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From a rumor that Balung heard, it was said that if you put a request under a table in a specific cafe in a certain location, there’s a chance that your request would be picked among the others by a pair of assassins. Or maybe they prefer being called hitmen instead. Balung didn’t have the luxury of worrying about what they wanted to be called, at least not now. She had only heard it through words of mouth and some vague twitter threads which claimed that it worked.
Needless to say, she was skeptical. What good would come from hiring two men to carry out your request? Yet here she was, the next day. There were a pair of young men sitting on the table that she put a request under, so that was… good, she guessed. Unless it was a complete coincidence. The cafe’s staff didn’t look bothered by her action of sticking a piece of paper under the cafe’s table, which told her that it happened frequently enough that it became normal for them. So maybe the men sitting there was just a complete coincidence—which was to be expected, right? Balung clenched her fists, her palms sweaty from nervousness.
She tried to look nonchalant as she slid onto the chair opposite of where they were sitting. She then turned to address the men who possibly could not be the same men that were mentioned in the rumors. Balung shook her head, sighing to herself internally. She could feel their eyes on her as she reached for her bag, apology heavy on her tongue as she wanted to clear the misunderstanding. That was her plan, before one of them stuck out his arm, clearly wanting her attention on him.
“Sit down, you’re not mistaken,” said him. He had short dark blue hair, wearing a cropped red jacket over a t-shirt. His blue eyes glimmered under the cafe’s lighting, and she could not help but be drawn to them. “My name is Pax,” uh, were hitmen supposed to give out their names like that? “And this is my partner, Dee.” The other one, who looked several years older with black hair and silver highlights, nodded as Pax addressed him. Balung awkwardly sat back down, clutching her bag. She couldn’t really believe what was happening. Was this real? It seemed that she was zoning out because she jolted when Dee cleared his throat.
“Let’s clarify some things.” Just like that, Dee took over the course of the discussion. Balung tried to not let it show in her face that she could already guess what they were going to clarify. “Simply put, your budget is not enough. We can’t really work with just five hundred.”
“Especially with your… request,” Pax added. Balung had to avert her gaze, for fear of falling deep into those pools of blue. He had a piece of paper on his hand—no doubt it was her request—which looked like it had been crumpled and straightened multiple times.
“Th, the most I could do is a million and a half,” Balung interrupted, and she hurriedly added before either of them could say anything, “please.” She opened her bag, showing them the cash she had on hand. Her face burned with shame while Dee looked barely moved by her attempt. Right, they’ve probably met people like her before. The ones who could barely pay enough for the burden they carry, yet having the biggest request that they could not cover by themselves.
She could feel the judgement in Dee’s gaze. He then glanced towards his companion, seemingly having silent conversations in front of her. Silence hung between them, and Balung felt as if she could not breathe before Pax finally nodded. Their dynamic was a bit strange, she thought. She was unsure whether she could figure out which one of them actually held the leash on the other—which was a weird way to think of some fucking hitmen who would kill as long as you pay enough, and Balung had to stop her train of thoughts before her mind spiraled down the morality of her choice.
“We’ll take it. Come back in a week. Same place, same hour.” Dee’s tone made it clear for her that this was final, and Balung had never imagined she would be absolutely elated that this conversation was coming to an end. The bag full of cash was quickly given to Pax, who looked more than happy to receive it. The pair of young men left the table shortly after Pax finished his drink—some kind of latte, she thought. She was never one to give much thought to coffee and its kind.
If she didn’t just negotiate with them to kill someone, she wouldn’t have believed the pair was involved in that… underworld-sort-of thing. Both Dee and Pax were easy on the eyes, and as they exited the cafe, Balung could tell that the pair drew attention to themselves, although they didn’t really seem to care. Balung noted the way Pax’s hand brushed against the back of Dee’s, and the easy smile that could be seen in Dee’s face as Pax chattered incessantly.
