I felt conflicted. While I cared little about what they decided to do with me, the idea of helping them in such a way was . . . shady, at best. I understood they only hurt the most twisted of people, but they were still criminals.
Criminals who now expected me to help sharpen their skills.
Honestly, I was flattered. A group of professionals asking me to help them train? That was a huge compliment. And it wasn't exactly like I sympathized with the people they supposedly went after. But still, I knew very little about the work they did. I might not care about what they did to me, but if they were lying about the not hurting innocents thing, then we would have a problem. My willingness to help also depended on what they deemed to be not innocent.
How could I be expected to help them become better at something harmful if I didn't know how they were going to use the skill or why? I pieced together that they were some kind of vigilante group, but what they actually did was all just speculation. I was expected to help train Felix and Changbin in less than an hour, but before I would enter the training room, I needed to be certain.
I stopped outside of the dark oak door, hand raised to knock. This room was supposedly Chan's office, and according to Felix, Chan was actually the leader. At first I thought it was Seungmin based on how he took charge of the meeting the other day, but I guess some people just had that effect.
Chan seemed like the type of leader that allowed others to take the reins when he deemed fit, but the way he responded to the van story was a clear sign he was capable of taking the reins back just as quickly.
My knuckles connected with the wooden surface much louder than I thought they would, and I blinked. Did my knock sound rude? Too eager? Did I sound insane for debating the meaning behind a simple knock?
"Come in." Chan's voice sounded much happier than I was used to, and it was only then that I realized I've only ever heard him talk when he was mad or upset.
My hand closed around the handle before pushing the door open, and Chan smiled as he looked up from the papers he was reading. He placed his mug back on the desk before gesturing for me to step into the room all the way, and I eventually left the safe confines of the doorway.
"What can I help you with?" His smile remained kind, and my shoulders relaxed as his voice and posture matched his expression.
"I have some questions. I thought you would be the best person to answer me." He nodded, practically staring into my soul as he waited for me to continue. "What exactly do you guys do?" My expression became more serious as my anxiety melted away, and I closed the gap in order to sit down in one of the chairs placed on the opposite side of his desk.
"It's a little difficult to explain without giving away details you aren't at liberty to know, but in simple terms, we're a government condoned group called SKZ. We take care of matters that the more public forms of authority can't be trusted with, and in return, we're granted moderate invulnerability in regard to common laws that allow us to complete our less legal activities. We also do odd jobs here and there; security, assassination, investigation, etcetera." He explained all this like it was a completely normal thing, and despite my desire to remain unfazed, I couldn't help the way my eyes widened as the information sunk in.
"What makes your group qualified for that level of leniency and trust? Why would the government give that responsibility to your group specifically?"
His smile became detached, cold even, as his eyes turned to crescents. "You don't need to know. Any more questions?"
I blinked at how quickly he went back to a warm smile, and I decided to move on despite the nagging curiosity.
"Your illegal businesses. What are they?"
"That's another thing you don't need to know."
My expression dropped as I leaned closer towards him, my arms now crossed on the smooth surface of his oversized desk. "You expect me to help two of your members sharpen their skills, and while I'm all for personal growth, if I don't know without reasonable doubt that what they do with those skills is something I can get behind, then it's better you just kill me now." I slowly stood until I was practically hovering over the blonde, hands placed firmly on the table as my voice turned cold and nearly hateful. "And if I find out you lied to me about anything, whether it be the purpose you guys serve, or what you had for breakfast, I will not hesitate to do everything in my power to make your lives a living hell. I've taken down twisted organizations before, and if I find out you guys are like them, I'll add you to the list."
His expression didn't change as he stared up at me, and I held his gaze with zero hesitation. I liked them so far, and they didn't seem like bad people. But people could act. That was something I knew all too well.
I knew I could take them down if necessary, and while I doubted I would ever be forced to act on my threat, getting it out into the air now was the healthy thing to do. You know, communicating my boundaries and all that.
I blinked when he began to laugh, head thrown back and everything. Was he not taking me seriously? I might not look like the toughest guy out there, but that was just rude.
"I'm sorry, it's just-" He was cut off when a few extra chuckles escaped past his lips, and I rolled my eyes. "-I just wasn't expecting that. Felix said he had a good feeling about you, and I guess he was right. I can't explain why the government has placed this trust in us, but I can tell you just about everything else, because like Seungmin said, you won't be able to do much harm to us even if you decide to spill to the public."
