The world is a dirty place, the business world an even dirtier one, and perhaps for people like Kyuhyun, they were the dirtiest people in that dirty world. It was greed of course, that turned the world into this dirty place, but it was also because of this greed that people like Cho Kyuhyun could survive. There wasn’t much he could do about it, it was a corrupted world out there and if he had to kill to earn his keep, he was more than prepared to do it.

One call from his boss and a task thrown at him meant hours and hours of research and preparation, sometimes even days and months. But as long as he completed whatever mission thrown at him, Kyuhyun would earn the big bucks as well as a nod of approval from the boss. The money, he needed to survive, the nod of approval just meant a promise of a bigger paycheck the next time Kyuhyun completed the job. It was an easy concept to understand: As long as Kyuhyun did well, he would get more money, the more he did well, the more money he received.

His parents would have probably have freaked out to know that he did this kind of job for a living, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t kill them and Kyuhyun and no intention of telling them what his job really was about. They thought he had settled in nicely into the job of a bodyguard for the CEO of Mars Corporate for the last five years and was living a rich and comfortable life in a huge apartment.

Kyuhyun had a difficult time convincing his parents to stop fussing over him and worrying so much that their baby boy had grown up so fast and had chosen the dangerous job of a bodyguard. Back when he had first started to work in Mars Corporate, his parents had freaked and visited him practically every day, which Kyuhyun definitely didn’t want - It began to get difficult to hide his injuries after a while. Eventually, he managed to convince them to stop worrying and they finally accepted reality that Kyuhyun could live without them since he had grown up. They now only visited once every month or so.

Of course, Kyuhyun was not exactly telling the truth when he said he was a bodyguard, but he wasn’t lying when he said he was living a good life either. The jobs he has to do only come once or twice a month and the money he earned for every completed job was more than enough to support him. He wasn’t exactly a bodyguard though, in fact, Kyuhyun didn’t think that there was a name for people with jobs like him, after all, they were probably unique only to Mars Corporate, his company.

Perhaps one might call him a spy, he spied for Mars Corporate after all, observing and finding out how to overpower the other business companies. Some would also say he was a hacker, passing through firewalls and security codes the hid the top secret information of other business companies. While others might call him a thief, which was exactly why he was in someone’s office, infiltrating a rival company to steal a piece of information that his boss desired.

It was too easy for Kyuhyun, who had managed to hack into said company’s security systems and turn off most of the obstacles. For a company that had supposedly developed a system that could hack into any other system in the world, Venus Enterprise surely had done a poor job in defending their system. Venus might be the rising star in the business industry, but they had a lot to learn if they wanted to succeed at taking down Mars from his reigning throne at the top of the business industry.

Kyuhyun smirked as the main system of Venus was hacked into and he managed to copy the system into a hard drive for Mars and deleted the original in the system. This was too easy, he had certainly expected more. Once he had accomplished his task, he bolted for the exit, leaving behind close to no evidence of him being in Venus headquarters apart from the disappearance of their system. They were going to crack when they find out and there was sure to be a police enquiry on the headlines of tomorrow’s business paper, but they’ll never find out who did it. Not unless Kyuhyun himself or his boss came clean about their dirty tricks.

He made it out of the building quick enough through an unlocked back exit, and darted into the nearest alley, breaking into a run as he navigated through the alleyways like only he could. Kyuhyun knew the alleyways throughout the city better than he knew the main roads, the only person who perhaps knew the city’s alleyways better than Kyuhyun did would probably only be the designer of the network of alleys himself who had left the world long before Kyuhyun was born.

Moving swiftly and almost without a sound, Kyuhyun made his way through the alley network, not even stopping to decide which way to take to reach the destination he had in mind. He did not have to hesitate at the crossroads along the network; he was a professional at navigating the alleyways. Almost everyone involved in Mars Corporate dirty manipulations in the business industry knew that he was the one to ask when looking for a fast escape in the alley network.

