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Leniency had never once been a part of Soo Hyuk's methods of leadership. The title of "King of Hearts" had an amusing irony to it that he successfully lived up to. Compassion, represented by the heart, could not successfully coexist with the stern hand of the king. And of course, Soo Hyuk had no intention to bend his past policies for the sake of a single girl.

Perhaps he made excuses for his decisions. Letting her off the hook so easily would only encourage future mistakes, and force her deeper into the debt he had already created for her. Hyuna was a diligent worker, and her past records were nearly flawless. But a confrontation was inevitable - after all, Soo Hyuk had his own intentions and goals. The Hearts faction was meant to help him attain his wishes; the reverse was absolutely unacceptable.

Fingers tapped one by one against the slim glass of wine he held as he paced around the chair in which she was sitting. The woman he trusted with large amounts of his business, the girl with the spark in a dying body - to scold her truly did put a little strain in his chest. But as always, he would silently ignore the ache and continue on for the sake of business.

Perhaps a bit more caution would have helped ease the leader's nerves. It certainly was strange - while constant surveillance from his bodyguards was often uncomfortable and tense even after so many years, he always felt a little more secure with them around. Even while understanding that they could turn on him at any time, the feeling of simply being protected was enough to keep him levelheaded.

But that night, any companions would have been considered offensive and improper. Although he was visiting an old friend, caution was always necessary when interacting with anyone in the underground - especially if they were one of the rulers. Despite having the title of a ruthless "King", even Soo Hyuk had his limits.  He knew better than to induce unnecessary misunderstandings and tensions between gangs when they could be so easily avoided. Keeping bodyguards could so easily create a hostile and unwelcoming image which could have been considerably worse than the dangers of traveling alone.

Another sip of his drink brought Soo Hyuk back to his senses. In any case, he was in a territory that he could label as neither that of enemy or ally. Cruelty was only natural for anyone in the mafia world, and throwing away past relationships could be considered second nature. Survival was essential. Delaying the inevitable bitter end was the goal of all, and Soo Hyuk dared not contradict such philosophy.

Gaze focused on the pianist performing on the dimly lit stage, the leader silently anticipated the approaching arrival of the bar's owner. Lee Hyori - where and when she and Soo Hyuk first met had been long forgotten. Perhaps such memories had been cast aside due to the deep development of their relationship, even when it could be so easily thrown away. It had been a while since the two had seen each other face to face, and he was both eager and a little anxious for their reunion. Of course, neither emotion would be shown through neither expression nor gesture mostly out of the necessity to preserve his image.

Stop. Could he possibly give such an order to someone he didn't know? To someone he had met mere moments before? Would she even dare to listen? Would she even turn around and return to his side with that single word? To that small figure that seemed to both linger and grow farther apart from him at the same time - he wanted to call out to her. Infatuation? Gratitude? In any case, he wanted, in that moment, to simply bring her back to where she had been mere moments before.

Moving himself would be, quite obviously, impossible for the moment. Back pressed against the brick wall of an alley building, the leader kept the edge of his palm digging into the now-bandaged wound in his abdomen, as if such actions would somehow ease the pain. A stabbing - perhaps he should have anticipated such an action especially considering the lack of conflict centered around the Hearts. The fiercest storms came in the quietest times, after all.

Unsurprisingly, he had managed to retaliate quickly enough to keep the assassin from completing his job. A swift pull of the trigger was all it took to defend himself - but of course, it all fell together too late to prevent some degree of injury. Perhaps it was his simple carelessness that brought him to allow himself some freedom for the night. After all, constantly traveling with body guards could only last for so long with such consistency.

To  make it worse, he had been left in the hands of a passing stranger. Who she was, where she was from, and what her purpose was he could not discover. A few dazed minutes of the "King" lingering in and out of consciousness was all it took for the woman to treat his wound and walk away wordlessly. And now, finally, right as his eyes could finally focus through the stinging pain, all he could see was her fading silhouette, walking away from him into the city lights.

He couldn't give up. He couldn't simply let her slip away from his fingers. Why? Unfortunately, that wasn't a question he could provide an answer with at the moment. In fact, he refused to let such doubts cloud his immediate goal.

Of course, trust could only be won over upon years and years of building a relationship, but desperate times called for desperate measures, of course. There had been certain instances in the past in which such proverbs actually held meaning. If possible he would have preferred to manage every detail with his own hand, but occasional exceptions could be made - within reason, of course.

Taking a temporary leave of absence certainly was difficult, considering Soo Hyuk's position. Of course, he would still direct operations and keep things in order, but just in a different location. Especially with the increase in rumors concerning a potential clash between Hearts and Diamonds, a temporary change of location seemed considerably reasonable.

And details of such changes were meant to be kept in silence. Only his closest associates and the leader of the Spades herself knew of his residency at the Black Ace. But a third party was necessary for his comfort and maintenance of operations. Although a "housekeeper" by title, as a trusted member of the Spades, the third party member would play much larger roles under Soo Hyuk's direction.

Three humble knocks resonated through the room, bringing a quiet break in his thoughts. Eyelashes met with a slow blink as he turned on his heel, striding towards the door from where he had been standing to peek through the little eye hole in the door. His gaze fell upon a figure distorted by the glass, face still recognizable from a picture attached to a file he had been presented with before his arrival at the hotel. With silent confirmation of the other's identity, he turned the knob and stepped to the side in a both welcoming and cautious gesture.

Certain instances of pain were bearable.

A habit developed by the simplest of children, something so difficult yet practiced by every member of society - the endurance of both physical and emotional suffering. Surprisingly enough, the agony was worst in the most insignificant times of day and night. The deadliest of such cases usually took place in disposable seconds, the brief occurrences that brought the weight of hours, days, and months.

Even the frigid King of Hearts fought through immense pain. Or rather, the excess pain was what had forced him to freeze over. But of course, no one could exactly correlate the past and the present of a man whose background remained so vague. In any case, hardships from the past years would not keep the leader's logic entirely intact. A slight blurring of the senses was present, throwing the usually level-headed "King" into a momentary spiral of self-destructive behavior.

Not that it wasn't anything he couldn't control. Risks were only naturally part of the deal - but moderation was key, wasn't it? In a relatively neutral land, the leader was generally safe. Subtle movements and a hushed voice would protect him in a land where none knew of his name or status. The small, quiet, bar would provide enough sanctuary to last him the night, wouldn't it? With dim lights and a fantastic view consisting of a dirty alleyway, little danger was present.