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Chapter 3

  • M01. STATUS
  • A LOCATION;
  • ROSES AND SMOKE, DOWNTOWN, SEOUL.
  • TARGET;
  • LOOKING AT HIS WATCH, PROBABLY WAITING FOR SOMEONE
  • 1
  • MISSION;
  • STARTED.
  • STARTING...
  • THE BREAKFAST
  • VALENTINA SEES HIM FROM THE WINDOW OF HER CAR. He's looking at his watch and then, glancing around, probably to see if Valentina is there. They had decided to meet at the café Roses & Smoke at 9 A.M. to have some breakfast together and get to know each other. Joke's on you, Valentina thinks. I already know everything about you. Kim Seokjin.
  • It's 9:25 A.M. right now, Valentina had decided last night that she doesn't want to seem desperate or overdo something that might make him suspicious. So, she had decided to arrive a bit fashionably late and make him wait for her. Rule number 2 in Valentina's WOO A MAN 101 book is: Never wait for a man. Make him wait for you. She takes her book very seriously, although she does not have much experience in the department called love and attraction.
  • Finally, at exactly 9:30 A.M., she applies another coat of her red lipstick and steps out of the car. Seokjin can't see where the car is. Valentina has made sure of that. So, she walks to where he is sitting, outside of the café. Valentina prefers outdoors too, instead of indoor breakfast. Weather is perfect for a good outdoor breakfast. And the fact that she won't have to eat it alone makes it more better, no matter the fact that she is having breakfast with her target.
  • Upon the sound of heels, Seokjin looks up from his phone and gives Valentina a smile. He stands up and hugs her.
  • "I hope I didn't make you wait too long." Valentina says.
  • "No, no. You didn't."
  • She kisses his cheek and then, lets him take out the chair for her.
  • "Thank you," she says, sitting into the seat,
  • "My pleasure. You look beautiful, Valentina," Seokjin says, noticing her outfit. She's wearing a yellow sundress which compliments her skin very well, paired with black wedges. Her hair is styled Into a French braid.
  • "Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." Valentina says, winking at Seokjin..
  • He lets out a hearty laugh at that and Valentina has to plaster a fake smile on her face to seem invested into Seokjin as much as he seems to be interested in her. It is so gullible of him to think she is actually interested a womaniser like him. Valentina almost pities him. Almost. But she knows better than to pity a criminal.
  • When his laughter dies down, Seokjin raises his hand to call the waiter. Thankfully, a waiter is walking nearby. He walk towards them as soon as he sees the gesture
  • "What would you like to order, Mister Seokjin?" The waiter asks.
  • Valentina can't help but wonder how come the waiter knows Seokjin. Seokjin is a well know player of Seoul, yes, and Valentina is quite aware of that. She decides to let it slide for now. She'll have to do a background check of this waiter later on.
  • "The usual," he says, giving the waiter a polite smile.
  • The waiter nods. And then, looks at Valentine. "And what will you have, Miss?"
  • "I'll have a Blueberry Surprise French Toast Casserole. With black coffee," she tells him.
  • The guy writes down everything on the notepad. "It'll take 20 minutes."
  • Seokjin nods and the waiter walks away.
  • "Do you know him?" Valentina wastes no time in trying to get the information out of him.
  • Seokjin cocks his head to side. "Who? The waiter?"
  • She nods, leaning back in her chair. Trying to be as inconspicuous as ever, she turns on the voice recorder on her phone and places it on the table. She sighs in relief when Seokjin doesn't even look or glance at her phone.
  • "He's...an old friend."
  • Valentina looks at him, trying to read his beguiling eyes. Her gaze sweeps over his face carefully. gauging any expression. And while doing that, she acknowledges once again that he is an extremely handsome man. If he wasn't in a gang, she would've-maybe fallen for him. But she knows better. She can't ever fall in love with a criminal. The righteous agent in her won't ever allow that. But that doesn't mean she can't admire his outward beauty, no matter how ugly he might be on the inside.
  • She bites the inside of her right cheek and shakes her head.
  • "I was lying when a said you don't look to bad yourself," she says suddenly.
  • Seokjin, who was looking at her square in the eyes, narrows his eyes. Creases of confusion appear on his forehead. "What do you mean?" He questions, offended.
  • She laughs at Seokjin's offended tone. "No need to be so defensive, Seokjin. I meant you look handsome. Very handsome." She tries to sound seductive while gagging mentally at the limits she has to go for her work. If she didn't love capturing criminals, she'd be vomiting right now. But then again, rule number 8 in Valentina's How To Woo A Man 101 book is act seductively, talk seductively, walk seductively because men like Seokjin can't deny a seductive, sexy woman.
