FIVE YEARS LATER, 2021
ANOTHER thing Junhee was good at other than killing was: negotiate.
It was the first exposure Choi Mujin taught her when he brought her into Dongcheon seven years ago so she could learn how things operate in this illicit line of career. From where she was standing then, she will observe both parties, trying to understand the deal dynamics, other party's key issues and their trigger buttons, and from there she will formulate appropriate response before coming to an agreement.
As years went by, she had an excellent track record as a middle-woman, enough for Mujin to put his trust on her. Latest business was no exception though the Liber CEO would have liked to come personally to Tokyo to close this 50 billion won deal, but a lot of things had happened for the past month that could raise the narcotic's suspicions on his activities.
Three weeks ago, Mujin ordered the execution of Bae Jungoo—his middleman, also the CEO of a shipping firm—for his betrayal, and Dongcheon could not supply drugs for couple of weeks because of that. Mujin had been staying low for quite some time after the police found Jungoo's corpse until the ship—the meth factory—arrived from Thailand a day ago.
With the rumors of new drug circulating rapidly in the industry, and before those impatient buyers flocking their assess to the new unknown drug ring, Mujin needed to act fast. He did so by willingly to check out the ship for himself tomorrow night, and that was how Junhee found herself sitting down with one of Tokyo's prominent Yakuza—Mister Yamamoto. She had met the man twice over the years, and according to Mujin, the Yakuza was fond of her professionalism; more reason for Mujin to send her here to secure the bonanza. Unknowingly to her, the deal was not just a normal drug deal.
Like always, in every single deal, Junhee would charm all potential buyers, creating intense beauty with a pose that feels confident and relaxed at the same time—masquerading her other self that was the Reaper. Her rouge-stained lips would metamorphosed into a sweet smile, words of confidence poured out from her mouth as she presented the finest Dongcheon product Yamamoto ever seen.
Junhee took one out of six vials, admiring the product between her fingers before it landed on Yamamoto's man open palm. Exquisite product it was; just a tiny and colourless flakes of glass, and when it reflects the light, it will emanate a unique diamond-like effect. That was why the stimulant was called "Diamonds". And, its authenticity was proven with a satisfying 'beep' from the device held by his man.
"We'll take it," Yamamoto spoke up for the first time, watching Junhee intently behind his half-frame glasses as he chewed the sushi laid in front of him, "Bring the goods here in ten days."
Junhee dipped her head, trying to suppress a wide grin from cracking all over her face. She did not expect this deal to be this smooth and easy as Yamamoto studied her features bathed in the moonlight. "Mister Choi would be happy to hear this. I can't wait to break this news to him. He—"
"I guess he didn't tell you," The Yakuza intercepted, threading his fingers together on the table as he leaned forward, "because there's no way you would come all the way here if he told you. But,"—he shrugged—"it's Choi Mujin we're talking about and we both know the great length he would take if he wants something. Am I right?"
Junhee cocked her head sideways, registering what Yamamoto had said just now. "Sorry, what, sir? I don't understand."
"According to Mujin, he offered you as a part of the deal, Miss Song. You're mine tonight."
Junhee went silent, the cold night air nipped at her reddened cheeks as she fought the rage brewing within her. The knowledge paralysed her, seeping throughout her body like a venom that shut down every other response. Clenching her fists, she could feel her nails digging into her palm, slowly carving crescent moons on her skin. She felt betrayed and she could not think of anything else but to kill him as soon she get back to Seoul.
She was fucking going to kill him.
She was going to kill Choi Mujin.
•••
Mujin's office was empty by the time Junhee arrived there. She was informed by the guard that both Mujin and Taeju had left for the ship about an hour ago.
At the mention of Taeju, the Song woman wondered if he also had a hand in the plan of trading her to Yamamoto. If he did involve, well, because those two men could be thick as thieves, it really would be a pity to kill him. He was a good friend to her.
