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pagelets · 5 months ago

Text

Danger- C.B

Synopsis: Choi Beomgyu is a South Korean spy in a cyberpunk era where South Korea has imposed Prohibition across the entire country. One night out in NeoTokyo, while trying to gather information, Beomgyu meets a girl as mysterious as himself. Falling in love while on duty is a dangerous thing, especially when it’s with someone who has as many secrets as he does.

Disclaimers: nsfw, contains smut.

Word count: 16k

Notes: I recommend you to read this with Gyu's deep voice in your mind (I swear it hits different). And honestly, I don't think Beomgyu would be able to live without his precious 멕주 (aka beer) for 6 whole years, haha.

위험

NeoTokyo, Japan; spring of 2333:

Beomgyu was standing on the sidewalk across from a milk shop. It was night and he had his hands tucked in his black sweats ‘cause of the cold air of late spring. He stared at the sign of the store, the bright red and white lights formed the name: Ichigo’s Palace, “A milk shop”, he muttered to himself before chuckling, “Subtle”, he looked to both sides of the street, then crossed it to enter the establishment.

As he pushed the glass door open, his vision was filled with a scene straight out of a 2000s anime. From the strawberry-shaped booths and the checkered red&white tile floor to the oversized milk cartons pinned on the walls— with their kawaii faces grinning at him— made him feel like he was trapped into some kind of bizarre coffee shop video game, “What the hell…”. Approaching the counter, he hesitated before pressing the button on the touchscreen, the monitor flickered to life, revealing a cute virtual attendant, wearing a maid outfit. Her oversized eyes sparkled, and her high pitched voice greeted him cheerfully: “Welcome to Ichigo’s Palace! How can I help you today?”, Beomgyu moisturized his lips before saying the secret code he had memorized, “One strawbeery milk, please”. As the words came out of his mouth, the screen froze, then turned black for a few moments, before showing a message: please proceed to the payphone at the end of the corridor on your right, he obeyed the virtual command, wondering what was a payphone during his ride down the hall. He couldn't avoid glancing around looking for cameras, he found 2 hidden among the milkshakes and desserts advertising on the walls.

He turned to the right and saw a large, rectangular, metallic thing attached to the wall. It had a moving part—the receiver— that resembled another device he had seen once in an antique store in Busan, “Using old technology to avoid being tracked… clever”, he thought.

Beomgyu reached out his hand, pulled the receiver off the hook and brought it to his ear, but immediately had to pull away due to a loud buzz coming from the other end of the line, “Shit!”, he cursed while pressing his ear, “Hello? Is there anyone there?”, he heard a voice coming from the speaker, “Yes”, he said placing it back to his ear, “Name and ID number, please” “Chen Beomgyu, 130301040319” “Hold on”, after a few minutes of silence the voice came back, “Please, put the receiver back on the hook and protect your head with your forearms” “What?!”, he asked, confused, but the only response he got was another loud buzz. He pulled the receiver away from his head and stared at it, unsure of what to do. Then, the floor gave away beneath his feet, pulling him down into a dark hole. Beomgyu felt a bang to his head, instantly regretting not obeying the mysterious voice. He couldn’t see anything and had no idea where he was going to, but by the way his body was moving, making sharp curves at a high speed, he assumed he was on a slide heading to the speakeasy bar, “Aaaaahhh!”, he shouted, his deep voice echoing through the metallic tube, “How did I end up here?”, he asked to himself.

Choi Beomgyu ended up in a turbulent, dark slide beneath a milk shop in NeoTokyo, with a fake identity and a mission to investigate clandestin bars because he was a spy for the South Korean government. 6 years ago, in 2327, the South Koren president decided to ban alcohol consumption, under the pretext of providing a longer and healthier life for the citizens. But the actual truth was, the president was a clever player, th alcohol producers, including artisans and industrials, had been gaining more and more political influence. Fearing losing his power to them, the president implemented the Prohibition, and it didn’t happen only in Korea, but also in one of its main allies, Japan. Together, they launched an anti-alcohol campaign across all Asia. Industries were closed and liters of alcohol were burned in public places, even so, illegal bars and shops still existed,that’s where Beomgyu’s job came in— locating, investigating and commanding the destruction of those places, as well as arresting those who kept them running, was the role of the army and its advanced reconnaissance squads.

According to his contacts in Japan, the milk shop was also a front for a clandestin bar, the Japanese spies couldn’t infiltrate ‘cause all their IDs were marked by the criminals. But Beomgyu was Korean, young, had a charming smile and incredible persuasion skills— including his cute pout in extreme cases. That’s why he was there.

He wished he hadn't complained about the slide because when he reached the end, he fell into a ball pit that, instead of colorful balls, had purple and cyan cubes with a jelly consistency to cushion the fall. He was submerged among the cubes, which glowed in a neon glow, “Biotech”, he tought, before moving to the surface and breathing deeply.

Around the ball pit, was the supposed bar, decorated in neon tones of purple, green, blue, and pink. The walls were made of metal, giving the place an industrial vibe. On the ceiling, there were black and blue light lamps and tubes which a yellow fluorescent liquid flowed through. Electronic music played from the speakers, and he could feel the bass vibration on his chest. People danced nonchalantly on the dancefloor, holding different laboratory glassware containing neon liquids in various colors— it was a true underground rave.“Clandestin, but not amateur”, he thought.

He left the ball pit and moved through the crowd, cautiously scanning the place: there were no cameras, no guards, no doors or even a single window, the place seemed to have been designed to prevent any sort of invasion. For a spy, that place was a trap, in which he was completely locked in. He leaned over the counter, and there was a bartender with a bionic arm on the other side, “How can I help you tonight, sir?” “Beer. Cold”, he said, “Right away”, the man went to the kitchen, leaving Beomgyu alone. He sat on the bar stool, still alert, his fingers drummed against the counter while he tried to architect an escaping plan in the back of his head, but still seemed impossible— he definitely couldn’t crawl the slide up and it had no perspective of getting out of that place. The same man from before came back with his beer, “Your drink, sir” “Thank you”, the drink had a radioactive chic look, glowing fluorescent pink and served in a chemistry glassware, a Beaker. Beomgyu grabbed the container and looked at it with suspicion, “Is this thing radioactive?”, he said loud enough to catch the attention of a woman sitting a few stools away, “Relax, you won’t die. At least not of that”, she said in a playful tone.

He looked toward the sweet voice coming from his right, the woman seemed young, not like a teenager, but like a mature woman in her mid 20s. She had an octopus tattooed on her right hand, and he was almost certain that her arms— exposed by a black tank top— were stronger than his. Besides that, she had dark short hair styled in an undercut, with locks dyed in blue, pink and green that glowed under the black and blue lights. She was a badass, that was for sure, maybe even an outcast. “Are you sure?”, he asked, his face relaxing for the first time since he stepped into that place, “Yes, beer is my go-to in this place”, she said before drinking the glowing blue drink that was in a round bottom flask.

Beomgyu adjusted himself on the barstool, turning toward her. "So, do you come here often?, she smirked, “You like asking questions, don't you...", she left room for him to say his name, "Beomgyu. Chen Beomgyu" "Beomgyu..." Isn't that a Korean name?" “Damn. She's sharp”, he thought, "My great grandfather was Korean"

"Ah! So you have Korean heritage” "I guess so”, he shrugged. She smiled, then raised her frask, "To the Koreans, who made this place possible”, he raised his Beaker, laughing, “Cheers!" “Cheers!”. He brought the glass to his lips and drank the suspicious drink, the cold beer hit his throat like magic, the bitter taste in contrast with the smooth bubbles of the carbonation, feeling like a dream to him. She watched his Adam's apple move up and down as he swallowed the drink, she couldn't deny that he was attractive. After drinking half the beer, he let out a satisfied sound, something like: "Ah!", which made him even more attractive. "Was it good?", she asked, "It was perfect. I haven’t drunk beer in years” "Well, you’re in the right place now”. He looked at her in a way he shouldn’t have, he should’ve been subtly questioning her to maybe get some useful information about that bar. But no, there he was, looking at her and thinking of compliments, thinking about how he wanted to ask her questions— not to investigate the place— but to get to know her better. "You’re beautiful, you know that?", he let it slip, "Do you think so?" "I do" "Thanks…", she felt her cheeks burn and a shy smile form on her lips so she grabbed her drink and tried to hide her flusterness behind the glass. Beomgyu followed along, "It even tastes like real beer, doesn’t it?, she commented, changing the subject, "This isn’t real beer?", she laughed. "Beomgyu, stop asking questions!”, suddenly she stood up, “C’ mon” “Where are we going?” “Dancing, silly”, he didn’t move an inch, “C’mon! I won’t bite you”, she offered her hand, he switched his gaze from her hand to her eyes, which begged him to accept. Hesitantly, Beomgyu grabbed her hand and after emptying the Beaker, stood up and followed her to the dance floor.

“What are you doing?”, he asked himself while they moved through the crowd, “You're not here to have fun, you're here on duty, to find clues”, he lectured on himself, but his conscious didn't matter at that moment, what mattered was to see her happy and if dancing with him was going to make her happy, he was going to dance with her.

“So…”, he started— his voice slightly louder to be heard over the music— as they danced to the sound of another electric beat coming from the speakers, “...are you a regular?” “You already asked me that” “And you haven’t answered”, instead of answering, she turned around and glued the back of her body in front of his, he could feel her ass pressing against his crotch. He could already feel the blood flow increasing in the area of his genitals as he moved her hips in swing motions, completely lost in the music— driving him insane. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, when he opened again, he spotted the tattoo he saw earlier, “I like your tattoo”, she turned her neck to look at him, “Which one?” “The octopus”, he showed her the back of his own hand, “Right! I forget that’s the only tattoo other people can see” “Do you have others?” “Oh, a lot more” “Really?” “Yes”. She turned to face him again, Beomgyu silently thanked for that, then she pulled her tank top up just to show her first left ribs, “TXT”, he read, “Yeah” “What’s that?” “Something really special to me”, she put her top down again. “You don’t really like answering questions, do you?”, he teased her, “And you really like asking them, don’t you?”, she teased back, “Well, I do like actually” “Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”, she said approaching him, “Don’t you think that not answering them it’s even more suspicious?”, she looked into his eyes, “I have nothing to hide, Beomgyu”. Their hearts were beating faster, their breaths getting shallow, maybe because of the drinks or maybe because of the undeniable chemistry they had, “Neither do I”, he was lying, of course, but also was she, they both could tell, but both of them couldn’t care less.

