Episode 1

Night had fallen over the Undercity. The moon had been shining its weak light over the wet streets of the city. The city had been thriving in its HUB – the center of the city’s entertainment – even on a stuffy night like so didn’t deter people from going out.

The Undercity always appeared livelier at night and the reason for it being so could never be truly understood – most assume it was the way people didn’t sleep until the unholy hours of the morning while others insisted it was the buzz of the city lights in every corner. The city wasn’t the most glamorous looking if anything it was a wealthy one but a rough around the edges type.

In a city like the Undercity, it was riddled with the Korean Mafia and the Yakuza. The two organizations had a sort of understanding – the need to operate in a brittle harmony of co-existence while in almost friendly competition in an ever-present struggle over stomping grounds and power.

Even then, the risky atmosphere didn’t stop the neon lights from being bright and it didn’t stop its people’s fast and dangerous way of life where the stakes were always high.

People gambled and risked everything for their fifteen seconds of fame amongst the cutthroat game for drugs, guns, and money. However, even as the hours grew later, people tended to cling to the HUB of the city center where the clubs didn’t sleep and neither did the casinos and hotels.

It was a little shy of two in the morning and the dying howls of traffic into the city center were fading into the darkness. A dark ‘92 Chevy Impala lurked through the wet streets, clinging to the velvet night like its shadow. It purred in its glide against the wet tar, the loose gravel grinding under the weight of the mechanical beast as it headed towards the outer districts of the city.

The sleek car pulled into an empty parking lot – a shopping complex found in the outskirts of the city. Three men sat lazily in the idling car – the low hum from the engine was drowned out by the wailing sirens that echoed from the streets.

“This is the place, right?” The blonde driver called out as his hand tightened over the steering wheel in an anxious habit.

“Yeah, that’s the one. It’s the last on that the Boss ordered the hit on,” replied his dark-skinned friend, who was sprawled out in the backseat.

“That store over there? Why would we do a hit on that one? Denzel, this looks too easy.” The driver furrowed his eyebrows in a perplexed manner as he regarded his partner in the backseat.

“Shut up already! It’s the last one for us. You guys have been complaining since the first stop.” The figure in the passenger seat had snapped at the chatty males.

“Yeah, but that’s only because we usually get some sort of explanation.” James, the driver, spoke up.

“The chain of stores that we’ve targeted belongs to a friend who owes our Boss a lot of money. We just have to set an example of what will happen to all of his businesses when he doesn’t pay on time.” The voice was unusually soft and slightly accented but drawled in the reply as the man threw a once overlook to the shop entrance.

“The favorite must know.” Denzel snipped. The sandy blonde in the passenger seat snorted and lolled his head toward his two associates.

“Favourite? Hardly the case, unlike you assholes, I’m forced to play nice around the old man because I know better than to ask for a personal bullet up my ass from him.” Tae retorted, his jaw tightening ever so slightly.

The blonde driver spluttered and cussed out.

“Fuck you, Tae.”

Tae had then looked to James, his icy blue eyes sparkling with mischief, “Why, James, I didn’t know you felt like that about me. But as flattered as I am, I have a job to do. Maybe Denzel is willing to step in for me. Just be sure you wankers are done before I get back.”

He shot the two a smirk as he slid out of the car while the two breathily swore at their friend. He signaled for the two in the car to pipe the fuck down with a single wave of his hand and then pulled his hood up before he stalked off to the store.

A cell phone lay atop a dirty white counter. It buzzed softly, rattling against the surface. Feminine hands grasped the tantrum like device that demanded attention. A swipe at the lock screen and few taps later, the messaging chat box was open.

MinMin: Boooo…

                        Alice: What do you need, Minnie?

MinMin: Cover for me? Running late.

                        Alice: How late is late? -_-

MinMin: About another hour… at least.

                        Alice: Hate you. It’s like you’re not even coming into work tonight. I own your ass and half your paycheque bcoz of this.

MinMin: Love you too. Of course, you do. See you soon.

