The gala was a masquerade event, only for those who had invitations and the status to be there. How convenient it was for her situation, considering something they were about to do would draw attention and the last thing anyone needed was to see their faces. Not that it wouldn't be subtle, but to make things less suspicious, masks were definitely a bonus. Being hidden away in plain sight was thrilling. And what can she say? It's another excuse to wear a pretty dress and show off to the man who seems to have no interest.

Currently, said male watched as she did her makeup in the vanity mirror, her dress not yet zipped up in the back so her skin was showing. She didn't do it to tease, but maybe if she knew that his eyes were particularly looking there she would've. She was too immersed in applying eyeshadow to concern herself with where her bodyguard's eyes were.

He was waiting for her to say anything, to perhaps ask if he was nervous. This was his second nature so he wasn't, more so a bit pleased to see her in that beautiful dress that she's been dying to wear. To say he was impressed was putting it lightly. He couldn't take his eyes off her, and he's never struggled to restrain himself before. Hell, he's never had to.

After she was done applying the rest of her makeup and setting it with a spray, she fanned her face and looked over at him, and thankfully he caught on so he could avert his eyes from her skin just in time.

"Mind zipping me up?"

He gives a nod as she stands from the seat and he approaches her from behind. She watched him in the mirror, seemingly enthralled with how much darker his eyes looked behind the simple black mask he wore that matched his suit, showing off the muscles that made her drool.

But what made her heart race was the way he looked at her. As he slowly zipped the back of her dress, he held eye contact, and for no good reason at all, she could feel her face getting warm and that led to dirty jokes she was making in her head. Like how she'd prefer if he slipped the dress off and-

"Nervous?", his soothing voice cuts her thought short and she doesn't hesitate in shaking her head.

"There's no reason to be. You're a good shot so I know you'll get the job done", she responds while grabbing the silver mask from the vanity and putting it on.

"I know you'd never doubt me. But I didn't ask if you thought I could do it. I asked if you were nervous. If you are-"

"I'm not", she cuts him off before he can finish, assuring him with a stern look in the mirror.

"Good, we already went over the plan earlier with everybody so we're all set. Are you ready for this?", he ducks down to whisper in her ear, making her slightly shiver and he resists the urge to smile upon seeing that reaction.

She held her head high and her eyes were bewitching to him, and he knew at that moment that he was indeed under her thrall now, "I was born ready."

With that, his gloved hand rests on the small of her back as they descend the stairs to see the prince himself adorned in black, white, and silver along with a silver mask just like his sister.

"You look beautiful, my dear sister."

His compliment makes her glossed lips spread into a grateful smile, "And you look just as good, brother."

"Are we ready? Is everyone prepared?", the man asks once Dong-Wook enters the living room in a suit and mask matching Jungkook's.

He feels pride swell in his chest when he sees both siblings stand tall and powerful next to each other. They were truly remarkable as individuals and together they were a force to be reckoned with. The intensity of the situation was starting to weigh on everyone, but being together, a family, made the fear and uncertainty bearable.

"The men are in their positions and waiting for us. They've already taken out the guards and everyone is almost there", the consigliere informs, and once Jimin nods, they take that as their cue to leave.

To make things less suspicious, they use different routes to the same location, and as Jungkook and Runa arrive outside the building, they wait to make sure both Jimin and Dong-Wook have arrived first.

They watch from the parking lot as both men separately walk in and once they do, Jungkook exits the driver's side and takes her hand, helping her out of the car as they approach the entrance and give Jimin's men standing guard a nod which is returned.

Dark classical music resounds in the air as they stride through the hall and into the crowded ballroom filled with unknown faces. Some eyes linger on the woman who walks in as she makes her way towards the front where the tables of food are, maintaining her composure. Jungkook stays close, looking around to see a few familiar people, simply just from their eyes and what they were wearing.

Jimin from a distance chats with some woman, Dong-Wook who is observing everyone with a glass of champagne in his hand, and of course their tatted ally Yoongi who sits handsomely at his family's table, conversing with his father, the head of the Min crime family. As Runa quietly munched on chocolate-covered strawberries, she followed the man's gaze and saw her ex.