I slowly sat down again before nodding, and his smile somehow brightened. I swear, it must be an Australian thing.
"Our illegal businesses aren't drastically immoral, don't worry. Just a little bit of money laundering here and there. We also run a few bars and casinos around Seoul, but those aren't exactly illegal. Most of our illegal activity actually comes from the tasks we get from the government, but we also work side jobs. For example, there's been an incredibly slippery serial killer around town lately, and authorities haven't been able to get a single lead. We found evidence that led us to you, but chances are the killer placed that themselves. The government didn't tell us to catch them, we took the task on ourselves. So our biggest illegal business would be taking down criminals that regular authorities wouldn't be able to get to in time."
My head tilted in thought, my mind struggling to process the sudden information. It had been a while since I had to think of such things, after all. So they were criminals who took down worse criminals?
"And that's what I want you to help Felix and Changbin with. Minho and Changbin are often the ones who go out to capture the target once they've been identified, but Minho was busy the other night, so Felix took his place. He doesn't have as much experience with kidnappings as Minho or Changbin, but he should still be skilled enough to not make sloppy mistakes. Based on the details Jisung filled me in on, Changbin wasn't nearly as bad, but he still wasn't as careful as he should have been. I want you to help them improve so they don't end up being hurt by the twisted freaks they're tasked with catching."
His expression turned grim, and I nodded.
"It must be hard. You obviously care for them, yet you have to ask them to do such dangerous things." I stood before putting my chair back in place, not wanting to be rude. "Don't worry. I'll make sure they're as prepared as possible."
He smiled, his eyes shining with hope. "So you'll do it?"
I shrugged. "What else am I gonna do? Read Jisung's palms for the twentieth time? This will give me an excuse the next time he asks."
"You know you can just tell him no without giving an excuse, right?"
I snorted. "To Jisung? No way."
I began making my way to leave, but I froze as my hand reached out for the handle.
"Actually, I have one more question."
"Shoot."
"Why me?" I looked at him over my shoulder, catching the way his smile widened.
"A gut feeling."
—-------------------------------------------------------
"You've already failed." I looked down at Changbin sprawled out of the ground with a blank expression, and he scowled.
"Your form was too sloppy, your movements were wasted, and what you were doing was way too loud to be considered stealth." He groaned at my words, and I leaned towards the side to avoid being attacked by the freckled blonde.
He faltered, not at all prepared for his strike not to land, and the momentum not spent by the planned impact sent him teetering forward. I caught him by the arm before removing the blade from his grasp, and as soon as I helped him regain his balance, I pushed him. He ended up sprawled out beside the still pouting Changbin, and I grew both amused and concerned at the sight.
Their attempts were cute, but these were the guys working for the government? It must be a case of nepotism or something, because there's no way they would catch the government's attention with the skills they have now.
"Stand up and start from the beginning. We aren't leaving until you land a hit." They both groaned at my words, and I roll my eyes. We were going to be here for a while.
"Quit your complaining. I was planning on starting you guys off easy. You know, have you attack me randomly throughout the next week so I wouldn't be on guard when you do. However, if the people you're going after really are twisted serial killers, cannibals, and terrorists, then catching them isn't going to be easy, and failure will most likely result in death. Seriously. How have you guys survived up until now?"
Felix sat up with a pout, the cute sight only working to eat away at the small amount of intimidation he had left. "Because the people we've gone after in the past don't have cat-like reflexes and an unnerving amount of composure. Seriously, who are you?"
I shrugged. "To the world, I no longer exist. So it's not really important, is it?" Felix huffed in exasperation, but Changbin rose a brow as he locked eyes with me.
"What do you mean you no longer exist?"
A smile tugged at my lips, but it lacked the carefree air most of my smiles possessed. "I'll take a lesson out of the book of Chan and just say, you don't need to know. Now, how about we try something different? If one of you can tap me on the neck before twenty seconds goes by, we'll call it a day."
"On the neck?"
I nodded. "The biggest mistake you guys made while kidnapping me was the fact you kept me unrestrained and conscious. From now on, don't go on field unless you're equipped with the proper tools. You probably have the connections to get your hands on drugs, so pretend you have a syringe. The twenty second timer is about how long you would have before help arrived if they managed to scream. Now, begin."
They both lunged at me, aiming for my neck, and I managed to duck under their arms before turning on my heel.
18.
