THE VELVET. | blackvelvet

HER FIRST TIME.

A heavy chill drifted throughout Seoul as Chaeyoung snuggled even deeper into her coat, letting out a deep breath that immediately turned into a cloud of white. She looked at her wristwatch, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the girl to finish up so she could get this over with.

Chaeyoung sighed in annoyance, the bitter cold having put her in a bad mood already. Normally the wait was her favourite part of the chase, but now she could only see it as a nuisance that was preventing her from getting back to the warmth of the club.

Her eyes flitted to her right where she saw Pranpriya, her number two, standing in the dark shadows of the university's campus. An unspoken understanding crossed between them as Pranpriya sunk further back into the darkness, waiting anxiously for her prey to arrive.

Not a second later and a car pulled out of the campus gates, the headlights casting an ominous glow on the otherwise pitch-black road, as it drove away. Chaeyoung quickly climbed into her own sedan. Pranpriya rushed to her side and hopped in next to her, neither bothering to put on their seatbelts before the car roared to life and Chaeyoung had taken off after their prey.

Chaeyoung grumbled under her breath, just wanting to get this over with so she could be warm again, and Pranpriya could only laugh at her leader's childish behaviour: for a hitwoman she sure did act like a big baby sometimes.

As if Chaeyoung could read her friend's mind, she lightly nudged her, making sure not to take her eyes off the road or else she'd have two (or three, if she didn't survive) people's blood on her hands by the end of this night. They continued to tail the girl's car, breathing a sigh of relief when she finally seemed to be pulling over to a curb: exactly where she'd planned.

Making sure to keep her distance, Chaeyoung watched from the sidelines as the car slowed near the border of a well known red-light district. She smirked, knowing that a girl tortured by keeping the secret of her sexuality would not be able to resist what she had planned for her.

That plan went by the name of Sooya, a stunning woman with a gorgeous face and a body to die for.

Pranpriya bit her lip as Sooya neared the girl's car, swaying her hips seductively in an attempt to charm her even quicker. Apparently it worked considering that the next thing Pranpriya saw was Sooya climbing into the girl's car before the two pulled off and drove away, presumably to find a private alleyway.

When she noticed their sedan remained unmoving, Pranpriya turned to Chaeyoung in confusion, "Shouldn't we be following them?" She asked, her heart beating faster at the thought of the plan failing and Sooya ending up in danger.

Chaeyoung shook her head, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a cigarette. Pranpriya rolled her eyes at her boss' deadly addiction, not understanding how she could put that poison in her own body. The leader ran her fingers against the worn down seat of the sedan, closing her eyes as she remembered everything she'd been through with the car.

"Do you remember your first time?"

The personal question came as a surprise to Pranpriya, her boss never really having asked her anything more intimate than her work out regime. She watched in confusion as Chaeyoung lit her cigarette, taking a deep breath before exhaling out of the window that was stuck half-way down.

"How can you not?" Pranpriya's response was vague, already uncomfortable by the mere idea of discussing her personal life with her boss: a woman that she associated with the most heinous crimes possible, not with love and passion.

Chaeyoung nodded, satisfied despite the little information she'd gotten. She glanced over to Pranpriya, seeing her shuffling uncomfortably on the seat, and narrowed her eyes, "I remember mine, too. I thought that it'd be the most memorable night of my life, but I was wrong."

"I don't get what you mean."

"The most memorable first time of mine was my first kill, Pranpriya." Chaeyoung laughed bitterly, flicking her cigarette lightly out the window, "It was my father. He was the definition of scum. He enjoyed beating on me and my sister whenever our mother wasn't looking, so one day my sister and I finally snapped."

Pranpriya watched Chaeyoung curiously, never having seen the woman open up this much. She figured that if she ever wanted to get to know her better, now would be the best time.

Chaeyoung continued, "It was a bit messy, that's normal for a first time, but I got the job done. Nobody missed him considering he was a pedophile, and I had staged it to look like a suicide. Pretty good for a virgin murderer, if you ask me. When I killed my mother it was much neater. She deserved it, too: she was too weak to protect us from our father."

She smiled at the fond memory, finding a sadistic happiness in the nostalgia of taking her first life. Pranpriya tilted her head slightly, not even remotely disturbed by her boss' twisted enjoyment of blood shed (that effect had worn out after the first six months), but still confused, "Why are you telling me this?"

"The point is, Pranpriya-" Chaeyoung threw her cigarette out of the window and into a puddle, the embers immediately fizzling out- much like a human when they are shot, "This isn't Sooya's first time doing this. It's not going to be messy, and I told her to message me when she's ready."

"What do you mean ready?"

A sudden buzz of Chaeyoung's phone answered Pranpriya's question, and the leader grinned deviously as she gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles blanched, "You're about to find out."

Pranpriya had no time to hold on as the car burst through the streets, twisting and turning round corners to reach Sooya. It didn't take long before they were parked outside an alleyway, and Chaeyoung's headlights illuminated their target's car like fireworks in the night sky.

Slipping on a pair of leather gloves, Chaeyoung grabbed a roll of duct-tape and a baseball bat from the backseat. She climbed out of the car eagerly, leaving the motor running for an easy escape, and tapped the roof of the car impatiently when Pranpriya made no move to join her, "You coming, or you just gonna keep pussy-footing in the car?"

Gulping, Pranpriya reluctantly stepped out of the car. She tried to ignore the annoyed look Chaeyoung gave her as she followed her to the car Sooya was in. Chaeyoung twirled the bat in her hand, smiling savagely as she neared her prey.

Pranpriya could almost taste the blood circulating her body at this point, and she had to stop for a moment to regather herself. No matter how many times she did this it would never get easier: she wasn't like Rosé or Sooya, or even Ruby Jane for that matter. She slowed her hammering heart and begun the walk again, the car seeming thousands of miles away even though it could be more than a few metres.

"On the count of three." Chaeyoung stopped just behind the car, hiding from the vision of their target, as she held up a finger to Pranpriya.

"One."

Pranpriya felt like throwing up.

"Two."

She could hear her heart racketing around her head.

"Three."

They pounced.