Not even rlly a base BC I forgot to save steps while editing but here's what I decided would be the base to build upon lmao

Indeed, some crime bosses had decided on getting rid of the detective before he could bust their businesses since he became a high threat with his sharp mind and quick thinking. Though getting rid of such a famous person turned out to be a lot more complicated than the crime bosses thought, and so they hired you.

The shadow of the underworld, a rumour whispered among the residents of the town, an angel of death. 

You picked at your cuticles and scanned the office around you for a moment. Only two doors led out of the room, one being the entrance and the other a small bathroom according to the blueprint of the building. In the middle of the room were two couches separated by a small coffee table. Opposite to the entrance door stood a desk with several papers on it. Another table with a tea set, coffee machine and boiler stood right underneath the large window front, where Joshua stood and looked outside as he waited for the water to boil.

The blinds of the windows were pulled down, yet you still made out the letters on the windows, telling everyone behind the glass was a detective’s office. The only other thing within this room was a coat rack next to the entrance door.

“So”, Joshua said and turned around with a small tray in his hands, “what may I help you with?” He smiled softly, shortly glancing up to your face, before he placed the tray down and made you a cup of tea. 

He looked so gentle and innocent, completely contradicting the fierce image his name held. He grabbed his own tea cup, blowing over the hot liquid as he looked over the rim of the cup to you.

“It will sound trivial”, you said, putting on your best act. You slightly shook your head, letting a smile play over your lips while you looked down at the cup in your hands. “I’m sure my father had an affair.” You looked up through your eyelashes, wondering how the infamous detective would react. When he only nodded, inkling you to continue, you spoke up again: “I know you solved far more bigger cases and I truly want to apologise for coming with something so stupid to you, but I’m sure my father had another child. He said something ominous before he died and I couldn’t shake it off. I might have a sibling out there and I want to find them as they’d be my only living family now.”

Joshua hummed and nodded along to your explanation. “I see. Let me get something to write.” He placed his cup on the table and stood up, walking to his desk and rummaging through it. 

You quickly slipped your hand into your purse and pulled a tiny phial out of it, opening it as fast as possible and dropping the clear liquid into his cup of tea.

For a moment you looked at the phial in your hand, unsure what kind of poison it was exactly. You only got it from your client and agreed on using this instead of any other method or poison in that case.

You were well versed in quite a few ways of killing, ranging from strangulation over shooting up to poisoning. Usually though you had your own poisons, knowing exactly the dosage you needed for a job or what kind of poison would be most sufficient.

When Joshua turned back around with a pen and a writing pad, you hurriedly pushed the phial back into your purse, looking at the detective, who looked as calm as ever.

“Could you repeat some of the details again?” 

You stared at him, needing a second to recall the excuse you had used of being here in the first place. “Are you sure you want to take this case? I really don’t want to bother you with something like that.” 

Joshua placed the pen down on the writing pad and grabbed his cup of tea again, swirling the liquid inside of it around. For a second you feared he noticed something, getting stiff while wrecking your mind how to finish the job otherwise. “It’s not trivial or stupid if it bothers you”, Joshua said after drinking from the cup and placing it back on the table. 

You slumped back down into the cushions, relief momentarily spreading through your body. With him drinking from the cup you could consider your job done. You could simply leave now, saying you changed your mind, but something held you back.

Joshua picked the pen up again and twirled it between his long, slender fingers. He watched you intently, the soft smile never leaving his lips. 

Something felt off but you couldn’t put a finger on it. So you simply retold your excuse adding more details to the story this time. You checked the time over and over again, waiting for the effects of the poison to set in. You even drank from your own, hoping the detective would mirror your actions and drink some more as well.

After you finished telling him everything you could think of, Joshua started twirling the pen again as he read over the notes he had scribbled down. He hummed several times. 

You flinched when he dropped the pen, his hands suddenly cramping up. Both of you looked quite surprised, gazes following the pen that rolled over the floor. “Are you alright?” You asked, noticing Joshua didn’t try to get the pen. You carefully stood up and grabbed the pen, kneeling next to Joshua as you observed his face.

