The politician finally turned back to her, “And the pictures?”

Nora laughed nervously.

“I’ll be honest. When I saw you, I was really startled—”

[Dear god, she forgot to take the pictures.

She panics. No way. She looks through her memory card. Aside from the exterior shots of the building, there’s nothing there.

What’s she supposed to do now?

Of course, there’s the easy answer. Nora is already halfway to the elevator. She’d rather face her angry boss than have to wait for another opportunity.

But a voice in the back of her mind tells her not to follow her instincts. This situation was carefully crafted and held bad intentions. It feels almost rude to walk away in the middle of it, but at the same time…. Nora struggles with the internal conflict and finally decides to sit back down behind the planter and camp out for a bit. She was hired to carry out a mission, and if she couldn’t get another picture then at least she’d have the excuse that she tried her best. Better to put in poor effort than no effort at all!]

Kim lifted his head and the sharp movement startled Nora out of her slouched posture.

“You didn’t get any pictures??” he asked, “You mean the memory card it—”

“Don’t say it out loud. I’m embarrassed enough.”

His eyes sparked with their previous signs of ferocity. Hope. Nora sighed under the pressure.

Kim finally relaxed. He blew a tuft of his fallen hair away from his forehead, a gesture that Nora felt didn’t fit his image. But she didn’t say anything. He’d done a lot in the last twenty-four hours that didn’t fit who William Kim was supposed to be, and it wasn’t her place to point it out.

“That’s great,” he gave a small chuckle, his charisma sinking his shoulders back to their original confidence, “The only thing I have to worry about now is you squealing.”

She found that she didn’t like his sudden boost of confidence. Who said that no evidence meant no punishment?

“Me? Squeal? Who would believe a little pig like me?”

She lifted herself off of her box and leaned half her body into the car, “No, you need to worry about the dog that scurried out of here with his tail between his legs. He can bark a lot louder than I can.”

The smile disappeared.

Nora sighed again and fell back out of the car. She crossed her arms over her chest to show she meant business.

“You could guess why I was sent there and what I saw, but you have no clue about what that guy’s been up to, do you? If you did, you wouldn’t have covered for him with a phony testimony. You like him too much.”

“I do not—”

“You committed perjury in front of a detective for a side piece?” Nora didn’t give him room to argue, “You wouldn’t be keeping him around as your secretary if you didn’t feel anything. He knows way too much to put him anywhere else, and you still trusted him despite all the signs not to. Am I right?”

The congressman shut his mouth.

“That wasn’t rhetorical. Answer me. Am I right??”

Finally, Kim muttered, “Yes.”

Nora frowned.

“He’s really worth sending your family out of the country? A man who tried to destroy you? I hope you’re regretting it.”

A heavy blow. The congressman looked away again.

Nora shook off her disappointment. Her personal feelings didn’t matter.

“I’m not gonna ask how you met up or how you got together because I don’t care. That’s your business.”

Fair.

“But you got me out of jail,” she added, almost half-heartedly, “and I always deliver on my end. I’ll tell you what I know.”

Kim seemed reluctant to listen, but he did sign up for this. He motioned for her to talk, and Nora lowered her voice, a strange move on her part. No one else was listening.

“He’s been working for Senator Song for a long time. At least three years,” she started.

[Where is Mitchell An now? The secretary finds himself hunched in the back seat of a dark car, his phone clutched into his hand. He doesn’t know where the car’s taking him. He glances at the driver who knows all of the secrets, but he’s too afraid to ask for one. The driver occasionally peeks into the rearview mirror, and his eyes show hints of satisfaction at the panic behind him.]

“He was sent to you to sabotage your campaign, and his method of choice was seduction. You were either too blinded by whatever he had going on, or Senator Song has enough power and backing to cover extensive background checks on her people. Both are highly likely possibilities.”

[The car finally stops at a parking lot nestled next to the river. Mitchell can see a large bridge far off, a marker of Wonsung-du and the quickest way back to the city. He was supposed to use that bridge to get home. He’s startled to find it so far away.

Not a minute later, bright headlights swing by. Another car pulls into the lot and parks a few spots away; it’s an obnoxious yellow, a fast model, so low to the ground it almost slinked in unannounced. Mitchell recognizes it immediately, and his lip trembles. He turns to the only comfort he can.

The driver meets his gaze. He smiles a deep, dimpled smile, then promptly exits. The doors lock.

Mitchell’s alone now.]

“She’s got a tight enough grip on him that we was desperate to get this job done,” Nora said.

“…How do you know all this?” Kim asked.

Nora ignored his question. He wouldn’t understand her answer.

[The secretary can’t see much from behind the tinted windows, but he does his best. His driver walks over to the passenger side of their new arrival, and the window rolls down halfway. Two figures inside- that’s all the car can hold. Mitchell obviously knows the driver, but he’s never seen the man in the passenger seat before. That’s not a good sign.

Suddenly, the phone in his hand vibrates. His nerves send the device flying, and after a brief tussle to find it under his seat he immediately brings it to his ear and answers. His throat is too dry for a proper hello.]

“He’s in a lot of debt. She gave him a job and he got to choose the method to execute it. Sending me is an easy way to get a scandal out, sure, and the most believable. No one would question a gossipmonger stumbling on some juicy information. However, that doesn’t mean Mitchell doesn’t have the ability to spread that news himself. You two have been together long enough for him to know how to drag you through the gutter. He’s still useful to her. You shouldn’t relax just yet.”

[The woman on the other line says a few sentences, and Mitchell does his best to assure her that he’s still valuable. He nods and bows and frets, movements she can’t see but can definitely feel. He can hear the smile on her lips as she forgives him. She’s always loving and merciful. Mistakes happen. It’d be best, however, if Mitchell isn’t the type of klutz to repeat mistakes. She has faith in him. He feels a bit better for it. They end the call cordially, and Mitchell sighs in relief. The end isn’t as near as he thought.

