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"You're just in time, Ms. Kim."
Jisoo stepped into the meeting room of their agency's building, the soft sound of her footsteps overpowering her scattered thoughts.
"You called?" Jisoo replied cooly after taking a seat in front of the meeting table.
She crossed her legs, curious as to why she was interrupted from her sleep to meet with the agency's head at four in the morning. Her boss, Yang Hyun Suk, was solely lit up by the active city lights from the tall floor-to-ceiling windows behind his seat. How intimidating.
"A new client requested our services today, the daughter of a well-endowed CEO."
"Mm," Jisoo let out a hum of acknowledgement.
Whatever the client requested had to be dangerous.
"100 billion won." he paused, allowing a dramatic silence to occur.
"And the request?" Jisoo spoke lowly, uncomfortable under the man's powerful stare.
The president leaned over, pulling a manila folder out of an adjacent shelf and sliding it towards the female. Jisoo slowly opened the folder, surprised to see a printed image of a young blonde male. Her targets usually comprised of middle aged men.
After flipping through several images, all of the male from several different angles, realization struck her. He was on stage.
He was an idol; a popular idol judging from the wave of lights emitting from fans' lightsticks faintly in the background.
"Kim Taehyung, 22, vocalist of the group Bangtan Sonyeondan."
Jisoo was sure the name was familiar. Being a member of an illegal agency similar to the mafia, she was forbidden from outside culture. The agency couldn't risk members growing an attachment to celebrities or, deemed alternatively by the agency, potential targets. However, Jisoo could vaguely remember seeing the group's name lit up on LED displays around Seoul during her missions.
"How does this relate to me, sir? Am I supposed to seduce him? Create a dating scandal?"
She had an uneasy feeling in her gut. 100 billion won was too much, nearly double the amount it would cost to destroy a person's career, even one with substantial power.
The president's lips curled into an eerie smile.
"Kill him."
Jisoo's suspicions were confirmed. Her thoughts were already rushing to conjure up subtle methods of assassination. She had killed before, people ranging from influential politicians to small businessmen, but never had she been tasked to assassinate a celebrity. Cameras followed them on a daily basis, fans were ten steps ahead of their every move, security guards and managers were at their every beck and call.
"But there's a twist,"
Jisoo looked up, meeting the president's eyes. They were positively beaming in amusement.
"She wants him to suffer."
"To... suffer? What do you mean?" Jisoo asked, biting her lip as she braced herself for the president's instructions.
"Make him trust you, and when he's given you every single bit of his heart, break him to pieces."
Jisoo's heart skipped a beat. Killing was easy, she had already killed enough people to be completely unperturbed from the sight of blood. Seducing was laughable, leading desperate men straight to their death without letting them utter a single word.
But taking someone's heart, their trust, their affection... even Jisoo couldn't be that cruel. Suffering— that was all she had known before joining the agency.
Could she really inflict that on someone else?
Despite her hesitation, Jisoo couldn't deny the request, she had no choice. Her thoughts were never ending, filled with 'what ifs' of every possible scenario that could result from the mission. There was a long, drawn out pause as neither party spoke. Jisoo licked her lips, suddenly realizing just how dry her throat was.
"Sir, if I may ask, why me?"
In front of her, Yang Hyun Suk leaned back into his padded desk chair, a sickeningly sweet smile plastered onto his face despite what he'd just asked of Jisoo.
"I'm sure you know. Your beauty," he replied as if it was the most obvious question in the world.
"But sir, what about Jennie? Lisa? Rosé?"
Jisoo seemed more anxious as their conversation deepened, the words "make him suffer" repeating in her head on a constant loop.
"They're just as beautiful, and I'm sure they'll fit to the target better considering I'm older—"
"Nonsense," the president interrupted. "I already decided that you'll be the perfect match for this mission. Unless... you have any objections?"
His message was clear, evident from his threatening tone paired with the dangerous glint in his eyes. Jisoo was nothing but a pawn in his sick twisted game, nothing deterring him from his greed for money.
"No, sir. I understand."
She couldn't bear the intense eye contact with the president, choosing to stare down at the pictures of the male target instead. He was handsome and she couldn't deny it.
"Good. Now," another manila folder was slid beside the first, already opened to a promotional flyer for an end of the year award ceremony.
"One of our agents is positioned as a security guard. You and your assigned partner, Rosé, will be allowed in as VIP guests, and your seat will be close to the stage. Before the show starts, you'll be positioned backstage near the dressing rooms acting as a lost guest, where you will accidentally meet the target. Rosé will act as your guide, as she's familiar with the venue."
"And then?" Jisoo questioned after the president paused momentarily for the female to absorb the instructions.
"Entice him. Catch his attention. Wrap him around your finger. Anything to attract him."
It wasn't that easy, Jisoo knew. She was always told she was beautiful, but could her beauty really charm her target— someone with millions of girls lined up for his attention? She'd have to get creative.
