*this chapter contains quite a number of profanities (I mean it's not that much but still more than other chapters & a lot according to my standard lol) so yeah just a heads up 😂😂😂*

"Yes, I love you so much baby. I can't wait to get home and do-"

Yunho makes a point to clear his throat loudly, interrupting Min Gunhoo who's talking on his handphone. The older man is currently on the phone with what they assume as his much, much younger girlfriend whom apparently he loves so much and promised to do anything for and to her.

Anything, that even Yunho and Byul gag at the shameless words that tumble out of his mouth as he talks to her on the phone. The call has been going on for 10 minutes ever since their meeting started, and it doesn't look like it'll end anytime soon. Having had enough of it, Yunho had to intervene, knowing that their ears can't take the intrusion anymore or they will start bleeding.

"You know what, baby. These people are being a bit annoying so I'll call you back later," Gunhoo coos into the phone as Byul resists the urge to mimic his voice, keeping her graceful act as Madam Tang. "Yes, yes baby. You must promise that once I'm home you're all ready on the bed with no clo-"

Seonghwa is the next one to cough, this time looking like he's in a violent fit of coughing as he puts a hand over his chest. He doesn't stop that even Yunho starts to look worried, as the oldest doesn't stop until Gunhoo has ended the call with a glare towards the couple's bodyguard.

What they expect is for Min Gunhoo to be pissed at them for interrupting his lovey-dovey call session with his girlfriend, but he looks relieved as he puts his phone away. He massages his temples before putting his right ankle on his left knee, then weaving his fingers together.

"Women and their love for money. You must be a really lucky man." Gunhoo looks at Yunho for a brief moment before his wild eyes start to eye Byul up and down, "because both of you are a couple with the riches. Surely not the other trying to suck up the other's wealth. She's such a gorgeous woman too."

"Even with that kind of clown makeup he finds her beautiful and gorgeous? He seriously needs to go and get his eyes checked," Wooyoung passes a comment and Seonghwa bites his lower lip to stop himself from laughing.

Gunhoo's eyes rest on Byul's chest, and she curls her hand into a fist, ready to throw a punch at the man, but she calms back down as she feels Yunho wrapping his fingers around her fist.

"You talk about women like they're objects," Yunho comments, but his tone stays monotonous. However the edge of his tone lifts up as soon as he mentions the next sentence, "Don't talk about my wife with that mouth of yours."

"Easy, man. Are the rumours untrue then?" Gunhoo cocks his eyebrows before smirking. "I thought your wife here would sleep with any man that she does a deal with, and you don't mind because heck, what's one night with some random man, am I right? I wouldn't want to lose this chance when the meal's right in front of my eyes."

"What the actual fuck is this man on?" Hongjoong's voice comes next and he gives an instruction to them, "Aurora and Silver, you have my permission to abort the mission right now, give him a punch or two, or maybe even render him unconscious. I can't hear anything coming out of his mouth anymore. First Madam Tang, then this bastard. What is wrong with these people?"

Seonghwa is even ready to pull out his glock, but Byul steals a glance to him before shrugging.

"Mr. Min, it looks like you need to find a better source for all those rumours. I am in no way a woman like that, and I despise it when people think of me as only a tool to release their insatiety. I am much more than that."

Gunhoo scoffs before looking at Yunho again, in which the latter looks ready to tear him into pieces. He remains unnerved. "Is that true then, Sir Edin? That you would hate to see her sleeping around with another man-"

"You shut your mouth before my fist finds your jaw," Yunho spits.

"Oh-ho, Madam Tang, it looks like your husband right here is pissed off at me for wanting to spend just a harmless and fun night with you. You're used to it so what's more another one with me? Come on, don't be such a spoilsport." He winks, which brings a shiver down their spines and they're not liking the sensation at all.

"Why don't we... talk about this after we finish this deal?" Byul starts to get an idea in her head on how she's going to face this Min Gunhoo as the doorbell to their suite is rung, a signal that San is finally here with the real substance.

"Aurora, what are you trying to do?" Hongjoong asks. "I told you that both of you are allowed to abort this mission right now."

"Trust me," she says lightly, as if it's directed to Gunhoo, but in reality she's assuring Hongjoong that she won't do anything stupid. She saunters over to the door, her back burning as she knows that the scumbag is scanning his eyes over her body, particularly focusing on her lower back.

