#kun!au

I turn around a corner but stop as I see two familiar figures ─ Korean exchange students Jung Jaehyun and Kim Doyoung ─ from my mechatronics class, standing at the end of the hall. I quickly take a step back and hide behind a wall, making sure that they can’t see me.

“Look, I don’t give a crap, Jae. Qian Kun has to pay what he fucking did to us”, hisses Doyoung and shoves a small plastic bag in Jaehyun’s hands.

My breath hitches and I curse silently.

Everyone at WayV knows what happened. Qian Kun, our boss, was a part of NCT before fighting his way out, taking anyone who wants to go with him. There where some snitches in the bunch, names nobody is allowed to say, and he dealt with them.

Of course, the Boss doesn’t shy away from murder. The weird lumps in the garden of HQ are a cautionary tale of what happens when you either betray him or disobey his orders.

“But... poisoning?”, questions Jaehyun. “Can’t you just shoot him in the face? And how will I even get close to him without being suspicious?”

“There’s a party this Saturday. Taeil made sure you got a position as a server there.”

Jaehyun nods slowly. “So I can slip this”, he holds up the small bag, “in his drink or food?”

“Bingo.”

Jaehyun puts the small bag safely in a side pocket of his backpack as the bell rings. “Let’s go, Mrs Shin will murder us if we’re late again.” 

Doyoung rolls his eyes as he and Jaehyun walk away.

And lucky me, my next class is with them. So I make sure that I take a seat close to Jaehyun and Doyoung. The only one being behind them, but I can deal with that.

Look, I usually don’t meddle with stuff too deep into the... darker circuit of WayV but, Qian still is my boss so protecting him is right, right? 

Jaehyun gives me a small smile and Doyoung glares at me when they see I sit behind them, before scooting closer to his friend and whispering something in his ear.

Luckily, Jaehyun has placed his backpack with the pocket towards me. If I time it correctly as both of them are immersed in the lesson, I can ‘drop’ my pencil. And while I pick it up, I unzip the pocket and swiftly take out the small bag.

Finally, after half an hour of taking notes and glancing towards the two guys, Doyoung has his head buried in his arms as he's probably sleeping and Jaehyun is too busy taking notes.

I bump my pencil off the table and it drops in the ground, next to Jaehyun’s bag. I mentally cheer and reach down, ready to unzip the bag.

But before I can do anything, another hand reaches down and grabs my pencil before I can. I look back up and see Jaehyun smiling at me.

“You dropped this”, he says kindly, his accent heavy as he tries to speak with right pronunciation before handing me my pencil back.

I smile slightly. “Yeah, thanks though.” I reach out and grab it.

“Do you understand anything Mrs Shin is explaining?”, he asks in a hushed tone.

I shake my head. “Nah. I’m going to read the summary she puts online.”

He raises his eyebrows and looks surprised. “She does that?”

With a nod, I open the website on my laptop and turn it around. “Mrsshin.com, there.” I point out how the site works and where he can find the summaries of the previous lessons. 

And like that, the class ends and I huff. He’s too charming that it’s distracting me from my mission. and how will I intercept the poisoning now?

The only thing I can think about is that party Doyoung was talking about. Does Yangyang know? I swear if he does, I’m going to strangle him with the cord of his headphones.

“Yo”, I say as Yangyang picks up after I started to call him, waiting until both guys are out of earshot. “Do you know anything about the Boss throwing a party on Saturday?”

“Ehm no”, squeaks Yangyang on the other side of the connection, a sign he’s lying.

“You’re lying”, I hiss, ignoring the strange looks from students all around me. “Why didn’t you told me? Did you hide or threw the invite away?”  

“There was no invite. Boss called me and said to keep my mouth closed. He wants me to keep an eye out on the security camera’s and you are free.”

I let out a frustrated growl. “I am free? How dare he? I can do security too!”

“He said something about forbidding you to go because of your last job. What happened there?”

I run a hand through my hair, getting into my car and linking the phone call to the BlueTooth. “I had to watch someone get burned like a witch through CCTV. Which I don’t understand since you usually do that.”

“Oh”, Yangyang lets out rather shocked.

I hum. “Yeah. And it’s not like I can’t handle a bit of heath, you saw it yourself. I stand with both of my feet on the ground and won’t cry over just another burning corpse.”

Yangyang stays silent, the clicking op his mouse stopped too.

“YY? You okay?”, I question, my face falling.

“Jezus (Y/n). This life really fucked you up.”

A low chuckle leaves my lips. “It really did...”

“But how did you even got the information about the party? Did Lucas talk too much?”

I shake my head, even though he can’t see it. “Worse. I heard two guys from one of my classes talking out poisoning Boss. They want him to pay what he did to NCT.”

A gasp leaves Yangyang’s lips. “Are they from Boss’ old gang?”

“I think? I tried to fetch the poison out of one of their bags but failed. Now the only thing I can think about doing is going to that party and warning Boss.”

