Muffled yelling came from behind Mir as he ran. He made no sound, his footsteps as stealthy as a hunting cat as he slithered swiftly within the shadows, away from his pursuers. He struggled to take deep slow breaths to conceal the sound of his panting as he ran, knowing that he had no way of knowing if there was someone around the corner.

 

 

 

When the noises eventually faded into silence, Mir allowed himself to lean against the wall of an alley and relax – slightly, not enough for someone to catch him off guard. He lifted his hands and examined the bloodstains crusted on them with distaste. His victim had put up a surprisingly good fight and their struggle was just enough to tip off the rest of the gang. The water dripping from a pipe above him made a handy tap as Mir scrubbed at his hands with his nails. He was an assassin and while the job was not quite to his taste, it was the only choice he had left.

 

 

 

Mir grunted in annoyance at a particularly stubborn stain on his favourite – and only – jacket. Seungho always gave him the messiest tasks. Unknown to the general public, the entire of South Korea was divided into territories with individual gangs controlling different areas. His victim tonight was part of a gang who had been breaching into their territory recently and this was just a warning for them to back off.

 

 

 

His hands and jacket reasonably clean now, Mir stretched and headed to base in a smooth, steady lope. G.O, the ever protective hyung, was bound to badger Seungho to send someone out for him if Mir took too long to come back. God knows how embarrassing that would be then, especially if it was his mentor, Joon. At least Thunder would get a kick out of it.

 

 

 

The sound of thumping and soft curses reached him and Mir fell into a defensive crouch reflexively, scanning the area with narrowed eyes. He followed the sound to a nearby alley, taking care to avoid loose stones along the way. On the streets, you can never be too careful. Mir had learned this the hard way when he nearly lost his head – literally – a few years back. Peering around a corner, Mir tried to make out what was happening.

 

 

 

A pair of struggling shadows stood in a corner.

 

 

 

The slimmer of the two was pressed against the wall and from what Mir could see, it was a girl no older than him. She was fighting to free herself despite the burly built of her assaulter. She suddenly bit down on the guy’s hand and he howled with anger and pain.

 

 

 

‘Filthy , you’re going to pay for this!’ he snarled and proceeded to rip her coat off. Her coat sailed towards him and smacked him in the face before he had time to duck. Mir’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Okay, that’s it. No one messes with him and gets away with it. He strode towards the guy and tore him off the girl. The man’s eyes were small and filled with malice as they landed on Mir. He threw a clumsy punch and Mir swerved aside neatly, catching his fist and using his momentum to send the guy crashing into the opposite wall. Mir weaved and ducked as he sent punches and kicks to the weakening fool, finally sending him into oblivion with a hard whack to the back of his greasy head.

 

 

 

Mir turned to regard the girl curiously, who looked right back at him without a hint of fear. Her sweater was ripped almost in half and she held them together with one hand at as she stood up. ‘Thank you,’ she said uncertainly, ‘You saved my – ’ The rest of her sentence was cut off as Mir shot across to her and slammed her against the wall.

 

 

 

‘Don’t thank me too soon,’ he hissed threateningly, ‘For all you know I could be saving you for myself.’ Despite her impassive stare, Mir caught a flicker of doubt and fear in them. ‘Or maybe, I’ll kill you now that you’ve seen what I can do.’

 

 

 

‘You wouldn’t.’ she shot back. Mir was taken aback, none of his victims ever contradicted him before, especially when he put on the big bad Mir act. Most of them just fell to pieces and begged for their life. One bastard even offered up his wife and children in exchange for his own life. Mir had punished him soundly for that.

 

 

 

To cover up his surprise, Mir pulled a blade still crusted with blood out of his jeans pocket and pressed it against her soft throat. ‘And pray tell, my lady, why wouldn’t I?’ he breathed into her ear mockingly, inhaling the scent of shampoo and warm skin. He sensed, rather than heard her swallow nervously. But when she spoke her voice was steady.

