Chapter 7
Kim Myung
Anyone with eyes could see the way the air shifted as soon Namjoon walked in. It was one of the many things about him – he demanded attention without even trying. Most of the time, he wore that beautiful and disarming dimpled smile, but everyone in that room knew he could be dangerous. Everyone knew that Namjoon was kind but also fierce, especially about protecting his family.
I could feel their eyes trained on me and the others as we walked, but soon their eyes were falling on Cherry. I heard a gasp and I realized they had already recognized her as a Scarlet. I just hoped it would not stir anything. Not that it would make a difference. Jackson was the one hosting the party and he was one of our good allies.
We walked towards the bar as Jackson came to greet us, a big smile on his face. Nothing new about that. ‘Namjoon, glad to see you again,’ he said as the two men shook hands.
‘Unfortunately, it’s been a little too long,’ Namjoon replied as he wrapped his arm around my waist. Jackson turned to me and gave me a warm smile.
‘Mrs. Kim, you look gorgeous as ever,’ he said, coming closer to kiss me on each of my cheeks.
‘Thank you, Jackson. I see you’re still as charming as ever,’ I said as I laughed. He chuckled before he turned his eyes to scan the group. His smile slowly disappeared as his eyes fixed on Cherry.
‘D—Domina Umbra?’ he asked. Cherry smiled at him and nodded. Before, anyone could ask, Jackson embraced her in a hug. ‘It’s been too long, old friend,’ he said. I could hear Cherry chuckling as they let go of one another. ‘You look good Umbra,’ he said.
‘You two know each other?’ Jin asked as he looked at the two of them. he had a look of disbelief and surprised written all over his face. Jackson laughed while Cherry remained smiling.
‘I won’t say I know her that much. She’s always remained a mystery but I do owe her,’ Jackson said, sounding genuinely honest.
‘Really?’ Hoseok asked as he looked at her. There was less contempt in his voice. I sighed, wondering if he was going to comment something else. Hoseok had lost a lot and he found it hard to trust others outside of our circles, but maybe her words from earlier have done something to him.
I could not help myself but remember her words to him; I don’t have a family to love me or care for me. I did not choose to become a Scarlet. I never wanted to be the person I am today but my choice was taken away from me. I shuddered, my heart aching for her. Everyone deserves to be cared for and loved.
‘A couple of years ago, when she was just eighteen or so, she saved my sister,’ Jackson said as he looked at Cherry who looked down. Was she embarrassed by his words?
‘I did what anyone would have done,’ she murmured really lowly that I wondered if anyone else besides me even heard her. He looked up at us and smiled a broken smile, clearly still pained by the memory.
‘My little sister was thirteen. She had missed the school van and decided to walk home because it wasn’t too far. It was three in the afternoon when a member of a rival gang saw her and dragged her into an alley and tried to rape her. She was passing by. She stopped it from happening and walked my sister home as if she had not done a big thing,’ Jackson explained.
I studied Hoseok as he turned to look at him. He was torn. I could tell as much. The logical part of his mind was telling him, ordering him to not trust her. His ego was not really fond of her challenging behaviour either. Yet, his heart was telling to maybe be a little less critical of her.
‘Seems we both have owing her in common then,’ Namjoon said with a heavy sigh. ‘She saved my wife from being kidnapped by one of the gangs,’ he said without going into details about it.
‘I heard the whispers,’ Jackson said quietly as he looked around almost to check whether anyone was paying attention to our conversation. ‘Perhaps we can continue this conversation more privately.’
‘Agreed,’ Namjoon said as he turned to me. I simply nodded, knowing how important this talk is. ‘Jin, Yoongi, you come with me. The others know what you need to do,’ Namjoon said. I watched as they all gave a slight nod as they dispersed into the crowd, ready to mingle with the others.
‘Call out for me if you need anything love. I won’t be far,’ Namjoon said as he came to hug me. I nodded as he gave me a quick peck and I watched the others disappear.
‘Seems like it’s just you and me for now,’ Cherry commented and I nodded as we both went to the stools to sit down.
It had only been twenty minutes, and although Cherry was good company, she was more focused on the environment around her. She was alert of everyone coming to talk to me and of everything else that was going around. ‘Have you ever been to parties like this?’ I asked and she sighed.