All that mattered was that they were leaning in, their lips were getting closer and closer, almost blending into a beautiful mistake when they heard the sound of something crashing in the background, Beomgyu turned toward the noise, a shower of glass came flying their way, so he immediately turned back to shield and protect her.

That mess was the result of 2 idiots getting into a fight and spoiling everyone's night. “Shit! Are you ok?”, she cursed underneath the protection of his body, “Yes”, he tried to suppress a moan of pain, “Just some scratches. How about you?” “I’m good”, the two brawlers started to get more aggressive, “Fuck those assholes! Let's get out of here”, she said, “How?” “Just follow me”, she said, grabbing his hand, not really giving him much option, and dragged him with her towards the kitchen. He concluded she was a regular customer, since she knew a way of getting out of that bunker, as they moved through the kitchen, dodging droids and cyborgs, his eyes scanned the cabinets, appliances, and utensils, trying to figure out where the secret exit was. Until she stopped in front of an industrial freezer, "Are you a fan of the cold?" "Not really” "Then you might not like what I'm about to tell you”, she said, opening the freezer door, "Please don’t tell me there’s another slide in there”, she laughed, "No, no. Just a few meters of ice. You go in, walk until you reach the edge, climb down the fire escape, and jump” "Where does that lead?" "An old abandoned subway station" "A ghost station?"

"Yes. From there, we can walk to Ginza” "Alright" "Now go, I’ll be right behind you", Beomgyu nodded in agreement. He took a deep breath before stepping into the freezer, the cold air got into his nostrils, burning them, he could hear the sound of ice cracking around him, "Who thought it was a good idea?", he complained, squinting his eyes as the icy wind blew against his face— he could swear he’d leave that place with frozen eyelashes. But his agony was about to end, after walking a few meters, he reached the edge of a drop, looking down, it seemed more like a sewer than a train station. With his hands trembling from the cold, he grabbed the freezing metal of the fire escape and climbed down, being careful not to slip. With a jump, he landed in the mysterious ghost station, the first thing he did was look around as always, the armed guards he missed in the bar were down there, illuminated by neon blue lights, “Whoever did all that, it’s a fucking genius”, he thought. Beomgyu tried not to stare too much, but it was almost impossible, the men were tall and strong, like walking walls, and they carried rifles in their hands. There were also machine guns on the ground, probably for defense against attacks.

He nodded casually at one of the guards who was suspiciously staring at him, the man nodded back, gripping his weapon tightly, "Don’t be nervous" he heard her voice coming from above, "Anyone new is suspicious”, she said descending the ladder. Beomgyu quickly moved to hold her by the waist, helping her come down, "Thanks," she said when she reached the ground with him, "Where are you heading?" she asked, "Shibuya" "Great! We can walk to Ginza together". "What’s the story of this place?" he asked as they walked,

"The abandoned station?" "Yeah" "From what I know it was occupied during the rebellions when Prohibition was implemented. After it ended it stayed abandoned until they built the bar here" "You know a lot of things" "Not really", she shrugged, "You know… I never imagined myself doing something like this", he confessed, "Like what?" "Walking on an underground train rail with a stranger, surrounded by armed men after witnessing a bar brawl", she laughed, "What?! How have you never done this before?" "What? Have you?" "Of course! All the time, actually" "Maybe you could teach me how to have fun” "Yeah, I think so. You could use some lessons”, he placed a hand on his chest, pretending he was offended, but before he could say something, she stopped and climbed another fire escape under a manhole cover. She pushed the cover open and looked around before sliding it to the side and stepping out, "Come on!" she said, looking down at him, he climbed the ladder, putting his head out first— it was a dark, empty alley, the only light was an old Japanese sodium vapor lamp, relatively safe. She reached out her hand to help him climb up, he took it, feeling the strength he had already guessed she had, "Wow, you’re strong. Were you ever in the military?" he ventured, she gave him a smile, chuckling softly, "Good guess". She slid the manhole cover back into place, "I think that’s hot", he said, completely unfiltered as she walked toward him, "You think so?" "Yeah”, their bodies were close, hearts already racing, and breaths were slightly heavy once again. His eyes blinked slowly, and he moisturized his lips, a sign of what was about to happen. She was so beautiful, even more so close like that. Beomgyu looked down at her slightly lifted heels, and then he looked up again. Without being able to control himself, he bent down, her face drawing closer to his. His stomach knotted with anticipation, their lips approached more and more , until they finally met in a passionate, desperate kiss. His spy instincts— never let your guard down— completely failing. Beomgyu hadn’t felt the euphoria of drinking in a long time, so he wasn’t sure if it was the beer or the kiss that brought it back. After they pulled away searching for oxygen, completely against their wishes, she avoided his eyes, she was shy, something that Beomgyu never thought it was possible to see, “You didn't say your name”, he asked with a smile printed on his face. She introduced herself, “Nice to meet you” “Nice to meet you too, Beomgyu” “Do you live around Ginza?”, she smiled, “There you go with your questions again” “Answer at least this one”, he pouted, making her roll her eyes, “Fine. I live in Shimokitazawa with some friends” “With friends?” “Yes, 4 friends. Me and 4 guys” “Do you live with 4 guys?”, asked, completely in disbelief, “Yeah” “You’re courageous” “I know. What about you?” “I live by myself in Shibuya” “You should try living with your friends, it’s so much fun” “I don’t have any friends” “Well, now you have me” “But…”, he approached his lips to her ear, “...what if I don’t want to be friends only?”, she smirked, “So we should meet again” “Yes”, she grabbed her phone from her pocket, “Leave your number” “Okay”, he mumbled shyly, tapping his phone number, “There you go” “Alright. I text you”, he nodded, “Have a good night, Beomgyu. And stop asking questions, you can get in trouble because of that”, she said before winking and walking away to disappear in the night.

At the end of the day, as Beomgyu floated home, completely lost in ecstasy, he was sure of one thing only— it wasn't about his mission, nor about the girl, but about himself: he was completely screwed.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

In a cozy apartment in Shimokitazawa:

Yeonjun dragged his tired body to the living room. He heard a sound coming from there, and since he lost at rock, paper, scissors, he was the one who had to check what was going on. He held a hair straightener in one hand, hoping it would be enough to beat the supposed thief, but thankfully, it wasn't. It was just one of his roommates, "Bro, what are you doing? It's 3 AM”, he complained to her, who had her head stuck in the fridge, looking for a snack, "I'm hungry” "Where were you?" "At the bar” "How was it?", he said, throwing his tired body on the couch. She grabbed a bowl with green grapes and joined him on the couch, "It was good. I met a cute guy”, Yeonjun smirked, "Really?” "Yes” "And how was it?" "It was good. He's a weird type who asks a lot of questions, but is very charming" "What kind of questions?” "About the bar. I suspect he is Korean" "Why do you think that?" "He said he hasn't drunk beer in six years, and he lives alone in Japan, no friends, no family" "Maybe he left the country to drink something that doesn't taste or look like dirty water”, Yeonjun referred to the beverage the government replaced alcohol with, something very suspicious and disgusting. She laughed, placing the bowl down and grabbing the remote, "I recorded a drama" "Did you? Let’s watch it" "Should we call the other guys?" "I’ll wake them up" “Alright”.

There were five of them in total: Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin, Kang Taehyun, Huening Kai, and her. Together, they were TXT, short for Tomorrow X Together, a gang of exiled South Korean former soldiers. They operated with other gangs in Japan, trying to get rid of every person involved with the South Korean government— it didn’t matter how, they were going to get their revenge. Years of serving their nation only to be discarded like that would not be forgiven.

She opened the texting app and sent a picture of the grape bowl to Beomgyu:

‘Have you eaten already?’

Then she locked her phone and closed her eyes, thinking about their kiss.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

Shibuya, NeoTokyo, Japan:

In a dark and wet underground garage, Beomgyu was struggling to take his fake contacts from his left eye, “Why is this thing so annoying?”, he grumbled to Jeongin, aka I.N, his partner for that mission, that guy was good with computers, so while Beomgyu collected information, I.N broke them down. “Did you rather get an implanted camera?” “Not even death”, he heard creepy stories about implantations which went very wrong, “Just a little more and…”, he took the lens out of his red eye, “Ugh! That’s ugly, bro. You should put some saline solution in that eye, man” “Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and watch the tape” “Alright”, Beomgyu went to the bathroom and looked for some gauze and saline solution, his eye hurt really bad every time he used that contact. He heard a buzz coming from his pocket and grabbed his phone to see what it was: a text from her. She was eating grapes and wanted to know if he had eaten already. He smiled, no one cared about if he had eat or not since his mother died when he was just 14 years old:

‘I haven't yet’, he replied back,

‘Go eat, then’

‘I’ll soon’

‘Can't stop thinking about our kiss…’, she confessed. He was about to answer ‘me too’, when he remembered I.N was watching the whole thing he recorded through the hidden camera on the fake contacts, “Shit!”. He placed his phone on the metallic sink and ran to the other room, exactly in the part when they kissed. Of course nothing could be seen since he had his eyes closed but it could be heard, Jeongin turned around and looked at him “Bro…” “Why are you still watching it?”, Beomgyu asked, completely embarrassed, “Her moans are sexy”, the other man felt his blood boiling out of embarrassment, “Take that off!” “Why? Don’t you think this is sexy?”. Of course he agreed with Jeongin, but Beomgyu knew what was coming next, his own moans. I.N never reached for a button that fast in his life. He grabbed an empty can of Cherry Coke he had on his desk and threw it on his partner, “Why didn't you say before?!”, Beomgyu dodged the can, “Cause it was embarrassing enough already!”, he shouted, feeling his cheeks burning, “Who's the girl?” “I don't know” “So you kissed a complete stranger?” “I just know her first name. I was investigating her, I think she's a regular to that bar” “That’s an interesting way of investigating someone”, Jeongin teased him before turning back to the computer screen, “Well, while I’ill try to gather information through facial recognition from the images you got, you keep investigating her”, he said casually while he tapped in his keyboard.

