It was late in the afternoon when Shen Jue was finally ready to leave to meet her father. To record their conversation, Mimi gave Shen Jue her most recent creation – a watch.
"When you turn this button to the right, it will start recording and stop when you turn left," Mimi explained while pointing to a button on the side of the watch.
Turning to the table, she grabbed a small hidden wireless earpiece and looked at Shen Jue. Seeing the object in her hand, his eyebrows raised.
"When did you make that?" He asked.
"I made this last year. Even though we never used it…I think it'll be useful now." Mimi carefully placed the earpiece in his hand.
Shen Jue looked down at it curiously. It was practically the size of a grain of rice. Impressive.
"You're very wise, little one." He grinned.
Usually, Mimi would have glared at him coldly for calling her by that stupid nickname, but instead, she bestowed a smile with a hint of bitterness. She was silent for a long time, causing Shen Jue to tilt his head in confusion.
"Are you nervous?"
Mimi pursed her lips before nodding her head.
Shen Jue's brows raised before he laughed. "What's there to be nervous about? While I don't like sharing this type of information with you, I've done things like this before. There's no need to worry, little one."
Mimi looked down at her tightly clenched hands, hiding her expression from him. Then, she looked up at him, and her face for the first time showed a genuine smile that stirred something within his chest.
"Be safe, Shen Jue." She said, her bright eyes gleaming with what might have been suppressed nerves.
For a moment, Shen Jue stiffened, a muscle twitching in his jaw. He stared at her with a quiet expression, his thoughts unreadable. After a while, his mouth finally curled into an odd smile.
"I'll try."
Mimi said nothing and just nodded. When all was said and done, he left the warehouse. Watching his figure hop into his car and drive away, Mimi stared out the window with a complicated gaze.
For the first time since she knew him, she felt something she never thought she would toward Shen Jue.
Concern.
…
Shen Jue drove away from the exclusive, well-groomed neighborhood; past the thriving metropolitan area of the city, into an area of old, vacant storefronts, peeling, faded framed home and scraggly, barren yards.
"Can you hear me, Shen Jue?" A familiar soft voice said from inside his ear.
"Loud and clear, little one." He laughed.
The earpiece Mimi had given him came with a pair for the two to communicate and record the events that took place. On the other side, Mimi sighed with relief that the device worked.
"How long will it take you to get there?" She asked.
Shen Jue shot a glance at the GPS in his car and replied, "About thirty minutes or so."
"Oh." Was all she said before she went silent.
Shen Jue continued driving down the quiet road, his eyes staring in front with no expression on his face.
"Were you really in love with my sister?" Mimi suddenly asked in a low voice.
"Yes." Shen Jue immediately responded.
"That was quick." There was some displeasure in her voice.
Shen Jue chuckled. "It's not hard to think about when I've known for so long."
Mimi went silent.
"What made you fall in love with her?"
"Hmm," Shen Jue hummed thoughtfully to himself. "She was the first girl to call me a shithead."
Mimi gawked. "What?"
"Ah, of course, there was also you calling me a creepy bastard and many other names. But she had been the first to give me the most thrilling chills."
Once more, Mimi was dumbfounded. She already knew he was a masochist, but this was just…Was this his way of describing how her sister gave him a boner?
She nearly gagged.
"Disgusting creepy perverted bastard…" She muttered.
Hearing her clearly, Shen Jue just laughed. "But it wasn't just that…she was different."
"Isn't that a little cliché?" Mimi mocked.
Shen Jue smiled. "Perhaps. But she was. There was no one like Emily. To be honest, she was the first friendship I've ever had in my life. Although she barely showed any emotion to me apart from anger or annoyance. It was only when those she cared about were involved that I was able to see a new side of her. I enjoyed every second of it."
Mimi felt surprised. It had been the first time she had heard him speak so sincerely about her sister. Even when he talked about their time spent together, it was always to play with her. Because the reality was, she never believed he was in love with Emily. Because she never asked him, he never bothered to explain.
Despite her best effort to deny it, hearing him talk about her sister, Mimi couldn't help but think maybe he did love her. A sudden thought entered her mind.
She hesitated before asking slowly, "When you knew she was in love with someone else…were angry?"
Shen Jue stared at the road ahead and tapped the steering wheel. Because she was only speaking to him in through the earpiece, Mimi couldn't see his expression. There just silence. After a few minutes, she finally heard him say:
"I wonder…While it did bother me that her feelings were given away to someone else, I could never be angry at her. I loved her after all. If anything, I was happy enough to be able to have her by my side. At the very least, she would be married to me."