Even though she didn't have feelings of desire for him anymore, she couldn't lie and say that he didn't look good. He wore a maroon suit that brought out the paleness of his skin, along with the black ink that crept up his neck, and of course, that beautiful diamond at the corner of his eye that could be seen since his white hair was slicked back, and he was one of the few who decided not to participate in the theme of the party.

"Handsome isn't he?"

Before she could register who asked that and the tone they used, she dumbly nodded before stopping with a frown as she shook her head in denial at the man who eyed her up and down from the side.

"No, not at all. He's putrid", she lies, and the man narrows his eyes.

"Just wanted to see if maybe you were busy thinking about him. Were you? Are you under his thrall seeing him in that suit?", he questions, and in all honesty, he was feeling bitter that she even acknowledged the fact that he did look good.

He didn't know why he hated that so much, to see how her eyes slightly widened when she saw the man from a distance. Yoongi wore maroon a lot, probably because he knew that she always loved that color on him. Don't ask how he knows that, he just does.

"Don't be ridiculous", she scoffs, "Yes, I must admit that he does look good, but I think you look better."

That catches him off guard and she giggles
at the incredulous look on his face, "Huh?"

"Oh, come on, don't act stupid. You know I only have eyes for you, my sweet protector", she winks and to hide how much that affected him, he rolls his eyes and looks back into the crowd.

"Whatever you say, Runa", he mumbles, a bit embarrassed by how warm he felt inside but he was able to contain himself so she couldn't see how flustered he was.

"Are you not gonna ask me to dance?", she asks, giving him a certain look that told him she wanted him to indeed ask that but to save himself from embarrassment, he clears his throat and puts some space between them.

"I don't dance", he plainly responds and she groans.

"I don't either but I want to dance with you. Please?"

"No."

He ignores her glare and watches as she huffs and walks away, his eyes admiring how the dress hugged her body from afar and he looks away and stands in a more isolated area so he isn't seen. Jungkook's eyes instinctively searched to find her, making sure she was comfortable and although he was allowing her some space, he still needed to keep eyes on her.

Once he does, he feels disgust boil inside of him when he sees she's sat down with the Min's and talking with Yoongi who plays along. When she finds his gaze and devilishly smirks at him, knowing that would piss him off, her confidence is immediately swiped when she sees the distasteful excuse of a woman that prances up to her bodyguard with her boobs practically popping out of her emerald dress.

"You look new around here, I don't think I've seen you before. Are you perhaps alone?", the woman asks, cocking her head curiously as her eyes shamelessly checked out the uninterested man.

But when he looks over to see that angry look on Runa's face, he's all but amused and looks back at the woman, finding this as a way to break down her walls and get her to make a move. Would he usually do this? Never.

But he was feeling spontaneously good seeing as he'd get another kill tonight after a while of not getting blood on his hands. And what can he say? Killing is just as exciting as pissing Runa off and seeing her face get red hot.

"I'm sorry, who are you?", he asks as the woman steps forward, that desire so obvious in her eyes that it made him cringe.

"Song Aera", she outstretched her hand as a proper greeting, "One of the agents on the street I guess you could say."

He shook her hand gently, letting his hold linger before he let go and he could see how intrigued she was, "And what's your name, handsome?"

"The mystery makes it better, doesn't it?", he smoothly replies in his usual calm yet dominating manner that had every woman's knees weak.

Upon hearing that, the woman laughs and flips back her long black hair, her cat eyes looking sharp behind that diamond black mask of hers, "You are something. Mind telling me at least who you work for? I'm a curious woman is all."

She steps even closer, way too close but he remains in his posture, "How about we discuss this over a dance? Hm?"

His gloved hand reaches for hers, gesturing so she can take it, and without hesitation she does. As he led her to the dance floor, Runa's scorching gaze could be felt on his back now that he was turned away from the table she sat at.

The woman was taken aback but excited by his bold maneuver of holding her close to him, one hand on her waist and the other holding her hand as they moved in rhythm and held eye contact throughout the waltz.

Runa was five seconds away from blasting that bitch, and when the woman leaned in close to his ear with her red lips whispering god knows what to him, she excuses herself from the table, bidding a rushed goodbye to her ex and his parents as they watched her storm off into the ladies restroom.