Beomgyu nodded, investigating her was the natural thing to do, he knew it— his analytical spy brain knew it— even so, he couldn't help but feel flustered with the idea, he liked her for some reason. His confusion was clearly printed on his face, “You shouldn't have kissed her”, Jeongin said without taking his eyes from the screen, “Excuse me?” “You let your guard down, man.You know, this girl can be involved with illegal stuff. She can either be your way to get more information or she can be your downfall” ” “I know, she’s just…”, I took his bangs from his eyes, “... different. I don’t know why or how but she got my instincts to fail” “Just don’t get too attached, bro. If she’s involved in some operation, she’ll kill you the second she finds out who you really are” “I know that. I won’t get too involved”. Jeongin leaned back in his chair, “Good. Now go take some rest while I dig into this”, Beomgyu just nodded, and dragged his body to the apartment above the humid garage after grabbing his phone in the bathroom.

His mind raced as he thought about her, her confidence, her strength, and the way her lips tasted like sweet watermelon lip gloss and bitter beer. Despite knowing it was dangerous, part of him wanted to see her again, and the other part knew he had to for the good of the mission, so he picked up his phone and replied to her,

‘I can’t stop thinking about it either. Let’s meet again soon, you pick the place ;)’.

After sending the text, he lay on the bed with his back flat to the mattress, staring at the ceiling. He had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he was certain it was not going to end well, either for her or for him.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

Shinjuku, NeoTokyo, Japan:

The next time they saw each other was 2 days later, on a date at a ramen restaurant hidden inside the brick walls of an alley in Shinjuku. The neon lights on the ceiling gave off a soft pink glow over the only counter in the place, creating an intimate and cozy atmosphere. Beomgyu was sitting at the counter, nervously drumming his fingers on it while he waited for her to arrive. Would she really show up? Or was this all part of an ambush? He shouldn’t trust her so much. His chaotic and anxious thoughts calmed down when he saw her walking toward him, gracefully, the colorful strands of her hair glowed even more under the pink light — he had never seen a girl as enchanting as her before, and her smile? Ah, when she smiled at him, all his worries melted away— how could he not trust her? She sat next to him with a playful smile on her lips, “You really are into secret places, aren’t you? First a fake milk shop, now a ramen hidden in the thickness of the wall...", he said, "What can I say? I have a thing for places with personality” "That suits you," she smiled shyly, but before she could respond, the chef came over to take their order. Beomgyu watched as she read the menu and decided what to eat, he was so absorbed in watching her that he lost track of reality, "What about you, sir?" the chef asked. He looked at the man, completely disconnected from himself, "Hum... the same as hers”, the chef nodded, then walked away.

“So, did I pass the test?”, she tilted her head, confused, “Test?” “You know, the one girls do to figure out if the guy’s cool enough to see them again”, she grinned, “You’re so lame! You’re lucky I’m a sucker for charming smiles and too many questions” “I’m just a curious guy. Don’t you think that’s sexy?”, she hummed, “Sexy? I wouldn’t put it like that. It’s more like… How do you say it? Oh, right! Annoying”, he smirked, “Well, since you already think I’m annoying, I’ll keep going with the questions” "Here we go" she rolled her eyes, but the smile that never left her face when she was with him, showed how much she was enjoying that, “What’s the story behind that octopus tattoo?” “The octopus? It’s a reminder” “Of what?” “Of resilience. It can also mean camouflage, you know, adapting to whatever life throws at you” “So you had a rough past?”, she looked at him before sipping her drink. He took advantage of the silence to tease her even more— a strategy to get the information he wanted, “In the military, maybe?”, she choked on her drink, coughing in response, then looked at him pale as if she had seen a ghost, “Did I get it right?”, he said, smirking.

She nodded. "Yes, I was..." she drank more sake, why was she even considering telling her past to someone who was almost a stranger? There had to be something connecting her to him because she couldn’t stop her tongue, "... I was dishonorably discharged” "Am I about to eat ramen with a murderer?", he joked, but she didn’t smile, just shook her head, denying, “A traitor, then?” “Deserter” “Oh!” “Yeah… but what about you?”, she quickly changed the subject, “Any tattoos I should know about?” “None. I’m boring like that.”, she laughed, the tension fading away, “Boring? You go to secret bars and drink radioactive chic beer. Not exactly boring in my opinion” “You have a point. But tell me something, do you always go out with guys you met at that bar?” “No, you’re the first. Consider yourself special” “Special?”, he puffed out his chest, feeling his ego inflated, "I like that”.

Their conversation was interrupted by the chef, "Enjoy your meal," he said, and they thanked him in unison before Beomgyu continued with the conversation, "You said you live in Shimokitazawa, right?", she nodded, "That’s a cool area. What’s it like living with four guys?", he asked between bites, "Chaotic, to say the least”, she shrugged, still chewing, "It’s messy, and also loud. But they’re family, we’ve been through a lot together" "In the military?", she nodded again, "Sounds nice. The family part, not the chaos” "What? Can’t handle a little noise?", she teased. Beomgyu leaned in closer— close enough for his cologne to fill her lungs— and spoke in a low voice, "Depends on the noise". She blushed, placing a hand on her chest and pretending to be innocent, "Are you flirting with me, Chen Beomgyu?!" "Depends. Is it working?”, she stopped chewing, holding her gaze with his , their faces were so close, "Maybe", he gave her a silly grin and leaned back, satisfied, "I can live with that", she smiled shyly, silently begging herself to stop blushing. They continued eating and teasing each other, a playful energy flowing effortlessly between them.

After finishing their meal and chatting, they left the ramen shop, the alleyway was bathed in the glow of neon signs in kanji, reflecting on puddles on the dark pavement. The air was cold, Beomgyu took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. She looked at him with a grateful smile, pulling the edges closer, "You okay?", he asked, "Yeah, why?" "You didn’t even finish your food" "Oh! I enjoy the experience more than the food itself", she glanced at him, "Anyway, I thought spies were supposed to notice these things”, he was almost certain his face turned pale, yet he smiled softly and tried to keep cool, "So now I’m a spy?", she smirked, "Well, you ask too many questions and you show up in unusual places you don’t even go often. Either you’re a spy or a guy with way too much free time" "Maybe I was just meant to be at that bar that night… to meet you”. She stopped walking and looked into his eyes, "That’s more dangerous than being a spy, you know", her tone was playful, but he could see something dark in her gaze, as if she was trying to warn him about something. He let it slide, he was here to investigate her, not to dive deeper into her world—or at least that’s what he kept trying to convince himself, he couldn’t tell the difference anymore. "Dangerous? I think you’re overestimating yourself" "What do you mean?", she raised an eyebrow, trying to get into the shield he kept between them, "That maybe I like danger", he mumbled, she looked away and kept walking, "You should be careful, Beomgyu”.

They passed a street artist playing a smooth jazz melody on a saxophone, Beomgyu subtly followed along the rhythm with his head, she glanced at him—he was so cute, yet so enchanting— he shouldn’t be with someone like her, with dirty secrets and full of sins. "Why did you want to see me again?", she asked, he looked at her, surprised by the question, "Do I need a reason?" "People usually seek out others for their own benefit. What do you want from me?", he turned to face her, "Can’t I just want to spend quality time with you?" "I don’t understand how someone like you could simply want to spend time with someone like me" "Someone like me?" "Yeah. Predictable", he chuckled internally— If there was one thing Beomgyu wasn’t, it was predictable. "Ouch" "Predictable isn’t always bad” "If I’m predictable, then you’re full of surprises" "I know". He took a few steps closer to her tilting his head slightly, carefully choosing his words, "Maybe someone like me just needs someone like you", she kept eye contact, her expression completely unreadable, "Look, if I were a spy, I’d say you’re impossible to crack" "That’s exactly what I’m trying to do" "Have I mentioned I like challenges?" "Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be my downfall?", she said, "Because I feel the same way". “Beomgyu...", their voices were barely audible, "Hum?" "I’m no good" "I’m not looking for any good" "You have no idea what you’re saying, what you’re getting yourself into by wanting to be with me" "Then tell me. Let me in". At this point, Beomgyu wasn’t investigating anymore, he was on a date, his mouth was spilling nothing but raw truths and raw feelings— he meant every single word.

In the heat of the moment, she grabbed his neck and pressed her lips to his in a heated kiss, full of emotions. The sensation of his warm tongue contrasted with the cold night, sending shivers down her body, his hands roamed her curves as if his life depended on it. His training taught him how to identify and avoid getting trapped, but that time? That time he fell into the ambush, completely entrapped, with not even a cyanide pill to escape. When they pulled away, she wiped her lipstick stains from his lips with her thumb while his hands firmly rested on her waist, "Come on, let’s hit the bar" "Do I have to go down that slide again?" "Yes" "Damn" "It’s okay if you want to call it a night" "Are you going to the bar?" "Yes" "Then I’m coming with you”.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

The next morning, Beomgyu woke up naked in an unfamiliar bed. Beside him, her sleeping— also naked— body rested peacefully. The sunlight intensified his throbbing headache so much that he could barely think. Great—he was naked, hungover, and in a place he didn’t recognize, Jeongin was going to love it. He scanned the room, wondering how he’d ended up there, the place wasn’t exactly neat, and by the amount of women’s clothes scattered all over the floor, he assumed it was her room.

A sudden stab of pain in his head brought back reminisces of the previous night, he remembered his bare body on top of hers, sweat dripping onto her chest, rising and falling with effort due to her heavy breathing as he gave slow, deep, blissful thrusts... All of sudden, he knew why his back burned, a reminder that her nails had left behind. He looked at her, she looked so beautiful sleeping like that, with her bare chest coming up and down at a cool pace, so different from the last night. He snapped out of his thoughts when his eyes caught sight of the tattoo on her ribs—TXT. His fingertips touched it softly, “What the heck is that?”, he wondered, “Maybe something related to her time in the military or even an old high school band…”.