Alice White groaned in frustration as she reread her texts with Min.

God, she loved the boy but his hours were insane.

Well, she was stuck at the store for the rest of the shift – Min would probably only be back by some miracle in time just to clock out for the night. She continued tapping at her phone on social media apps and only threw a glance at the figure that entered the store.

She stopped briefly, fingers slowed to a halt on the screen, thinking that the man shared a strong resemblance to Min but shook it off, chalking it up to her just missing Min too much.

Tae entered the store; his head down least a security camera catches him, side-glancing the girl at the till – she didn’t seem interested with him walking in. His heavy footfalls were deliberate so the girl at the till would ignore him, thinking it’s just a drunk customer that wasn’t able to locate alcohol within the shop. His gait slightly staggered ever more so for dramatic effect.

He shot a once overlook at the rack of wines and alcohol bottles on the shelves, internally grinning as he remembered to have a good drink when he gets home. He stopped his charade and craned his head to glance to see the woman at the till paid him no heed.

Perfect, he thought.

He took slow steps as he lurked in the aisle, not wanting to draw attention to him. He rounded the back of the aisle, covered by the wide rack. He tugged on his hood, making his profile retreat under the material. He lifted the heavy layers of his leather jacket and hoodie to yank his revolver out from the back pocket of his ripped jeans.

He snapped the safety off while eyeing the girl – she was still completely unaware. She has been sifting through the feed on her phone. He took a breath and made his way towards the counter.

It was a few brisk steps as he approached the till and removed the canvas material bag from his other back pocket in the same motion.

He tossed the bag at the girl and she made a noise, obviously startled.

When she had picked her head up, the urge to scream had bubbled up in her throat but she couldn’t find her voice – her jaw fell slack as he aligned the revolver to her forehead at point-blank range.

She couldn’t see his face as he looked away; away from her eyes and the security camera – the last thing he needed was being caught or him being remembered.

She trembled as she felt the lack of distance between her and the barrel of the gun, she paled when she heard the click of the shoplifter cranking the hammer back and his finger was ready on the trigger. He dipped his head, still mindful of the security camera, to see if she had frozen in place.

He suppressed the sigh when he realized she had – he still had time to play so he took advantage of her stupor to pull the hammer back a little more and pushed it back up. It was a common reaction for an innocent citizen to freeze at gunpoint.

He snapped his fingers in front of her face and she snapped out of her terror-induce trance.

He lazily flicked his gun, the barrel motioning toward the cash till as a sign to fill the bag.

With shaky hands, she filled the bag hastily and threw it back to him before raising her hands in a freeze formation. He raised an eyebrow at her as he caught the bag, while not letting his gun falter, full intent to pull the trigger if she tried anything funny. He kept the gun focused on her as he stepped backward to back out of the store.

“C’ mon, man! We got to move! Now!” He heard James’ voice cut across the air.

Tae hissed under his breath and snapped his head to the side to catch sight of Denzel swinging the passenger door open for him. Alice froze when she caught the glimpse of him, the shop lifter’s hood slid off his head the moment he turned back to look.

The lines of his face were blurred in the haze of her panic but the image of full lips, cold blue eyes, and blonde hair had imprinted itself into her memory. The concept sounded beautiful but the intent in his eyes was what made her frightened.

He wasn’t like any other shoplifter. He was confident and smug. Not a trace of frantic panic painted in those haunting eyes.

He looked back at her, pinning her with a fierce look – she didn’t like the look in his eyes, before tugging his hood back into place. He pulled the hammer down once more as he backed out of the store and watched how she had backed up at lightning reflex, bashing the back of her head into the shelves behind her.

Tae couldn’t help it but his lips curled back into a lazy sneer of arrogance, knowing full well he was out of the camera range – good call for a scare tactic of the dummy one in the shop front, the owner’s habits were as cheap as himself.

It might have been a trick of the mind but Alice swore it was a moment and forever as the blue-eyed shoplifter had turned and dashed off.

She blinked slowly, trying to calm her entire being down.

