I can't.

I knew I didn't have a weak heart. I'd grown out of that a long time ago— years ago. And over the years, I'd proven that I could steal, hurt, and even kill others.

Then why couldn't I just end him?

I curse softly under my breath as I let go. His eyes widen weakly when I get to my feet, my face turned away. My hands are stained with his blood.

I can't kill him.

"Aeri." I hear him call quietly, his voice strained. But I don't look back as I shove my way out of the Ring, past the people who all collectively stare at me. I push past all of them, never meeting a single gaze.

I was never going to see him again.

Never.

I was going to forget that all of this had ever happened. There was still debt to be paid— it wasn't going to pay itself. And I was already five minutes late to a meeting with another client.

But even on the walk there, I can't seem to calm down the thundering of my heart against my chest.

I can't stop thinking back to the look in his eyes.

He'd killed Aemin. Killed the entire class, but then why in the fucking hell had he looked so shattered? As if he hadn't murdered all of them in cold blood, on the same day he had gone to take me out for my birthday with such a two-faced expression.

He must've known.

But then why had he looked like his own world had collapsed? Why in the hell had he let me do all those things to him?

If I'd chosen to kill him today, he would've let me. He had never made a single move of resistance during that entire fight.

I curse again.

And I wipe my bloodstained hands clean against my jacket as I find the door of my new client. My expression arranges itself into calm composure, as if nothing had ever happened.

I had to focus.

If played it right, I could take off thousands from this man.

And I'm about to enter when a hand wraps around my wrist. It feels familiar, and I whip around to see the exact man I'd vowed to never see again just a couple seconds ago.

"Aeri," He whispers, expression twisting in pain as his eyes fix on the door. He clearly knows.

"Don't do this, please. Why are you—"

"Did you follow me?"

I sound livid, even in my own ears. He falls silent, gaze dropping to the dirty asphalt. He hadn't even cleaned his face— there's blood drying on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry."

"Fuck off." I growl, my eyes narrowed sharply. "If I see you again, I'm actually going to kill you, V. So unless you have a death wish, please go mind your own goddamn business."

I turn towards the door.

But my jaw tightens when he pulls me back again. His grip is firmer, but his gaze is agonized. He makes a noise deep in his throat.

"Not this."

"Anything but this," He pleads, and I stare at him coldly as signs of tears glint in the corners of his eyes. "Aeri, please. If it's money you need, I'll—"

I shake off his grip for the second time.

"You'll what?"

"Are you going to pay my debt for me? It's easy for you to say, isn't it? You come down to the Undergrounds by your own choice. You're not forced to stay down here."

My voice turns sharp.

"I'm not taking shit from you."

I click open the door. Then just before I close it behind me, I turn back to fix my gaze on him. He looks defeated, and a part of me relishes it.

"And you're a bit too late to say that to me." I say sweetly, my lips curving into a toxic smile.

"I've been doing this since I was fourteen, V."

________________________________

So this is how it feels to be completely helpless.

The door closes behind her. And for a while I stand there, my gaze hung on the closed wooden door.

If I had it my way, I would break this down. I would go kill the man who might have his hands all over Aeri, kill every single other person that had ever touched her. If I had it my way, I would force her out of this place and take her to the Skygrounds with me.

But if I did that.

I've been doing this since I was fourteen.

Fourteen. Just thinking of her little figure trembling in the hands of another man sends my heart seizing. The times she must have gone through this, to be as used to it as she was now.

I reach for my phone, my eyes unfocused.

The person I call for answers before the first ring.

"Hyung, finally." Jungkook breathes, his voice clearly stressed. "Where in the hell are you? I came down to the Ring and you were gone. Everyone's talking about how some girl nearly took your life, and I thought you actually died in an alley somewhere. How—"

"Come to the address I send you, Jungkook. Please hurry."

"...what? Are you in trouble?"

I look back up to the closed wooden door.

My eyes ice over.

"No."

"I just need you to do something for me."

________________________________

I'd learned to fake. Learned how to act.

But I'd still never quite learned how to get used to all of this.

"Gorgeous." The man rasps, his voice ruined from heavy smoking. As his eyes rake down my figure, I'm already looking around the room, for things that I could possibly snatch when no one's looking.

"Come closer, baby."

I fake a charmed smile and take a few steps closer. He motions for his lap, and I do what he wants without resistance.

My eyes fix on the ruby ring around his finger.

That first.

He runs his hands down my shoulders, settling on my waist. And by then the ring is already tucked into my own pocket, securely hidden away with the folds of my clothing.

I hide my disgust when he breathes, pulling me closer. His touches get rougher.

But as it does, he gets more and more distracted. And by the end of that, I have his golden chain and sapphire necklace added to my loot.

Not too bad.

Not too bad at all.

Then I hear his sick whisper against my ear. The heat of his breath send disgusted shivers running down my spine. He's clearly been drinking before this.

"Strip."

I sigh. And I'm about to reach for my top when the heavy sound of rough knocking echoes through the entire house. It sounds like someone's literally crashing their fists against the wood.

A surprised, muffled scream of a woman follows.

What in the world?

I quickly shift off of the man. And the moment I do that, the door to the room crashes open, so hard that the hinges nearly snap off.

A man.

He looks young, with dark hair nearly covering his eyes. There are hints of youth on his face that his dark, stormy gaze cannot hide. But even then.

Just from first glance, I can tell that he's killed before.

He glances at me, then the half-naked man gaping at him, and then back to me again.

"Who in the hells are you?!"

My client looks angry that he'd been interrupted. And I barely press down the urge to roll my eyes as he stomps his foot and throws the wine glass he's holding to the floor, sending shattered glass everywhere.

What was he, a child throwing a tantrum?

The man seems to think the same way. His eyes narrow down at him, and he doesn't bother to hide the condescendence in his tone in the slightest.

"You disgust me."

"What a true piece of scum you are."

And I suppress an amused smile as the man offers me a hand. It's only to him making me laugh that I accept, placing my hand on top of his. His skin is hard, blistered and rough from potentially years of fighting.

Besides, I just wanted to go home and sleep at this point, anyways.

But the moment we're back out in the streets, the liking I'd taken to this strange man disappears.

"You must be Aeri."

Huh.

I take my hand out of his.

I reply back to him with a tilted smile.

"And you must be someone he sent."