Seeing as maybe she saw something she didn't like, the Min family dismissed it and went back to their conversation, their son Yoongi looked where she previously did and once he saw a familiar figure dancing with a woman, he couldn't help but smirk, knowing that she was jealous, especially because she hated Song Aera.

The woman was cunning and aggravating. Since she first met the woman, Runa disliked her arrogance from the get-go and unfortunately, she was one of their most trusted agents who crept around places that she shouldn't for information.

Song Aera thought she was above everyone else just because she had it good with her now ex-boyfriend. But as soon as she was caught cheating and he dumped her ass, she didn't bat an eye in trying to steal everyone else's man with her fake smile and immature attitude.

As someone who remained humble no matter how amazing she knew she was, Runa always had a distaste for cocky people(except for Yoongi) and the fact that the woman was a home wrecker only made her anger boil until it overflowed and there wasn't much she could do to hold back from dragging that bitch by her fake hair extensions and smashing her face in the fancy cake that was waiting to be cut.

Once she looked in the stalls to make sure she was alone, Runa walked over to the bathroom sink, staring into her reflection to see her hands shaking as they held onto the edge of the marble counter. The only thing that was slightly calming was the dim lighting, and she couldn't get that image of her bodyguard dancing with that snake out of her head.

Like a movie scene, it replayed in her mind until all she wanted to do was grip and pull at her hair with frustration and bang her fists against the mirror until it shattered and she could take one of the shards and stab out her eyes. Runa wasn't even startled by how jealous she was. She knew for some time that she felt things for the man and as someone who was naturally possessive, to know that he did it on purpose to piss her off for his amusement made her want to scream.

Just that look he gave her was enough to show his true intentions. She questioned why he even wanted to cause such disruption within her and then once she replayed their conversation in her mind, she scoffed and began laughing at the only idea that seemed plausible. It was a good thing she was alone because she looked batshit crazy right now, laughing in anger and that was never a good sign.

"Is he jealous of Yoongi? What the fuck?", she wheezes, laughing so hard that it's silent and her stomach starts to ache as she holds it with one hand.

"This man is trying to piss me off because of his jealousy?", she chuckles at the irony, blinking away her tears of laughter so they didn't ruin her makeup as she sniffles and looks at her reflection.

"I need to calm down", she mumbles under her breath as she fixes the straps of her dress, trying to de-escalate her anger when she felt she was too close to the edge.

She stayed in there for another minute, not sure if going back out would be good for her sanity. She was devastatingly angry at the fact that he rejected her wish to dance and yet didn't hesitate in taking that bitch's hand. Just thinking about what she could've whispered to him made her stomach twist with both disgust and burning hatred.

The moments pass, and when she deems herself ready, she put on a poker face, walking out of the bathroom while nodding to a few people who returned the gesture as she found Dong-Wook who stood idly by and observed the guests. His eyes fall upon the woman in purple who now stands close by him with her arms crossed over her chest and a fire raging behind her eyes.

"I see your man made a little friend", he comments, sipping his champagne with a knowing smile that made her doe eyes narrow into slits as she watched the duo talk in the far right corner for privacy, Aera's manicured hand making its way to occasionally stroke his arm.

And oh my god was Runa pissed. She didn't even care if she had to break a nail, she wanted to fuck her up, but knew it wasn't the time. She couldn't cause a problem before the actual scene happened. It would only cause a ruckus and as an unproblematic woman, she had to seethe silently and wait to scold her bodyguard when the time was appropriate.

"They're not friends. He's doing this just to spite me. I saw it in his eyes", she bitterly scoffs, seeing Aera pout her red lips at Jungkook who stood tall above her and let her do as she pleased.

The consigliere frowns with both curiosity and confusion, looking down at Runa beside him, "Why would he do that?"

She scoffs again, rolling her eyes as her tongue poked her cheek with irritation, "I said that Yoongi looked good and he was bitter about it, assuming that I still wanted him and all that nonsense", she waves off with her hand, not wanting to talk about it anymore because the anger was rising to unsafe levels.

When Dong-Wook continued asking questions, she felt an annoyance spread throughout her body, like venom injected into her veins, "Really? Jungkook getting jealous? That doesn't even sound remotely realistic."