Yunho and Seonghwa's stares collide, not being able to guess what Byul is planning to do. The oldest keeps his fingers wrapped around the gun, eyeing their opposite party who's looking too smug even without any bodyguard with him and he's currently sitting in his enemy's territory. But even then, he never thought of Madam Tang and Sir Edin as his enemies.

Not yet, at least.

"This substance is the best and it has never been on the market; our company is the first to ever come up with this new, more intense, giving pleasures that you have never experienced before..." she trails off as she opens the door and San is there with the suitcase in hand, looking furious.

San looks like he's about to storm into the room and beat up Min Gunhoo, but as their hands brush against each other as the suitcase is exchanged, he holds himself back. I'll be fine, she tries to relay through her eyes before giving a sincere smile to him and closing the door.

She takes her time to go back to the living room, with Gunhoo looking more eager to see her rather than the suitcase in hand. His next sentence tumbles out, "Must be really worth a lot, the substance. And why did you decide not to have it here and rather have someone else bring it over to you now? Don't trust me one bit, cupcake?"

"Cupcake your ass," Mingi growls in their ears. "I can't listen to this stinky man anymore."

"It's a precious substance, of course we don't trust anyone," she replies, making a point to press on the word 'we', implying that this deal is made between Min Gunhoo and the couple, not Madam Tang alone. "My husband and I," she implies again, "don't trust someone that easily."

"Ah, really." He puts a knowing smile on. "I take no offense then, since I'm about to pay you and it will be mine anyway. After that we might have-"

"What's your offer?" she cuts him off, leaning back against the sofa as Yunho naturally puts an arm around her waist and she snuggles up close to him. "Your offer to us?"

Gunhoo tries to remain nonchalant at the couple's sudden display of affection with each other. "Since it's so precious... 700000 chromas for half a kg. 1.4 million for the agreed weight."

"Damn, that's even more than what I offered Madam Tang," Jongho comments. "Can't believe the actual Gunhoo has the guts to be lying straight through his teeth even when his bank accounts are all zero."

Byul pretends to be shocked and sits up straighter as her eyes light up, freeing herself from Yunho's hold.

Her tone of voice changes as soon as she hears the amount coming out of Gunhoo's mouth and the latter smiles. Looks like she took the bait and cynically, he thinks to himself, all women want is money, and they become submissive once they know you have a lot.

"Really, 1.4 mil just for a kg? I'm starting to like you now, Mr. Min," she purrs, but she's restricting herself from puking on the spot as she listens to herself. "Honey," she turns to Yunho, who still has no idea where she's currently going with her plan, "one night won't hurt, will it?" She bats her eyelashes as she taps the tip of her fingers on his nose.

"Uh..." Yunho stays speechless that even Seonghwa tilts his head to the side, confused.

But the light in her eyes disappears as quickly as it appeared, with a frown decorating her face as she slams down the suitcase on the coffee table. Everyone gets startled that even Seonghwa jumps back a bit, losing his grip on the glock before he massages his chest.

"Jeez, she's definitely a good actor," Yeosang says. "I almost dropped my croissant- oh nope, I dropped it. Aurora, you're buying me three pieces of croissant next time."

"Is that what you're expecting me to say, you scumbag?" she asks before sliding the suitcase away from him. "Did you not hear what I said for the first time? How dare you offer that price to us when you can't even buy yourself a decent fashion sense," she hisses.

"Apply water on burnt area," Wooyoung offers. "I've probably said this a million times but you're so damn cool. Please, continue to roast him."

"How dare you offer that price when your bank accounts contain nothing but dust." As Min Gunhoo looks frightened, the smug look on his face replaced with newfound fear, she continues, "I can't believe you tried to fool us into making a deal with you when you should very well know what we can do to you. Do you think that we're a joke to you?" Madam Tang's voice rings in her head as she pronounces, "With what money do you think you're going to buy this with?"

"Madam, I think you're getting the wrong idea," he manages with a tremble in his voice and for once Yunho is the one with the mocking smile on his face.

"No, stupid. You're the one who's getting the wrong idea. How many times do I have to shove it into your little brain that I'm not interested in you?"

"You tell him, Aurora," Hongjoong claps his hands, satisfied with where Byul is taking the meeting to.

"Why should I be, when my husband is enough for me? He's a great man that I wouldn't want to trade with anyone."