“Good morning”, her lazy voice broke his inner monologue. He retreated his hand from her ribs and looked at her with his usual enchanting smile, “Good morning. Did I wake you up?” “Nah. It was the light” “Do you also have a headache?”, she nodded while rubbing her eyes, “I can get you Advil if you want to” “Please”, he muttered, “Can I also have water?”, she stepped out of the bed, searching for a shirt, “Sure”, he nodded, “I’ll be back soon. Feel free to take a shower”, she pointed to the bathroom, “Okay, thank you”, she muttered something he didn't understand before leaving the bedroom. He looked around, a note at the bedside table caught his attention, it said:

“Meet me at The Rooftop Garden tomorrow at 8PM

-Tae”

He hummed, it was a great opportunity to investigate her without being caught up in the moment and waking up next to her in the morning after. He took a mental note of his new appointment before putting the note back in its place. The room had a lot of her personality, it was decorated with old action movie posters, fluorescent string lights, lava lamps, a gaming PC with a colorful keyboard, piles of clothes in some corners, platform boots scattered around— kinda messy with a retro vibe. But nothing seemed suspicious other than that note, either she was innocent, or she was very good at hiding her tracks.

With his head throbbing, he decided to take a break and take a shower to relax.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

After taking a shower and popping an Advil, he found himself in the kitchen having breakfast, something rare for him. They were laughing together when other 4 tall men came into the room, their sweaty hair sticking to their foreheads, “Must be the roommates”, he guessed. They greeted her, the tallest of them messing with her hair. “Who’s him?”, Yeonjun asked, “This is Chen Beomgyu, I met him at the bar. Beomgyu, these are Choi Soobin, Choi Yeonjun, Kang Taehyun and Huening Kai, my best friends and roommates” “Nice to meet you all”, he said politely. Yeonjun, Kai and Soobin greeted him casually,except from Taehyun, his silence made it clear he didn’t like the new guest.

“Coming from the gym?”, Beomgyu asked, attempting to small talk, “How did you guess?”, Yeonjun asked, completely astonished, “I’m just good at guessing things” “He really is”, she confirmed, smiling.

“We also went shopping”, Kai added, “Soob’s making meatballs and pasta for lunch today” “No!”, she whined— Soobin wasn’t the best cook in the house— “Can you at least pretend you like my food in front of the guests?”, Soobin scolded her, though his tone was playful, “That’’s a no”, he ignored her before turning to Beomgyu, “Are you staying for lunch, Beomgyu?” “Oh, no. I’ll be heading out soon” “I will brush my teeth and take you to the train station”, she suggested, “Alright”, just like that she disappeared down the hall, leaving Beomgyu alone with her friends.

With his peripheral vision, he could see Taehyun staring at him, which was more uncomfortable than the headache from before, “So…”, Kai began, sitting next to him, “What do you do for a living Beomgyu?” “I work with cybersecurity” “That's nice”, he nodded, “What about you guys?”, the 4 men exchanged glances, silently communicating between themselves. “We….”, Kai hesitated, his eyes pleading for Yeonjun’s help, “... work from home”, the older one smoothly finished the sentence, “That’s cool. What do you work with?” “We work with gaming development”, Yeonjun continued, “Really?”, Beomgyu knew they were lying, what he was trying to figure out was why, “Yes. Except for Taehyun, he's a bouncer in a nightclub”. Beomgyu’s gaze shifted to Taehyun, his dead cold stare still on him. “I haven’t been to a nightclub in a while. Cause of alcohol, you know” “We only serve diaries”, he nodded in acknowledgment, looking back at Kai,” So, you all run a game development company?” “Yep,” Kai said, he was nervous, a trained spy like Beomgiyu could tell, “It’s called TXT”. Taehyun’s jaw tightened, clearly irritated that Kai was revealing their actual name, “TXT? What does that stand for?” “Tomorrow by Together,” Kai said quickly, “It means we work together for a better tomorrow” “Creative,” Beomgyu said with a small smile, “I know. She picked the name” “Did she?”. Taehyun had enough, he stood up, walking towards the table to interrupt the conversation, “You really like asking questions, don't you?” “Yes, he really does”, she answered, walking back to the kitchen with something in the palm of her hand, “Look”, she showed it to Beomgyu, “I found this on my bedside table”, he looked at her hands— she was holding his fake contact. “Shit! I completely forgot about them” “I just could find one, tho” “I only took one off”, he replied casually, grabbing it, “Why?”, Taehyun asked, even more suspicious, “So Jeongin wouldn’t watch us later”, he thought. Instead, he answered, “My left eye was irritated” “Really? You eye looks fine to me”, Taehyun said, narrowing his eyes, “Okay, Tae, enough”, she interjected, grabbing her keys, “Let’s get going, Gyu, you’re infecting him, he never asks this many questions”. Beomgyu chuckled, standing up to shake hands with the men in front of him, Taehyun’s grip felt like the bones of his hand were being crushed, “Watch out, Chen Beomgyu. With the bar, I mean, alcohol’s no good for that hurt eye of yours. Stop by the club sometime, for having some real milk”, Taehyun said as low as a mutter, “I’ll think about it,” Beomgyu replied, avoiding Taehyun’s eyes.

As they walked out, Taehyun watched their figures getting smaller and smaller. “Something’s off about that guy,” he thought, hoping he was wrong.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

The Rooftop Garden:

Beomgyu adjusted the collar of his leather jacket as the transparent elevator hummed softly, its walls giving him a full view of the neon city under his feet. The sea of holograms and skyscrapers taking his breath away. The Rooftop was a floating rooftop garden, some kind of tropical paradise for the elite and outlaws, suspended high above the chaos of the city. He only had heard whispers about that place, he even doubted it actually existed.

Suddenly the elevator slowed down and the doors slid open soundlessly, revealing the garden. The platform floated in the air, held up by some type of magnetism, it was breathtaking, almost from another world.

A tropical greenery filled with monstera, palm leaves, and heliconia plants dominated the scene. A cascade of ferns, illuminated by bioluminescent mushrooms, gave the environment a soft, ethereal glow. Cherry blossoms moved gently in the cool breeze, their petals falling slowly like snow. The air was surprisingly fresh for a late spring night, highlighting the contrast between the metallic atmosphere of the city with the sweet aroma of the herb being smoked there.

Holographic koi fish swam through what appeared to be pools embedded in the transparent floor of the garden. At the center stood a crystalline booth selling smoothies and açai bowls.

The place was full, yet calm. He activated his trained hearing, trying to listen beyond the gentle hum of dispersed conversations, searching for her familiar voice. At the edge of the garden, behind a curtain of cascading ferns, he saw her.

She was sitting on a bench, leaning back with her legs crossed, Taehyun was sitting next to her, his posture relaxed but still alert, his expression was unreadable as usual. A trail of smoke curled up in the air from the herb they were sharing, the emerald green glow matching the colors of the neon lights reflected on the vegetation.

Beomgyu blended in the shadows, carefully moving closer, his hearing never leaving their conversation, “Our next target is big. If we make it, we’ll be untouchable”, the girl said, her voice calm but with a hint of anxiety in it, “But it's very dangerous, we must move fast”, she completed. Taehyun exhaled a cloud of smoke, he glanced over the curtain of fern, exactly where Beomgyu was hidden behind like he could feel his presence. Beomgyu froze, his breath getting heavy. Did Taehyun see him? She continued, lost in her own mind, “Do you and Yeonjun already prepared everything for tomorrow?” Taehyun finally looked away, then nodded, “Yes. Our package was delivered today. Our allies will implant it in the basement of the brothel tonight” “Good. How is that place called again? The holographic geisha? Something like that?” “The wired geisha” “Wired!”, she acknowledged, exhaling a cloud of the green smoke. Taehyun chuckled sarcastically, the man was resentful, “That's what the diplomats of our country do, they go on supposed businesses trips to eat the finest ramen, sleep in th best beds and fuck chromehead geishas while honest and innocent people are expatriate”, Taehyun said with a hint of disappointed in his voice, “Korea isn't my country. Not anymore” “I know, sorry”, Beomgyu's stomach twisted, so was she also Korean? He asked himself, his instincts telling him to walk away when it was still time, but his emotions didn't let him move. How could she make his earthquake like that?

His instincts kicked in even more when he saw them standing up and preparing to leave. Taehyun crushed the glowing herb with his black military boots, Beomgyu caught the metallic glint of an object attached to his belt. A weapon? Whatever it was, he carried it with the confidence of someone who knew how to use it. They began walking out of the green curtain toward the elevator, and Beomgyu knew he needed to move fast before someone caught him hiding he knew staying there could be a fatal mistake. Pretending to adjust the sleeve of his jacket, he silently slipped into the light, maintaining distance from the duo, his mind already thinking of a convincing excuse in case he was noticed.

She was talking about what Soobin was going to make for dinner, mindlessly, when Taehyun noticed a shadow approaching them from behind, “Wait,” he said sharply, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. Beomgyu rushed to behind a bush when he heard Taehyun. The TXT member stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the area. Beomgyu had to act quickly, running would be too suspicious, so he decided to step out from the bushes with a relaxed expression on his face as if he was simply admiring the garden. Her eyes widened when she saw the familiar frame emerging from the greenery, “Beomgyu?”, she called without thinking much, he looked at them as if he was surprised, “Oh, you guys are here too,” he said with a casual tone in his voice and a smile. He switched his gaze toward the mushrooms, as if the view was more interesting than they were. Taehyun didn’t seem to be convinced, he stepped forward, eyes locked on Beomgyu’s trying to see into his soul. She tilted her head slightly, also studying Beomgyu, she was no fool, “Do you like places like this?” she asked, her tone casual yet curious. Beomgyu shrugged, “I heard about the place. Seems like a good place to relax, right? I was needing to relax”, he looked directly at Taehyun, making sure he noted his indifference, “Are you alone?” Taehyun asked, his jaw completely tense, “Yes. I don’t have family or friends in the country” “She mentioned” “Didn’t expect to run into familiar faces here” “What are the odds, huh?”, Tae murmured, not even bothering to hide his suspiciousness, Beomgyu chuckled softly, gesturing toward the bar. “Actually, I was thinking of grabbing an açai bowl. Is a tropical fruit, I heard is pretty good”. She exchanged a quick glance with Taehyun before responding, “Well, we’re leaving already. Why don’t you join us on our way to the elevator?”. Beomgyu bit his tongue, trying to suppress the discomfort that her invitation made him feel, he knew refusing would be worse, so he smiled and nodded. “Sure. Why not?”

