“Remember the guy that kept following you around last week when you were with your client? You know, the client that you took care of at his own penthouse?”

 

Song didn’t even bother to think about what C.L. was saying. Just thinking would have drove her insane. Plus, she kind of really didn’t remember. She kills many people in one week, it was hard for her to keep track of each and everyone of them, whether in their own penthouse or not. C.L. rolled her eyes. What was she thinking when she thought Song could actually remember the events of people that she killed.

 

“Do you honestly think I would remember? You know I could care less about the clients, let alone remember their faces.” Song said while toying with the items in the conference room.

 

“Well, in a certain sense, you know you care. You love killing these people, watching their faces twist in torture.”

 

Song grinned at her friend’s words menacingly.

 

“You know C.L, I don’t think it’s healthy for you to know my sick ways.”

 

C.L. look like she was contemplating what Song said.

 

“You’re right.”

 

But, business always came first. So, it didn’t take long for matters to get back at hand.

 

“Okay, how about that party when you broke the waiter’s jaw. You know the ert?” Cl. hinted.

 

A smirk dawned onto Song’s face when she felt the exhilaration of her memory. Then, she realized what C.L. had been talking about. Her whole face brightened proudly.

 

“Oh, right!”

 

C.L. pressed a couple of keys on her computer quickly. After several forced passwords, information finally piled onto the large screen. Soon enough, there was a large picture of a familiar face.

 

“The problem was that I didn’t get a proper look at his face. But, from your descriptions from last time, this guy seemed to match. This is him right?”

 

Song nodded at C.L.’s words. But, she was extremely confused.

 

“Yea that’s him, but I really don’t get it. Why are you even bothering about this person, it really doesn’t make any sense. He’s just another rich kid trying to get more connections. The only thing different about him was that he’s hot.”

 

Song said nonchalantly. She tipped her head to the side before shaking it. She was sure C.L. was thinking way too much. Song didn’t think twice before turning around to leave the conference room.

 

“Well, he’s an assassin.”

 

Now that actually stopped Song in her steps. She turned around with interest.

 

“Really now?” Songeun quirked an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, he’s under a different firm. Something called HQ&J.”

 

“Have you heard of it?” Songeun asked.

 

“Yeah, it’s suppose to be evenly matched with us.”

 

Song watched the man’s stats appear on the screen in lighting speed.

 

“It just seems that you got the same client by pure coincidence. Ergo, him following you the entire time.”

 

Song nodded in understanding.

 

“Well, is he any good?”

 

“Well from these stats, he’s excellent. In fact, last week’s client was the only one that he missed throughout the last fourteen years. Outstanding records. He’s the best in his firm.”

 

Song smirked in response.

 

“It seems that I’m better than him.”

 

~’~

 

“So, did you manage to find out the identity of that woman?”

 

These were Jay’s first words before he dropped the heavy documents of his newly assigned client on Thunder’s desk. Without a word, Thunder placed the documents neatly onto his desk. He flipped through the documents. After verifying the massive amount of papers, he began to type the information into his computer in silence. Jay was getting impatient and frustrated by the loud, fast typing sounds. By the time, Thunder was finished digesting the information on the first page and flipped it over, he shook his head. It almost went undetected by Jay because after Thunder’s movement, he immediately moved onto the second page. It took a couple of minutes for Jay to realize what had happened.

 

“That shake better be something that you’re disappointed to see on the papers and not a no to my question.” Jay threatened.

 

Thunder continued to type the information before him. He didn’t seem even a bit threatened by Jay’s anger. His fingers didn’t even seem to falter one second. It bothered Jay that he had no effect on Thunder. So, he walked towards Thunder’s working desk and with enough force, planted his palm harshly against the top of the files that he brought in. This time, Jay got Thunder’s attention. But, what had taken Jay by surprise was that Thunder actually looked angry.

 

“Are you kidding me right now?” Jay gritted through his teeth.

 

“You better get your dirty hand off the documents. I’m working right now. Don’t you dare provoke me.”

“How is it possible, that you can’t do your only job? How can you fail at your only job. That’s what you do! You search for information, thats your job.” Jay said.

 

“If I were you I’d sh*t the up right now.”

