Fic: The Heist (Part V)

[boxxsaltz]

Title: 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 V

Sleep deprivation and guns didn't sound the least bit safe when coupled together, but that's where Yoona found herself. Half asleep, sunrise glaring in her eyes, and a heavy piece clutched in her grasp. There was little you could do when you found an uninvited giant with praying mantis legs poking around your kitchen at six a.m. telling you to,

"Get in the car, we've got training."

She was really considering changing her locks right about now.

Yoona sniffled in the freezing morning and tightened her scarf. They stood in the middle of nowhere, vast openness stretching out around on all sides. The only things that remained were an abandoned barn and a long, busted up wooden fence that trailed off in the middle of the field. In the distance were four tall, wooden posts, each with a large square piece attached like a sign. Bullet holes decorated each of them.

"How does it feel?" asked Sooyoung.

She was grinning like a child showing off her favorite toy. It dampened the menacing way she looked standing tall, draped in leather like a chic, rocker chick. Riding with Sooyoung, Yoona learned she was a loud mouthed, dopey spaghetti noodle who liked her coffee extra sweet and a strawberry glazed donut at the crack of dawn. She nibbled on her own chocolate one, body leaned against the car door trying to tune out Sooyoung’s off key singing the entire ride.

Yoona looked down at the gun she was holding. It wasn't big, but she felt awkward having this foreign object in her grasp.

"Like a gun."

Rolling her eyes, Sooyoung took it from her and cocked it with ease.

"You might wanna..." Sooyoung tapped on her ear muffs.

Yoona quickly yanked on the ones resting around her neck. Extending her arm, Sooyoung pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced effortlessly through the first target, then second, third, fourth.

Anyone on the receiving end of Sooyoung’s shots wouldn’t stand a chance. Yoona took back Sooyoung being a dopey spaghetti noodle. There was nothing comforting or amusing about someone with an accurate shot like that.

"Is this your day job?" asked Yoona once the muffs were off.

Sooyoung took out the empty cartridge and loaded another. "Hobby. I sell security systems to pay rent."

Of all the times she knew Sooyoung had broken into her apartment. "Ironic."

Sooyoung laughed. "Have you ever shot a gun before?"

"I've held one."

The one she found in her dad's safe when she was younger. She'd never seen him use it. Now it sat in a storage unit locked away with the other things of the past that Yoona couldn’t let go of.

"We'll start small."

Sooyoung stalked off to her car and reached into the open trunk. Walking back, she placed a hunting shotgun into her hands.

Yoona cocked an eyebrow. "This is small?"

Smiling, Sooyoung grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards the targets. "Shoot.”

Yoona squinted out at one of the middle four targets and pulled on her ear muffs. She raised the gun. It was heavy. Heavier than she expected and bulky. Her finger slipped over the trigger. It was rigid and stiff. Pressing, she eased it down until it released.

A bullet flew through the air and landed somewhere far in the distance. Yoona let her arms drop, head turning back at Sooyoung who was quietly snickering at her. She glared.

"You’re arms are dropping. Hold it like this" Sooyoung instructed, coming up to her as Yoona raised the shotgun again.

Slender fingers slid along her arms, setting her into place. Sooyoung's tall form behind her kept her steady. She leaned into it, molding her body to the same shape.

"Align your body with the gun with the target."

Yoona shifted a hair, Sooyoung moved with her.

"When you feel you're ready, shoot."

She wasn't ready, but she took the shot anyway. The bullet clipped the edge of the target leaving splinters in the wood.

Yoona stepped away to stand on her own and took aim again. Each shot vibrated through her. The snap and release of the trigger, of knowing she was firing off something lethal, gave her a rush of power. There was control in her hands. There was the option of life or death in her grasp.

Yoona reloaded. Adrenaline spiked with the pull of the trigger.

Almost.

She fired again. The bullet pierced through the first target just off the center.

"Statistically, it isn't that impressive."

Yoona rolled her eyes. It was too early and she was too cranky to humor Legs McGee. She lowered the gun. "Have you ever killed anybody with this?"

Sooyoung gazed at it with a sense of fondness. "It was my first sniper rifle."

"You’re an assassin?”

Sooyoung laughed at Yoona's surprise. "Not anymore.”

Taking the rifle, she walked back to the trunk where she picked through equipment. There was so much. She’d never seen so many different types of guns and ammo and accessories at once before.

"Before I joined Taeyeon, that's what I what I did. I didn’t take everything, only jobs for people I thought deserved it. You know, the bad guys."

"Who says they were bad?"