He tilted his head and closed his eyes, brows furrowing slightly while the smile on his lips turned into a tiny pout. Small pearls of sweat appeared on his forehead and temple. Joshua inhaled shakily and pulled at his tie, loosening it a little. 

You contemplated whether you should stay until the detective succumbed to the poison or you should leave and just let it be since you saw the effects already. Musing they gave you a slow spreading poison you decided to leave. “I think, I should go”, you murmured and placed the pen on the table as you stood up and walked to the coat rack.

You were about to open the door after you got your jacket, when a large hand slammed the door shut again. You jumped and turned around, seeing Joshua standing incredibly close to you. 

He panted heavily, eyes slightly hazy as he tried to focus on you. Joshua kept his hand against the door, basically trapping you between it and himself. “If you go now”, he breathed, “they will kill you.”

Your eyes widened in surprise and you stumbled backwards until your back hit the door. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”, you laughed quietly, shaking your head and schooling your expression again to play the innocent client.

“I know who you are”, Joshua scoffed and shut his eyes shortly before he focused his intense gaze back on you, “angel of death.”

You froze, heart pounding within your chest. Your thoughts raced through your mind, trying to find some sort of explanation or wicked scheme to get out of this situation again. But it all came back to the question of how he could know. 

Nobody knew your face. Your targets were dead and couldn’t tell on you. They would be the only ones to see your face. Whenever you had a job you got messages via a special phone, which was stored inside a locker at the station. Same with special requirements, you always made sure whatever you had to take with you was dropped off at some spot where you picked it up after you made sure nobody was around. In conclusion there was no way Joshua could know who you were.

“Angel of death?” You tried hard to sound extremely surprised by the name. You stared at Joshua’s pale face, observing the tiniest reactions from him. “Isn’t that just a rumour some bored teenagers made up?”

Joshua groaned, his head dropping slightly. His breaths were laboured and you noticed his whole body shaking. “I swear to god.” Joshua growled lowly. “You’re done, Yoon Jeonghan.”

You piped up again, having heard that name before. He was a renowned broker in town. Jeonghan was a neutral person in the eyes of any evil within the area. Everyone knew he had shady business with basically all the clans and gangs but nobody could ever prove a thing. 

“What does he have to do with this?”

Joshua raised his head again, bleary eyes capturing your gaze. Before he could say anything though, he lost the strength in his legs.

You were quick to catch him, barely able to support his form. It almost felt like an impossible task to guide him back to one couch, dropping his limp body on the soft surface. You instinctively placed your hand on his sweaty forehead. “You’re burning up”, you mumbled and placed your jacket over his torso as an improvised blanket. 

You stood next to his shivering body, looking down on him in thought. Once again you thought about simply leaving and considering the job done but something about this man intrigued you. There swirled several questions around your head that needed to be answered by him.

As you got to a decision, Joshua grabbed your wrist and held you back. “Don’t leave”, he croaked out before he lost consciousness. His breaths were ragged and shallow while his body continued to tremble violently every other minute.

“I’ll come back soon”, you promised despite knowing he wouldn’t hear you anyway. With that you left the office to get to your apartment.

Since you worked with poisons you had a small kit to mix antidotes in case you would accidentally poison yourself. You wanted to get that kit as well as some instant food and return back to the office. The minute you had left Joshua alone you felt on edge and you wanted to change that as fast as possible.

About an hour later you got back to the detective’s office. You closed the door behind you silently and turned back to the couch. Though Joshua wasn’t on the couch anymore.

Panic spread through your whole system as you stepped closer, seeing your jacket on the ground. You even checked behind the couch but Joshua was nowhere to be seen. You placed the kit and instant food on the small coffee table and paced around the room. 

Once again your thoughts ran wild, thinking of all the possibilities that could unfold from this situation. “What if he got back up and called the police? He could create a phantom drawing of me. My existence would be…” You ran your hands through your hair, freaking out more and more. “Or maybe one of the gang members broke into the office and kidnapped him. They could try and make an example out of him. How should I get my answers then?”

