35 - Plan

I closed the door and headed to the infamous Hlogram Hallway, "I'm unlucky tonight... We had to do a meeting just after I decided I didn't want to see anybody for the rest of the day."

And for my greatest displeasure, Xiao would surely attend the same meeting. I walked as slow as possible, as I wasn't eager to meet him back.

When I eventually arrived in the Hallway, I noticed we were quite a lot of people inside. Not only the Firm member were here, but the Tai' clan too. The two clans regrouped in the same way they did after the discovery of the policeman: Tai's on a side, and Firm's members on the other.

As I tried to place myself in the busy and noisy crowd, I met the eyes of a certain man with certain pink lips and certain salmon hair. As soon as he saw me, he kept staring at me.

Was he still angry for what I did earlier? Probably. I kept my own eyes on the floor to avoid his, "Leave me alone," I whispered, "I don't know what to answer you."

I turned around and met David this time. It was strange to see him all alone, without a scornful Korean boy by his side.

David was a tall man, so I hid behind his back. I could no longer feel Xiao's glare on my nape.

David, not happy with having me behind me, pushed me to his sides, before stroking my hair gently, "How're you feeling?"

"I could feel better, but the wounds will close by themselves. Thank you for worrying, though."

I was talking about Wei. Is everything alright between you two?"

I blushed, "There's nothing between Xiao and me! Don't ask me those kinds of questions when I say nothing about your relationship with Jieung-yong."

He raised a brow in confusion, "There's nothing wrong with our friendship. It's totally healthy."

"You... weren't implying weird things? You were talking about friendships all along?"

"Yeah. But you're calling him Xiao. Did I miss something?"

I realized what I said... But it was too late. I let this nickname roll on my tongue by habit. Or...was it only by habit? The thought that I could actually like naming him like that made my blood rush to my face.

"Long story short, I'm the dancer Xiao...jian spent time with at the opérette. I know, it's quite shocking and stuff, but please, laugh at me after all of this. Okay?"

He nodded.

"I revealed my identity after he accumulated all those feelings toward me. And now, I don't know what to do. I don't even know if we're going to talk again after this. I just want him to get over me quick, so he can be happy again."

David clenched his teeth, "That should have hurt him bad."

He didn't make fun of me. Instead, he considered Xiao and I like poor souls, like friends. I let an unnoticed tension go off my body.

"What about Jieung-yong? He's going to be hurt... literally."

"He got the White Room treatment. But it's still better than the other thing. in the Room, he can reflect on what he did. However, that would not be possible with.."

I squinted, "With what?"

"You were on the stage the moment he said it to me, so you should have heard. He wanted to start a rebellion. If Boss discovered this, he would have been labeled as a traitor. And traitor here doesn't have the kind punishment that is the White Room. Traitors must be executed by those ranked higher than them."

My eyes widened, "I can't believe it..."

"I don't know if..." He closed his fist, "I don't know if I could kill him with my own two hands."

Zheng Tai shouted to the group, begging for them to stop chatting and listen to him. It interrupted our conversation, keeping me from reacting to what David just said.

The man dressed in white clapped his hands, "By using unsavory technics, the Firm got the Dragon Breath of Charles de Gaulle back."

The assembly of mobsters made a big fuss about it, most of them being shocked and/or curious about this new acquisition.

Zheng Tai pointed to her colleague and rival, "That's true. Ask her."

"Thank you for this captivating introduction!" Boss pranced her way to the center of the Hallway, "We now know that the policeman wants this jewel. How do I know this? Because the Queen of Tai's Clan happened to be the one who informed me of it. To be honest, I'm quite angry about this. Punishments will be made."

David and I gulped.

"Back to the matter at hand, the policeman wants it. Why? Because he needs it to prove that the people of the UnderWorld are behind this mediatic heist. He needs it to be the first of a long series of proof, making all of us between prison ars."

We gasped, wanting to know how to stop it.

"This lady right here wants to use it to catch the policeman," Zheng Tai laughed, "That's the best way to be caught by the police! We're talking about a professional military man, not an amateur shoplifter. Let's just plant a bomb on the gem. He touches it, and he explodes with it, disappearing forever!"

Boss winced, "You've lost your mind or something? You just want to destroy this gem so I don't have proof against you about...." She composed herself and sighed, "Anyway, don't touch the gem if you don't want to meet my evil side. I may even try to kill you directly, despite our accord."

Zheng Tai glared at her back with the same type of poison," Touch me, and you little piece of rock explode."

The two chiefs quarreled in silence, with words only they could understand, Pupils facing each other.

I didn't know what to do about this weird atmosphere. The others too. But, in midst of this heavy tension, someone raised their arms, "Let me put a LED inside of the gem."

Everybody turned to the person who dared to raise their voice.

Jieung-yong pointed the door behind him with his thumb, "Your favorite star will go back to the Room, don't worry about it. But first, let me know what will happen to the Secret police."

Boss pondered him with her eyes. If I were him, I would return to the Room before she labeled me as a traitor.

"Putting a LED on it?" She first said, "That would damage the gem, but less than what an explosion would do. Okay, you can do it."

Zheng Tai bowled over, "And what? We let pretty light shine on our policeman whiles he flies from us?"

"We get rid of him, of course. To do that, we would have to do it in an isolated place. But that would make him suspicious about our plan. It's no good."

We had to find the policeman by exposing him with the light we would put on the gem. And like that, our troubles would be finished. But how exactly do we illuminate and execute a policeman without anyone noticing?"

"It's simple," Xiao raised his hands too, "An opérette."

Not a single thing he would say would be good for me. I was sure of it. Boss, on the contrary, was intrigued, because she asked him to continue.

"Artistic shows are full of lights and LED, " added Xiao, "The spectators of next week's show won't know what light will be used by the ballet dancers. But, having seen the rehearsals, I know which ones are supposed to be activated, and which one would be our shiny gem. The policeman would only be visible by us."

She nodded satisfied, "If I heard right, it seems like the show features guns, doesn't it?"

"Yes, there is such a scene in the Nutcracker. Everyone would think the death was staged."

His words were welcomed with a respectful silence. Find this kind of plan this quick was bluffing. It was almost suspicious?

Zheng spoke, "Did you think about joining the dancers? It's too much work for seven days-"

"Song-ho is already in this group. He'll do this work for us with no problem."

I knew it! He was still mad at me.

Boss looked at me with worry for a moment, but smiled just after, "Okay. I agree. Song-ho will be the one executing the policeman with a real gun instead of the fake ones. The meeting is over."

Wait. Wait wait wait!

While the clans left the Hallway after the end of the urgent meeting, I dashed toward Xiao, "Why have you done that? Have you lost your mind?"

He frowned, "I was logical. This was the best plan we could ever find."

And he was right.

"Also, that'll be a lie to say I didn't want to tease you. That was dor not answering me ten minutes ago. When are we going to talk about this ?"

My cheeks turned red, and I diverted my face from him, saying anything that would make him leave me alone, "Tomorrow. After the last rehearsal."

Satisfied, he left. Tomorrow, all of my problems would vanish.