"Oh it is", she clenched her jaw when she sees Jungkook look around to find her and once he does, he raises his glass of champagne and Dong-Wook purses his lips, side eyeing the girl that was taking all the strength she had not to lose her shit.

Quite frankly, it was both scary and amusing to see how jealous Runa was becoming. Dong-Wook has never in his entire life seen her get this way, so possessive over somebody and although he knew of her crush on the bodyguard, he didn't think it was that serious.

He assumed it was her hormones and her feelings were purely lustful, similar to the situation with Yoongi. But now that he sees those emotions so blatantly clear in her eyes, he takes notice how she shakes with rage, and from that he concludes that he was wrong and she had serious feelings for the older man.

He was both nervous that Runa would pop off any second and shoot the woman for the sake of getting on her nerves, yet also amused because he'd never seen such raw passion before. Runa felt dearly towards him or else she wouldn't be getting this upset over a waltz and a chat, which he was also a witness to.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna lose my shit. I see you giving me the side eye", Runa comments after some silent moments, him being deep in thought and observing the situation occurring across the room.

"Good, make sure you remember that you can tear her to pieces next time she's in your line of sight. But hold off on Jungkook for now, alright? We have some time to waste before things start happening so-"

"And this is the perfect opportunity for him and I to have a little chat", she interrupts while walking away towards Jungkook and Aera.

Before Dong-Wook could protest, he sighed and sipped his champagne, a small smirk forming on his face at her fierce attitude, "Go get him, kid", he mumbled.

As she approaches the two, maneuvering through the crowd of people standing around and conversing with one another, her heels clicking against the marble flooring gain the attention of both of them and she tightly smiles, standing close to Jungkook and linking her arm with his as his other hand held a glass of champagne.

"Looks like you've met my friend. What are you two chatting about?", she says while eyeing Aera disrespectfully, making the girl grimace upon seeing who she was getting involved with.

Just like that, Aera's smile turned upside down and she looked defensive as she crossed her arms over her large chest, "Nothing that concerns the likes of you. And excuse me, but he and I were having a conversation that you so rudely interrupted."

Runa pouts mockingly, looking up at Jungkook who observes their interaction with a certain look in his eyes that tells her he's enjoying this. So letting go of his arm and instead grabbing his hand, she steps close to Aera and looks up at the woman who stands about two inches taller than her.

She might've been short, but that didn't make her any less than intimidating and Aera mentally cursed herself for allowing her mouth to run just because she was overly excited and impatient to get a piece of him.

Runa humorlessly chuckles, looking at the woman with disgust she no longer bothered to mask with sarcasm, "Sorry honey, but he and I will be busy tonight. And for the record, just in case you see him again..."

She leans up and whispers in her ear with a menacingly dark tone that knocks the woman's breath away, making her freeze in place, "He's mine, bitch. Know your fucking place and humble yourself, because you don't mean shit and you never will. No one in their right mind would fuck a home-wrecker like you."

Gazing up at the stunned look on Aera's face as she stutters with embarrassment, Runa grins with amusement and wiggles her fingers in a mocking wave, "Hope to see you never."

Just before Aera could find her voice, Runa walked away with a tight grip on Jungkook's larger hand, dragging him along to which he obliged and drank the rest of his champagne, putting it on one of the waiter's trays on the way as they exited the ballroom and went out into the hall where they had privacy.

"What the fuck were you doing?", Runa pushes him so his back hits the wall, and once it did, he leans up and adjusts his suit, looking down at her now heated face and noticing her chest heaving from anger.

"I was-"

"Were you gonna fuck her for information or something? Do what you do best?", she mockingly responds and once she brings that up, he steps closer to her and grabs her arm, pulling her to his chest and leaning down so they're practically nose to nose.

"Don't you dare say that to me", he coldly replies, his grip tight but not tight enough to hurt her.

"Or what? What are you gonna do?", she daringly replies, not afraid of him or the possible consequences of challenging him.

And yet among all this tension, whether or not there was anger on both sides, they couldn't deny that they both found this amusing. Bickering with each other, knowing how to vex one another to the point of overwhelming frustration that led to tense moments like this. Jungkook realized that this was something he dared to say he liked. Seeing as he never went out of his way to show his jealousy and act out of pettiness, he knew he was in deep.

