Her phone buzzed during her Music Theory class while the teacher was writing notes on the whiteboard. She looked around to make sure no one saw and quickly opened up the message. She glanced once more at the board to ensure that the teacher was occupied before reading it.

Want to ditch dance practice together toady? No captains and no seniors means free time for us! =D

She remembered what day it was and her heart sank as she typed her reply.

Sorry, but I'm busy today. =( Maybe we can hang out tomorrow? They aren't coming back until Friday, so we've got lots of time to chill. =)

She hit the Send button, but accidentally elbowed her seat partner, Jang Wooyoung. "Sorry!" she whispered as she shifted away from him. He nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to copy down the notes.

A moment later, she received another text from Ki Kwang. The teacher was still lecturing while facing the board, so she opened it and read the message.

Aw... =( What're you doing? Can I come? =D

She stiffened, know he'd definitely want to come if he knew it involved her brother. She hated lying to him after she promised to stop deceiving him and Joon, but she had to do this alone.

Doctor's appointment. I'm leaving after lunch.

Moments later, Ki Kwang texted her back.

Aw... I hope nothing's wrong. =( Text me when you get back from your appointment, OK? Joon wants to have a Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament with the rest of the dance team. You up for it? =D

She smiled, glad to have met these two boys who treated her as one of them.

If it's not too late, I'll drop by. =)

--

She drove to the warehouse and parked at the curb. It was the place she'd gone to for her training and one of the mafia's main hideouts in South Korea. She knew Key would be there, since it was the only mafia location he'd brought her to.

When she raised her hand to knock on the door, it swerved open and she was ushered inside. A short bodyguard bowed and quickly closed the door after her. "We've been expecting you, Young Mistress. T.O.P and Key will meet you in Key's office. Follow me."

The corridors were dimly lit by small, blue-flamed lanterns. Their steps echoed loudly in the eerily silent hallways. Shadows would appear on the walls, but as soon as she turned to see who was there, the shadows disappeared in a blink. Although she wasn't surprised by their ninja reflexes, it did make her nervous.

Finally, she and the bodyguard arrived at Key's office. The tall, steel door was emblazoned with the mafia's symbol, a red triangle encircled by a black snake whose fangs dripped blood. Seeing this always gave her the shivers, but she gave herself a little shake and turned the handle of the door.

"There you are. Taeyang, you may leave."

Taeyang bowed and left without a backwards glance, closing the door firmly behind him.

"Have a seat. We wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable during our little chat."

She nervously walked to an empty chair in front of Key's desk and sat down. Putting on a brave face, she boldly asked, "What do you want?"

Key put his fingertips together while his elbows rested on his desk. "I understand that you've broken up with the nuisance. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"You've moved in with Ryeowook and you're attending Seoul Arts Academy right now."

"Yes."

"And our parents have a faint idea of where you are, but they're waiting for you to crawl back to them and beg for forgiveness instead of going out of their way to retrieve you themselves."

She winced at her brother's choice of words, but knowing full well that it was highly possible that her parents were thinking that way, she choked out, "Yes."

T.O.P, who had been silently taking notes in a back corner, looked up and addressed Key. "It's going to work then. If she picks up her training from where she left off and works twice as hard as the other rookies, she'll be ready in time."

"Key, I'm not going to join the mafia." Her voice trembled, but she maintained eye contact with her brother the entire time. She hated defying her brother again, but there was no way she was going to agree to be retrained. Her life was hectic enough without the mafia. "I'm sorry, but I won't join you."

"And why not?" His tone hardened and his knuckles whitened as he pressed his fingers together harder. "Are you going after another useless boy? Don't you remember what I said last time?"

Of course she remembered. There was no way she could ever forget that day.

Flashback Start

"Can I talk to you?" It had been three weeks since she and Taemin had gotten together. He didn't have a clue about her underground life and she planned to keep it that way. Now that he was in her life, she was willing to put up with anything that her parents threw her way. Ryeowook was standing behind her for moral support.

