tall nose, plump lips and clearly defined jaw. Dark brown optics that found themselves staring back at her. He gave a slight smirk and she scoffed turning to serve another group of gentlemen that had just seated themselves. Cocky idiot.

“What would you like?” She asked in the least annoyed tone she could muster. One of them lifted his head and smirked, liking what he saw. Unfortunately, weekend outfits ended up being an off-shoulder blouse that tied neatly in the front just above her belly button and short silver-studded black shorts.

“How about a serving of that?” He grinned gesturing toward her chest, obviously having drunken before arriving at club Kane. She inhaled and cursed Kwangho before smiling.

“Sorry. Only the girls,” she nodded toward the poled stage where several girls were displaying their bodies. “are allowed to be touched. The waitresses are not allowed to be touched.” They looked at each other each thinking the same before bursting into laughter.

“Excuse me? What kind of club is this?! Come on, just a touch…or a taste.”

“Why don’t you taste each other you freaks?! Eunmi—“ She called ready to walk away, until she felt hands on her blouse. She cringed and turned with a glare until she saw their faces—very displeased.

“Just soju.” Eunmi almost jumped at this guys’ voice. It was deep. Far too deep for her liking. He was good looking, but not good looking enough for her. His face wasn’t mature enough—she liked the older guys. Honestly, the look in his eyes scared her. The sound of the door opening caught her eyes and she eyed the door seeing a well-known man. She smirked. Perfect.

“A-ah. I think I’ll just get Yumi to serve. I have a special customer.” She pointed toward Yumi, before scurrying off to see another client she hadn’t seen since a week ago when he’d told her his wife was suspicious of him. She could…help with his stress.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes at the girl who’d left his presence in a hurry. His voice usually had that effect—it just simply didn’t match his face. He’d gotten used to chasing away girls with his voice a while ago. It made him laugh just thinking about it. Every time they approached him they expected a flower boy of some sort, and honestly, it became an advantage during business. He usually paired himself with Baekhyun and with a few glimpses of a certain person’s daughter or wife, he already had their number which was more than enough to find their estate, rob it, burn it, and leave it. They never knew what hit them.

He dimmed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen them. Was it months? Weeks? Days? He didn’t know. He didn’t want to know. He feared the length too long for his heart to stand. He spent most of his day wondering just what exactly they were doing right now. They were probably already somewhere comfortable, but where was he? In a club ready to get drunk and forget about everything he’d ever done, because without them he wasn’t much. At least most of them knew ways to make a living, what did he do? He destroyed peoples’ way of living. Burning anything from personal documents to estates to 20-floor companies. You name it, he could take it down if he had the right equipment and no one would know a thing. No one would live to tell about it, leaving only ashes as a trace. How did he even expect to find somewhere to stay? He spent his time roaming, usually spending the night in a public park or if he was lucky, he wouldn’t get kicked out of a club and could sleep a bit more warmly.

He smirked and shook his head tapping his foot against the floor wondering where his drink was actually at. It’d been far more than ten minutes since he’d ordered, and he was sitting at the bar. Service shouldn’t be this slow.

“Why don’t you taste each other you freaks?! Eunmi—“ His ears peeked curiously as her turned, eye set on the waitress he’d been eyeing earlier—Yumi, he assumed her name was. Unsure of whether he should do another he watched as she was snatched by her blouse, her back knocking against the marble surface of the bar. Three older men were obviously not composed and looking for a good time—just with the wrong woman. He switched his eyes back to the woman eyeing her face and squinting weirdly. He’d seen her before. He wasn’t able to place it yet, but they’d definitely met before. His eyes trailed from her face to her clothing…or rather lack of clothing. She was wearing the same thing his last server had dawned—short-shorts and a white shirt.