Midnight almost approaching and it was drizzling outside, inviting colourful umbrellas to blossom on the street. Junhee realized the rain was cold, mainly because her body was carrying the inferno of wrath toward Mujin and Taeju, possibly, as she guided herself to the large window, her eyes wandered to the street 30 floors below.
Junhee then caught herself in the reflection. A pair of brown orbs staring back at her. The five-feet-seven-inches woman was clad in white floral knot wrap dress, which she paired with an eye-catching smokey taupe stiletto pumps. Her hair, black and straight, contrasting with her fair skin flowed freely behind her.
In that moment, she thought of what she had became now. She had changed, of course—that was inevitable. Her parents were killed in front of her when she was ten and she had slunk herself to loneliness since then. She had spilled countless blood of her enemies, but only the eyes remained the same; a window to what was, and she could see her old self there.
The doors then bursted open, shaking her from the random thoughts and Junhee could hear footsteps entering the room followed by the sound of something being ripped and stuff being thrown behind her. She knew it was Mujin and Taeju, and both men did not even acknowledge her existence in the room, probably blinded by whatever situation they just experienced at the ship which, she could say, things surely did not go as planned.
She let these men talking, unable to register some spoken phrases as their conversation was laced by the constant pitter-patter of raindrops drumming against the window. Besides, that was not her main purpose for being here. All she wanted to do was kill Choi Mujin, and she have had enough of this drama when something shattered behind her.
"Rough night?" Junhee announced her arrival, surprising both men as they spun around towards the source to see Junhee was standing at the window with her back on them. Mujin took a deep breath, eyes lingered on the figure that was now facing them. Their eyes met for a moment, just long enough for Mujin to see the storm brewing beneath her pleasant face. "Let me guess. The narcs?"
"It was an ambush. Had to jump off the ship." Taeju ruffled his soaked hair. Inside his head, he was still wondering why Jiwoo did not give them some heads up about the narcs operation. He then cleared his throat, "When did you arrive, Jun?"
"Just now." Answered her coldly. Her eyes were locked on Mujin, then lingered to his exposed glimmering toned torso before it went back to his eyes.
If she was in another situation, it would be hard to resist that view, but tonight, it was surprisingly easy to look away in her new emotionally detached state that was clouded by the urge to end him.
"You should've told us you were coming back." Mujin chimed in.
Junhee quirked an eyebrow, thinking what he had said just now was unnecessary to say to her, causing the woman lost her patience at that. At 'told'.
"Yeah? Like how you should've told me about your deal with Yamamoto? What am I to you? A fucking whore?" Erupted Junhee from where she had been standing, fists clenching as her face reddened with madness.
The air seemed to crackle around them at the revelation. Taeju was equally shocked as her was back in Tokyo, unable to utter a single word as he glanced at Mujin. From that reaction, Junhee summed he did not know about this at all either. It was all Mujin.
Choi Mujin remained silent at the accusation. He looked steadily and intently towards Junhee, a dark brow arched in contemplation at the sight of his raging assistant. Junhee bit the inside of her cheeks, but held his piercing stare. Then, Mujin nodded, whispering something to Taeju, probably asking him to leave them as Junhee saw him made himself scarce.
"Did you do it?" His question echoed through the quiet office once the door clicked shut behind Taeju.
He slowly approached his assistant as his eyes raked her frame. The fluid dress perfectly enveloped around the curve of her hips, and a slit opened for one leg in front to showcase her thigh. He then came to halt a few metres away from Junhee, and when she did not respond, he pressed on, "I asked you a question, Jun. Did you do it?"
"Mister Yamamoto, this isn't right. Choi Mujin possibly can't."
"Then why you're here, Miss Song? If he really cares about you, he wouldn't have sent you here in the first place."
"Look, whatever kind of deal you've made with him behind my back, it has nothing to do with me."
"So, you would prefer going back home empty handed? The type that walked away from a deal, that's not you, Miss Song. What would Mujin say or do when you refused 50 billion won deal?"
"He'd be mad, that's for sure. But, may I intrigued you with another solution, if you don't mind?"
