"what are you doing?" lalisa hissed, gripping jungkook by the collar before shoving him away. 

"loosen up for once, you're uptight as a stick." a smile curved into his mouth but there was no trace of playfulness coating his words. he didn't bother to budge from the spot he was currently standing and lalisa stared at him, taken aback, perhaps even intrigued.

she, that usually never gave a damn about people's opinions, found herself replaying his words over and over again. but she'd never admit to it. not to him. 

"i'm not sure if i want to punch you in the face or strangle you." ben, that introduced himself after walking upon them, had left the room after jungkook's sudden outburst. sure, it was a plausible excuse as to why they where inside the room but it could have gone wrong. and it was evident now. 

jungkook might be too much for her to handle. 

"both sound awfully tempting if done by your pretty hands." he extended one hand for lalisa to take, and surprisingly, she did. the rhythm of her heartbeat thumping against the palm of his hand as her fingers slid between his. 

is he there? the culprit? a feminine voice echoed from the ear piece, reminding her that jisoo might have heard their whole conversation. shit, it completely slipped her mind during the unfolding of events. 

it's not midnight yet, remember? lalisa mustered a whisper while covering her mouth so that whoever stared at her would think she was merely covering up a cough. never did she feel as misplaced as she did today. tired from the exaggerated and feigned politeness and their small talks. pompous rich people. 

fine. she could feel jisoo smiling on the other line; racking to come up with something to mess with her and lalisa could barely contain the roll of her eyes. no flirting with lover boy.  

she sneaked a brief glance at jungkook to find him blended into a group of female guests before lowering her glance to check the time. two minutes left till midnight. lalisa inspected the foyer with frantic glances, hoping to find someone suspicious. but there was none. everything was appallingly in place. 

but not quite. 

as the faint smell of metal and polymer wafted through the air, invading her senses, the almost imperceptible resounding of a gun being loaded, followed by a bullet being fired, pierced through the muffled sound of the background music and screams of many guests rippled throughout the room. 

it unfolded in slow motion. as lalisa seeked coverage behind one of the tables before reaching for the gun tucked under her dress. as she ambled across the floor to haul a woman hunched over her knees and drag her to the back of a pillar. 

"stay here." she ordered, with heavy breathing, and ran to the main entrance. the sole of her feet ached from the running and sharp edges of the stiletto biting into her skin but she only had one thought in mind. to find jungkook. among all the chaos and the afflicted guests. 

"lalisa." the building anxiety inside her chest dissipated at the sound of his voice and lalisa sighed in relief when her back pressed against his chest. firm hands helped steady her before urging her to turn around and find his eyes glimmering with worry.

"it's him." her voice faltered and her lips trembled. but not from fear, from the sheer desperation to catch the culprit and put an end to the bloodshed and sleepless nights. jungkook stared at her as she stepped away from his grasp, eyebrows pinched in confusion and fingers curling around her wrist. 

she was a step away from catching him. and she'd do it. with or without jungkook. 

"cover me." jungkook's touch loosened and she reached for her gun once again. fingers tightening around it until her knuckles became white. there was no reply but he tailed behind her as they made their way to where the first bullet was fired. five minutes went by since then, meaning he had enough time to dodge past the guards. 

the culprit could have blended as a guest but seeing as every one of them were hunched over the ground, it meant he must have gone to the second floor. her pace was brisk, taking two flights of stairs at a time, and her eyes scanned the whole hall when she reached the top. 

her hands touched the wall and her body pressed against it to camouflage her presence behind each corner between the doors. every room had its door closed and some of them still had a lock aside from the balcony. but no one was there. 

the silence was deafening, with only her breathing echoing through the hall, and her eyes searched. for any lurking shadow or any sign of a another living presence. her steps were calculated, barely perceived even though her heel scraped against the flooring. 

her finger pressed the trigger, but not in its entirety, immersing herself in the feeling of safeness it provided her with. and then she heard. the sound of a muffled breathing right around the corner. 

her breath hitched and her steps halted. he was here. hiding and probably running out of ammunition because he had fired three times during the whole commotion at the foyer. she was close, too close to catching him and jungkook was no where to be seen. they went opposite ways after all and it was probably not the most sensible decision. 

shit, lalisa cursed under her breath when a faint movement was caught from her peripheral vision. 

she forced her body to do something. anything. but her joints wouldn't budge and her feet were cemented to the floor. he had a hood covering his face and his back was turned to her when he climbed up the balcony. aim at him and press the trigger, her conscious screamed but she was paralyzed. 

scared and trembling. because he paused for a split second and slowly turned around. because his pursed lips curled into a smile and he stretched both arms into the darkness, wide open. a gun pressed into his left palm, moving from one side to the other as if waving at her. 

he smiled at her. before jumping off the balcony.