Already, he placed at the top of his list in ranking of the clubs. Something about her stood out more than even the girls he’d spent his time watching spin around the poles. Her legs were long and slim, yet the curves around her waist were apparent. There was not a scar on her body. Her chest wasn’t bursting outrageous but not flat either. He forced himself not to grin. He liked what he saw—possession. There was no way he would let those old men spoil her. So being the kind gentleman he was, he sauntered over quietly, unafraid of what might happen.

“I think you’re a beautiful contest for—“ Yumi cringed at the sudden looseness of her shirt and the shatter of glass on the club floor followed by a heavy thud. For a moment, everything seemed to stop in an instant—the club music seemed to lower, the atmosphere turning into a deadly silence. Yet everything was just the opposite. People turned, their eyes watching the scene unfold curiously, but not curious enough as to inquire what exactly was going on. Hesitantly, she twisted to see the same tall man she’d glanced at earlier put the other two accompanying men in the same state. Likewise, he turned meeting her eyes, and she was sure of it.

Time stopped.

She didn’t know for how long, but they just stood their staring unsure who should speak first, both too lost in each other’s presence to move their lips.

He blinked.

Time began.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause trouble.” She muttered hastily, kneeling down to clean up the mess she’d caused before any accidents could happen.

“It’s alright.” She paused before continuing, his voice stuck in her head. It was unanimously deep. Nowhere near suiting the baby face he’d shown when he entered. If it weren’t for his height, she may have even had to ask him for an I.D. She clasped large fractions of glass in her slender fingers as she bit her lip unsure if asking for another favor would be too much. “I’m going to throw them out, if that’s all right with you.” She whipped her head up shocked that he’d read her exact thoughts. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she rose and sent him a shy smile with a bow.

“Thank you. All your drinks will be on the house tonight. I promise.”

“All I need are two bottles of soju.” He returned the smile and nodded heading out the door as she continued to clean the glass. Her mind was still stuck trying figure him out. Soju? That’s all he wanted? Who came to a full on strip club for soju? Wasn’t that available nearly every other place? She thought back to his face and his voice. She was completely positive she hadn’t heard or seen him before but something about him was ringing a bell in her head. One she simply couldn’t place. Still she did as he asked leaving two bottles of soju and a cup at his previous seat before going to serve another table and hoping it wouldn’t be anywhere near as catastrophic.

Chanyeol dumped the three men on the sidewalk mercilessly as he dusted himself, though he knew that wouldn’t rid the smell of alcohol from his clothes any faster. He was sure of it. Where had he seen that bartender before? Everything about her seemed familiar—from her long eyelashes and long limbs to her cute, small nose and kissable lips. Why couldn’t he remember her? All he knew was that every time he looked at her, she set off a mental alarm in his head. Everything about her told him to steer clear of her, but all he wanted to do was get closer. He’d never had this feeling before but something about it was screaming dangerous territory. Still, he wanted to know who she was. Maybe he could call up Sehun—

He cursed. That was right. He didn’t have access to his other five brothers anymore. He’d be wondering who she was forever unless his memory decided to act right—it wouldn’t. With a sigh, he left the cold night to enter the club again, seeing her continuing her job, this time with no interruptions. He knew after the scene he’d caused, no one would want to touch her for the rest of the night. With a silent chuckle, he grinned continuing to his seat where two bottles of soju awaited him.

“It’s fine, Eunji. I’ll close up.” Eunji rolled her eyes.

“Fine, whatever. Hurry up and kick that guy out. It won’t be good for you if the boss finds out he stayed the night.” With a stiff nod, Yumi ushered her co-worker out of the building locking the front door after her, before turning at staring at her previous in disbelief. He hadn’t even finished one bottle and he was sleeping cozily on the bar, a serene expression on his face. She laughed before going over and lightly shaking him.

“Sir? We’re closing now.”

“…”

“Sir?” Still no response. She tugged on his collar much harder, but he didn’t budge an inch; the soju had obviously done its job well. She glanced between him and the back door. There was no way she could leave him here—she’d surely be fired if she left him there without super vision, but she couldn’t stay either. Two other jobs called her attention before this one, and at the same time leaving him on the same side of the street as her three molesters didn’t seem deserving of him either. “He wouldn’t might a night at my house…would he?”

