Fic: The Heist (Part III)
Sep. 30th, 2015 04:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
boxxsaltzTitle: The Heist
Author: Boxxsaltz
Pairing: Yoona/Yuri
Rating: R
Summary: There was no job and no money worth the kind of brokenness Yoona endured ever again…except maybe this once.
Part III
Yoona rode her bike to the corner store away from the apartment and waited for Tiffany to pick her up. All the secrecy was tedious, but it was the best precaution. She didn't need Seohyun asking more questions about the hidden parts of her life.
Buying a pastry at the register, she was peeling back the wrapper to take a bite when a familiar black car rolled up on the curb. Yoona chewed on sugary dough and cream cheese as she dropped into the passenger seat and locked her belt into place.
"Good afternoon, Miss Im."
"Now that we're partners in crime you can drop the formalities."
Smiling, Tiffany pulled onto the street and dropped a padded, postal envelope into her lap. Digging inside, Yoona drew out a cell phone, an oddly shaped piece of metal on a keyring, and small black, velvet case.
A finely manicured nail tapped the screen of the thin, black cell. "You'll contact us on nothing other than that phone. It's untraceable and is set to wipe itself clean every twenty-four hours in case it gets into the wrong hands. That piece there is-"
"Key to the warehouse."
"The cube," Tiffany corrected. "You know one of the three entrances. I'll show you the other two along with the emergency hatch later."
Yoona attached the plugged shaped thing onto her set of keys and tucked them away before cracking open the velvet case. Inside was a syringe filled with clear, electric blue liquid.
"Is this cube brand heroin?"
Taking it in her fingers, Yoona held it up to her eyes. What she thought were bubbles against the tube looked metallic and unnatural in the way they swam about.
"That is a tracker. We each have one. If anything happens to you, we know exactly where to find you. Don't worry, Sunny is the only one with access to the points. She sends out information on whereabouts and activity only if it's necessary. Like if you're in danger or went missing."
"You still don't trust me?"
"You jumped."
"We're con artists, Miss Hwang."
Tiffany ignored her. "Inject it."
Yoona hesitated. "Right now?"
"On the back of your neck. Careful not to insert the needle too deeply."
"Is this another test?"
Eyes cut over to her. "It's a precaution and it's my reassurance."
Yoona smirked as she attached the needle to the syringe and got rid of the air inside. "So you don't completely trust me?”
"You're wasting time. I want to make sure it works."
Watching herself in the visor mirror, Yoona placed the tip of the needle against the base of her neck. It stabbed into her skin barely noticeable, but the feeling of the serum going into her was like fire.
She winced, body clenching against the burning sensation it created at the entry point and began to spread through the thin skin of her neck. The veins all along her face and neck rose to the surface glowing a deep blue in slithering patterns that made her look alien and sick.
"Breathe," Tiffany commanded, softly.
Yoona released the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding and sucked in another. She gasped for air as the sensation filled up her head making her temples pound. She groaned aloud when she felt it hit the center of her chest like an electric shock.
"Wh-what the hell did you give me?" she managed to slur out against the ache in her lungs. She felt like she was drowning and having a heart attack at the same time.
Tiffany casually turned the steering wheel, leading them down another road. "It'll be over in a second."
"Bullsh-"
Her stomach spasmed and then her legs twitched and kicked until the last of the heat hit her feet causing her toes to curl up and cramp.
Then it was done.
Yoona slumped back against the car seat, panting. Sweat coated her brow and her eyes were red from vessels raised in the strain. The fire was gone leaving only its ghostly remains behind. Yoona touched her skin to find it cool to the touch despite the inferno that just blazed in her bloodstream.
"Better?" asked Tiffany. Yoona flipped her off as a vibrating phone lifted to Tiffany's ear. "Do you have her? Rough as always. She's fine."
Yoona scoffed. They had different definitions of fine. Her lips, toes, and fingers were still tingling and her head was yet to stop pulsing.
"We'll see you in seven." Tiffany hung up and dropped her phone into the cup coaster. "Sunny says your tracker is working."
"Great." Yoona leaned her head back, mouth open to take in gasps of cool air. Her stomach was churning.
Tiffany's brow furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"
"I think I'm going to be sick."
Jerking the car off the road, Yoona got the door open just in time to vomit onto the asphalt.
She groaned. Tiffany owed her another damn pastry.
-/-/-/-
Only Sunny was present when they arrived. She sat at her post surrounded by computer screens and body moving to a trance song playing low from overhanging speakers.
"Have a seat. I'll get you something that will help." Taking off her coat, Tiffany stalked off in her heels.
Yoona rolled out a chair beside Sunny and plopped down, letting her wobbly legs get a rest.
"Rough ride, huh?"
Rough was an understatement. She was just now starting to feel back to normal.
"What was that?"
"You basically just injected yourself with a couple nano-robotic mini leeches. Each one is programmed for a different part of your body. They use your bloodstream to get there then attach to your tissue which sends signals and readings back to me."
With a few clicks of her mouse, Sunny pulled up a map of various blinking dots on the screen. Three closest together were her, Sunny, and Tiffany. Taeyeon's blinked in a stationary location of a residential area while Sooyoung's was steadily moving down the street. There was one other dot, red while theirs were white. Yoona didn't have the chance to focus on it when the screen changed.
Her named glowed beside a body outline filled with glowing colors. Next to it was a key listing out her vital signs along with her age, blood type, height, weight, and every other bit of personal information Yoona didn't even remember her doctors knowing or telling.
"Thorough."
"My own creation. It took a couple tries and a few blackouts to get it right."
"By blackouts you mean electric, right?"
Sunny's grin was all she needed to know that they were differently more dangerous than that. "The readings weren't always this detailed. I made a few changes since-"
"Here." Tiffany returned, holding a mug.
Taking it, Yoona sniffed at its streaming contents, missing the way Tiffany eyed Sunny. It smelt like coffee and it looked like coffee but after the freaky, robot drugs she couldn't be sure anymore.
"What's in this?"
"Sugar."
Yoona sipped. Tiffany wasn't lying. She gave a thumbs up and spun away from Tiffany who rolled her eyes and grabbed a chair on Sunny's other side. The screen changed with a few clicks showing the interior of a building. People hurried about setting up tables and sliding chairs under them.
“What’s this?”
"Z1 is hosting a charity banquet tonight at the Solstice Opera House.” Tiffany pointed at the monitor. “That's what you see here. A few higher ups from Ion, including Kwon, will be there. Sunny's managed to get our eyes through on a few cameras."
"Are we going?"
"We're waiting. You'll move in once Kwon is back at the estate. You'll be posing as a call girl so you can keep your date rape drugs at home. We want you to woo her not scare her.”
Yoona turned away from cooks scurrying about a kitchen to Tiffany whose eyes were glued to the surveillance cameras. "Don't you think a call girl is a little risky?"
"You won't be the first."
Sunny sat back in her large, rolly chair. "When you're a sex deprived, closeted lesbian with daddy issues, and a surname worth hundreds, you get lonely."
"Do I have to sleep with her?" Not that Yoona didn't already do that with random strangers in the job she currently had, but something about doing the horizontal hustle with lady Kwon made her a little uneasy.
Tiffany paused, assessing Yoona's expression. "If that's where things lead, yes."
"How am I going to get close to her that way? We don't stick around. We get the deed done, swear secrecy, get paid, and go."
"As far as we know, Jung hasn't gotten her hands on Kwon yet. You'll be one step ahead by establishing this connection first, but I want you to be strategic. Show a different side, come onto her like a normal person. Don't make it feel like a job, make her feel safe. Make her believe you're friends."
Yoona scrunched her face. She didn't like how any of this sounded no matter how easy she thought it could be. "I'm terrible at making friends."
Tiffany sighed. "Just remember it's not about fucking it's about trusting."
Yoona smirked. "Whoa, Hwang lady dropped an F-bomb? Hot. Can you say it again?"
Sunny snorted. "I like this one. Can we keep it?"
Tiffany got up. "Don't get attached to strays, Soonkyu."
Yoona snapped her neck to Sunny. "Why do you get a first name?"
"Finish your coffee,” said Tiffany. “You're coming with me."
-/-/-/-
Tiffany held a bottle of dye to Yoona's blonde head. She thought someone like Tiffany would take them to a classier beauty supply store not a random secondhand shop Yoona used to buy cheap shampoos and dyes when it physically hurt to spend more for the things going on her head rather than in her stomach.
Yoona glanced to the front where the associate was flipping through pages in a wrinkled, out of date magazine. Either the new issue hadn't come in or there was a centerfold in there worth the obsession.
Tiffany placed down the bottle to pick up a box. It was a light shade of brown and the woman on the front looked all too pleased with having her hair resemble the slice of german chocolate cake Yoona shared with Seohyun a few weeks ago.
"Maybe Kwon has a thing for blondes.”
Tiffany put down the box for a darker shade. "If Jessica Jung is any hint, you're probably right but you need to be inconspicuous." She tried another bottle and frowned, mumbling under her breath. "Sunny is better at this."
