──  ❝ 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑹𝑻𝒀 𝑻𝑾𝑶」

❝ 偽の敬意;
.FEIGNED RESPECT ❞

KARMA MISSED THE shithole that was Itaewon's Playground as unlikely as it seemed. Sure, it still smelled like stale weed and moonshine strong enough to kill a man healthier than a horse. And yeah, maybe the men there were sleazy assholes who viewed women as nothing more as property, sexual objects for them to use for their pleasure and then discard like trash. But the familiarity of it brings to Karma a sense of comfort.

It's been months since she's returned to her usual haunt. Deafening music fills her ears in a way she's not yet reintroduced to. It makes her wince, but Karma figured she'd become accustomed to it once more just as she had before.

Nostalgia hits her brutally hard. Pickpocketing with Yoongi was an irreplaceable feeling. Their highs were like no other. The adrenaline kick was enough to hook them. They fed off of each other. They were junkies in a way. Just trying to find the next thing to excite them. Running through the streets together as electric blues and neon reds melt into vibrant lilacs and withering lavenders.

Tonight The Playground is drowned green with envy, but that seems to be all that's changed. The girls still dance on the poles in something you couldn't even qualify as clothing and men still throw money at them, panting like starved dogs looking upon a fresh piece of meat. Karma wonders if any of the girls here realize how much power they had over these men.

She didn't plan on stealing anything tonight. No, she'd rather sit down at the bar, sip on her Kamikaze, and revel in the sour taste that penetrates and defiles her senses. Hopefully, Karma would be able to find Kehlani and check up on how Yoongi was doing, if he was getting better at all. She texted her to tell her she was passing through.

Karma enjoyed her senses being overwhelmed. The combination of music so loud that it seems to rattle her to her very core, the sour taste of lime and vodka passing over her tongue as she resists the urge to suck in her cheeks, and disorienting, flashing lights don't leave any room for her mind to form any cohesive thought. Her brain was already distracted with too many things, senses bombarded and overwhelmed. For once, even if it was brief, she could be thoughtless.

It was odd that no one was approaching her. Not to sound egotistical, but Karma was always approached by some slick-talking man who thinks just a few sweet words was enough to get in her pants. Everyone seemed to avoid her like the plague. No one even made eye contact with her.

Karma stood up from the cushy leather stool she sat on, abandoning her drink on the counter to find Kehlani. Maybe she was with a client, oh well, he could wait.

She pushed her way through the heavy, steel door that sectioned off the backrooms from the main part of the club. The music suddenly became dull and muffled behind the soundproofed walls. Doors line the walls of the narrow hall, some of them stained with the faded splatters of blood, only coming from god knows where.

At the little table just before you enter the main part of the hall, sat a very familiar, weasel-like man. Lanky and slender, dressed up in a luxury suit like his life was worth anything more than 1,000 won, even that was about 1,000 won too much. The only difference now was that he had a scar, a deep gash through his cheek.

He glanced up from the thick stack of cash sitting in his hands and the moment his eyes met hers, he turned away, eyes shooting down to the table. His hands began to tremble and though he tried to hide it, Karma noticed. That's when her suspicions arose that maybe Taehyung was responsible for her lack of suitors. The man before her should be screaming in her face, but he wasn't, he looked terrified.

Karma figured she would test something. She approached the table, heels clicking like knives piercing the air. It punctuates each step she takes with an air of gravity. And when she stops in front of him, standing over him, she places a hand on the table. "Is Kehlani in her normal room?"

Like a trained dog on a leash, he nods immediately. "Yes, ma'am." As it left past his lips, the soft trembling in his voice from trauma she could never imagine, Karma felt resentment fall heavy on her chest. She should love this. The power she has over these people. That they were too afraid to even meet her gaze. But it wasn't that they revered her. No- they were scared of The King, and what he would do to them if they did anything to her.

She wasn't respected because of anything she did.

Karma's fingers tightened around her clutch and she made her way down the narrow, hollow halls towards Kehlani's designated room, just at the end of the hall. The stained, red carpet, undoubtedly containing a bit of blood itself leads all the way to the room of only the most popular hooker in this joint.

Karma doesn't really care all that much if she's with a client and simply strolls through the door like she owns the place. She doesn't, but she's fucking the guy who does own the place so- same difference.

She raised her hand to knock on the thin, wooden door, only for it to coincidentally swing open before her. Karma met eyes to bare chest with a tall, broad man attempting to button up his dress shirt. He had the unmistakably identafiable tattoo of the Bulgae Clan which meant he, no matter what Karma did, knew he couldn't say shit to her. Karma's eyes darted up to meet his gaze out of instinct and much to her horror, it was the familiar man with stoic, dragon eyes and what seemed to be a permanent state of neutrality on his gorgeous face.

Namjoon.

He was smiling at first as he had just gotten finished with his favorite call girl,  but that quickly vanished the moment he laid eyes on Karma who stood before him, staring at him with a rather puzzles expression.

What were the odds.

Neither of them say anything to each other, a few looks with their eyes is conversation enough. Silent words and gestures that only they could understand in a moment of panic between the two of them.