"You don't want to challenge me, Runa", he warns, and yet that fiendish smirk on her face and the gleam in her eyes told him that she was playing around with his feelings, much like he did to her.

"Challenge you? Oh please, you wanted this and don't you dare say you didn't. I've never seen you look so amused in all this time of knowing you, and yet as soon as I complimented another man, you tried to get back at me. This isn't like you so it's making me think that I'm right."

"What the hell does that mean?", he defensively asks, jerking her closer to him by her arm, and she nudges her nose against his, making him flinch.

"You're under my thrall. You like me and you were jealous that I admitted how good Yoongi looks, completely dismissing my confession that I only have eyes for you. That's how upset you were", she giggles at the look on his face, the way his eyes narrow, full of disbelief.

"Just admit it, Jeon. Admit that you were jealous and tried to make me feel the same by letting that disgusting thing put her hands on you."

"How about you admit that I succeeded in doing so? I mean look at you. Your face is all red and your eyes are crazed. You look insane just because I spoke to another woman. Possessive are we?", he retorts mockingly, letting go of her arm.

"No one's fucking jealous", she defends pathetically, knowing he was right and she wasn't going to fold so easily even when his usual dead gaze looked playful...even a bit seductive she'd go as far to say.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you so angry with me? Hm?", he says while standing up straight, allowing her to breathe properly now that his face wasn't so close to hers that it was suffocating.

"You rejecting my wish to dance and instead taking the hand of that shameless thing was insulting. I don't tolerate such behavior, regardless if you're older than me and my bodyguard."

Her swift action of saving herself from being called out made him raise a brow, "Aren't we supposed to be friends?", he says with a hint of teasing in his tone, like he would be pleased to hear her say that aloud.

Her eyes remain narrowed as she glares fiercely, "If you admit you got jealous, if you tell me how you truly felt when I said Yoongi looked good tonight. How I thought about what it would be like to be close with him again. To have him dance with me, to hold him so close I could feel his heartbeat-"

She steps forward and looks back into his eyes which melt into a void of darkness within seconds. He knew exactly what she was doing and worst of all, it was fucking working. He could feel the irritation stir within him like poison, clouding his judgment and any rationality that was left.

"-How by the end of this party, that shirt of his would be torn apart by impatience so I could taste his skin. And by the time we were done, the bedsheets would be ruined and-"

In a flash, her breath is knocked away as she registers that he's grabbed her by the bare shoulders and pressed her against the wall, his body completely flush against hers so she feels every muscle against her heated skin, his warm breath tickling her ear and his lips so close to touching it.

"I warned you, Runa. Don't test me, don't piss me off because you won't like what I become. You haven't seen me angry, no one alive has and for your sake, close your mouth and don't ever say such things to me about another man."

His voice sent a chill down her spine and the thick tension between them had her panting, not giving up so easily she, of course, had to clap back with a smirk on her face, "And you said I was the possessive one? Look at you getting all close to me just to make me shut up. I'm curious Jeon, what will happen if I don't?", she whispered in his ear, and she leaned her head against the wall when he straightened his posture and kept his gloved hands on her shoulders.

"Don't ask me that. I might do something unpredictable", he replies, giving her a look that tells her not to test his patience and yet she couldn't help it.

She loved feeling this way, she loved the mix of nervousness and excitement that fluttered like butterflies in her stomach from the smoldering hot tension that burned her inside out. He was so addicting, and she found it as a win to see him act so out of character, to see that maybe, just maybe he had feelings for her.

"We've got plenty of time before we need to head back inside", she winks, eyeing his body before she hears a scoff.

"Tell me, were you jealous?", he asks, already knowing the answer but he wanted to hear her admit it, he wanted to see how red she could get from embarrassment.

In return, she sighs heavily and clicks her tongue with annoyance, "Of course I was, old man. Why else would I drag your ass out here to scold you? That thing's hands were all over you. I'm surprised she didn't slip her hand down to your-"

"In case you doubt me, I wasn't going to entertain her", he responded, his voice sounding softer and now the atmosphere between them felt much lighter like the anger was no longer there and he was trying to reassure her for whatever reason.