 

Jay stared into Thunder’s eyes. Jay immediately noticed the fire burning fiercely in his eyes. Usually, Jay would take the image as a warning. But, Jay was too angry to think about the consequences.

 

“You couldn’t do your past job well, now you can’t do this well. You can’t do anything right.” Jay practically screamed.

 

Jay didn’t see what was coming. In moments, Thunder had Jay in a head lock, a very tight one. As Jay struggled, Thunder’s grip only tightened further. Thunder whispered close to Jay’s ear, threateningly.

 

“You know damn well that even though I can’t kill people as well as you do, or as easy as you do; I can still beat you half to the verge of death easily. Just because you’re my best friend, it doesn’t mean that I can’t do that to you.”

 

Thunder shoved Jay right against the closest wall. Jay couldn’t keep himself from rolling his eyes. It’s been awhile since Jay and Thunder had fought one another. Jay knew that even though Thunder was extremely taller than him, if he tried, he could easily flip Thunder straight against the hard floor. But, he couldn’t let matters get that far, let alone with his best friend.

 

“Alright, I’m sorry, you happy now?”

 

Jay pulled and twisted Thunder’s arms forcefully off his neck.

 

“Would you just tell me what happened?”

 

Thunder walked back to his seat and began to make himself comfortable before he spoke.

 

“It took me a while, but I did find her file. But when I tried to open the folder, the folder was practically a gateway to numerous amounts of viruses and spywares. I was lucky enough to block all attacks from every system at HQ&J. You don’t even understand how much of HQ&J’s information would have been leaked into the public.”

 

“They have that kind of security?” Jay asked bewildered.

 

“Yeah, it was almost as if they were expecting me to snoop around.”

 

~’~

 

After Thunder was done checking out the information on the documents, Jay finally realized that it was about time to go home. But, before he could turn around and leave, Thunder spoke up.

 

“You know, Jay, if I were you, I’d be more careful.”

 

Jay cocked his head back in confusion. He turned around to face Thunder.

 

“Careful? About what?”

 

Thunder stopped his work. He turned around to give his friend a exasperated look.

 

“You know just about your job. Your stupid reputation that you worked so hard to build.”

 

Those words actually caught Jay off guard.

 

“What are you talking about? I’m the best you guys have!” Jay said sternly.

 

“That you were. The Boss wasn’t exactly happy that you missed this client. It doesn’t help that you crashed the 19th car that we’ve given to you.” Thunder explained.

 

Jay became dumbfounded. He was speechless. He didn’t expect those words to spill out of Thunder’s mouth. He tried to open his mouth, but he seem to choke on his invisible words. But, with his own will power, he was finally able to find his words.

 

“Thunder, you’re wrong. I’ve always been like this. The Boss never complained about this before, what the h*ll is up with you guys?”

 

“He never said anything because you were always the one with the on-going record. Believe it or not, there are others trying to succeed you. And now that you have missed your first client, they are catching up, quickly. Plus, they’re much more affordable than you.”

 

Jay couldn’t even grasp the reality of Thunder’s words.

 

“You’ve been my partner for so long. We’re best at what we do! It’s not possible. Can you even name one assassin that is catching up to me?”

 

“Lee. The one that’s related to boss.”

 

“Lee Joon?”

 

“Precisely.”

 

~’~

 

The minute Song stepped into the office, she wasted no time before starting her work. In no time, she found the safe. When she crouched down onto her knees, she planted a small device onto the metal door. She watched the red numbers race down until each slot clicked, turning itself green. When all the numbers stayed in it’s position, the door clicked and Song pulled the safe open without any trouble. She hastily grabbed the items in the safe and packed it tightly into her trusty bag. She closed everything so it seemed as if she had never occupied the room before walking into the bathroom closest to the office. Song immediately did everything she could to make the room pitch black. She covered the windows with sticky paper to prevent all the sun rays from spilling into the room. Then she waited patiently, while hiding. She was patient because she was never bored when she waited for her clients. Waiting for her client, kept her on her toes. She could feel the excitement of killing these people surge through her entire body.

 

When artificial lights from the office bore into the bathroom that she occupied, she knew the client was home. Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the big house following Song’s thoughts straight into the bathroom. She crept slowly towards the bathroom door and continued to blend into the shadows. The first person that stepped into the room never stood a chance because Song stabbed the unknown. When the dead body landed hard against the white tiled floor, Song wasn’t relieved to see it was her client. To her, if the body was the wife, his kids, or his own parents, she wouldn’t have cared. The cold body was just one more useless life that Song had brutally took.