Karma had no idea he knew Kehlani. It only made her grow suspicious of the man he worded for. Was he having Namjoon keep tabs on those in her life, ensuring that she hadn't told anyone anything about his diamond? Maybe it was by stroke of luck, good or bad, that they cross paths here. Namjoon is a Bulgae after all, they're known to be rather dog-like. Karma couldn't expect him to be abstinent.

Namjoon said nothing to her as he walked right past her as if she had never been there in the first place. In this moment, they were strangers just briefly crossing paths and Karma was okay with that for now. She watched as he made his way down the hall, jacket draped over his shoulder while he buttoned up his shirt and fixed up his hair.

When Karma turned to look into the room, Kehlani sat standing alone, fixing up her untamable curls so they were out of her face. She stood before the mirror, and when the door opened behind her, her fox-like eyes darted to look at the intruder. Her lips curved into a glittering smile as she turned on her heels. "Well if it isn't the Queen herself. Come to grace the lowly peasants with your presence?"

Karma was no queen. Not at all. She was far above that. Such a minor, inconsequential title for someone of her status. Yet, she played along with a friendly smile as she sat down on Kehlani's velvet couch. She decided she wouldn't talk about Namjoon, not now at least. At some point she'd have to confront this. "Have to keep appearances, y'know?"

"What brings you around, Kar?" As much as she wanted to sit and properly catch up with her best friend, Kehlani didn't have much time before her next client comes in. She presumed Karma came to get a check-up on her favorite boy toy, which- she isn't wrong, but that wasn't the entirety of it.

Karma let a sigh escape past her lips, sticky with her constantly re-applied lipgloss. "I just needed to get out and get some air. Who knew a luxury penthouse would get boring, huh?" Everyone needed a bit of fresh air every once in a while. Being trapped within a confined space for an extended period of time couldn't be good for anyone's health. Karma missed the nightlife, marauding around amongst her fellow shadows of the night.

"You got any idea why everyone's avoiding me like burned their parent's house down?" It was eating away at her. Kehlani knew everything somehow. She had ears everywhere, eyes in every corner, every nook and cranny. She was aware of everything. So such a simple question was nothing to dwell on long. "Oh yeah, your puppy told everyone that if anyone approaches you, he'll carve their eyes out of their sockets. Very serious. He didn't come to play."

As she thought.

Karma knew what would be at the forefront of their conversation when she got home.

She wanted to get back to her original motivations for coming here. Her heart, held captive in the cage of her ribs, longed to be freed, fought to be freed with all its might. "How is Yoongi doing?" Every day she fears the worst. That her conversation with him over the phone may be the last time she ever heard his voice.

Kehlani's heart weighs heavy in her chest. "It's been struggling a lot." She admits truthfully and though her honesty is appreciated, it makes Karma's chest tighten with anticipation. The woman continues. "But he's trying really hard. He's determined, y'know? I just...I don't know if he'll be entirely stable for long. He's going about this alone, without any support at all. Maybe you should check up on him yourself, or give him a sign that you're there and that you believe in him."

She was probably right. No- she was definitely right. Karma just dropped him on his ass and said "fix it" without offering much support at all.

"Yeah, I should." She whispered breathlessly as she rested a hand above her pounding heart. "Thank you for checking up on him."

"It's no problem."

-

Karma had a bone to pick with Taehyung. It had been a pressing issue on her mind from the moment Kehlani told her of what he did. There was a lot she could say about his actions, disrespectful was the first thought to come to mind.

Taehyung was in the kitchen when she came marching through the door with such righteously furious passion, he knew he was in for some shit just by the way her footsteps sounded. He sighed and placed down the plate he had in his hand so she wouldn't take it and smash it over his head.

"Are you fucking serious?" A general blanket question. That could be questioning anything. Taehgung's right brow shot up, questioning everything, her words, her tone, the murderous intent in her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Her hand slammed against the marble counter with a loud slap. "I'm talking about the fucking death threat on everyone's life if they come near me. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not your property? I'm not your pretty little diamond you're afraid someone will steal." Not only that, but his threat had destroyed a potential hunting ground she could have had. That, and any other establishment he owned. And on top of that, he may have Namjoon spying on her.

Taehyung should have known she'd find out eventually. He sighed, dramatically rolling his eyes. "It shouldn't be a problem. You have plenty of other places to run your games." Karma figured he must be joking, being willfully ignorant just in spite of her because she felt the need to strangle him.

"Fuck you." She spat at him enormously,  eyes lit ablaze with the deepest flames of hell. Before Taehyung could even say anything to her, Karma marched away, each furious step seemed to leave a path of flames behind her.

Taehyung figured that for the sake of his life, he shouldn't sleep tonight.

*.✧ Kᴀʏs Eɴᴅɪɴɢ Nᴏᴛᴇs

I think after the next chapter, I'm gonna take a minor break from this book so I can work on one of my short stories for my new book. Maybe I can catch up a bit on my S&S re-write. This book won't be abandoned tho, I just won't update for a little bit.

Thank you all for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed and I wish you all a wonderful day/night.

사랑해

~Kay /ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\