The doorway of the entrance was empty and the chill came sweeping in.

Alice was left trembling, from the chill or the electrifying eye contact with the criminal she couldn’t discern. The more logical part of her brain argued that her body was currently experiencing shock and trauma and was reacting to it with an adrenaline rush.

But Alice wasn’t thinking straight.

She forgot about deterring the criminal with the can of pepper spray just under her counter and she failed to notice that the panic button she had pressed to alert the assigned local security service was broken but she had managed to wobble around the area behind the counter, a part of her insisting on shutting the door.

She had dropped her phone on the floor while she walked to the door. She reached for the thin slim device before she somehow succeeded to close the store doors, flipped the sign to display ‘CLOSED’ – more on engrained routine instinct rather than a panic precaution.

The flash of those blue eyes flashed before her and she felt the bile climb her throat. It was split-second motion that sent her dashing off to the bathroom at the back. The shock had finally stolen its way into her system.

Alice had accepted her condition as her temple pressed against the toilet bowl. It was a lot of dry heaving on her part since the actual feeling danced on her nerves – making nausea amplified so she tried to have it forced out of her system.

The weight of sickness seeped into her limbs and she sprawled out in the tiny stall. She felt heavy as lead. She fumbled with her phone, bleary eyes, and numb fingers.

Min.

She fought the choking sick feeling in her as she heard the dial tone ring through her. She barely heard it connect before she mumbled into the receiver.

“Help. Please.”

Alice had promptly passed out, connected call and all.

Soft music lulled the exquisite hotel conference room. The Sky Tower, a hotel for VIPs located in the heart of the HUB, had its conference room on one of its topmost floors where guests could conduct affairs lavishly – much like the party it was held for the night.

It was a party that was in the thick of its festivities. It had started as formal sit down with its luxurious arrangement for the large circular dinner tables – They were decadent in design to resemble embossed gold leaf on them and matched the round table overlays where guests were seated at. Heavy white velvet curtains lined the walls until the balcony doors were thrown open to watch the skyline of the Undercity – that is if one was interesting and not just out on the balcony for a smoke.

It was gorgeous but had a borderline dark aura to the room. As if every light color was doused with its tainting shade.

And true was the aura to its purpose. It was a poisoned atmosphere. If one looked at this party it would seem like any other dull affair but upon closer inspection, all the glitter wasn’t gold.

The affair itself wasn’t cut in its grandness but one would miss the drunken guests who ruined the light-colored overlays with dark deep wine stains. The stain of wine in silk was a far cry in comparison to the stains of blood but no one ever saw those.

Not even when the guest wore crisp white gloves.

Politics may have been a dirty game to play but business tactics were even dirtier.

Everyone who had been gathered in the conference room had been there for their interest. It was a chance to bag a position with the strongest Mafia Family in the city – Lee Household.

It was a party where the plates had been cleared and the staff removed so they could conduct business – flocks of painted women manned the makeshift bar, serving drinks. The men sat around the tables in gambling formation – the casino vibe may have been improvised but the stakes were high – people’s lives, families, business and reputations were being gambled for the night.

The money flowed freely like the wine at the party and the liquor was taken hard and fast – steadily and on the rocks. The atmosphere buzzed with sinister energy and it had nothing to do with the thick cigar wisps curling in the air.

Women were lusting – bagging the most advantageous of men for their ventures and comfort, men were lining pockets – not unlikely to fund off the books investments – and companies were bonding over truces of mutual benefit.

Amongst all the dark and dreary, there was a burst of color in the dining party.

Blue roses.

There wasn’t a lot – a single stem lay at the centerpiece of the tables within all the ruin.

Lee Min – heir and only son of the Lee Household – sat, in all his prince-like glory, and watched how everything had unfolded before him. He honestly felt like he had peeked into the horrendous affair. He refused to participate in any of the awful things his family was involved in.

He feigned faux arrogance but, truthfully, he was tired and his upright posture made him ache. His sandy blonde hair flopped perfectly over the fine fuzz of his faded undercut.

