A dim ray appeared from behind the gray clouds, the world began to light up from the night before, but the earth was still in deep slumber. Everything was in peace and only tiny movements existed at that moment.

Slowly breathed in and breathed out, the scent of lavender tickled her nose, Jeongyeon smiled, knowingly, and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was their overlapped hands, resting on the mattress with slightly messy sheet.

Recalling about last night, her cheeks couldn’t help but turned pink, but happiness filled her whole being and she was sure it was a perfect night in her life. Nayeon was sleeping soundly right next to her, lying on her stomach, the blanket covered from her waist to her ankles, revealing her silky back that had long hair scattered on.

Jeongyeon had admired her beauty for years, but what she was gazing at was another level of breathtaking.

If this is a dream, never wake me up. If this is real…I feel like I’m dreaming anyway.

Nayeon’s eyelids fluttered when Jeongyeon caressed her cheek with her free hand. She wanted to open her eyes, but they were too heavy and her body hadn’t recovered from the tiredness. She felt several pecks on her cheek, and the mattress around her left arm slumped and shook. She forced her eyes open only to feel a warm torso pressed onto hers.

“Hey.”

Jeongyeon whispered beside her ear. “Sorry for waking you up.”

Nayeon hummed, face half-buried in the pillow. “How could I not wake up when you put all your weight on my back?”

“Hard to tell. You look extremely tired.” Nayeon could sense that grin even without turning her head. “Because of me.”

Jeongyeon snickered when seeing Nayeon blush. She knew she would have hit her if she was not so weary and being pressed by her.

“And you are not?”

“I’m an agent, I got a good physique. Plus…” Jeongyeon kissed the back of her neck. “How can I get tired when I'm with you?”

Nayeon was glad that only her left cheek could be seen, though it was heating anyway. Jeongyeon let out a satisfied sigh when moving her lips to Nayeon’s shoulder blades, lingering few seconds for the scent and touch, then kissed all the way down her spine. Nayeon gripped the sheet unwittingly, the feel of Jeongyeon’s lips leaving traces on her flushed skin was odd--oddly pleasant to be precise, her body had been awakened without her even noticed, the soft electricity kept sending her shivers, sometimes light, sometimes marked.

“We have…Um, you have two choices now.” Jeongyeon murmured between kisses.

“W-What choices?” Nayeon heard it and tried to sound normal.

“It’s still early, but the sunrise here is one of the marvelous views I’ve ever seen. You can choose to get up and put on clothes, or…” Jeongyeon nuzzled around her waist. “You can forget about it and stay in bed with me. I wouldn’t mind you choose either of it.”

Nayeon wiggled slightly to turn over, so Jeongyeon propped herself up to make space for her. Once they were face to face, Nayeon cupped her cheeks, bringing her down and pecked her lips.

“You know that already.”

Jeongyeon smiled. “Do I?”

Instead of answered, Nayeon asked: “We will leave at noon tomorrow, back to…you know, me back to fight with lyrics, you go haunt the bad guys, right?”

“Yep.”

“So this is technically the penultimate day of our leave.”

Nayeon glanced at the window, the sky had become brighter, birds were singing outside their cabin and welcoming a brand new day.

“Can we watch the sunrise tomorrow?” She looked at her, eyes full of fondness. “I don’t want this moment to end so fast.”

“Of course.”

Right now, right this time, here in the room just the two of us…I don’t want to go anywhere or think of other stuffs either.

“You sure you’re ready for this, sir?”

“More than you can imagine.”

Taecyeon helped Chief Son to leave the wheel chair and sit on the couch. “Let’s do it.”

He nodded, pulling a chair over and sat down. Chief Son insisted on doing this, he couldn’t stop him, and he knew they had to do it quick to prove their hypothesis.

“Here, close your eyes and take a deep breath. If you need to stop, just tell me.”

Chief Son did as told. Nichkhun sat a bit farther in the living room, watching silently and vigilantly what the other two was about to do. Usually, people see more than they remember when things happened, but they can’t recall easily because of the fright and consternation they got. They need someone experienced to guide them back at that moment. He didn’t know if this method would work, because even though it hadn’t been long since Chief Son was attacked, the trauma could cause him to lose partial memory of that day.

“It was the third day when I requested patrols to guard outside your house, which we are sitting right inside now.” Taecyeon started smoothly. “I came to visit for the second time, and it had been a while since I left. It was around 10 at night, you began to feel a bit chill. What else did you feel, see, or hear?”

“Machine.” Chief Son talked without much difficulties. “My wife was using the dishwasher in the kitchen. She does that every evening.”

“Ok.” Taecyeon led the inquiry to go on. “Is there anything unusual at that second?”

“I was startled when I heard a crack.”