Because Yoona knew a lot of backstabbing cheaters who'd only gone to the extremes because that's what they thought could clean up the mess. She knew liars and freeloaders and ex-convicts and embezzlers who split their stories in drunken stupors beneath the dim glow of a private showroom.

On the inside, not all of them were bad people. They were fuck ups making wrong decisions with consequences larger than themselves. Yoona could say she was one of them. Her father even, and Seohyun’s. To think one of them could’ve fallen victim to Sooyoung made her gut clench.

Sooyoung looked at her. She could read the thoughts right off her face.

“Meeting someone like Taeng, you realize relying on a file isn't fair."

Yoona feigned a gag. "She brainwashed you, too?"

Sooyoung smiled as she fished out a revolver from the trunk. "Taeyeon found me. She's really stupid sometimes, you know? She called me, pretending to be a hire and sent a picture of herself as the target. I didn't know at the time. When I saw her in the crosshairs, she looked right at the scope like she could see me. She was holding a phone and my earpiece started ringing. I was so shocked I answered. She said,”

"My best friend died a month ago. I need a replacement.”

Sooyoung shook her head, scoffing at the memory as she loaded a revolver, bullet by bullet. Yoona's thought was that Taeyeon enjoyed putting herself and others in sudden life or death situations. No time to think. Just act.

"She told me she needed someone on the mechanical side, someone who could work with her tech girl and had a lot of connections. She said I had ten seconds to agree to a sit-down interview to talk details or she'd snipe me instead.”

"Bluffing?"

Sooyoung snapped the cylinder into place with the flick of her wrist. "Stupid Hwang was on the rooftop. She disarmed me before I could draw my handgun."

"The stiff can fight?"

"I was shocked too. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into but Taeng..." Sheepishly, Sooyoung scratched the back of her head with the barrel. "She, uh...makes a good bargain.”

Yoona pursed her lips. Everyone talked about Taeyeon like she was a saint. She could hear it in Sooyoung's voice much the same she heard the absolute affection in Tiffany's. They reminded her of what she used to have. That struck a cord.

"I've been with them almost five years now." Her voice dropped, face suddenly fallen. "It took almost that long to shed the guilt."

"We'll all sleep better in hell."

The corner of Sooyoung’s mouth kinked into a sad smile.

Snatching the revolver, Yoona went back to aim at the targets. Her finger hit the trigger, ready to pull it when the sound of gravel crunching beneath tires stopped her. Behind them drove up a car. Through the windshield, Yoona saw Sunny in the driver seat. She climbed out once she reached them, face drawn.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Sooyoung.

“I have to take the doe back to the forest.”

“She needs firearm training.”

Sunny shook her head. “Taeyeon’s orders.”

"Tiffany said-"

"Overruled.”

Sooyoung's mouth clicked shut. No argument. Yoona only saw them follow orders out of Tiffany's mouth. Seeing how quickly Sooyoung reacted to Taeyeon’s revoke put her back in the light as the leader.

"Need help packing up?”

“I got it.”

Yoona returned the gun to Sooyoung's outstretched hand. She left to store it away and only then did Sunny acknowledge her presence with a gentle look.

“Let’s get out of here, Bambi.”

Yoona rounded to the passenger side and dropped into smooth leather seats. The engine hummed, vibrating beneath her. She watched Sunny say a few more things to Sooyoung through the window before she pulled away and got into the driver seat.

"I'm taking you home," she said.

Yoona buckled up without question and Sunny pulled off. “Why didn’t the Boss lady come?”

“Oh, Taeng doesn’t drive,” she said as they hit the aim road. “How's your progress with Kwon?"

"Progressing."

Sunny nodded as she made a turn. "I'm sorry about cutting your session short, but Taeng thought you should have today to yourself...considering and all.”

Yoona blinked over to her. She gave her the slightest nod. That was all Yoona needed as confirmation. Sunny knew what today was.

Yoona didn’t know what to say. A question of what Sooyoung said about Taeyeon’s best friend formed in her mouth but it never made it past her teeth. Not yet. All Yoona could tell was that Taeyeon understood that a day like this was when the past haunted you the most.

She wished Taeyeon knew that it was a day Yoona would rather not have to dwell on. Sooyoung's wake up call was the thing keeping her from wallowing in the darkness that morning. Now she was thrust into it.

By the time Sunny pulled up to the corner of her apartment block, heaviness settled into Yoona's bones.

"You're off call for the rest of the day. Take it easy.”

Yoona nodded, stiffly.

She climbed out the car and took in a breath.

She wasn't ready for today.