As they walked together, Beomgyu kept commenting about the garden’s design and the city view, trying not to show his anxiety, even though if one of them grabbed his hands, he’d be in trouble as sweaty as they were. It was clear they were already suspicious, but he worked to maintain the image of a curious visitor lost in the charm of the extravagant place. Inside the elevator, he had nothing to say anymore so the silence grew heavier, Taehyun remained alert, his gaze burned Beomgyu’s back the whole ride till they landed in his keychain hooked on his belt, a familiar symbol to Taehyun, the insignia of one of the South Korean army’s squad, he knew something was off. “So, what did you think of the garden?” she asked, finally breaking the silence. Beomgyu kept smiling, “So beautiful. A little bit of peace in the middle of all the chaos down there. Sometimes it’s nice to escape for a while, don’t you think?”, she nodded, “You guys didn’t seem too impressed with the garden” “We’re used to coming here” “Oh! I see”. When the elevator reached the ground floor, Beomgyu casually said goodbye before walking away without daring looking back, he knew they would be watching him. He did his best to maintain his relaxed posture until he blended into the crowd of the city.

Once he was far enough, he stopped in an empty alley, leaned back against the cold brick wall and placed his hands on his knees. Finally he could exhale, his heart still beating hard in his chest, damn shadow, he would need to be more careful next time. The adrenaline rushed in his blood, they were going to attack Korean diplomats? They were Korean? Was she indeed involved with crime? He had so many questions, how was he supposed to find the answers? How was he going to make them say anything now that Taehyun was even more suspicious? How was he going to… but then, a glimpse of her tattoo flashed into his head, “What’s TXT?” “A very important thing to me”, “TXT?” “Yes, is our company’s name”, those moments flashbacked on his mind, and then, he knew. TXT was the answer to everything he was looking for. He pulled the hoodie he was wearing under his jacket to his head and ran back to Shibuya, if someone could help him in that city, that person was Jeongin.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

“I.N”, Beomgyu called out his partner, breathless from running, “You’re back already?”, he spun his chair to face Beomgyu, “Did you find anything about the girl?” “Still nothing. There’s no facial recognition record of her in the Japanese archives, so I’m searching through other countries databases. It’s going to take a while since I need special permission for that”, Beomgyu sat on a chair and started untying his shoes, “Can you figure out what TXT is?” “T what?” “TXT. Tomorrow X Together, with an X.”

“I can take a look”, Jeongin turned to the computer and started typing on the keyboard, searching on the national archive, “Apparently… it’s a gang” “A gang?!” “Yes, it’s in the Japanese police’s wanted criminals registry” “I knew it had to be something like that”, Beomgyu muttered to himself, “What do you mean?” “I heard their conversation. They’re planning to attack a brothel full of Korean diplomats tomorrow” “You said ‘they’, was she with someone else?” “Yes, a friend” “Do you know have his full name?” “Kang Taehyun”, Jeongin typed the name in the search bar, “Also nothing”. Bemgyu remembered of Taehyun’s words— our country— “Try in the Korean archives” “Korean?” “Yes, go ahead search there”. I.N obeyed, his fingers moving across the keyboard, Beomgyu watched the screen carefully, as Jeongin selected the eligible citizens. “That one!”, he shouted when his partner clicked on the name with the photo that matched the man they were looking for. “Ex-military, dishonorably discharged for deserting his position as a protest against the Prohibition”.

Beomgyu let out a disbelieving chuckled, “I can’t believe it,” Beomgyu muttered, his voice was shaky. He buried his face on his hands, his breath becoming shallow, his heart pounding like a clockwork. Jeongin looked at him, confused at his partner’s sudden breakdown, “Damn it! She told me the same story”, he shouted. Beomgyu couldn’t, or rather, he didn’t want to, believe it, she was a criminal, a traitor to her nation, and worse, she probably was involved in the illegal bar scheme. And he was falling in love with her.

Jeongin pulled him out of his turbulent cloud of thoughts by tossing him a device, “What’s this for?” “To report the attack. So they’ll be busted” “No! Taehyun already suspects of me. He’ll know who did that” “So what?” “I need more time to investigate them. I’m almost certain they’re involved with the illegal bar. They have the answers, but if they get arrested, it’s over. Our mission is over” “I’m going to pretend you’re not doing this just because of her” “Jeongin” “Am I wrong?” “I’ll stop the attack, but don’t say anything to anyone, okay?”. Jeongin sighed, shaking his head, the things he would do for Beomgyu, “Look, I’ll keep my mouth shut, but if any of the diplomats die or get hurt, I’ll report them with no hesitation. And also you” “Fair enough”, I.N nodded, “And Beomgyu…” “Hum?”

“Try not to die, you idiot” “I’ll do my best, bro”.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

The night of the attack:

Beomgyu had spent the last four hours on top of a building across the street from the brothel, he had never seen a place like that before, its architecture was old, probably was an actual chaya in the past, but the neon sign of a naked chromed geisha—with one bionic eye and arm—revealed the exotic essence of the place. During the time he spent on the rooftop, he meticulously studied the building's layout, observed everyone who entered and left— including three members of TXT: Yeonjun, Taehyun, and Soobin—and went over his plan with Jeongin. “Let’s go over it one more time”, I.N said through Beomgyu’s earpiece,

“Dude, we’ve already reviewed it like 30 times” “Then let’s do it again. Come on, what’s the first step?”. Beomgyu took a deep breath, trying to be reasonable, he knew his partner was just as nervous as he was, I go to the air duct that leads to the basement” “And then?”

“I crawl until I reach it. If someone’s there I wait for them to leave, then I go in. Once inside, I find the package they talked about in the garden and get rid of it” “And the grand finale?”

“I get out before anyone sees me” “Good. It’s simple, right?”, Beomgyu let out a sarcastic laugh, the IT guys would never understand how nothing was simple in the field, but he wasn’t going to tell Jeongin that, “Yes, quite simple” “Do you have your tools?” “Yes, everything’s here”

“And the camouflage?”. He placed his fingers in a pinching motion on the bridge of his nose, it was the fifth time they’d gone through everything, “Yes, Jeonginnie, it’s all he…”, Beomgyu stopped in the middle of his sentence when he saw her entering the brothel, arm in arm with a middle-aged man who wore a black suit— she was disguised as a geisha, obviously a human one. She was there, which shut down any doubts he had about her being a criminal. Beside her was Kai, dressed as security. If everyone was there their plan was about to start, which meant his plan was too. “They’re here,” Beomgyu updated I.N, “It’s showtime”, he pulled up the bandana around his neck to cover half of his face, wore the hood of his hoodie and slid down the metal pipe of the building he was on. Once on the ground, he ran to the side of the brothel and removed the metal screen from the air duct, “I’m entering the duct, Jeongin” “Copy that”, Beomgyu muted the earpiece and crawled into the ventilation shaft. Of course it was dark, so he turned on the flashlight attached to the camera in his contact lens to see the long metal path ahead of him, “Okay, give me the directions” “Go straight until you hit a junction, then turn left and go all the way to the end” “Got it”.

He crawled along the path his partner indicated until he spotted a pink light coming from the metal grid. He arrived. Carefully, he glanced through the gaps of the grid– Yeonjun stood at the door guarding the entrance with a walkie-talkie in hand, while Soobin and Taehyun stood in the center of the room, apparently waiting for a signal. Beomgyu’s suspicions were confirmed when a male voice echoed through the radio, causing Yeonjun to nod at the other 2 men. In one swift motion, Soobin lifted Taehyun, who pressed a button on the ceiling, Beomgyu quickly kept down to avoid Taehyun’s sharp gaze. “Done. Activated”, one of them said, “Activated? Activated what?”, Jeongin asked through the earpiece. When he looked up again, the 3 men had already left, Beomgyu scanned the room until his eyes landed on the ceiling. His stomach sank— a bomb. “Shit,” he muttered, punching the grid until it came loose so he could jump into the room, “Jeongin” “What’s going on?” “A bomb. They planted a bomb on the ceiling” “What?!”. Remembering of the layout he had memorized earlier, Beomgyu realized that the room above the basement was a private room, “I think they’re planning to blow everyone up” “Fuck, fuck, fuck! How much time do we have?”, Beomgyu looked at the timer on the bomb, “Less than ten minutes” “Disarm it now, damn it!” “Yeah”. Scanning the room, Beomgyu looked for something to climb on, he spotted a wooden bar stool so he dragged it over, and climbed on top to be face to face with the bomb.

9:38, the timer said, “What kind of bomb is it?” I.N asked, “TNT” “Classic. Cut the red wire” “I know”, Beomgyu said back, struggling to balance on the stool while reaching for the pliers in his bag, his hands were sweating, and his heart was racing faster than an olympic sprinter. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the tool as firmly as he could and carefully pulled the only visible red wire, “I found it, J” “Great. Cut it and get out of that place”. Beomgyu didn’t need to be told twice, he pressed the pliers onto the wire expecting the timer to stop. But it didn’t. His face turned pale, he couldn’t believe it. He cut the wire again at a different point, but nothing happened. The timer kept ticking: 7:40... 41... 42... 43... 44, the bomb had been modified— as if they anticipated someone would try to sabotage their plan. “J,” he called, “Did it work?” “No” “What?!” “The timer’s still running” “Did you try cutting the wire again?” “Yes” “And nothing?” “Nothing” “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Try cutting another wire, then” “Which one?” “I don’t know, try the green”. Beomgyu’s stomach twisted, there were at least six tangled wires, some even the same color. The timer showed 5:57.His trembling hands reached for the green wire, praying it wasn’t a trap, he cut it. Nothing happened. “Still nothing”. 5:32. “Try a black one”, he grabbed the black wire, he closed his eyes and thought about her—dressed in that traditional geisha outfit—if the bomb exploded, would she have escaped already? He opened his eyes, the timer was under four minutes now, he didn’t know what, but something inside of him told him to not cut the black wire and for some reason he decided to not do it. Inspecting the bomb again, he spotted a purple wire— purple reminded him of the bar, reminded him of the first time he saw her, when they danced together and their lips almost touched— purple was an unusual color for a wire, maybe it was a way to trick anyone who might find the wire too suspicious to be cut. 3:02, the timer said.“I.N” “Hum?’” “I’ll cut the purple one” “Are you sure?” “No. But that’s all I got for now”. With his sweaty hands, Beomgyu grabbed the wire and cut it. Suddenly, everything around him froze, the wind stopped, the sound of music in the background faded, all he could hear was his heart pounding. He looked at the timer: 3:02. He had done it. He had disarmed the bomb, “Jeongin!” “What?” “I did, It was the purple wire” “Hell yeah, bro! Good job!”, they celebrated briefly, before focusing back on finishing the mission, “Alright, get out now” “Got it”. Beomgyu climbed down from the stool, his legs were shaking, but he had succeeded. He walked to the door— locked. “Damn it,” he muttered, before coming back to the ventilation duct. He climbed onto the stool again and crawled out of the basement. Once he reached the street again, he stopped, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to calm down. That’s when he heard voices approaching, it was Taehyun’s voice speaking with the walkie-talkie, “You two, get out now!”, he was referring to Kai and her. But Beomgyu didn’t need to worry anymore, the place wasn’t going to explode.