Yoona would've preferred Sunny with her. She seemed the most relaxed and the most comfortable to be around. Not that she didn't mind having Mistress Hwang as her babysitter, but she needed to loosen her pencil skirt a little.
"How did you get assigned as Taeyeon's bitch?"
"I'm no one's bitch." Three different types of dye dropped into the hand basket hanging on the crook of Tiffany's elbow. "I've known Taeyeon for a few years. She was already established in the trade when I joined her and the others.”
"You had everyone but a thief?"
"Taeyeon's one of the best I know, but she's retired."
"Why?”
"Let's go."
Tiffany led them to the register and swiped her card. She offered an eye smile and her thanks to the cashier before shooing Yoona out the door and into the car. They headed a different direction, away from the warehouse district and deeper into a residential area until they reached a set of upscale apartments on the opposite side of the city.
Yoona should've expected it, but her eyebrows still lifted in surprise at the lavish building. Polished floors and off-white furniture presented itself to her beneath the soft glow of sunlight coming through a wall of windows. Yoona peeked out at the streets below. The memory of her initiation hit her and she drew away, turning to find Tiffany slinking into the kitchen.
"This is where you live?" asked Yoona, leaning against the high, glossy counter.
"One of them. Would you like something to drink?"
She didn't wait for a response to take out a wine bottle from the fridge and popped the cork. Plucking two glasses from a hanging rack, she poured deep, crimson liquid into each.
Yoona sipped. It was strong - aged well as Seohyun's father would say. Suddenly Yoona missed get-together's at the Seo's that always resulted in Yoona and Seohyun sprawled on Seohyun's floor, bodies warm and nicely buzzed from too many sips. So many secrets and feelings were spilled in those moments. So many laughs and tears and joys were created on that floor.
Yoona drank a bit more for memory sake.
"I looked you up. You've known the Kim's longer than just a few years."
"Our families joined into one firm nineteen years ago."
Nineteen years. Yoona was ten and Seohyun was nine. They were so innocent and naive at that age. They clung to one another as the sisters and friends they never had. Ideas of their parents slowly slipping more and more into the art of crime was as foreign to them as boys at that age.
"You grew up with Taeyeon."
Tiffany shook her head, tongue lapping out to erase a bead of wine from her lip. “My parents divorced when I was six so I lived in the States with my mother. It was after her passing that I came back to Korea. In that time, Y&K was established and I met Taeyeon."
In that time, Yoona turned sixteen and she finally questioned her father on why he worked late, missed events, put new security in place, could afford things like he couldn't before.
"Then she asked you to be her partner in con."
Tiffany laughed a gentle sound. "Taeyeon has a special way with people. She has the ability to sell you into something dangerous and exhilarating that you never would've seen yourself doing. Once you are, you can't imagine yourself doing anything else."
Same as her own father after months of calming her down, months of explaining his reasonings, and months of spiking Yoona's curiosity until she begged him to let her help him. To this day, she still couldn't believe he put so much faith and trust into his eighteen-year-old daughter.
Yoona pushed herself up onto the counter, legs swinging below. "She conned you into conning."
"She conned me into being her friend, but that was no trick at all. I knew I could trust her with my life and in return I am wholehearted loyal to her.”
Something about the way Tiffany talked about Taeyeon caught her attention. So much admiration and affection bled through her indifference. There was a shine in her eyes.
"Do you love her?" Yoona asked.
Tiffany didn't even have to think about it before she answered, "More than anything."
"You two…"
Tiffany shook her head with a shy smile. Yoona warmed at seeing something other than her cool exterior. "What I feel for Taeyeon is more than what I've felt for anyone else. I'd never ruin that with something as trivial as a relationship."
"I feel that way about Seohyun."
"Maybe." Tiffany smiled and put aside her empty glass. The ease between them disappeared. Back to business. "Come with me. We'll dye your hair after finding you the right outfit."
"I have clothes," said Yoona, following her through a hallway into a bedroom.
Tiffany had an excellent choice in decor. Very modern. Yoona plopped down to sit on the bed and leaned back on her hands as Tiffany slid back the doors of a walk-in closet.
"These people are like dogs. They can smell your," Tiffany threw up air quotes, "Dolshay and Cabbana the moment you step in. Kwon only deals in high quality. To be effective, you have to look the part all the way down to your Brazilian wax."
"I went recently." The club was very meticulous about these sorts of things though they did let a few off the hook for kinks sake.
"They give excellent service," Tiffany said offhandedly.
Yoona almost forgot she'd actually seen the woman before her half-naked and knew the sounds she made when there was a hand down her pants. It would've been worth the remembrance if Tiffany wasn't the same as her - job first, pleasure later.
She'd never know if those moans were real or not. Yoona shrugged it off.
"I'll pass along the compliment."
Tiffany spun around with a handful of hangers. "Are you ready?"
"Dress me up like one of your Barbies."
Tiffany grinned. "Strip."
-/-/-/-
She dropped her keys into the bowl by the door and kicked it close with her heel. The gasp she heard across the room scared her until she realized the thing Seohyun was gasping at from where she lounged on the sofa was the foreign thing coming into their apartment.
"Your hair."
Yoona grimaced. "Do you hate it?"
Tiffany settled on some deep shade of brown that was almost black and called up Sunny to come help trim and style it. It was weird looking at herself in the mirror after months of being a bright, golden shade of blonde.
"It reminds me of the old you."
"Did you hate the new me?"
"I love all of the yous."
Yoona rolled her eyes, ignoring the way the back of her neck burned and walked off to look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit it looked good. It made her look older in a way. A little more sophisticated. She owed Salon de Sunfany a tip.
"What do you want for dinner?" Yoona called from her room where she changed into shorts and a sweater. There were only a few more hours until the banquet would end. Tiffany allowed her to spend them at home.
"Anything."
"I'll make poop kabobs."
"Don't be nasty."
Yoona chuckled, pulling out a pan and utensils. "What if we order in?"
"I like your cooking better."
Yoona feigned a gasp. "Better than pad thai from Khun's?"
Seohyun leaned a hip against the sink counter. "Hmm, maybe not."
"I'll cook."
"Can I help?"
Yoona stopped. Flashes of the evening she left Seohyun alone to make dinner came back with a rush of terrified feelings. She was more than hesitant now than she'd been in the past. After the doctor reports and the newly installed machine Seohyun had to use every night, anything she did Yoona monitored with severe attention.
Seohyun frowned. She could read Yoona's expression. "I'll be okay."
After a moment, Yoona nodded and let Seohyun take over the cutting board. Vegetables and meat sizzled in a pot and Yoona set the coffee table in the sitting room while Seohyun poured herself a glass of milk and grabbed a cola from the fridge for Yoona. They sat on the floor with steaming plates to eat.
"What made you change it?"
Yoona shrugged. "I wanted something new. You really don't hate it?"
"It really looks good."
"Do you remember the time you tried red but it went pink?"
"I thought you liked it!"
"You already felt bad. I didn't want to make it worse."
A pea flew across the table. Yoona snickered and picked it up, popping it into her mouth to Seohyun's disgust.
Sobering, Yoona propped an elbow against the table.
"Do you trust me, Juhyun?"
Seohyun went still. Yoona hardly used her entire real name.
"Yes."
"Do you know I'd do anything for you?"
"You always tell me."
"But do you know that I would?"
Seohyun frowned. "You're scaring me, Yoong."
Setting down her fork, Yoona leaned back against the couch. She'd been thinking about this since the day she agreed to this assignment, since the day Taeyeon made her jump off that building, since the day Seohyun collapsed in their kitchen.
She knew the answers to these questions but hearing Seohyun say it was different. It put everything into sharp perspective. She was playing with life or death again and she needed the reminder that another body was attached to those decisions.
It was something her father seemed to forget. She wouldn't do the same.
"I don't ever want you to worry," said Yoona, carefully. "I'm going to find a way for you to get better. I'm going to find you a donor and I'm going to find a better place for us to live easily."
Seohyun's brow wrinkled. "Where is this coming from?"
Yoona shook her head. The familiar nag to come clean was biting at her again. She owed her the truth, but there was a hesitance in shattering the simple life illusion Seohyun had.
"I wanted you to know. That's all."
Seohyun reached a hand across the table and Yoona took it, allowing the comfort in their connection to ease her.
"I'll be out late tonight," she said after a moment. "You should take your medication now."
Seohyun didn't argue with her and nodded. Yoona pushed off the floor to grab the bottles from the cabinet and sprinkled the dosages into her palm. She offered them to Seohyun with a glass of water just as her phone buzzed with Tiffany's message.
"Get some rest tonight, okay?"
"Check on me when you get in?"
Yoona smiled. "Always."
-/-/-/-
The Kwon estate stood at the furthest edge of grounds peppered with other magnificent houses. Tiffany drove right up to the place. Its foreign design stood out like a sore thumb like all the others they'd passed cruising down the long road.
She pulled the car beside a still fountain in the center of the rounded driveway and flicked off the lights so only the glow coming from swinging outdoor lamps spaced out along the lot lit up their faces. Idled their with only the car's quiet engine rumbling beneath her, Yoona was finally forced to realize how nervous she actually was.
