(for the best reading experience,
please listen to the song above,
I think it fits the atmosphere)

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C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - S E V E N

➌➐

»There ain't nothing here for me anymore
but I don't wanna be alone.«
– Rihanna

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[w a r n i n g : long chapter ahead
to make up for my absence lol
but the end is worth it (I guess?)]

Several hours had already passed since Taeyong left my room and I was just looking for the right amount of motivation to go to the meeting in question. I didn't have to do much for it; didn't have to go out in the heavy rain, didn't have to drive to the gas station to use the car; all I had to do was walk to the other side of the building, which wouldn't take me ten minutes.

The positive arguments that could possibly change my mind were outweighed by the negative ones:

1. Taeyong would be there
2. Team-Meetings always bored me to death
3. There'd be dozens of strangers around me

On the other hand, I was looking forward to my chill night with Ten and Mark, which would take place immediately afterward. So I might as well grit my teeth and go to the stupid meeting. How bad could it be?

I sighed. I had long changed from my casual outfit from before, which I would wear tomorrow to my office date with Yuta. What's left was black-ripped-jeans-and-silver-pumps-wearing Cami — don't even ask, my good outfit combinations were saved for Yuta so I had few options for my free-time.

Inside the meeting room (to which I finally got up to go) I was really more than astonished to see only two people waiting.

"Is this a joke?" I wanted to know while pointing with outstretched arms at the empty room around me.

"What do you mean you won't come?" Mark asked into his phone on his left ear and held a finger up for me to signal that he was having a phone conversation right now.

I gave Ten who was sitting next to Mark and obviously the only other person in the room, a questioning look before I fully entered the room. Ten just winked at me and greeted me with a nod.

"What do you mean you have better things to do!?" Mark's voice raised and he seemed stressed and angered.

"No, no, no! Absolutely NO!"

"Of course Boss will notice you're not here."

"What? No, I won't cover for you."

"NO!"

It was rare to see Mark being upset at that extent. Whoever was on the other side of the phone knew what he or she was doing to get the right reaction out of him.

"Man, Haechan, listen up: If you're not here within the next ten minutes-" Mark suddenly stopped mid-sentence and gave his phone a gaze of disbelief. "THAT SON OF A-!"

"Did he hung up on you?" Ten asked with a bored expression.

"HE HUNG UP ON ME!" Mark yelled and called this person named Haechan again.

"See? I told you he needs help." Ten said in my direction, motioning to Mark. "Can't wait for our date after this."

"After what exactly? No one's here yet."

Ten ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "The meeting was postponed for twenty minutes. But I think everyone should be here soon."

~∙~∙~

Nobody had ever dared to sit on the executive leather chair. It was more desired than the Iron Throne and associated with at least as much blood given the history of the mafia. I wasn't stupid, of course, I wouldn't sit on it; not even out of provocation (even though it could've been funny to see Taeyong's outrageous reaction), I knew when not to cross a line. However... no one had forbidden to sit on the table in front of the chair.

So I leaned against it with my hip and watched with folded arms as one after the other entered the meeting room. Most of them were strangers. Here and there I recognized a few faces, but they had been only casual encounters.

Until I came across the face of an all too well-known doctor.

"Sicheng?" I couldn't hide my joy.

"Isn't this our Guest of honor?" He smiled at me and gave me a quick hug, not even surprised to see me. "It's time we finally see each other again."

"I think so, too, Doc." I nudged him teasingly.

"Hey Winwin man!" Mark called, so both of us turned our heads towards him, "It's just she ate too many apples to keep you awa-HAHAHA!" Mark burst out in laugher without ending the whole proverb while Sicheng rolled his eyes and I lightly shook my head. When Mark noticed my unamused expression he quickly turned away and typed something on his phone, trying to look busy.

"Honestly, I'm so happy to see y..." I didn't even notice that I let my sentence fade in the room because at that moment my eyes caught another person that I recognized. He entered the room with cold air following him. When he passed us, he eyed me from my shoes upwards before he let his arrogant gaze swipe around the room.

"Doyoung?" I called after him what actually made him stop in his track. He turned around smoothly and raised an eyebrow as if to rebuke a stranger with a "how dare you to talk to me, peasant."-kinda way.

"Oh, Cami?" He made a surprised face and his attitude changed completely, becoming warm and friendly, "Good to see you here."