"You mean you weren't gonna fuck her?", she quips, genuinely curious if he had those feelings or felt an attraction towards that snake, even though he's told her before he never felt that desire, she needed to know for sure.

Upon hearing that vulgar phrasing, he grimaced at the thought and shook his head incredulously, "Of course not. I know who Song Aera is. She's not my type at all, and I'm sure you'd never allow me in a room alone with her."

She smiles with pride, "You got that right, babes. Did you purposefully allow her to touch you just to annoy me? I want you to say it even though I already know it's true", she states with a stubborn attitude, not allowing him to escape her questioning and she could see he was entertained by her sass, and just the thought of him enjoying this little squabble between them made her chest flutter.

"I did. You shouldn't have complimented him, it disgusted me", he responds with a deadpan expression, and she laughs.

He had to admit though, that even if his overreaction to his jealousy went overboard, seeing her laugh at his response made him feel some type of way. Like she didn't mind how abnormally he was acting, how he wasn't being as nonchalant as usual, and couldn't exactly hide that maybe he felt more than just her friend, regardless of his position or age.

" I was right. You were pissed because I said Yoongi looked good?", her smile immediately falls once she sees he looked serious and wasn't joking around, and now things grow tense again as she clears her throat.

"So...um..."

"I don't like to hear you talking about other men in that aspect. If it's negative? I'm fine with that, I can't deny I like gossiping with you. But I don't like knowing you find other men attractive. Didn't you say you only had eyes for me? Good. Keep it that way because I'm the only one you're ever going to want or need. I'm your bodyguard after all", he replies smoothly and although many would see his possessiveness as a major red flag, she thought it was the hottest thing a guy could feel, especially someone who never admitted their emotions or lack thereof.

"The way you say that makes it sound as if you're more than just my bodyguard", she retorts.

He leans down to her level, the mask he wore only making his gaze look darker. Pitch black eyes, once so empty and now holding the world within them. She was delusional sometimes, but she was starting to see the truth for what it was. She cracked him, she snuck her way in and latched onto him like a parasite, feeding off of him until he was consumed.

She felt more than thrilled to be this close with someone who should be miles away from her. At least emotionally. Yet neither of them was ever the one to follow along with rules, and that's what made this forbidden. Did he want her? Or was this his way of being friendly?

"I am more than just your bodyguard", he responds in a low tone, almost like he wanted this to be their little secret, and her heart races at how he looks down at her chest before looking back into her eyes while standing straight, his gloved pointer finger holding up her chin so he could see her blush even in the dim lighting.

She anticipates what he says next, because she knows there was more and the long pause between sentences had her heart thudding so loud in her ears she was afraid it would cover the sound of his voice.

"I'm your friend", he finishes, cocking his head to the side while taking an appreciative look at the dress she wore.

He hums quietly, seeming pleased as he draws back his hand and gently grabs her arm to link it with his, "I don't think I've told you, but you look beautiful in that dress."

She gulps thickly and smiles, trying to fight off the demons whispering in the back of her mind, "Thank you, friend. I'll say it again and as many times as you'd like. You look amazing. Truly, I think I might be falling for you", she says playfully, hinting at what she truly felt and hoping he subtly caught on so she didn't have to say it seriously just yet.

As the observer he was, he could see she looked reluctant to even say it but played it off quite well by being puckish. He felt that warmth in his chest again, and he felt the muscles of his face twitching and urging him to smile, but he held back and embraced the feeling spreading throughout his body as they made their way back into the ballroom, arm in arm, as if they hadn't gotten in each other's faces.

"If you fall, I'll be the one to catch you", he whispers as they enter the crowded, loud room filled with music.

"If you catch me in your arms, hold me tight and never let go", she responds flirtatiously, making him let go of her arm and nudge her side with his elbow lightly as he averted his gaze to look around and pretend like that didn't make him feel anything.

"Alright, be serious", he replies, back to his nonchalant self and she giggles with an unbreakable grin on her face.

"I think it's almost time", she responds as they make their way to a less crowded space by the food, and he leans up against the wall, glancing down at his watch with furrowed brows.