He saw Yeonjun, Soobin, and Taehyun at the brothel’s entrance, so he ran in the opposite direction. The older men seemed too concerned with their members still inside to notice him, but Taehyun— who was always sharp— caught sight of a shadow moving. Taehyun took a few steps toward the figure to investigate, but all he saw was a black silhouette disappearing down the street. His brows furrowed, “What the hell is that?”, he muttered before turning back to join his members, now all of them, on the brothel’s door.

But then, his eyes moved to the alley beside the building, the air duct grid was thrown on the ground, he knew that the duct led to the basement, “Shit!” he shouted, drawing the group’s attention. “What is it, Tae? We need to go” she said, following him to the alley. “There’s not going to be an explosion”, he replied, turning to face them, who seemed confused, “Someone sabotaged us” “What?!”, they said in unison, “Someone entered the basement through the air duct” “But who?”, Kai asked, “Let’s get out of here before someone sees us”, Soobin, their leader, said, “But what about the diplomats?” she protested, “He’s right,” Taehyun agreed, “We can deal with them later. For now, let’s go”. She looked at him, her eyes burning in fury, “We’ll make whoever did this pay, okay?”, Taehyun assured her, “Okay”, she said, finally bending.

The group walked toward their getaway car, Taehyun glanced one last time at the air duct, that’s when something shiny near the entrance of the duct caught his attention, he kneeled down and picked it up— it was the keychain he saw on Beomgyu’s belt 2 nights ago in the elevator of The Rooftop. He gripped on the object tightly before walking to the street and stared in the direction the figure ran away—“You’re so done, you son of a bitch”, he swore to the night before joining the others in the car. Beomgyu didn’t know it yet but things were about to get ugly.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

Back in his temporary apartment in Shibuya, Beomgyu rested on his bed, the adrenaline still rushing in his bloodstream, his mind was a turmoil of thoughts, but he wasn’t thinking about the bomb or the fact that he could have died—that had happened a few times before and it was almost a habit for him. In fact, he couldn’t stop thinking about her, she wasn’t the woman he thought she was. The woman who smiled at him so beautifully was the same woman who had almost blown up those people just to have her revenge? The people she considered her family, they were also all a bunch of criminals. It was all a big lie. He chuckled sarcastically, maybe they really were made for each other—he was just as much of a liar as she was. He pressed his pillow against his face and screamed. But his breakdown was suddenly interrupted by his ringing phone. It was her. "Like she read my mind," he thought before picking up,"Hey!", he tried to sound casual and hide the knot in his throat.

"Beomgyu… are you busy?", her voice lacked its usual energy, "No, I’m not" he replied, concerned, did she already figured out it was him? No, that was impossible, he didn’t leave any traces behind.

He leaned back against the headboard, feeling anxious, "Are you okay?", she let out a heavy sigh, "Not really. Today things were messy… at work", he gulped, the disappointment in her voice cut him even deeper cause he knew he was the one who did it to her, "What happened?" "Everything went wrong, and I just… I know it’s kinda stupid, but… I don’t know, I just needed to hear a comforting voice”, the line went silent for a moment, the guilt was consuming him, "The comforting voice I mentioned was yours, you know…" "Yeah, I know… I…", he couldn’t believe she had called him seeking comfort. He hated himself so much in that moment that his chest physically ached, "I don’t think that’s stupid, I think it’s human", she smiled on the other side of the line, "What can I do to help you?" "Just distract me. I don’t want to think about work" "How about I take you out the day after tomorrow?", he offered, caught in the moment once again,"We can do something fun, just the two of us" "What do you have in mind?" "Do you know The Scuba Diver?" “Yeah” "What do you think?"

"Sounds perfect to me", her voice brightened again, and he could swear he could hear her smile through the phone. "Great! I’ll pick you up in the afternoon, then" "It’s a date" "It’s a date," he murmured back, "Okay, I’ll try to get some sleep now" "Alright. Good night"

"Good night, Gyu. And… thank you” "It was nothing".

His head spun as she hung up, what the hell was he supposed to do? Should he stay loyal to his mission or to his feelings for her? He fell asleep hours later with those thoughts haunting his mind.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

She spent the next day shopping. She decided to buy a sexy black dress for her date with Beomgyu, she didn't mind wearing her black clothes and military platform boots everyday, but when it came to him, something different lightened up inside her, something that awakened not just her sensuality but also her delicacy. The dress was a basic sleeveless black, but it fitted her so well it was almost breathtaking. She liked it and she knew he would like it too. After returning home, eating her favorite ramen, and taking a shower, she needed to dry her hair. However, she lent her hairdryer to Taehyun, so she wrapped a towel around her dripping hair and went to her friend’s room. Just as she lifted her hand to knock, she heard the sound of the lock clicking, and the door opened. The person who stepped out was none other than Lee Heeseung, a hacker from Enhypen, a gang allied with TXT in Japan.

"Heeseung?!", she exclaimed, he looked at her and smiled, "Hey! You smell great", Heeseung was the personification of rizz, "I just took a shower... What a surprise, what are you doing here?" "Taehyun asked me to come" "But he’s leaving already", Taehyun interjected, stepping into the hallway, "I am," Heeseung confirmed, "Thanks for coming," Taehyun said, "It was nothing. Good night, guys, see you around", Heeseung said before bowing and disappearing down the hall.

She looked at Taehyun, he was shirtless, alone in a locked room with Heeseung in the middle of the night, "You and Lee Heeseung, huh?", she teased, "What?! It’s not like that"

"Then what was he doing here?" "He was in town, and I asked him to help me with something" "I’m not sure I want to know the rest" "Stop thinking nonsense and come in. I need to talk to you", she obeyed, he was too serious for her to keep teasing him, "What is going on Tae? You don’t look okay", he ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath before he started speaking, "Heeseung was here because I asked for his help to investigate Beomgyu" "What?! Why?" "I haven't liked that guy since the first time I saw him" "I know he’s… different. But that’s just how he is. He’s a good guy" "That’s what you think", she crossed her arms, "What do you mean?" "He’s lying to you. His name is Choi Beomgyu, and he’s Korean", her lips parted slightly, "Well... I lied about my name and nationality to him too. He must have his reasons" "He does. The guy is military" "M-military?", her voice trembled, "Yes" "Are you making this up just because you don’t like him, Tae?", she really didn’t want to believe him. Instead of arguing, Taehyun just grabbed the tablet that Heeseung had left behind and handed it to her, "See it for yourself if you think I’m making it up”, she looked down at the device in her trembling hands, there were documents confirming everything Taehyun had just said, along with photos of Beomgyu. In some of those, he was in uniform with his squad, in others, he was leaving government buildings. There was even one of him receiving honors. The tablet slipped through her fingers, landing on the fluffy carpet of her friend’s room. "I tried investigating him with Kai’s help, but there was nothing in the Japanese records except the lies he’s been telling you", Taehyun said, pulling out the keychain he had found the night before and showing it to her, "This was on his belt that night on the rooftop garden". She looked at it, it was a keychain only South Korean militaries carried,"Recognize it?", she nodded, "That’s from the army…" "Yes. That’s why I called Heeseung, because I didn’t know what this insignia meant, so I asked him to hack some Korean databases". He bent down and picked up the tablet from the floor, slid the screen, and showed her, "Advanced Reconnaissance Squad", her eyes switched from the screen to the keychain and back again, it was the same insignia. She could barely breathe, "Are you telling me… that he…", she tried to breathe, but the air didn't come, "…he’s… he’s…" "A spy? Yes”, her eyes filled with tears, but she fought to hold them back, the pain was excruciating, "He… he was using me to investigate the bar and the gang, wasn’t he?", Taehyun nodded, "I think so" "That’s not possible…", she murmured, "And there’s more", she looked at him, her eyes begging him to stop, but she needed to know, he couldn’t let her keep being fooled, "I found this keychain last night near the entrance to the ventilation duct", she already knew what her friend’s next words would be,"I believe he sabotaged our plan", but hearing it out loud was an even more painful. Her knees gave in, and she collapsed on the carpet, the towel falling from her head to the floor. Taehyun kneeled down, "It was all a lie…", her chest hurt as if her heart had literally been broken. He had taken advantage of her, and she had fallen in love with his lies, with the person he made her believe he was, “I’m sorry," Taehyun said, pulling her close and letting her tears soak his bare shoulder as he gently stroked her hair, "Let it all out”.

When she finally calmed down, she pulled away from Taehyun, "I’m sorry, but you needed to know”, she looked at him, fury burning in her eyes, "You should feel sorry for him, not for me", her voice was flat, as if the warmth of it had faded away, "What do you mean?"

"That guy is done. We’re going to eliminate him", and by eliminating, she meant killing him, "Are you sure you want to do this?" "I’m sure. I’ll do it myself. Tomorrow” "If that’s what you want, you’ll have our support”, she smiled bitterly, "Thanks, Tae" "What are you planning?"

"The Scuba Diver" "Good. The chances of escaping are almost zero" "Exactly"

"Will you need our help?" "No. I created this mess, I’ll deal with it", Taehyun nodded.

