The meeting had been underway for nearly two hours now.
The long table stretched across the center of the room, with each unit's captain and vice-captain seated in their designated positions. The projector on the far end quietly displayed graphs, supply chains, and updated distribution routes, casting a bluish glow over the dim room.
Nik sat at the head of the table, flanked by Alexei on his left and Dmitri on his right. At the beginning, Nik had led the meeting firmly—his voice sharp. But as the hours crawled by, he began to feel uneasy– his body growing uncomfortably warm.
His fingers tapped absently against the table. His jaw clenched occasionally. Beads of sweat began to collect on his forehead—subtle, but noticeable to someone like Alexei, who had been watching him closely.
At the other end of the room, Levi, the captain of the drug production unit, was speaking with calm urgency.
"We've confirmed three major suppliers who have shifted their sales to anonymous buyers," Levi reported, flipping to the next slide on the projector.
Jake his vice captain chimed in from his left, "And from what we've gathered, they're purchasing in massive quantities."
" I feel like they are targeting us– there's news in the black market that someone is selling drugs similar to ours" Jake added with a serious tone.
"So what you're telling us..is that someone's been leaking our formulas " Dmitri asked with a calm tone.
" That's the only conclusion, sir Dmitri " Jake said with steady eyes and a serious tone.
As the others continued discussing about the drug unit issue, Dmitri's eyes flicked sideways toward Nik, who had spoken earlier but had been silent since then.
His brows drew together slightly.
Nik's hand was gripping the edge of the table a little too tightly, and his breathing, though controlled, was shallow. With just a glance, Dmitri signaled to Alexei to turn his attention to Nik.
Even before Dmitri gave him that subtle glance, Alexei had already picked up on Nik's uneasiness.
Alexei leaned closer to Nik, his voice low.
" Sir... something wrong"
Nik's jaw tightened. "I can't… breathe properly," he murmured, barely audible.
Alexei exhaled, straightening just a little. Itold him to stop pumping those injections into his system ... he thought.
Before he could finish his sentence, Kelly (vice captain of the blackmail and surveillance unit), who had also caught sight of Nik shifting uncomfortably in his seat, leaned forward, concern etched on her face.
"Sir Nik… are you alright?" she asked gently.
All heads turned toward him.
Ivy(her captain) sat straighter beside her and added, "If you need to rest, we can pause the meeting."
Alexei stepped in quickly, trying to deflect the growing concern. "It's alright. It's not serious."
Nik slowly stood, fingers pressing into the table "I'll go out for a bit… I just need some air."
Dmitri's voice came next, low and steady. "Do you want me to come with you?"
Nik gave a faint shake of his head. "No… it's fine"
He nodded once at Alexei giving him the go ahead to continue the meeting.
And with that, he turned and walked to the door.
Alexei turn to Dmitri " Sir Dmitri, shall we proceed? "
Dmitri nodded with a concerned look. He knew his brother was using drugs. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. He had tried countless times to make him stop, but that was the one thing his brother refused to listen to...And deep down, Dmitri knew it was all his fault.
" We have been focused on reinforcing digital reach and high level infiltration. We've gained new leverage on three local governors and an international NGO director " Ivy said smiling coldly.
And just like that the meeting resumed.
*************
–Meanwhile–
Ash stood behind a building, smoking a cigarette. He had just found this peaceful spot a few days ago after coming back from training. Since then, it had become his quiet place—somewhere people rarely came, except for him. He thought about how tomorrow he would officially start working. Looking up at the sky, he sighed. At least being in the debt collection unit might not beso bad... it's been two months now...I wonder how they're doing. May be by chance , I 'll run into one of them at work he thought with a bitter smile, exhaling a cloud of smoke. They're probably worried...
Suddenly, he heard a sound—someone throwing up.
Turning to look, he saw a guy with white hair bent over, vomiting. The man was well-built, but compared to Ash,his build was lean and slender while Ash's frame was solid and muscular. Ash frowned. Why is he throwing up so much? Is he alright?
As the man wiped his lips and turned slightly, Ash got a better look at his face—and....
The first thing that came to Ash's mind was, Angel.
Something about him... the calmness in his facial features gave him an almost angelic vibe. But what really caught Ash's attention were his eyes. Beautiful emerald eyes—but empty. Hollow.
Something about those empty emerald eyes seemed familiar—Ash was sure he'd seen them before, but where? After a few seconds, he gave up on the thought and focused back on the guy.
He was well dressed, and from the way his hair and everything else looked, he didn't seem like just anyone. If that's the case, I'd better take my leave... Not minding my business has caused me a lot of trouble these days, he thought.
*************
💌 Author's Note 📝
Hey everyone! 👋😁
We just wanted to share a little something about the body structure of our main characters😩.
Unfortunately, the cover art doesn't quite capture it properly 😭.
So, if you're familiar with BL manhwas, maybe you've heard of Passion and PearlBoy 🤔.
When we picture Ash's body, we imagine something like Ilay (the MC in Passion) or Dooshik (the MC in Pearl Boy) — that's the vibe we have while writing 😋.
As for Nik and Dmitri, their builds are inspired by Taeui (the ML in Passion)🥹.
That's all for now!😘
Xoxo,
QuillQueens 💞😙