Despite the situation, despite that it's only them acting as husband and wife, Yunho involuntarily blushes, resisting the urge to say that Byul is a great wife herself. When he's too caught up with his own feelings, Byul does what no one expects her to.

She kisses Yunho.

Yunho takes a moment to register what situation he's currently in; their faces are in close proximity yet he can't react to her lips that's ghosting over his, not yet touching. Their eyes meet but he doesn't know what she's planning to say through the connection, even as she cups his face and lets her lips brush onto his.

It only lasts for a few seconds but as she's about to pull away, he grips her wrist and deepens the kiss, something funny cooking up at the pit of his stomach as he can't believe that the first moment he is able to kiss her is when they're being watched by two other people in the same room, and possibly the others too who are scattered around the hotel.

"Oh. my. god." Seonghwa utters one by one, as his earpiece is bombarded with shouts piling on top of each other from the rest of his team members that ultimately lead to one question, "Toothless, are they doing what we think they are? Are Silver and Aurora kissing?"

"On the lips?!" San shouts, sounding almost hysterical.

"Uh-uh, they're doing what we think they are. Gosh, I know that I wanted to see them hook up but not in front of our target. Even Min Gunhoo is surprised he can't move a muscle," he mutters as he brings both palms over his eyes and peeking through his fingers. "Nope- op- they're still not done."

"Silver, Aurora! I told you to not start making out during this mission- Toothless, stop them!" Hongjoong shrieks.

As she feels his lips latching onto hers, she fights back the tears as the familiarity hits her before pulling herself away. It seems that both of them need to take a moment to ground themselves back to reality because Yunho looks to be in disbelief, as if the person who grabbed onto her as they kissed wasn't him.

"I'm sor-" he starts, but she shakes her head slightly and mouths, not now, we'll talk later.

"Yeah, good luck talking about that," Seonghwa mumbles, finally lowering down his hands from his eyes.

"What more do I need to show you so that you'll finally get that in your headspace? If you still can't get the fucking message, my husband and I are staying as we are," she speaks. "Get lost before I throw you out myself."

"Madam-" he pleads, "I'm in a debt and I need this so that I can get back on my two feet."

Byul stands up before rearing her hand back, stunning the others for the second time: she slaps him with force that he cries out in pain before scrambling to kneel in front of her. She keeps her straight face even as she feels her heart being ripped as she is reminded of how she was in that position a few years ago.

How she was begging, begging and begging, but no one ever did listen to her. No matter the amount of tears that could sink down a whole ship escaped her, no one was there to listen to her pleading, because someone like her should be as good as dead. How the pain never seemed to subside even if she learnt to dry up her own tears.

How she wished she could turn back time to even before the fire started. How she wished she could save herself instead of the angel that held on to her, because the angel became someone dear to her before being taken away forcefully from her. How she wished she never met this team, cracking the door open for when she thought she had secured the lock and threw the key, never to be retrieved again.

How she wished she could turn back time, but not when it means that Hwayoung won't be here.

The one... and only. The first and the last.

"Maybe you could have thought about it when you were being insistent and disgusting. You think that you can fool us?" she says, hard. She is about to curl her fingers into a fist but Yunho gradually intertwines their fingers together, stopping her from advancing towards the kneeling man. "If it wasn't for my husband, I would make sure you don't walk out of this room alive." She doesn't let go of Yunho's hand. "That's not how you treat a woman, you son of a bitch. You treat me like I'm an object again, and I'll hammer your body against the wall."

"That's enough, honey," Yunho chirps, still unsure whether it's the real Byul talking or just a character for Madam Tang, that he's starting to get scared himself. "You're scaring him and he'll pee his pants. It's no use wasting our time with someone like him. Suho, escort him out please." He gestures wildly towards Seonghwa.

"Right away, sir."

Seonghwa does a little bow before forcefully lifting up Min Gunhoo from the ground, and before he's taken away, she spits at Gunhoo again, wanting to give him a final remark.

"You're the reason women always feel like they're worthless, because you see them as nothing but your playthings. Live your life right, you asshole. Get out of our sight and never think about doing business with us again unless you would like me to put you on our blacklist. Those who do," a naughty glimmer in her eyes appears, "ends up having their organs sold on the black market, their bodies skinned alive."

"She snapped," Jongho utters. "Min Gunhoo won't be able to sleep tonight."