"Don't come on too strong," said Tiffany fixing a stray piece of Yoona's hair. It was such a sweet gesture that Yoona almost forgot they weren't that close. "This is a woman you're dealing with."
It was her tension that brought along the bite in her voice. "You don't have to coach me. I know what I'm doing."
"I know. I have full faith in you."
"Was that a compliment, Miss Hwang?"
Tiffany handed her the strap of her bag. "I'll be back to pick you up in a few hours."
Slinging the purse over her shoulder, Yoona climbed out of the car.
Cold air hit her naked legs and she wished Tiffany would've given her tights, stockings, or something. The draft up her skirt beneath the heavy coat was a biting at the clammy skin between her thighs. Yoona ignored it and started up the walk towards the front double doors, heels popping on the rough concrete all the way.
She wavered at the porch to glance back at Tiffany. She couldn't see her, but she knew she was watching. Yoona wondered why they couldn't have Sex Kitten Hwang do this. Then again, her face was attached to a business just the same as Yuri's.
Yoona took a deep breath and punched the button to the buzzer.
A male voice came through the speakers. "Kwon Residents.”
"I'm, uh…" Yoona swallowed and gritted her teeth. She liked Sunny a little less for making her use this atrocious name. "I'm Bambi? I'm here to see Miss Kwon."
"Pardon, what was your name?"
She cleared her throat. "Bambi."
Silence.
Yoona held her arms drawn close around her body, holding in her anxiety. Tiffany said they'd worked everything out beforehand. All she had to do was give a name. The white noise she was getting said something otherwise.
She had half a mind to walk back down the walkway but her getaway car was gone and the crackle in the intercom cleared up once again.
"Please, come inside."
Static cut off giving way to the distinct sound of locks unlatching. Grabbing the handle, Yoona pushed open the door and stepped into the entry foyer. It instantly put Tiffany and her elaborate apartment to shame. Just the smell inside said money, money, money. Yoona almost didn't want to walk along the pretty, wine carpet that led her into the main room.
"Miss."
Yoona jumped at the sudden voice and turned to see a man in a tailored suit. He must've been the one on the intercom. His face was just as kind as the deep bow he gave in apology for startling her. Yoona returned it.
"Am I in the right place?"
"Yes. You can find Miss Kwon up those stairs in the central room. May I take your coat?"
Yoona was slow to agree and shrugged off her jacket. His eyes washed over her fitted black dress once before motioning her towards the stairs.
"Thank you." Yoona offered another bow and began her way up a curved set of steps.
There were too many doors to pick which was the central one. Yoona walked between the two most in between ones, debating which to try first when the climax of a song filtered through one.
She stopped and leaned her ear against the cool wood, listening to the music. This was it.
She knocked.
"Come in."
Another deep breath, Yoona urged herself into character and turned the knob.
The room was cloaked in warm shades of browns and caramels. Overhead lights off, lamps gave it a homey glow that drew Yoona inside and eased her along with the smooth music that played off a crackly record in an antique player.
At the center of it all sat a woman at a desk. Beneath her nose was a spread of papers beside a bottle of a brandy and an empty glass with the residue of lipstick around the rim. Her shocked face, lit up by the bulb beneath the green shade of her desk lamp, turned confused surrounded by glossy black hair that spilled over a loose white blouse.
Yoona had seen pictures of Yuri. She may have even seen her on the news, but there was a beauty in her that no camera or network could capture. Kwon Yuri was breathtakingly stunning. Something Yoona was always weak to.
"Who are you?" asked Yuri. Her voice was thick and smooth.
Yoona was so caught up she nearly forgot her role.
"I'm your stress ball for the night."
Yuri looked her over, noting her attired. It didn't take any longer than a second for it to click. "I didn't make any requests."
Yoona cursed Tiffany and her stupid entourage in her head. So much for all the work being taken care of beforehand.
"I'm a gift from a friend who thought you could use the extra company."
"I've had enough company for the night."
"What's one more?"
"Unwanted. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Yuri stood up and clapped her hands so that the overhead lights came on turning the warmth into a stark unwantedness.
She panicked the closer Yuri drew to her. Dammit, she was even prettier up close.
"Wait. I just got here."
"I appreciate the service, but not tonight." Grabbing the door, Yuri jerked it open. "Minho will see you out."
"But-."
"Minho!"
"Wait. Listen." One swift movement, Yoona shut the door. Yuri stared up at her, incredulous. "Please. Hear me out."
Yuri drew her arms around her chest. "What?"
The words flew out of her mouth as quickly as they came to her head, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I'm only paid by the time and if I go back now then I don't get anything. The one who called me in, they're paying me more than I get in a month alone and I really, really need it."
"I can write you a check-"
"It doesn't work that way." Yoona slid in front of the doorknob, blocking it from her. She could smell brandy off her breath and perfume off her tanned skin. "Please. Let me stay here for a few hours. We can talk, maybe have a drink? I'll stay out of the way. That's it."
Yuri glared. "I know your tricks."
"This isn't a trick, I swear," Yoona pleaded, putting on her best hopeless act. She could see Yuri's resolve crumble away bit by bit. "Give me two hours. I'll sit over here, you can be over there. If I try anything, you can kick me out. Your butler can throw me out. Literally. He can throw me out on that beautiful, hundred dollar lawn."
Yuri's cheek twitched in attempts to hold back a smile.
"Writing a check would be easier."
"For you. Not for me." Yoona did her best to look desperate. "Please, I need this."
Yuri's eyebrow cocked. "Two hours?"
"Two max. You can even start a timer."
Yuri dropped her arms and sighed. "We'll wait downstairs in the parlor."
-/-/-/-
The whole urban design through the entire place was really impressive. She blamed her father engraving the idea of,
“Always know your surroundings,”
into her head for even noticing. She also took note of the immediate exits and recalled the floor plan Sunny flashed her back at the cube. The place was unnecessarily huge though not as elaborate as Yoona expected it to be. It seemed the Kwon’s were about flash but less about flare. They were only one-half of the sort of people Yoona’s father disliked.
She wondered what he’d think about her if he saw her doing this. She smirked. He’d probably high five her.
“Make yourself comfortable.”
Yoona sank onto a stiff couch not even minding to fix the hem of her dress that rode up high along her thighs. Yuri’s gaze shifted down a second too long not to be noticed. Maybe if she played her cards right, Yoona could get all the way tonight.
“I’ll be right back.”
Yuri left for a moment and came back with two glasses and the half full bottle of brandy. She poured Yoona some first and took a chair across the way, crossing her legs draped in black slacks.
She looked tired if not stressed. There was a nice gloss to her eyes no doubt from the drinking she'd already been doing. Yoona thanked the alcohol. She knew it was a factor in the reason why Yuri gave in so easily.
Without the record playing, everything was eerily quiet. Yoona kept her eyes away from Yuri taking more gulps than sips and body angled in a way so she was facing a shelf of thick, old books with dutch titles embossed in the spines.
The awkward tension was real. Yoona was about to call Tiffany’s master plan a failure. She’d never felt so out of place and so inept in the presence of a beautiful woman before. She trained herself how to ignore the prickles in her skin and the worried pangs in her gut during these things. Yuri was making her feel exposed.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve…”
Yoona regained her composure after the sudden clash of Yuri’s syrupy voice into the quiet. “You’re not lonely in a big place like this?”
“I’m not alone.”
“Servants don’t count unless…” Yoona trailed off when Yuri sneered, catching her implication.
Too soon for jokes, apparently. She’d tone it down.
Yuri shifted so she leaned back against the cushion, leg crossed over her knee and glass balanced neatly in a hand on her ankle. She made the masculine gesture look naturally feminine.
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you know about me?”
“I know you’re Kwon Yuri, President of Ion Corp, and I know you haven’t been on a date in a while.”
Yuri coughed out an empty laugh. “I didn’t say anything about not going on dates.”
“No suitors with bones big enough for the President?” Yoona’s lifted a curious eyebrow.
Yuri squirmed, but the alcohol in her system seemingly turned her tongue loose. “The bones are big, but I’m not interested. Obviously,” she gestured across the room. “Why else would someone send someone like you here?”
“You could enjoy both? Maybe you’re curious? No assumptions until proven guilty.”
Yuri couldn’t hold back the quiet chuckle she gave into her glass. It was filled with less humor and more with distasteful bitterness. “Secrets out I guess.”
“It’s safe with me.”
Yuri smiled her appreciation and slouched. She was surprisingly more comfortable than Yoona thought she’d be, but Sunny did say she wasn’t the first. A regular would have no reason to be timid when they were used to taking their clothes off for a fresh face unknown every other week or so.
Dark eyes shifted to Yoona, catching her staring. Yoona had no shame in the matter, but Yuri shifted in self-consciousness. “I meant I haven’t had…someone like you here in a long time.”
“Lost interest in us, too?”
She scoffed into her glass, avoiding the question. “Whoever sent you is either playing a sick joke or they’ve picked up on a few too many hints.”