-/-/-/-

There was no return to sleep. Yoona rolled in bed, mind unwilling to rest and body refusing to shut down. The apartment was too quiet and the outside too noisy. Stripping the comforter from her bed, she padded across the hall to Seohyun’s room, slowly easing the door open to keep away the creaks.

She slept soundly, oxygen tubes hooked around her face beneath her nose. Yoona sat in the doorway, back leaned against the framing and blanket wrapped around her tight. She didn’t want to disturb Seohyun yet though she was becoming impatient. She wanted someone else awake to be with. She never did like being alone.

Yoona’s eyes began to droop by the time Seohyun stirred in her sleep. She combed back deep, brown hair, brow wrinkling when she saw Yoona sitting on the floor.

“Hey,” Seohyun breathed into the silence.

“Hey.”

A few blinks of those sleepy eyes, they were fully open, eyebrows lifting in the same realization of what the day was. It was easy for her to tell. Yoona always acted a little weird around this time. At least she wasn’t found curled on the living room floor like she’d been the year before.

“It’s early.”

“Yeah…”

Seohyun spoke softly and slowly. “Do you...want to go?”

Yoona nodded.

"I’ll pack the food. You can meet me at the bus stop."

She nodded again and got up. Her body felt like the weight of a house was on her. Her legs and arms felt heavy and her inside felt like lead. She fought through it, finding a new outfit to put on and slipped into her shoes.

She hated today.

She told herself that over and over again as she made the trip from the apartment and into the city, head down as she passed shop after shop until her feet automatically brought her to the one she needed.

She’d done it so many times she didn’t have to think about it anymore.

“A dozen marigolds.”

The man behind the counter wandered off to fill her request.

Yoona looked around the small floral shop. Of all the times she’d been inside, she’d never actually looked at the place. Reefs, bouquets, corsages, and arrangements for more joyful events were strewn along in beautiful design giving off their flowery scents.

She rubbed at her sensitive nose and offered her card over to pay for the bushel handed to her and left. She found Seohyun at the bus stop, heavy bag hanging off her shoulder. Yoona traded the load and shooed her to sit down on the bench. There was still a minute before the bus would show.

“Where’d you go this morning?” asked Seohyun.

“Out.”

Any other time that answer wouldn’t be accepted, but today Seohyun let it go without pry.

The bus rolled up and they got on, taking to the back until they reached their stop and got off. The weather was overcast but warm. Fingers bumped into Yoona’s arm and she opened up her hand for Seohyun to slide her palm against hers. Seohyun gripped tightly as they weaved through the crowds on the sidewalk to their destination.

Yoona sat down, back resting against the brick of a tax firm. It sat on the corner of the intersection bearing witness to the same tragic accident that took both her and Seohyun's father's. People walked by them, some with curious glances while others paid them no mind. They'd done this enough times to where Yoona learned to ignore them

Being back here caused a twinge in Yoona's chest but it was nothing compared to the wreck being at cemetery made her. She begged Seohyun not to go there anymore after the second or fourth time. She couldn't take it anymore. Surrounded by other perished lives, cold stone, silence, mourners walking about. Yoona felt like she couldn't breathe because then all she could taste was death. But here...

A cheese sandwich wrapped in plastic tapped against her knee. Yoona took it from Seohyun's fingers. Her mom always made them cheese sandwiches when they were younger. It was just a little slice of nostalgia to go along with the dark cola's their dads would give them before they could have a beer.

A memory of them in the front seat while Yoona rode in the back laughing at their antics with Seohyun next to her flashed through her mind.

They were modern day Robin Hoods. It was never about what they could get but what they could give. They believed even the lowest of them all deserved a chance, that no one was born to be a slave to those more fortunate than them. Her dad said,

“The rich, they sit on their thrones and gloat about their wealth, throwing it away as if it’s waste while we scurry on our hands and knees looking for as much as a penny. We value one cent as if it were all the riches in the world. Where is the balance? The scales never work in our favor, so why should I feel remorse for what we do?”

Yoona took a sip from the can in remembrance. It fizzed in her mouth and washed down the cheese and wheat passed the lump in her throat. She didn’t exactly follow the same principals, but she never took more than what she needed.

"Five," said Seohyun. She stared out at the street, eyes watching cars.

Yoona knew what she meant, but she had to mentally count the time herself.

Five years. However a thing like death, no time could truly erase the endless, aching, longing of wanting life back. Of wanting those old days back. The days before Yoona was part of the mix and lying to Seohyun became commonplace. Thinking back, they weren't the best of times but they were all Yoona knew and all she had to remember her father by.

Her family wasn’t that privileged. That's what initially drew her father to the trade. Instead of an obsession with the money itself, he had an obsession with screwing the system.

