┌────── ⋆⋅✦⋅⋆ ──────┐

You drummed your fingers on the table, waiting for RM to come. You adjusted your mask and cap. The cafe's peaceful atmosphere didn't match your inner turmoil.

You knew what the deal was. You knew your answer. It was at the tip of your tongue, waiting to slip out. But also you knew you had to wait. You couldn't show how you felt about it. You had to stay calm and emotionless for the sake of your reputation. You were Shadow, not Yeona. And right now, you couldn't show emotion.

How do I know this is not a trap?

Come prepared then.

Will he heed your warning? You had no intention of double crossing him, not when you both had the same goals. When he asked that question, you were curious to know what he would do. How would he react to it? How will he prepare for it?

You didn't know what he looked like. The only Bangtan member you had interacted with was Taehyung. You saw one other guy, but he didn't seem like the leader.

You could tell Bangtan's leader was someone strong and intelligent. Someone who carried the title like a crown and the burdens as a duty. You'd be disappointed if RM wasn't the leader you were expecting him to be.

RM was not a minute late. As the clock struck 11, you received his text.

RM
I'm here. Where are you?

You

I'm here too. The table in the corner.

You waited anxiously for him to make his way towards you.

"Shadow?" a man asked. He was tall, taller than Taehyung. His black hair sliced back. Sunglasses covered his eyes. He was wearing a grey, short-sleeved shirt, you could see his tattoos. A ring was dangling from his eyebrow. He stood tall and proud - like a leader.

You nodded. "I'm guessing you are RM." He took a seat across the table, opposite to you. "I'm surprised you came alone."

"I'm not sure whether it's a trap. So I planned accordingly." He answered in a deep baritone.

You raise an eyebrow, impressed. You hadn't thought he would interpret your warning this way. You labeled him smart, for he was.

He doesn't remove his sunglasses. Nor do you remove your mask. You both were here to make a deal, not friends.

A server came to take your orders. RM got himself an iced Americano while you weren't going to drink coffee today. No one has seen Shadow. You wanted things to stay the same a little longer. Because, soon, everything was going to change. You didn't know how you would come out of it. Perhaps you would be the hero, or you'd be the villain, but you had to play your part.

Your father was one of the most powerful mob bosses in Asia. A third of his power came from his men. A half of those men were from the institution. The institution was a horrible place. Your father got orphaned kids and trained them to be killers. He would take the best out of the batch in his gang, and the others were auctioned off to other gangs.

This didn't matter to you. It doesn't affect you. Your resentment seeped much deeper, more personal.

"So," you ask. "What's the deal?"

This immediately grabbed his attention. He clapped his hands and leaned forward.

"I believe we have a common enemy," he said. "Kim Jaehyung. It's no secret you want to kill him. Me and my team have the same goal in mind. I believe we can work together to achieve both of our goals."

The words flowed out of his mouth like a well-practised speech. If you weren't convinced already, he would have convinced you now. It was, perhaps, the way he spoke, with confidence. He sounded like a leader. He sounded like someone you wanted to pledge your loyalty to because of the way he spoke. His words had kindness, but you couldn't ignore the authoritative note.

"Kill Kim Jaeyong?" You say. "It does sound interesting. If I may ask, why do you and your gang, Bangtan, want to kill Kim Jaeyong?"

"All of us have our different reasons, and I'm not the one who should reveal the secrets about my members."

You had a reason to kill your dad. Because of him, Hanjae died. You could never forgive him for that. Hanjae was the only person who cared for you. While you had learnt how to live without him, you still missed his presence every day.

You were curious to know the reason the members of Bangtan wanted to kill your dad. Every killer had a motive, even serial killers. If you agreed and teamed up with Bangtan, you weren't sure if you would get a chance to kill your father. You wanted to drink up the moment where your father died. That would quench your thirst for revenge.

"If I'm going to agree, I want to make my terms clear." You say. He sat a little straighter. "I want to kill Kim Jaeyong, not just assist in his murder."

He nodded. "As I said before, all of us want to kill Kim Jaeyong. So everyone gets one shot. Each shot as deadly as the last. And after eight bullets shot, he will die."

You thought about it. It sounded tempting. You would get your revenge and your father would be dead, too. It didn't sound so bad. You were going to spend a lot of time with the Bangtan Boys while planning your attack.

You had to show your face sometime. Even if you refused to remove your mask, Taehyung would still recognise you. You weren't worried that he would recognise you; you were worried if Bangtan would tell someone. Because till now you have kept your identity as Kim Yeona hidden. If the world finds out that Shadow and Kim Yeona are the same people, your father would send people to hunt you down and kill you. He hid you from the world is just to cover up the fact that you ran away. Freedom always comes with a price. You had learnt that the hard way.

"I won't lie. It does sound tempting. But how are we going to plan? And I would like to meet the rest of your members before we start planning."

"I understand. If you are comfortable, I can introduce you to the members tomorrow. And we can start planning a day after that." RM proposed. "To make things even simpler, I suggest you temporarily move in with us."

Your eyes widened. Will I have to sleep with Taehyung again?

"You will have a room all to yourself." RM added, noticing your discomfort.

You nod. "I'm ready to make a deal with you." You hope he didn't bring any paperwork with him. "And as you suggested, I would like to meet your members."

"We'll meet here again tomorrow. I'll take you to meet the members from here and get some clothes with you; since you agreed to stay."

Both of you shake hands before parting ways.

└────── ⋆⋅✦⋅⋆ ──────┘

{A/N}: Things have started to get exciting. 

How's the chapter?

Do you think Yeona should have "called" Taehyung and let him know she's coming over?

They could have been BEST BUDDIES!

💙