7 Psychopaths: Lee Know
x Summary: You are X, a seasoned assassin, and your boss has just assigned you an unusual task. You have two weeks to gather six men for a top-secret mission that requires their unique brand of psychopathy. The trick is, you've got romantic history with all of them.
A detail that might make this a walk in the park or the fight of your life. Time to find out...
x Pairing: assassin!lee know x assassin!chubby!fem!reader
x Genre: angst/crime au/smut
x Word Count: 1.8k-ish
x Warnings: blood, violence, fighting, knives, guns, disposable mob goon deaths, unprotected sex, fingering, mirror sex, hair pulling, lino is a lil obsessed with you, the strongest of language
x A/N: This is #2 in a series of 6 stories featuring two members from TXT, two from ATEEZ, and two from Stray Kids. They all follow the same theme and can be read chronologically or you can jump around. I support the chaos.
Previous Psychopath: Yeonjun | Next Psychopath: Wooyoung
Downstairs in the lobby of the Hotel Artemis the Innkeeper sits behind the check-in desk face down in a pool of his own blood. If someone were to lift his head up, the mangled flesh swimming around might resemble crushed raspberries. Their daily serving of fruit courtesy of you. But no one will lift his head up. They’ll all mind their business because that’s what you do here. You step around his body and grab your fucking key before you end up just like him or worse. He’ll wake up eventually. Probably.
Stepping into the surprisingly well-kept elevator, you press the button for the top floor, adjusting the garter belt beneath your dress as the doors close on the empty lobby. This is no time to admire architecture but you can’t help yourself. The Romanesque style interior is breathtaking, much nicer than the deathtraps you’ve found yourself in trying to track down the Black Cat. Some might call it lucky that Minho’s petty streak led him to the penthouse suite of the Artemis, right down the street from where your hotel is.
Watching the numbers light up one after the other as the elevator ascends, you’re shocked when it comes to a stop at the 6th floor, 14 floors short of your destination. You step back, wedging yourself in a corner, and fish your headphones out of your purse. Your music’s on before the bell dings, doors sliding open to let half a dozen goons file in. Italian mob. Dressed in all black. Cocky. Faces still healing from their last brawl. Half of them smile at you, nodding, politely admiring the way your dress hugs your curves, gawking at your flawlessly applied makeup.
You smile back and they turn away, eliminating you as a threat. Stealthy glances around the elevator reveal the guns tucked into their waistbands. The Big One, twice your size in every way, has a set of brass knuckles on his callused hands. Gold plated. Fancy. “Excuse me, gentlemen” you sing, maneuvering through them with the grace of a proper lady. They part the sea for you, unknowingly clearing a path to the control panel. “Getting off already, beautiful?” “Mmm'' you sigh, a manicured nail hovering near the bright red EMERGENCY STOP button, “Not yet.” Your fist slams down on the button, bringing 6,000 pounds of metal to a screeching halt.
Minho studies the 16th-century Turkish vase on display in the lavish, and utterly destroyed, penthouse of the Golden Child, a pretty boy whose mob boss daddy provides him with enough money to blow on all the cocaine, strippers, and obnoxiously expensive art he can get his hands on. “Don’t you touch it!” the Golden Child screams, spitting loose teeth and blood onto his bear skin rug. Minho pops open the glass display case that houses the vase and an assortment of other highly fragile artifacts. “Don’t touch what?” he asks, winding up the scarlet splattered golf club he used to lay ruin to the apartment and its inhabitant, “This?”
“I said no!” Minho chews at the inside of his lip, pretending to be unsure of his next move when he knows exactly what he’s about to do. The head of the club shatters the priceless vase into a thousand pieces, shards of ceramics and glass flying through the air as he dishes out swing after spiteful swing to those poor, innocent historical treasures. The Golden Child grabs onto the arm of his white leather couch, attempting to push himself up but broken ribs send him tumbling back down. “You’re out of your fucking mind!” he curses, “All because I spilled a drink on you? I said, ‘My bad!”
Winded, Minho tosses the golf club across the room, grinning to himself as he notices a leaking cut on his hand. “My bad?” he laughs, “My bad?” It disgusts him, the smugness of people who think they can run around doing anything they want to anyone they want. Poor manners, that is. His parents should’ve taught him better but that’s what Minho’s here for. Charging across the room, he grabs the Golden child by the collar of his soft cotton robe and hammers his head onto the floor. “My bad is not ‘Sorry!’”
Minho bashes his fist into the man’s jaw, the brute force of the blow knocking another molar loose, “Say sorry!” “Eat shit.” “What?” Minho snaps, positive his ears are deceiving him. The Golden Child smiles up at him, arrogant and entitled even in his battered state, “Eat shit. My dad keeps tabs on me 24/7. He’s probably sending some guys up here right now and when they get here? You're dead.” Grabbing the belt barely hanging onto the man’s robe, Minho twists it around his neck, depriving him of air.
“I guess I’ll see you on the other side then, huh?” Minho doesn’t blink, not even once, as the color drains from the Golden Child’s eyes, bone splintering, his windpipe crumbling just as easily as his precious vases. Saying sorry really couldn’t have been that hard.