“Crack? Do you know what caused that?”

“I think…She broke a glass.”

“And what was on your mind?”

“I wanted to go check on her, but she said she’s fine. She asked me to get the broom, I followed, so I did not enter the kitchen.”

“Where do you keep your cleaning tools?”

“At the rear balcony. In a cabinet.”

“So you went to the back of the house?”

“Yes.”

“You could barely hear the sounds from the front, not to mention seeing anything, right?”

“…Right.”

“Was there anything specific that caught your attention?”

“…No. I just took out the broom and dustpan and headed back.”

Chief Son started to frown and clench his fists, Nichkhun moved closer in concern and Taecyeon raised a hand to indicate him to hold.

“Sir, you are safe, your family is safe too.”

Chief Son nodded, but his expression was still tense. Perhaps there were other reasons.

“Did you see anything? Or anyone?”

“I-I’m not sure…It’s weird and it feels colder, I get panic when I see my wife lying on the floor, I rush to her and…”

“It’s ok, sir.” Taecyeon moved to sit beside him. “Open your eyes now, let’s stop here.”

“No.” Chief Son inhaled sharply. “I can do it…I can do it.”

Taecyeon waited for a few seconds and eyed Nichkhun. He nodded in understanding before starting with a lower volume.

“Let’s move backward a little, sir. You were heading to the kitchen with those stuffs in your hands, you were thinking that you had to give them to your wife as quickly as possible. Something alarmed you before you saw your wife, that was why you felt wrong…So what was it? Is there something outside the sliding door? Or in the living room when you passed by?”

Seeing Chief Son frowned but did not answer, Nichkhun added: “Did any of your items missing? Or a position changed, unlike it used to be?”

“Window.” He blurted out. “Yes, it’s the window…”

“What’s wrong with the window?”

“It’s opened widely.” He gulped. “I remember I closed it before evening.”

“That explains why you felt colder. The wind blew in from the open window…And it should be the entrance where the attacker came in.”

“Attackers.”

The sudden word made Taecyeon and Nichkhun switch a look. “Pardon?”

“There are…There are two.”

“Do you see them, sir? Can you describe them?”

The two looked at Chief Son, urgently but remained patient. He clasped his clothes and muttered through his tightened jaw. “I freeze…when I see one of them squatting beside her. I want to fight, but he pulls out a gun and points at her.”

“Can you see his face?”

“N-No. He’s wearing a ski mask…and a cap. He covers his entire body.”

Sounds like the same guy who asked that kid from the quarry to burn the body.

“Um, how does he react when he sees you? Is he admiring what he did to your wife? Does he look like he’s expecting you?”

“He…He’s touching her head. I can see the blood on his fingertips.”

Nichkhun frowned. “Touching? You mean checking her injury?”

“Yes…It looks like that. He looks startled when he sees me, he backs off…and points his gun at her.”

“All right, so…”

“I don’t understand why.” Chief Son gasped. “He’s a lot stronger than me, he can probably beat me with bare hands.”

He didn’t have to use his wife to threaten him, but he still did.

“Let’s move on, sir, we’re almost there.” Taecyeon encouraged. The inquiry was going better than they expected, they were reaching the hinge. It would only take few more steps.

“Now, can you hear other sounds? You said there are two attackers, can you see the second?”

“I…I can hear light footsteps on the carpet, I want to turn…But that guy suddenly stands up, I don’t know what he wants…”

“And?”

“My head. It’s hurting…a lot. I’m lying on the floor, my vision’s blurring, I can’t see clearly…Wait. He’s approaching me.”

“The guy with the gun? Or the other attacked you from the back?”

“It’s the other. His face is covered too. I smell something pungent…I feel dizzy and sick, I can’t move my body…”

Taecyeon stood up and gripped his shoulders. “Sir, come back to us. Open your eyes.”

Nichkhun also came closer when Chief Son still closed his eyes tightly and had sweat dripped down his temple.

“Sir, you are not in there anymore.”

Just when he wanted to pat his chin, his eyes shot open. They relieved slightly, but the both noticed he kept staring into distance.

“You ok?”

Chief Son raised his head. “He used glass shards to cut my face.”

“We know that. And we’re so…”

“I watched him hold the shard and stab me.”

There was a trace of fear in Chief Son’s eyes.

“…He’s left handed.”

Once Taecyeon and Nichkhun comprehended the meaning behind, the same fear also flashed through.

K was right handed.

“How high is the chance of a person changing his used hand?”

They all knew the answer.

“The guy with gun, he’s strong…Stronger than you, right? Sir?”

“Yes. He has a burly physique.”

Park Hyungsik was a skinny guy. So was Lee Soomin. None of them were physically strong.