He stood up abruptly, pulling her up with him thanks to the handcuffs, and pinned her against the wall. His grip on her wrist tightened.
Ni-ki leaned in closer, his voice a cold whisper. "You're playing with fire, angel. Don't think for a second tha...
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RHAINE COULDN'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME SHE HAD A DAY OFF. Her father had been more than happy to let her have one, especially after she told him she had something important to take care of. He didn't question her too much, which was a relief.
They always trusted their little girl.
Though, she hadn't expected her first day off in months to be spent here—in an indoor shooting range, of all places.
The loud bangs of guns firing in the distance made her flinch every few seconds. Rhaine glanced around the sleek, metallic interior, taking in the various shooting booths lining the walls. The sharp smell of gunpowder stung her nose, and she wrinkled it in discomfort. This was her first time in a place like this, and it wasn't exactly what she had in mind for a business meeting.
She shifted in her seat, her eyes moving to Mr. Jin, who sat across from her at the small table near the entrance. His posture was stiff, and he seemed a little... uneasy.
"Is this guy always this... extreme?" Rhaine asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mr. Jin let out an awkward chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Let's just say Mr. Nishimura has a mind of his own. He's not the easiest person to control."
"No kidding," Rhaine muttered, crossing her arms. The occasional gunshot made her flinch again, and she glanced toward the far end of the range where Ni-Ki was shooting. She hadn't seen him yet, but the sound of bullets hitting targets echoed ominously through the space. "What do you even do anyway?"
"I lead his PR Team," he replied.
"Ah."
"Mr. Nishimura can catch up later. I'll just tell you the specifics. Now," Mr. Jin began, glancing briefly toward the range, "we've worked out the entire narrative for your relationship with Ni-Ki. The public doesn't know about you two yet, but when they do, it'll be because you were 'caught' by the paparazzi after 'dating in secret' for three months."
Rhaine couldn't help but feel uneasy about the whole thing. It felt so... artificial, and she hated how easily Mr. Jin talked about her life as if it were some scripted drama.
"And how exactly did we 'meet?'" Rhaine asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mr. Jin smiled. "That's simple. You two met in a café one afternoon, completely by chance. You didn't recognize him at first—he was just a guy you bumped into, and he found your lack of interest refreshing. You exchanged numbers, started texting, and the rest, as they say, is history."
Rhaine rolled her eyes. "You make it sound so easy."
"Well, that's because it has to be," Mr. Jin said, leaning back in his chair. "Your job is to make it believable. As long as the media sees you two as a 'reformed' couple—him from his brooding, cold image, and you, the one who changed him—the public will eat it up."