‘Work related,’ she replied simply and I nodded. She sighed and turned around slightly so she could focus on me. ‘Sometimes, I used to have to pretend to be someone else, gather information and stuff like that. You’d be surprised how much information slips in a party like this,’ she explained.
‘Oh that I agree with one hundred percent. Namjoon always says these parties are to have fun and to get the advantage,’ I said as I got a smile in return.
‘Wise man,’ she replied and I nodded.
‘The wisest,’ I replied just as a man approached me. He was holding a drink similar to mine as he stood right next to me.
‘Mrs. Kim?’ he asked and I nodded, eyeing him carefully. I could see Cherry already tensing up. ‘I’m Gabriel. You probably don’t recognize me but we used to go to school together,’ he said. My eyes lit up with recognition as I nodded.
‘Now I do. I didn’t recognize. Wow, you’ve really changed,’ I said as he sat down next to me, placing the drink on the table. ‘How have you been Gabriel?’ I asked.
‘Really good. There have been some major changes in my life lately, some of the well needed,’ he said as he reached for his glass. ‘I see you’re doing well for yourself too,’ he said, pointing to my belly. I laughed and nodded.
‘Yes, you can say that again. I’m happily married and we’re expecting our first child,’ I said excitedly. Good God I haven’t seen this guy in years!
‘Do you know what you’re having and when you’re due?’ he asked, taking a sip from his drink.
‘We’re having a boy and I’m in the beginning of my eighth month of pregnancy,’ I explained.
‘Well, how about a toast to your health?’ he proposed and I nodded. I reached for my glass and raised it, ready to cling it against Gabriel’s.
‘Don’t!’ Cherry said suddenly, her voice slightly raised. I looked at her, one eyebrow raised.
‘What’s wrong Cherry?’ I asked but she did not respond and instead took the glass from me. She sniffed it and looked at it and then smirked.
‘This is poisoned,’ she said as she stood up and looked at Gabriel. I stood up as well as did Gabriel who looked *ed.
‘What the * are you talking about? Why would I want to poison my friend?’ he snapped a little angrily. I looked at Cherry and felt uneasy. I had not seen Gabriel in a long, long time and there was something about Cherry that I trusted.
‘Are you sure Cherry?’ I asked and she nodded. I looked back at Gabriel who was laughing and shaking his head.
‘You’re delusional if you’re going to believe her over me! I was your friend. Why would I poison you?’ he yelled, attracting some attention.
‘What’s going on here?’ Namjoon said as he hurried next to us. He had a worried look on his face as he quickly came next to me, placing his hand around me. ‘Yeobo, what happened?’ he asked.
‘Do you remember Gabriel?’ I asked. Namjoon turned his gaze towards Gabriel and nodded. ‘We were chatting and we were going to toast but Cherry stopped me. She said the drink is poisoned,’ I explained.
Instantly, I saw Namjoon’s face darken. Jungkook, Jimin and Taehyung had their hands on their guns at the ready. ‘Cherry how sure are you?’ Namjoon asked.
‘Very sure but I can prove it,’ she said as she smirked. She nodded at Yoongi who suddenly forced Gabriel to one knee. Gabriel cried out once in surprise as he tried to get up but Yoongi was quick to hold him down.
‘What the * are you doing?’ he yelled just Jackson approached. Everyone was watching us. This was a do or die moment for all of us. If we were wrong, we’d be made into fools but… a big part of me knew she was right.
‘Namjoon was going on?’ Jackson asked and Namjoon scoffed.
‘This *er tried to poison my wife,’ Namjoon replied drily while Cherry went in front of Gabriel. She kneeled down so she was at his level.
‘I have four choices for you. Drink this and die. Don’t drink this and you die. Say the truth. Drink this, live and you can run my own sword through my heart,’ she said. I shivered slightly at how cold she was. It was almost as if she had a switch. Right now, this was not Cherry. This was Domina Umbra.
‘I don’t have to answer to you *,’ Gabriel spat at her but she just laughed.
‘You don’t want to * me off Gabriel,’ she said as she pulled out her sword. Once again, I could feel the shift in the air as the tension grew. Gabriel’s face grew pale as he turned to look at me with wide eyes.
‘Myung please! You know me! We’ve been friends since we were young!’ he pleaded.
‘I haven’t seen you in years Gabriel,’ I replied. Cherry took her sword and placed it against his neck. He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He was sweating out of fear which only continued to confirm Cherry’s suspicion.