I wouldn't imagine our rebounding to be so... nonchalantly. It was as if he didn't see me for two days instead of two years.

"We should move to our seats, I saw Mr. 'What Kind Of Car He In?' at the parking lot before." Doyoung sighed exhaustedly and moved to sit somewhere in the last row.

"Yeah, right." Sicheng agreed, turning to me he said, "We catch up later, yeah?" I just nodded. He then followed Doyoung to the last row, "Let's get this over with."

Someone grabbed my waist and pulled me away from the table I was leaning against. "Oh hell no!" I saw Jungwoo's panicking face. "He's on his way, don't stand here, are you out of your mind? Come with me." He quickly dragged me after him to one of the seats.

The moment I sat down he entered.

He let his gaze wander briefly around the room as he walked before turning it back to the front. This look. This pace. This elegance that he exuded. As if each of his steps were in slow motion. And yet every step was associated with so much power and authority that it almost took my breath away. The atmosphere of the entire room changed with his presence.

As if a lion had broken out of its cage and would attack you at any moment and devour you with one bite, given you moved an inch.

My palms got sweaty, and I didn't even know why. Only earlier he had argued with me like a pre-matured teenager and now he looked almost untouchable and respectful. The need was awakened in me to have to stand up and bow to him – I must be out of my mind like my twin had said.

His voice caused an unpleasant hum in my chest when he spoke. "You can imagine why I have all gathered you here."

No, we can't.

"It's about the safety of all of us."

Sure.

"We are under a major attack and are about to find the culprit."

That must be the side effect of having an uncountable amount of enemies – you never know where the attack comes from.

"Thanks to Jisung, we were able to convert the cassette from last time so that instead of the random sequence of numbers, actual letters were created that now help us to understand the said code better."

Is this computer-science class or why does it feel like school?

"Boss?" A tall, slim boy got up from his seat, his voice interrupting my negative sarcastic thoughts. I remembered seeing him on Mark's Instagram story. "I actually kinda solved the whole code on my own."

Taeyong raised an eyebrow, looking at him expectantly.

The boy opened his laptop and typed on the keyboard. Less than a second later, he was projecting the contents of his laptop onto the wall behind Taeyong.