Not everyone saw him the way Yoona did. He wasn't perfect. Far from it. Yoona learned that when she was young. Too young. Her mother pretended as if she didn't know what he was doing, like her simple jobs as a hostess and a housekeeper was really enough to cover all of their living expenses.

The one time Yoona did hear her mention it was in an argument after her father started to teach her. Arguments weren't uncommon. They were young parents, stuck together for their child with an odd sort of love that sprang up in times when you thought there was nothing left. Yoona was used to them, but this one was about her and her safety and the future she could have better not being linked to the crime and a chance to actually make it somewhere unlike them

But she was her father’s daughter and that life of “something better” was something she found not in the things that she did but the way she chose to live.

"Money isn't the key to happiness,” he said to her.

Yoona could believe that. Because back then she was happy in their second rate home with her few luxuries and Seohyun just two neighborhoods over.

They could've had it all, but he taught Yoona that hard work is what really paid off in the end. He didn't want her to grow up like those pampered in big houses, ignorant to the real world. He wanted her to know how it was to live in the trenches, to have to fight, because it was then that she'd learn to value any amount, any life, any opportunity more.

He was right. She did.

She thanked him for it. She'd be at a loss on what to do after he was gone if it wasn't for it.

"Five," Yoona echoed.

She took a drink. The cola tasted a little less stale, but the flavor still wasn't fully there. At a place like this, nothing shined with full color anymore.

"Are you ready?"

Seohyun nodded. She wouldn't have protested anyway. She knew how little Yoona could tolerate these sorts of things.

"Let's go home."

Taking the flowers from the paper, Yoona laid them on the ground where they sat, took Seohyun’s hand, and lead them away.

-/-/-/-

The TV hardly came on in the apartment. Yoona was surprised to hear it when she stepped inside.

Seohyun smiled up at her where she lounged on the couch, book cradled in her lap. Yoona brought the bags of takeout to the coffee table and sat down with her back against the couch. Neither wanted to cook for the evening.

The smells of sweet and tangy sauce and seasonings lifted into the air as she took out the styrofoam containers and opened them. Settling on a channel, Seohyun slid down to the floor to join her and took up a fork to stir through the steamy meat and vegetables.

“You’re not going into work?”

She usually would. “I took off for the night.”

Seohyun hid her smile by taking a bite. She didn’t want to be left home alone as much as Yoona didn’t want to be left alone to her thoughts. It must’ve been the reason Seohyun decided to turn on the TV for once.

“We could put in a movie.”

“I’m okay like this.”

Yoona shifted closer to her, scooping food into her mouth with her shoulder bumping against Seohyun’s. A show played on the screen as background music to their chews. It was a crime show. They were a little too close to home. Yoona didn’t like watching them anymore, but sometimes Seohyun did.

A man on the screen demanded a suspect to come clean. Yoona fished for the remote and changed the channel so some lighthearted kid program but the damage was already done.

“Do you ever wonder if it wasn’t an accident?”

Seohyun turned to look at her. Her eyes bounced from one of Yoona’s to the other, trying to read her. Usually, she could, but Yoona had practice with hiding this part of the past.

“Do you?”

Yoona went rigid. She didn’t know what to say. She never got this far. She never brought it up.

“My dad had a lot of people who didn’t like him.”

They were the ones she shielded her from, the ones she safeguarded herself against by making up aliases and faking her own loss of life. The measures seemed extreme, but there was nothing too extreme in their world. Suddenly it made Yoona question why he locked that gun away. What if it could've been used to save himself before disaster struck?

“Do you think it was someone he knew?”

“I’m saying my dad wasn’t the honest man everyone thought.”

“Neither was mine. Not completely.”

“It’s possible...isn’t it?”

Seohyun’s brow tugged inward. “Yoona...what happened was an accident.”

When Yoona asked why Seohyun couldn't know too, he said that her father wouldn't allow it. He didn't want to make another person hate him so much to leave. Yoona thought he was wrong. Seohyun wasn't a delicate flower. She was smart and understanding. She loved her father probably more than Yoona loved her own.

The opportunity to tell the truth always came and passed. She couldn't bring herself to do it, not after the accident. Yoona realized she started to think like Seohyun's father - protect her at costs even if it hurts you.

It did more than hurt. It ate at her. The double life was a time bomb of self-destruction and now Yoona was afraid she'd meet the fate he was afraid could happen.

What if Seohyun left her? What if she never forgave her?

“Are you okay?” She could sense Yoona’s panic.

