❝ well, i don’t know what to tell you? what do you want me to do, cancel my flight and ride my bike across the atlantic? two words; deal with it yourself....oh for christ’s sake....no, no i-...alright i’ve got to go, we’ll finish this conversation later. ❞ 

naomi jerks the phone away from her ear, thumb jamming down on the ‘end call ’ button with annoyance before letting it clatter into her purse swinging off her arm. with her passport and boarding pass in one hand, a thermos filled with the strongest coffee she could find in the other, and dressed from head-to-toe like she was about to go backpacking across cairo....well, it was safe to say the female looked quite out of place. but she didn’t honestly care―this was fun to her, a past-time, a benefit of being rich in her own right and reaping the rewards of such a fact. in truth, the only thing she supposed that was even more out of place than herself ― well, at least to naomi that is ― was the towering male zigzagging between the other lines to take his place in line....right behind her. in any other sense of what she was thinking, naomi would have hardly given it any other thought; that is, if such a thought was attributed to another person she hadn’t spotted in nearly every single flight within the past 6 months. at first she worried it was a stalker situation (not unlike what she’s dealt with before), but something felt....different. he wasn’t always even near her, the two only shared occasional glances and pleasure-filled smiles when they might be in the same vicinity ― a mutual understanding, naomi would say, and so she puts that to mind as he turns and mimics that exact same behavior. ❝ surprise, surprise! thought I might see you here. ❞

[ ♕  I’m impressed with your writing! , ♡  I have a tumblr crush on you , ☯︎  you’ve helped me improve my writing  , ❤︎  you are my favorite writer of your muse ]

YODELS IN SWAHILI how DARE??? YOU DO THIS??? TO ME??? all 4 of em. right back at you ya TULIP MOROCCAN BEAUTIFUL ASS i cannot BELIEVE

With her minaudiere in hand Sooyoung stepped out from the backseat of the car as the door was opened for her, sending a slight smile and a barely heard ‘thank you’ to the valet that welcomed her to the Mandarin Hotel.

She was attending the Annual Symphony Soiree in Paris, having left from the Philharmonie de Paris where the concert had taken place to arrive at the hotel for post-show cocktails and dinner taking place throughout all four event rooms.

Though the performance put on by the Orchestre de Paris was enjoyed, Sooyoung didn’t care much for classical music and was only attending cause Shin Jinho, the chairman of Kyobo Industries and Sooyoung’s current “business venture”—as she liked to put it—was a special guest.

She’d come to learn this information from sweet talking a drunk associate of his and sneakily taking the invitation he so carelessly flaunted to her in his intoxicated stupor. She only hoped getting to Shin Jinho and his money would be just as easy; but she wouldn’t count on it.

Entering the building, Sooyoung was greeted by live music from a brass quintet that seemed to follow her as she made her way into one of the function rooms; eyes admiring the interior of the place before spotting the open bar; skipping dinner to quickly enjoy what she considered dessert in her book.

Upon approaching and being greeted by one of the two bartenders working the counter, she ordered her drink and waited the short while it took to receive it before turning to scan the social crowd that filled the room with their long, evening gowns and black-tie suits. It took her awhile, but she eventually located Mr. Shin standing at the open entrance that lead to the next room banquet space; homing in on the business man and the people that surrounded him. His frumpy wife stood beside him, carrying her own conversation with the guests beside her as her husband smiled and happily spoke to a slightly younger couple that held each other and laughed.

In the past Sooyoung would have waited until he separated himself from his wife’s side or to make her move—which she still did from time to time depending on the situation—but now she saved those actions for later steps.

The plan was to first weasel her way into introducing herself as the daughter of one of his business acquaintances; an ambitious, pretty face who admired his hard work and success, compliment and stoke his ego, accompanied with a few caress to his arm at just the right moment, maybe drop a sly innuendo or two that would make an old man like him blush and remember her, then part with a wish for the chance to speak again.

Then would come the waiting game until he’d finally leave to use the washroom, or if she was lucky, he’d be staying at the Mandarin Oriental as well, catching him as he made his way to his room, making it up as if she was calling it a night.