𝗲𝟭𝗺𝟮𝗼𝟯𝘁𝟰𝗸𝟱𝗰𝟲𝗮𝟳𝗯𝟴𝗺𝟵𝗲𝟭𝗵𝟮𝘁𝟯𝗲𝟰𝘃𝟱𝗶𝟲𝗴𝟳𝘁𝟴𝘀𝟵𝘂𝟭𝗷𝟮𝗲𝟯𝘀𝟰𝗮𝟱𝗲𝟲𝗹𝟳𝗽𝟴𝘂𝟵𝗼𝟭𝘆𝟮𝗴𝟯𝗻𝟰𝗶𝟱𝗴𝟲𝗴𝟳𝗲𝟴𝗯𝟵𝗺𝟭𝗶𝟮𝗻𝟯𝗲𝟰𝗵𝟱𝘄𝟲𝗲𝟳𝗺𝟴𝗼𝟵𝘁𝟭𝗸𝟮𝗰𝟯𝗮𝟰𝗯𝟱𝗺𝟲𝗲𝟳𝗵𝟴𝘁𝟵𝗴𝟭𝗻𝟮𝗶𝟯𝗿𝟰𝗯𝟱𝗻𝟲𝗮𝟳𝗰𝟴𝗴𝟵𝗻𝟭𝗶𝟮𝗵𝟯𝘁𝟰𝗼𝟱𝗻𝟲𝗱𝟳𝗻𝟴𝗮𝟵𝘄𝟭𝗼𝟮𝗻𝟯𝗲𝟰𝗻𝟱𝗼𝟲𝗴𝟳𝗹𝟴𝗹𝟵𝗮𝟭𝘀𝟮𝘁𝟯𝗶𝟰.𝟱𝘀𝟲𝗺𝟳𝗮𝟴𝗲𝟵𝗿𝟭𝗱𝟮𝗻𝟯𝗲𝟰𝗱𝟱𝗿𝟲𝗮𝟳𝗴𝟴𝗲𝟵𝘀𝟭𝗼𝟮𝗿𝟯𝘆𝟰𝗺𝟱𝘀𝟲𝗲𝟳𝗶𝟴𝗿𝟵𝗿𝟭𝗲𝟮𝗵𝟯𝗰𝟰𝘆𝟱𝗺𝟲𝘀𝟳𝗲𝟴𝗽𝟵𝗼𝟭𝗵𝟮𝘆𝟯𝗺𝟰.𝟱𝘂𝟲𝗼𝟳𝘆𝟴𝗿𝟵𝗼𝟭𝗳𝟮𝘁𝟯𝗶𝟰𝘀𝟱𝗲𝟲𝗼𝟳𝗱𝟴𝗲𝟵𝗵𝟭𝗲𝟮𝗼𝟯𝗳𝟰𝗲𝟱𝗯𝟲𝗲𝟳𝘃𝟴𝗮𝟵𝗲𝟭𝗹𝟮𝗱𝟯𝗻𝟰𝗮𝟱𝘀𝟲𝗿𝟳𝘂𝟴𝗼𝟵𝘆𝟭𝘀𝟮𝘁𝟯𝗮𝟰𝗵𝟱𝘄𝟲𝗲𝟳𝗸𝟴𝗮𝟵𝘁𝟭𝘁𝟮𝘀𝟯𝘂𝟰𝗷𝟱𝗱𝟲𝗻𝟳𝗮𝟴𝗲𝟵𝗺𝟭𝗶𝟮𝘁𝟯𝗸𝟰𝗰𝟱𝗮𝟲𝗯𝟳𝗻𝟴𝗿𝟵𝘂𝟭𝘁𝟮𝗼𝟯𝘁𝟰𝘁𝟱𝘀𝟲𝗲𝟳𝗯𝟴𝗿𝟵𝘂𝟭𝗼𝟮𝘆𝟯𝗴𝟰𝗻𝟱𝗶𝟲𝘃𝟳𝗶𝟴𝗴𝟵.𝟭𝘀𝟮𝗲𝟯𝗵𝟰𝗰𝟱𝗮𝟲𝗲𝟳𝗯𝟴𝗸𝟵𝗰𝟭𝗮𝟮𝗹𝟯𝗯𝟰𝗿𝟱𝘂𝟲𝗼𝟳𝘆𝟴𝗵𝟵𝘁𝟭𝗶𝟮𝘄𝟯𝗲𝟰𝗻𝟱𝗼𝟲𝗹𝟳𝗮𝟴𝘁𝟵𝗳𝟭𝗲𝟮𝗹𝟯𝗲𝟰𝗿𝟱𝘂𝟲𝗼𝟳𝘆𝟴𝗲𝟵𝘇𝟭𝗶𝟮𝗹𝟯𝗮𝟰𝗲𝟱𝗿𝟲𝘂𝟳𝗼𝟴𝘆𝟵𝗻𝟭𝗲𝟮𝗵𝟯𝘄𝟰𝗱𝟱𝗶𝟲𝗼𝟳𝘃𝟴𝗿𝟵𝗲𝟭𝗻𝟮𝗻𝟯𝗶𝟰𝗳𝟱𝗼𝟲𝗴𝟳𝗻𝟴𝗶𝟵𝗹𝟭𝗲𝟮𝗲𝟯𝗳𝟰𝗲𝟱𝗵𝟲𝘁𝟳𝗲𝟴𝗯𝟵𝗶𝟭𝗿𝟮𝗰𝟯𝘀𝟰𝗱𝟱𝗻𝟲𝗮𝟳𝗰𝟴𝗴𝟵𝗻𝟭𝗶𝟮𝗵𝟯𝘁𝟰𝗼𝟱𝗻𝟲.𝟳𝗲𝟴𝘁𝟵𝗮𝟭𝗹𝟮𝗼𝟯𝗼𝟰𝘁𝟱𝘆𝟲𝗱𝟳𝗮𝟴𝗲𝟵𝗿𝟭𝗹𝟮𝗮𝟯𝘀𝟰𝘁𝟱𝗶𝟲𝗲𝟳𝗺𝟴𝗲𝟵𝘃𝟭𝗲𝟮𝗶𝟯𝗹𝟰𝗲𝟱𝗯𝟲𝗱𝟳𝗻𝟴𝗮𝟵𝗲𝟭𝗱𝟮𝗶𝟯𝘀𝟰𝗲𝟱𝗵𝟲𝘁𝟳𝗼𝟴𝘁𝟵𝗲𝟭𝘇𝟮𝗮𝟯𝗹𝟰𝗴𝟱𝗸𝟲𝗰𝟳𝗶𝟴𝘂𝟵𝗾𝟭𝗮𝟮.𝟯𝘆𝟰𝗮𝟱𝘄𝟲𝗮𝟳𝘀𝟴𝗱𝟵𝗻𝟭𝗼𝟮𝗰𝟯𝗲𝟰𝘀𝟱𝗼𝟲𝘄𝟳𝘁𝟴𝘁𝟵𝘀𝟭𝘂𝟮𝗷