“I’m- Yeah. You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Seohyun frowned, hand coming up to thumb at something left on the corner of her mouth. She was so gentle, so caring. How could Yoona shatter her entire world with a truth like that after so many years? She didn’t need that. Yoona could bear it on her on. She would bear it on her own.

“I’m sorry I worried you.”

“I don’t think we ever talked about it.”

Yoona's veins turned to ice. “Why would you want to?”

“Even now, after all this time, thinking about it still suffocates me.” Seohyun dropped her head, teeth biting her lip. The pain in her eyes made Yoona tremble. “I was scared that I’d lose you that day, too.”

Yoona's pulse spiked. At that moment, in those days, she was numb to it all. There was a lag. It wasn't for some time until the wrecking ball released and shattered her. It was that same splintering feeling Seohyun evoked in her again. Yoona swallowed to wet her dry mouth.

“We were together, Ju.”

“You didn’t see you the way I saw you.” Seohyun turned to her, eyes focused and haunted. “I always told myself I was lucky I didn’t know my mother. It was easier to know that if something happened to her like dad, I wouldn’t feel the same tragedy. But you…”

Yoona felt her eyes sting. She didn’t want to cry about this. It was five years. She didn’t want to feel this crushing feeling again, but Seohyun opening her mouth about it was drilling holes into the levees of her sorrow.

“You kept taking care of me, making sure I was okay, making sure I wasn't alone when I cried. I felt so guilty, Yoong. You suffered double the loss and I didn’t know how to make you feel better because I was so lost in my own hurt....Now you’re still looking after me.”

Yoona reached out, taking Seohyun’s face into her hands so she couldn’t look away. She wanted her to know this. She wanted Seohyun to see the absolute truth in her eyes when she asked,

“Do you know why I could keep going then?”

Seohyun shook her head.

“Because of you. You’re all I have, Juhyun. Keeping you safe is all I live for."

“Yoong…” Seohyun tugged and Yoona eased into her chest.

She clutched onto her tight, buffering the gentle shakes of Seohyun’s cries against herself. One day, Seohyun might know just how true those words past the things that were easily seen by the eye. Maybe one day Yoona would admit it all with her dying breath. Maybe. All she knew for now was that she wouldn’t let Seohyun leave her.

Not if she had anything to do with it.

-/-/-/-

Crickets chirped against the sound of cars darting down the highway nearby. Yoona pulled the collar of her jacket tighter around her face, blocking out the cold that sent shivers down her back. A dusty key sat in the depths of her pocket, bumping against her leg as she maneuvered soundlessly, head down to avoid the glow of greenish watch lights that beamed from tall poles over the storage lot.

She counted each door, eyes bouncing from one number to the next. The last time she’d been here was when she had to resign a contract when the management changed. She went in and got out as quickly as possible. She’d no reason to stay - she’d no reason to come back. But fear drew her to this place and brokenness made her weak and irrational.

Her feet stopped in front of her unit and Yoona froze.

Shoving in the key, she unlocked the bolt and yanked the lever to raise the door up just enough to crawl inside.

The stench of age and musk smacked into her. She gagged, lifting the collar of her shirt over her mouth to block out the offending odor and muffle the sounds of her coughs. Using her phone, she flicked on its flashlight so it beamed across the clutter of things.

Boxes of her father’s things intermingled with her mother’s and some of her own old mementos of her childhood. Furniture she hadn’t seen in five years sat dusty and untouched. In the back, the headboard of her old bed peeked from behind an old, battered bike.

Waves of homesickness struck her so hard she had to turn away. All of those emotions she’d kept contained behind walls began to bubble up causing everything inside her to physically hurt.

There was a reason she never stepped back into this place. Reminders of the past were reminders of how much she hadn’t let go. They were reminders of her frailty. They broke her down to the shattered, little girl she’d plastered a hard face and forced smiles over.

She needed to get out of here. Fast.

Regaining herself, Yoona spun back around and began her search for the thing she’d come for. She didn’t want to touch the things, but she had to. Piece after piece after box after memory, she pushed away and dug through until she finally found the black, metal safe hidden between weathered cardboard.

Dislodging it from its place, she moved to the front of the unit and sat down, back against the cement wall and flashlight balanced in her lap.

The combination came as easily to her as it did the first time she’d broken into the thing. Her dad was unoriginal. He always told her she was the most precious thing to him. There was no guessing to figure her birthday was the code.

The latch popped up and Yoona opened it up to find the gun, cartridges, and bullets.

Her dad never used it and Yoona never thought she would either. But the deeper she went, the further she dived into the works with Taeyeon and the others, the more of Yoona’s resolve began to chip away.