"Junhee-ah!" Choi Mujin grabbed Junhee's nape, bringing their faces closer as he searched her eyes for an answer, anything to feed his curiosity that took hold of him in the worst of ways ever since she went to Japan.
In the brown of her eyes, one held the truth and one held a lie, but which one was the real answer? He should not have made that deal. He should not have offered Junhee to Yamamoto.
The Reaper scoffed, unmoved with the Devil holding her for an answer, "Does it even matter whether I did it or not? What's done—"
Before Junhee can even finish, Mujin crashed his lips on hers, catching her off guard by his unforeseen moves. Suddenly, the Dongcheon leader pulled away slightly as he felt a sharp object aimed at his ribcage. Junhee just smirked as he chuckled to himself, thinking, of course this woman wanted to kill him for what he had done. Of course she carried a dagger with her.
"What are you waiting for, Jun?" Mujin challenged.
Junhee slowly pressed the dagger into his skin, smiling wickedly. The penetration ain't deep but it was enough to draw out a little blood and a wince from him. She then tossed the dagger, her own self was overwhelmed with longing and desire as she kissed Mujin back in an urgent ardor. She guided her hands up his slippery bare chest, over his broad shoulders, and around his neck to pull him closer to her body that she almost lose herself in the sweet, intoxicating taste and feel of his mouth. Mujin was equally fervent, wrapping his arms around her waist, their bodies locked in amorous embrace as he bit Junhee's lower lip, eliciting a soft moan from her.
They somehow ended up in Mujin's suite that adjoins with his office, trading a series of sensuous kisses, hands were all over each other. Mujin pushed Junhee up against the bedroom door, pinning her wrists above her head as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, peppering it with kisses on every inches of her skin. Desperate for more skin contact, Junhee ripped off the remaining buttons of his white dress shirt and took it off as she ran her hands all over his body.
Mujin smirked against her lips, whispering in a hoarse voice, "Eager, aren't you?"
Junhee grinned coquettishly as she felt the frantic thrum of his heart beneath her palm, "Are you not?"
They stumbled across the room, knocking into everything that was in their way, snatching kisses as Mujin removed piece by piece of Junhee's clothing but the underwear, leaving them scattered haphazardly over the floor while Junhee's hands worked on his drenched pants.
Then, a switch seemed to flip as Junhee felt his kisses grew hungry—almost desperate. It was like they were at war with each other, each battling for dominance in the situation and Junhee began to forget that she was mad at him, so wrapped up in his taste, the smell of salt clinging on his strong figure.
As soon as Junhee tugged Mujin towards the bed, he swept her off her feet and carried her between his muscular arms the rest of the way. He gently set her down on the plush king sized bed, hovering over her naked form in all his glory. Junhee swallowed at the sight of him, and she felt herself went a tad lightheaded. He was all breathtaking and majestic, no wonder many women wanted a taste of him. Mujin's eyes—normally brown oak—were now a deep well of passion, intensity, and lust as he studied Junhee as if he was trying to absorb every details of the masterpiece beneath him and frame it inside the folds of his brain.
"My sweet Jun... how lovely you are, all laid out for me." His voice dropped to a growl, thumb reverently tracing her bottom lip.
It was plump to the eyes, soft to the touch and to kiss. He had tortured himself with dreams of these lips on his, and tonight, the reality of her was sweeter than any dream.
Mujin then shook his head as if he remembered something of the past, averting his eyes, his expression unreadable. Junhee's forehead creased, reaching up to hold both sides of his face so their eyes could collide. "What's wrong?"
"How foolish I was for giving him you." He said, sounding almost apologetic and regret as he caressed Junhee's rosy cheek with his thumb.
She smiled, tracing the sharp edges of his jaw, delighting in them. The heat of his body on top of her filled her with frisson. "Hushed now, sir. Don't ruin the moment."
With that being said, they kissed in a fevered rush, exploring each other's mouth with abandon, lips coaxing to part for one another. With no small amount of effort, Mujin retreated from her lips, and Junhee whined out. The loss of contact almost painful but it was recovered almost immediately as Mujin's fingers crept up to her core, nastily rubbing and teasing the wet pink folds in a gentle, tantalising circular motion as she emitted a sound she had never made before.
