[ 4 YEARS AGO ]

The Lounge was a witness to a variety of celebrations. One table had a woman raising her cocktail glass as she celebrated her 26th birthday; a man nearby toasted drinks with his friends for sealing the deal with an international business. Everyone was happy.

In the middle of the merriment sat a disgruntled Kim Sun -- heart down and frowning. 

The waiter offered her the usual, which she took and drank immediately.

I don't even have the money to pay for this, she thought, What else could go wrong?

In one sitting, she managed to finish her drink, but she was still not satisfied. Today was too much of a bother; her dream seemed to be running away from her. She didn't know what to do but to just come to this place. 

Her supposed safe place. 

"Well, look who's here."

The disgruntled, out-of-work, young woman looked up. A small smile spread on her face.

He smiled back.

"Didn't I tell you to smile always?"

"I am smiling now," she said over the loud music.

"Yeah, but it's forced."

She wondered how he was so sensitive to these things. She watched as he waved away his small group of men and crossed over the mess of plush chairs and tables, ordering his favorite scotch. The bystanders stared at him and Sun couldn't help but feel a little smug. He was intimidating -- everything about him intimidated others and she enjoyed it.

They all gave him a polite bow but he didn't mind them.

He sat opposite her. She noticed he sported a heavily wrapped bandage on his knucles. A bit of her shuddered, wondering where that came from, but when she remembered her problem, she was too distracted.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

She looked at him and realized instantly that he could do something about it. But she couldn't ask outright...or could she?

"Well," she began, pouting and giving her little cocktail and shake, "I...have a problem."

"Which is?"

She sighed. "I didn't get in the agency."

"What? Why not?"

"Some other girl got in,

"Who?"

Sun shook her head. "It's that annoying model I was telling you about," she explained, "Go Ae Ra. Remember her? The one who said I wasn't skinny enough?"

A waiter arrived and handed him his drink. He took a sip and immediately spat it out.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded to the waiter.

"A '45 scotch, sir," answered the waiter promptly but Sun sensed the fear in his voice. She couldn't blame him. 

He placed the drink back harshly on the platter.

"I don't want this piece of garbage," he said, "Get me a new one."

"But sir--"

He cracked his knuckles.

"You won't get me a new one?" he asked, that deadly look in his eyes. Kim Sun fervently prayed that the waiter would just listen. If he valued for his life, he should just do it. 

Fortunately, the waiter caught the drift. 

"Er...uhm...alright, sir," he said, "I'll...get right to it."

Immediately, the waiter scurried away leaving Sun thankful. She watched as his expression transform from anger to suddenly realizing that she existed. He returned his attention to her; his once stern facial expressions softening. 

"Sorry, that was an idiot by the way," he explained, "You were saying?"

She sighed. "So...Go Ae Ra got the last part," she continued, "They're only taking 11 models in and I cannot believe that little prick got in. She doesn't deserve that spot. I do. I've been working so hard to earn that career and all she had to do was fling around and she gets in? Can you believe that?" Sun took another drink and smacked her lips. "I heard she got in because she slept with one of the managers. That's just really pathetic and disturbing."

He rubbed his stubble. "Is there no other way to get you in?"

"None. They're closed," she said sadly, the reality dawning on her. Kim Sun wanted to cry; she worked so hard and she didn't get the job. Worst of all, she lost it to that girl who trampled her already struggling self-esteem. The tears threatened to fall; she had to wipe them away before he saw. 

She looked up and saw him staring at her.

"Do you really want that job?" he asked.

She sniffed. "You know I do."

There was a thoughtful expression on his face. At the back of her mind, Kim Sun hoped he got the message. She knew that he had some form of influence somewhere; if that Go Ae Ra used hers, Kim Sun can use hers too. 

"Is that so?" he asked again, "You really want this?"

"With all my heart."

There was silence in the middle of the celebrations.

The waiter came back with 5 choices of scotch for him to choose. Sun could see him shaking as he handed out the tray, asking him to take his pick. He took a moment, eyeing each scotch, and taking his pick. He sent the waiter away and sipped.

He smacked his lips and he gazed at her.

"Don't worry, Sun," he said, "Things will turn around."

[ THE PRESENT ]

"Ahh...Kim Sun was a surprise in the batch," the casting director was saying, "She started out as this thin, shy girl hidden in her shell. She wasn't as beautiful as she is now, but she had some potential."