...what?

"When I run the program and put over the code, the letters change."

𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝘁 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗯 𝗺𝗲𝗵𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗴 𝘁𝘀𝘂𝗷 𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘂𝗼𝘆 𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗯 𝗺𝗶 𝗻𝗲𝗵𝘄 𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝘁 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗯 𝗺𝗲𝗵𝘁 𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗿𝗯 𝗻𝗮𝗰 𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗵𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗻𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗴 𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗶
𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗲𝗿𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗴 𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗰 𝘆𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗵 𝘆𝗺
𝘂𝗼𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗶 𝘀𝗲𝗼𝗱 𝗲𝗵 𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝗯 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗻𝗮 𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗼𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗵𝘄 𝗲𝗸𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝘀𝘂𝗷 𝗱𝗻𝗮 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗯 𝗻𝗿𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗯 𝗿𝘂𝗼𝘆 𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗴
𝘀𝗲𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗲𝗯 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗯 𝗿𝘂𝗼𝘆 𝗵𝘁𝗶𝘄 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗮 𝘁𝗳𝗲𝗹 𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗼𝘆 𝗲𝘇𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗼𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗵𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘃 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗳𝗼 𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗳 𝗲𝗵𝘁 𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗮𝗰 𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗵𝘁𝗼𝗻
𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗱𝗮𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗶 𝗲𝗺 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗯 𝗱𝗻𝗮 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘇𝗮𝗹𝗴 𝗸𝗰𝗶𝘂𝗾 𝗮
𝘆𝗮𝘄𝗮 𝘀𝗱𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝘁 𝘁𝘀𝘂𝗷

"And then it's just a matter of logical thinking until the actual contents of the cassette are played, it's a really easy technological procedure actually, but anyway, listen to this..."

Nobody could have prepared me for what followed next. Without any warning, the boy played out loud the content of the cassette. A shiver ran down my spine when I recognized the voice.

►

"𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺..."

I gulped and felt my heartbeat quicken. I felt Jungwoo put his hand on mine, which I must have clawed unconsciously in his thigh.

"It's okay." He reassured me whispering.

      "𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦..."         

Jungwoo, I wanted to say, Jungwoo, do you hear the same as I do? Do you know who's voice this is? Do you?  But I couldn't. I didn't have the strength to say anything.

"𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬          𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴... 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴          𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶..."         

When I listened to the voice that filled the entire room, I realized everybody else was so quiet and just listening as well. Some of them looked concentrated. Others even took notes as if trying to solve a riddle. Everyone was in their own mind, trying to understand what was said.

I on the other hand couldn't even think straight, the voice had caught me too off-guard. Suddenly my eyes met Taeyong's. He was already looking at me, an almost worried look on his face but faint enough for only me to notice. I quickly looked away and managed to keep my attention on the voice.

"𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴..." 

I looked up when those words were said. This voice message certainly was not some random excerpt, it had a deeper meaning of what I only realized at that point. Now I also understood, why some people took notes. It indeed must have been a riddle to solve. But solve to get what?

"𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪'𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦..."

"So?" Taeyong looked unimpressed at the boy. His cold gaze could turn anyone to ice.

"What I'm trying to say is that we finally know what the women said in the first cassette."

First cassette, meaning there had to be more.

"Jisung, you did well, but you do know that we have three files in total." Taeyong sighed.

"Yes, Boss, I also did the same with the second cassette and sent it to you already. I currently work on decoding the third one, but ..."

Three cassettes...

"Jisung," Taeyong interrupted him strictly. "We have three files that need three different passwords to be read. You find a way to figure out those passwords, not the voice recordings. As long as you don't do that, I am not interested to hear from any solved anything's."