Kyuhyun confidently turned the corner of one of the alleys with a smirk, he was completely sure that the destination he had in mind was close by. All he had to do was take a left turn at the next corner and he would see the entrance to the usually deserted side road, 20 or so meters in front of him, where he could make an exit. Only, it wasn’t a deserted road that he saw when he turned, for an unfamiliar black sports car was parked right in front of the exit, its engine on as though it had been waiting for Kyuhyun.

Surprised, Kyuhyun immediately stepped back, hiding just before the turn, and pressed his back against the red brick alley wall as his heart pounded loudly in his chest. There was the soft, mechanical sound of one of the car’s tinted windows as it was rolled down and Kyuhyun held his breath - he couldn’t be caught that easily.

There was a moment of silence and Kyuhyun prepared himself to dash back into the network of alleys the instant he had a chance, his body already moving towards the shadowed paths when a voice called out, “Need a ride Cho?”

The voice was low and husky, relaxed and calm and for Kyuhyun, it was a voice that was more than familiar. He peeked out from behind the alley wall and a figure clad in a white suit leaned out of the window with a charming smile, his hair neatly styled and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. Kyuhyun stepped out from behind the corner and sauntered towards the black car, obviously more relaxed and relieved than before.

“Don’t mind if I do Jongwoon,” Kyuhyun smirked, “I’m already behind schedule as it is,” He slipped into the passenger seat and his smirk became a smile while he put on his seat belt, “As expected, nothing ever escapes the ever watchful eye of Kim Jongwoon.”

Jongwoon stepped on the accelerator and the car sped down the side road, heading towards the nearest main road, “If I hadn’t been so bored waiting for you, I might have missed the shadow that appeared when you turned out of that corner. Also, had you paid more attention to your senses and heard the purr of my car, you would not have made the mistake of coming out in the first place.”

Kyuhyun nodded as he took in his senior’s advice, the older had been working for Mars Corporate at least for six years before Kyuhyun and knew much more than he usually let on. They stayed in silence for a few moments before Kyuhyun asked, “Do you have a mirror?”

Jongwoon took his eyes off the road for a moment and raised his eyebrows at Kyuhyun before shaking his head, amusement evident in his eyes, “It’s in the bag behind, unlike you, I come prepared when I have a mission.”

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, grabbing Jongwoon’s bag and then digging into it to look for the pocket mirror. Jongwoon frowned as Kyuhyun finally dug out the pocket mirror, completely sure that the younger had messed up his entire bag looking for said item.

“I forgot,” Kyuhyun shrugged as checked his appearance in the mirror and used his fingers to neaten his hair.

Jongwoon opened his mouth to reply but was cut short when his phone rang shrilly beside him, demanding his attention. Jongwoon glanced at it for a second before he gestured towards Kyuhyun, “Put it on loudspeaker, it’s Leeteuk.”

Kyuhyun obliged and greeted cheerfully into the phone, “Teuk!”

There was a chuckle before the voice on the other line greeted back, also obviously smiling, “Hi Kyu! Is Jongwoon there?”

“I’m driving Teuk. We’ve got the phone on loudspeaker.”

“Good, I think both of you have the right to know,” Leeteuk sounded worried as compared to his greeting before, “It’s something to do with Venus.”

Kyuhyun and Yesung’s ears perked up and they shared a glance before Jongwoon asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Kyuhyun, you took the system from Venus just now right? When you get to the event venue, Kangin will be waiting for you at the entrance, pass the system to him and then come join Siwon and me. Apparently, we underestimated Venus Enterprise, they are not as harmless as they seem.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kyuhyun asked.

“I mean, that they might be able to fight back for the system. Also, they have representatives with them at the event we are at, Siwon wants you to find out as much as you can about them.”

“We’ll see what we can do. Give us five minutes to get there, see you,” Jongwoon hung up and concentrated on the road while Kyuhyun folded his hands on his lap as the both stayed silent. It took them less than five minutes to get to the venue, a five-star hotel right smack in the center of the city with a huge event hall where they had to go.

As Jongwoon pulled up to the hotel entrance, he stopped the car, took off his sunglasses and turned to look at Kyuhyun while the younger did the same, “Poker face, all we have to do tonight is just talk, alright?”