Hyuk nodded as he browsed through old files and photos of the model named Kim Sun -- now popularly known as Kim Sun Hee. 

"Her first years in the industry wasn't much of a bloom, but the entertainment gods eventually favored her somehow," continued Jeon Hee Jin, "It's no wonder she left our agency a year after and changed her name to Kim Sun Hee. I seriously wished she flopped when she left, but when I think about it, she's a part of my success. What she is now, I did something about that."

The Gangnam detective didn't notice that the casting director already ended her speech. He was too entranced with images of this younger Kim Sun. Her eyes shone brightly in these photos -- a stark contrast to the image she had the previous weeks. Her smiles looked so innocent and in awe, as if she couldn't wait to win the world. 

"...and she didn't stay huh?" Gook Doo asked.

"Nope. She said other agencies offered her greener pastures," explained Hee Jin, "And who was I to stop her? She was sort of right anyway; she did get more modeling jobs and even an acting on the side. Her second agency is the reason why she's so big right now so I can't actually say anything, can I?"

"When was the last time you talked to her?" Hyuk asked. 

"Pretty much a long time ago; ever since she switched, she hasn't spoken to me," answered Hee Jin, "We only had the occasional Hi's and Hello's."

"So she hasn't been keeping in touch?"

"Why would she?"

Hyuk found himself wondering about the same thing, but a part of him was disappointed. When he traced Kim Sun's original career path, he was led to this place. He was hoping Sun Hee might have approached her former agency or something. 

"She must've been a shining star, huh?" remarked Gook Doo, looking around, "I mean the top of her batch or something?"

Hee Jin chuckled. "To be honest, she wasn't even supposed to get in," she admitted, "It just so happens that the 11th model backed out."

"The 11th model?"

"Yes, the batch Sun was in only accommodated 11 models," explained the casting director, "Sun ranked 12th that year so she wasn't really supposed to get  inside our circle, but by some miracle, Kim Sun replaced Go Ae Ra. It's an unfortunate luck...how she got accepted, to be honest. But despite everything, Kim Sun managed to pass the circle and started thriving."

Jeon Hee Jin was staring into the distance, but Hyuk paid no mind to this. He felt like he hit a brick wall.

"So did you get what you wanted?"

Hyuk sighed as he opened a can of energy drink and gulped immediately. Gook Doo, looking at him, got the message.

"Ah...well, looks like you didn't," he concluded, opening his can of drink, "What were you hoping for anyway?"

"Some sort of opening," confessed Hyuk, opening a pack of biscuits. The two detectives were at a local convenience store. It had been an hour since they left the agency empty-handed and Hyuk needed a break. They dropped by the convenience store, hoping to catch up on their energies (or as Gook Doo said, restore his self confidence. The models took their toll on his self esteem).

Gook Doo sighed. "Well...at least you sort of figured out a thing or two," he said, "I mean...you realized that she was a pathetic model before."

Hyuk didn't have the energy to react to that stinging comment. All of a sudden, he felt an unexplainable feeling of heaviness in his heart -- both emotionally and physically. It felt as if someone was stomping on his heart; there was that and the mere fact that the memory of Sun Hee brought upon metaphorical rain clouds. 

"Hey."

Gook Doo's voice broke his reverie. The younger detective was too busy eating to notice his out-of-it expression.

"Didn't the casting lady say Sun Hee wasn't supposed to make it?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Do you remember the name of the model?" he asked, getting his phone out, "I wanted to know what she looks like and why she quit."

"You think she quit?"

"Why not?" asked Hyuk mindlessly.

"Do you remember the name?"

The other detective drank. "Go Ae Ra."

As Gook Doo typed the model's name on the phone, Hyuk busied himself with his thoughts again. The pain was still there; he could feel it. His hand rubbed his chest as he attempted to subdue the sudden burden. What happened understandably made him sad, but he couldn't understand why he was this sad -- almost as if someone died. 

"Hey, Hyuk."

"What?"

Hyuk took his mind off his drink and stared at Gook Doo, whose eyes were round as saucers. 

"What's wrong?"

[ 4 YEARS AGO ]

She was already living the life that she always wanted - modelling, gaining small fame, and a handful of fans. It's only been a few months since she started and everything was daisies and roses. 

Until now.

