Chapter Text
After almost 10 years with Phoenixx, Jisung thought he could never be surprised. Like, ever. He’d seen everything, even if it was from the sidelines while he worked at one of their nightclubs. Hell, he’d even shot people. Working for them as a dancer, he’d shot people. He’d never stuck around to see if he killed them, though, so he wasn’t sure if he had that kind of body count as well.
What ended up surprising him, though, was a fucking shootout at one of the tamest clubs in Seoul. And when Jisung said tamest, he meant that even the drunks were polite and tipped well. Sure, it was sleazy, but what nightclub wasn’t? Everyone was nice, at least.
So when one of the stockiest men Jisung had seen pulled out a gun and shot at the VIP booth halfway through his set, his first thought was what the fuck. His second thought was also what the fuck because just before the bullet hit, one of the members of the booth shot out fast enough for Jisung to question his sobriety, and deflected the bullet with some kind of fucking katana.
Deflected the fucking bullet.
What in hell did Phoenixx have planned? Like, genuinely. Because why in hell is there a fucking ninja in this gang? Well, it was kind of a mafia, considering they controlled the elections, but everyone called it a gang, so what was Jisung supposed to do? Be the odd one out? Absolutely not. That got you noticed.
The next thing Jisung knew, there were bullets flying everywhere and he had about 0.25 seconds to duck and clamber behind the curtain in his 6 inch heels. Yes, he was in 6 inch heels, the set required it. But Jisung was brave, and maybe a bit batshit insane, so he stuck his head out to see what was going on.
What? He was curious!
And what he saw was kind of worth it, because what the h-e-double-FUCK.
Remember katana-guy? The fucker was doing a fucking aerial with a katana, which was dangerous as it was, except he was dodging like 7 bullets at the same time and blocking them all with his katana while doing the aerial.
W h a t.
Then, he just went on a rampage. Everyone who attacked him just fucking died. Like, the moment they got within 5 feet. Then he pulled out a gun and was using the katana and the gun to kill everyone in sight.
Holy. Shit.
He tore into somebody’s guts with the katana, then turned at this dude who was running at him and shot him in the head. Then, there was one more guy left. Lucky for that man, he chose life and started running out of the club. However, katana-guy was not done. Three shots to the head before the guy even made it 10 feet within the exit.
Was it wrong for Jisung to swoon? Yes, he couldn’t see the guy’s face because of some weird mask covering the bottom half, and yes he was dating Felix, one of the other dancers, but damn, competency was hot.
Katana-guy surveyed the scene around him, and the other guy who was in the VIP booth stepped out, smiling. Holy fuck, was that Bang Jeonghoon? “Good job, Lee. You’ll be rewarded for that.”
Rewarded? Oh shit, was this guy one of the ones from the trafficking department, which Jisung stayed far, far, far away from?
Fuuuuuuuck. He hoped not, the guy seemed cool. Too cool for his spirit to have been broken like that. But, again, Jisung couldn’t see the bottom half of his face, so he couldn’t tell what kind of broken he was.
For a moment, Jisung forgot he was in 6 inch heels and leaned forward. Big fucking mistake. God, was he an amateur? He stumbled forward, past the curtain. Ohhhhh shit. In an instant, katana-guy’s gun was pulled and aimed at him. Jisung stood in the middle of the stage, feeling awkward as the hushed voices of ‘get back here, idiot’ were whispered by the other dancers hiding behind the curtain.
Then Jisung realized he was wearing his skimpiest outfit, right in front of the leader of Phoenixx. And 6 inch heels. He was fucked. Like, utterly fucked.
Oh right. There was also a gun pointed at his face.
“Lee, put the gun down. He’s not a threat.”
Katana-guy—Lee?—lowered his gun and stared at Jisung, his gaze not leaving his face, despite the fact that he was quite literally half naked and in his nicest dance attire. “Han, this is Lee. It’s possible you’ve never met him since I almost never bring him here. He just comes for… tenser deals. Ones that usually end like this. He’s my best asset, and I try to make sure he stays unknown.”
Jisung nodded, dumbstruck. Fucking Bang Jeonghoon was talking to him. He stumbled up and pointed back to the curtain with his thumb. “I-I’m just gonna—”
He tripped over his feet a few times, and collapsed behind the curtain and into Felix’s arms. “Darling,” he whispered. “I love you, but why the fuck did you do that?!”
“Not my fault,” Jisung replied, pointing to his feet. “The heels.”