As you were on the verge of desperation the bathroom door opened and a dripping wet detective stepped out of it, leaning his shoulder against the door frame. 

“We,” he spoke up, getting your attention, “as human beings have this tendency to imagine the worst case scenario when something doesn’t go the way we want or expect. But rather than dwelling on what could go wrong or turn worse instead gently guide your thoughts to something more positive. It could be something small, just something that makes you smile without fail. Life will always be filled with stressful moments but you can always choose to see something positive through it all. It will be okay.”

You stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth, disbelief written all over your face. Several seconds passed before you laughed dryly and shook your head, still not believing what you just heard and what you were seeing at the moment. “You’re drenched”, you stated matter of factly.

Joshua shrugged with his shoulders, the soft smile that curled up the edges of his mouth back on his face again. “I had to cool down a bit.”

“Fully clothed?”

He shrugged with his shoulders again but raised one hand, motioning for you to wait. Joshua stepped back into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. A few minutes later he came out of the room again, wearing a bathrobe instead of his drenched clothes. He pushed his wet hair back and walked over to the couches, sitting down and staring up at you. “I assume you have some questions on your mind.”

You laughed mirthlessly. “‘Some’ is good.” Still you sat on the couch opposite of him again, eyes never leaving him. “What happened while I was gone?”

“I already told you that”, Joshua said and grinned in amusement. “I woke up, felt hot and had to cool down a bit.”

“And now you’re all better?”

He scrunched his nose momentarily and then shook his head. “I still feel a little numbness in my limbs and my head feels like I’m having a massive hangover.”

You blinked several times, feeling confused that the effect of the poison didn’t seem as bad as you thought. 

“You’re probably wondering why I’m still alive.”

“Besides some other things I’m wondering about too, yeah.” By now you had decided to drop the act. There was no use pretending to be someone else. You just had to decide whether you’d kill him after you got your answers to keep your identity safe or not.

“You always have to be prepared, be ahead of your opponent by a few steps.” Joshua leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I knew one of the criminal bosses would decide to eventually kill me and their best option was using the infamous shadow of the underworld, the angel of death. So I arranged a few things beforehand with some affiliates. One of them being Jeonghan, who swapped the deadly poison with something - according to him - harmless.”

“You knew from the beginning?” You asked, flabbergasted by the revelation you just heard. All your precautions and preparations had been useless. 

Joshua tilted his head from side to side. “Not knowing, no”, he said and tapped his lower lip, “I knew after I came back with the pen and wanted to drink some tea. Before that it was only a feeling. My instincts if you will.”

“Then why am I still here and not behind bars?” You leaned back on the couch, crossing your arms in front of your chest in a defensive manner. “Also why aren’t you worried about the fact I could throw the plan overboard and just kill you my way?”

“Because I have something to offer you.”

You raised an eyebrow, watching him sceptically. What good could a detective, loyal to the law, offer an assassin like yourself?

“I want you to work with me”, Joshua offered, “as my partner.”

You tried feigning disinterest, fearing accepting such an offer would be a mistake. Yet it sounded too good to be true. “Why?”

“Someone with your skills could give valuable input in a case and help solve it faster.” Joshua noticed your hesitation as well as the desire to simply accept. Once again he smiled softly and stretched one hand out towards you. “It will be okay”, he repeated his reassurance from earlier. “You’ll be okay. I promise. And if stress creeps up on you again-” his warm eyes lulled you further into his world “-just remember to breathe, take my hand and know you’re not alone in this. Not anymore.”

A small pout played over your lips as your gaze switched between his face and his hand. “If I just get the hint of something bad coming from you, I’ll end you.”

“You won’t.”

You sighed deeply and closed your eyes for a second. When you opened them again you locked eyes with him, searching one last time for any hint of deceit. As you found none you placed your hand in his, accepting his offer.

“Fine.”

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