Min had come to the point in his life where he couldn’t hide the disgust he held for the business, unconsciously his brown eyes hardened as his gaze flicked over the party-goers. He had tried hard to remain passive – but the ache in his jaw reminded him just how long he had it locked in place to avoid the disgust escaping him in the form of biting words.

Occasionally, he shifted to stop losing feeling from the waist down. Thank god for the heavy tablecloth to hide his legs from changing position every half-hour so. It was frowned upon to fidget – or so his father had once said.

When he wasn’t squirming in his seat, he tugged at the silver loop at his ear.

But eventually, his shoulders had slumped as he succumbed to the boredom.

He had claimed the rose over half an hour ago and had been twirling the blue rose between his fingers ever since. It rolled along with his fingertips, and he was mindful as in doing so, the thorn bluntly pressed over from time to time to keep his attention in check.

He continued the coping mechanism as his thoughts entertained him.

He was seated in a room full of corrupted elites, who liked to deem themselves like nobles and looked to him.

Well, not him per se but his family name and company. He couldn’t help but look down on them – he wasn’t going to shy away from the judging looks and the friction it caused in the business meetings. They knew he had no interest in the trade.

He had no wish to replace his father but he was there to deliberately stop power-hungry hounds from climbing a little too high within ring ranks. His purpose was there was to uphold a family name that had a fully capable successor, even if a reluctant one, but a successor existed nonetheless.

To heighten his irritation of being a blasted puppet, the maroon suit he had donned was suffocating him. The garment fits perfectly provided there was minimal movement, especially the jabot that had been strangling him steadily through the night. The material scratched at him and the ruffles were ill to his taste.

And yet he looked perfect.

Prince Min, as they dubbed him, was not spoilt or as fussy as everyone thought him to be, yet he sat there in a bad mood at the party. He mildly remembered his father’s sick smirk as he promised it would be fun.

He scoffed at that.

Tch.

Prince Min sat there; his full wine glass abandoned and sighing for what seemed like the hundredth time for the night.

The hundred and one sighs became interrupted by his phone buzzing violently in his pocket.

He had practically jumped in his seat and ended up pricking his finger on the thorn.

Hissing lowly, he fumbled the device out and answered by his thumb sliding smoothly against the screen, eyes flicking over to where his father had animatedly been in talks with another greying geezer and then down to his pricked finger that beaded over with blood as he pressed the device to his ear.

Good. No one had noticed him.

“Help. Please.”

His jaw dropped at the weak voice, his hand unconsciously closing over the little delicate flower. Min was sure he heard wrong so he pressed his free hand down onto the table and launched out of his seat and dashed for the entrance of the conference room.

“Alice? Alice?” Min kept calling out but there was no answer, he stood there anxiously, shifting his weight from one foot to another. He couldn’t bear the thought of him wasting time by standing around and trying to discern what he heard.

He had flagged down one of the hotel staff to inform the valet of bringing his car around while he headed for the shiny elevator at the end of the floor.

So Lee Min left his party.

What the dubbed prince failed to notice was that upon dashing from the table he had bruised his rose when he crushed it to the table, the delicate petals falling apart and a particular bruised petal stained with Min’s red blood, the speckling dots of shining liquid soaking into the velvet-like blue petal with a jarring stain.

Min was distraught. He and Alice had worked out a pretty simple system. Alice would cover for him like the good best friend she was and Min was to repay the favor by treating her, however small she asked. It was a system that worked because Alice never pried unless Min told her and she never called him during his ‘out’ hours so it had to be serious if she called.

Min folded himself into his driver’s seat of the car.

The ’68 Charger roared to life and left a cloud of dirt as it sped off. The car was all elegance and grace in motion but Min was a mess as he drove. His dress jacket and waistcoat abandoned on the backseat floor and jabot hanging around his neck while the top buttons were yanked aggressively to breathe easier.