 

 

 

‘If you really wanted to kill me you would have just slit our throats first instead of wasting time and energy.’ For the second time in a few minutes Mir was surprised. She spoke to him so normally, as though they were two ordinary people having a debate rather than her imminent death. As he mulled over her words, he noticed that her shoulders shook with faint tremors. He drew back slightly, just enough to give her more space to breathe and frowned at her, puzzled. Her face was cool and emotionless, bored even and her dark eyes looked levelly into his smoky ones. It wasn’t very cold and Mir was prepared to bet his jacket that beneath her crusty exterior she was terrified.

 

 

 

Against his better judgement, Mir released her and stepped back. He walked over to her coat and picked it up, draping it around her shoulders gently. ‘You shouldn’t even be here at this time,’ he chided gruffly, ‘Where do you live? I’ll send you home tonight.’ Sighing internally, Mir pictured Seungho’s face if he ever got wind of this. Saving a girl from her would-be and then escorting her home afterwards was not Seungho’s idea of lying low.

 

 

 

‘Not far off. I had a late shift at the convenience store.’ She replied as they walked out of the alley. The girl straightened her back and pulled her coat more securely around her. She was around twenty, tall and with a slender build. Mir drew himself up self-consciously, trying to appear taller. He saw her cast a sideway glance at him and smirk. ‘What?’ he demanded.

 

 

 

She merely shook her head and chuckled softly. The movement sent her glossy locks rippling down her back. The girl wasn’t stunningly beautiful, but she was somewhat pretty and she had a face that would probably be striking with some makeup on. ‘What’s your name?’ he asked suddenly.

 

 

 

She considered his question briefly and flashed him a look, as though deciding whether to trust him or not. Apparently what she saw satisfied her and she replied, ‘Ja Yeon. Han Ja Yeon.’

 

 

 

‘Nature?’ he asked skeptically.

 

 

 

‘I was born in the forest.’ She answered simply as they climbed up the steps of an apartment. ‘My mother was collecting water from a river when the labour pains came.’ Ja Yeon gave him a wry smile as they waited for the aged elevator to arrive.

 

 

 

Mir hummed in acknowledgement and nodded. The name suited her somehow. She was calm and strangely intriguing. Under the harsh glare of the dirty fluorescent light overhead, her hair was a golden brown colour, much lighter than the typical Korean but from what Mir could tell, it wasn’t dyed. He glanced around at the deserted lobby critically. It wasn’t rundown to the point of being inhospitable, but there was a distinctly shabby air about it. They rode the creaky elevator to the 9^th floor in silence, each stewing in their own thoughts. Ja Yeon didn’t seem to mind the silence much, and neither did Mir. The silence was surprisingly comfortable considering that they just met each other not more than 20 minutes ago.

 

 

 

The elevator dinged and opened to a dim hallway with windows lining one side and closed doors the other. Ja Yeon walked to the end of the corridor and pulled out a set of keys to unlock the door. When the door swung inwards, she turned to him, looking a bit embarrassed and awkward. ‘Um, do you need a glass of water or something?’ Clearly, she wasn’t used to dealing with this kind of situations. From what Mir gathered over the past minutes, she probably helped herself most of the time.

 

 

 

‘It’s fine.’ He answered briefly, glancing at his watch. ‘I have an appointment to run to.’ Mir gave her a smile, a small but genuine one. It had been a long time since he had done something like this to someone other than his hyungs. The feeling was pleasant and it warmed his insides like the soup G.O would make for them after an assignment.

 

 

 

Ja Yeon fiddled with her fingers almost absentmindedly. It was the first sign of unease he had seen in her. ‘About tonight…thank you for helping me.’ Mir noticed how she had said ‘helped’ and not ‘saved’. Definitely a strong and independent girl, he thought, amused. ‘By the way,’ she continued, ‘I’ve been meaning to ask this but who are you?’

 

 

 

Mir shook his head, ‘You’re better off not knowing. Just call me Mir.’

 

 

 

‘Mir,’ she repeated, tasting the name as she stepped through the door. Just before she shut the door, her warm brown eyes met his and she smiled. ‘Well, I owe you one…Mir.’