The mark wasn't hard to find, no, Yukwon knew his habits well enough by now to know what he did and where. All it took was a bit of waiting, a bit of thinking, and suddenly everything was being put into motion.  

 

The middle of a park was the location this time. It was summer, midday, and the grassy expanses were filled with picnic blankets and couples sharing ice cream. It was too light, too happy, too disgusting- the atmosphere overflowing with a sickening effervescence.

 

Yukwon was nothing short of a master of disguise however, so, sitting there on a bench dressed casually in shorts and a t-shirt, he could have passed as a careless civilian. He looked friendly and open; just another young man out enjoying the sunshine.

 

The mark knew differently.

 

“You’re out in the open for once.”

 

It wasn’t a question, and Yukwon could see the smooth lines of the dark-haired boy’s face settled into a serious frown as he eased himself onto the bench next to the killer.

 

“Well observed.”

 

Keeping his plan in mind, Yukwon turned to face the target with a small, disarming smile, which was noticed and reciprocated surprisingly swiftly.

 

“May I ask why?” His voice was careful, moderated, wary. That wouldn’t do.

 

“You may, but I don’t know what my answer would be.”

 

The target smiled again, wider, and crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed to be relaxing, amused at some inner comment he had made as his lips turned into a smirk. There was a pause of silence, the sounds of the busy lawns ringing around the two.

 

“Yukwon, Kim Yukwon.”

 

“Sorry?”

 

Yukwon cocked his head to the side, an easy grin forming on his lips.

 

“My name.” He watched as various emotions flashed over the mark’s face; predominantly surprise and happiness, but with the barest flicker of concern.

 

“Well, they call me B-Bomb, but I suppose you already know that’s not my real name.”

 

Yukwon hadn’t known the pseudonym, but he kept quiet all the same.

 

“Lee Minhyuk. I suppose its a pleasure to meet you, Mr Kim.” The target, or ‘Minhyuk’, grinned at this, offering his hand and bowing in respect.

 

It was ridiculous. It seemed he was forgetting that Yukwon was an assassin, or, more importantly, the man who was going to inevitably cut his life short. The amount of respect on display from the young man was absolutely fascinating.

 

“Just call me Yukwon, formalities won’t be necessary here.” The Cat turned his body to face Minhyuk, noticing the genuinely contented grin on his target’s face. This was good. As information collections go, this simple introduction had offered up quite a few clues into the workings of this mark’s mind.

 

"Are you here to kill me, Yukwon?" Surprisingly, the target's smile didn't look out of place as his lips worked around that sentence, and he seemed to regard the killer with some sort of guarded amusement. Yukwon kept silent, watching the mark. People were fools, but they weren't stupid- especially not this mysterious boy. When Minhyuk seemed to wait for an answer, The Cat rolled his eyes.

 

"Seriously? You think I'd kill you here?" He gestured at the scenery around himself. Minhyuk shrugged.

 

"I would've thought it was too public, but who knows what you assassin types can do these days, huh?" He leant back against the bench, pushing his hands into the pockets on his jeans.

 

Yukwon had to ask, it had been gnawing at his brain ever since he first spoke to the target.

 

"Is everything a joke to you?" The hitman asked, not angrily, just a hint of wear in his voice. Minhyuk raised an eyebrow.

 

"Not everything; suicides aren't a joke, fires aren't a joke, illnesses aren't a joke-"

 

"How about your own death? Do you find that funny?" Yukwon cut across his reasoning, studying the black-haired man's reactions closely. The mark just grinned.

 

"I like you, Yukwon." He stood up, pulling a small card out of his pocket and handing it to the killer. "Feel free to call me."

 

Yukwon stared down at the smooth white background, Minhyuk's name and telephone number printed in jet black ink. No adornments, no other contact details.

 

By the time he looked back up, Minhyuk was already walking away.

 

Not so fast.

 

"Got somewhere to be?" Yukwon called across the grass, watching as Minhyuk turned back with a grin.

