I wasn't sure if my senses were getting better or if Haechan was purposely making himself seen because I'd watched him follow us to the ramen house and step inside after we got seated.
Junhyung hadn't seemed to notice him. "What are you thinking of getting?"
"Uh... probably the tonkotsu. You?"
"Shoyu is my favorite," he said, licking his lips. "Have you ever tried takoyaki?"
I shook my head. "Never. If I don't know what's in it, I'm not trying it."
"Hold up," Junhyung said, whipping his phone out. "Let me Google something." There was a pause as he typed and then read, his eyes going left-right [left-right, I want your body movin' left-right, left-right (XG—Left Right)]. Then, he looked back up. "'Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion.' Now will you try it?"
I pursed my lips. "It doesn't sound bad."
"Come on, boss. Give it a chance." Junhyung's eyes shone with genuine eagerness. "You always play it so safe. You don't even drink more than a shot of soju at company dinners!"
"I know how to have fun even without alcohol," I protested. "If I remember correctly, if you drink more than a bottle of soju, you try to take your shirt off and ask out anything in the building that doesn't move fast enough. I end up having to peel you off the noraebang [karoke] floor at the end of the night."
Junhyung had the grace to look embarrassed. "Can I say that the feeling I get is worth it?"
"Maybe for you," I said. "But as your boss and the host of all the company dinners, I think the embarrassment I would get is too high a price."
A waiter came up to our table. "Good evening, sir, ma'am. My name is Yeonjun. Can I start you off with anything to drink?"
"Water," I said.
Junhyung nodded. "Same for me."
"For sure," Yeonjun replied, brightly. "I'll be right back to take your orders."
"So a tonkotsu for you," Junhyung said, after Yeonjun had walked off, "a shoyu for me, and takoyaki to share?"
"Sounds great," I said.
A movement in the corner of my eye drew my attention. Haechan had stood up, and without even a glance towards me, walked to the door of the kitchen and disappeared inside it. No one in the kitchen or at the sushi counter batted an eye.
"You still single?" Junhyung asked me, snapping me back to focus.
I blushed. "What kind of conversation starter is that?"
"It's a real question," Junhyung said. Then, he slyly added, "I wouldn't be surprised if someone's asked you out already."
"And you're going to try to flatter me," I replied. "Don't bother. We're just friends."
Junhyung looked hurt. "You won't even give me a chance?"
"Sir? Ma'am?"
I breathed a sigh of relief as Yeonjun brought our waters just then, but after he took our orders and left again, Junhyung went right back to where we left off.
"Why won't you give me a chance? I know how to treat a girl right."
"I'm literally your boss."
"So?"
I sighed. I didn't want to tell him that he wasn't my type. "I'm not looking for a relationship right now. I've got enough work with this stupid gang stuff going around. I don't even have time to enjoy myself, much less another person." I had to change the subject. "With all the time off you have now, what do you do? Do you still do competitive dance?"
"Yeah." Junhyung graciously dropped the whole romance topic and seized this one with enthusiasm. "My team, Ghost9, just finished our choreography for this season. It's the best so far. We're hoping to go to nationals this time."
"You went to regionals last year, right?" I recalled from the last company dinner.
Junhyung nodded. "I'm surprised you remembered."
"Of course I did," I said. "Tell me when your next competition is, so I can go." As long as you turn out to be innocent, I thought to myself.
"The 24th. You'll really come?" Junhyung laughed shyly and averted his eyes. "I don't know if it's the kind of dancing you would enjoy."
"What kind of dancing do you think I'd enjoy?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know, ballet?"
"Ballet?" I wasn't about to deny that I enjoyed ballet, but I'd literally gone to a performing arts high school as a dance major. First Haechan and now one of my real employees. How many people thought I was a classical music, traditional type?
"You don't like ballet?"
I shook my head. "I like ballet well enough, but my favorite style has to be popping or waacking."
"Really?" Junhyung's already large eyes looked like they were going to burst out of his head.
"I've dated 2 b-boys. I know what dance is."
"If dancers are your type, I must have a chance," Junhyung said, a sparkle in his eye. "I can break dance."
Inside, I wanted to die from cuteness. He looked like a little bunny. "Like I said, Junnie, I really don't have the time or energy."
Junhyung sighed. "Okay, boss. But if you ever change your mind, will you at least promise to let me have your first date?"
I blinked. I knew I should say no, because it wouldn't be fair to lead him on, but how could I refuse his puppy dog eyes? "Okay."
"Yesss!" Junhyung cheered.
Through my guilt, I smiled back. At least I have something to tell Taeyong about this new lead, I thought.
The rest of the meal was devoid of any dating talk, perhaps out of courtesy. Junhyung had probably guessed that he'd pushed himself to my limit, and wasn't about to test them any further.
The food arrived, including the takoyaki that made Junhyung's eyes light up again. "Noona- boss, look!"
"I have eyes," I reminded him. "And outside of work, I guess noona is fine."
His eyes brightened even more. "Really?"
I nodded, hoping I wouldn't regret it. "We should dig in."
"Here, noona," Junhyung said, picking up one round Japanese appetizer with his chopsticks. "Try it!"
"Okay," I said, and picked up my chopsticks.
But Junhyung was thinking something else entirely. "Open wide!" He brought the takoyaki to my mouth.
I panicked for a second, but there was nothing I could do to stop him. Mortified, I let Junhyung feed me a takoyaki and pretended to enjoy it, but secretly, I couldn't even focus on the flavors (which weren't horrible) because I was so embarrassed.
"Good right?" Junhyung asked.
