mafia // ryeji (short story)

05

"how is it going with yeji?" the unknown man asked as I squinted at him, trying to place a name to him, some way to identify him, but he was just a stranger. a stranger who basically owned my life.

"how come I don't get to know who you are?" I asked, the conversation with yeji from earlier replayed in my head. it was like a math equation: yeji was sought out to kill me, apparently from another source, and in return, Id have to kill her, to protect myself and this unknown man. except now, I (sort of) know that yeji wants to protect me and claims she won't kill me, but this man claims the opposite and she wants to manipulate me.

confusing, I know. 

he sighed and placed his mug on the table, "how is it going with yeji?" he repeated, ignoring my question, but his tone much more tense and threatening. 

I paused for a second, unsure of whether or not I should tell him about what happened between her and i. say she was telling the truth and I do tell him, she'd be in danger, but if she was lying and I tell him, she'd still be in trouble. both sides had negative outcomes.

"she's okay, I guess. I don't know, I've been keeping an unnoticeable distance from her." I lied. 

he cleared his throat and I watched him scribble something on his notepad, but given the poor lighting, I couldn't make out what it was. "team meeting, after tomorrow. be there and be prepared, you will deal with yeji then." he demanded. "I will see you, then." 

with that, I knew our conversation was over. I slightly bowed before walking out of the door and entering the elevator. with his words still echoing in my mind, I pressed the button to the main level and patiently waited. 

"ryujin!" the familiar feminine voice shouted, as the elevator door barely opened enough for me to see who was on the other side. 

it was yeji.

I only nodded to her, before walking around her, not wanting to converse with her, as she probably knew exactly where I was, given I had just walked out of the elevator. 

seems like she didn't get the hint because I heard little footsteps trailing behind me. I took a deep breath and slowly turned around, "yes?" I impatiently asked.

she examined my face a little before she spoke again, "you don't believe me, do you?" she vaguely asked, but I knew exactly what she was talking about. I shook my head no to her question, even though there was maybe a tiny sliver of chance that I do believe her. nonetheless, it didn't outweigh my uncertainty towards her. 

she sighed as she pushed her hair off of her shoulders, revealing a large diamond studded necklace hanging around her neck. "okay, you don't have to believe me, but at least be very very very cautious and careful tomorrow. please. I won't do anything to you, even though he wants me to. they'd kill me for it, but you're safe from me, I promise." she said, not waiting for a response from me as she turned around and walked away. 

I watched her walk away, my mind racing, but my body stuck in place. 

it wasn't her words that stunned me.

it was the thing around her neck. 

I shook my head, not wanting to think of anything close to what I thought it might be. there's no way he'd do that to her, right? 

but he could.

but he left her for me to finish off, why would he do it himself?

why would he let her wear that, then?

it looked exactly like the necklace used to electrically stop a heartbeat. the same one he would use when he would need to two-time somebody. 

which meant yeji wasn't lying after all. 

she was ordered to kill me, and not by anybody from somewhere else, but from the same man we both worked under. the same man who claimed he wanted to protect me

 and the same man who tricked the both of us. 

and not only that, he was going to kill her, too.