“It’s against rules, but if I knew I would tell you. Most callers give fake names and only drop an address that’s passed onto the girl of choice.”
“I’m familiar with the process.” and she didn’t sound very pleased with herself for it.
Yoona drew up her legs into the chair, tucking them beneath her as she leaned against the armrest, chin propped on a fist. “A president, beautiful, money, women would be paying to even sit at the same table as you.”
“I pay them instead.”
“There are ways to make it work.”
“It’s not the same.” Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose and massaged. “This is so strange for me. I don’t usually just talk with…”
“We don’t have to.”
Yuri looked up at her, head tilted. “What’s your name?”
“Bambi.”
“Your real name.”
Yoona smiled and took a sip.
“This is what it’s reduced to,” said Yuri, with a sigh. “Spilling my personal problems to strangers whose names I’ll never know. I’m just a paycheck to you.”
“I’m just a fuck to you.”
Yuri’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t appear offended. There was something passed that. Maybe surprise that someone had actually said it out loud to her with a hint of apology and guilt thrown in. Yoona knew the feelings all too well. In the end, Yuri would just be a paycheck to her. Oh, the irony of it all.
Swallowing the last of her drink, Yuri reached for the bottle.
“Long day?”
“Can you tell?” She took a gulp and Yoona could practically see her getting drunker the moment she swallowed.
“There are other ways to relax that are easier on the liver.”
“Like?”
“I could give you a massage.” Yuri’s eyebrow cocked. Yoona backtracked. “You’re tense, I can tell. It’s only a massage. It’s my way of giving back for letting me stay. I don’t break my promises, I promise.”
“The alcohol says yes. Yes, I’d like that.”
She pulled down the hem of her dress just enough to keep her lacy underwear from peeking out and sauntered across the room. Yuri watched her the entire time, glassy eyes unable to be discreet any longer. The self-control she was showing despite her obvious desire was admirable. If Yoona tried a little harder, she was sure she could break her tonight.
“Turn around for me, she instructed."
Scooting along the couch, Yuri squared her shoulders towards the bookshelf. Yoona sat down in the space behind her and took hold of her shoulders.
A warm hand covered hers, guiding it to a spot on Yuri’s neck. “There.”
Yoona began gently circle her fingers. “Like that?”
“Just like- oh, that feels good. That…” Yuri dropped her head forward.
Yoona kept the steady pace, changing pressure with each circle. She could feel lean muscle beneath her blouse, solid but not thick. With someone whose image played a large part in their role, there was no question that Yuri would stay fit.
“Maybe I did need company tonight,” Yuri muttered. The color of her voice had changed to something thicker - huskier.
“We aren’t just for sex.”
“I know. It’s easy to talk to people who you have no connection with. They’re less prone to judge you or cheat you. With money involved, there’s no strings attached, and most don’t open their mouths as long as the number of zeros dropped into their accounts is to their satisfaction.”
Yoona chuckled. “You are familiar with the process.”
“Too familiar.”
“What you want, it’s only natural.”
“And what is that?”
“Someone who isn’t a check.” she felt Yuri tense back up beneath her fingers. She changed the pressure to knead the knots back out.
“I must sound pathetic to you.”
“Loneliness finds a way to satisfy itself one way or another. You found yours.”
Yuri looked back just enough so she could see Yoona’s face. “You might be one of the wisest call girl I’ve met.”
“I went to college.”
Yuri’s laugh vibrated through her into Yoona’s fingertips. She was made hyper-aware of the warmth permeating off her skin. Smoothing her hands down, she dug her thumbs into Yuri’s tight shoulder blades.
Yuri let out a long breath. “That feels really good.”
“Would you like it harder?”
“Yes, please,” it left her lips in a moan that made the hairs on the back of Yoona’s neck stand.
She ignored the tiny spark set off in the pit of her stomach as she dug her fingers in deeper. Yuri groaned, head rolling from one side to the other where her chin and cheek grazing along Yoona’s knuckles.
“You’re so good at this.”
Lidded eyes peered up at her and Yoona held her ground, fingers moving in deeper, slower circles. Soft lips kissed her knuckles, the back of her hand, the top of her wrist. Yoona’s movement stopped, allowing Yuri to guide soft pecks further up her arm.
“I thought we were just going to sit here.”
“You keep promises, but I don’t always.”
Yuri’s body turned just enough for her to run the tip of her tongue along the soft inside of Yoona’s forearm. Those eyes, hazed with the effects of brandy, held on Yoona’s own as she grabbed hold of Yoona’s wrist and eased her down just enough to reach her bare shoulder. Goosebumps lifted to Yoona’s skin when she felt Yuri’s mouth open just enough to place a nip at the mole right at-
Yoona drew back at the sound of the timer going off.
Yuri got up to turn it off. Yoona remained where she stood, a new sort of tension in her shoulders. Nervously, she tucked hair behind her ear, eyes slow to meet Yuri’s staring at her across the room. The heat in the room had risen. Yoona’s heart beat in her chest. Yuri’s face was even more stunning flushed with rosy cheeks.
Yoona swallowed. She couldn’t overstay her welcome. She still had a job to do and she wasn’t going to let her own puzzling desires get in the way.
“I guess that’s my cue to go.”
“Right, um…” Yuri ran her hands down the side of her slacks. She was just as uneasy as Yoona. “Minho will see you out. Do I need to call a cab?”
“No, I’ll be okay. Thank you for letting me stay.”
Yuri nodded.
“Do you have a pen?”
“On the shelf.”
Grabbing one of the ceramic coasters, Yoona wrote the number to the phone Tiffany gave her on the cork bottom. It was more than she was asked to do, but it was just the right bait she needed. She wanted to be stuck in Yuri’s mind.
“Just in case,” said Yoona, leaving it on the table. “Goodnight, President.”
Bowing, Yoona headed for the door, leaving her desires inside.
Part IV
-
Author: Boxxsaltz
Pairing: Yoona/Yuri
Rating: R
Summary: There was no job and no money worth the kind of brokenness Yoona endured ever again…except maybe this once.
Part III
Yoona rode her bike to the corner store away from the apartment and waited for Tiffany to pick her up. All the secrecy was tedious, but it was the best precaution. She didn't need Seohyun asking more questions about the hidden parts of her life.
Buying a pastry at the register, she was peeling back the wrapper to take a bite when a familiar black car rolled up on the curb. Yoona chewed on sugary dough and cream cheese as she dropped into the passenger seat and locked her belt into place.
"Good afternoon, Miss Im."
"Now that we're partners in crime you can drop the formalities."
Smiling, Tiffany pulled onto the street and dropped a padded, postal envelope into her lap. Digging inside, Yoona drew out a cell phone, an oddly shaped piece of metal on a keyring, and small black, velvet case.
A finely manicured nail tapped the screen of the thin, black cell. "You'll contact us on nothing other than that phone. It's untraceable and is set to wipe itself clean every twenty-four hours in case it gets into the wrong hands. That piece there is-"
"Key to the warehouse."
"The cube," Tiffany corrected. "You know one of the three entrances. I'll show you the other two along with the emergency hatch later."
Yoona attached the plugged shaped thing onto her set of keys and tucked them away before cracking open the velvet case. Inside was a syringe filled with clear, electric blue liquid.
"Is this cube brand heroin?"
Taking it in her fingers, Yoona held it up to her eyes. What she thought were bubbles against the tube looked metallic and unnatural in the way they swam about.
"That is a tracker. We each have one. If anything happens to you, we know exactly where to find you. Don't worry, Sunny is the only one with access to the points. She sends out information on whereabouts and activity only if it's necessary. Like if you're in danger or went missing."
"You still don't trust me?"
"You jumped."
"We're con artists, Miss Hwang."
Tiffany ignored her. "Inject it."
Yoona hesitated. "Right now?"
"On the back of your neck. Careful not to insert the needle too deeply."
"Is this another test?"
Eyes cut over to her. "It's a precaution and it's my reassurance."
Yoona smirked as she attached the needle to the syringe and got rid of the air inside. "So you don't completely trust me?”
"You're wasting time. I want to make sure it works."
Watching herself in the visor mirror, Yoona placed the tip of the needle against the base of her neck. It stabbed into her skin barely noticeable, but the feeling of the serum going into her was like fire.
She winced, body clenching against the burning sensation it created at the entry point and began to spread through the thin skin of her neck. The veins all along her face and neck rose to the surface glowing a deep blue in slithering patterns that made her look alien and sick.
"Breathe," Tiffany commanded, softly.
Yoona released the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding and sucked in another. She gasped for air as the sensation filled up her head making her temples pound. She groaned aloud when she felt it hit the center of her chest like an electric shock.
"Wh-what the hell did you give me?" she managed to slur out against the ache in her lungs. She felt like she was drowning and having a heart attack at the same time.
Tiffany casually turned the steering wheel, leading them down another road. "It'll be over in a second."
"Bullsh-"
Her stomach spasmed and then her legs twitched and kicked until the last of the heat hit her feet causing her toes to curl up and cramp.
Then it was done.
