Languidly rolling his shoulders, James easily replied, “I actually don’t know what your little side business is, boss lady. I just heard that it can get you lots of money.” He shot her a roguish grin as he continued, unashamed, “And well, a guy’s gotta hustle to afford the lifestyle he has, y’know? It isn’t exactly cheap to look like this on a daily basis.” His words were flashy but held no real meaning. James needed and wanted very little— he led a minimalistic lifestyle— but Areum didn’t know that.
Despite their rocky start, things slowly started to smooth over a few months in. Many of the employees expected that he would be a slob. Knowing the impression he gave off to most people, the undercover agent wasn’t all that surprised. He knew that the organized way he set appointments for Areum as well as the systematic manner he fixed her files would speak for themselves. Besides, his personality really did some time to getting used to. He was the type to slowly grow on people, much like fungi.
Although it was a mission, James could admit that he had built meaningful relationships with those around him. Sure, Jaime was still a dick but at least they didn’t look like they’d kill him in a heartbeat anymore. Plus, Areum wasn’t all that bad as a boss.
Taking the file from the woman, James quickly went through it. His time in the CIA meant that he was used to skimming through important documents and picking out the important information he had to remember for later. The fidgeting was new, and he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Areum’s uncharacteristic show of anxiousness. She usually had a tighter lid on her emotions. Then again, the situation they were in wasn’t normal at all. It was mainly why he was so quiet as well.
Sharp brown eyes took note of the abandoned warehouse before him as well as the landmarks nearby. The higher ups would definitely want the details of where this was and who exactly owned the land. The doors opened to show a man bound to a chair. Ah, so this was the guy Areum was talking about; the one involved in her parents’ murder. He caught sight of the different tools laid out on the table, and a feral grin pulled the corners of his lips upwards. “I assume you’d want him to suffer, boss lady?” The question was a rhetorical one, and as he walked closer to the victim presented to him, one of the men roughly removed the sack over his head.
Jashin-sama apreciated the sacrifice that Areum practically gave him on a plate to offer. “Hey, bub. How we doin’ so far?” It was obvious that the men around them had roughed him up a bit, judging by his bruises; but his god demanded more pain. Taking a small knife, James decided to start off small, “You heard her. Let’s start off slow, shall we? We have the rest of the night ahead of us anyways. Tell me what you know and you might just have a less painful death.” Placing the sharper end of the blade just beneath his victim’s nails, James was pleasantly surprised ta how sharp the small knife was as their fingernails were easily removed, blood quickly welling down his digits. He was never one to be gentle with his victims, after all.
Their screams were practically music to his ears, and James couldn’t help but hum as he slowly made his way through one hand. His eyes, crazed and ecstatic, found Areum’s as he said, “Would you let me kill him afterward?”
Areum was pleasantly surprised- she didn't expect James to jump right into it, no hesitation whatsoever. She watched the way he carried himself with confidence, inspecting the tools before he began to expertly and patiently remove the victims fingernails, seemingly not bothered by the groans and screams at all, while Areum could already feel the beginning of a nasty headache pounding behind her eyes.
The woman assumed that it wasn't James first time torturing someone and her suspicions were confirmed when he started humming a tune like he was doing one of the most menial tasks in the world. Areum rose a sharp brow. Now, she didn't expect that. She scrutinized her assistant, eyes watching his every move like a hawk- he was like a riddle she wanted to solve or like an unfinished puzzle with missing pieces. Areum couldn't make any sense of him yet- that she was intrigued was an understatement.
Areum took a step closer to stand right beside her assistant, eyes meeting his. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, showing the truth, no matter what facade someone might put on - what Areum could see was that James was thrilled, almost giddy. Maybe he got off on things like that- whatever it was, Areum wasn't one to judge, as long as he got the job done.
„Yes.“ she answered his question, averting her gaze to focus on the man in front of her. „Alright, asshole. Speak.“
„I aint telling you nothing, bitch.“ his lips curled into a wide grin, revealing his bloodied teeth.
„We should've killed you back then.“ he continued, „before you became such a fucking pest.“ Resentment and vegeance blazed ferociously in her eyes, fingers itching for a gun to end his pathetic life. „Like we did with your poor mother. She was innocent in all this, right? Didn't even know what your daddy was up to.“ he was mocking her now and Areum had a hard time keeping her emotions in check. She could feel the fury dangerously throbbing against her skin, the heat flooding through her veins. „Shut the fuck up.“ she spat, but the victim continued his taunting, „I was there when they killed poor mommy.“ The memory she had so carefully buried, rises from the depths inside of her, poking and prodding at her ribcage. Areum desperately tried to ignore the sharp ache in her chest but it was to no avail. He began to decribe her mothers murder, leaving no gory details out. Areum felt powerless and detached from her body as raw emotions took hold of her senses with every word that left his lips. Seeing red, she grabbed whatever it was next to her on the table and rammed it into the soft flesh of his abdomen, twisting and turning until her hand was covered in warm blood.
Kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him
a voice whispered to her Areum could do nothing but obey- jagging the knife free she plunged it in over and over again, not caring about the blood that had splattered onto her face, drenching her clothes and clinging to her like a second skin.
A quiet „Boss?“ coming from one of her men brought her back to the present. Only then did she realize what she was doing, her trembling hands unable to hold the knife any longer, dropped down on the concrete floor.
„James?“ she croaked and stumbled towards her assistant, bloodied fingers tightly curled around the fabric of his clothes as she clung to him like he was her only lifeline. Her mind was blank, the adrenaline dwindled and left her completely exhausted and depleted of any energy. The wave of fury that had washed over her body subsided, leaving her feeling numb, just like she did before. Areum had never once in her life lost control like that. Losing control meant that she was weak and in her position, weakness would be fatal- dangerous and deadly, something her enemies were waiting for. It took her years to perfect the facade of cold hearted bitch, the remaining pieces of her shattered heart and emotions carefully guarded by a massive nearly impenetrable wall. Areum could feel those walls cracking and crumbling. Feeling nothing at all was better than the pain and rage she had just felt.
„James, what happened to me?“ her voice was merely a whisper, the cottony fog cloaking her mind made it hard for her to focus.
It was silent except for the wheezing, last breaths of the victim and her own ragged breathing. He was still alive.
“Do you want to finish him off?” her eyes, now as crazed and ecstatic as James, found his, wide and questioning.