Kyuhyun shrugged out of his suit jacket, not bothering to even pick it up as it fell onto his apartment floor in a small pile. He was exhausted, mentally exhausted from talking to Lis who, as he found out, was not only a master in riddles but also the King of manipulation and getting Kyuhyun to do things he would never usually do.

Lis was a manipulative soul, cunning, and filled with the talent of charm and making everyone fall head over heels into his trap. He seemed like an open book, inviting everyone and anyone to come and read the secrets he carried, but when someone took a step to close, the book would close and there was no chance of anyone forcing it open again unless it willingly opened.

Lis was such an enigma.

Kyuhyun sighed as he thought of the blond, throwing his clothes outside his bathroom as he closed the door behind him and prepared to take a nice, long, hot shower. Humming softly as he felt the warm water cascade down his back and loosen the tense muscles, he greatly appreciated his time to relax after a long day.

Stepping out of the bathroom and wrapping a towel around his hips before he put his arms into the air to stretch, he grinned in satisfaction as the stretching caused some of his bones to crack softly. But his grin slowly slid of his face when he realised that his clothes were not where he had left them when he had stepped into the bathroom.

His tie and suit jacket were hung on a black hanger and draped over a chair while his watch was placed in its box on his dining table. His mouth turned down into a frown when he spun around and found the rest of his clothes folded neatly and placed in the washing basket next to the kitchen sink. Obviously, someone had broken in and laid their hands on Kyuhyun’s property, and touching his property without permission was something Kyuhyun absolutely loathed.

A pale pink note stuck out from his suit pocket, and he growled as he darted forward to pull the note from his pocket, his nose wrinkling as a faint smell of roses came from the note.

You should learn to keep your clothes neatly Mr Cho, it gives a terrible impression on visitors.

Ripping the note into two, Kyuhyun dumped the scraps into his dustbin and hurriedly went into his room to put on a shirt and a pair of pants before he cautiously made his way to his living room. His senses were on alert now, his eyes travelling over every nook and cranny, his ears perked up for any sound in the midnight and his body completely prepared for a possible surprise attack.

As he made his way into the living room, his hands trailed across the railings of the small flight of steps that led from the dining to the living and stopped when they encountered a pink rose of sorts at the edge of the railing. He frowned as his hands detached the pink note that was attached to the thorny stem of the rose, a chill ran down his back as he read the contents:

You took something that belonged to us Mr Cho, we want it back.

Tearing the note into pieces again, Kyuhyun crushed the torn pieces in his hand as he murmured, “Venus,” finally realising who it was that had sneaked into his apartment.

A light peel of laughter echoed after his statement, lilting, teasing and most important of all, familiar. Kyuhyun’s eyes harden, his hand clenching around the ripped up note tightly as he scanned his apartment closely, now knowing who to look out for.

He saw no one, but he did spot another pink note on his TV screen:

Someone’s coming for you~

Kyuhyun shuddered as another cold feeling ran down his back. He again, ripped the note into four and watched silently as he let the remains of the note flutter to the ground. A soft laugh came from behind him as it happened, causing Kyuhyun to spin around and lock gazes with a certain blond male sitting comfortably on the couch.

The blond was grinning, “Looking for me Kyuhyun-shii?” He crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side, an expression of mild curiosity on his face.

Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow and scoffed, “Lis-shii, I knew it was you.”

“The real name’s Lee Sungmin, Lis is just a name for me to use when I go for events.”

“And you are openly telling me your real name now because?” Kyuhyun questioned with a smirk on his face.

Sungmin smiled even wider, “My real name will never leave this room, you should know that people like you and me don’t make careless mistakes like that.”

“We don’t make mistakes like that. But what makes you think that we’re the same kind of people?”

“We both know that it’s obvious that we’re the same kind of people.”

“Then since we’re the same kind of people, why do you think that I wouldn’t spill your name to the appropriate authorities?”

“I assume that Cho Kyuhyun is also your real name? If you told on me, I could tell on yours and believe me when I say that I can be very persuasive when I want to be. Who knows?  I might even be able to convince the appropriate authorities to let me off as innocent maybe?” Sungmin shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes shone with innocence and sparkled like twin stars. They were so convincing that Kyuhyun almost believed what he said. Almost.

“Sungmin-shii,” Kyuhyun said, making sure to pronounce each of his words carefully, thinking that Sungmin must have misheard his question, “I could report you or I could even report your company.”

“You could report Venus all you want; I’m not the only one who can be very persuasive, and besides, nothing like that would happen because I already told you that my name is not going to be leaving this room.”

“I doubt that you could do anything to force me to keep my mouth shut,” Kyuhyun bluntly stated, his face was one of doubt and he obviously thought that there was really nothing Sungmin could do to keep his mouth shut.

“I think the way I’m thinking of can definitely force you to keep your mouth shut,” Sungmin said cheerfully, “I’m going to kill you.”