Depending on how things flowed she’d invite him to her room for a drink, but only if she was a hundred percent sure he’d say yes. If she had any doubts, she’d leave it as be and would just have to spend more time tracking and planning more opportunities to be “bumping into” him in the days or weeks to follow in order to get close and get him to trust her.

But that’s how things went most times when it came to hooking her targets, so Sooyoung was hardly ever put off by those outcomes.

For now, she’d keep her eye on him, study from afar for a little while more and enjoy her Kir Royale until she finished it.

❝ just look what the cat dragged in… ❞

a grin plays on her lips as she leans against the desk, the side lamp being the only light illuminating the slightest of expressions on her face. still, it does well to only barely cover the twinkle of something….otherwise in her gaze, her smile not exactly reaching her eyes from the looks of it. ❝ for a place that houses the city’s security….they aren’t too tight on it themselves. ❞ bast clicks her tongue in a disappointed manner, pushing herself up and in the same motion, switching off the light source beside her. suddenly, the two of them were bathed in darkness ― the other agents and the like had left for the weekend she knew, always keeping up with the schedule and activities of the place she had once called home. yet she also count on the fact that he would never miss the chance to come in for ‘work’; habit for the both of them. her steps are muffled thanks to the padding ptah had put in them, her eyes becoming quickly acquainted to the absence of light as she slides silently up to levi ― the crumpling of something, the weight of their matched stare, and finally an offering.

❝ i knew you’d be here, typical. ❞ she shakes her head, peering at the elder carefully. in the shadows, he can’t see how her expression has fallen ― as if she wants to say something but can’t. ❝ i have something for you. ❞ her hand extends, taking hold of levi’s and placing an object wrapped in a velveteen in his palm. ❝ it’s my badge, time you took it back. and no, i haven’t been hiding it away like some schoolgirl with a crush all this time. ❞ but the way her fingers linger over it, as if the thought of parting with the object is painful enough, says otherwise. ❝ i don’t know why i still have it. guess i forgot to…drop it off. ❞ bast swallows ― she isn’t nervous, just unsettled. when she had made the decision to sever all of her ties with her past, she couldn’t bring herself to throw the damn thing into the river…and part of her regretted it. but she merely sighs, raising her gaze after a moment and….leaning up to kiss him. for someone always with a plan, such an action is impromptu ― the first of many, although she does not know. bast doesn’t touch him otherwise, it’s short and sweet, the trembling of her hands hidden by the dark as she pulls back after a moment. 

there are footsteps, and then there is nothing ― and suddenly, levi is left alone almost exactly to how he had been at the start of this entire mess.

he’s trembling by the time she gets home, an uncanny human remark he can’t help but convey as his gaze watches unblinking (as if he’d ever need to) on the tv screen portraying the recent news report. dagda knows she’s there, knows she’s watching him with careful worry like she always is ― but he doesn’t care. all he cares about is the fact that it was now public knowledge that cyberlife planned to unleash a digital ‘virus’ upon the android population, with the explicit purpose of culling deviants.

and since he’d first been able to fall under such a category, he’s terrified.

the feeling of soojung’s hand on his shoulder has him slowly moving to grab at the remote on the living room table, switching the television off before setting it down. he doesn’t greet her, doesn’t give any sign of what he’s thinking ― although there’s a million reports running through his logistics sector. only turns and wraps an arm around her waist, uncanny strength in being an android as he pulls her over the back of the couch and on top of him, flipping them over to where he’s pressing down on her smaller frame. he can’t say anything, a first for someone who usually chooses not to speak in the first place ― dagda only connects their lips harshly, bent arm caging soojung beneath him as his free hand slips up the hem of her shirt. what is there to say? for now, nothing….not when the looming reality of him possibly disappearing out of her life chains his autonomous thoughts to the reality of the world around him. his touch wanders, and so does his lips; they trail down her jaw and neck, sucking and biting at the softness of her skin, leaving marks and bruises he would be certain to have them present for a while after. after all, if he isn’t going to linger around much longer, he might as well have something else that does.