Seonghwa drags Gunhoo by the collar, throwing him out onto the carpeted floor outside the room before slamming the door. He turns to the empty hallway leading to the living area as he spots the couple peeking their heads at the end from behind the wall, looking sheepish.

"Is he gone?" she squeaks, completely opposite of the front he put out when Gunhoo was there. "I thought my heart was about to drop when he was saying all those stuff. Ugh, he's so disgusting I'm getting goosebumps all over again."

"Are you alright?" Yunho asks, both concerned and careful. The tingles of their kiss are still dancing on his lips, even when he's convincing himself that it's only her getting complicatedly tangled with her character.

Although somewhere deep down, he hopes that at least a part of it was real, because he now realizes that it is to him.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a bit shaken up," she breathes out, smoothing her dress and hitting her knuckles together. She's biting her lips as she sees the growing smirk from Seonghwa and the nonchalance put on by Yunho. It was impulsive, sure, and she could say that it was just her desperately trying to kick off Min Gunhoo from being all over her and making her feel uncomfortable. But...

How should she feel when Yunho didn't shy away, but instead pulled her closer and deepened the kiss, when she only meant it to be a light peck on the lips?

Would it be stupid of her to say that she didn't regret it in any way?

"Well for the record, Madam Tang, I was shaken up by what you said to Min Gunhoo that I'm starting to think that you were talking to me," Yeosang says through the line.

"The man's running for his life..." Mingi clicks onto the next screen, "Out of the hotel... oop he almost got run over by a car. Okay the car managed to stop on time. And... he's out of sight. Aurora, I think you managed to make him scared shitless. I believe he won't be looking for Madam Tang again."

"Good job, Aurora, Silver and Toothless. All of you managed to complete the latter part of this mission without any fistfights or blood," Hongjoong praises them. "I would say everything went well, although we had to result in a scuffle with Madam Tang's party. None of both got what they wanted, while our requester will get what he was looking for. It's a win-win for us, folks."

"Hmm, yeah," San says dishearteningly.

"Are you okay, Shiber?" Seonghwa asks as he unlocks the suitcase and notes the multiple packets of the substance Arman Seung can't wait to get his hands on. "You don't sound too happy that we managed to finish this without giving away anything."

"It's nothing, just needed to clear my mind a bit. I'll join you guys at our headquarters once I'm done. All of you can head back first."

San stands on the rooftop, the highest point of the hotel as he looks up at the sky, then down below to the busy streets. He still has his uniform on, the bowtie undone and collar unbuttoned, but he has taken out his earpiece and microphone. He decides to get some fresh air after the fight and now after knowing that Byul and Yunho shared a kiss, despite it being only an act.

Maybe it wasn't one.

He feels frustrated that jealousy decides to kick in at the most inconvenient time. He runs a hand through his hair, finding it ironic how he finds calmness at a high point, at the place he associated with his failure of saving her from her death.

"Sora... you were always the best at giving advices to me, helping me with even the littlest problems. Why does it seem that I'm incapable of controlling my feelings?"

He could have saved her from falling, but he couldn't. The way her hand slipped out of his grip even as he leaned forward against the railing, pleading for her to hold on, is so vivid in his mind that he could still feel the texture of her skin that he had wrapped his fingers around.

"Don't... stop me... Let... me go..." she had said through her own tears even when he kept the grip around her wrist, tears dropping onto the only physical connection they had left.

As she falls into the water, the waves violently enveloping her, he felt his blood run cold but he couldn't do anything. The cold water rendered him the inability to do anything, because he was convinced that if he jumped in there to save her, he would be the one to drown first.

The reason on why she had decided to jump into the water itself, was why he had decided to start doing his own job of punishing bastards like Yoon Daewon. He tries convincing himself that he's only having feelings towards Byul not because he likes her... but it's because of pity. What Byul went through reminds him of what Sora went through, and he starts to get confused with his feelings towards her, that's it.

It's not because he likes Han Byul.

But still, the thought of Yunho and Byul together makes his heart feel strange, as if he wished he could have pulled them apart. He's only probably being childish at this point, but he wished it was him instead. If Byul doesn't feel the same way towards him... he should learn how to let go.

Just like how he did when he had to let his sister go, and watch as she got swallowed by the raging waves.

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[A/N: Welp what did I just write for this chapter---

Anyways, another update because I might not be able to update anything for next week. I will have something going on for every single day next week so I'm just bracing myself for this suffering.

Love y'all <3]