"Hm?" Key's eyes flicked upward for a brief moment before returning to the map of Athens, Greece, that he was marking up.

She took a deep breath before answering, "I want to stop training. I don't want to be part of the mafia anymore."

A loud crack reverberated throughout the room and the red pen that Key had been using lay on his desk in pieces, the crimson ink seeping all over his right hand and dripping onto the map. He stood up slowly, his hands still clenched on his desk and his chest heaving as he took deep breaths. "Why?" His voice was low and quiet, but she heard him clearly.

"I've decided to just follow in Mom and Dad's footsteps," she answered shakily.

She flinched when he slammed his fist onto the desk. "Don't lie to me. It's something else."

Suddenly, the door creaked open, revealing T.O.P. "Time to go. Executive Lieutenant Leeteuk says we're in charge until the operation is over. We might get promoted, if it's done right." When Key didn't answer, T.O.P noticed how tense the Kim siblings were and asked tentatively, "What's going on?"

Key ignored him and demanded, "Tell me why you're quitting!"

"Because—"

"Lieutenant Governor Key, someone wishes to see you right now," a voice spoke through the intercom.

Key angrily pushed the speaker button and answered, "Send whoever it is away. I'm busy!" He disconnected his link to the intercom so that they wouldn't be disrupted again. "Tell me. I know you aren't really going to follow Mom and Dad. Did Ryeowook convince you to leave?" His eyes narrowed as he glared at his cousin.

"Leave Ryeowook out of this. This is all my decision." It was now or never. If she didn't tell him now, she'd lose all of her confidence and her only chance to leave this place. "I want to live a normal life. The mafia is too much work and I don't want to spend the rest of my life in secrecy once I leave school." She hadn't told him everything, but hopefully, this would be enough. "I'm going to leave now. I'm sorry I can't continue, but I'll—"

"Shut up!" Key walked up to her and tilted her face towards him with his right hand. "Tell me the truth," he hissed.

She gulped before responding, "That is the truth. I want out. I'm sick of this place."

"I've known you for fifteen years. Tell me the real reason!" His grip on her face strengthened and she had to bite back a yelp of pain.

"I have a boyfriend and I don't want to be in the mafia anymore. Happy?"

She suddenly found herself on the floor, clutching her pained left cheek. Her eyes watered, but she blinked back the tears.

"What the heck, Kibum!" Ryeowook's eyes blazed as he helped her up.

"Get out of my way, cousin," Key hissed as he shoved Ryeowook to the floor. He grabbed his sister's shoulders and shook her roughly. "Why the heck would you throw away your life for an IDIOT BOY?!" The last two words came out as a roar as he pushed her against a wall, almost breaking her spine due to the force. "I order you to break up with him NOW!"

"No."

"What did you say?" At that point, rage overtook Key and he aimed a punch at her. "You ungrateful little—"

"STOP!" Ryeowook tackled Key and held him to the ground.

Key socked Ryeowook in the face and pushed him off. The mafia lieutenant governor staggered as he pulled himself up, clutching his left elbow that he landed hard on when he was pushed to the floor. "Stay out of this, cousin. You have no business here."

Ryeowook wiped away a trail of blood from his mouth before answering, "You, of all people, should understand what it's like to live within boundaries. You have no right to impose restrictions on your little sister."

"SHUT UP!" Key jumped on Ryeowook and began an all-out brawl with his cousin.

She watched this with a horrified expression on her face. Finally, she found her voice and she screeched, "STOP IT!" She noticed T.O.P watching with the same horrified expression. "T.O.P, stop them!"

The mafia heir sprang into action and jumped in between the fighting cousins. He managed to pry them apart and spoke into the microphone clipped onto his shirt collar. "Send security to Lieutenant Governor Key's office NOW." T.O.P held onto Key, who was glaring at Ryeowook.

