To See The Moon

The Two Societies

     Hyunjin was already comfortably seated in the cafe after placing his orders when the jingle of the cafe door alerted him to someone new entering the shop. Hyunjin didn't even need to look towards the entrance to know who it was.

     "Hey, I ordered the usual," Hyujin said.

     "Cool, let's finish this quickly."

     Hyunjin leaned against his chair as his boss took the seat opposite to him. An envelope was trusted into his hands, a subtle motion that nobody else in the cafe could notice.

     Hyunjin quickly tucked the envelope into his pocket. "A letter delivery?"

     "Yes," his boss said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "The address is on the front."

     Hyunjin sneaked a peak and his eyes widened. "This is... dangerously near Bulsong territory!" He immediately looked around to make sure no one had heard him.

     His boss bit his lip. "Yeah, I tried to get information from the higher-ups, but they won't tell me why. They need someone to deliver the message and you're available to do it."

     Hyunjin groaned. "So I guess it's too much to hope that you may know the contents of this letter?"

     "Sorry, Hyunjin, they might tell me stuff, but they don't tell me everything."

     Hyunjin sighed, resigning himself to his fate. "So 7 tonight, right?"

     "No earlier, no later."

     A worker came to their table with the drinks. With the placement of the coffee on the table, it was like the professional and tense atmosphere of the visit slowly melted away. Hyunjin smiled and took a sip from his coffee, bringing his voice back to normal, knowing the business talk was over.

     "So, Changbin hyung, what's up with you lately?"

     Seo Changbin. Hyunjin's higher up. But also one of the only friends he had.

     Changbin chuckled. "I'm being sent on a chase all over Nila to give out assignments, nobody tells me anything, but other than that, I'm swell."

     "Nobody telling us anything," Hyunjin muttered under his breath. "That should become the association's motto."

     "Ain't that the truth," Changbin said. "But I promise, Hyunjin, if I get told anything, you'll be the first one to know."

     "It's fine, don't risk your job for me." Hyunjin was used to being kept in the dark. As long as his jobs meant a paycheck would be waiting for him outside his door, Hyunjin couldn't care less what their purpose was.

     As long as... Hyunjin wasn't doing any of the harm himself. It had taken a deathly mistake for Hyunjin to realize how important that was to him.

     "But enough about me, what about you?" Changbin's eyes widened in concern. "Holy- you look exhausted!"

     "Schoolboy by day, contributing to crime by night, hyung," Hyunjin said. "There's no sleep in the job description."

     "How is school?" Changbin asked. He sounded painfully like a parent but Hyunjin didn't mind. It felt good to know that at least someone out there cared about the life he was building for himself.

     "Keeping my grades up, getting out of trouble, staying on a low profile," Hyunjin said, counting everything out. "Oh, and putting up with more crap said about the Alley."

     Changbin raised an eyebrow. "Wait, they still haven't figured out that-"

     "That I live in the Alley? No, it's not that hard to hide," Hyunjin said. "Can't imagine how much sleep I'd lose over the taunts THAT will get me."