Once more, Mimi was surprised. However, something felt off with his wording.
"But she didn't want to marry you. If you loved her wouldn't you..."
Shen Jue interrupted her with a cold laugh. "And? Even if I couldn't have her heart, I could make her my wife. Whether she was happy didn't matter to me. I wanted her by my side forever. Unfortunately, it appears I wasn't able to complete that wish of mine."
A chill ran down Mimi's spine to his words. She took back every ounce of pity and understanding she had for this sick bastard. Not wanting to talk any further on the matter, Mimi went silent. Not seeming to mind her silence, Shen Jue chuckled and continued to drive ahead.
After thirty minutes into the drive, he arrived. In an abandoned, large town, a small bar settled in the center. It was worn out looking, but a few lights were still lit.
"I've arrived." Shen Jue stared at the building in front of him with curious eyes. "It's quite worn-out isn't it?"
On the other end, Mimi pulled up Shen Jue's location on her laptop. She looked at the bar from her screen with narrowed eyes.
"It is. However, starting now Shen Jue, no talking. If something important goes on, I'll tell you. But for now, I'll remain silent and gather as much information as I can. Be careful."
The moment she finished speaking, someone stepped out of the bar. Shen Jue raised his head and looked at the familiar, tall figure standing in the front. His eyes narrowed before he broke out into a smile.
"Understood, little one." His hands moved to the watch on his wrist and he turned it to the right.
He stepped out of the car and approached the cold man waiting for him.
"You're late, Shen Jue." Henry Hirogori looked at him with cold eyes.
Despite him only being two minutes late, Shen Jue said nothing and simply smiled. "My apologies for making you wait."
Henry Hirogori looked at him with a chilly expression then turned around to enter the bar.
"Let's go." He said to Shen Jue behind him.
Shen Jue briefly glanced at the bar before following him inside. The interior of the worn-out bar compared to the outside was rather tidy. The walls were a clean, tan wallpaper and the floors were polished wood.
Looking at the other figures inside the bar, Shen Jue's expression hadn't changed when he noticed the numerous men with guns. When he shifted his gaze to the side, he saw Kenji looking at him with an ice-cold expression.
He chuckled and followed the men down the hall to where they would meet their negotiator. Henry Hirogori walked in the front.
In the back of the bar, a group of men waited, all wearing dark suits with a few scars on their faces. When they saw Henry Hirogori approaching, they shifted their attention to him.
"Mr. Hirogori."
Henry Hirogori looked at the men without a change in expression and grunted.
"Did you bring what I requested?"
The group of men glanced at one another before nodding their heads. Taking a briefcase from behind them, they passed it over to Henry Hirogori. The cold man stared at it for a moment before shifting his gaze over to the side.
"Shen Jue, take it."
Standing on the side with an impassive expression on his face, Shen Jue's lips curled. He nodded his head and took the briefcase from the man's hands. Setting it down on the table, he stepped back a little, waiting for his next instructions.
"Open it." Henry Hirogori ordered coldly.
Shen Jue looked at him silently for a moment with an unreadable smile before he opened the briefcase. With a sharp click, it opened. Looking inside, the expression on Shen Jue's face hadn't changed, however, his eyes visibly darkened.
When he looked back at Henry Hirogori, he saw a gun that was leveled toward him. Instead of being fearful, he smiled coldly.
Calmly, he pointed to the content in the briefcase. "May I ask what this information is?"
Henry Hirogori's expression turned bitter. "You dare ask?"
Shen Jue blinked calmly without replying. Inside the briefcase were photos of Shen Jue at Lux Nightclub with not just Mimi in her disguise, but Emily as well. Moreover, documents there were testifying his movements for the past few months. All showing clear signs of his betrayal.
"To think it was you who'd betray us." Henry Hirogori sneered. "I have to admit, had it not been for Kenji bringing it up to me, I may have never suspected you."
Shen Jue stole a glance at Kenji, who looked at him with crossed arms and a disdainful smirk.
Henry Hirogori's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Tell me, who else are you working with?"
Keeping his left hand in the pocket of his beautifully tailored dark suit slacks, Shen Jue's bland smile never wavered.
"I'd rather not say."
Not denying it at all, he bluntly refused to tell him. This fueled Henry Hirogori's anger even more.
"Fine. So be it."
Without any change in expression, he pulled a gun out and aimed it at Shen Jue.
The sound of a gunshot rang through the room.