Ryeowook was on the floor, clutching his abdomen and wincing from the dark purple bruise that was forming on his right eye. Key wasn't faring any better. His left elbow was now stuck at a strange angle and blood dripped down his face from his upper lip.

Key turned to stare at his sister and said in a low voice, "You're pathetic. You're giving yourself up to a boy who has no part in your future. You're throwing away this once-in-a-lifetime chance to take part in something bigger than all of us. You're worthless if you think a boyfriend can make a difference in your life. All you'll do is waste your time buying expensive gifts and going on stupid dates. You have NO future like this."

"Key, it's not like that," she whimpered as she stared at the ground, unable to return her brother's icy stare.

"We've got to go, Key," T.O.P urged, still holding onto his best friend. "You can discuss this when we come back." He stared at the door, willing security to hurry.

"Let GO of me, T.O.P!" Key violently struggled out of the older male's grasp and ran towards his sister. However, he crashed to the ground before he could reach her.

Ryeowook glared murderously at him as he held onto his cousin's right ankle. "Leave her alone, Kibum."

Key used his other foot squash Ryeowook's hand. The dancer yelped in pain as he released his hold on Key's ankle. The mafia lieutenant governor painfully stood up and looked down at his cousin. "Never-lay-your-hands-on-me-ever-AGAIN!" Every word was accentuated with a kick to the stomach.

"SECURITY, GET OVER HERE NOW!" T.O.P yelled into his microphone before running over to help up Ryeowook. The dancer coughed up blood and his face was deathly white. "Key, stop this right now! They're your family!"

Key whipped around and answered venomously, "They've betrayed me, just like my parents." He turned again to look at her and said, "You've made a grave mistake, defying me for that reason. You're going to regret it one day."

She saw the madness in his eyes and quickly looked away, afraid that being in the mafia had turned him into this insane, violent beast. This only hardened her resolve to leave, before she turned into a monster like that. Key reached her and used his hand to force her to look into his eyes. She was locked in a trance, unable to escape from the despair and rage she saw in her brother's eyes.

The door slammed open and Taeyang ran inside while carrying a loaded AK-47. "What's going on?" He surveyed the room in confusion and let his gun fall to his side.

"Take the Young Mistress and her cousin to the infirmary NOW." T.O.P's words jolted her out of the trance and she shook Key's hand off of her chin before running to Ryeowook. With T.O.P's help, she managed to drag him to Taeyang, who hoisted the dancer onto his back. "Go!" T.O.P shut the door behind them and she heard Key's indistinct shouts as they quickly walked away.

Flashback End

"Key, I'm so sorry for wronging you in the past." Her voice cracked and her eyes swam with tears. "Honestly, I thought being in the mafia would turn me into a heartless monster, so when I got together with my ex, I wanted to leave because I didn't want to hurt him. But even without the mafia, I was violent and let my rage take over."

Key's expression softened and he answered, "That's because the mafia doesn't change you into a violent person. Our family was born that way. Our parents are some of the most violent people I've ever met and we picked up their behaviors at a young age."

"Even so, I won't join the mafia again. I love being at S.A.A. and I have no interest in what you guys do."

"You'll only have to be involved temporarily, if that's what you choose," T.O.P interjected. "We need you for one mission. I think you'll be quite interested." He riffled through a stack of papers on his lap and extracted a pale blue sheet from the pile. "Here. Read it."

She began reading, but quickly stopped at the line, Objective: Kill Jang Wooyoung. "What the heck! Why're you targeting someone from my school?!"

"Just keep reading," Key ordered.

She grimly obeyed him, knowing that there was no point in arguing with him so shortly after they had reconciled with each other.

Reason: Jang Wooyoung is the adopted son of the esteemed Duke Brendan Joyce of Ireland. After killing the duke and his immediate family, it was discovered that Mr. Jang had uncovered all three hide-outs in Ireland: the Dublin base, the Cork base, and the Lime