“I can do that too, you know.”

“No, you have to stay and be on call. Just keep an eye open for both of them. When I am back, I’ll show you a picture of the guys.”

Yangyang lets out a heavy sigh. “I hope you know what you’re doing”, he says before he ends the call.

It’s the day of the party and somehow I have managed to find a document with the invitations and printed it out of myself.

“Are you sure you should go? I mean, Boss particularly told you not to go”, says Yangyang through the phone as my car reaches the valet of the party.

I roll my eyes. “Look, YY, it’s not like Boss will recognize me since only you and Lucas have ever seen my face. Nothing to worry."

A loud groan erupts from Yangyang’s side of the line. “Just... stay out of trouble okay? The Boss is merciless when you disobey his orders.”

“I’ll have to go, I have almost reached security. Don’t worry, okay? I know how to handle it myself.” I end the call with a sigh

As I walk up the steps of the giant mansion, I smooth out my dress and push the fake glasses up the bridge of my nose.

A guard stops me, “Invitation”, he grumbles as he holds up his hand. I rummage through my bag and pull out a golden envelope with elegantly written letters on the front.

Without glancing at it for a second time, he shoves it back into my hand and lets me through. I am honestly shocked that the fake invitation worked.

I quickly walk into the mansion and look around, grabbing a flute of champagne off one of the waiters’ serving trays so I won’t stand out. It’s not like I will drink anything, I’m not that stupid.

Now I’m in, I have to move quickly if I want to find either Jaehyun or the Boss without being caught. I’ve seen the layout of the mansion a thousand times on screen, how hard could it be?

With slow steps, I start to walk around the massive happening. All different kinds of mafia bosses and powerful people catch my eyes. But no sign of any of my two targets. Maybe I have to inspect the kitchen?

My phone in my handbag vibrates and I grab it. ‘LUCAS’ it reads on the screen. “Shit”, I curse under my breath, quickly walking towards the balcony and closing the doors behind me, hoping it would muffle out any sounds.

“Hi, dimwit”, I chuckle awkwardly as I place the champagne down on the balustrade and I lean with my now free hand on it. “How’s the party going?” 

“Well, you tell me, since you sneaked in it. Turn around.”

I slowly turn around, an annoyed groan leaves my lips as I see Lucas standing in front of the windows, a smirk on his face. 

He opens the doors and closes them behind him, taking long strides towards. “Didn’t the Boss tell you to stay away?”, he questions as he leans against the balustrade with folded arms, an amused look on his face.

“Yeah I know but─”

“And you still ignored his command. You know what happens when someone disobeys him, don’t you?” Lucas grabs my chin between his thumb and index finger.

I smack his hand away and look behind me, towards the rose bushes that are in full bloom. “I know, Lucas! But I’ve heard that someone’s here to poison him.”

He scoffs. “Please, don’t make up shit so you can party and drink fancy champagne.”

As I open my mouth to snark something back, a familiar voice interrupts me. “Well, well, well, Xuxi, why don’t you introduce me to your lovely lady friend?”

I gulp as I see the Boss himself, Qian Kun, stand just a few feet away from me, looking like a snack in his black suit and red hair sleeked back. 

“Boss. This is─”

“─The name’s Zela, Mr Qian. Nice to meet you. I must say that this is an exquisite party.” I throw on my most charming smile and hold out my hand for him to shake.

The Boss grabs it and places a kiss on the top of my hand. “Nice to meet you too, miss Zela...?”

“Just Zela is fine, Mr Qian.” 

He chuckles lowly. “Then call me Kun, darling. Mr Qian is only for employees or business partners.”

I nod as I smile. “Of course, but I rather be formal, Sir.” I turn around towards Lucas with a smirk. “Can you leave Mr Qian and me alone for just a second, Xuxi? We have... business to discuss.” 

Lucas grumbles and walks off. But not without throwing me a glare. 

“Oh? You need to talk to me?” Boss folds his hands over each other as his smile turns a bit more serious.

I look around before speaking. “Look, I am here to warn you. Someone is trying to poison you. I wouldn’t drink or eat anything.”

I grab my phone out of my bag and start to scroll through my mechatronics class attendance list. I pull up a photo of Jaehyun and Doyoung and shove my phone under his nose. “Do you recognize these two?”

The Boss frowns and grabs my phone, taking a closer look. “They look familiar. Who informed you about this matter?”

I take my phone back with a sigh. “They’re not the smartest of the bunch. They were talking about poisoning you in the hallway of my college, Sir.”

He hums. “And how do I know I can trust you?” The Boss narrows his eyes together.

With a shrug, I turn around. “You just have to trust me.” 

With a light swing in my hips, I walk out of the mansion, throwing one last look over my shoulder to see if I can spot Jaehyun.

My phone vibrates and I see that Lucas has texted me.

I roll my eyes, quickly typing my reply.