"Yeah..." My face probably looked like a tomato.
Junhyung beamed. "See? I told you!"
"Mhm..."
Before I even knew it, Junhyung and I finished our meal and were paying the check when I realized that nothing remotely bad (excluding that awkward feeding part) had happened yet.
I waited with bated breath while Yeonjun brought back my credit card and told us to have a good rest of our evening.
Junhyung actually noticed my jumpiness this time. "You good?"
"What?"
"You look nervous," he said. "That's the expression you've had all day, like you're waiting for something bad to happen. It disappeared while we were talking, but now it's back."
I forced a smile. "I'm just... I feel like I've had a lot of bad luck as of late."
"Yeah," Junhyung agreed, his face falling somber for the first time that evening. "That stuff at the gala was crazy. I'm really sorry."
In the middle of that crowded sidewalk, next to a couple guys smoking and in front of a new ramen restaurant, I had to fight back tears again.
"Look, noona," Junhyung said, "I was friends with that stagehand and manager too. You've always been so strong, but I know you're really hurt and sad. I'm sorry if I seemed a bit forward tonight, I just wanted to make sure you're okay. As long as you're happy, it doesn't matter what you feel for me. I care about you as my employer and as my friend, just like you do for me and all of your staff."
Thank you, I wanted to say, but there was a lump in my throat that blocked my voice.
Junhyung understood right away. "Is that your driver?" He pointed to a black car at the side of the road, where a familiar looking guy waved to me. "He's new. I've never seen him before."
"Yeah, that's my driver" I said hoarsely, finally able to speak. "Thank you so much, Junhyung. It really meant a lot to me. Have a good night."
***
Haechan and I shared the backseat as Mark drove us back to The Dragons' mansion. Neither of them commented on the tears that I quickly wiped away after getting in.
Mark turned up the radio and the three of us were silent as an NCT song came on. Their music was honestly pretty good, but I'm not sure it was quite worth the massive fanbase they had. Still, you couldn't deny that the guys had the citizens of Neo City in a chokehold.
"Chief wants a debriefing when we get back," Haechan said. "You saw me, right?"
"Yep," I said, proudly. For once, I had managed to catch one of The Dragons at work.
"Next time, don't react so dramatically."
That sentence knocked me speechless. I thought I'd been pretty subtle. "Well okay, Mr. Super Spy. Not all of us have espionage training."
"That's why we've got to teach you now, so it doesn't come back to bite us in the butt."
***
"Nothing fishy went on at all," Haechan reported to Taeyong. Mark, Haechan, Taeyong, and myself were seated around the dining room table. "I didn't detect any food poisoning or other murder attempts and neither Mark nor I saw anyone watching the exchange."
Dressed in a white T-shirt and black pants with his hair still wet from a shower, Taeyong had his head propped on one hand, the wheels in his mind clearly grinding away. "Did he say anything suspicious?"
I shook my head. "He did try to ask me out a number of times." I began to redden. "At the end, he made me promise that if I ever did decide to date, that he would be my first."
"Your first date ever?" Taeyong asked, sharply. "You've never dated before?"
"No, no!" I was beginning to get very red. "I have been in a few relationships before, but not for a while. He meant my next date, I guess."
Taeyong calmed back down to emotionlessness. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mark and Haechan exchange a glance that I couldn't read.
"Did he say anything else?" Taeyong asked.
I thought hard. "He made me try takoyaki... and then we talked about his upcoming dance competition."
"Tell me more about this dance competition."
"He competes on a dance team called Ghost9-" everyone's eyebrows went up "-and they're trying to make it to nationals this year."
"Ghost9 you said?" Taeyong asked, his eyes alight like a wolf stalking its prey. "Doesn't that seem a little suspicious?"
"Why?"
"Oh I don't know... Maybe because a Phantom is a type of ghost?"
Realization hit me like a train. "Ah."
***
I showed up to work jumpy again. Who wouldn't be jumpy if they had orders to search one of their most trustworthy employees' bags?
Last night, I had implored, "Why can't Haechan be the one to search?"
"Haechan is already risking his life to be employed by you," Taeyong had explained. "Besides, if he was caught, how could he explain it? It'll be more forgivable if you're the one who does it."
"Fine."
And now, here I was, definitely not ready to have my worst suspicions confirmed.
I tapped the intercom button and took a deep breath. "Junhyung, I need to see you in my office. Please and thank you."
I didn't bother to wait for Junhyung to get here. It was all just a facade. Instead, I sneaked to the staffroom, scared at every turn of the hallway that someone would come the opposite way.
When I got there, the staffroom was empty as per Taeyong's plan, cleared out by Haechan just a few minutes ago.
Where is his bag? I went from one corner to the other, looking for Junhyung's black duffel that would have held translucent colored filters for the lights and tools for repairs.
Here was Xiumin's brown briefcase, BamBam's giant blue and red duffel, JiU's cute Gucci backpack, and even Haechan had a black briefcase with who knew what in it.
Then, tucked in the far corner, as if he didn't want anyone to find it, was Junhyung's bag.
I wonder what he's hiding.
Videotaping with my phone, I opened it and pawed through his things. A laptop, his water bottle, pill bottles... and that's when I saw it. An odd bulge poked through the lining of his bag. It was hard and shaped like an L.
I fumbled around for a hidden zipper, but there was none. Instead, the fabric was simply slit open. Inside was a smooth metal object that chilled me to the bone.
[lol... almost forgot to post today :P]
[My friend went to the Agust D concert and I keep forgetting to edit the pics she gave, so I better go do that right now! See you next week!]
- 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥
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