Suddenly, Balung felt very empty. She sipped on her drink mindlessly, her gaze faraway as she tried to remember when was it that she last went out to enjoy herself. Her ex boyfriend had made it all very difficult, as he somehow had gotten the telephone numbers of every person who knew her. More often than not, her outings with friends ended with her friends leaving one by one as they did not want to deal with the brunt of her ex’s anger. Balung understood that, she did. Yet the anger that was building up as he pulled this kind of act over and over again was something that she could not put a word on.
Not for long, she promised to herself. It had been difficult for her to save up money, as she lived alone and her wage was barely enough to go by. But the day was finally here, and even she felt something akin to excitement as she imagined what it would be like to live freely without having to worry about her ex’s shadow.
The day came before she could even worry about it. Their method was supposedly foolproof, but Balung was ready to take the responsibility if it was necessary. As long as the end goal was met, she did not care otherwise. She was almost skipping on the way to the cafe, but stopped the moment she realized her happy go lucky attitude today could be taken by a camera to use against her if the police bothered to investigate her ex’s death. She doubted that they would waste the resources to look for a man like him, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious, she decided.
The cafe was bustling as usual. She had made sure to wear her plainest outfit to not stand out and so that she could blend into the crowds easier. She couldn’t wrap her head around how the hell did Pax and Dee manage to never get caught, with their eye-catching looks and all, but that was none of her business, right? The rumors were there way before Balung had even started university, so either they must have some connections, or they were just too slippery to catch. Either way would benefit her, so she didn’t waste any more time to go up to them.
The pair was still dressed in last week’s outfit, and the only difference was that Dee wore a baseball cap over his head while his mid-length hair was tied into a ponytail on the back. Pax waved towards her—as if he was only waving her over to catch up and not about to commit murder—and that was enough cue for her to move on. She followed them out of the cafe, half keeping up with their pace. She had to quicken her pace as Pax and Dee made turns after turns, and it took them about ten minutes to reach their destination.
The building sat on the far corner of a dead end. The lights were on even when the sun was still high on the sky, flickering uselessly under the sunlight. Balung could see that the space was used for a convenience store, although it was apparent how inconvenient the spot was. The sign was still up, albeit a little battered. There was dust everywhere, like someone had stopped building it in the middle. She could see some tracks of blood leading to the second floor. Huh. She thought scenarios like this would involve a basement, but a second floor made much sense considering where this place was.
With only the three of them here, she could hear Pax humming under his breath. He was going through a drawer full of locks and keys as Dee and she waited under the stairs. Pax’s carefree attitude made her shoulders tense even more, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. What if this was one of her ex’s worst pranks? It wouldn’t be the first time relief looked at her right in the eye, only for her ex to come and destroy it all. Shivers went down Balung’s spine, and as the scent of blood was getting stronger, she could only prop herself half up on the wall.
Dee looked at her from the corner of his eyes, and the motion was enough for Balung to push herself upright. Dee’s gaze had this strange irritation every time his and Balung’s eyes met, and she couldn’t figure out what she did that managed to get into him. Pax, thankfully, kept her mind busy from Dee who looked less than thrilled—or maybe he was just cautious. Pax didn’t seem to be the cautious type.
They stopped in front of a door who looked like it had seen better days. The wood was infested with ants and termites that the entire thing looked seconds away from being blown away by the wind. Maybe it was Balung’s hesitance when Pax inserted the key—which made a loud clattering sound—but Dee spoke up from where he stood.
“This place was abandoned long ago, no one will hear him.” That took some tension out of Balung’s shoulders as she sighed in relief. The door creaked multiple times, and the key had to be shaken and pushed and pulled in every way imaginable before the door finally opened.
Balung didn’t know what to expect, to tell you the truth. She didn’t know whether she wanted her ex to be half delirious from the pain, or passed out because of it, or anything else, really.
Her ex was rolled on his stomach, showing his tied wrists and legs. There was blood everywhere on the floor, which led Balung to believe that he had been tossing and turning to release himself to no avail. When her ex’s beaten up form twitched on the floor, Balung reflexively took a step back.
“What’s wrong? Chickening out?” Pax asked, and she silently hated how easy it came to him, as if her very unusual and horrible day was just another weekend to him—it probably was, but Balung felt the need to blame him. Perhaps it was guilt that haunted her.
