PANDORA'S BOX
5:34 PM, MONDAY

3RD PERSONS VIEW。

"Again, why the fuck is our bar so popular amongst mafia bullshits?" Daniel grunts as they had just finished cleaning the whole bar from the incident that had happened a two days ago.

Keiko scrunched her nose, groaning, "Don't even ask about it. I hate it as much as you do."

"Can't your Dad do anything about it? I mean–"

"Again, He is my uncle." Keiko snarls at Reiji, making her way to the counter.

Reiji pursed his lips together, "Okay. I mean't uncle. Can't he do anything about this mafia situation?"

The head bartender shrugs, grabbing a few bottles and started mixing them up.

"Yah, what are you even mixing for?" Reiji raises one of his brows in confusion, watching the girl twirl the jigger in between her fingers before pouring the alcoholic beverage into the mixer.

"Myself." Keiko utters and takes a sip of her drink. "And to answer your question earlier, Reiji, he does do something about it, but like I said, I don't know the shit he's going through."

Silence engulfed the three bartenders as they all had different thoughts crowding their minds. Annoyed by this, the head bartender claps her hands together to grab their attention, "The bar opens at eight today, let's just get ready."

The two males nodded and stood up to get ready while Keiko remained behind the counter. She folded up her sleeves and grabbed a towel and began wiping the cocktail glass.

"You okay?" Daniel raises a brow as he walked out of the back room, noticing the girl's long face.

"I've been better." she shrugs and finishes the last glass, placing it carefully into the glass rack.

"Whatever you are going through, hope you'll be okay soon." the younger boy gives her a smile, going behind the counter to help her.

Hours of preparing, it was time for the bar to open. Reiji flipped the 'closed' sign over to reveal the 'open' writing beneath it. Daniel continued to sweep the floors as the head bartender wiped the bar counter.

Minutes passing and costumers started to come into the bar every now and then. "We're having a lot of costumers today, aren't we?" Daniel utters as he served drinks behind the counter with Keiko.

Keiko, however, still was feeling uncertain about it. Her mind couldn't help but think about what happened a two days ago, she had never encountered both mafia gangs before. No one from the gangs were familiar to her and she felt restless for the lack of information she had.

The girl's eyes scans through the place, eyeing anyone who looked unfamiliar to her. A sigh of relief emits from her mouth as there were no one in the bar that she hadn't seen before, or so she thought.

The same college student she met a few days ago. "Oh, you're back." the girl bartender muttered with slight enthusiasm laced in her voice, smiling faintly at the costumer in front of her.

"Oh? You remember me?" the student's eyes widens in shock.

Keiko chuckles, "I should be familiar to my costumer, with that I can provide them with the desired drink they want."

The girl gapes at the bartender in amusement, "No wonder a lot of your costumers come again."

Keiko hums, "What can I serve you today, girly?"

"Well... I actually came here to get a drink," the student's once amused expression faltered and was replaced with a sad one, "my boyfriend cheated on me." she spat, her voice lowering in annoyance.

"Another heartbreak, huh?" Keiko whispers before walking towards the shelf, grabbing the needed juices.

Daniel, who happened to hear her, grinned smugly and skidded towards her, "Heartbreak?" he asks happily.

Keiko scoffs, "Shut up, Daniel. She doesn't need your Heartbreaker drink."

The smug grin fell off the younger's face, "Why not?" he pouted.

"She needs something more refreshing," she utters before placing the glass and started pouring into the jigger, eyeing how much she already poured in before stopping. She spins the jigger in between her fingers before smoothly tilting it into the cocktail shaker, the juice flowing straight in. Keiko reaches for the bar spoon, twirling the mixture before closing it and began shaking it.

After shaking it a few times, she places it aside and went to get the ice kit, picking one sphere carved ice, plopping it into the glass. She then grabbed the cocktail strainer and poured the liquor into the glass.

"Here you go, Nayoung." placing the glass on top of a drink mat before sliding it towards the student, "Don't need your love." her mouth worded the name smoothly and winked at the student.

"You remember my name?" Nayoung gasped as she slowly grasped the glass.

"Of course, girly." she chuckles and moves away, "Enjoy."

Keiko wiped the newly washed glasses, storing them quickly on the glass rack. The bell chimes, signaling that a new costumer came in. She whips her head up, only to find an unfamiliar person walking in, two of them actually.

She nearly chokes on her spit and lightly slams her hands on the lower counter in annoyance. The two new comers went towards the bar counter, in front of her.

"Don't do your shit here." Keiko spats lowly, squinting her eyes at the two men.

They looked baffled upon her statement, "Excuse us?"

Keiko rolls her eyes and grabs two glasses, preparing their drinks, then sliding it towards them. "Enjoy."

"Welcome to my playground." she smiles, flashing them a cheeky, yet annoyed, grin before waking away.

. . . t w o . . h o u r s . . a g o . . .

"Why the fuck am I the one chosen for this job." the mask of the mafia, Xiao Dejun, grumbles and ruffles his hair in annoyance. The boy had just been done with his latest mission, he obviously didn't want to do another one right now.

The four executives, along with the Consigliere, Underboss, and Boss, looked at him as if telling him he knew the answer to his own question. Xiaojun's face twisted in irritation, "Doesn't mean that if I'm the best at undercover, means that I should always do it." he emphasizes.

One of the executives, Qian Kun, chuckled dryly, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "You're the best we can find."

Xiaojun sighs in defeat, "Fine." he murmurs, looking away.

"All you need to do is befriend her and gather more information about her, like personally." Jaehyun pointed out, his hands wrapped around the folder. He then tosses the folder across the table, for it to end up in the hands of the carrier; Liu Yangyang.

Yangyang hums and opens the folder, his eyes scanning every bit of information displayed. "It's a she." he utters, looking up at the executives in front of them.

"Is there a problem with her?" the boss, Lee Taeyong, raises a brow, the corner of his mouth tugging up into a smirk.

"Do we have to end up killing her, too?" Xiaojun questions, the boredom in his tone present.

"No." Taeyong said sternly, causing his fellow members crane their heads towards him in confusion.

"What do you even mean by no?" Mark furrows his brows, immediately sitting up straight at the sudden request.

"You're not allowed to hurt her, just..." he looks at the deck of cards on top of the meeting table, "...keep an eye on her."

"What's this game you're playing, Taeyong?" Doyoung questions, afraid that Taeyong had different intentions from what he thought earlier.

"The gamble for life."

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