The Diamond Race | discontinued

chapter 18

0:00 Seoul, South Korea 37.5665° N, 126.9780° E

Baekhyun wanted to smash his head into the bar table, but he couldn't. Not with a mission to finish. So he sat there and listened, like he was interested. The room was getting hotter and Baekhyun felt suffocated under his mask. He kept waving his fan slowly trying to keep air circulating around him but it was almost no use.

"Well, enough about me. Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, miss?" Bobby arched an eyebrow inquisitively.

He was too close for Baekhyun's comfort. His expensive cologne made the air hard to breathe and Baekhyun found himself keeping his fan close to his face. Why the hell did guys with so much money feel the need to drown themselves in cologne? Probably to mask something. Baekhyun kept his face from pinching into a frown as he caught another whiff of Bobby's cologne. He needed info on the race from Bobby, but here Bobby was chatting it up like it was an after church Sunday brunch party.

"Moon. You can call me Ruya Moon."

"Ruya isn't Korean is it?" Bobby smiled knowingly.

"No it's not. I changed my name. The one my parents gave me sucked. Anyone in Korea could have my old name. I wanted something different." The lie is easy and it slips from Baekhyun's lips with practiced ease.

Bobby nodded. "We're the same then."

Baekhyun waved his fan slowly, subtly trying to shoo the cologne back to Bobby.

"How so?"

"Two souls, stuck in a world they both know they're bigger than."

Baekhyun arched an eyebrow snapping his fan closed.

"Is that a line from some c-list romance drama?"

Bobby blinked before laughing out loud.

"No. I made it up myself. Why? Did it sound like that?"

"It did."

Bobby laughed a bit harder and Baekhyun used the opportunity to scan the room. The party has gotten even wilder. Guests danced harder than they had before to the pounding music, gyrating on one another in an effort to bring someone home for the night. There was still no sign of Xiumin. Wherever he had gone, he was out of Baekhyun's reach now and so was the rest of the team.

"Ruya you're straight forward. I like that. Most people try to kiss my ass."

"Why would they?" Baekhyun snorted.

With all that cologne? Please.

Bobby's face got serious, his eyes flashed coldly and in a moment, Baekhyun realized he had said the wrong thing. After all Bobby was part of iKon. He was the second in command, powerful, feared, hated.

"I mean, you don't seem like a mean guy." Baekhyun was sure to keep his tone even and at ease. If Bobby caught a slip, even the smallest one, Baekhyun's cover would end up in tatters and he would end up deader than dead.

"Well, I'm a big guy around here." Bobby winked.

Baekhyun knew this was his cue. He leaned in towards Bobby smiling as seductively as he could. The sooner he got his info, the sooner he could jump ship.

"Oh my, why don't you tell me more?"

Bobby grinned and slipped his hand over Baekhyun's.

"Of course. Why don't we go somewhere quieter?"

Baekhyun frowned from behind his mask. Now that was unexpected. Baekhyun preferred to toy around and flirt. Xiumin, Kai, and Suho were yet to come back, which meant no one had his back if something went wrong.