His hair was mussed from the frantic hand he ran through the freshly dyed locks, trying to keep the panic at bay. His knuckles ran white with his grip on the steering wheel and his bottom lip being worried by his teeth to the point of drawing blood.

He sped from the well-off districts to lesser districts. The drive from the inner parts of the Undercity to the outer edges wasn’t that long but Min felt like he was going at snail pace. He veered into the back alley behind the block and practically tumbled into the store – elegant dress shoes clattering against the lino flooring – only to find it deserted.

Before panic began to rule his mind, he searched every aisle of the store and then the back office.

Still nothing.

But finally stumbling to the bathroom, he found the familiar mass of brown hair splayed out on the floor.

“Christ, Alice.” Min breathed as he dived to pick her up.

Min sat her upright against the wall of the stall and patted lightly at her cheek, “Alice, wake up!”

Her limp physique lay clammy in his hold while he checked for any signs of assault on her – thankfully, she hadn’t been touched.

“Oh my God, Alice, what happened to you?”  He brushed her hair from her face and checked her breathing – he breathed a sigh of relief realizing she was only momentarily knocked out.

He ran off to the sink and pulled out the handkerchief out from his pocket. The swatch of fabric was shoved under the stream of cold water before he wrung it out.

He returned and pressed his cold handkerchief to her skin, wiping from her temple down to the hollow of her collarbones.

He lay the cool cloth across her forehead and lay her head in his lap.

It seemed like an entire night before Alice stirred. She was parched, woozy and her head throbbed in tune with her heartbeat. She noted the floor didn’t seem so cold or hard either. There was something stuck to her forehead.

“Alice. You’re awake!” A soft voice filled her ears.

Focusing her vision, Alice stared up and found Min filling her view scope. He was all soft eyes and plush lips. Everything about Min was soft, right down to the strokes of his face. Lifting a hand to ensure she wasn’t hallucinating, she brushed her fingertips against his cheek before he caught hold of her limp hand.

“Minnie…?” It was more of a question than a statement.

“Yeah, boo. I’m here. Are you okay now?” He squeezed her hand assuring her while pulling off the handkerchief on her forehead.

He shifted her into a sitting position.

“Min…” And her voice cracked.

“Wait.” He commanded gently and Alice nodded.

Min took off to the fridges, fingers curled around the damp material on the handle, to grab chilled water and returned to Alice. She spat the first two mouthfuls into the toilet bowl before she drank hastily; water spilled from the corners of her lips and Min just dabbed his handkerchief after the stray droplets.

“What happened, Alice?”

“The store was robbed and the guy came in and wanted the till emptied but he chose to ask with his gun to my forehead instead of yelling about it.” She said drily as she recalled her encounter with the robber.

“I’m sorry, boo. This is my fault. Had I been here at the time…” Min sighed and shook his head while grasping her hand and squeezed it. This time it felt like more he needed it more than she did.

Alice shook it off.

“No, it’s not your fault, Minnie. It was just awful timing on our parts. Wait… Did the security service come? I pressed the panic button.” She sounded confused for a moment.

“No one has come to the store, Alice – it’s been over an hour now.”

“Fuck… it doesn’t work?!” Alice exclaimed.

“Cheapskate bastard of a boss,” Min muttered under his breath.

He sighed softly.

“Still, I leave you alone at the store at night too often and the store isn’t in one of the safest districts in the Undercity. It was stupid of me. Spend the night at my place. I’m not leaving you alone for the rest of the night.” He tugged her from the bathroom to the front of the store.

“Min, the shop?” Alice blurted out – she was grateful for Min but she didn’t want to lose her job.

“I’ve got it covered, boo; think you can handle grabbing your jacket and bag while I lock up?” Min asked and she nodded. Min had wrapped around to the front.

“I’ll call Mr. Yang and tell him that we’re closing for tonight,” Min spoke a little louder since he was at the cash register and shutting it with his sleeved elbow to avoid further fingerprints in the place while his other hand was busy fishing out his phone from his pocket. His finger flicked through the contact list and he dialed the sleazeball he called a shop owner.