“There’s nowhere to run, little one” taunts the Big One, trying and failing not to trip over the corpses of his friends. Your chest hurts like hell. The others were easy, so shit with their aim that only one bullet in 20 clips had even managed to skim your thigh. But this one? He won’t go down. Squared up against him, the knife from your torn garter clenched in your fist, you know you can’t let him hit you again. Another blow to the chest and you’re done for. “Who’s running, big boy? Let’s get it.” Tapping the EMERGENCY STOP button again, the elevator whirls back into action.
The Big One charges at you, swinging wildly. You duck, rolling through the bodies and slicing open the back of his left leg. The bell dings on every floor like the start of a boxing match. The Big One punches one of the walls, denting the metal. So much for pristine architecture. As he reels from the hit, you jump on his back, jabbing the knife into his chest from behind. The bell dings for a final time on the 20th floor. Biting down on your arm, he flips you over his shoulder, slamming you down onto the floor, knocking the air out of you.
The doors creak open as he raises his foot to stomp a steel toe boot down on your chest. Bang! A bullet barrels through his skull. The titan stumbles, his brain quite literally scrambled. Bang! Bang! Two more shots and he’s slumped on the ground with his friends where he belongs. Reunited at last. “Who’s your new boyfriend?” Minho teases from the hallway, tossing the gun to the ground. “You’re welcome!” you groan, flipping him off. He hops onto the elevator, pressing the button for the lobby. “Thank you,” he says, sweetly, grateful for your help and your presence.
Taking you into his arms, he props you up in the corner, checking you for injuries. “What is this?” You flinch when he brushes a tender spot on your head, “You tell me. You’re the one with the mob after you.” “No, I mean, what are you doing here?” “Oh, uh, boss sent me to get you” you stutter, the entire reason for your arrival in Rome having shifted to the back of your mind until now.
“We need you.”
“Where?”
“Berlin.”
“When?”
“Next week.”
“Okay, if…”
You whine when he caresses your thigh, checking the severity of the bullet wound. “If what?” “If you let me take care of you” he winks. “Take care of me? Why’d you say it like that?” Minho rips a long strip of material from the shirt of a nameless corpse and secures it around your thigh to stop the bleeding. He kisses your thigh, suckling softly at the tender flesh to distract you from the pain. Ding! First floor. The doors open to the lobby and he takes you by the hand, “Let me show you.”
Taking care of you. When you say that in this line of business, it’s never a good thing but Minho had no intentions of cutting your life short. The only thing on his mind was carrying you back to your hotel, running you a nice bath, and dressing your wounds. “All better?” he asks, his breath tickling your neck as he plays with your clit. This was a part of the plan too, getting you in his lap, his naked body reunited with yours after months apart. From this position on the edge of the bed, you can see your reflection clearly. Your plush breast bounces in one of his hands while the fingers of the other spread your lips wide enough to fully expose your clit.
With your legs dangling across his, follow your cream as it trickles down the base of his cock. There’s nothing fast or rough about the way he lifts his hips to fill you. The slight curve of his cock makes you stutter each time he disappears into your pulsing warmth. “All---ah---b-b-better.” “B-b-better?” he mocks, his fingers working faster against your clit. You reach back to cup his face, scratching him the slightest bit as punishment for being a smartass. The pain only makes him want you more. His cock is as hard and smooth as polished marble, leaking precum into your needy pussy.
Minho watches you in the mirror, admiring your reflection, entranced by how the beauty of your face and the plumpness of your figure could make him put a bullet through the skull of a man who even dared to look at you wrong. “Take over for me” he whispers, guiding your hand between your legs, his fingers moving on top of yours to splash in the audible wetness of your pussy. You pick up a rhythm together, one that has your breath growing ragged and your stomach in a frenzy. With his hand now free, he brushes your hair out of your face, tilting your head to the side to kiss you.
His tongue ventures as far down your throat as it can go, devouring your moans. Bouncing you in his lap at a quicker pace, still careful not to hurt you, he caresses your body, greedy to claim you as his like you were meant to be from the start. The argument that broke you up. That stupid fucking argument. He doesn’t even remember what it was about anymore and he doesn’t care. Because you’re in his lap, your back arching against his chest, sloppily playing with your own aching bud, biting on his lip while you whimper his name. Your pulse races, your hand reaching back to grip his hair for stability.
“Mmhmm, pull my fucking hair and cum for me” he urges, “Cum for me angel.” Your tongue lashes at his, his words making you burst. “Minho! Aah, baby!” you cry, pulling his hair harder as your orgasm deepens. Minho rests his head on your shoulder. Watching you cum is like performance art. “I don’t care about anyone else. Just promise you’ll never leave me again.” Your glossy eyes meet his in the mirror, “I promise.” “You mean it?” “I mean it.”
And you do mean it. You have to. Because, with the hell that awaits you in Germany, sweet reunions like this might end up being your last.
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Music - Henry's Music Room, with special guest Bea
The only room that really feels like both Henry and Bea is a small parlor on the second floor converted into a music studio. The colors are richest here: hand-woven Turkish rugs in deep reds and violets, a tobacco-colored settee. Little poufs and tables of knickknacks spring up like mushrooms, and the walls are lined with Stratocasters and Flying Vs, violins, an assortment of harps, one stout cello propped up in the corner.