Okay, according to Taeyong, there was more to it. So, this cassette would help them find one password out of three needed ones to read one file out of three in total? I could feel my brain working inside my head, or a big fat headache was on its way, I wasn't sure.

"Bring me something that's actually useful before you interrupt me again," Taeyong said in a harsh tone. The boy gulped and sat down again; and honestly, in any other situation, I'd feel bad for him. I mean he only did what he thought was good for the team, but in the end, he didn't even get proper acknowledgment.

"And Jisung?" Taeyong added, making the boy jump back up from his place, standing nervously in the room.

He looked at his leader in awe, waiting for his command. "Yes, Boss?"

"Don't you ever dare to play out a voice recording without my approval."

"Sorry, Boss, it won't happen again." Taeyong gestured him to sit down again and everyone was quiet when Taeyong went on with the next topic of the meeting.

~∙~∙~

The remainder of the meeting consisted mainly of the financial plan for the quarter, the resources of the week, the further planning of the Nakamoto mission – which Mark factually presented to the whole team, keeping Taeyong up to date – and the new investment strategy which was just another term for the illegal money they traded with.

Honestly, I didn't pay much attention since my thoughts were busy with other things, but I kinda overheard how the decision had been made to use the Dong Hospitals as an expanded drug warehouse what – in my opinion – was the dumbest idea ever, but okay, maybe I did mishear something.

The only thing I did was waiting until the meeting was over so that I could talk to Taeyong in private and confront him with the things I heard in that voice recording. He knew what he was doing, he left nothing for chance. But trying to get out a reaction of me in public by overwhelming me with that voice record out of nowhere? That must've been devil's plan.

And finally, the moment he said that the meeting was over, I stood up from my seat. Apparently I hadn't been the only one expecting the end of the meeting, as many others got up as well and left the room as quickly as possible, looking forward to their toilet break or dinner time.

"Yo, Cami, we're gonna take my car, is that alright?" Ten shouted over to me from his seat, referring to our date. 

The reunion that I had been looking forward to the whole time suddenly seemed so unimportant for I had a different thought planted in my head now. And the person I hated most at times and had tried to avoid the whole time was the person I needed most now.

"Uh, yeah, that's fine by me," I answered absent-mindedly, searching the room for Taeyong which was a harder task now that everybody was up and going around, the room erupting in a babble of voices. "Actually," I turned back to Ten, "You guys go without me, I'll meet you there."

"What, why?" Mark joined Ten and stood next to him. "Are you not coming to the movies with us? Ten said –"

"No, I'm gonna be there, promise." I told him seriously, "I just, uh, need to use the bathroom and also, eh, redo my makeup and all that girl stuff." I said while trying to look for Taeyong without being too obvious about it.

Jungwoo, who was standing next to me, eyed me from the side and I saw how he raised his right eyebrow slightly.

"What are you up to?" He asked calmly and for a short second, I thought he saw me watching Taeyong at how he was about to exit the room.

"We gang gang, bro!" Mark exclaimed joyfully to Jungwoo, "Wanna join us? We'll go to the cinema and have some food at Ten's place afterwards."

"Really? The club is so much more like you." Doyoung commented drily as he passed us, earning a glare from Mark.

"He is so arrogant sometimes!" Mark complained to us. "Just because he shows up at the law firm every morning, it doesn't mean he's busier than us."

Ten patted his shoulder encouragingly, "Don't mind him, buddy, he's jealous of your Instagram story." I grinned and looked around again, while Jungwoo explained he had lots of work to do. Suddenly my grin vanished as I internally panicked since Taeyong was gone now and his bodyguards were nowhere to be seen, too. Ow shi–

"Okay, see you later, guys," I said quickly, interrupting Mark who was about to say something to Jungwoo, as I headed to the exit.

"Hurry up! The movie doesn't wait!" Ten called after me as I turned around, giving him a forced smile, and nodded before I exited the meeting room.

Knowing Taeyong, he would go straight to his car, and knowing he rarely used the main doors, I took the side stairs that led to the rear exit. Ten was right, I needed to hurry, not because of the movie, but because of Taeyong. If I lost him now, I didn't know when I'd see him again. That's why I almost ran down the hall and sprinted down the stairs.

As I looked down the metal banister, I recognized three heads walking down the last flight of stairs.

"Taeyong!" I called after him but he didn't look up, nor did even stop and I was a hundred percent sure that he had heard me since I could hear my own echo in the stairwell.