Kyuhyun arranged his face into a serious one and nodded curtly before both of them stepped out of the car at the same time and slammed the door after them, glancing at the hotel coolly. One of the valet staff hurried over to take Jongwoon’s keys and then the duo regarded the hotel emotionlessly another time before they walked in.

Kangin was waiting at a lounge close to the event hall, closing a book in his hands when Kyuhyun and Jongwoon approached him, “Took you long enough.”

“Never thought I would see a day when Kangin has a book in his hands. It seems like that day has come,” Kyuhyun teased as he slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out the hard disk in a black pouch.

Kangin rolled his eyes and smiled before waving a goodbye and walking towards the entrance with the hard drive safely in his pocket. The duo glanced at the double doors leading towards the event hall and made their way to it, stopping to check their names off a long list of guests and then slipping through the doors, finally inside the venue.

They found out where Siwon and Leeteuk were easily, for the boss was rather tall compared to the other businessmen and his right-hand man had an easily identifiable and unique laugh. Quickly making their way over, they caught Siwon’s eye and he gestured for them to come over.

“Mr Choi,” They greeted and bowed slightly to acknowledge the other businessmen around them who either smiled or bowed slightly in return.

Siwon smiled and introduced the two, “Two out of the many A-Team members in the office, they came here to assist me tonight,” after they had exchanged greetings, both Jongwoon and Kyuhyun smiled before excusing themselves along with Leeteuk.

“There are two Venus representatives in the hall with us, but I haven’t really talked to either of them, Siwon wants to know as much as you can get, but if the situation is as bad as we think it is, I don’t think it’ll be that easy to get information out of them. They are quite,” Leeteuk paused, biting his lips, “Well, how should I put it? I guess you could say that they have been very charming and extremely persuasive towards most of the businessmen here.”

Kyuhyun and Jongwoon nodded as Leeteuk quickly explained to them what Siwon had requested, both their eyes narrowing as they took in Leeteuk’s description.

“Charming and persuasive?” Jongwoon sounded calculating, “What do you mean by that?”

Leeteuk smiled, “Over there at the small white table beside the stage area are a blond and a brunette, and they are what I mean by charming and persuasive.”

The area beside the stage was crowded, but it was still simple for Jongwoon and Kyuhyun to pick out the individual faces and features of the men in the crowd. There was a moment’s pause before Jongwoon let out a low whistle, his sharp eyes having found his target in those few seconds. Kyuhyun took a while more, his eyes scanning through the crowd rapidly, not wanting to lose out to his senior, until they fell upon a certain pair of representatives amidst the crowd.

“Now that’s what you call beauty,” Kyuhyun murmured softly to Leeteuk and Jongwoon.

Jongwoon chuckled, his eyes still fixed on the pair, “That’s what you mean by charming.”

The smaller of the two Venus representatives had chocolate-brown hair, neatly combed and arranged around his head. His features were unbelievably well-defined and he was obviously thinner than the majority of the businessmen that surrounded him and his partner. He had a small built and stature which made him look fragile, almost delicate as he flashed innocent, soft smiles that charmed the hearts right out of the people around him. At first sight however, Jongwoon already knew that this man with razor sharp cheekbones was not someone he should underestimate, beware the innocent, his mentor would have said.

The other Venus representative had tousled, blond hair, not as neatly combed and arranged as his colleague as it fell across one eye and gave the said representative an edgy look. His was not as thin as the other representative either, but with the way he stood and the way he moved, he was definitely a man of power and confidence. His mouth was constantly turned up in a captivating, polite smile that could make many hearts pound and many mouths fall open, star-struck. His skin was like milk in complete contrast to the black suit he wore, and yet the lithe body cloaked under all the clothes screamed dangerous at Kyuhyun.

Jongwoon shot a glance at Kyuhyun, who then turned to Leeteuk. The latter flashed the two of them his signature dimpled smile, “They are your assignment now, and we trust that the two of you will do well.”

He left the pair and proceeded to join Siwon again, joining in the conversation he was having with the other businessmen, a small but satisfied smile etched on his face. Jongwoon smiled at Kyuhyun and the latter gestured to the nearby wine table, “I would not want to intrude on their conversation without at least a proper conversation starter.”

