‹𝟹﹒𝐝𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬﹒⌒⌒

꒥﹒one 🗡️

Kai is trapped in a clutter of voices.

They are all singing the same tune–Soobin. How handsome he is. How good of a king he will be. What a charming and generous man, he has heard a few people say.

Soobin himself has a swarm of people around him. They hang on to every his every word falling out of mouth. They laugh at every joke. None are humorous, yet they chuckle behind their hands.

Kai's eyes search around the room, trying to find his little brother. He hasn't seen him since the party started. He sees many familiar faces in the hall, but none belong to Yeonjun. Kai sighs and moves away. He can't hear Soobin talk for another minute. He can't hear everyone telling him how good of a king he will make. That he is born for the throne.

Kai disagrees. Soobin has two younger brothers who should get an equal chance for the throne. While Yeonjun doesn't want the throne, Kai wants to rule. He wants the throne, and wants to tell his elder brother he wasn't born for it, even if he was trained for it. No one is born to rule, it always must be earned.

He finds his dad in the crowd talking to the Queen of Hozar. Kai doesn't like her; she is always too quiet. His father is more enthusiastic about the conversation than the Queen. She faintly smiles at him and moves away.

Kai glances at the clock. It is a big clock hanging from the wall; the hands are made of gold and the numbers of jewel. It is time.

Without wasting another second, Kai navigates his way towards the door. On his way, he has to exchange polite pleasantries with people who recognise him. Even if he is out of the hall, he can't dash to his study. People can still see him.

As fast as possible, he climbs the stairs and walks towards his study. His hands fumble with the door handle and he swings the door open. The room is not empty. On the other side of his desk, his spy is sitting on the green leather-bound chair, fidgeting with a pen.

He looks up in acknowledgement when Kai enters, his mullet bouncing happily with every shake of his head. He places the pen back on the table, but the ink has already stained his slender fingers.

"Beomgyu," Kai acknowledges, sitting down opposite of him.

"You look nice," he compliments. Beomgyu reaches into his pocket and slides him a piece of paper folded in half.

Kai unfolds the piece of paper. Three lines are scribbled on the parchment. Three names. Kang Taehyun, Hong Eunchae and Soh Ahn. "Who are they?"

"Colleagues," Beomgyu replies. "You might know Eunchae. She blew up Mr. Song's warehouse last year."

Kai's eyebrows shoot to the sky. "I don't recall anyone being arrested for the crime." He chuckles. "He threw a fit when no one was arrested. It was humorous to watch him stomp his feet like a child."

"Yeah, Honey Daggers was bragging about it for a whole week."

Kai nods, and looks at the list again. "Are they any good?"