 

~’~

 

Songeun arrived home no longer after she dropped off another successfully stolen document at the firm. C.L didn’t bother to hide her knowing look as she watch Song rush out of the firm in a blur. Song didn’t even bother to stop in her tracks to leave a biting remark at C.L’s expression. The minute Songeun arrived home, the first thing was to search the entire first floor. When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, she became confused and walked towards the staircase that led to the second floor.

 

“Junhyung?” She called out loudly.

 

As Songeun continued to wait, there was no answer. She was confused, usually Junhyung would be home by now. She relied on her last source. She dug into her purse to find her cell phone. She was relieved to see a message from Junhyung. He mentioned that he had some extra work to finish, so he would be going home a little later than usual. A smile erupted on her face when she read the last sentence of his text.

 

“Keep dinner warm from me! I’m a hungry man, very, very hungry.”

 

Songeun thought that was the most attractive attribute a guy could ever have, a big appetite. An appetite really made the difference between a boy and a man. Her late father was a big eater. During their first date, when Junhyung had ordered a big entre for himself, she was immediately reminded of her father. It was one of Junhyung’s many characteristics that won Songeun over. Once her cell phone and pager were place carefully on top of the counter top, she began to cook. As she busied herself with her work, images of her clients from the past week raced through her mind. Usually, she’d be ecstatic to see these horrified faces as she emerged from the shadows; but, lately even killing the clients in the most sinful way, still didn’t satisfy her. She let out a sigh. When she was placing the finished dishes onto the dining table, she was suddenly reminded by the exhilaration that she had about a week ago. The day when she took care of the client that Jay wanted. She took her seat next to the table and tried to grasped onto the adrenaline that once coursed through her. But, as she was drifting deeper into her thoughts, she was suddenly awoken.

 

“Songeun! I’m home!” Junhyung called before slamming the front door close.

 

At his call, she dashed to the front door and attacked her husband with a warm, loving hug. She only pulled back to greet him properly with a kiss while she brushed the back of his neck, where his hair met the nape of his neck. As they parted, Songeun’s hand moved up to dig into his hair and he grinned in response before lifting her in bridal style. He sniffed the air and made his way to the dining room with Songeun laughing in his arms.

 

“I smell food!” Junhyung yelled loudly.

 

~’~

 

Songeun finished dinner a little earlier than Junhyung had. She kissed her husband on the cheek on the way to the kitchen sink. She cleaned the dishes as Junhyung brought them over. When Junhyung had cleared the entire dining table, Songeun had no doubt that he had made his way to the living room. If she knew her husband, she knew he had planted himself comfortably on the largest couch. The dishes were done in a flash. She peeked into the living room to see Junhyung splayed across the couch, taking every little space possible. It wasn’t until Songeun was entirely sure that her husband was immersed into his favorite show, that she made her way upstairs. She ended up in one of the many nicely decorated guest rooms in the house. Swiftly, she pulled out her pager and typed a certain code to a very familiar number. When the message was sent, she laid comfortably on the queen sized bed. She made sure her senses were alert because she knew the reply was going to come soon. Seconds later, her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Thankfully, it was what she was looking for because a private number flashed onto the screen.

 

“Hey” Song murmured.

 

“What’s the emergency?” Cl. asked.

 

C.L. always got to the point, that’s why Song liked working with her so much.

 

“Not really an emergency, but an idea instead.” Song replied.

 

Song began to explain her thoughts in clear detail. But, when she was done talking, she was only greeted by dead silence. Song was about to call for C.L. once more but, there was still movement on the other side.

 

“Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?”

 

Song already had an answer for that question. She didn’t seem to hesitate with her reply; it was as if she knew C.L. was going to ask that specific question.

 

“Yes. Do you think you can do it?” Song asked.

 

Her voice had a slight hint of worry.

 

“Of course.”

 

Chapter 3

 

“Hey Kyanghee! I’m home!” Jaebum yelled.

 

He closed the door behind him before hanging up his jacket on the coat hanger besides the door. He patiently waited for a reply, but when there was no answer, Jaebum got confused. He tried calling out for his wife once more.