There was a pregnant pause as Kyuhyun stared at Sungmin’s confident face and at that smile which never seemed to falter, just like it was frozen in place. Kyuhyun had to wonder how the man managed to smile with such overwhelming charm and innocence when he obviously had more than one skeleton hidden in the closet.

Without a single warning, Kyuhyun lunged at Sungmin with his arms outstretched as he leaped towards the couch. A feral growl escaped his lips when he hands closed around nothing, his target having back flipped across his coffee table the moment he saw Kyuhyun pounce. 

Sungmin stood on the other side of the table as Kyuhyun sinked into a crouch in front of the sofa, “And I suppose you think that once you’ve killed me, you’ll be able to find the system?” He raised an eyebrow at the blond who merely smiled.

“I’m not here for the system; I’m only here to take care of you.”

“Your words are sweet, but your intentions not so” Kyuhyun scorned, “I’m sorry, but I really don’t appreciate being taken care of, thanks for the offer,” He made a move towards Sungmin again, darting across the coffee table and making a grab for Sungmin’s arms, only for the blond to gracefully dodge the attack, a playful grin on his face.

He takes this as a game.

“You can’t play games with me Sungmin, in the games of life and death, the prey always belongs in the jaws of the predator. And I’m afraid you don’t have the fortune to be the predator in this game.”

“I’m definitely not the predator,” Sungmin stated and Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow at him before he smirked, “I’m the wild card people play when they need someone better than the predator.”

“There are only prey and the predator in the games of this industry, and I’m at the top of the food chain, I eat both the predators and their prey.”

“But that game is boring,” Sungmin reasoned, “That’s why you have the wild cards, we spice up the game.”

“But that doesn’t mean that the predators can’t take the wild cards down. You might be a wildcard, but we’ve been playing this game longer than you have.”

“Try this wild card then,” Sungmin winked and bolted out of the living room area, disappearing into the corners of Kyuhyun’s huge apartment and leaving nothing but the faint scent of roses.

Kyuhyun gave chase.

Sungmin was very adept at evading, that one Kyuhyun was almost completely convinced. He could use anything and everything in order to escape from Kyuhyun’s grasp. Pots and pans, Kyuhyun’s pillows and blankets, tables and chairs, as well as various other things were all used, rather effectively, if Kyuhyun might add. He tore through Kyuhyun’s apartment like a hurricane, messing up everything that was once neatly arranged and even finding the time to admire one or two of Kyuhyun’s possessions.

Kyuhyun had to wonder how Sungmin seemed to know every nook and cranny of his house. The older seemed to know the best areas to escape to that Kyuhyun had to conclude that the blond had been here before, whether on invitation or without. But still, it was Kyuhyun’s apartment, and the blond eventually found himself being cornered into a bathroom, his back hitting the shower wall.

“I’m a predator,” Kyuhyun simply said.

Sungmin stared at Kyuhyun from beneath his lashes, biting his lips gently as Kyuhyun reached out a hand to trail his fingers down Sungmin’s face. He leaned in close to Kyuhyun, his warm breath tickling Kyuhyun’s neck before he bit into the younger’s skin. Kyuhyun jerked slightly at the intimate contact, his hands falling to his sides while his eyes closed, but he didn’t resist the action.

Kyuhyun knew he was letting his guard down, but Sungmin did unnatural things to his instincts and his emotions, and he had no idea why he was giving in to the blond, Jongwoon would have slapped him as he rested his arms gently on top of Sungmin’s shoulder.

Sungmin smiled as his lips trailed up Kyuhyun’s neck, close to his jawline. His hands s up Kyuhyun’s chest and onto his shoulder quickly pushing Kyuhyun against the wall instead and switching their positions. Slowly kissing down Kyuhyun’s jawline and running his tongue along it, Sungmin smiled when he felt Kyuhyun shiver, and continued on to the corner of his lips.

But before their lips even made slight contact, Sungmin pulled away from Kyuhyun’s hands and whispered, “I’m a wild card.”

Kyuhyun watched as the older darted out of the bathroom and took a moment to gather his wits before letting out a shocked laugh. Stepping out of the bathroom, he called out, “That wasn’t fair.”

“Fair?” Sungmin’s lilting and teasing voice came from wherever he was in the apartment, “I have no idea what kind of training you went through, but you should know about these kinds of tactics being used to distract you.”

“You’re asking me what kind of training I went through?” Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow in bewilderment, “Excuse me? I’m not the one with the unnatural way of distracting someone.”

“Using seduction to distract and defeat an opponent is a tried and true method used by many people. It’s not my fault that you didn’t know that,” Sungmin sounded like he was going to burst into laughter any moment.

Kyuhyun had a faint flashback of Jongwoon telling him about a female spy he had once met who tried to use seduction tactics on him before he swept it away, “I definitely know that the people of Mars don’t use these kinds of tactics, maybe it’s just your people?”

