The Crescent Crown (Minsung Royalty AU)

Virtue and Sin

That's how it was for a few months, finding times in between their schedules to kiss in Minho's bedroom, or find a quiet corner in a pub where no one would see them. Those months quickly turned into a year. Escaping from their separate lives to indulge in the simplicity of being a lover, and not being the prince or being a criminal constantly on the run. With each other, they were free of responsibility and expectations. It was a blissful fantasy that they ran too as often as realty would let them slip through it's cracks.

It was nights like this when Jisung needed those fantasies the most. It was pitch black except for the thin streams of warm lights cascading out of the house he was stalking. He could hear people talking inside but it wasn't clear enough for him to make out the individual conversations. All he knew is that there was laughing and jovial yelling to accompany the candlelight.

Jisung pulled his mask up over his nose and secured his hood so that only his eyes were visible. As he approached the lattice structure that would lead him to the window he had marked while planning this, his feet made no sound on the cobblestone. Before he began to climb, he ran his thumb over the band that adorned his ring finger. Minho had slipped it on him one lazy morning, saying it belonged to his grandfather and there was no one else in the world he wanted to have it. He glanced down at it, sent up something resembling a prayer, and started to climb.

The window popped open easily because of the small pebble he had wedged into the mechanism that fully shut the opening a few night prior. He threw his feet over the windowsill and landed silently onto the floral patterned carpet. He allowed himself one breath of relief as he got to work on the hardest part.

He secured the window shut so there would no suspicion and entered the walk-in closet. The party continued to rage downstairs, the sound of their happiness shaking the ground. Jisung hid amongst the numerous jackets hanging up, and prepared himself to sit in the cover of darkness. Once the party was over, he would be acting.

It never got less nerve wracking. His heart was beating so loud he could hear it echoing through the small room. Even when he stayed up for weeks planning the perfect operation, he was still aware of every single way it could go sideways. He was lucky enough to avoid huge disasters, but there had been a few missions in the past he had narrowly avoided being caught.

This time had much higher stakes then his previous jobs. The family was royal, albeit so far removed it was nothing more than a title to boast about. They had more money than most and wasted it on extravagant parties like this. The father in particular had a habit of spending money in underground gambling circles, which was the whole reason Jisung was here. Debts piled up were never paid because appearances were more important than anything else, as if having respect would protect you from anything.

If Jisung had learned one thing over the years, it was that no one was ever truly safe.

He heard people leaving, the sounds of the party slowly dying down until it sounded empty. Jisung felt the tip of his knife with the finger then held Minho's ring, careful not to push too hard. Maybe if were a religious man he would ask for forgiveness but there was no need. In his heart he knew what he was doing and he knew that the world was better off without people like this.

In his profession, he had to come off as cold hearted and ruthless. He took jobs that seemed to be about money to portray himself as greedy and thus inspiring the kind of people who sought him out to offer more. However, every hit he took was carefully researched before he considered it.

The man he was hunting had gambling debts, yes, but it also had a long history of abuse. Jisung stalked the house over many months, noting everytime an argument ran through the large halls. Earlier in the week, his daughter had walked out with a black eye and he knew it was time to act. Jisung knew something was off with him when one of his associates alleged that the man had a tendency to go into brothels and leaving with blood on his hands.