The call was answered but no one spoke as heavy pants of two voices were heard over the phone.

Oh, gross. That’s something I could have lived a life without hearing.

“Morning, Mr. Yang. I trust it’s been pleasant.” He drawled as he grimaced.

“Make it snappy, boy.” The man grumbled on the end of the line.

“Sure, boss. Your shop has been robbed. I’m taking Alice for the evening so your shop is now closed until I arrive later for the next shift. I trust you will inform authorities about your shop robbery since when we tried to alert the security company the panic button didn’t work,” Min sniped, “Goodbye, Mr. Yang.”

Min ended the call upon hearing his boss’ incoherent sputtering about his beloved shop. He snorted, if anything his boss loved more than a good lay, it was money.

“I’ve been itching for an excuse to do that lately.” Alice chuckled at how Min went from professional and cold to the giggly boy she called a friend.

“C’ mon. That uniform looks questionable. And you have to work in the morning.” Alice groaned at Min’s words. Min laughed lightly, “Relax, boo. I’ll cover the shifts with you for the rest of the week.”

It was a quiet drive from the shop to Min’s apartment in the city. Alice shivered within Min’s large dress jacket that hung on her frame. His subtle cologne was clinging to the material but it was mixed with something floral and she couldn’t quite place it.

Her mouth fell open on seeing Min’s well to do apartment that lay closer to the HUB.

“God, why even work at the excuse we call a store if you live here, Min?”

Min gave her a smile that let his eyes turn to crescents and stretched his full lips to show his radiant white teeth. But he gave her no answer as they walked into the open-plan residence.

Min approached Alice after freeing himself of his wallet and keys into the little bowl on the stand, near the door. He took the dress jacket from her and walked towards the dining table to toss the material. Alice watched and followed as he passed the vase full of blue roses.

And the scent hit her.

Min smelt of roses.

“The shower is down the hallway and the door to the left. There are a spare towel and a new toothbrush in the cupboard under the bathroom sink. I’ll get you a change of clothes. Go on. It will make you feel better.” Min instructed as he headed to his room, nudging her softly in the direction towards the bathroom.

It wasn’t long before the two were sprawled out on Min’s couch in comfy sweats and baggy shirts. Min’s tank hung off him and showed his lean built that showed some sort of work out in his routine. Alice realized that there was so much of her best friend that she didn’t know about despite sharing a post at the shop with him for almost a year.

“Minnie,” Alice broke their silence. She was almost unheard because of the television noise but she caught Min’s attention by moving her body to face him. Min hummed as he shifted eye contact from the television to his friend.

“I just wanted to say thank you for tonight.” She began quietly and ducked her head a little. Min reached over to hug Alice and she squeaked.

“You can’t thank me for something that was technically my fault. You were the one covering for me.” Min ruffled her wet hair.

“Minnie! Stop!” She smiled softly as she swatted his hands away and tried to pat down her hair, “I’m always happy to cover extra shifts. It means a little more cash in my pocket at the end of the day.”

“All the cash means nothing if you’re in danger Alice,” Min warned softly.

“Hey, Min…” Alice stared.

“Yeah?”

“What were you doing tonight? I mean, we never talk about it but I’m a little curious since you were dressed in a suit…” Alice started to mumble.

Min sighed and explained, “Family function.” He wouldn’t dare tell her about being a drug lord’s son.

It just didn’t leave a good impression.

He wrinkled his nose at that thought. Min knew he wasn’t bad, hell he wanted nothing to do with the business. But, he wasn’t stupid either.

He knew it was dangerous and he laying low was best for him. Especially since the perks included avoiding his father almost ninety percent of the time as long as he kept face for business.

