Chansung stared blankly at the television screen dumbfounded and at a loss to what to even feel. The name repeated itself in his head, echoing again and again. Seo Minjae. Seo Minjae was murdered last night. Seo Minjae, Minji’s uncle- her only family. Anger gripped at him, rushing through his veins knowing that once more, someone out there was unjustly killed, and his family won’t even receive the kind of peace they deserved. He knew that whoever killed Minji’s uncle was above and beyond the law. The police could do nothing to help her, but he could. Chansung could help her.

“Chansung, are you okay?” Jinwoon asked, staring at the twisted and broken stems in Chansung’s tightly clenched fists. He too, heard the news but was much calmer.

“It’s Minji,” Chansung answered through tightly gritted teeth, tossing away the remains of what should have been a branch arrangement.

A worried frown crossed Jinwoon’s face. He was certain that they were going to get the call to take down whoever was in charge of these beastly killings and it bothered him knowing that Chansung was going to get personally involved with the case. Again. It was, to Jinwoon, Chansung’s hamartia. His fatal flaw that Jinwoon feared may cause the assassin’s downfall. “What are you planning?”

Chansung’s eyes narrowed at the tone of Jinwoon’s voice. “I have to do something.”

“No, you don’t,” Jinwoon argued. “You’re not supposed to do anything. That’s not our call.”

Chansung’s frowned deepened. “She’s my friend. She’s your friend too! We have to help her, at least bring her something.”

Jinwoon pushed himself closer to Chansung. He worked the words in his head, his hands on his lap tugging at the hem of his shirt. “Chansung, we don’t have friends,” he said, slowly and carefully. “We can’t have friends.”

“But we’re friends...” a hesitant pause, “right?”

It was often a question that crossed their minds many a time. They worked together the longest from Hell, even before Hell had been known as the indomitable team it was today, Chansung and Jinwoon had worked together. Were they friends? They never considered the word before. For Chansung it was a necessity, even thieves had some form of honor, some form of bond between them, why not between hired assassins? But the younger one in the wheelchair thought differently. No one was ever as truly sincere to a boy who couldn’t walk.

“Look Jinwoon, I’m going. Even if I can only bring her flowers as of now, I’ll do it.”

When Chansung was decided on something, it was hard to even attempt to stop him, and Jinwoon sighed in resignation. He followed Chansung as the taller one picked up a white bouquet of lilies and chrysanthemums and snatched his keys from the hook by the counter.

“Take me with you,” Jinwoon said firmly just as Chansung was about to mount his motorbike.

Chansung thought he had heard wrong and he stared at Jinwoon incredulously. “What?”

Jinwoon was unfazed. “Take me with you.”

Chansung stared at his sports bike then at Jinwoon, then back again. He did this for a few more rounds before shaking his head. “Are you sure?”

“I’m not making you go alone, what if you do something stupid?”

Chansung sighed. Jinwoon may not look as if he could stop someone like Chansung, but looks were very deceiving. “Fine, but...” Chansung’s voice trailed off as his eyes landed on Junsu’s black sport car parked on the street. “Who’s gonna watch the shop?”

“Junsu’s in there. Sleeping I think, and Nichkhun’s arranging the back. The bells will chime and he’ll hear them for sure.”

Chansung’s gaze fell on Junsu’s car again. The eldest always kept his keys with him, and he was definitely never going to lend his car. Chansung wasn’t about to ask Nichkhun either, though the blonde’s car was just out back inside the garage. He weighed the consequences quickly, and decided that Junsu was harmless compared to Nichkhun. Within minutes Chansung had unlocked Junsu’s car without triggering the alarm, carried Jinwoon and his wheelchair in, and hot-wired the car. The last part wasn’t easy as their mechanic customized everything for security, but Chansung worked around the hood easily. It helped that he was actually present when their mechanic, Alisha, was assembling everything. He shuddered at thought of bringing Junsu’s car back to her for repairing. She wasn’t exactly the nicest with her loud complaining about how Chansung was so careless about his bike, and now Junsu’s car.

Pushing the thoughts for later, Chansung swung out to the driveway, speeding off as soon as he saw Junsu running up to the front door, screaming all sorts of profanities.

There were reporters and policemen everywhere around Minji’s small house, and Chansung felt just a little bit anxious as he pulled up the driveway. Jinwoon’s wheelchair came first, then Jinwoon, and lastly the flowers which Chansung deposited on Jinwoon’s lap.

Minji looked smaller than ever with her arms wrapped around her as police and crime scene officers went in and out of their house. She was visibly trembling, and Chansung was afraid she would soon collapse. He walked past the yellow tape, brows furrowing at the news van that just arrived. More people here was not good for Minji, she was already watching her life be taken away from her, the rest of the world didn’t need to see it too. He laid a gentle hand on her elbow and Minji looked up at him with bloodshot eyes and cracked lips, her face pallid like she hadn’t slept a wink.

“Hey.” It was the only thing Chansung could say to her.

The girl’s lips quivered violently though it was obvious she was trying to stop herself from breaking down. She opened to speak, but no words came out. Dropping her head low, she followed Chansung as he led her towards the side where he sat both of them on the curb. Jinwoon followed, suddenly uncertain with how to deal with the devastated Minji.

Flowers in hand, Jinwoon tried his best to console her. “Here, I hope these make you feel better, even if it’s just a little.” The words sounded patronizing to his ears, and he knew that words weren’t enough to console her.