She couldn’t end up like the ones before her. She couldn’t let Seohyun end up like them. If protecting her was what Yoona promised, she would do it at all costs.

This was just another layer, and Sooyoung taught her that sometimes extreme measures were right.

Her ringing phone startled her. Yoona dug through her satchel, finding the thin, black cube phone. The number on the screen was blocked. Figuring it was one of the team, she answered,

“Hello?”

“Hi.”

The voice sent a chilly wave of warmth into her stomach.

“President.”

“Is this a bad time?”

“Anytime is a good time if it’s you calling.”

Yuri didn’t sound sure. “Are you busy?”

Yoona stared at the gun now in her hand. It weighed less than the revolver and sat much more comfortable in her palm then the rifle. It was perfect for her hand, smooth, cold, and black. The same twinge of power simmered through her.

“Depends on what I shouldn’t be busy for.”

A beat of silence followed by a hushed confession. “I want to see you.”

A jolt hit her. It was days since she’d seen Yuri.

“Can you wait?”

“How long?”

She looked at through the break in the garage door. “Half an hour?”

“I’ll wait.”

The line ended.

Yoona dumped everything in the safe into her bag.

-/-/-/-

It was Yuri who answered the door for her. Yoona eased on a smile as she stepped into the warmth of the house.

“Are you okay?”

She upped the wattage of her grin. “Never better.”

“I didn’t take you away from anything did I?”

“I didn’t mind.”

Anything to take her off the day, off Seohyun, off the gun.

“Take your coat and bag?” Yuri asked. She was nervous.

“The princess tending to the pauper?”

Yuri smiled and took her jacket, leaving Yoona in a sweatshirt and jeans. She hesitated with her bag but handed it over. Yuri didn’t seem to notice the unusual weight of it.

“Wait for me upstairs in the east room.”

She pointed the direction and Yoona went up familiar steps to the furthest door on the right.

The east room was a large bedroom. Its design looked more for show than usage, but Yoona wouldn’t be quick to rule anything out when it came to the fancy, rich types.

She was standing in the middle of the room, gazing up at a landscape portrait hanging on the wall when Yuri entered a few minutes later with a wine bottle and two glasses. She was dressed as if she’d just come from an event and hadn’t finished dressing down. Her cream blouse was unbuttoned enough to show the top bow of a black bra and her deep, maroon pants clung to her shapely legs. Her hair was tossed as if she’d run her hand through it too many times so the curls turned into waves.

“It’s a big place to have all to yourself,” said Yoona, turning away to pace the large room.

Yuri lingered back by the vanity near the door where she sat down the bottle and glasses. "My brother lived here with me until a few months ago. He lives with our parents in the villa now.”

“What about you?”

Yuri made a sour face. "I’m fine being here. Me and my father don't always see eye to eye and my mother goes along with everything he says. The reason this arrangement works is because he speaks through me. As long as I do what he asks, we're okay. He doesn't trust me enough to let me completely take over but he might not have a choice soon since Hyukjun ruined his name."

Yoona grinned, turning to lean against the doors of a large walk-in closet. “You don’t sound happy about that.”

Yuri pursed her lips as she leaned to sit on the edge of the vanity. “I could do better things. I’m stuck here because of my family. You know how that is.”

“My parents are dead.” It slipped out before she could filter herself.

She was feeling exceptionally unstable tonight. She hoped Yuri wouldn’t see it. She didn’t need pity from her that would stab at the scabs calloused over in five years. She didn’t need another person getting beneath her skin. At least not that far.

"My condolences.”

Yoona didn’t let that awkward moment fester longer than a second. “How about that wine?”

She crossed the room to where Yuri picked up the bottle and poured them each a glass. Her perfume was soft but as distinct as the pungent aroma of the drink. Heat sparked in Yoona’s stomach like the low setting on a burner.

Yoona plucked the fluke from her fingers and drank. It did nothing to squelch the warmth inside of her.

“You’re different tonight.”

“So are you.”

Yuri blew a breath past her lips. “Meetings, schedules, business dinner. Since we began this partnership with another company, my father has been pushing more joint get together's. He thinks this could launch us into something better. I’m not sure if it is, but after the allegations against Hyuk drop it won't be my problem. I’m stepping down.”

“What did he do?”

Yuri pushed on a fake smile. “It’s better not to talk about my brother.”

Yoona was fine with that. She filled her assignment quota for the night with getting Yuri to talk about her work. Getting into the office would be the next step. Yoona hoped the night didn’t end in any disaster or create any sort of unfixable tension that would set them back anymore.

“We can talk about us.”

Yuri’s eyebrows lifted.

“Why did you want to see me?”