When Min was dubbed a Prince, it was a doomed crowning. It was a twisted title to bear and he hated it. It led him to rebelling and staying away with his uncle rather than thriving on the money that came from blood and drugs.His mother was a wonderful woman who left behind nothing but her twin brother, who stopped his father from absorbing all of his mother’s money, and an amazing trust fund that let Min live guilt free.It was a glimmer in his miserable world even if he couldn’t take full advantage of it. He knew with the already there was aged old friction between his father and uncle, he couldn’t afford to be reckless and left the contact with his uncle to a minimum to avoid his father taking up arms.He believed alienation would best for him and anyone who dared to think of getting involved with him. He never really planned on meeting a friend like Alice but life played mysterious games.Family politics aside, Min decided to build his own life rather than to live off legacies of a dead chaebol heiress and greedy white powder king pin.

Alice had simply nodded after noticing the clipped answer coupled with the frowning expression and yawned.

“Come. It’s been quite the night, you should sleep Alice.” Min spoke softly before securing her into a comfortable hold around her and settled them on the couch-turned-bed to sleep for a few hours.

Min’s hold was strange… she knew he was doing out of the need of being comforting and calming and eventually Alice appreciated the gesture. Maybe their friendship could grow closer.

With the promise of one nice thing in her life, Alice felt safe enough to sleep.

Blue eyes.

Cold blue eyes.

Blue roses.

The roses bloomed in his eyes.

There’s a glimmer of cold metal reflecting in those swirling pools of ice.

Full pink lips tugged at the corners into a sinful smirk. The plush flesh parted to speak. His lips moved but Min’s voice flowed from the lips.

It was disturbing; it was like poison in the form of honey.

Alice... Alice... Alice…

Cold hands snared their grip on her. Gun abandoned before her eyes, testing and tempting her.

Alice… Alice... Alice...

Alice jolted up from Min’s hold.

There was sweat coating her temples and nape and her hair came undone from her bun. It mixed with the sweat, clinging uncomfortably to her skin. Feeling around, she found her phone. It was six in the morning. She panicked as she dwelt on her dream.

She dreamt of the criminal who unnerved her beyond comprehension the night before. She had completely forgotten about the fact that she had slept over at Min’s and she had failed to feel his arms around her. Min had said nothing and stroked over her back before rubbing soft circles at the small of her back.

“Min…” she cracked, still stunned.

“You’re okay, Alice, its trauma and it will pass. You were having a bad dream but you’re perfectly safe.” He assured her softly as his morning voice filled her ears. It was so strange seeing the different side of Min outside of work.

“Do you want to come to work or stay here?” Min asked gently, fingers combing through her hair gently.

“I’m a big girl. I can handle this, Min. Besides I need cash for my shoddy apartment.” Alice scoffed and smiled. Min laughed, “Why work when you own my ass and paychecks too?” He teased her and she lightly punched him.

“You’re one to ask about working when you own this nifty apartment – we’re practically in the HUB. How do you afford it?” Alice playfully questioned.

“Hey, firstly, the HUB is twenty minutes even from here and secondly; I fund everything through my prostitution ring.” He said flatly and Alice’s face dropped in horror and she smacked his bicep because she had known Min to be nothing but a gentleman.

“Ow… joking, Alice. I meant to say trust fund.”

“You’re an utter brat!” She practically yelled and Min threw his head back laughing.

“So what’s your allowance like?”

“Three times our Christmas bonus…” her mouth dropped open,”… put together.” Min felt like wincing saying it out aloud.

“Alright, no more talk of money before I cry.” Alice dramatically shook her head.

“Alice, why didn’t you say? You could have said something about it if you were having trouble financially.” Min already had the beginnings of his frown on his face.

“Look, Min, up until last night, we’ve never been this close so I couldn’t say anything. I don’t like talking about money because it usually ends up in favors and I don’t like racking up a list of people I owe shit to. That list is long enough as it is.”

“But I’d never –“ Min started but he forced into silence when Alice left to shower and he sighed. She was struggling.

Well, Min decided, it looks like Alice gets two paycheques a month because she needed it.

The next morning was a flurry of events for Alice.

The morning included a sketchy police officer questioning half-heartedly, a distracted sketch artist who wasn’t even listening to her and a very lackluster investigation of the store – they hadn’t even bothered to take pictures or check for fingerprints! They left after talking for a lengthy period with Mr. Yang and claiming all their security tapes.