-Chapter 8, Red White & Royal Blue
This post features youtube links, rather than the spotify links of the other posts, simply due to the nature of the music involved. As such, I've put the whole post under a read more to save space. I want to thank @zukoinmypocket for all her help and willingness to be a sounding board for a stranger!
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Link to the masterpost/contents page for the music posts
Link to the masterpost/contents for the whole series
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In the center of the room is the grand piano, and Henry sits down at it and plucks away idly, toying with the melody of something that sounds like an old song by The Killers.
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Henry's classical music influences appear to be all - aside from the Killers! - within the Romantic era of music. The Romantic period in Europe was at its peak from 1800-1850, but dates throughout the 1800s. The former era was known as the Classical period and is commonly associated with the composers Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert.
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So he just listens and nods and smiles a little while Henry explains that this is what Brahms sounds like,--
Husband and wife duo, Lang Lang and Gina Alice Redlinger, play Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5.
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--and this is Wagner, and how they were on the two opposing sides of the Romantic movement. “Do you hear the difference there?”
R Wagner-C. Marín: Concert Paraphrase of "The Ride of Valkyries". Carles Marín, piano.
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His hands are fast, almost effortless, even as he goes off into a tangent about the War of the Romantics--
The War of the Romantics is a term used to describe the schism that emerged in Germany between two groups of Romantic composers, in the latter 1800s. The split - 'war' - was between those who defended the classical tradition - the absolute group which included people like Brahms - and those who were progressive - the program music group with Liszt and Wagner, among others.
Program music was descriptive, inspired by things like literature, or other non-musical inspiration, whilst absolute music's meaning was solely the notes on the page - inspired by nothing outside the music itself.
Liszt's piece linked below is a good example of program music, being connected to the poem "O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst!", as is Scriabin's piece Henry references.
Both forms added to classical music, program music - like Wagner - created new genres within the form, and absolute music - like Brahms - made old styles of music align with contemporary styles.
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--and how Liszt’s daughter left her husband for Wagner, quel scandale.
Liszt's daughter - Cosmina - actually had three children with Wagner whilst still married to her first husband.
Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3 - this piece is based a lovely poem, "O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst!" ("Oh dear, as long as you can love!")
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He switches to an Alexander Scriabin sonata, winking over at Alex at the composer’s first name. The andante—the third movement—is his favorite, he explains, because he read once that it was written to evoke the image of a castle in ruins, which he found darkly funny at the time. He goes quiet, focused, lost in the piece for long minutes.
Alexander Scriabin's Sonata no. 3, Andante
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There's something very interesting - and very in keeping with Henry's characterisation - that he was written as being interested most by Romantic era music. Not only are many Romantic pieces tied to literature and art - and we see Henry's love for both displayed in the book - but the Romantic period involved the rebellion against traditionalist expectations, and emphasised passion over reason. We can see this tying into Henry's storyline - he is, by his reluctance to willingly closet himself for the 'image' of the monarchy, rebelling against the traditionalist norms and expectations that surround his life as a prince of England. It's his passion, his love for Alex which leads him to stand up to his grandmother - the Queen, analgous to the Classical era's traditionalism - and refuse to back down over his desire not to lie about the emails and photographs which outed him.
The Romantic era, in many ways, worked to break the rigid standards that previous composers had been aligned with in the Classical Era and before. This makes an interesting analogy with Henry's interest in Romantic music - especially with the reference to Scriabin's imagery of a castle in ruins. Throughout Red White & Royal Blue, Henry is looking for ways to subvert the rigid expectations that come with being a prince. Multiple times in the book, Henry chooses to do the opposite of what he 'should' do, often when he is frustrated with his family. For example, in Chapter 8, after Phillip has been questioning Henry about his actions & suggests Henry should try to align his friendships more with those 'fitting' for a member of the royal family, Henry says to Alex: "I want to do the absolute last thing I'm supposed to be doing right now."
Henry's characterisation fits in with his appreciation for Romantic era music, in ways that aren't apparent at first glance. Henry & Alex's (happy) ending - breaking the rigid standards the Queen attempts to enforce on Henry as well as challenging the traditionalist expectations - parallels both common themes in Romantic music and the evolution of how the composers rejected traditional styles and created their own.
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“You know, Bea has only ever wanted to play music,” he starts. “Mum and Dad played too much Joni Mitchell for her growing up, I think.
-Chapter 7
Sources/Additional Reading:
Wikipedia - War of the Romantics
ClassicFM - The War of the Romantics
BBC iWonder - Dr. Caroline Rae discusses the ‘War of the Romantics’
Art And Popular Culture - War of the Romantics
ClassicFM - What was the War of the Romantics?
Russell Ger Composer - War of the Romantics
Wikipedia - Romanticism
Encyclopedia.com - The Challenge of Romanticism: Literature and Music
Willan Academy - A Quick Summary of Romantic Music
OpenALG - Music & The Human Experience, Chapter 11
Connolly Music - The Romantic Period of Music
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