The Scuba Diver was an underwater motel, isolated and nearly impossible to escape from without drowning first. Beomgyu had chosen that place himself, unaware he was digging his own grave.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

The Scuba Diver motel was just as surreal as its name suggested. Located beneath the surface of an artificial indigo blue lake, the only way to reach it was through a pod elevator that descended underwater. The walls of the pod were transparent, showing a dizzying view of the vibrant corals and schools of exotic fish swimming outside. The pod stopped at the bottom of the lake, Beomgyu had never been there before, but he had heard it was the perfect shelter for forbidden lovers. He followed her down the hallway, his nerves on edge, he kept telling himself to stay calm, to put aside his inner battle for just a moment. She needed him, and he couldn’t let her down— again. She opened the door to their room, The soft buzz of the room decompressing echoed through the hall. The room was small but luxurious with a bed surrounded by soft red lighting and a panoramic view of the underwater world. “Wow,” he said, surprised,“Pretty cool, huh?”, she replied, glancing back at him over her shoulder, “It’s impressive,” he admitted. She stepped closer to him, her fingertips brushing against his chest, allowing himself to relax a little, he placed his hands on her waist leaning in to brush his lips against her neck, “You look stunning today,” he whispered. His warm breath against her sensitive skin sent a shiver through her body— how was she supposed to go on with her plan when he was so irresistible? His soft lips finally pressed against her neck, leaving slow, wet kisses, she let out a small moan, unable to control herself, her fingers tangling in his hair. “C’mon,” she murmured, slipping from his arms before she lost control of the moment entirely.

Beomgyu swallowed hard, his heart pounding—as it always did when he was with her— and he followed her to the bed. She grabbed his hands, pulled him closer, and turned his body, making him sit on the edge of the king sized bed, “It’s so sweet of you...” she began, standing between his legs and letting her hands ran over his shoulders and down his chest, “...to take the day off to spend time with me”, her touch sent a wave of heat through his entire being, “I-it seemed like you needed it,” he tripped over his words. She leaned down, bringing her lips close to his, “As a thank you,” she whispered, “I want to take care of you, too”, he swallowed hard, feeling her cold hands slip under his shirt, contrasting with his warm skin, driving him crazy, “T-take care of me?” he asked, “Yes,” she replied in a low, sensual voice, “I have plans for you, loverboy”. His hands slid to her hips, pulling her closer and closing the gap between them. That kiss felt different, it was deeper, heavier, with emotions that were almost suffocating and he responded with the same intensity, pouring out all his confusion into it. Her hands traveled up his bare chest, making him let out soft moans into her mouth, his shirt was pulled up, and their mouths parted so she could take it off his body.

She took a step back, slowly and provocatively slipping the straps of her dress off, one by one as he watched her, lust overflowing from his eyes. "You’re beautiful”, he said as her dress slid down her curves, revealing her body covered in tattoos in a black laced lingerie paired with black silk knee socks."Liar", she thought, but she just smirked at him and climbed onto his lap for another round of kisses. He pressed her hips against his erection, and she threw her head back, moaning in response, she hated that he had that effect on her, but he did. Her body betrayed her mind, showing him how much she wanted him, how much she needed him. Without wasting more time, she brought her hands to his belt, unbuckling it and opening his pants—a signal for him to take them off. He obeyed immediately, lifting his hips to slide his black jeans and boxers down. She glanced down at his almost fully hard member pressing against his belly button, she grabbed it with one hand, tracing circles around the tip with her thumb. He lay back on the bed, breathing heavily, “I-I don’t think I’ll be able to last much if we keep playing around like this”, he fumbled over his words again. She smirked, slowing the pace of her movements, “Are you that desperate for me?”, she teased, receiving a nod in response— he was too overwhelmed by pleasure to speak. She chuckled, releasing his dick and leaning over him to kiss and suck on his neck, his hands moved to her hips, one sliding down to her core, still covered by her panties, then he pressed his thumb against her entrance, making her shiver, “You’re so wet already” “Just for you, baby,” she replied— and unfortunately, it wasn’t a lie. No one had made her feel like that in years.

He pulled his thumb away from her core and moved his hands to the waistband of her panties, removing them in one smooth motion. Then, his fingers worked smoothly on the clasp of her bra, easily freeing her soft, round breasts. He switched their positions to hover over her body and pushed down to take one of her breasts into his mouth, sucking it fiercely, almost too roughly for something as delicate as her breast, but he didn’t care— she squirmed beneath him, and if she was enjoying it, nothing else mattered. Her hips lifted involuntarily in response, and he knew what she wanted, so he let go of her breast and kissed her mouth before aligning himself with her entrance to slowly, almost torturously, push his member inside her, little by little, giving her time to adjust to him.

She let out a deep sigh as she felt him filling her, and as he started moving, slowly and teasingly, tears escaped her eyes. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be, he wasn’t supposed to have that much power over her— but what harm could one last time do before she left him forever? “Beomgyu…”, she moaned, “Are you okay? You’re crying”, he dried a few tears with his thumb, “It’s… it’s just because it feels so good” “Alright”, he leaned over to place a kiss on her forehead, “Let me know if you feel uncomfortable”, she nodded. It wasn’t entirely a lie— she cried from the pleasure, but also from the sadness, from the pain of his betrayal. Beomgyu shifted the angle of his hips, hitting a sensitive spot inside her— her eyes rolled back, and her back arched. She couldn’t wait any longer, she had to put her plan into action before she gave up. “Gyu…” “Yes?” “Let me be on top”, he smirked, “Sure”, he replied before switching positions with her.

“Hold on”, she reached for her bag. While he waited for her, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and took his hair out of his eyes. She took out from the purse a black ribbon, saying with pleading eyes, “Can I tie you up?”. His spy instincts told him to say no, it was too risky, but he wasn’t thinking with his head—at least not with the one he had over his shoulders, “Only one hand” ““Both” “Just one. Take it or leave it” “Fine. Just one, then”. She tied his hand to the headboard, then leaned down to kiss his lips, he grabbed the back of her neck, deepening the kiss as she rode him, chasing her own climax, “Shit! I can’t hold it anymore”, he said between moans, “Cum for me. Let it all out”. After a few more thrusts, he threw his head back, his body collapsing beneath her, as he released inside of her. She kept grinding against him for a few moments longer before reaching her own orgasm, then she rested her hands on his abdomen, breathing heavily as she tried to recover.

That’s when she realized it was the perfect moment to execute her plan, he was tired, with his eyes closed and his guard completely down. Quietly, she reached a hand down to her knee sock and, as sly as a fox, pulled out a switchblade. Slowly, she moved up it his leg,

“Are you already ready for another round?”, he chuckled, eyes still closed. But when she pressed the blade against the sensitive flesh of his dick, his eyes snapped wide open instinctively, “Don’t move an inch”, she said through gritted teeth, her voice dark and hostile, “Or I’ll cut it off”.

He swallowed hard, breathing heavily, he could see in her eyes that she knew everything,

“What the hell…” “Shut up! No more games, no more lies”, her voice firm and sharp, “Who are you?”. He laughed nervously, “What are you talking about?” “Stop playing dumb” she pressed the blade harder against his member, “I know you sabotaged our attack”, she held up the keychain in her other hand, “So stop lying and tell me who you are and what do you want from me”. Beomgyu didn’t know if it was the fear of losing his manhood or the hurt in her eyes that made him speak the truth, “My real name is Choi Beomgyu. I serve in the South Korean military under the advanced reconnaissance unit, which means I’m a spy”, he held her breath, trying to keep her tough exterior still, “I was sent to Japan to investigate the speakeasy bar”, she didn’t say anything, so he continued, “When I met you, I didn’t know who you were or what you did, but as I investigated you…” “You were really investigating me?”, she interrupted, “Yes, but…”. The air left her lungs as reality hit her, so he really had been using her for his mission, “Then everything between us was a lie?”. He felt the pressure of the switchblade ease slightly, like his confession made her lose strength, “No! No, not everything was a lie. I like you, I care about you, more than I should. That’s why I didn’t report your attack. That’s why I’m here now” “And you really expect me to believe you?” “It’s the truth. I’m risking everything for you. Everything”

She looked down at her hand, the knife trembling against his flushed skin,“I don’t believe you” “You don’t have to believe me, but it’s the truth. I never wanted to hurt you”, she stared at him, dropping the blade, unsure of what to do or say. He took the opportunity to trap her between his legs and change their positions and even with one hand tied, he managed to pin her arms and toss the weapon to the ground. He looked down at her, lying beneath him with tears rolling down her red face. If he could, he’d take all her pain and put it on himself. “And you? Who are you? The real you” “You want my help to finish your mission, don’t you?”, she chuckled, “Where are the cameras, the bugs? Where?” "There's nothing, just me. The guy who asks too many questions and can’t stop thinking about this girl stuck in his head", even while pinning her down, lying, and using her, he still managed to be charming. She hated him for that. "Who am I? You already know who I am, don’t you?" "I only know parts", she laughed bitterly, "I’ll tell you, so you can see how rotten the system you work for really is", he nodded.

"I come from a family of brewers from Busan. They were artisans, and for generations, my family poured everything they had into their craft. Until Prohibition", she paused, feeling her jaw tightening, "Everything they had was taken from them. The government treated them like criminals. They were marginalized, starving, and anyone who dared to help them would be punished including those in the military, like I was", Beomgyu’s brows furrowed, "Tae’s family was in the same situation as mine. So one day, we decided to bring together everyone who was opposed to Prohibition and put our plan into action: to desert" "As a form of protest?"

"It was much more than just a protest. We were desperate, watching our families die a little more each day, unable to do anything. Deserting was our hope of getting their dignities back. But it didn’t work, they didn’t care if hundreds of soldiers deserted, we meant nothing to them", she said, her voice breaking as tears returned to her eyes. "All those years serving the military, giving our blood, sweat, and tears, it was like none of it mattered. Tae and I were exiled, along with our families. The rest of the men left the country because, with a dishonorable discharge, they couldn’t do anything else in Korea. When we arrived in Japan, a family of former brewers took us in and together, we built the bar. Tae and I joined the rest of the TXT a year later, not for justice but for revenge. Those people don’t even know the meaning of justice”.