I sped up and had to hold on to the railing with both hands to prevent falling down the stairs. That would be extremely painful and embarrassing at the same time.

I called Taeyong again when I reached the last stairs, but at the same time, the door from the rear exit shut close.

I opened the heavy door with force and stepped out, seeing how Taeyong and his two bodyguards were on the way to his car which was the only parking car far and wide.

"Lee Taeyong!" I called again now standing at the rear parking lot, but he still ignored me. I noticed one of his bodyguards saying something to him which he seemed to ignore as well.

I stopped, clenching my hands into fists.

"I never thought you'd be so cruel to make me listen to my dead mother's voice," I called after him.

Silence.

Not even a single leaf moved. As if this sentence had brought the earth to a standstill. Because lo and behold, he stopped right in his track, not turning around yet. At least I knew he heard me.

His back was turned to me and I could watch him whisper something to one of his bodyguards who nodded once, made a head-movement in the direction of the other one and the two of them moved away from earshot, so that Taeyong was standing alone in front of his car, I only a few feet away from him, my eyes still on his back.

The rain had stopped, it was only drizzling in a tiny bit.

"Do you really think that was my plan?" I heard him say slowly, finally turning around to face me. I was still aware of the tension in his voice.

"I don't know what to think," I said truly.

He came up to me with long strides and stopped just a few inches in front of me, towering above me. I didn't move a bit and withstood his intimidating look. His eyes looked down at me, almost bored themselves into mine. A storm seemed to be raging inside them.

"I would never do that. I would never hurt you in such a way." There was a heaviness in these words, his words spoken with such seriousness and conviction.

"I knew it was your mother's voice before we even had access to the cassette's content if that's what you want to know. Why do you think did I exclude you from the previous meeting?" I furrowed my eyebrows and gave him a questioning look. "A piece of paper with her handwriting was stuck on the cassette, saying play me. There are two more cassettes, and it's always her handwriting. Once we solve their code as well, I'm assuming it's going to be more recordings with her voice, giving us confusing sentences instead of the password we actually need."

I didn't know why he was telling me that, didn't know why he felt like justifying his actions or presenting background information to me. I didn't know what he was thinking but if he assumed my own mother to be behind the problems he had to face, then he must've been the biggest and most paranoid idiot in the world.

"My mother died a decade ago." I reminded him, my voice sounded almost bitter.

His facial expressions softened at that and he looked to the side, refusing to meet my gaze.

"I know." I heard him say quietly. "And I..." He looked back at me, pausing for a second, and I couldn't recall the last time I saw him like that. He almost looked a little bit nervous. But why? He was Lee Taeyong and he had never taken a step back, always on edge, always attacking. "I am so–"

"I don't want your pity!" I interrupted him in a harsh tone. My reaction seemed to surprise him since he raised his brows. But I didn't care. I wasn't here to play the role of a little, helpless girl and I certainly didn't want to look weak in front of him.

"I wasn't about to apologize for your loss," The nervous or worried or whatever tone it was in his voice, was gone now. He sounded like his cold old self again. "But for the way you found out about the recording. It was not my intention nor in my interest to confront you with what you heard inside." I nodded, acknowledging his diplomatic attempt of an... apology.

"What did my mother have to do with your interests then? Why are there recordings of her voice in the first place? And why do you have them?"

"I don't have an answer." He then looked down at his shoes, shaking his head once wanting me to believe his act. I knew he was lying. He was a good liar. And any other person would believe his words, but something was off about him. I couldn't tell what it was, but I knew he was hiding something from me. "All I know is that we are running out of time, we need to figure out the missing passwords as soon as possible to unlock the files. Whatever information there is in those files, we need them to survive."

"I know the password."

Taeyong's head shot up and his eyes widened instantly. He hadn't expected my statement at all.

"You..." He drifted off, left his sentence unfinished. "How?" He wanted to know instead, tilting his head slightly to one side.

I swallowed and gathered up all my courage to put my next thought into action. I took a breath and took a step towards him so that our faces were only mere inches apart, I could clearly feel his body heat, that's how close my body was to him.

"If I was you, I wouldn't tempt me right now." He commented, a puzzled look laying briefly in his eyes. I noticed this and signaled with my own eyes to the right side behind me where his bodyguards were standing, a few feet away from us. I was hoping he'd understand what I was referring to, but by the look he gave me, he didn't.