  • Surprise is evident on Seokjin's face but then, it contorts in arrogance. His lips twist up into a smirk and his eyes glint mischievously. "Now, that is something I'm very much aware of. But thank you, my love. It means more when it's coming from a beautiful lady like you." He winks at her.
  • Valentina rolls her eyes and looks away from him for a moment and then back at him. There is a comical smile on her face. "You're hopeless, Kim Seokjin."
  • "I'm not" he retorts.
  • "But that makes you a bit more charming," she continues.
  • Seokjin is surprised once again. But he isn't the only one. Valentina is as surprised as he is, if not more. As far as Valentina remembers she has always been the hopeless one when it comes to romance and clating. She thinks that she doesn't know when to say what or more precisely, when to act or say something romantic. But she guesses she has been wrong. And that maybe her How To Woo A Man 101 is finally coming in handy.
  • "I was right about you, Valentina. You do know how to drive a man crazy."
  • Before she can respond, the waiter arrives with their breakfast and Valentina thanks him mentally for saving her from saying anything. She does thank him when he places the breakfast in front of her, but of course, he has no idea that she's thanking him for both the breakfast and for unknowingly saving her from misery. Turns out, Seokjin's usual breakfast is blueberry muffins and a hot steaming cup of chai tea. She loves both of the thing but keep this little information to herself. She doesn't want Seokjin to know anything about the real her.
  • They dig into breakfast, savouring the deliciousness in silence. When they are finished with eating, Seokjin calls the waiter and asks him for the bill. Seokjin tries to pay for Valentina too when the waiter arrives with the receipt, but Valentina offers to pay for hers. She tells him that she isn't his girlfriend yet and that she earns well enough to pay for herself.
  • Seokjin knows better than to argue with a woman who is right about paying for herself. After paying, they get up and start walking.
  • "Where are we going?" Valentina asks him.
  • Seokjin gives her a smile. "My house."
  • "Isn't this too quick?" She asks. "I mean I'm not sure if it's okay to meet your parents this early."
  • "I'm unarmed" she thinks Boss will kill me if he knows that I went with a criminal to his house unarmed.
  • Seokjin shakes his head. "It's my mansion. I don't live with my parents."
  • "Oh." What a relief. "Where do you parents live then?"
  • Seokjin unlocks his car, and then opens the door for Valentina, all the while, ignoring her eyes. "Not in this country. They live abroad."
  • His tone is sad and nostalgic. Valentina makes a mental note to search about his parents too. Something doesn't seem right. She doesn't recall her boss telling her anything about his parents. Maybe he forgot to tell her. She'll ask him about it, she decides, Seokjin starts the car and Valentina texts her friend to tow her car from outside the cafe back to her home.
  • The way to his house takes almost 20 minutes and In those twenty minutes, Seokjin stays unusually silent. But then again, Valentina doesn't know how he usually acts like. Although, she does think that he is quieter than he normally is. In her five years of working as an agent and having learned human behaviour by a psychologist, she can easily judge a person's emotions through their facial expression. No matter how good a person is at hiding his or her emotions, they always let emotions slip through little mistakes. Like a tick of the jaw or an unblinking Anything. So she's sure there is something about his parents that is making Seokjin sad.
  • "So, you've never told me what do you do for living?" Valentina decides to break the silence,
  • Seokjin glances at her, surprised, and then, turns his attention back to the road.
  • "I do business of properties and stuff like that. Nothing interesting. What about you?" He asks.
  • Hah. Other stuff meaning gang related stuff. She doesn't voice her thoughts.
  • "I work at an I.T. company. I'm a software engineer." Valentina has already a plan layer out in her mind. She has already thought of the possible question her might ask her about her life and she has to seem as ordinary as she can.
  • "Interesting." Seokjin has a thoughtful expression his face.
  • "Have you designed any softwares yet?" He asks.
  • Valentina haven't thought this much. She panics. It fills her gut for a second and then, she forms an answer in her mind quickly, "Well, duh, I've been working for five years in that company. I've worked with many people on quite a lot of softwares." The lie rolls of her tongue smoothly.
  • She lets out a breath of relief when Seokjin nods. He doesn't ask her any more question and she is thankful for that. But she is still worried about going to his house unarmed.
  • What if he tries something?
  • You are a fucking agent. You know how to protect yourself.
  • She calms herself and puts on her best fake smile on her face. Let's do this, she thinks.