Yoona slumped back against the car seat, panting. Sweat coated her brow and her eyes were red from vessels raised in the strain. The fire was gone leaving only its ghostly remains behind. Yoona touched her skin to find it cool to the touch despite the inferno that just blazed in her bloodstream.
"Better?" asked Tiffany. Yoona flipped her off as a vibrating phone lifted to Tiffany's ear. "Do you have her? Rough as always. She's fine."
Yoona scoffed. They had different definitions of fine. Her lips, toes, and fingers were still tingling and her head was yet to stop pulsing.
"We'll see you in seven." Tiffany hung up and dropped her phone into the cup coaster. "Sunny says your tracker is working."
"Great." Yoona leaned her head back, mouth open to take in gasps of cool air. Her stomach was churning.
Tiffany's brow furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"
"I think I'm going to be sick."
Jerking the car off the road, Yoona got the door open just in time to vomit onto the asphalt.
She groaned. Tiffany owed her another damn pastry.
-/-/-/-
Only Sunny was present when they arrived. She sat at her post surrounded by computer screens and body moving to a trance song playing low from overhanging speakers.
"Have a seat. I'll get you something that will help." Taking off her coat, Tiffany stalked off in her heels.
Yoona rolled out a chair beside Sunny and plopped down, letting her wobbly legs get a rest.
"Rough ride, huh?"
Rough was an understatement. She was just now starting to feel back to normal.
"What was that?"
"You basically just injected yourself with a couple nano-robotic mini leeches. Each one is programmed for a different part of your body. They use your bloodstream to get there then attach to your tissue which sends signals and readings back to me."
With a few clicks of her mouse, Sunny pulled up a map of various blinking dots on the screen. Three closest together were her, Sunny, and Tiffany. Taeyeon's blinked in a stationary location of a residential area while Sooyoung's was steadily moving down the street. There was one other dot, red while theirs were white. Yoona didn't have the chance to focus on it when the screen changed.
Her named glowed beside a body outline filled with glowing colors. Next to it was a key listing out her vital signs along with her age, blood type, height, weight, and every other bit of personal information Yoona didn't even remember her doctors knowing or telling.
"Thorough."
"My own creation. It took a couple tries and a few blackouts to get it right."
"By blackouts you mean electric, right?"
Sunny's grin was all she needed to know that they were differently more dangerous than that. "The readings weren't always this detailed. I made a few changes since-"
"Here." Tiffany returned, holding a mug.
Taking it, Yoona sniffed at its streaming contents, missing the way Tiffany eyed Sunny. It smelt like coffee and it looked like coffee but after the freaky, robot drugs she couldn't be sure anymore.
"What's in this?"
"Sugar."
Yoona sipped. Tiffany wasn't lying. She gave a thumbs up and spun away from Tiffany who rolled her eyes and grabbed a chair on Sunny's other side. The screen changed with a few clicks showing the interior of a building. People hurried about setting up tables and sliding chairs under them.
“What’s this?”
"Z1 is hosting a charity banquet tonight at the Solstice Opera House.” Tiffany pointed at the monitor. “That's what you see here. A few higher ups from Ion, including Kwon, will be there. Sunny's managed to get our eyes through on a few cameras."
"Are we going?"
"We're waiting. You'll move in once Kwon is back at the estate. You'll be posing as a call girl so you can keep your date rape drugs at home. We want you to woo her not scare her.”
Yoona turned away from cooks scurrying about a kitchen to Tiffany whose eyes were glued to the surveillance cameras. "Don't you think a call girl is a little risky?"
"You won't be the first."
Sunny sat back in her large, rolly chair. "When you're a sex deprived, closeted lesbian with daddy issues, and a surname worth hundreds, you get lonely."
"Do I have to sleep with her?" Not that Yoona didn't already do that with random strangers in the job she currently had, but something about doing the horizontal hustle with lady Kwon made her a little uneasy.
Tiffany paused, assessing Yoona's expression. "If that's where things lead, yes."
"How am I going to get close to her that way? We don't stick around. We get the deed done, swear secrecy, get paid, and go."
"As far as we know, Jung hasn't gotten her hands on Kwon yet. You'll be one step ahead by establishing this connection first, but I want you to be strategic. Show a different side, come onto her like a normal person. Don't make it feel like a job, make her feel safe. Make her believe you're friends."
Yoona scrunched her face. She didn't like how any of this sounded no matter how easy she thought it could be. "I'm terrible at making friends."
Tiffany sighed. "Just remember it's not about fucking it's about trusting."
Yoona smirked. "Whoa, Hwang lady dropped an F-bomb? Hot. Can you say it again?"
Sunny snorted. "I like this one. Can we keep it?"
Tiffany got up. "Don't get attached to strays, Soonkyu."
Yoona snapped her neck to Sunny. "Why do you get a first name?"
"Finish your coffee,” said Tiffany. “You're coming with me."
-/-/-/-
Tiffany held a bottle of dye to Yoona's blonde head. She thought someone like Tiffany would take them to a classier beauty supply store not a random secondhand shop Yoona used to buy cheap shampoos and dyes when it physically hurt to spend more for the things going on her head rather than in her stomach.
Yoona glanced to the front where the associate was flipping through pages in a wrinkled, out of date magazine. Either the new issue hadn't come in or there was a centerfold in there worth the obsession.
Tiffany placed down the bottle to pick up a box. It was a light shade of brown and the woman on the front looked all too pleased with having her hair resemble the slice of german chocolate cake Yoona shared with Seohyun a few weeks ago.
"Maybe Kwon has a thing for blondes.”
Tiffany put down the box for a darker shade. "If Jessica Jung is any hint, you're probably right but you need to be inconspicuous." She tried another bottle and frowned, mumbling under her breath. "Sunny is better at this."
Yoona would've preferred Sunny with her. She seemed the most relaxed and the most comfortable to be around. Not that she didn't mind having Mistress Hwang as her babysitter, but she needed to loosen her pencil skirt a little.
"How did you get assigned as Taeyeon's bitch?"
"I'm no one's bitch." Three different types of dye dropped into the hand basket hanging on the crook of Tiffany's elbow. "I've known Taeyeon for a few years. She was already established in the trade when I joined her and the others.”
"You had everyone but a thief?"
"Taeyeon's one of the best I know, but she's retired."
"Why?”
"Let's go."
Tiffany led them to the register and swiped her card. She offered an eye smile and her thanks to the cashier before shooing Yoona out the door and into the car. They headed a different direction, away from the warehouse district and deeper into a residential area until they reached a set of upscale apartments on the opposite side of the city.
Yoona should've expected it, but her eyebrows still lifted in surprise at the lavish building. Polished floors and off-white furniture presented itself to her beneath the soft glow of sunlight coming through a wall of windows. Yoona peeked out at the streets below. The memory of her initiation hit her and she drew away, turning to find Tiffany slinking into the kitchen.
"This is where you live?" asked Yoona, leaning against the high, glossy counter.
"One of them. Would you like something to drink?"
She didn't wait for a response to take out a wine bottle from the fridge and popped the cork. Plucking two glasses from a hanging rack, she poured deep, crimson liquid into each.
Yoona sipped. It was strong - aged well as Seohyun's father would say. Suddenly Yoona missed get-together's at the Seo's that always resulted in Yoona and Seohyun sprawled on Seohyun's floor, bodies warm and nicely buzzed from too many sips. So many secrets and feelings were spilled in those moments. So many laughs and tears and joys were created on that floor.
Yoona drank a bit more for memory sake.
"I looked you up. You've known the Kim's longer than just a few years."
"Our families joined into one firm nineteen years ago."
Nineteen years. Yoona was ten and Seohyun was nine. They were so innocent and naive at that age. They clung to one another as the sisters and friends they never had. Ideas of their parents slowly slipping more and more into the art of crime was as foreign to them as boys at that age.
"You grew up with Taeyeon."
Tiffany shook her head, tongue lapping out to erase a bead of wine from her lip. “My parents divorced when I was six so I lived in the States with my mother. It was after her passing that I came back to Korea. In that time, Y&K was established and I met Taeyeon."
In that time, Yoona turned sixteen and she finally questioned her father on why he worked late, missed events, put new security in place, could afford things like he couldn't before.
"Then she asked you to be her partner in con."
Tiffany laughed a gentle sound. "Taeyeon has a special way with people. She has the ability to sell you into something dangerous and exhilarating that you never would've seen yourself doing. Once you are, you can't imagine yourself doing anything else."
Same as her own father after months of calming her down, months of explaining his reasonings, and months of spiking Yoona's curiosity until she begged him to let her help him. To this day, she still couldn't believe he put so much faith and trust into his eighteen-year-old daughter.
Yoona pushed herself up onto the counter, legs swinging below. "She conned you into conning."
"She conned me into being her friend, but that was no trick at all. I knew I could trust her with my life and in return I am wholehearted loyal to her.”
Something about the way Tiffany talked about Taeyeon caught her attention. So much admiration and affection bled through her indifference. There was a shine in her eyes.
"Do you love her?" Yoona asked.
Tiffany didn't even have to think about it before she answered, "More than anything."