“We didn’t, you know, kill him, so this is your chance. Or maybe you’d like us to do it for you? It’s fine either way,” Pax continued. And before she knew it, tears had begun to run down her cheeks. Her sobbing barely moved the pair, and the only one reacting to her breakdown was her ex, ironically. He let out a muffled scream from behind his gag, his eyes bloodshot as they met hers.
“Quiet,” Dee said as he kicked her ex in the abdomen. Balung placed a hand over her mouth. She felt dizzy, and she could feel strength leaving her legs as she took in her ex’s condition fully.
“So? Do it or not? But even if you cancel, we won’t return the money, so make your choice.” Dee’s sentence made the color leave from her face. Her hands were trembling as she wiped her tears.
“Please, Balung! They’re going to kill me!” Her ex’s desperate cries—when did the gag loosen?—made her flinch, and looking at his pitiful, beaten up face, she almost felt sorry for him. Her lips opened and closed without any sound, her mind torn up in two.
“Remember what he did to you,” Pax whispered right in her ear, looking a little too excited for someone who was about to commit something terrible.
The days where her ex haunted her life flashed inside her mind. The days she could not even eat anything delivered because she was afraid her ex had tampered with it. The days where she could not sleep thinking about whether he had hidden cameras inside of her apartment. The days where her friends started to turn away from her situation because she could not handle it. Balung sobbed, her figure trembling from sadness and anger all at once. Her gaze met Pax’s, and slowly, she nodded.
“Please,” was all she had to say, and in the next second he was no longer her problem. She could barely look at the remains of what were once her ex, his figure so grotesquely distorted that people wouldn’t even think of him as the remains of a human.
The content of her stomach threatened to rise from the back of her throat, and she promptly looked away. She was panting as if she had been running, and she slid down onto the floor once her back hit the wall. No matter how many times she blinked, the bloody sight wasn’t leaving her mind.
“...go outside if you can’t take it,” Pax suggested, rubbing her shoulder with his left hand—the clean hand, she realized later. She nodded hurriedly and scrambled away from the room, squeezing her eyes and ears shut as soon as she found a spot to sit down. She could hear some squelching sounds that she definitely didn’t want to know the source of. Murmurs coming from Dee and Pax also could be heard in between of the gory sounds, but the sound of flesh getting ripped apart overpowered whatever it was the pair discussed.
The haunting sounds came to an abrupt stop, followed by Dee’s curious noise and Pax’s yelling. (Balung didn’t want to admit it, but the yelling had made her jump a bit.) She then heard Pax calling for her, and as much as she didn’t want to come face to face—although there was barely any face to look at—to the mutilated remains which is her ex, she could hear the worriness underneath Pax’s voice.
“Hey, so we found… this.”
Balung thought she was ready for what she was about to see. What she didn’t expect was the sight of her own apartment. The bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom, even the balcony were shown on her ex’s phone. Chills went down Balung’s spine. She had thought she felt eyes creeping on her for a few weeks, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. She did initially think that her ex had hid cameras inside her room, but she couldn’t find them for some reason.
Yet the proof was shown right here in front of her eyes. She clenched the damned phone, and the screen showed her own rooms as if laughing at her.
“Fuck—! You sick bastard! I hope you rot in your next life, kontol!” she screamed even as her throat protested, kicking the lump of meat in front of her, ignoring how the blood stained the bottom of her shoe.
“You want us to clear those up too?” Pax asked once she was done, gesturing towards the phone. Balung opened her mouth. She wanted to so badly, but the cost…
“It’s free,” Dee interrupted, and Balung looked at him in disbelief.
“I mean, might as well, right?” Pax chimed in, leaning his head on Dee’s shoulder as Dee’s arm sneaked around his waist. Balung didn’t know how they insisted on staying so close to each other when they were both clearly dripping with blood, but she wasn’t the hitmen like they are, after all.
“I’ll take up on the offer, then!”
(They found ten cameras hidden inside her apartment. Balung requested for her ex’s remains to be scattered in the ocean. It didn’t take long for Dee and Pax to accept the request.)