"I know", he mumbled, watching as she got a few more chocolate-covered strawberries, "You like those a lot, huh?"

It was a rhetorical question but she beams, munching on one and moaning with delight, "I love fruit so much."

He resists the urge to roll his eyes when she fills a small plate full of chocolate-covered strawberries, blueberries, and seemingly pineapple once she bites into it and he sees yellow fruit. As he looks over to see if Yoongi is around, they lock eyes as the man is still seated between his parents who laugh together at something that the heir is uninterested in since he's giving the bodyguard a dirty look.

Usually, Jungkook wouldn't do this, but the urge was too strong so with a knowing glint in his eyes, he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her into his side. The tick in the white-haired man's jaw and the way his cat eyes heatedly gaze at the man make Jungkook smirk internally as he then looks at Runa who stares up at him with doe eyes, clearly not expecting him to be so touchy and the foundation wasn't doing its job by covering her blush.

Once she clears her throat, she remains still in his hold and continues nibbling on her slice of pineapple, "What are you holding me like this for? People will think we're involved or something", she mumbles, genuinely curious and oblivious as to why he was holding her and the white-haired male who showed his distaste towards the closeness between the two from afar.

"You're my friend, I can hold you if I want", he replies defensively, and she puts one hand up in surrender towards the grumpy man.

"Chill, old man. I'm cool with it. Just curious why you're being so touchy all of a sudden", she retorts, definitely liking the way he held her close to him in a protective manner.

He only hummed in response, not answering her as to why he suddenly did that, and as he watched her eat with soft eyes, he couldn't help but mockingly laugh on the inside from the burning gaze he felt on the side of his head. After some time of small talking, one glance at his watch, and a knowing look towards the three other men who could easily be found, it was showtime.

"It's time", he whispered, leaning down to her ear so she could hear amongst the loud crowd and music, and with a nod, he walked off and out of the room, everyone getting in their positions.

Right at that moment, a clinking of glass could be heard towards the elevated part of the room, almost like a small stage with a few steps leading up to it. It was her father, and immediately everyone's attention was brought to him when one of his men handed him a microphone to start his bullshit speech.

Even though she had a poker face, she was burning on the inside. The adrenaline pumped fast but she remained composed, hiding away her feelings of rage and disgust upon seeing that pathetic excuse of a father stand tall and proud, like a king.

She smirked internally, knowing that in a few short moments, his reign would come to an end and the satisfying screams of terror and shock would echo throughout the room. As her father started speaking, he briefly looked her way, holding eye contact. Almost like he knew it was her behind the mask before he averted his gaze to the rest of the crowd.

"This gala marks another historical day for us and our organization. For decades we have run the city and its people, crushing anyone who stood in our way. As a man of my position, I can't say I'm more proud of the hard work everyone in this room has done. Whether you work directly under me or Mr. Min, I speak for both of us when I say good work to all of you."

The crowd cheers, clapping at the man's words and she doesn't bother joining in, resisting the urge to roll her eyes and instead scoffing under her breath when he smiles and looks appreciative toward the attention he gains before he holds up his hand to silence them and continue his speech.

"I'd like to also give a public thank you to my dearest daughter."

Her heart stops as the man gestures towards her direction and she feels the crowd's eyes upon her figure that stood to the side amongst them. What the fuck was he doing right now?!

"My dearest Runa has grown up to be quite the feisty woman, much like her mother was and it makes me a proud father to have her as one of my trusted captains", he says with a tone of fake endearment, lying to the people as they exclaim with awe at his consideration of mentioning his late wife that he killed.

The lies pissed her off and she felt like smashing his head in with that damned microphone. How dare he speak of her mother as if he cared for her? And the same went with her as well, he was a phony trying to show off as a good father and lead by example.

It was smart but knowing the truth and how easily he was controlling these people with sweet lies, made her stomach twist with disgust, a knot lodged in her throat from anger that couldn't be seen anywhere on her face due to her ability to remain emotionless. God, she was eagerly awaiting the bullet that would kindly bury itself in his skull, ending this torture for good.