———
Lee wasn’t expecting to meet as many idiots as he had that day. To be more specific, he hadn’t been expecting to shoot as many idiots as he had that day. Eighteen was a lot in one day, even for someone who’d been killing people almost every day for just about 15 years. He also wasn’t expecting to be introduced to a random dancer in god-knows-how-high heels. But he rolled with it. He’d been doing this for so long that he was desensitized to everything.
The dancer—Han, Bang had said—disappeared behind the curtain almost as fast as he’d appeared. Lee’s eyes darted around as he tried to find an opening to look through as he heard hushed whispers.
“Not my fault,” Lee recognized the voice of the dancer who’d fallen onto the stage. “The heels.”
Lee figured it was a valid excuse, then he heard a small groan. His head snapped to the side and he saw a man who’d been shot in the eye try to sit up.
BANG.
The man did not try to sit up anymore.
Bang looked pleased. “Good job. Now, we have one more meeting to go to, near the police station. With Seo.”
Ah. Their contact who worked in the police force. Lee wondered why Bang was taking him, Seo was mild mannered, and while he lost his temper often, it was never with Bang. He was also trustworthy, having been with Phoenixx almost as long as Lee had. Nevertheless, Lee couldn’t disobey an order. He stepped toward the door, holding it open for Bang.
The street was empty, and cold, much more so than usual. They began walking the two blocks to their chauffeur, Hwang, the silence considered normal. Lee wasn’t allowed to speak, and couldn’t even try with the mask on his face, a metal cage that prevented him from making any type of noise. He wasn’t allowed to take it off, only Bang could do that, so he could eat and brush his teeth. But he still couldn’t make any noise. “Silent warriors are the best ones,” Bang always said. “Elite.”
And Lee wasn’t allowed to disobey. All his orders came from Bang, no one else. If anyone else tried, Lee had been ordered to exterminate on sight. Lee hadn’t disobeyed in 13 years. It was all he knew.
He heard it before he saw it. The silent shift of weight. The careful placement of a hand.
He was too late, though. He was never late, his reflexes were the best anyone had ever encountered. He’d been engineered into the perfect weapon.
But perfect still made mistakes, he supposed.
His katana wasn’t out in time to stop the bullet that hit mere centimeters from Bang’s heart.
Bang collapsed, and Lee shot toward him, getting him on his back, and taking advantage of his gloved hands to reach to get the bullet out.
A hand grabbed his wrist, with the same force it always had, despite the rapid loss of consciousness. “Lee…” Bang muttered. “Your new handler… his name is Chan. Bang Chan. you are to obey him, and just him, understood? Protect him now.”
Lee nodded before attempting to reach for the wound again, but Bang’s grip stayed firm. “Don’t save me, Lee. Go… Go after the assailant. It’s my… my time anyway…”
He didn’t want to leave Bang. He wanted to save him.
But he had to obey orders.
So he darted into the nearest alleyway and jumped up onto the fire escape. When he got to the top, he noticed a figure a building away, sprinting away at an erratic, almost frantic pace.
He was scared.
That was good. Lee liked fear. He felt when they were scared he could indulge a little.
But, instead of just tailing him, Lee looked to his right, noticing that the two buildings were a mere 10 feet apart. He jogged to the end of the building and leaped, hitting the other rooftop in a quick shoulder roll.
Then he began sprinting.
Lee loved running, but he loved it even more when he was sprinting for a long time. Like, when he was chasing assassins. Good ones, like him. And while assassins were quite fast, Lee was always faster. Every single time. The assailants also never noticed him if he was running off to the side, like he was now. Then, the buildings got even closer together, so close that Lee didn’t even need to leap as far as he was able to just to get across.
Then his hand slammed into the assailant’s neck and he forced him into the side of the generator on top of the building, strangling him. The man was tall, a few inches taller than Lee, maybe two. But he didn’t look scared, and that was what made Lee hesitate, tilting his head.
The man looked like he was enjoying it. The feeling of life being squeezed out of him.
Oh great. Lee got one of the weird ones. He pulled out his gun and tapped the end of the barrel to the man’s head. He would have said something, a cool one liner maybe, but he had the mask on and could do nothing but stare and look menacing as the man smiled wider.
Okay, weird. What was this guy’s problem?
He grimaced under the mask, and put his finger on the trigger. The man laughed, and Lee suppressed the urge to back away in disgust. He sighed and took his hand off the man’s neck so he could get a better aim.
“Stop.” Ordered a voice to Lee’s left.
Idiot. Didn’t this guy know Lee couldn’t take orders from anyone but Bang? Well, his son now. Chan. Lee dug the barrel into the man’s skin, and almost pulled the trigger when the voice spoke again.
“Agent Lee, my name is Bang Chan. I am your new handler. I order you to stop.”