Kim Sun tried to hold back her tears as she wobbily walked the dark hallways of the Lounge. Everyone was having fun again as usual. She remembered that same night when she sat in the middle of the celebrations, disgruntled because of a different problem. Now, as she struggled to walk with one broken heel, she didn't think she'd regret that night so much. 

I have all the proof I need. 

She was literally dragging herself through that long hallway, but people didn't notice. They were too focused on their happiness to see her misery. 

I did this.

Finding the truth out was hard. It started out as a rumor she easily shoved aside; how could it be true? It didn't sound real, especially when that other model drunkenly blurted it out last week. She was immediately shushed but that didn't stop Sun's mind from whirring. She gave it an honest thought and now that she tried to make sense of it, she realized that there were blanks in the story -- 

The story of how she got to be where she was. 

She finally reached the end of the hallway. Her hand reached for the door knob.

She gulped.

Could she face him? He was the one who gave her what she wanted.

But not at this expense.

"Are you looking at this?"

Gook Doo was still busy staring at the files littered on the table. It was already 11 PM and they were the only ones in the station. Hyuk was at his desk, sorting out files, folders, and anything relevant to what they just discovered. 

"Wait, I'm sorting."

"You've been doing that since yesterday."

"Can you blame me?"

Gook Doo thought about it. "Not really. I mean...we did come up with a possible lead...or at least an idea on what your ex-girlfriend could be hiding."

Hyuk didn't know which bothered him more: Gook Doo calling Sun Hee his ex-girlfriend or their discovery of a potential secret -- the one Sun Hee might have been hiding from him. 

Gook Doo ran a hand through his mop of hair. "It's a sad story -- Go Ae Ra's dreams cut short," he remarked, "Police suspected foul play or a robbery. It's strange though, they never really looked into it. They just closed the case with foul play but they never got the suspect. That's really strange and tragic." He sighed. "Imagine, you just got accepted as a model and you die the next day."

It all started with Gook Doo's discovery on the Internet; while searching for Go Ae Ra, he came by news of her unexpected death. According to the story, no one knew that she died for a week. After her promotion as a Big Hit model, she suddenly went AWOL. The agency tried calling her and so did her family. After seven days, her body turns up in the backyard. That's what a story written in a blog post claimed, but there were only few articles written about it. 

Her story ended with the police closing her case.

For some strange reason, Hyuk gained interest in this story becaue Go Ae Ra was the model Kim Sun replaced. Combine that with the fact that Ae Ra was murdered, the detective sensed a connection somewhere. He just couldn't point at it.

They ended up sorting through files, going through old databases, and even phoning in Go Ae Ra's old home. Unfortunately, no one from the family was there since they had long moved. No interviews, no nothing. Hyuk knew he might be wasting his time searching on an old case; this might not have any connection with Sun Hee, but some force told him to do so. 

"You know, we could be looking up our case for tomorrow," said Gook Doo, "We do have that interrogation."

"You could do that."

The other detective thought about it as he stretched and yawned. "I could, but this is more interesting," he said, flipping through files related to Go Ae Ra, "God, this woman was so beautiful. I mean, Sun Hee is also pretty but I can see why they chose her before." He got up from his desk. "It's just sad though. Why would anyone want to kill the girl? We've seen comments about her; she seems like a nice person. That old boss of hers thinks she was an angel. I don't get it. Why kill her?"

The sudden knock on their station door disrupted the conversation and startled the boys. 

"Who's that?"

A middle-aged woman entered the station, peeking cautiously. She looked around what seemed like an empty station, but then she saw the two detectives. The other two, on the other hand, were still baffled with her. Who was this woman?

She spoke.

"Uh...I'm looking for a Detective Lee Hyuk," she said, her voice shaking. 

Hyuk stood up from his station. "That's me," he answered, "What seems to be the matter, Ma'am?"

The woman seemed close to tears as she approached him. She was clutching a bunch of photos.

"I...I'm Go Hye Kyo," she introduced herself, "I heard you were...asking around about my daughter...Ae Ra."

She broke down almost immediately.

[ 4 YEARS AGO ]

She was still covered in soot and ash, shaking in the middle of an empty park. It was fortunate no one was there and even luckier that he did not follow. Could he be dead?

The thought of him in the fire sent unpleasant shivers down her spine. She could remember how he screamed for her name and she didn't turn back. How could she after he proved her suspicions?

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I didn't say get rid of her!"

"But it was the only way for you to make it to the top."