The smile didn't slip from my face as they locked eyes, and the split second of eye contact was all they needed to get on the same page. It seemed they learned from their first attempt as Changbin aimed for my neck while Felix dove for my legs. Unfortunately their timing was off, and I was able to leap over Felix while still having just enough time to dodge Changbin afterwards.
14.
"Come on. It's two against one! You guys can at least do this much, right?" My tone was mocking, and the expression of cockiness I wore worked to get under their skin as their movements became sloppier. As expected, both were prone to letting their emotions win, and while plenty of people found strength from emotions, for others, it's a weakness. We would have to work on that later.
10.
I continued to dodge their attacks with a calm expression, but despite their failed attempts, I found myself proud when I realized their plan. Their expressions turned to satisfied smirks as my back hit the wall they had cornered me into, and they both leapt towards me.
7.
I smiled warmly as I pulled a gun from my side, and they froze as I pointed the end of the barrel at the now startled blond.
"Hands up, both of you." I removed the safety when they remained frozen, and they both raised their hands with wide eyes.
"Aaaaannnnnnndddddd . . . time. You both fail." I tossed the gun onto the ground and gave them a disappointed look, but the shock had yet to wear off as they remained in place.
"Where did you get a gun?"
I shrugged. "The armory."
They blanched.
"How did you get into the armory? How did you even know we had one?" Felix's voice went uncharacteristically high, and I whistled at his range.
"I don't know, luck? I was looking for the bathroom."
Changbin gave me a disbelieving expression, and by now, both of their arms had fallen to their sides. "The door to the armory is thick steel with three different coded padlocks!"
"Yeah, I thought that was a weird thing to have on a bathroom door. Now, both of you guys write me a five page essay on what you did wrong, and what you should have done instead. While you do that, I'm gonna go upstairs and play video games. Have fun!" I turned on my heel and ran out of the room before they could grab me, and the dissatisfied yells echoing behind me caused a sadistic grin to spread across my face.
—----------------------------------------------------
Chan was very adamant about me and Jeongin not being allowed to be alone together, and while I understood where he was coming from, I still found myself ecstatic when the youngest ended up wandering into my room.
The room wasn't as cozy as Felix's was, probably because my taste in decor went no further than what type of cardboard I preferred to sleep on, but the four walls, the floor, and the roof to top it all off was better than anything I had expected.
On the second day of me being here they had asked me to make a list of what I wanted my room to have, but once I handed them the paper with nothing but a chair and a rope drawn on it, they decided to just furnish it themselves. I had been highly disappointed that my humor didn't seem to be appreciated by any of them, but my disappointment was quickly overshadowed when they showed me my room later that night.
It was rather simplistic as the more personalized things that would normally fill a room were things I didn't own, but what they managed to do with the space in such a short amount of time was rather impressive. It was even more impressive that they did it all for me.
A small but plush twin sized bed was placed in the center of the room in front of the window, light blue curtains keeping the fading sun from seeping into the room. The majority of the hardwood floor was covered by a fuzzy white rug, and a white dresser was placed in the corner of the room for all my non-existent clothes.
A white desk was placed on the opposite side of the room beside the closet, and a baby blue chair was placed in front of it. I had smiled when I saw the chair and commented on how they got one thing that was on my list, and Jisung hit me playfully on the arm. Jeongin had then commented that he had wanted to get me rope, but the others wouldn't let him. I made sure to thank him before dramatically complaining to the others, and they all rolled their eyes with different levels of concern and exasperation.
It had been a rather fun day, and I still found myself thanking them any chance I got. No one had ever done such a thing for me, and it felt both amazing and weird to have my own space. A space that Jeongin was now entering despite the long speech Chan had given us.
Oh well. I was never really one to follow the rules anyway.
"And what brings you here, Fox?" His eyebrow quirked at the nickname, but he didn't comment as he made his way deeper into my room. My eyes followed him curiously as he walked around my room before deciding to sit on my bed, and he turned to look at me. I leaned over the back of my chair with a wide smile, and I waited patiently for him to state his business.
"I'm bored." I snorted at his confession, and his face remained blank as he regarded me.
"I would suggest we play Hangman with me as the man, but I would hate for you to get in trouble with the others. So what do you suggest?" He shrugged before turning to stare at the wall, and I felt a smile tug at my lips when I got an idea.
"Hey Jeongin?" He turned to look at me with a raised brow. "How do you feel about breaking the rules?"
—--------- To Be Continued —---------