"You two…"
Tiffany shook her head with a shy smile. Yoona warmed at seeing something other than her cool exterior. "What I feel for Taeyeon is more than what I've felt for anyone else. I'd never ruin that with something as trivial as a relationship."
"I feel that way about Seohyun."
"Maybe." Tiffany smiled and put aside her empty glass. The ease between them disappeared. Back to business. "Come with me. We'll dye your hair after finding you the right outfit."
"I have clothes," said Yoona, following her through a hallway into a bedroom.
Tiffany had an excellent choice in decor. Very modern. Yoona plopped down to sit on the bed and leaned back on her hands as Tiffany slid back the doors of a walk-in closet.
"These people are like dogs. They can smell your," Tiffany threw up air quotes, "Dolshay and Cabbana the moment you step in. Kwon only deals in high quality. To be effective, you have to look the part all the way down to your Brazilian wax."
"I went recently." The club was very meticulous about these sorts of things though they did let a few off the hook for kinks sake.
"They give excellent service," Tiffany said offhandedly.
Yoona almost forgot she'd actually seen the woman before her half-naked and knew the sounds she made when there was a hand down her pants. It would've been worth the remembrance if Tiffany wasn't the same as her - job first, pleasure later.
She'd never know if those moans were real or not. Yoona shrugged it off.
"I'll pass along the compliment."
Tiffany spun around with a handful of hangers. "Are you ready?"
"Dress me up like one of your Barbies."
Tiffany grinned. "Strip."
-/-/-/-
She dropped her keys into the bowl by the door and kicked it close with her heel. The gasp she heard across the room scared her until she realized the thing Seohyun was gasping at from where she lounged on the sofa was the foreign thing coming into their apartment.
"Your hair."
Yoona grimaced. "Do you hate it?"
Tiffany settled on some deep shade of brown that was almost black and called up Sunny to come help trim and style it. It was weird looking at herself in the mirror after months of being a bright, golden shade of blonde.
"It reminds me of the old you."
"Did you hate the new me?"
"I love all of the yous."
Yoona rolled her eyes, ignoring the way the back of her neck burned and walked off to look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit it looked good. It made her look older in a way. A little more sophisticated. She owed Salon de Sunfany a tip.
"What do you want for dinner?" Yoona called from her room where she changed into shorts and a sweater. There were only a few more hours until the banquet would end. Tiffany allowed her to spend them at home.
"Anything."
"I'll make poop kabobs."
"Don't be nasty."
Yoona chuckled, pulling out a pan and utensils. "What if we order in?"
"I like your cooking better."
Yoona feigned a gasp. "Better than pad thai from Khun's?"
Seohyun leaned a hip against the sink counter. "Hmm, maybe not."
"I'll cook."
"Can I help?"
Yoona stopped. Flashes of the evening she left Seohyun alone to make dinner came back with a rush of terrified feelings. She was more than hesitant now than she'd been in the past. After the doctor reports and the newly installed machine Seohyun had to use every night, anything she did Yoona monitored with severe attention.
Seohyun frowned. She could read Yoona's expression. "I'll be okay."
After a moment, Yoona nodded and let Seohyun take over the cutting board. Vegetables and meat sizzled in a pot and Yoona set the coffee table in the sitting room while Seohyun poured herself a glass of milk and grabbed a cola from the fridge for Yoona. They sat on the floor with steaming plates to eat.
"What made you change it?"
Yoona shrugged. "I wanted something new. You really don't hate it?"
"It really looks good."
"Do you remember the time you tried red but it went pink?"
"I thought you liked it!"
"You already felt bad. I didn't want to make it worse."
A pea flew across the table. Yoona snickered and picked it up, popping it into her mouth to Seohyun's disgust.
Sobering, Yoona propped an elbow against the table.
"Do you trust me, Juhyun?"
Seohyun went still. Yoona hardly used her entire real name.
"Yes."
"Do you know I'd do anything for you?"
"You always tell me."
"But do you know that I would?"
Seohyun frowned. "You're scaring me, Yoong."
Setting down her fork, Yoona leaned back against the couch. She'd been thinking about this since the day she agreed to this assignment, since the day Taeyeon made her jump off that building, since the day Seohyun collapsed in their kitchen.
She knew the answers to these questions but hearing Seohyun say it was different. It put everything into sharp perspective. She was playing with life or death again and she needed the reminder that another body was attached to those decisions.
It was something her father seemed to forget. She wouldn't do the same.
"I don't ever want you to worry," said Yoona, carefully. "I'm going to find a way for you to get better. I'm going to find you a donor and I'm going to find a better place for us to live easily."
Seohyun's brow wrinkled. "Where is this coming from?"
Yoona shook her head. The familiar nag to come clean was biting at her again. She owed her the truth, but there was a hesitance in shattering the simple life illusion Seohyun had.
"I wanted you to know. That's all."
Seohyun reached a hand across the table and Yoona took it, allowing the comfort in their connection to ease her.
"I'll be out late tonight," she said after a moment. "You should take your medication now."
Seohyun didn't argue with her and nodded. Yoona pushed off the floor to grab the bottles from the cabinet and sprinkled the dosages into her palm. She offered them to Seohyun with a glass of water just as her phone buzzed with Tiffany's message.
"Get some rest tonight, okay?"
"Check on me when you get in?"
Yoona smiled. "Always."
-/-/-/-
The Kwon estate stood at the furthest edge of grounds peppered with other magnificent houses. Tiffany drove right up to the place. Its foreign design stood out like a sore thumb like all the others they'd passed cruising down the long road.
She pulled the car beside a still fountain in the center of the rounded driveway and flicked off the lights so only the glow coming from swinging outdoor lamps spaced out along the lot lit up their faces. Idled their with only the car's quiet engine rumbling beneath her, Yoona was finally forced to realize how nervous she actually was.
"Don't come on too strong," said Tiffany fixing a stray piece of Yoona's hair. It was such a sweet gesture that Yoona almost forgot they weren't that close. "This is a woman you're dealing with."
It was her tension that brought along the bite in her voice. "You don't have to coach me. I know what I'm doing."
"I know. I have full faith in you."
"Was that a compliment, Miss Hwang?"
Tiffany handed her the strap of her bag. "I'll be back to pick you up in a few hours."
Slinging the purse over her shoulder, Yoona climbed out of the car.
Cold air hit her naked legs and she wished Tiffany would've given her tights, stockings, or something. The draft up her skirt beneath the heavy coat was a biting at the clammy skin between her thighs. Yoona ignored it and started up the walk towards the front double doors, heels popping on the rough concrete all the way.
She wavered at the porch to glance back at Tiffany. She couldn't see her, but she knew she was watching. Yoona wondered why they couldn't have Sex Kitten Hwang do this. Then again, her face was attached to a business just the same as Yuri's.
Yoona took a deep breath and punched the button to the buzzer.
A male voice came through the speakers. "Kwon Residents.”
"I'm, uh…" Yoona swallowed and gritted her teeth. She liked Sunny a little less for making her use this atrocious name. "I'm Bambi? I'm here to see Miss Kwon."
"Pardon, what was your name?"
She cleared her throat. "Bambi."
Silence.
Yoona held her arms drawn close around her body, holding in her anxiety. Tiffany said they'd worked everything out beforehand. All she had to do was give a name. The white noise she was getting said something otherwise.
She had half a mind to walk back down the walkway but her getaway car was gone and the crackle in the intercom cleared up once again.
"Please, come inside."
Static cut off giving way to the distinct sound of locks unlatching. Grabbing the handle, Yoona pushed open the door and stepped into the entry foyer. It instantly put Tiffany and her elaborate apartment to shame. Just the smell inside said money, money, money. Yoona almost didn't want to walk along the pretty, wine carpet that led her into the main room.
"Miss."
Yoona jumped at the sudden voice and turned to see a man in a tailored suit. He must've been the one on the intercom. His face was just as kind as the deep bow he gave in apology for startling her. Yoona returned it.
"Am I in the right place?"
"Yes. You can find Miss Kwon up those stairs in the central room. May I take your coat?"
Yoona was slow to agree and shrugged off her jacket. His eyes washed over her fitted black dress once before motioning her towards the stairs.
"Thank you." Yoona offered another bow and began her way up a curved set of steps.
There were too many doors to pick which was the central one. Yoona walked between the two most in between ones, debating which to try first when the climax of a song filtered through one.
She stopped and leaned her ear against the cool wood, listening to the music. This was it.
She knocked.
"Come in."
Another deep breath, Yoona urged herself into character and turned the knob.
The room was cloaked in warm shades of browns and caramels. Overhead lights off, lamps gave it a homey glow that drew Yoona inside and eased her along with the smooth music that played off a crackly record in an antique player.
At the center of it all sat a woman at a desk. Beneath her nose was a spread of papers beside a bottle of a brandy and an empty glass with the residue of lipstick around the rim. Her shocked face, lit up by the bulb beneath the green shade of her desk lamp, turned confused surrounded by glossy black hair that spilled over a loose white blouse.
