HIM.

ix.

ix. ONE OF US

IT was a club. Almost literally, people were everywhere, and Mari meant everywhere. The only places left with a little room were the VIP lounges sitting several feet away from the dance floor.

Dark too. Purple and blue lights reflected across the room and onto her form as she slinked past partygoers. Seokjin had invited her here, as a way to socialize with other people in the Black Pearl.

Mari doubted she would even stay for that long.

She didn't like the girls that she already seen so far. They seemed...snobbish. Selfish, and slightly rude. Not the upfront kind, but the judgmental type that you were never sure what they thought of you.

Kei Mari definitely didn't like those types.

"So you're the new girl, huh?" One piped, noticing her dark form heading towards the bar, in hopes of going unnoticed. Mari sighed, turning.

She knew this one. Her name was Go Heejin. The tallest of their 'female' entourage, and seemed like the ringleader.

"I suppose." She shrugged. "Why?"

"I was just wondering why the boys are so...taken by you." Heejin turned to her other friends. "I mean, you're not especially extraordinary, are you?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Mari flashed a smile, though it didn't reach her onyx eyes. Heejin took note of this, her stare hardened.

"You're not that pretty, you look kinda' weak. What did they say they were using you for? A coverup story?"

Heejin continued on, laughing to herself. "That's a shame. All of us here were recruited based on our skills."

Mari crossed her arms, from the corner of her eye she noticed those seven men. They were sitting at the VIP lounge adjacent to their progressing argument, Heejin could probably get a great view of their reactions.

Xiaoling was sure that they were watching. She noticed that the seven were always watchful around the females, they in times seemed more dangerous than all of them combined whenever angered.

"Hm," She hummed. "what do you want for that? A medal or something?"

"New girl—"

"Mari." She corrected. "Don't call me that."

"New girl," Heejin smirked. "things roll differently with us. You can't just be part of our...gang with no form of showing that you belong."

Xiaoling rolled her eyes. Heejin was more annoyed with the fact that none of her jabs were getting to her. They definitely were, but Mari knew how to conceal her emotions very well.

"Wanna' bet on that?" Mari laughed. "Go Heejin, you don't even know me. I'd be careful before picking a fight with me."

"Scared you'll lose? Where's all this bold talk coming from?"

"All five of you." Xiaoling smirked. "Against me. How does that sound?"

"Asking for a death wish?"

Mari turned, as if to look behind her. "Who are you talking to Heejin? Me?"

🍷

Jungkook snorted under his breath, eyes trained on the dance floor.

"They are always causing trouble."

"That's all they're good at anyways." Hoseok responded plainly. "Every time we come here, they pull a fight with some newcomer, or each other."

"I heard that you don't like her so much."

"I don't appreciate a girl who acts like she already owns the place, Namjoon." Jae shot an irritated look towards him. "I don't get why you guys like her so much."

"She doesn't have that kind of attitude, Jae." Taehyung chimed. "Her attitude is just like yours."

"Mind telling me what that means?"

"Nah," The other laughed aloud. "I'm not trying to die today."

Jimin shrugged to himself. "It might take you sometime to let her grow on you, hyung. But she was nice to us, she's funny, smart, and can read us pretty well."

"My only thing is that I can never get what she's thinking about." Yoongi chuckled under his breath. "It's strange. Usually we are ones who know what everyone's thinking, but now it's like we're the mice and she's the cat. She knows exactly what's in our head."

Hoseok frowned. That was a phrase he couldn't relate to. The first time he had seen Mari at the bar, he knew exactly what kind of person she was.

He noticed her restless thoughts, the way she seemed bored about her life, as a college student with a part time job. So, was he really the only one who picked up on that?

"Jin hyung, who is she exactly?" Namjoon fought a smile. "Look at her, and look at them. She even knocked down Heejin."

Jae wouldn't deny it, his sharp eyes had been on Kei Mari the whole time. They heard the two's conversation, what led them up to this superficial fight between Heejin and her friends versus Mari. She didn't seem like a street fighter.

Heejin was a street fighter, she learned her tactics from the streets. Hoseok could tell by her movements. Mari's...they were refined.

As if she learned how to fight.

"Yeah," Hoseok turned away from the interesting scene before them, looking to Jin. "Who is she? Did you do a background check?"

"On Kei Mari?" Seokjin shrugged. "Yeah, did one back when I hired her. She's pretty average, no criminal record, she's Chinese, but grew up here in Seoul."

"Chinese?" Taehyung's lips formed an 'o'. "I wonder if she could teach me how to write."

"Taehyung," Hoseok shook his head. "She's not a part of the Black Pearl. She's just a coverup for us."

"She already knows a lot than a normal person should know." Yoongi pointed out. "She's practically a member. She just would need to take a oath and get our tattoo."

"Which she hasn't," Jae emphasized. "Don't get too close to her, she's not one of us."