 

“Babe?” He yelled louder.

 

When Kyanghee didn’t reply again, he took a glance at the clock nearest to him. Judging the time, he knew that his wife should have been home by now. Under anxiety, he began sprinting from room to room; none of which, contained Kyanghee. When he couldn’t find his wife in the last room of the house, he began to fill with worry. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his wife, but she didn’t answer any of his calls. Jaebum started to panic.

 

“Alright, Jaebum calm down.” He said to himself.

 

He started thinking of possible ways of contacting her. He picked up his phone once more to call Kyanghee’s work place.

 

“Hello?”

 

Jaebum wasn’t happy to hear a voice that didn’t belong to the woman he was looking for.

 

“Hey it’s Park Jaebum. You know, Kyanghee’s husband. I was just wondering if she’s there right now.”

 

Jaebum began pacing back and forth.

 

“Oh hey Jaebum! I’m sorry I can’t help. Kyanghee left about two hours ago.”

 

Those words halted Jaebum in his steps.

 

“Oh. Thanks anyway.”

 

He couldn’t hide the disappointment that lowered his voice another octave. Jaebum was a hands on man. He wasn’t going to just stay home worrying about his wife. He knew he had to go look for her himself. He wasn’t about to let anything happen to her; especially if he knew something did happen to her while he was just sitting at home, wondering where she was. He ran to the front door. In a flash, he slipped on his shoes, forgetting his jacket entirely. He grabbed the knob with a tight hand and twisted. But, before he could pull it open, a loud screeching beep echoed the large room that he occupied. With his hand still on the knob, he looked down at his pocket with exasperation.

 

“Really? Now?”

 

Jay glanced between the door and his pager. He was in a dilemma. But, the answer came to him with a sigh. It was his fault, he asked Thunder for the most amount of clients possible.

 

“I know my priorities.” Jay trailed, trying to convince himself.

 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his pager. He read the words on the screen and memorized all the information about his client that was given to him. As he placed his pager back, he thought of Kyanghee. He knew that he worked for his position for his job and his reputation, but he just couldn’t put himself to pretend that Kyanghee is one hundred percent okay. He sat on the circular couch and called his wife once more; it didn’t surprise him to reach her voice mail yet again.

 

“Hey honey, it’s me, Jaebum. I came home about an hour ago. But, you still didn’t get home yet. I called your work place and you weren’t there either. I have another project that was just assigned to me. If you’re in trouble or anything, call me. But, if you can’t call, just scream for me okay? Remember, I’ll always be your superman.” He ranted.

 

When he hung up, he immediately ran into his room. At instinct, he reached for the wall where the invisible safe belonged. By memory, he typed in his passwords in a matter of seconds, which made his walls shift open to reveal his secret closet. Many of his assassin attires hung neatly and looked odd against the bright white walls surrounding it. He grabbed the attire closest to him. In the midst of changing, he grabbed the weapons and gadgets that he thought he would need. He pulled a flesh like glove. The glove began to mold onto his skin and hug his hand tightly; it was the gadget that protected his identity and prevented him from the most trouble. As the walls of the closet began to pull close, he turned around to face their bed. With one nervous thought, he left a note on the night stand which mirrored his voice mail. Then, without another thought, he disappeared in a flash.

 

~’~

 

Jay grinned evilly as he pulled his car up to the mansion that belonged to his client. When the car came to a halt, he began to pet the leather steering wheel admiringly. He was surprised that Thunder had provided him with another car, let alone one that was such a beauty. The boss was usually a man who kept his decisions final, but Jay’s numerous amounts of victims among the past three weeks probably won the boss over. But, to Thunder, Jay knew his behavior was odd. Thunder was probably tired of all the searching and typing that Jay ended up making Thunder do. However, Jay had a feeling that Thunder knew what was going on in Jay’s head. They were close enough for Thunder to understand without any explanations. Jay hadn’t even taken a breather to work erratically to get back on the Boss’s good side. Jay started to snicker at his thoughts.

 

“It seems like hard work does pay off.” He said to himself.

