Lies | Jenbum & Jaegi

six

Are you lying, or being lied to?

She's been monitoring Jaebum for two weeks now and hadn't gained nothing much except for the places he visit frequently; Kim's family manor, the office building and some random restaurant and coffee shops. There's a certain pattern to his movement that is difficult for her to break down his motive, it was as if he had been anticipating someone would be tailing behind him and decided to put this much effort hiding his trail. But today, Hakyeon had told her to come here because he has some good news for her.

Seulgi entered the basement with light steps.

Apparently, Hakyeon had managed to trace down another person for her too. An important puzzle piece that can give her information. Seulgi is going to meet her soon.

"Tell me now."

Hakyeon threw her an incredulous look when she stood in front of him with her feral grin. He's been tiptoeing around her at first after she threatened to cut his throat on their first meeting, but he had done his job excellently so she had promised to spare his life. They'd become more toleratable towards each other since then.

"Jaebum had been meeting with this woman for a few times now. She seemed to be a dealer for illegal underground society. A very dangerous woman, cunning and slick to the bone. She had caused an uproar among her clients with all the dirty secrets she kept. You'll be meeting her at Da'un Cafe, first floor. Remember, only two minutes."

"That's all I need to know. I'll go now."

"But Seulgi," he grabbed her hands before she could walk away, "She has a son. Two years old. Whatever business you have with her, don't kill the mother of an innocent child. He won't survive in Seoul alone."

Seulgi scoffed. Too softhearted.

"The foster can take care of him better than his mother."

"They're foreigner. It's gonna be hard."

With a grin she said, "I won't promise you anything."

If you want to work a lie, do it confidently.

It was a small cafe with forest green theme. There aren't many customers and Seulgi walked towards the table number 7 and took a seat. The woman is already waiting, holding a cup of tea in her hands.

"Hey, nice to meet you, Ameera."

Ameera regarded Seulgi with inquisitive eyes, scanning her up and down before accepting her hand. The woman is beautiful, a bit tanned with soft features and kind smile. Not intimidating at all like she expected. Her accent is light and lilting as she spoke in a hushed voice.

"Who is your master?"
"I have no master. I'm here for business."

Ameera took a sip of her drink.

"What's your name then, young lady?"

Seulgi gritted her teeth. She isn't going to waste her two minutes like this.

"Give me the book now, Ameera., and I promise I won't touch a hair on your precious son. Daniel is such a beautiful name, isn't it?"

Ameera's gaze changed immediately. She looks at her watch and nodded. Then, a small floral notebook was taken out from her purse and she slid it on the table. Ameera smiled an undecipherable smile at Seulgi before saying, "Time's up."

Seulgi grabbed the notebook and slipped it into her pocket.

Ameera leaned closer to whisper into her ear and Seulgi stiffened up at her subtly mocking tone. "Till we meet again, 'gadis kala jengking'."

Not knowing what those words mean, Seulgi turned her head to glare at her but Ameera only gave a playful wink and chuckled before sauntering away to the exit.

In the car, Seulgi flipped open the notebook and cursed silently. The whole book is written in a language she doesn't understand. When Hakyeon opened the door and slid inside to sit beside her, she gave him the book.

"What does this means?"

It took him a few moments to flipped through the pages and he started reading it with a furrowed brows. Then he slammed it down furiously.

"Dammit! This whole books only talks about traditional recipe or something like that."

"What!?"

5 years before

Scorpio Headquarters

Room 7, Subject S Code 4299

The pain is unbearable and his vision had started to blur around the edges. Jaebum managed to catch himself before he fell down and he had to lean on the wall for support.

Every veins in his body seems to catch fire. Each breath is a struggle and his body started to shake uncontrollably. Then, he slumped down on the cold bathroom floor where his head banged the tiles hard. Jaebum tried to crawl out from the bathroom floor but everything had gone numb and stiff. He cannot lift even a single finger.

He drifted in a out of consciousness before a series cough racked through his body.

He is afraid that this is it, this is the end. This time his body can no longer bear its own poison and he'll die because of it.

A Stinger killed by his own sting.

It's getting worse by the time Seulgi kicked open the door. He coughed out more blood and it stained his front shirt like a splattered paint. Seulgi let out a choked gasp and quickly pulled him into her embrace.

"Jaebum! Breathe! Breathe!"

His breathing is shallow and slow, no matter how hard his lungs worked to inhale, to take in the breaths he so desperately needs, it still feels like he is sucking from tiny holes in a vacuumed space.

Not enough air. Too much pain.

Seulgi took out a small syringe from her hoodie pocket and quickly injected him in the neck with the yellow liquid. Jaebum screamed and writhed in her hold but in his weakened state, she managed to pin him down on the floor. She waited with bated breath as the venom find its way into his system to fight it out. She lift his hand to check for pulse.

Jaebum eyelids drooped and his body had gone slack.

"Hey! Hey look at me. Jaebum don't close your eyes!" Seulgi slapped his cheek a few times but he is not responding to anything. Her heart sank when she saw that the tips of his finger had turned bluish and he is cold. So so cold.

***

Jaebum forced himself to sit as soon as he opened his eyes. He is not surprised to find the fact that his chest is bare and there's Seulgi sitting cross-legged at the sofa opposite the bed.

"Where's my family? Are they safe?" His throat felt raw as he croaked at her.

"Yeah, they're hiding in my place for the time being."

"T-Thank god. I owe you one, Seul." He looked around and frowned, "How did you find me?"

Seulgi didn't answer him. She just got up and walked towards him to tuck him back to sleep.

"Don't pull that stunt next time. It's foolish. What are you thinking exactly? You know what, forget it. Just sleep, Jaebum."

Jaebum was too tired to argue with her so he just lied back and closed his eyes. Soon enough, he's soundly asleep again, snoring softly.

Seulgi let out a sigh.

"I'll always found you. Always."

P/s- do you want jenbum or seulbum? shout it louder yooo

andd does anyone knows what 'gadis kala jengking' is ? thats an important clue you got there :D