Trashes of the Counts' Families || Trash of the Count's Family || OC

Happy Anniversary!

It's been exactly one year since I published the first chapter of Trashes of the Counts' Families. I'm glad how far it's come, and I can't truly believe I've written so many chapters. So I wanted to give a little gift as a thank you for reading: a little one-shot of Adara and Cale— and the rest of tcf— in a modern AU. Please enjoy!

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Adara sat in the casino, the dim lights and the chatter giving it a pleasant atmosphere. Her table had less of that pleasant atmosphere. Her opponents were all nervous and shaking, glancing at her repeatedly and mumbling their bets. She was in the final round of a poker game, holding a pair of aces in her hand.

She had already put all her chips to the centre of the table, goading her opponents to do the same. They had all been nervous and uncertain when she did that.

She couldn't believe they were so nervous; whenever she offered to play with someone, they always had the chance to refuse. After all, it was her and Cale's casino; it could be intimidating to play against the co-owner.

Though sometimes it did go in her favour, as now they were all so nervous and anxious, waiting for her cards to be revealed.

She felt her lips curl into that familiar smile. She revealed her cards, a pair of aces, onto the table; the cards seemed to gleam in the warm light of the casino. It was higher than another player, one with a pair of kings and higher than the rest of the table.

Adara raked in her winnings as her opponents groaned and exclaimed over their defeat. They should have known better than to play against me, she thought, still smiling. The House always wins, and the House belongs to me.

She stood up, a slight nagging in her shoulder. Someone was staring at her, and they weren't very nice. "Well," she said, sending a motion to Choi Han that she wanted to leave before she looked back at her defeated opponents, "I need to smoke. So I'll see you later."

They didn't bother to respond as she was already leaving.

Choi Han met up with her as she made her way to the back door. She leaned into him. "Something's wrong," she whispered in a low tone. "Wait here; see if anybody follows."

Choi Han gave a curt nod. They went through this enough times that he knew not to argue about waiting.

Adara took her cigarette box out of her chest pocket as she opened the door. She trusted Choi Han to guard the door. She and Cale found Choi Han one day, sitting on the side of their apartment. They offered to feed him, and he's become a close friend since. He didn't look like he aged very fast since he still looked like the 17-year-old they knew 2 years ago.

To pay for the meal they gave him, he wanted to become their bodyguard, accompanying them whenever they asked for it. Cale found it too overbearing, one of the reasons he barely asked Choi Han to go anywhere. But Adara found it perfect. There were too many people wanting to make her head shorter anyway.

Standing near the door, she leaned on the building. She took out her gold lighter; it was a gift from Alberu. She waited, lighting her first cigarette. She drew in a slow breath, letting the familiar burn of tobacco go down her throat. She waited as she felt the calm wash over her like the waves on a sunny day. She waited as the wave retreated back into the sea.

She waited, the smoke coming from her lips wrapping around her, hiding her in its deathly veil. She waited and waited, watching the smoke dance with her thoughts. And she waited for a bit longer. Someone would come, and she was waiting for it.

And someone did come; she heard the back door open, and she felt a gun pressed against her chin.

She breathed out the smoke into the person's face.