"you are the danger

to yourself."

han aehra.

she had to admit, she was scared. she stopped before the entrance of the mansion, everyone else crowding around her, too. the night was now silent as everyone else in the small neighborhood had either hidden in their homes or run away.

and aehra with the others were about to scale the building and kill lee taeyong.

"we can't just like, take him hostage?" she muttered to herself. "hey, newbie!" someone behind her whispered. aehra looked around to see jungwoo had pushed through the others to talk to her.

ever since aehra had joined their "gang" a few months back, jungwoo had always been the kindest to her. he always accompanied her on missions, even when he was not required to, and he was like aehra's best friend of sorts.

"yeah?" aehra whispered back, fully turning her body to face him.

"you seem... unready."

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

"you better be, taeil wants to sp-" jungwoo was about to continue when taeil suddenly spoke.

"let's move already, shitheads. taeyong won't just wait for us to kill him," he sounded harsh and angry. he was their leader, and although on the outside he seemed kind, he was a ruthless killer.

as the others began to take a closer look around the building, taeil motioned for aehra to speak to him privately.

"yeah?" she asked expectantly. it seemed important. taeil simply took her gun out of her hand and placed another one in her palm. it was larger and heavier, and it was much smoother. aehra examined it for a while, then looked back at taeil, wide-eyed.

"you serious?" she nearly shouted.

"we don't joke around here," he said coldly, before walking off. aehra was left stunned with her back turned on everyone else. after a short while, she heard footsteps.

"aehra? let's go. yuta and kun are already..." jungwoo trailed off when he caught sight of aehra's new, larger gun. the dim moonlight was reflected off the smooth metal of the gun barrel. he looked at it for a second and already knew what taeil wanted

"w-wait," he stuttered softly, walking around aehra to face her. he put his hands on her shoulder and whispered, "are you okay? can you really do this? if not, we can tell taeil."

aehra looked up at him sadly, as if she was about to cry. she blinked and looked away, merely replying, "I can do it."

lee taeyong.

as soon as the band of people appeared, they were gone. "pick the fucking phone up!" he yelled, calling his advisor once again. like before, he was put on voicemail.

taeyong knew that his best option of survival was to escape, but he wouldn't do that. this mansion was the result of his "hard work" and "labour". he would die, still bathing in riches.

he tried to calm his palpitating heart by breathing deeply and slowly. he was afraid of what was coming next, but he kept trying to tell himself that nobody would ever dare to harass him. unfortunately, he didn't believe himself at that and he just got more nervous.

a few minutes passed and nothing happened. taeyong finally released his steely grip on his phone, his palms sweaty.

"I wasn't afraid at all, haha!" he said loudly, trying to convince himself. he smoothed out his dress shirt and sighed. he waited a tad bit longer, just to be sure. not that he was afraid or anything.

finally, his beating heart calmed. he stopped trembling, and he relaxed. he lied down on his bed, his arms supporting his head and his legs dangling off the edge of the bed. ah, he could just fall asleep...

suddenly, the glass windows shattered.

han aehra.

just a few minutes before, aehra and the rest were slowly climbing up the mansion. well, aehra was just watching the others quickly climb up the mansion, stationing themselves each in front of a window.

"hey, newbie, I'll help you up," it was an unfamiliar voice. kun's voice. he had hopped down to the ledge closet to aehra and had extended his hand to her. aehra grabbed his hand, smiling as a "thank you" and quickly hoisted herself up to a window.

everyone was holding a hammer and was ready to break through the windows.

"three, two, one!" taeil shouted, and all of the windows simultaneously shattered. quickly, they all entered taeyong's house, guns loaded.

taeyong put up a bit of a fight, but yuta was eventually able to subdue him, and kun tied up his hands and legs, making sure he couldn't escape.

"let me go, dirty peasants!" taeyong spat, glaring at them all. "your filthy shoes are ruining my marble floor."

"that should be the least of your worries," lucas sighed. taeil looked at aehra, and aehra looked down at the rifle in her hands.

"do it," taeil whispered, just enough for aehra to hear him.

"I.. I can't," aehra whispered back, lowering the gun to her side. the new gun taeil had given her was specifically meant for killing someone, efficiently and silently.

tail lifted the barrel of the gun, putting it directly in front of taeyong's forehead. aehra instinctively used her left hand to support the weight of the gun, trying to stable her trembling hands.

"I can't do it!" she said, louder. taeyong looked at her, a boastful look in his eyes. he knew what she had to do. taeil stepped back so that he was next to aehra.

"just do it. everything he's done, it'll end now," taeil cooed. aehra shook her head.

"why don't you make someone else do it?" aehra asked softly, tears beginning to form. she could never kill someone, ever. it was too much of a malignant act.

"you're the newbie. you need to get used to this," he reasoned.

"please, don't force her," yuta said gently. aehra looked at him, as if saying a silent thank you.

"the rest of you, stay out of this. we will only leave when aehra has shot him," taeil demanded angrily. jungwoo and the rest could only look at her apologetically.

aehra took a deep breath, her finger tightening against the trigger.

3, she counted in her head.

2.

1.

bang.