That's why I leaned forward slightly to get even closer to him. "If I was you," I whispered approaching his left ear what might look like a kiss on the cheek from his bodyguards' point of view, "I wouldn't trust anybody."

I smirked when I noticed his breath getting quicker, finally realizing what I meant as his eyes looked between his bodyguards and me. The smirk I had turning into a smile as I went a step further and wrapped my arms around his waist, feeling his muscles tense under my touch. Taeyong gave me a confused look at this.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

"I am willing to trust you," He looked at me as if trying hard to read me, before he again looked behind me, but this time he made a nod towards his bodyguards, what lead me to assume they must've turned around. When Taeyong met my gaze again, the storm in his eyes seemed to have calmed down. "If you really know the password that is."

I looked into his dark eyes from the deepest shade of the richest earth. They always proved there was beauty in the night, and when they reflected the light they made tiny stars; not soulless nor lifeless. It felt like looking into an endless stretch of midnight sky, full of fierceness and pride. I smiled as I spoke to him.

"You know what to do to get the information out of me." I leaned my head back exposing my neck to look him directly in the eyes. Taeyong swallowed and stared back at me, trying to figure out whether I was bluffing and had an ulterior motive instead. His arms dangled at his sides while mine were around his waist still.

"Like I said." Taeyong began. He moved a piece of hair out of my face and leaned forward to speak in my ear. His voice raspy and thick with exhaustion. "Don't tempt me, Carmen." My body shuddered and I became weak in the knees at his response. My jaw went slack and I just stared up at him.

Fuck it, it's all or nothing, play the goddamn game with his rules!

So, I looked at him through my lashes and insisted, "Show me the files."

Taeyong met my gaze, trying to read me as he cupped my face and before I knew it, he dragged his fingers across my face dipping his thumb between my lips. I didn't think another second when I sucked the digit of this thumb into my mouth while keeping eye contact with him.

"Good girl."

...his rules!

A gasp left my mouth at his words, a familiar tingling forming in my stomach.

Taeyong's thumb slipped from my mouth and rested on my face. I knew that he knew I wanted to listen to the other recordings. At this point, I would do anything to lay my hands on them. If they really were cassettes with my mother's voice then I had to know what she had to say. Taeyong was convinced they would lead him to the hidden passwords that would open the files he so badly wanted to read. But I knew there was more to it than that because only I knew for a fact that these cassettes were nothing my mother could have prepared on her own; they were only manipulated pieces and snippets from something she had said a long, long time ago. Apparently, someone was using her voice, her own sentences, to play a wicked game that Taeyong wouldn't ever be able to solve on his own. And that's exactly why I was one step ahead of him for I knew the password for real. The only things I didn't know: why my mother, and why me?

"Follow me," Taeyong finally said in a low voice, and – oh wonder – he didn't drag me by my arm, but instead took my hand in his when he quickly moved us towards the rear entrance of the headquarter. At this point, I knew he'd lead me to his room, I knew he needed me, and I also knew – but I knew, he knew that too – that I needed him just as much.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

A/N

Yes I know, the whole "let's solve the riddle and find the password to prevent a catastrophe" thing might sound complicated in the beginning, but actually it's not. The whole book is about Cami trying to run away from the shadows of her past while facing new problems and this is just another aspect from something she tried to avoid all these years. Trust me, it will make super sense in the future. Do you have an idea of what the password could be and how Cami found out (or maybe she just lies lol)? What confidential document will be unlocked by said password? And most importantly, if you were Taeyong, would you trust Cami and vice versa?

Find out in the next chapter :)

What I like is, that now Cami and Taeyong will be forced to work together instead of avoiding each other for such a long time. And who knows, maybe there will be a long-awaited confrontation ahead(?)

I really, really, really want to update more often. It's not that I procrastinate, it's rather that I am simply not satisfied with my writing anymore, so I get frustrated more easily and delete the whole chapter. This chapter, in particular, was the death of me - I lost count in how many times I rewrote it (and honestly, I don't like it for 100%, I know I have to do a lot of editing in the future, but for now, I wanted to update anyway or else, I know I won't get anything done in forever)

As always, I love you and your feedback! <3 especially the ones who come back every now and then and ask for an update. I see you guys and I try my best.

xx, Lyra