HIM.

x.

x. DEATH OF A BACHELOR

TO outsiders, she looked like a blonde, rich, socialite. She had long golden blonde hair, it seemed quite a change whenever she eyed herself in the mirror. It was luscious and wavy, ended at her mid back.

She wore all white too, along with blue eye contacts. She could possibly pass as a foreigner from the west. But all of it was just a facade, because underneath Mari was still the ebony-haired, dark eyed existentialist.

A white pearl face net guarded her facial features, for Mari wasn't trying to be identified. This whole fancy getup hadn't even been her idea. Surprisingly, it was the one with the pink hair's; Park Jimin. She didn't care though, Kei Mari was here to sing and nothing else.

"Are you sure this girl is even good at singing?" Jae muttered to Seokjin, taking his position at the back of the room. The seven of them came disguised as tech crew with Mari, as lightning, mic check, and everything else in between. With her were two other girls from their force, as backup singers.

Everything regarding that Kei Mari girl had been taken care of by Seokjin.

"Still don't understand why you hate her so much." Seokjin responded back thinly, forcing a smile on his face. "Get over it. She's here to help us, and doing me a favor for the time being."

"I don't care if she's doing you a favor — are we even sure she's good?"

"Jae," He turned. "Of the many times I've saved your ass, why are you choosing to question my judgment now?"

The younger chose to bite his tongue, there was no point arguing with Kim Seokjin, the man always knew how to get his way.

"She also speaks English." Jungkook chimed, sliding next to the empty spot near Hoseok. "So, she's trilingual. Isn't that cool?"

"Kook, isn't your girlfriend also trilingual?" He answered back dryly, scanning their surroundings. The youngest bit his lip in embarrassment.

"No, she's not my girlfriend."

"Well, that's nice." Jae turned to him. "Any news on our target?"

"Yeah. He's up there in the front. Black coat, red shirt, light brown hair."

His sharp eyes narrowed in on the man to that description, then nodded. "So, during her intermission, we kill him?"

"Yes." Seokjin nodded at the two. "We'll lure him up to his office room. You end it off Jae."

"Sounds good." He brushed the wavy dark hair from his eyes. This one would a piece of cake, just like the others.

They were especially good in that they didn't leave a trace after their missions. And this coverup that Seokjin thought of, Jae never said it explicitly, but it was smart. Everyone would be distracted by the current entertainment, they wouldn't realize that someone was missing.

"All the CCTVs are disabled right?"

"Yep."

"Good."

🍷

Xiaoling loved music. It was her safe escape. When she listened to music, or was just singing for the fun of it, she could be herself. And forget about everything, like her past, her current everyday struggles, and her plans for tomorrow.

She could see all seven of them moving about amongst her performance. Watchful eyes would turn occasionally to look at her amongst the darkness, the lights blinding her face. The crowd assumed she was a foreigner trying to make it by here. They didn't ask for her name.

But the one who intimidated her the most was the loose cannon. Chiseled, sharp-eyed, and dangerous. Number 39. She was intimidated by him because he could read her. By their simple conversation in the refreshment room, she knew that he knew what she was about to say, or how she thought.

Of course Mari didn't see him as a threat, he was with Seokjin and that man was someone she had a feeling she could trust. Intimidation and fear were two different things.

But she was sure to make sure he never knew that she felt intimidated by him. It would be a first — even for her — that she let someone make her feel that way in such a long time.

When she took her short break, taking a walk towards the bathroom to freshen up, she saw him.

Mari didn't understand why he found such a particular disliking to her, she would've been indifferent if not realizing his change of attitude around her. Maybe he was like this around all women, but with her time lingering around Heejin, she found out that he took a particular liking towards her.

Either her as a person, or her as a physical pleasure — Mari didn't know. She assumed the latter.

Maybe he didn't trust her. She wouldn't either.

"Nice show you put on out there." Jae remarked, a tinge of a sneer lingering in his voice. Her hand, which had been reaching for the bathroom door, halted.

"Thank you." She mumbled back, then continued to push the door open. But, once again, Mari was stopped by his own arm.

She let out a bitter scoff. "For someone who really doesn't like me, you talk to me too much."

"You know why I don't like you."

"Do I?" Mari whispered back. "I hardly know you, Number 39."

"It's Jae." He gritted out. "Don't call me that."

"Funny." She brushed her arm away from him. "That's exactly what I said to your chick Heejin out there, and she still calls me a new girl. I'm doing your friend a favor, the least all of you could do is give just a little respect."

The darkness in her eyes didn't fade, and Hoseok didn't stop her from entering the bathroom.

Now he understood what Taehyung meant.