‘I don’t have all day Gabriel,’ she said as she grabbed the glass and placed it against his mouth. He sealed his lips and she rolled her eyes. ‘Come on big guy, bottom’s up,’ she taunted but he just refused. Taehyung knelt down next to her as he grabbed Gabriel’s mouth as he dug in his fingers into his cheek.
‘You better pray Cherry is wrong,’ he said as he forced him to open his mouth. Cherry was ready to pour the drink into his mouth when suddenly he shook his head.
‘NO! WAIT!’ he yelled as Taehyung let go of his hand. ‘Yes, yes, you’re right. It’s poisoned,’ he said. I looked at Namjoon who had his hands balled into fists. Taehyung and Cherry both stood up but Cherry still held her sword to his neck as they looked at Namjoon to wait for further instructions.
‘You dared to try and poison my wife?’ Namjoon said through gritted teeth.
‘No, wait, you don’t understand. I was threatened by them. The Scorpions, they have a new leader. Sh—’
Before he could finish the sentence, a loud shot echoed. It happened too fast as I saw the bullet go to his head, splattering blood all over us but especially Yoongi. Gabriel fell to the ground with a thud while Namjoon and Cherry came to me.
‘Take her out!’ Namjoon ordered as Cherry nodded. The boys took out their guns as did everyone else in the room while Cherry grabbed my hand and began to drag me with her. I could hear shots going off right behind us and I turned to look.
‘Myung, don’t turn back!’ I heard Cherry ordered. ‘They know how to take care of themselves. Come on, let’s go,’ she said, a sense of urgency in her voice. We managed to reach another corridor when suddenly an another shot echoed and Cherry groaned. She pushed me to the side as her hand flew to her arm which was bleeding.
‘Tsk, that was meant for your heart,’ a man said as he walked out of the shadows, holding a gun in his hand. Right next to him was another one who was pointing his gun at Cherry.
‘You shouldn’t have missed then,’ Cherry replied as she gripped the sword tighter. The man scoffed as he took a step closer. Boy oh boy was he done for. He was like an insect walking up to the spider.
‘You’ve got a tongue on you Scarlet,’ he chided. ‘You ruined my plans with your little stunt. I don’t know if I want to kill you or play a little with you,’ he said with a laugh. She looked at me from the corner of her eye and I gave her a slight nod as I carefully took out my gun from my thigh strap.
‘How about you come closer and find out?’ she taunted. He smirked as he took one step closer to her. Before he could say anything, she raised her sword and in one swift movement, she slit at his throat. His hand flew to his neck as his gun fell from his hand and blood started going everywhere.
The other guy went to shoot Cherry but I pulled the trigger, hitting him square in the head. He fell to the floor in a crumple as she hurried next to me. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked as she touched my face.
‘I should be asking you that. You’re the one bleeding,’ I say as I grabbed at her arm. She smiled and nodded.
‘I’m okay Myung. Thanks for having my back,’ she said and this time I smiled.
‘Always,’ I said.
‘Come on, let’s get you out of here,’ she said as she took my hand and started taking me out to the parking lot where we found Namjoon already there, his suit covered in blood.
‘*! Where were you? I was going to come look for you,’ he yelled a bit as he hugged me.
‘*, Cherry you’re bleeding,’ I heard Jimin comment as Namjoon let go of me and turned to look.
‘I’m fine. It’s just a scratch,’ Cherry said as she waved her hand. ‘Namjoon, we ran into some trouble on our way here,’ she explained. I found myself wondering about what she was thinking. Was she thinking Namjoon was not trusting her? Or that maybe he doubted her?
‘Okay. Let’s go home and we can talk there. Myung needs to rest,’ he said and I could not help but roll my eyes at him. I’m fine – I wanted to say but I knew better than to argue with a worried and *ed off Namjoon.
So much for the party and celebrating peace between the gangs. Then again, they know that the Scorpions are starting this. It's really difficult to write some of the action scenes so I hope they come out making sense. We see Myung being a good person but also a person who can hold her own. Gabriel was going to say something but he was shut up before he could spill. Hmm what could he have wanted to say? I look forward to your thoughts as always. - Tae's Misfit
"I never thought love was worth fighting for but then I looked into your eyes and I was ready for war."
