cherry bomb › nct

16 | the gamble of life

PANDORA'S BOX
12:01 AM, SATURDAY

3RD PERSONS VIEW。

Both dressed up in fancy clothing, they seemed to earn the attention of the three bartenders as soon as they stepped in the bar. Luckily, yet unfortunately, the bar didn't have much costumers, with their current last one being Xiaojun who just left.

Keiko's eyes narrowed at the sight of them as she stood up straight, arms on the side of her waist.

Who the hell in mafia fuckery is this now? She thought, her tongue poking her inner cheeks as she made her way behind the counter.

"Welcome to Pandora's Box!" Reiji greeted them in which he received nothing but icy, cold stares. His face instantly dropped at the rude costumers but ignored it and guided them to take a seat anyways.

Daniel was about to ask them when the pink haired guy raised his hand up, stopping the young apprentice from talking, "May we talk to your head bartender? Privately, please."

Reiji was appalled and went to approach them with a not so friendly face. Upon analyzing their features, they didn't seem safe at all, probably one of the mafia shits Keiko said that was bothering her – that's what Reiji thought carefully.

"Excuse me, but who might you be?"

"Lee Taeyong from Neo Culture Technology."

Keiko's ears perked up at the gang name, is he the boss? Doesn't seem scary to me.

With a loud sigh, she slammed the glass she held on the counter top, "I'll talk to them. Please, excuse us." she uttered, eyeing the two male bartenders. They nodded and quickly went to the employee room, leaving Keiko with the two young men.

Taeyong studied her features, she looked more different from what he expected. Her silver hair with some strands dyed black was straight today, rather than the curled look he used to see in photographs. The tattoos imprinted on her fingers were no different, yet they complimented her silver rings well. With the black bartender uniform she wore, it made her white milky skin stand out more.

"We finally meet each other, Keiko."

"It's Cerise for you." she corrected, pointing at her name pin.

Taeyong ignored her and leaned forward, "I've been dying to meet you."

"Who are you again? And what the fuck are you doing in my bar?" Keiko raises a brow, stepping away from his nearing face.

Taeyong chuckled, "You heard me awhile ago, didn't you?"

She nods her head, "Yeah, you're Lee Taeyong. So what?"

Jisung watched the two of them spark a conversation as he bit his bottom lip, a bit nervous on what's about to go down. He fiddled with his fingers, his eyes somewhat analyzing the girl slowly.

"I'm here to make a bet."

"Bet?" her face perplexed, now this was quite surprising.

"Let's wait for him to arrive... for now, would you care to serve me a drink?"

Keiko rolled her eyes, "You're the Boss aren't you?"

A playful look casted upon Taeyong's face, "I am."

"Great. I told Jaemin to tell you to fuck off, didn't I?"

Taeyong crossed his arms, resting his right leg on top of his left one. "I don't think you understand how this works. You're involved with me now, you can't escape just like that."

The head bartender was about to retort when the door slides open and comes in someone who she also annoyed at, followed by a person she didn't even wish to see anymore.

Jaw dropping, her heart beat quickened its pace. Palms turning sweaty as she faced the man that sold her away.

She clenched her teeth, a slight tingling feeling coming afterwards as she bit down hardly. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Taeyong clasped his hands together, "Great! You came, Mr. Mikami!"

Mikami Keishin rolled his eyes, "What do you want, Taeyong?"

An evil smirk laid on his lips, gaze resting on the girl, eyes showing absolute eagerness as he stared hard. "Her."

Hansuke gulped and raised his hand, "Wait–"

"What the fuck?" Keiko bluntly questioned, "Who even told you to arrange something like this," she circled her index finger amongst them, "a fucking mess like this. In my bar?"

She stared back at Taeyong, eyes glowering in annoyance.

"Let's play a game!" Taeyong nonchalantly said as he looked at Hansuke, "We've talked about this, and you agreed, didn't you?"

Hansuke lowered his head, ashamed for his acts, "I-I did..."

Keiko sighed harshly, fingers running through her hair, slightly tugging onto the roots as she irked. "Look, Taeyong– I'm not the one you should want."

Taeyong hummed, "Why not? You're Mikami's most prized possession."

"Am not. I am certainly not a Mikami." she crossed her arms, "I was sold away after they lost to Lee Corporation."

The grin on Taeyong's face grew wider the more information he got, "So that's how the story goes, huh?"

"Well, that doesn't mean your Father here would still like to lose a once was a Mikami to the former Lee Corporation heir, right?" A maniacal laugh left his lips, with dead eyes he slammed his fist onto the counter top.

Keishin scoffed, "I vowed to never lose to Lee Corporation ever again."

"Then that settles it." Taeyong clapped, "A gamble for life is what I like to call this game."

Keiko clenched her fists, reaching down the bar counter and felt the cold, metallic gun strapped on the bottom.

This isn't the first time I done this, I'm not afraid to do it again. She voiced out in her mind as she strapped off the gun, slowly pulling it to her waist.

"The bet is everything. It's either her whole life," Taeyong points at the female bartender, then at him, "or mine."

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