 

~’~

 

The house wasn’t any different from the other houses that Jay worked in. He knew the directions and where each and every room was located, it was pretty stereotypical. The house was huge, no surprise there. He began to circle around the building and peered into the windows silently. When he found a window that was slightly ajar, he made sure the room was vacant and pushed the window opened so that he could climb into the room without any troubles. He landed onto his feet lightly and closed the window behind him, leaving it the same way he found it. He pressed himself tightly against the walls to begin searching the first floor. Each room on the first floor didn’t even contain a soul. Jay took a deep breath and closed his eyes calmly. Without any troubles, his sense of sight began to submit to the rest of his four senses. He was breathing deeply for a few seconds before his eyes snapped open abruptly. It was impossible, the client couldn’t hide from Jay even if he knew Jay was coming. With a sinister grin, he slowly crept up the stairs. His senses took him to stand in front of the only door in the long corridor. He was confident that the client occupied that room. His signature grin bloomed onto his face when he heard slight movements on the other side. But, as he began to turn the knob slowly, the grin began to falter. Jay could feel from his instincts that something was wrong. Opening the door seemed like a stupid idea, but being the rebel that he was, he pulled it open harshly; he was ready for all possibilities. When the door opened to reveal the room, Jay found that his feet were securely planted onto the floor. His client was sitting tensely with his entire back pressed against the rather large leather seat in front of a matching sized mahogany desk. What had tipped Jay off where the familiar large black eyes that bore into his soul from behind his client’s chair. He took a daring step forward when he finally awoken from his trance. In the split second of his step, her eyes narrowed dangerously and her arm pulled out in response. The knife in her hand followed quickly behind and ran a long deep red gash into the client’s big meaty neck. The fear in the clients eyes were quickly replaced by a blank stare. Jay couldn’t believe what was happening to him. The strange lady gave him a creepy smile in return that was accompanied by a small wave. As he ran towards to what seemed like his newly acquainted nemesis, she took a leap out of the window behind her; leaving Jay with a vivid deja vu.

 

“You have to be ing kidding me!” Jay growled.

 

~’~

 

Thunder was finally getting some peace and quiet when Jay had stopped complaining about the mysterious girl. He found a better solution by putting himself on a killing spree. Thunder was a bit glad that Jay had finally got a grip onto himself. The only downside of the situation was that Thunder had to work his off to find client after client for Jay in the matter of a few minutes. Thunder knew that it was the only possible way Jay could suppress the pain of failure that grew within Jay. Jay would have never admitted to his pain, but Thunder knew; he was his best friend after all. So, when Jay stormed into his conference room today, Thunder was surprised by Jay’s whining and anger. Jay’s whole face was turning a bright red and he looked like he was about to kill the next person in his way. He let out a screeching yell and dug his hands into his hair; he yanked a fistful of his hair.

 

“What happened?” Thunder found himself asking worriedly.

 

Thunder knew that this situation was important. He lightly pushed the multiple files that were stacked upon one another, aside. The migraine from all the work that Jay pushed upon him only intensified by the childish behavior Jay emitted.

 

“That ing b*tch came back. She did it again. She stole another one of my clients.”

 

Those words took Thunder by surprise. The girl seemed more strategic than he originally thought. The first time was probably just luck. The second time, she was definitely working hard to take Jay’s clients. And she was good at it, judging by the sweat beaded on Jay’s forehead. Jay had started to pace around the room. His anxiety was so apparent that it almost swallowed Thunder whole. He only stopped to run towards Thunder with a desperate expression painted on his face.

 

“ Thunder, please, please help me. If the Boss finds out that I failed to get another client because of the same girl from last time, he’ll never put up with me again. Come on, please. Joon is definitely going to take all my clients.” Jay begged without breathing.

 

“Please Thunder. Please help me, us. You know it wouldn’t be the same without me.” Jay continued.

 

Thunder was always known as a professional. He knew feelings would only delay his work output. But in this situation, he couldn’t help but let his personal feelings fulfill him. He shook his head and his eyebrows furrowed.

 

“I’ll try,”

 

~’~

 

With the documents in her hand and a smirk on her face, Song practically danced into the conference room. She made her way towards C.L. and made herself comfortable on the chair nearest to her best friend. C.L didn’t even glance at Song.

 

“Satisfied?” C.L. asked.

 

Song smirked in response.

 

“Very much so.”