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58 | city 127

DOWNTOWN CITY 127
YONGSAN-GU, MAD CITY
9:00 PM, SUNDAY

3RD PERSONS VIEW。

"Welcome to City 127!" the receptionist greeted them with a faint smile before looking down onto her list. "Do we have a name?"

"Lee Taeyong and Seo Youngho." the blue-haired stated simply, flashing the woman a small smile.

She flinched upon hearing their names, knowing that they were the guest they had for today. Bowing down quickly, she gestures them inside, "Mr. Mikami has been waiting in the VIP room."

The two followed suit, guided inside a VIP room where Mikami Eiichi had been waiting. A fatherly smile crept up the old man's face yet eyes were gleaming darkly as he stared at them, "Taeyong! Youngho! It's a pleasure to see you, boys, again."

Youngho pressed his lips into a thin line, bobbing his head lightly before taking a seat as soon as Taeyong did.

"Didn't know you had the guts to ignore my calls." Eiichi stated before instinctively tapping his forefinger onto the table, "Have you forgotten our deal?"

Taeyong remained unfazed, eyes boring directly into Eiichi as he said calmly, "Keiko's safe—"

"Keiko got shot, not only that, she's being targeted by a few of your rivals," Eiichi interjected, the smile on his face gone.

Despite the wave of shock that hit Taeyong, he still composed himself – not wanting to look troubled in front of the Mikami. The mafioso's mind was running, thinking who could possibly leak that information to someone outside their base, but then again, Mikami Eiichi had his own little spies here and there.

He thought about a few of his rebellious executives; would they? Were they the ones informing Eiichi about Keiko?

"I agreed an alliance with you for a reason." Eiichi sternly said, his gaze hardening the longer he stared at Taeyong. Something was irking him, maybe the fact that Keiko was hurt? Or something else. "I told you to protect Keiko, what the hell are you fucking doing?"

"Have you ever thought what goes on in her mind? She may look put together and tough, but may I remind you she's still a woman."

"We're not playing around here, Taeyong. If I hear another word that Keiko got hurt– the alliance is over. Forget about winning over your father, just become a slave for all I care!" Eiichi stood up, raising the wine glass before leaning it towards Taeyong, "I'll be watching." Without another word, he left the restaurant, leaving a dark red envelope sealed with golden wax on his side of the table.

Youngho cleared his throat, "Tae?"

"What?"

"What was the alliance even for?"

"To secure Keiko's safety and to help me win over my father."

Youngho sighed deeply before standing up, walking to Eiichi's side, picking up the envelope. "We should get back."

"How did he know?"

Youngho flinched at the tone of Taeyong's voice, furrowing his eyebrows together, "What do you mean?"