Dongcheon's Dagger [Choi Mujin x Reader]

SEPARATION [분리]

Though it had been dark by the time all of this started, the current darkness that enveloped you was of an entirely different kind, accompanied by the heavy stuffiness of dust, dirt and a slight metallic scent that settled at the back of your throat in a uniquely disgusting combination.

While you were by far no stranger to what a deal gone south could lead to, it was still the first time that you had been locked in the trunk of a car. They hadn't even bothered to bound your legs, as the space they had crammed you into wasn't big enough for you to move them anyway. You cursed under your breath when the damn raggedy car passed over another bump in the road, making your hip and shoulder slam into the bottom of the trunk repeatedly, not to mention the various undefinable objects that jostled around with you and dug into your body. By the end of the journey you were sure your legs would be numb and countless bruises would litter your skin.

Even though the part about being crammed into the trunk hadn't been part of your plan, everything else went quite smoothly, the added visual damage to your form would add nicely to what you had planned. Still, a small part of your mind resisted the confidence you felt, alerting you of the precarious circumstances you were subjected to.

Before you could suppress the nagging thought, the car came to a rapid halt, this time slamming you into the back of the trunk with such an impact that it forced the air from your lungs in a long curse.

The harsh light of your surroundings blinded you as the lid was ripped open and a maniacal laugh rang out at your sight.

In part, you were privy to the fact that something about the situation was off, the unique sense honed over the years that you had spent around all kinds of gangs. Final deals always involved the majority of Dongcheon's inner circle but meetings with potential buyers and dealers had become a specialty of yours. It had been something that your boss had observed from the beginning, the easiness with which you conducted interviews and meetings, a magnitude of different personalities in your arsenal. Though you weren't entirely sure where it came from except through natural affinity, you reveled in it, examining your opposite and switching according to them. It always worked, too - it threw them off, lured them in, made them hate you, love you, want you. You played them like the easiest instrument in the world with an air that left no room for objection.

The location was carefully selected, you never met potential new buyers twice in the same venue as through your methods and rising status within Dongcheon, you had almost as big a target on your back as your leader, Choi Mujin. So it may not have been clear to any bypassers looking into the small restaurant, but none of the patrons around your table were actually regular customers but equal parts of each party. The buyers and dealers usually brought some form of backup as well, being that they in turn were affiliated with smaller gangs to sell the product onwards.

Your eyes wandered over the opposing group slowly while you gently held the small paper cup of soju in between the fingers of your right hand, taking a small sip and deliberately exposing the signet ring on your smallest finger. The man directly across from you, a well known buyer from Japan that wanted in on the new product that Dongcheon had introduced to the market a few months back, followed your cue immediately. Like a trained dog abiding by its owner's command.

Clearly, he recognized you from the moment he and his party had been let into the restaurant, but the indication of your status brought a slight of fear into his otherwise nervous face. Not so much the other men in the room, and they were what had brought up your wariness, even though no one man stood out as particularly different visually, the one to the japanese's left seemed to consider himself the leader of the brawn as he sat back with crossed arms. Your eyes met his nonchalantly and while you instinctively gauged how you could break him in an interrogation - an air of cockiness around him that identified him as strongly opposed to a young woman in your position - he was not the focus of your meeting.