The Dongcheon leader smiled wolfishly as he dropped his hot mouth to the hollow of Junhee's throat, biting as his tongue adroitly swiped the bruises to mark the woman was his. He went lower, torturing her even further by nipping and sucking at her pert nipples, kissing the scar resting at her abdomen, followed by a ticklish path down to her navel to where he wanted to be all this time.
There was a wicked, predatory gleam in his eyes that shoots straight to Junhee's beating core as he ripped the only fabric that stood between him and the grand prize. Mujin spread open her thigh and settled himself between them as he lavished his beloved assistant in no time with the wet heat of his mouth. The woman writhed, starburst filled her eyes at the sensation as her fingers clumped his silver-tinged hair, luxuriating in the feel of his lips and tongue swirling against her entrance.
Junhee's pulse pounding unbearably fast, her knuckles were white as she bunched the cotton bedsheets, losing herself in the delirious pleasure of Mujin's touch. He grasped her hips to keep her steady on the bed, but she can't help buckling beneath his firm grip. She tried to push herself into a sitting position, only for one of his hands to reach up, planting firmly against her chest then shoved her back down against the bed with a soft plop, extracting a yelp from her as she strained helplessly against his unnatural strength.
Mujin then sat up, nestled between Junhee's thighs as he licked the remaining of her off his lips, eyes blazing with an intensity that was hard to meet. He descended on her, cradling her head in one hand while the other massages her breast as he kissed the breath from her, insatiable and ravenous until she must gasp for air.
"You must know what you're doing, Jun," He murmured as he caught Junhee's lower lip between his teeth. He thought of her grace, the power she held over him, her captivating beauty as he slowly—carefully—entered her, rocking in a slow rhythm at first, "how to ruin a man like me."
"Don't stop... please." The Reaper inhaled sharply, arching as she felt his hard length sliding back and forth between her throbbing slick walls in a sudden powerful thrust.
The tumult inside Junhee tightens to a pointed, keening ache, her body inflamed with his confession just now—she ruined Choi Mujin. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and Mujin growled darkly, rocking her in a slow tempo that grows faster, harder, until the very earth seemed to shake beneath them. Her mouth wandered breathlessly over every inch of his skin it can reach, her lips still aching from his bruising kisses as she fixed her teeth to the muscle of his shoulder and gently bit it.
Junhee can hear Mujin's breath hitched but he never slowed down in his carnal quest as she ran her hands down his back, leading him into a perfect pace as their respiration became faster and faster. There was an ease in the constant friction between them that Mujin could not begin to explain. The feel of her against him was like coming home.
Junhee gazed at the ceiling, everything seemed to vortex in her vision as her entire body trembling along with Mujin in a moment that stretched boundlessly. Pleasure rushed through every inches of them as Mujin gathered Junhee into his arms, groaning aloud as he released the pent-up feelings inside of her.
Afterwards, they curled languishly across the bed, tired, sated, and bodies silky with sweat. Junhee rested her head on Mujin's sculpted chest, fingers absentmindedly tracing Dongcheon tattoo branded on his left chest. Mujin looked down at her, her hair sticking to her temple, and he brushed them off with idle tenderness. Junhee turned to be able to look at him in the face. The darkness in his eyes seemed to have subsided, if only a little.
The Song woman propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at him. He looked calmer but still... troubled. Nonchalantly, she tucked his hair away from his forehead, a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips at the little gesture as he drew circles on her back. They had a lot to talk about, mainly things regarding to work, the Yamamoto deal, and why Jiwoo did not warn them about the ambush but all that can wait. Tonight was about them and Junhee did not want to ruin this very moment.
The two higher-ups pressed together beneath the comforter, breathing in tandem as they were cocooned in muzzy sleep, both were unable to make any move or even shower to cleanse themselves. Their limbs tangled together just like their symbol as they drifted away comfortably in each other's arms.