“Not to talk.”

The low setting turned up a notch. That’s what was making Yuri nervous. Yoona knew it from the beginning. From the call to the way her eyes kept examining Yoona the moment she stepped in the door.

All those little pangs of want and flashes of fantasy that played in Yoona since the day at the park shot to the forefront. Yuri may be an assignment, but part of Yoona saw her as another one of the few woman passed through her hands before. She was just as easy and predictable.

“Then what are we waiting for?” she stepped forward causing Yuri to ease off the vanity.

She took a step back. “I can pay you.”

“I don’t take business calls on my private number.”

Another step forward, another step back.

"Then what is this?”

“Anything you want it to be.”

Yuri’s back bumped into the wall. Trapped. She stared at her, jaw clenching and unclenching.

Yoona wondered if she felt it too. She wondered if she could feel the magnetic tug that was pulling at them like opposite poles wanting to collide in the center. The need to close the gap was stronger this time.

For now Yoona let the fact she was on assignment right now slip. She was only thinking about herself. Of her selfish need. Of her craving to block out what these feelings meant as they rammed up against the day’s vulnerability.

Yoona placed her arms on either side of Yuri’s head, locking her into place but kept any part of herself from touching her. She wouldn’t yet. She wanted to tighten the coil a little more.

“I feel guilty doing this after I’ve gotten to know you. It’s like I’m using you.”

“It’s what I’m for.”

“No, you’re not.”

She narrowed her eyes. “This isn’t the time for sentiments, President.”

“Call me Yuri,” she cut back.

“Yes, ma’am.”

That sparked something in her. Pupils dilated and Yoona knew. She had her. Her toes were on the edge.

“How is this going to go?” Yoona taunted. “Are you going to keep pretending you don't want me or are you finally going to give in and touch me?”

Yuri winced. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

Impatience and need struck Yoona hard. She leaned back enough to pull off her shirt in one swift motion.

“Does this make it easier?”

Yuri bit her lip, eyes dipping to the new plane of skin presented to her. Yoona didn't give her another second to think. Hooking the shirt around Yuri’s neck, she pulled her close enough for their lips to barely brush.

She heard her own shudder echoed in the shaky breath Yuri let out.

“Kiss me, Yuri.”

It was gentle and it was slow. Yuri's lips barely touched hers but Yoona felt it like the strike of a match. She controlled herself, remaining still until Yuri grew bolder and the warmth of her mouth pressed firmly into hers. Her pouty lips were soft and pillowy. Yoona took the bottom one into her mouth and sucked as she eased the shirt down so it curved around the small of Yuri’s back. She tugged until Yuri was flush against her.

“Touch me.”

Hands landed on her face first, pulling her into a deeper kiss. Tongue slipped into her mouth and Yoona pressed her teeth into it gently, earning the softest of sighs in return.

Fingers burned as they coasted down her back and lips peppered kisses along her jaw.

“Mark me.”

Obediently, Yuri dove into her neck, tongue swiping at her skin before she sucked against the pulsing vein at her throat. Yoona dropped the shirt, replacing it with her hands cupped at back pockets. She squeezed, drawing out a timid moan. Like the liquid of her voice, it split into Yoona and turned her insides into molasses.

It had been so long since she had another body molded against her own that she enjoyed. There was no scruff, only silk. No drunken kisses, only pecks and presses of lips touched with a hint of wine. There was no job, no task. There was only heat - a burning need Yoona felt mirrored in Yuri who put nails into her back, drawing her closer still.

Yoona hissed as they cut into her just enough to sting. She wanted more.

Running her hands around hips, Yoona found the buttons of Yuri's pants. She snapped them open and pushed maroon fabric down. They pooled to the floor and Yuri stepped out of them, using the momentum to lead Yoona backward.

"I want everything off," Yoona breathed between kisses.

Yuri’s face colored. For someone she was told to have done these things often, she was acting incredibly shy.

“Can I?”

Yuri nodded. Yoona responded. Snapping buttons from her shirt away, she pushed open the blouse to expose more of that sun-kissed skin.

“Bed," Yuri warned.

Yoona felt it hit the back of her knees. She sat on the edge, playing with the elastic in the legs of Yuri's panties. Arms slinked from sleeves and the blouse dropped away leaving her only in matching underwear. Muscles flexed and Yoona caught herself distracted on defined abs in front of her.

She smoothed a hand along them, feeling the firmness beneath the pads of fingers before replacing them with her lips. Yuri was hot against her mouth. Hot and creamy against her tongue that lapped at the patch of skin beneath her bellybutton. Yuri exploded in goosebumps.