Yoona had seen pictures of Yuri. She may have even seen her on the news, but there was a beauty in her that no camera or network could capture. Kwon Yuri was breathtakingly stunning. Something Yoona was always weak to.
"Who are you?" asked Yuri. Her voice was thick and smooth.
Yoona was so caught up she nearly forgot her role.
"I'm your stress ball for the night."
Yuri looked her over, noting her attired. It didn't take any longer than a second for it to click. "I didn't make any requests."
Yoona cursed Tiffany and her stupid entourage in her head. So much for all the work being taken care of beforehand.
"I'm a gift from a friend who thought you could use the extra company."
"I've had enough company for the night."
"What's one more?"
"Unwanted. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Yuri stood up and clapped her hands so that the overhead lights came on turning the warmth into a stark unwantedness.
She panicked the closer Yuri drew to her. Dammit, she was even prettier up close.
"Wait. I just got here."
"I appreciate the service, but not tonight." Grabbing the door, Yuri jerked it open. "Minho will see you out."
"But-."
"Minho!"
"Wait. Listen." One swift movement, Yoona shut the door. Yuri stared up at her, incredulous. "Please. Hear me out."
Yuri drew her arms around her chest. "What?"
The words flew out of her mouth as quickly as they came to her head, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I'm only paid by the time and if I go back now then I don't get anything. The one who called me in, they're paying me more than I get in a month alone and I really, really need it."
"I can write you a check-"
"It doesn't work that way." Yoona slid in front of the doorknob, blocking it from her. She could smell brandy off her breath and perfume off her tanned skin. "Please. Let me stay here for a few hours. We can talk, maybe have a drink? I'll stay out of the way. That's it."
Yuri glared. "I know your tricks."
"This isn't a trick, I swear," Yoona pleaded, putting on her best hopeless act. She could see Yuri's resolve crumble away bit by bit. "Give me two hours. I'll sit over here, you can be over there. If I try anything, you can kick me out. Your butler can throw me out. Literally. He can throw me out on that beautiful, hundred dollar lawn."
Yuri's cheek twitched in attempts to hold back a smile.
"Writing a check would be easier."
"For you. Not for me." Yoona did her best to look desperate. "Please, I need this."
Yuri's eyebrow cocked. "Two hours?"
"Two max. You can even start a timer."
Yuri dropped her arms and sighed. "We'll wait downstairs in the parlor."
-/-/-/-
The whole urban design through the entire place was really impressive. She blamed her father engraving the idea of,
“Always know your surroundings,”
into her head for even noticing. She also took note of the immediate exits and recalled the floor plan Sunny flashed her back at the cube. The place was unnecessarily huge though not as elaborate as Yoona expected it to be. It seemed the Kwon’s were about flash but less about flare. They were only one-half of the sort of people Yoona’s father disliked.
She wondered what he’d think about her if he saw her doing this. She smirked. He’d probably high five her.
“Make yourself comfortable.”
Yoona sank onto a stiff couch not even minding to fix the hem of her dress that rode up high along her thighs. Yuri’s gaze shifted down a second too long not to be noticed. Maybe if she played her cards right, Yoona could get all the way tonight.
“I’ll be right back.”
Yuri left for a moment and came back with two glasses and the half full bottle of brandy. She poured Yoona some first and took a chair across the way, crossing her legs draped in black slacks.
She looked tired if not stressed. There was a nice gloss to her eyes no doubt from the drinking she'd already been doing. Yoona thanked the alcohol. She knew it was a factor in the reason why Yuri gave in so easily.
Without the record playing, everything was eerily quiet. Yoona kept her eyes away from Yuri taking more gulps than sips and body angled in a way so she was facing a shelf of thick, old books with dutch titles embossed in the spines.
The awkward tension was real. Yoona was about to call Tiffany’s master plan a failure. She’d never felt so out of place and so inept in the presence of a beautiful woman before. She trained herself how to ignore the prickles in her skin and the worried pangs in her gut during these things. Yuri was making her feel exposed.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve…”
Yoona regained her composure after the sudden clash of Yuri’s syrupy voice into the quiet. “You’re not lonely in a big place like this?”
“I’m not alone.”
“Servants don’t count unless…” Yoona trailed off when Yuri sneered, catching her implication.
Too soon for jokes, apparently. She’d tone it down.
Yuri shifted so she leaned back against the cushion, leg crossed over her knee and glass balanced neatly in a hand on her ankle. She made the masculine gesture look naturally feminine.
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you know about me?”
“I know you’re Kwon Yuri, President of Ion Corp, and I know you haven’t been on a date in a while.”
Yuri coughed out an empty laugh. “I didn’t say anything about not going on dates.”
“No suitors with bones big enough for the President?” Yoona’s lifted a curious eyebrow.
Yuri squirmed, but the alcohol in her system seemingly turned her tongue loose. “The bones are big, but I’m not interested. Obviously,” she gestured across the room. “Why else would someone send someone like you here?”
“You could enjoy both? Maybe you’re curious? No assumptions until proven guilty.”
Yuri couldn’t hold back the quiet chuckle she gave into her glass. It was filled with less humor and more with distasteful bitterness. “Secrets out I guess.”
“It’s safe with me.”
Yuri smiled her appreciation and slouched. She was surprisingly more comfortable than Yoona thought she’d be, but Sunny did say she wasn’t the first. A regular would have no reason to be timid when they were used to taking their clothes off for a fresh face unknown every other week or so.
Dark eyes shifted to Yoona, catching her staring. Yoona had no shame in the matter, but Yuri shifted in self-consciousness. “I meant I haven’t had…someone like you here in a long time.”
“Lost interest in us, too?”
She scoffed into her glass, avoiding the question. “Whoever sent you is either playing a sick joke or they’ve picked up on a few too many hints.”
“It’s against rules, but if I knew I would tell you. Most callers give fake names and only drop an address that’s passed onto the girl of choice.”
“I’m familiar with the process.” and she didn’t sound very pleased with herself for it.
Yoona drew up her legs into the chair, tucking them beneath her as she leaned against the armrest, chin propped on a fist. “A president, beautiful, money, women would be paying to even sit at the same table as you.”
“I pay them instead.”
“There are ways to make it work.”
“It’s not the same.” Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose and massaged. “This is so strange for me. I don’t usually just talk with…”
“We don’t have to.”
Yuri looked up at her, head tilted. “What’s your name?”
“Bambi.”
“Your real name.”
Yoona smiled and took a sip.
“This is what it’s reduced to,” said Yuri, with a sigh. “Spilling my personal problems to strangers whose names I’ll never know. I’m just a paycheck to you.”
“I’m just a fuck to you.”
Yuri’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t appear offended. There was something passed that. Maybe surprise that someone had actually said it out loud to her with a hint of apology and guilt thrown in. Yoona knew the feelings all too well. In the end, Yuri would just be a paycheck to her. Oh, the irony of it all.
Swallowing the last of her drink, Yuri reached for the bottle.
“Long day?”
“Can you tell?” She took a gulp and Yoona could practically see her getting drunker the moment she swallowed.
“There are other ways to relax that are easier on the liver.”
“Like?”
“I could give you a massage.” Yuri’s eyebrow cocked. Yoona backtracked. “You’re tense, I can tell. It’s only a massage. It’s my way of giving back for letting me stay. I don’t break my promises, I promise.”
“The alcohol says yes. Yes, I’d like that.”
She pulled down the hem of her dress just enough to keep her lacy underwear from peeking out and sauntered across the room. Yuri watched her the entire time, glassy eyes unable to be discreet any longer. The self-control she was showing despite her obvious desire was admirable. If Yoona tried a little harder, she was sure she could break her tonight.
“Turn around for me, she instructed."
Scooting along the couch, Yuri squared her shoulders towards the bookshelf. Yoona sat down in the space behind her and took hold of her shoulders.
A warm hand covered hers, guiding it to a spot on Yuri’s neck. “There.”
Yoona began gently circle her fingers. “Like that?”
“Just like- oh, that feels good. That…” Yuri dropped her head forward.
Yoona kept the steady pace, changing pressure with each circle. She could feel lean muscle beneath her blouse, solid but not thick. With someone whose image played a large part in their role, there was no question that Yuri would stay fit.
“Maybe I did need company tonight,” Yuri muttered. The color of her voice had changed to something thicker - huskier.
“We aren’t just for sex.”
“I know. It’s easy to talk to people who you have no connection with. They’re less prone to judge you or cheat you. With money involved, there’s no strings attached, and most don’t open their mouths as long as the number of zeros dropped into their accounts is to their satisfaction.”
Yoona chuckled. “You are familiar with the process.”
“Too familiar.”
“What you want, it’s only natural.”
“And what is that?”
“Someone who isn’t a check.” she felt Yuri tense back up beneath her fingers. She changed the pressure to knead the knots back out.
“I must sound pathetic to you.”
“Loneliness finds a way to satisfy itself one way or another. You found yours.”
Yuri looked back just enough so she could see Yoona’s face. “You might be one of the wisest call girl I’ve met.”
“I went to college.”