But he relaxes too soon. A knock. Mitchell jumps out of his seat.

Outside of the window, the scene has changed. A van has arrived, the headlights off, the license plate empty. The sports car’s trunk is open, and a collection of smartly dressed men crowd themselves around it, taking the scene in. The man in the passenger seat has disappeared.

The yellow car’s driver, however, makes himself known. He leans over the window of the dark car, motioning for Mitchell to roll it down. Piece by piece the black tint slides away, revealing a navy suit set on heavy shoulders, and a dangerous smile to go with it. A small gold pin of a bird sits on the lapel and glints against the light. Mitchell hates that bird, but he fears the man behind it more.

The man knows this. He knows this more than anything else.]

The congressman wasn’t sure about what to do now. He started to ramble, “If that’s true, then shouldn’t I get rid of him?”

“I wouldn’t—”

“That bastard,” Kim’s anger brushed past any warning Nora wanted to give him, and he growled, “After everything I’ve done! After we—!!"

His hand smacked against the wheel, and the horn blared. Nora jumped at the noise, and she looked around in case it attracted any attention. She leaned into the cab.

“Will you calm down?” she hushed. “I’m not done talking.”

He responded by hitting the horn again.

Nora had to reach over and grab his arm to stop him from pummeling his wheel, and she was almost pulled in. She finally managed to block the wheel with her own hands after a lot of struggling, and with his outlet missing the angry man exited the car and yelled into the street. He kicked his tires. The car’s alarm blared, and Nora fell into the passenger seat.

She was too embarrassed at the man’s tantrum to calm him down, so she waited until he was finished. She got herself comfortable in the car and sunk low into her seat as the man circled, looking about ready to pull his hair out. It took an angry woman to open her upper-story window across the street and yell obscenities down below for Kim to finally realize that he was a public official causing disturbances in the middle of the night. He quickly crumbled into the driver’s seat and turned off the alarm. Silence followed.

“You got some breathing exercises?” Nora finally asked.

After a moment, Kim nodded.

“Then you better do them,” she sank lower into her seat to avoid any chances of wandering eyes lingering outside, “I’ll wait.”

He huffed. A moment passed. Nora appreciated that the politician didn’t take this moment to start the car and drive away now that she was in it. It wasn’t enough to change her opinion of him, though.

Once Kim had taken a few decent deep breathes, he regained his demeanor, “You said you weren’t done talking.”

Nora nodded.

“Speak,” he said, “What do I have to do to get rid of this guy?”

“He’s ‘this guy’ now? He really broke your heart just now, didn’t he?”

A chuckle erupted from his chest, “You’re seriously.”

“A brat?” Nora gave him a wry smile, “I know.”

The congressman suddenly leaned towards her, and Nora stretched out of his grasp. But he wasn’t going after her. He reached into his glove compartment in front of her and popped it open, and after digging around he pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. While he lit them, Nora closed the compartment with her knee and coughed.

“But you’re not stupid,” he breathed along with a cloud of smoke.

A pause. An idea crossed his mind.

“You just got fired from your job right? Work for me.”

The offer was so ridiculous that Nora laughed.

He puffed smoke at her, “Don’t say no. I’ll have a position open in the morning. I could use someone like you for the campaign. You’d get good pay for it. You’d probably do a better job than he did.”

But Nora wasn’t listening, “Don’t get rid of him.”

“And why shouldn’t I? You know that an affair isn’t all he’s got on me.”

Nora didn’t want to get into the kind of crooked stuff Kim felt threatened by. She didn’t feel like caring about what his regrets were. That was territory she couldn’t be bothered with. Corrupt politicians were a lot of drama.

She took a hand out of her hoodie sleeve and held up a finger.

“One,” she started, “Mitchell knows too much. You don’t want people who know too much to wander too far.”

Kim grumbled, “Take the job. You know more than he does.”

She ignored him and lifted another finger.

“Two. Mitchell may be a backstabbing snake, but he’s a smart one. He knows who to work for and how much effort he needs to exert. I’m sorry to say, Mr. Kim, but by the looks of the upcoming election Senator Song has the upper hand as the incumbent. If her power was a fraction less of what it is now, you probably could have won your boyfriend over.”

“Your damn mouth’s a problem though,” the politician muttered.

She smacked his arm, which shut him up. No one would dare smack him like that.

“Three. And this is the most important,” she waved three fingers in the politician’s irritated face, “He’s desperate.”

[Back in the parking lot, much has changed. Mitchell An is out of the car now, his knees cramping on the asphalt. Not a hair on his head is harmed, but his eyes show terrors and fears that don’t require violence. The driver stands before him, his hands shoved into his pockets, a soft smile reaching his eyes.

The scene is less of a mess now. The van pulls out of the lot, done with its exchange. The driver of Mitchell’s car loads into the vehicle and takes off without its passenger. The mystery man is back in his front seat, windows of the yellow car rolled all the way up. He has nothing to do with this.

The man in the navy suit pulls out a wad of heavy bills from an inner coat pocket. He counts a few pages and smacked them onto Mitchell’s face. It’s not nearly enough for Mitchell to be satisfied, and he almost argues with the man, but when he remembers who he’s facing he bites his tongue. The man is pleased with the secretary’s politeness. He pats his head carelessly and turns to the car.

“You don’t want to say anything?”

Apparently not. The man knocks Mitchell’s head.

“Lucky you. Keep up the good work.”

Sarcasm.

A moment later, the yellow sports car pulls out, leaving Mitchell alone. He glares at the bills on the floor. The look on his face is disgust.]