“You don’t have to rush.”

“I’m greedy.”

“We have all night.”

Yoona kissed her stomach. “We’ll slow down on the next round.”

Fingers combed into her hair, pulling her away from the mark she was sucking into Yuri’s hip. Her neck craned back to accept the lips that lowered down to hers as thighs straddled her lap. She could feel the heat radiating from between Yuri's legs against her skin.

“You’re burning up,” sighed Yoona.

Running a tongue along Yuri’s lip, she was granted entrance to taste her again as nimble fingers undid clasps. Yuri shrugged out of her bra and Yoona wasted not a second to cup supple skin in her palm.

“So much for rules,” she teased, squeezing a raised nipple between her fingers.

Yuri bit her lip. Yoona liked it when she did that. It told her she was making Yuri feel something.

The hand in her hair pushed her face down, placing her where she wanted. "Here.”

Yoona took a hardened tip into her mouth. Hips rolled against her, seeking out friction to go with the sensation bursting from the swirl of Yoona's tongue on her chest. Yuri sighed as Yoona gently clamped down with her teeth. She bit harder and Yuri whimpered with a pull at her hair, warning her of the limit.

She released and left a peck on the tender spot.

"Will you tell me your name?"

“How do I know it’ll be safe in your mouth?” Yoona kissed a line of soft kisses to the other breast where she flicked her tongue.

“The same way I know my secrets are safe in your hands.”

Fingers running the length of Yuri’s thighs, she dipped between to tease the softness of skin there. "It's Yoona."

“Yoona,” Yuri moaned at the sudden press of against her through the thin cloth of her underwear.

Yoona shivered. Hearing her real name instead of made up aliases uttered in such heat.

She drank in another mwel from her lips as she circled her fingers. Yuri rolled her hips, head falling against Yoona’s shoulder where her mouth pressed into her neck. Lips kissed her skin softly before teeth began to nibble. Yoona sliced her hand up Yuri’s spine up to her hair. Curving fingers into black tresses, she held her in place, urging Yuri to turn those nips into sucks as she teased her fingers at Yuri’s entrance.

"Yes." Her voice was so thick, so hot. Yoona couldn't deny her. She wanted it just as much.

Moving fabric aside, Yoona touched her fingers at heady wetness. Pushing up into her, Yuri eased down meeting her halfway. Tightness and warmth enveloped her fingers in such a delicious way Yoona couldn't help her own moan.

Yuri leaned back, hands on Yoona’s shoulders to hold herself steady. Yoona dove in then, nipping at Yuri's collar as she began to ride her fingers, hips grinding in a slow, sensual cadence that rocked Yoona with each movement.

“Not so shy anymore.”

“How can I be when you’re doing this to me?”

“Doing what?” Yoona ground the heel of her hand against a hyper-sensitive nub. Yuri’s moan came out clear that time. Clear and sensual.

“That.”

“Do you want more of that?”

Yuri chuckled through a groan. “I should’ve known you were a tease in everything.”

“It keeps things interesting.” The jerk of her wrist, she sent her fingers as deep as they’d go. Yuri gasped, mouth open and fingers clawed into Yoona’s skin as she bucked harder.

The feeling of warm flesh on her fingertips was incredible. Yoona glanced down to watch the way she entered and reentered.

“You’re milking my fingers,” she breathed.

“God, Yoona.”

She looked back up, watching Yuri’s face as she drove into her. Such sweet tension. Yoona was completely rapt in the rawness of her expression. It was all heat and desire. It was all want and need. Yoona relished in moments like these, drinking in every bite of the lip, crease of the brow, and tightening of the jaw. It was the representation of the control she had in something as simple as her fingers backed with the work of her mouth and her words.

Arm curved around Yoona’s neck, pulling her ever closer.

Yoona peppered soft kisses up her neck to her ear. “You’re close.”

She could feel it, nice and tight.

She curved her fingers against Yuri’s back and dragged them across her skin. She gave soft, little moans as walls tightened around buried fingers. Yoona rode with her through every wave, arm slung around her waist holding her close as her body jerked with each pulse until the rush ended. She slumped against Yoona, pushing them back onto the bed.

“That’s going to bruise,” panted Yuri.

“Something to remember me by.”

Yuri touched a finger at the redden splotch at Yoona’s neck. The touch was a little too intimate for what Yoona wanted tonight.

She grabbed the hand away from her collar and brought slender fingers to her mouth. Yuri stared at her as she sucked the middle two digits then released to guide them down her stomach.

“Make me forget today,” she whispered as Yuri slipped through folds.

Fingers found their place and Yoona closed her eyes.


Part VI