Even after enduring the infuriating process with the authorities, Alice had to manage with a whiny prolonged rant that Mr. Yang indulged in about the loss of money. It was exhausting to even think about the deal with anyone else for the day – not exactly a fitting mood for a person who had a people’s-person-type of job.

It was the first time Min saw the man so skittish. He looked pale and had cold sweat sheening on his skin. It was plastering the thin dirty brown hair to his skin. All in all, the superior wasn’t a very pleasant sight to see, not that he was under general circumstances.

Aside from the astounding view, his attitude became foul as he ordered and yelled at Alice and Min through the store. Min was almost tempted to upturn part of his trust fund allowance from his pockets and into the register till just to let the man off their backs. But the idea was tossed aside after Min figured the man would turn into a blood-sucking leech if he discovered the little trickle of cash from Min.

Once the man saw his cash register flowing halfway with money, he left. Alice heaved a sigh as she leaned against the counter.

“God, he’s a nightmare.” She breathed out as Mr. Yang shut the door behind him on his way out.

“I second that.” Min huffed as he chucked the broom into the supply cupboard.

“Hey, Minnie…”

“Yeah?” He called out for a moment before he returned to the counter – Alice had settled for manning the till for the morning shift.

“You think they’re going to catch whoever robbed the store?”

“I hope so,” Min spoke with a traitorous mouth because his mind was telling him it’s highly unlikely – everyone in the Undercity was on someone’s payroll. It’s one of the tricks Lee Household used but Min didn’t know the extent of the details behind it.

Min and Alice carried out double shifts together for about three days until they were utterly and fantastically exhausted so they closed up the store for one evening to sleep. It was approaching eleven and it was a quiet night.

Scratch that, it was dead for the night – not a soul was in sight after sundown even since word had gotten around about the robbery heists reaching their districts.

So upon closing the doors; clean up commenced with Min singing and dancing with his broom while Alice giggled lightly as she packed the shelves and wiped the counter down. She watched at how surprisingly nimble he was when he stepped on the bristle head and spun on it coolly.

Finally done and discarding the gross uniforms into a laundry bag that was placed at the door; Min yanked on his hoodie and flicked his wrists with the material in his grip to throw the hood on. The laundry bag was to be taken to the little laundry service that was just a door down from the store.

Min’s black Charger roared while Alice snapped the final lock in place before tumbling over to the side of the car, riding shotgun. With that, the two settled and drove to Min’s apartment to crash for the rest of the night.

What the two didn’t notice was that they were being watched.

Across the dark car park, where the neon signs died and buzzed annoyingly, sat a dark Chevy Impala. The lone rider sat with a tick in his jaw.

He was angry. The frosty eyes blazed with a fire behind them as he watched the girl. Gritting his teeth, his grip tightened on the steering wheel in frustration.

Four days.

It had been four fucking days and he couldn’t do anything.

Tae was cursing this store to hell and back. Let alone the store, he cursed the blasted girl who worked there. The project was a success and the boss managed to squeeze the money out of the client but…

There just had to be a ‘but’!

Tae growled out.

Thanks to the old man not being entirely useless, a corrupt police officer oversaw the series of shop robberies to cover Tae’s tracks and there wasn’t much since Tae worked cleanly but that last time. He was a bit cocky and he flushed out on a witness according to her report – it seems that pure terror didn’t work in his favor – instead of making her blank on his face, it engraved itself into her memory.

She just had to remember how I looked.

This girl had a thorn in his side at that very moment because the boss refused to pay him out. The old man still considered the job incomplete with the loose ends.

Tae was considering on making the old man a loose end. He was tired of the shit the old man put him through and constantly being nit-picked for his jobs.

At first, he accepted it because it kept him good at what he does and left him breathing easy knowing that he covered his ass but these cleanup jobs… It made him feel more at risk than anything.

Just a little longer.

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