Beomgyu’s mouth hung slightly open, they had made innocent people go through all that because of alcohol? He didn’t know what to say, he had been following orders blindly, unaware of what those people had passed through to build their illegal bar. "I-I’m… I’m so sorry. I had no idea”, she chuckled sarcastically, "Don’t lie, Beomgyu. You are one of them. So… just grab your stuff and leave before Taehyun finds out I let you go and comes after you" "You’re… letting me go?" "Just go before I change my mind. And never bother any of us again". He bent down, picked up the blade from the floor, and cut the ribbon binding him to the motel bed. In a few minutes, he was gone, completely embarrassed, leaving behind a girl with two broken hearts—- hers and his, because his heart belonged to her and no one else. ⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

Days had passed since their fateful episode at the motel. Beomgyu had vanished without leaving a trace. No one had heard from him, not even Jeongin, it was like he had never existed. She had told TXT she had killed him, hoping that Beomgyu wouldn’t come back to bother again. So it seemed insane that Beomgyu was now standing at the entrance of a club, hesitating. But he had nothing left to lose, his job no longer made sense, and the girl he had fallen in love with hated him, and back in Korea, he had no family—his father had disappeared when he was a child, and his mother had died of illness when he was a teenager. With nothing holding him back, he walked into the club, the neon sign above the door said, ‘The Dairy Lounge’, "These guys are really creative" he muttered to himself.

Inside the place, he passed through people dancing with bottles of milk and yogurts in hand, mumbling apologies as he bumped into a few of them. He stopped in front of a door with a VIP sign above it, the guard standing in front of it was Taehyun. Turns out, the guy actually had a job outside of the gang, "Hey!" Beomgyu called out, catching Taehyun's attention. Taehyun’s eyes narrowed at the figure dressed in all black standing in front of him, "You..."

"Think we can talk?", Beomgyu asked, "You're alive?", Taehyun muttered, “Either that or this drug adulterated milk you guys serve here is messing you up real bad", Beomgyu replied with a smirk. Taehyun’s jaw clenched, and his fists tightened as he lost all his composure. Without saying a word, he grabbed Beomgyu by the collar and dragged him to the alley behind the club. Out of sight from his superiors, Taehyun’s fist hit Beomgyu’s face without any ceremony, "What the hell, man?! I just want to talk!", Beomgyu shouted, placing a hand on his sore cheek, "I don’t want to talk", Taehyun landed another punch, this time making Beomgyu’s cheek bleed.

Fed up with Taehyun’s temper, Beomgyu fought back, throwing a punch of his own, right on the other’s jaw. The shorter man touched his jaw, in disbelief, “Are you out of your mind!?” “I said I just wanted to talk, but you started hitting me”. Taehyun didn’t bother in reply, he shoved Beomgyu to the ground, straddling his torso and began punching him repeatedly. One blow after another, not giving him a chance to defend himself, “You survived, but not for long. I’m going to kill you, you son of a bitch!” “Do it. I’m already dead anyway”, Beomgyu said, making Taehyun freeze in confusion, “What?” “I’m already dead inside…”, Beomgyu paused, struggling to breathe without choking on his own blood, “... without her. So go ahead. End it now., do this favor for me” “You care about her that much?”, Taehyun asked,

Beomgyu nodded, the excruciating pain spreading through his head, “More than anything”

“Then why did you make her suffer, huh?”, Taehyun shouted, “I didn’t mean to… the last thing I wanted was to hurt her”, Beomgyu said, leaning on his elbows, “I need to talk to her. She needs to hear this, to know how much she means to me” “No way. And even if I let you, she wouldn’t believe you” “I’ll do anything to prove I’m trustworthy. Anything” “Even swim in the Electric Seaweed Lake?”, Taehyun asked, “What’s that?” Beomgyu asked, confused, “You really don’t know anything about this city, do you?” “No, but whatever it is, I’ll do it”

“For real?” “If I do it, will you let me talk to her?” “I’ll think about it” “Fine, I’ll do it”, Beomgyu said firmly. Taehyun got off him. “My shift ends in two hours. Stay here and wait until I come back”, Beomgyu sat up with difficulty, spitting blood onto the ground, “Okay” “If I come back and you’re gone, I’ll hunt you down, even in hell. Got it?” “Got it” “Good”. With that, Taehyun came back to the club.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

2 hours later, Taehyun showed up with the rest of TXT — except her and Soobin— the four of them got into a car and headed toward the Electric Seaweed Lake. When they arrived, Beomgyu was hit by a strong scent of something rotting, the lake was green , shady, and had a sticky consistency. But he was determined to do that. Beomgyu began taking off his clothes when a voice interrupted him, "Are you insane?", Yeonjun asked, "What?" "I asked if you're insane. Do you even know what's in there?" "Electric seaweed?"

"You wish it was just seaweed. That lake is full of strange creatures that feed on human skin cells and some even eat human flesh!", Beomgyu smirked, "I’m not insane. I’m just a guy in love", he said, finishing removing his pants and standing there in just his underwear. “ALright what are the rules?’, he asked Taehyun, "You swim to the bioluminescent coral reef and back. If you make it out alive, we’ll have your back" "Okay, let’s get over with this", Beomgyu said, stepping into the lake.

The moment he placed one foot inside, he felt like a strange force was pulling him down. He turned to Kai and said, "If I die, tell her I love her, okay?" “O-okay”, then he continued walking into the water, trying to ignore the strong smell of decomposing seaweed invading his nostrils like poison until his entire body was completely submerged. The three men stood watching from the shore, "Tae?" "What is it, Kai?" "Is this really a good idea?" "What do you mean?" "There’s no way he’s coming out of that alive. If she finds out we killed him, she’ll kill us" "Then it’s better if she doesn’t find out", Taehyun replied coldly.

Underwater, things weren’t as terrifying as they seemed from the surface. Sure, there were plenty of strange creatures that seemed unnaturally drawn to his body, but they weren’t as bad as he feared they were— some were even cute, others had vibrant colors. If he survived, he’d want to learn more about that ecosystem. He swam several meters, coming to the surface for air occasionally, until he spotted the glowing corals Taehyun had mentioned. He reached out to touch them but was startled by a small electric shock, "Better stop messing around", he thought and turned around, ready to return. But suddenly, he stepped on what he thought was a rock and his foot got stuck. It wasn’t a rock, it was some kind of weird creature that fed on human flesh. He felt its grip tighten as it started to take in his foot. Panicking, he tried to free himself, but nothing worked, he tried to scream for help, but no one would hear him this far underwater. As the surroundings grew darker, his eyelids began to feel heavy, "I guess I really can’t live without her", he thought before everything went black. ⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

“Do you think he’s dead already?”, Yeonjun asked the other two, “I bet he is”, Kai answered,

“Silence”, Taehyun ordered in a low voice, hearing the sound of a car engine approaching. They turned around, momentarily blinded by headlights, from the truck, she and Soobin stepped out, “Where is he?” she demanded, fierce like a raging animal., “Soobin! Did you snitch on us?”, Kai asked, panicking, “She heard you guys talking. You know how scary she gets when she’s angry?”. “Where is he, Taehyun?”, she yelled, “In the lake,” he said calmly,

“Are you insane?!”, she shouted, “You told us he was dead!”, he shouted back. She ignored him, starting to remove her clothes, “How long has he been in there?”, she asked. No one answered, “How long?!”, she yelled again, “At least seven minutes”, Yeonjun finally said,

“Damn it!”. She moved to the edge of the lake, ready to jump in, but Taehyun grabbed her arm, “You can’t go in” “Let me go” “I can’t let you die because of him” “I want to die because of him”,she shot back, pulling her arm free and diving into the lake, swimming at lightning speed.

The lake was dark despite the bioluminescence, but spotting a man of 180 cm wasn’t hard. Near the coral reef, she saw her beloved’s lifeless body, one of his legs caught in the jaws of a strange creature. Quickly, she swam to him, pulling a laser device from her bra and slicing the creature in half— fortunately, that species took hours to digest human flesh, so Beomgyu wouldn’t lose his foot or leg. She placed his arm over her shoulder and swam back to the shore, her lungs burning from the lack of oxygen, “Kai, Yeonjun, help me here!” she called out once she reached the sore. The two of them grabbed Beomgyu by the arms, pulling him out of the water, while Soobin and Taehyun helped her get back to land. Ignoring everyone, she went straight to Beomgyu, pressing her ear to his chest. No heartbeat, no breathing Immediately, she started CPR— she learned in the military. 30 compressions, 2 breaths, 30 compressions, 2 breaths, again and again for 2 minutes in a row. Finally, she stopped, exhausted, holding his face as tears streamed down her cheeks, “Beomgyu, please”, she whispered, “I think he’s gone”, Soobin muttered, his heart breaking from watching the scene. “No! He can’t be gone!”, she screamed, turning to Taehyun, “What is your problem?! Why did you force him into the lake?” “He…” Taehyun began, but a deep voice cut him off, calling her name, “Not now, Yeonjun,” she snapped, assuming it was him. But it wasn’t, “I… went in because I wanted to” , the voice continued. She turned around almost unable to believe what she was hearing,

“Beomgyu!”, she ran into his arms, collapsing against his chest in tears, “Why did you do this? And your face looks like that?”, she asked between sobs, ““Taehyun told me if I did this, he’d let me see you. And because I think I’m in love with you… I did it”, he said as it was the most ordinary thing ever. She looked at him, scanning his bruised face, the air caught up in her throat, “Do you think?” “I know”, she leaned in, kissing his hurt lips, the taste of blood mixing with both of their tears,

“You idiot, you almost died!” “I can’t live if I’m not with you”, she sniffed, “I think I’m in love with you too”, she whispered, “No more lies, okay?” “No more lies,” she promised.

He pulled her close— vowing to himself never to let her go again— and there, lying on that wet ground, covered in the slime of the lake, he knew he would never be in danger again as long as she was by his side.

⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

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Tags: @dawngyu, @nanahachi3, @whatblop

#txt #tomorrow x together #txt imagines #tomorrow x together imagines #choi beomgyu #beomgyu txt #txt smut #beomgyu smut #beomgyu imagine #beomgyu fanfic #txt fanfic #tomorrow x together imagine #tomorrow x together fanfic #tomorrow x together smut

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