“I don’t speak for the whole of Venus Kyuhyun-shii, but I know it has come in handy many times when I’ve been stuck in unwanted situations.”

Kyuhyun made his way to the living area again as he spoke, “That situation in the bathroom with me was an unwanted situation?”

“No,” Sungmin laughed again, “I just wanted to prove a point.”

“Consider your point proven then,” Kyuhyun said as Sungmin seemingly appeared out of nowhere and threw a punch at his face. Lucky for his reflexes, Kyuhyun caught Sungmin’s fist in his hand and teased, “Is this what they teach you in Venus?”

Sungmin’s eyes narrowed, “No, they taught me this,” He wrestled his hand out of Kyuhyun’s and aimed for a sweep at Kyuhyun’s legs, hoping to unbalance him. Kyuhyun was quick enough to take to the air in a jump in order to avoid the kick before he aimed a kick of his own to the side of Sungmin’s head. The blond dodged the attack easily however, his back bending backwards as he showed off impressive flexibility.

“Nice,” Kyuhyun stopped attacking as he complimented the blond, genuinely impressed.

“Thanks,” Sungmin permitted himself a brief grin as he recovered and somersaulted over Kyuhyun’s coffee table so that they again stood on the opposite sides of the table. Kyuhyun took a moment to admire Sungmin’s features and smiled softly when the other met his eyes.

“If you’re not here to find out where the system went, why didn’t you just kill me when I was asleep? It would have made the job ten times easier for you.”

“Where’s the fun in killing a sleeping person?” Sungmin smiled and cocked his head to the right, “I delight in the adrenaline rush that comes from overpowering someone in the fight, the feeling of accomplishment when your enemy lies dead before you, the feeling of having used your own talents to kill. Without these, a mission is nothing to me.”

“It would have been better for you had you killed me in my sleep.”

“You have no right to decide what’s better for me and what’s not when you obviously don’t know me even in the slightest bit,” His smile never faltered.

 “I have every right when I obviously know that it’s not going to turn out like the way you wanted it to,” Kyuhyun smirked, “You were gullible enough to walk into the wolf’s den little rabbit, you should be more careful the next time.”

“Who said the rabbit walked into the room accidentally? Maybe it walked into the den willingly because it’s more dangerous than the wolf is?”

“How dangerous can a rabbit get to a wolf? Are you going to twitch your nose at me?”

Sungmin’s eyes narrowed, the smile wiped off his face, “Twitch twitch. You think a rabbit isn’t dangerous?”

Kyuhyun raised both his hands in the air in the gesture of surrender, “A rabbit’s dangerous alright,” he paused for a moment, “To a carrot.”

“That’s alright,” Sungmin’s smile reappeared on his face, “As long as you’re the carrot.”

“I’ll never be the carrot as long as you’re a rabbit, I’m not going down to my prey.”

“I’m a wildcard, not your prey, which makes that statement invalid.”

“In my eyes, you’re still prey. In my world, there are only the predators and the prey, and you just so happen to fall under the category of prey.”

Sungmin persisted on with a sparkling glint in his eyes, “If I fell under the category of your normal prey, would I have been able to make your heart go wild from the instant you saw me? Would normal prey have been able to do that?”

“My heart didn’t go wild the instant I saw you,” Kyuhyun countered.

“It didn’t?” Sungmin’s lips were suddenly at his ear, his warm breath tickling it and his hands slipping across Kyuhyun’s waist and up his chest slowly. Kyuhyun’s only response was his heart thudding against his ribcage from Sungmin’s touches and he inhaled sharply, knowing that the blond had felt his heart pounding.

Sungmin rested both of his palms on Kyuhyun’s thin black shirt, and above his racing heart, as he leaned his head on Kyuhyun’s shoulder, “Well it did now.”

Kyuhyun exhaled heavily, his eyes fluttering shut before they flashed open and he disappeared out of Sungmin’s grip, appearing on the opposite side of the coffee table.

“It might have gone wild, but that doesn’t mean that I would give it to you,” He aimed a gun at Sungmin, a gun that appeared out of nowhere, his eyes cold and his fingers curled around the trigger.

In less than a second, Sungmin also had a gun in his hands, his hands steady as Kyuhyun found himself staring straight at the barrel of that gun.

“All I need is for your heart to go wild, merely just that and I know that I’ll succeed tonight.”

“I would not be so sure.”

“I honestly wish I wasn’t so sure, you are the first in a long time to be able to resist. I wish I could have known you better.”

“Since I was the first to resist, I might be able to be the first to escape from your death blow.”

“Go on then, “ Sungmin invited cheerfully, “Pull the trigger.”

Kyuhyun could only stare at him wordlessly, frozen, as Sungmin’s smile grew even wider, the blond’s fingers curling around the trigger as he stared back. Kyuhyun answered back with a smile and they both stood like that for a moment, guns pointing straight at each other, gazes locked with identical grins.

Shoot.