Minji accepted the bouquet, nodding her head and laying the flowers on her lap. “Who would do this to him?” she croaked. “What kind of monster is capable of doing such a thing?” Her nails dug into the fabric of her jeans, and she shook violently as she held her anger and her confusion in.

Tears finally made their way down her eyes, and feeling helpless, Chansung wrapped a supportive arm around her. He knew only one way to help her, and as his eyes met Jinwoon’s, the younger boy now understood. Jinwoon nodded gravely at Chansung, he was now as involved in this as the other.

…

Junsu was waiting for them. Chansung parked the car inside the garage this time, making a mental note to bring it over to Alisha when they had some free time. Right now, Minji was the priority, and he hurriedly carried Jinwoon out. He walked past a fuming Junsu and ignored him, choosing to head straight into the backroom where a meeting was already called. Junsu followed behind him, a string of curses interspersed with a lecture on how Chansung was not allowed to steal from Hell.

“Save it Junsu, I’ll bring it over to Alisha later.”

The eldest however, was not appeased. “You better,” he muttered, entering the back room after Chansung and Jinwoon.

Nichkhun and Rai were already seated accordingly. Kwon and Min were discussing something silently between them, and all Hell members wondered why they even bothered when they knew Nichkhun could hear them. Then again, Chansung thought, Nichkhun wouldn’t even bother involving himself, much more tell someone else about it.

The lights went down as soon as Chansung was seated, and Staunton appeared before them. He was, as always, in silhouette form, though Chansung could sense a tightness in the way he presented himself. Almost as if he were stressed out over something.

“Hell, your mission is to take out the mastermind behind the Beast Killings.” A picture of a scientist popped up in a small window. “Your first target is Hu Fengmin, a geneticist from NeoBeijing. He is the one transforming these boys,” six pictures of college level students appeared in the projection, “into the monsters guilty of brutal murders. You may need to face them in combat, I want you to engage with no hesitation. They are a danger to both you and to NeoSeoul. Your second target, is Park Yoochun, Hu Fengmin’s financial backer.” The previous pictures on the screen vanished and was replaced by the photograph of another man. “He has entrusted Hu with the research grant to create him an army of bodyguards and hired mercenaries to do his dirty work. I want you to take him out.”

Hell was silent. Kwon pulled out the files and passed them on as he usually did, making sure the right specifics went to the right assassin. Chansung was confused when he opened his up. He only had one target.

“Junsu, Chansung, Rai, the three of you head on to Dr. Hu’s lab and pay the lovely scientist a visit. Nichkhun will engage the business man,” Min said, switching on the lights as soon as Staunton’s projection disappeared.

Jinwoon raised his hand, and Min nodded at him, “I thought the bodyguard beasts were made for the businessman? Unless you’re saying one Nichkhun is equivalent to Rai and Chansung,” then he paused as if to make a point, “and Junsu,” he added almost as an afterthought.

Kwon pressed his lips together to hide a smile while Chansung loudly snickered in the background as a mumbling Junsu swatted him with the back of his hand.

“Where’s Kass?” Junsu asked. Kass was always a late comer, but she usually made it in time for the briefing. That, and Kwon conveniently forgot to mention her.

“Kass is on a little side-mission we handed her. She’ll be with you on the mission night once she finishes hers,” Min answered.

Kwon cleared his throat to bring the attention back to him. “If this bothers you then know that Staunton just wants the targets dead, trade places if you like, team-up differently, just get the job done.” Kwon met everyone’s gaze squarely. The word team was a foreign concept to Hell even when they worked together in synergy. He didn’t expect them to like each other or be friends. They were at least civil to one another, and that was already an accomplishment in itself.

Nichkhun was the first to leave followed by Junsu, then Rai. Chansung stayed behind, and Kwon knew why. “Don’t worry about your friend,” he said, approaching Chansung.

The taller boy looked up at him from his seat, obviously surprised.

“Seo Minjae worked for the Main Office, Minji will be taken care of. You do what you need to do and we’ll handle the rest. That was the original arrangement, remember?”

Chansung nodded in understanding, his eyes momentarily flashing towards Jinwoon. “I remember.”

~ ♙ ~

Kass bent over and pulled her sheer thigh-high stockings up and fastened the garter belt before straightening her tight skirt. She shimmied her hips a little to fix the fit and buttoned up her blouse. Men were easy. Put on a press badge and open up some buttons on your blouse and even detectives were willing to tell every single detail they knew. She slipped her feet into her stiletto pumps and nudged the two dead bodies on the floor. Lee Minwoo and Park Junjin weren’t going to bother the Main Office anymore. Kass took one more look around the apartment and sighed. There was going to be some cleaning up to do.

…

“You weren’t supposed to kill them.”

Kass rolled her eyes at Fei. They should be thankful she even decided to stop by and report the job done. Fei had both her hands planted on the single desk in the room, and Kass sneered at the minimalist interior. Didn’t they know that more was always better? And why was Fei even there? As far as Kass knew, it was Kwon she was supposed to be talking to. Not that Kwon would be get any better of a treatment.

“Look,” Kass mirrored Fei’s position on the desk, and held her gaze, “you told me to look into what they already knew about the Main Office, I did. I made a decision that they knew enough, and that they had to go. So I killed them.”

Fei did not waver one bit. “Those weren’t your orders, Kass.”

“I’m not some dog like you, I can make my own decisions based on my judgment. Besides,” she let the gravity of her statement hang dramatically in the air before she continued, “I don’t answer to you, so you can’t tell me what to do.”

With a quick snap of her lips, Kass spun around and left the room, her heels clacking loudly as she sauntered down the corridor.