"Runa is an exceptional young woman, you all know this, but I feel we haven't shown my daughter enough appreciation for her bravery and dedication to this organization. Everyone, please show her how much you care", he says comically towards the end, smirking her way when the crowd uproars with cheers and the obnoxious claps of their hands.

Runa didn't even glance their way, but kept her attention on Min-Su who raised his eyebrows with playfulness that felt mocking, knowing she wouldn't step up to tell these people the truth about how much he hated her and only used her as a show pony to seem like a good businessman and father. He was quite bold, mentioning her mother even when the subject was always dismissed and frowned upon.

Kang Min-Su was a master puppeteer, a manipulator that could trick the devil himself. All the fake faces behind those masks pretended to adore him out of fear and greed, too afraid to stand up to his authority and the thirst for power and money that made them stay under his order. Truly, people were so predictable, and as soon as he's about to say something else, the lights turn off and a silenced bullet rings through the air, a quiet thump.

Gasps and sounds of confusion amongst the crowd can be heard and in this brief moment of darkness, her smirk is concealed when the lights turn on exactly five seconds later as planned, her face drops and she pretends to be shocked when her father lies cold on the floor with a pool of blood by his head.

"Oh my god!", she exclaims, rushing to his side along with his two bodyguards that look stunned.

The mob king was gone, and she checked his pulse and turned back to the crowd who stood in silence, too stunned to speak, with fake tears rolling down her face, she yelled out specifically to the men in the crowd, the ones she knew had guns on them.

"Someone find the person who did this now!"

Her command unfreezes the crowd and the men immediately get out their guns and run out of through the main entrance as the women scramble and start to panic, so many people screaming in terror and she almost wants to laugh at their dramatics.

She looks up to see no one on the open floor above and sighs with relief, knowing Jungkook escaped in time and now she was left with the body of her father as the guards tried to move him and the crowd was in a panic.

Once the microphone was in hand, she stood up and looked out into the scrambling crowd that tried to rush out of the room all at once, "The party is over. Leave."

With that, the people start to file out and escape to the safety of their vehicles, the once loud ballroom filled with deafening silence. She swiftly grabs the gun strapped to her thigh and shoots both bodyguards, their bodies dropping next to her father's.

She stood alone in the room, towering over Min-Su, a bullet wound right between his brows and she sniffled, wiping the fake tears that rolled down her cheeks as she maliciously smiled and felt the world was lifted off her shoulders. Too entrapped by her thoughts, she didn't say much to the men who walked into the ball room and stood around her as they all looked at the fallen leader.

"Put his body in the van and dig a grave at the Kang Residence", her brother directs both guards beside him who move forward to take Min-Su.

Runa watched as they carried him away and none of them had to say a word to understand how it felt. Jimin's men now tracked every person that fled the party, keeping tabs on everyone to fish out who knows what. Her father was gone, and she took the throne with such ease that it felt liberating to be on top, no man holding her back.

"Good work, Jungkook", the consigliere says, and the bodyguard gives an appreciative nod, looking over at Runa who is silent.

"We should head out. We don't know who might be watching", she announced to everyone, putting the pistol back in the holster and moving her dress so it covers her leg.

"We'll speak soon. You all have a good night", Jimin concludes, giving a tight smile to his sister who returns it, with Dong-Wook following suit along with Yoongi who gives a sharp look to the bodyguard, which he ignores.

She looks down at the blood on the floor, completely ignoring the two other bodies, and takes a moment to relish the feeling of victory. Closing her eyes, and taking in a deep breath, she felt his hand on her shoulder which made her turn to him.

"How are you feeling?", he asks with a hint of genuine concern, because her poker face was incredible.

"I'm happy he's gone. And I'm ready to go home", she says, her glossed lips curling into a smile when his gaze softened and he takes off her mask.

"Let's go home. You have a busy day tomorrow and you need your beauty sleep."

Per usual, even in such a serious situation, she manages to maintain her dark sense of humor and as they walk out of the building, "So you think I'm beautiful then?"

With that, he shakes his head at her brattiness and takes off his mask once he's in the drivers seat, starting the vehicle and ignoring the tension still simmering between them.

"Don't get cocky, Runa."

Upon his dry reply, she grins as he drives down the road and back to the estate, "It's boss to you now, Jeon."