They each grabbed two glasses and crossed the hall to where the pair was standing, stopping once or twice to greet familiar faces among those present at the event. In did not take long until Jongwoon and Kyuhyun neared the white table next to the stage and Jongwoon softly whispered to Kyuhyun, “I claim the brunette. I like him.”

Kyuhyun smirked, “That’s fine with me. I personally prefer the blond myself.”

Pursing his lips, Jongwoon bit his lips, “To each his own.”

The brunette whispered something in the blond’s ear as the Mars representatives approached them, perhaps a private joke between the two of them for they both chuckled softly. Jongwoon cleared his throat softly as they walked towards the Venus representatives, and they both looked up at him and cocked their heads in confusion.

“Can we offer you a drink?” Kyuhyun asked as both he and Jongwoon held out the glasses of champagne, smiles tugging at the corner of their lips. The Venus representatives stared at the glasses for a second, and then turned to glance at each other for a moment. Then, without any warning, they turned away from each other, and met the Mars representatives’ gazes with bright smiles, accepting the glasses with a small bow of gratitude.  

“Kim Jongwoon, Mars Corporate.”

“Cho Kyuhyun, also of Mars Corporate.”

The blond’s gaze darted from Jongwoon to Kyuhyun, before a gorgeous smile appeared on his pretty face, “Lis of Venus Enterprise.”

“Lix,” the brunette continued with a shy smile, “Also one of Venus Enterprise.”

Kyuhyun met Lis’ gaze and asked, “Are the two of you the only Venus representatives here tonight?”

“We are here on behalf of our CEO,” Lis replied smoothly, “He was unable to make it today.”

“Seeing how quickly and how well Venus Enterprise has risen so far, I must say that your boss is a clever man and must be extremely busy,” Jongwoon stated.

“We are all successful and are doing well in our own ways, Mars is also very successful in the perilous business industry,” Lix answered, “Do you also credit it to the talents of your boss?”

“I guess we do,” Jongwoon replied while Kyuhyun nodded.

Lis laughed, “But no matter how good a boss is, the success of the company also depends on the staff, the ones that form the backbone of the company.”

The Mars representatives nodded, listening attentively to every word that came from the Venus representatives’ mouths.

“Are you here as representatives or…?” Lix trailed off lightly, his eyes curious and questioning.

“For today, we are representatives, but our roles can change daily depending on what Mr Choi requires.” Kyuhyun replied.

“I guess you could say that we have similar jobs then?” Lis replied, “Since Venus is a small company, most of us end up doing three or four roles for the company on a daily basis and don’t really have a fixed job.”

“So you are a representative by night and a personal assistant to your boss by day?” Kyuhyun guessed.

“Close enough,” Lis winked, “We’re representatives by night and personal assistants and bodyguards by day.”

“You certainly play an important role in your boss’ safety then,” Jongwoon stated, “But I just cannot seem to picture you as a bodyguard.”

“We take huge responsibility in guarding what is ours, whether it is our boss, or whether it is our products and systems. And sometimes, it is those that don’t look like much who are the most dangerous ones in the world, don’t judge a book by its cover,” Lix cautioned, although a seemingly playful aura radiated from him.

“I wouldn’t dare judge your appearance; sometimes we need a little charm to manipulate situations to our advantage right?” Kyuhyun smirked.

“Oh no, we don’t just need a little charm,” Sungmin said as he threw a glance at Ryeowook and their eyes met, “When you’re a Venus representative, you always use charm to manipulate situations and get what you want,” Lis chuckled and stared into Kyuhyun’s eyes.

“We’ve never failed to charm anyone yet.”

A/N: And so it's the first chapter :)

Thank you to all the subbies, it really made my day~

About the Venus representatives' names, Lix and Lis, I actually got them from Ryeowook and Sungmin's Chinese names. Ryeowook who is Jin LiXu became Lix and Sungmin who is Li Shengmin became Lis. This is just so that it might make it easier for you all to remember who is Lix and who is Lis ;) Did it help? Kekekeke

 Anyway, do leave a comment please ^^ and subscribe if you haven't~

Thanks for reading <3