Target | Minsung

Chapter 1

I checked my computer, seeing if my long-term client had reached out to me yet. They had gone silent for a few weeks and I was getting worried that they had dropped me.

    "What's got you so worried, boss?" My assistant asked, placing a rifle back on the shelf and walking around the room. "Is the lack of work getting to you?"

    "Like hell, it is," I said calmly. "The last two targets were complete nightmares. I'm enjoying the break." That was only partially true. The fear of losing the client was stronger than my relief of having a break. My main source of income was from this client and if they dropped me, I was screwed.

    Hyunjin, my assistant, sat in his chair, putting his feet up on his desk. Photos of old targets fell to the floor but he didn't bother picking them up. His long, black hair was tucked neatly into a beanie. He pulled a tennis ball out of his desk drawer and threw it, letting it bounce over his desk divider, to mine, before it hit the wall and bounced back.

    "Could you be any more annoying?" I asked, glared over the divider that separated our desks.

    "Probably," He said simply. I was about to lose my mind when he abruptly stopped.

    "Hey, boss. Take a look," He said, a smile crossing his face as he spoke. I got up and walked over to his desk, peering over his shoulder at his monitor. The private messenger was open with one new message from the client I was so worried about earlier.

    "Looks like we got a new target," Hyunjin stated, leaning closer to the screen to get a better look at the image the client had sent. "He's kinda cute. Too bad he won't be alive much longer," He added.

    "Usually our targets are much older. I wonder why they suddenly gave us such a young one," I thought aloud, genuinely curious about what sparked the unexpected young target. However, the client had given us specific instructions and we knew better than to disobey.

    The target was in his early twenties and had bright orange-dyed hair. He also had cute, chubby cheeks that reminded me fondly of a squirrel. A small ping came from Hyunjin's computer, a message from the client showing up a moment later.

    Unknown: His name is Han Jisung and he works weekday shifts at the Stardust Cafe. You have two weeks to go through with the plan. Don't break the contract.

    Below the message, they attached the amount of money we would get once we finished off Jisung. Hyunjin's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the amount that the client was going to pay us. It was our highest payment yet. Hyunjin quickly jotted down Jisung's personal information in a worn-out, torn notebook and placed it back in his desk drawer.

    "So, what's your approach?" Hyunjin asked, spinning around in his chair.

    "The usual," I said simply, stepping back to avoid getting hit by his feet.

    "Is that so?" Hyunjin said, his smile growing wider. "Well, let's meet this chubby-cheeked cutey, shall we?"