 

"Why don't you follow me? I understand you've been doing that a lot lately, anyway."

 

-------

 

Shamelessly, Yukwon did end up following him, and, equally shamelessly, Minhyuk led him to the coffee shop wherein they had their first encounter.

 

There was something still a bit unsettling about this target, in Yukwon's mind. It was as if he'd expected that conversation in the park, expected Yukwon to follow him like a lost puppy. This is what drew the killer in; made him crave for more and more information about this guy in an attempt to figure out what made him tick. The excitement was like nicotine; burning down into his bloodstream and hooking him in it's addictive power.

 

"Thought I'd go back to the origin." Minhyuk shrugged as he took a stool at the counter again, Yukwon seating himself next to him. The barista bustled forward to take their orders, but Minhyuk sent him away with a lazy hand gesture. He leant an elbow on the wood, turning to face The Cat.

 

"Tell me about yourself." The boy's pale lips curved into a half-smile, an eyebrow arched delicately as he observed Yukwon's expression. The hitman ran a hand through his hair, pushing the unruly strands back into some sort of order, before he faced his target with amusement.

 

"Am I that interesting?"

 

Minhyuk smirked, easing his phone out of his pocket and placing it on the counter in front of him. He spun the device once, before stopping it with his index finger.

 

"You think you're not?" His cool charisma was impenetrable, eyes calm and ever soft. There was a hard quality to his apparent likeable personality, but, somehow, that just seemed to make him more friendly. He was popular because he was honest- Yukwon could see that now.

 

"You don't want to know about me." Yukwon knew this was the truth, he could see it in the target's eyes. Minhyuk looked like he could care less who Yukwon was, but it was concealing something. This conversation was seeming more and more like a battle of wits as time passed.

 

"Come on, you offer up one little tiny morsel of your life, and I'll give you the information you so desperately crave." At this, Minhyuk's smirk turned sharp, his eyes becoming scarily focused. Yukwon forced himself not to dwell on this for now, and there was a pause as the killer formulated a reply.

 

"I don't want information." 

 

The laugh that left the target's throat was anything but vulnerable.

 

"And yet, when I say 'follow', you come running."

 

An uneasy feeling settled itself into Yukwon's stomach. It seemed that he had severely underestimated the capabilities of this target. He was a far cry from the foolish, stupid marks the killer was used to. He'd known Yukwon was his killer, he'd known Yukwon had been watching him, and now he knew that Yukwon wanted information.

 

The hitman had to find out the source of this knowledge, or his whole plan could be put to waste.

 

The Cat raised an eyebrow at his target, an amused smirk playing about his lips.

 

"You're good."

 

He pulled Minhyuk's phone towards himself, and, surprisingly, the mark made no move to stop him. Instead of turning it on, however, Yukwon studied the back of the device, eyes scouring over the smooth surface. It was expensive; a new model released just weeks prior, and a quick glance at the target's clothes confirmed that he was wealthy. Maybe he was paying for this information...

 

But who the hell had it in the first place?

 

"Thank you. That means more coming from a calculated killer."

 

Yukwon smiled down at the device in his hands, listening to the mindless chatter of the customers in the shop. Finally, he looked up to meet Minhyuk's gaze.

 

"I came into this profession by choice. I had a good home life, my parents were lovely, and I did well in school. This has always been my calling, though." Yukwon laid that tiny bit of history bare, and watched as Minhyuk carefully absorbed every word. The raven-haired man smirked, before he reached over and gently prised his phone back out of Yukwon's grip. He unlocked it, and the harsh glare of the screen illuminated his features for a few seconds.

 

"Well, Yukwon," Minhyuk began, looking at the killer with earnest eyes. He slid his phone back over, and Yukwon glanced down to what he was being shown. "It seems like you have a traitor in your organisation."

 

Text's filled the tiny device's screen; each one detailing a minuscule part of Yukwon's carefully formulated plan. Eyes wide, the killer glanced at the name, and froze.

 

It was the name of his best friend.