Yuri’s laugh vibrated through her into Yoona’s fingertips. She was made hyper-aware of the warmth permeating off her skin. Smoothing her hands down, she dug her thumbs into Yuri’s tight shoulder blades.
Yuri let out a long breath. “That feels really good.”
“Would you like it harder?”
“Yes, please,” it left her lips in a moan that made the hairs on the back of Yoona’s neck stand.
She ignored the tiny spark set off in the pit of her stomach as she dug her fingers in deeper. Yuri groaned, head rolling from one side to the other where her chin and cheek grazing along Yoona’s knuckles.
“You’re so good at this.”
Lidded eyes peered up at her and Yoona held her ground, fingers moving in deeper, slower circles. Soft lips kissed her knuckles, the back of her hand, the top of her wrist. Yoona’s movement stopped, allowing Yuri to guide soft pecks further up her arm.
“I thought we were just going to sit here.”
“You keep promises, but I don’t always.”
Yuri’s body turned just enough for her to run the tip of her tongue along the soft inside of Yoona’s forearm. Those eyes, hazed with the effects of brandy, held on Yoona’s own as she grabbed hold of Yoona’s wrist and eased her down just enough to reach her bare shoulder. Goosebumps lifted to Yoona’s skin when she felt Yuri’s mouth open just enough to place a nip at the mole right at-
Yoona drew back at the sound of the timer going off.
Yuri got up to turn it off. Yoona remained where she stood, a new sort of tension in her shoulders. Nervously, she tucked hair behind her ear, eyes slow to meet Yuri’s staring at her across the room. The heat in the room had risen. Yoona’s heart beat in her chest. Yuri’s face was even more stunning flushed with rosy cheeks.
Yoona swallowed. She couldn’t overstay her welcome. She still had a job to do and she wasn’t going to let her own puzzling desires get in the way.
“I guess that’s my cue to go.”
“Right, um…” Yuri ran her hands down the side of her slacks. She was just as uneasy as Yoona. “Minho will see you out. Do I need to call a cab?”
“No, I’ll be okay. Thank you for letting me stay.”
Yuri nodded.
“Do you have a pen?”
“On the shelf.”
Grabbing one of the ceramic coasters, Yoona wrote the number to the phone Tiffany gave her on the cork bottom. It was more than she was asked to do, but it was just the right bait she needed. She wanted to be stuck in Yuri’s mind.
“Just in case,” said Yoona, leaving it on the table. “Goodnight, President.”
Bowing, Yoona headed for the door, leaving her desires inside.
Part IV
-
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
YAAAS (03)!
Date: 2015-10-01 06:59 am (UTC)Sun is always such a funny, quirky genius. Those Nanobots sound painful, but cool. Also, where was Soo's dot going? (another food run for the Cube's team perhaps ;p. I kid, I kid.) Also, now that I think about it, where is Hyo? Is she the other dot? Is she what Tae lost/why she retired from thieving????? Is she even in this fic??????? XD. I am excited to read and find out.
Taeny's backstory/"just friends" soulmate status is full of feels. it's interesting to see it along with the Yoonhyun that's happening.
I gots the feeling that some BoxxDilemmas be a brewin on multiple levels. Excitement!
Thank you for the update, Boxx! Looking forward to the next!
Re: YAAAS (03)!
Date: 2015-10-11 01:39 am (UTC)"I gots the feeling that some BoxxDilemmas be a brewin on multiple levels." You know me too well lol.
no subject
Date: 2015-10-01 09:23 am (UTC)Will be back~Guess what fic enthusiast had to be *shudder* be an adult all day? //vom
SO, I AM WAITING FOR A RENDER AND PROPERLY COMMENTING ON YA FIC, BISH. NOW, WATCH ME WHIP, WATCH ME TAE TAE.
Dear lawd that joke was so bad. //voms again
Unnnfffff that final Yoonyul scene was just....*rubs body all sensual-like*. Bless that scene. They have chemistry and I'm curious about Yuri. She's so....solemn. :((
I really enjoyed the (what I pictured in my head) fashion montage for YoonFany. Their friendship's sweet and salty. Very cute. I'd ship it if you weren't already pushing me in several pairing directions. >_>
Best lines:
"Better than pad thai from Khun's?"--MY FAVORITE THAI PLACE. KHUN'S. HAHAHHAHAHHAAAAaaAAaa
"Don't come on too strong," said Tiffany fixing a stray piece of Yoona's hair. It was such a sweet gesture that Yoona almost forgot they weren't that close. -- :333 ♥♥♥
“Would you like it harder?”--DEAD. ALL THE DEATHS.
READY FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. >:DDD
ps: SALTIFF 5EVER!!!!!!!
no subject
Date: 2015-10-11 01:43 am (UTC)Imma pretend like you didn't just make that joke and move on....
Stop being weird. Were you doing body rolls too? I'm going to make you ship all of the things in this fic. Also lol you quoted lines that I forgot were even in this chapter/fic. This shows how detached I am from this part of the story cause I'm in three parts ahead mode. You ever get like that?
ps: i dont like you
no subject
Date: 2015-10-01 11:24 pm (UTC)i have to say i am expecting quite abit of drama in this series. looking at the yoonyul tag gives me some expectation of seohyun's possible demise (its just an opinion though)
personally following long stories aren't my kind of thing. but expecting from you, why, i wouldnt mind though!
let's see how things turn out for poor yoonyul and the team :)
no subject
Date: 2015-10-11 01:45 am (UTC)I'm glad to have you following along :D
Let us see
From the person in love with your mind
Date: 2015-10-04 10:49 pm (UTC)We gotta find Boxx clawprints cause that's the first clue!
And then we put it in our notebook cause they're~
Boxx' clues~ Boxx' clues~
All these clues about Tiffany and Taeyeon's (the whole pack's, to be exact) past makes me wanna sing! You make me really curious about what happened before this whole ordeal started (or re-started? Idk idk) These clues Boxx, theyre so many now. Starting from what you dropped in the previous chapter (don't think I missed Taeyeon's lost everything again chuchu + Fany fishy feeling) and then in this one; they put me in unease. And with this being a fic that involves deception, I can't help myself from drawing assumptions on what happened and what WILL happen, heol. I feel like I need to be more attentive in reading and more excited for the moment of revelation.
Stiffany, Stiffany, Stiffany, why do I find you sooooooo adorable? (And hot.) I never enjoyed a stiff character like this before. I wonder what would make her lose control (Maybe Sunny... just because. I'm not giving up this delusional ship, Boxx. Push!)
I really enjoyed the part where YoonFany went shopping and that part where Fany brought Yoona to her place for the make over. You kinda made me want to see more of it. Playing dress-up is always fun!
The YoonYul first meeting is my fave part. I liked how Yoona acted so out of it when in front of Yuri, lol. Can't blame you, girl. My woman is hot bwahaha. I laughed out loud when Yoona realized Tiffany lied to her. And dang, how lied her way out (or in) was smooth! Making up stories out of nowhere. She should be a fanfic writer!
YoonYul massage scene makes me really jealous. First of all, why why why is Yuri so... urgh!!! Idk why, the massage scene was hot then when Yuri started kissing her.... the way she was kissing her-
{Lidded eyes peered up at her and Yoona held her ground, fingers moving in deeper, slower circles. Soft lips kissed her knuckles, the back of her hand, the top of her wrist. Yoona’s movement stopped, allowing Yuri to guide soft pecks further up her arm.
“I thought we were just going to sit here.”
“You keep promises, but I don’t always.”<------- /insert fire alarm bell ringing in my head because H.O.T!/
Yuri’s body turned just enough for her to run the tip of her tongue along the soft inside of Yoona’s forearm. Those eyes, hazed with the effects of brandy, held on Yoona’s own as she grabbed hold of Yoona’s wrist and eased her down just enough to reach her bare shoulder. Goosebumps lifted to Yoona’s skin when she felt Yuri’s mouth open just enough to place a nip at the mole right at-} HIIIING!!!! I was like really? REally? REALLYYY???
It was hot as well as it was frustrating!!!!!!!! I hate you!
P.S. Stop making me want YoonHyun to happen.
Re: From the person in love with your mind
Date: 2015-10-11 01:57 am (UTC)Get your handy-dandy notebook ready! Draw a diagram. Make a board with notes on it to connect the dots. Trust no bitch lol. We’ve not even gotten into the meat of it all and you’re brain is already working. Lovely.
One minute Tiffany is hot the next she’s adorable? (you and this 2ny business I swear lol). Was Yoona really out of it though? hmmm…But yes good find yoonyul hot. I accept your hate.
P.S. Never :)
no subject
Date: 2015-10-07 02:14 am (UTC)OTL
My heart break for Yuri. Poor girl doesn't have a clue.
I'm really curious about Taeyeon and Tiffany's past.
What im really looking forward to is for Jessica's apperance. Much anticipated.
taeyeon tho..no subject
Date: 2015-10-11 01:48 am (UTC)Keep holding out for Jessica. We've got a bit before she is physically thrown into the mix while Taeny's past will continue to unfold throughout.
Thanks for reading and for all your comments thus far. They've been a joy to read. See you soon