adxkimraesul:
- &&. Rae smiles, satisfied. Taejun has told her everything she needed to hear - “you can trust me” , “I’ll get it done” things that soothe some of the quarrels baffling her mind, some but not all. She is as close to relaxed as one could get with her sort of troubles, still; there was hope yet, that at the end of this very messy and very dark tunnel, there was light.
“Thank you,” She smiles again, gulping down the rest of her wine in one quick knock, “My assistant has taken the liberty of sharing my personal contact details with you. Few people know of them, so please be diligent.” It was surprising - the amount of trust she was placing in someone that amounted to a stranger, had it not been the emphasis her colleague had placed on his trustworthiness, Rae would’ve been much more careful. “If anything hazardous comes up, I’ll be sure to contact you.”
For weeks, things were quiet, almost too quiet. Rae took Taejun’s advice as seriously as he sounded when it said it and became almost invisible, Rae was rarely seen within the public eye unless it was some unavoidable gala she was required to attend with her father, for the sake of good impression. To avoid arousing suspicion, an alibi was created - Rae-Sul was on holiday, for her health, ‘a spiritual journey.’
Things on the homefront were seemingly normal, Rae was undeniably bored, having to hand over the handling of the majority of her ‘business’ over to her father. It could be called cliché, perhaps even ironic - in the few moments the Rae-Sul began to naively believe she was in fact, safe, there would be several close calls to get her anxiety and adrenaline pumping again. The incidents - a near car accident, an almost brutal mugging - happened far too often for it to be merely coincidental.
There was a rat.
These sorts of things were, at first, tolerable. It was to be expected a few brushes with death here and there, it came as part of the job. But what Rae wouldn’t comprehend was someone within her own ranks attempting to hunt her down. When the rat attempted to poison her food, Rae had finally reached the last straw. Had it not been for one of a few loyalists, she would’ve swallowed the arsenic laced meal.
It was a moment of panic and desperation that had Rae rushing out the door, hurriedly pulling on her coat. She paid no attention to the fleeting questions of her colleagues and family as she rushed out the door and into the front seat of her car. Rae keyed in a hurried text to Taejun:
[ message to: Taejun (lawyer) ] Meet me at the Maple Tree Banquet Hall. Now. It’s urgent.
After hitting send, Rae-Sul twisted the key into the ignition and sped off down the main highway, not bothering to check for a reply or conformance from Taejun. In her panicked state, she needed him and a handful of his soothing words.
She needed to pry the rat of its hole.
the meeting with miss queenfish herself, had gone down weeks ago, though taejun had difficulties forgetting the details in technicolor memories. during those weeks he had been absorbed in his worrk. putting all case files on hold to submerge himself in the grievous process of getting her off the hook. it was a daunting task, even to a man with few morals and known talent as him. no matter how he looked at it, there was a fair amount of evidence stacked up against her. the snake who flipped on her had details, not just the kind you pull out of thin air but genuinely compromising things. and it didn’t help that in the last week, the case was turned over to a new inspector, one more suited to the job. the worst case scenario in taejun’s plan. he knew the inspector, had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing him in action, moving against his clients like a king on a chess board, the courtroom like a playhouse. inspector seo woojin was a force to be reckoned with, like a hunting dog, once he caught a scent it was difficult to shake him off. he presented a problem, one that had taejun scratching his head. at the very least, at least his crown jewels, his precious client, was on her best behavior. he hadn’t heard a peep from her, not in his inbox, not at his bar, not on the news, and there were no whispers cropping up on the streets about her whereabouts either. thank god for that. he wasn’t sure he could pull this off if she went and made a scene on top of things. his plan was already borderline ludicrous as it was, without her making things difficult. so far his plan was coming through, well enough as could be expected, the seeds were already planted, he just had to do a bit of gardening, some watering and things will come together. hopefully, in the end, she would come through clear, he would bet on it. despite the good inspectors meddling, taejun had confidence. his rule bending versus the infallible law. it wasn’t a level playing field, unfortunately for the poor inspector. he was busy pouring over his folders of information, more specifically information gathered from both lawful and street resources, about the snitch he was planning to pin this whole thing on. sipping american rum and squeezing his temples when her message arrives, and he can feel the anxiety shoot through him as he reads it. so help him, everything had better be okay. it better not be a meltdown. this case was already a doozy even without complications.
to [ byun’s bbq chicken ] (sent): Got it.
he sends, folding himself into a cab just a moment later. his suit rumpled, smelling of alcohol. he arrives punctually, exact travel time between his firm and the hall, plus 5 minutes to shuffle papers away. all of the money she offered him had him at her beck and call, but it was more than that. even without the word ‘urgent’ there was something distressing about it. the contact alone, from a woman he was clear should refrain from contacting him until necessary. he takes out his phone, frowns at the screen, typing out the message.
to [ byun’s bbq chicken ] (sent): Men's bathroom. Left-hand side of the building.
he heads to the stall at the far end, props himself against the wall there, waiting for her to enter, it was a gamble. the bathroom could be noticeably more, or less, conspicuous than meeting in the open. but at least here, he could get his head on straight without looming eyes and bushels of people in his way.