Chanyeol was on another mission. It was an important one. One of their allies had split because of a bad deal and found it funny to hand over private information to a rival source? Suho definitely didn’t find humor in it in the least, neither had he found that ally giving them loans to take them down? Suho wouldn’t have it—no one would. No matter how mad of a business it was, this was what connected them—this was what brought them together. Usually, they didn’t have to take it as far as removing people from the face of the earth; their leader Suho simply wasn’t that kind of a person. However, this time was different. They were only moments away from being reported to the police nevertheless losing contact with each other and their lives. Chanyeol wasn’t going to even let the thought become a slim chance—the exact reason he volunteered to take their opponent out before they were taken down. Suho had obliged, giving him the location of their estate and everything else there was to know about their victim.

And now, here he was lining down the house with enough chemicals to make sure the large mansion would burn fast enough to make it look like an accident—starting with the idiotic mistake of someone leaving the stove on. He knew the Jung family had two children, one of which was a prodigy he’d heard. In his young age, he was already qualified to take over the family business in a matter of time, the only thing keeping him away from that head seat was his father. The other was nearly as smart being the top of her class, or rather in her school. If her brother weren’t good enough to take over, she was definitely a second candidate. Chanyeol couldn’t allow either of them to escape alive.

Concentrated, he lined her bedroom with gas, hers being the last of the whole house. He’d placed a lock on her parents and brothers door, making sure that no matter what they weren’t getting out, probably not even going to realize what was happening until the very last minute. Merciless but necessary. That’s how these things always went. He’d even had Sehun crack into their safe and he left the door open, spreading gas all over the money, making sure they wouldn’t last either, but taking the borrowed amount into his possession. No one struck against their organization. No one.

Finished, he placed the gasoline into his bag and made his way down stairs to turn on the stove, walking back up the stairs to exit out the girl’s bedroom window.

“Mom…Dad..” He froze as he heard her mutter those words in her sleep, knowing that if she awoke before the right time, he’d have to end her life on the spot, and Chanyeol didn’t enjoy directly taking the lives of others. However, he could feel the temperature rising dramatically, and he smirked. He loved the heat. He loved fire to be exact. The way it could tear down everything in its path without mercy—something he was unable to do constantly. Immediately, the cracking of various pieces of wood alerted him, and just to test his abilities he placed his hand on the door knob. Almost immediately he pulled back with a slightly pained hiss. The metal was hot and as he stared downward, eh could see trails of smoke beginning to infest the room—his queue to leave.

He shrugged and passed the girl, taking a moment to glance at her face.

One moment was far too much. He stared at her longer than he should have, his eyes traving every feature she had. She was beautiful. Her long, shiny dark chocolate locks caught his eye as wells as her long eyelashes that were peacefully closed over what he assumed would be dark brown eyes as well. Her skin shined radiantly, even in the moonlight, and by her figure under the blankets, he could tell she had rather long legs. Her lips were a plump light pink just asking to be bruised on the spot, and honestly, Chanyeol had to hold himself back from doing soo. Her sleeping figure was absolutely perfect.

Several cracks of wood brought him out of his daze and he blinked, gulping at the sight of her. She wasn’t the real target right? It wouldn’t hurt to keep one member of their family alive, right? Everything they had—rights, deeds, finances, mortgages—was in this house and, he’d already visited those companies to destroy those documents physically, and Sehun took care of any cyber copies without notice of hacking into their websites. If she lived, she’d have nothing but it was better than dying right? He whipped his head toward the door which had now caught on fire as well as part of the surrounding walls. He bit his lip and against his better judgment, nudged her roughly until he saw her shuffle and nudged her again, breaking through her window, knowing that the shatter of glass would have her up in no time. He wouldn’t tell Suho that he left her alive. He wouldn’t tell anyone.