Dongcheon's Dagger [Choi Mujin x Reader]

INITIATION [시작의]

"I think you and I need to have a talk about that vial you stole."

It wasn't exaggerated when you recounted the moment later on and described it as the biggest scare you had encountered up until that point. Your body jerked on its own accord, snapping your head in the voice's direction with almost too much force. From your position, leaning on your elbows for now, you tried to reign in your wildly beating heart. Memories of where you were evaded you for now, only the spinning image of the temple's courtyard in your mind. How Choi Mujin had found you, you weren't sure presently.

Your eyes had a hard time choosing what to focus on, nervously flicking between the knife in one of his hands, his intent dark gaze and the cigarette he brought to his lips, inhaling nonchalantly.

As you sensed his impatient aura, you felt as if by the moment he had finished the deep drag and exhale, you would face consequences for not replying.
"And I think that's redundant. I don't have it anymore, lost it in the harbour." you ground out in the end.

Before you spoke, you hoped fervently that the small object in your mouth didn't impede your speech, giving away your lie. His dark eyes followed your every move as you made to sit up into a lotus seat, cradling your bound arm slightly. You couldn't place his expression but grew antsy at being in the same room as Korea's most notorious gang leader, unarmed. The ruthless reputation didn't go unheard by you, even if you never crossed the same circles as him with you being towards the bottom of the ranks and all.

With a sigh, he stubbed out his smoke and got up from his position, pacing the length of the room languidly before stopping in front of the slightly opened window, profile visible to you. Your eyes flicked between his face and the knife he flipped in his hand, seemingly deep in thought.

"Look, I know I'm out of my league here. Wrong place, wrong time. I won't bother you anymore and am sorry, but I don't have it." you spoke, carefully pushing the vial back with your tongue when it slipped momentarily.

While you weren't focussing for a second, he flung the knife at you with a quick flick of his wrist - you were glad for your reflexes honed by your abusive background as the blade only barely nicked the skin of your neck. Nevertheless, a small warm trickle made itself known against the collar of your shirt. Your eyes never left his face, outwardly unfazed by the attack. Wasn't the first knife to be chucked at your head after all, you relied more on reflexes than fear, not a flinch visible. Really, you should be more afraid but that familiar sense of calmness had laid its hands around your head, switching off all emotional thought, only rationality remaining.

If he was surprised by your reaction he never let it show on his features, instead stepping closer to the raised platform you were sitting on. Even if you wanted to break eye contact, you found yourself strangely drawn to his gaze, watching him from underneath your unruly hair. With a small sigh, he crouched down to your height, trying another approach.

"You know, I could offer you a deal. Your small gang is falling apart, that's clear to see. It won't be long before another member goes rogue on you and you never know what will happen to your intel. Do you want to walk around with an expiry date on your back?" he tried to reason with you, clearly not believing that you truly didn't possess the vial anymore. The small object seemed to be more important than you had anticipated, opening a nice window of opportunity for you - maybe this was the next step? No more worries about how to pay all of your men and risk losing their loyalty. Plus, you had infiltrated a gang before, surely you'd be able to make your way into his inner circle, riding the wave of the ascent if you played your cards right.

Though he surely knew your thoughts were racing at lightning speed, you never wavered, keeping your eyes steady on his, a mask of neutrality on your face. You leant back on your hands, studying the famously cruel man in front of you and asked yourself if you could ever trust him in any way. Ever since your father had died by mysterious circumstances, every person had betrayed your trust so to say you were sceptical was a mere understatement.