Her tears rolled down her cheeks, mixed with the blood on her lip. She knew he would hit others to get what he wanted, but she never expected he would do that to her. But who could blame him? She did say that she wanted out. 

"You're not leaving me."

Kim Sun looked around, praying that no one followed her. From where she sat, she could still the smoke from the fire. It was growing bigger, meaning the fire was growing worse. There was no way he could've gotten out of it. He could be dead right now as she sat there. The idea gave her such a heavy burden, but there was nothing heavier than with what she knew about Ae Ra -- how Sun's career took off because of someone else's demise. 

Her hands touched a circular object in her pockets. Sniffing, she pulled it out.

Against the moonlight, it still shined. She remembered the first time he gave it to her -- when he finally established that little 'organization' of his. To Kim Sun, it was a gang but to him, it was a brotherhood that gave him success. He received the small crest when his succceeded his sunbaenim and became the top dog. The small crest, which had a sun on it, was his gift to her. 

"You'll always have a piece of me."

That's what he told her. 

Part of her wished to throw it away. What would she want to do with him? But she knew that no matter how hard she ran away, even if he was dead, she will always have a piece of him. 

Her career would be the living reminder.

Looking up at the sky, Kim Sun wiped away her tears. The guilt feelings were still there; she didn't know if she would over get over it. But she knew that she had to keep moving forward. There was no time to waste in staying trapped. If he was truly gone forever, then it was her turn to run. She could still start fresh, there was always hope. 

I'm going to forget all of this, she said.

[ THE PRESENT ]

Kim Sun Hee held the small crest in her hand, looking at it with resentment.

Four years -- she had been living a lie for four years. 

It took every ounce of herself to move past that horrible event. She taught herself how to pretend everything was okay in front of her peers, how to keep those bad thoughts away, and how to live one day at a time. She disentangled herself from everything that linked her to that tragedy -- even going as far as leaving her agency and starting with a new one.

She even changed her name.

But four years later, she ended up under his control again. 

He had a say in her life again. He even ripped off the love of her life.

When the mudang her mother visited said Sun Hee was most likely lonely in this life, she didn't want to believe it. She wasn't going to let any fortune teller direct her destiny. But now that she was alone in her apartment, staring at the proof of her captivity, she couldn't help but think the mudang was right. And that .

Part of her wished she could call Hyuk. She had lost track of the last time she saw or even heard his voice: has it been weeks? Months? Years? She didn't know anymore. Forcing him out of her life was necessary if he was to live -- that's what he told her. He knew about Hyuk long before he even found her again. After all, Hyuk was always after his operations. 

Apparently, it all began that night in a bar...where she and Hyuk pretended to be a couple just to get in. 

Why does this happen to me?

Sun Hee looked out of her window and at the sky.

"If there's any deity out there, I want to know what I did to deserve this," she began, "Did I do you wrong in my previous life? Is that why I'm having such a miserable life right now? What did I do? Tell me?"

Silence.

"Are you out there, deity? Is there one?" she asked, "What? Are you scared? Answer me! Tell me what I did!"

No one answered. As Sun Hee stared outside of her window, a solitary butterfly passed by her view. The deities did not give her an answer, in her opinion, and that just made her situation worse. 

The knock on the door startled her. 

Did I leave my front door open?

She stood frozen by her window when she realized who could be on the other side of the door. Ever since he revealed himself to her, he has not respected her boundaries as she wished. But what she did to him was, apparently, enough to prove she had no right in anything again. When the door opened, she saw the very same face she saw that day of the mall seige. 

Go In Sung stood in front of her. 

"Hello there, Kim Sun," he greeted her, "I see you're looking at my gift. Missed me?"

The anger boiled inside her.

"That's enough."

"It's never enough, honey."

"Don't call me that."

"I don't think you have a say in that."

"Stop it," she told him indignantly, "Haven't you done enough? I'm miserable as it is."

"How are you miserable?" he asked her, "I bought your career. And now, we're together again." He approached her, hands in his pockets. As he came closer, she could see the scars he gathered from their years of separation. There was also that burn on his face.

"Stop this," she told him, "Please. Leave me alone. I'm already alone."

He chuckled as he took a lock of her hair. "Why should I?" he asked, "I spent months of effort to get you to notice me again." He sniffed her hair, "I'm not leaving you alone."

She pulled away.

"Leave me alone."

He pulled her back.

"You're coming with me."

She dropped the crest she held in her hand.

A/N: hey guys, sorry it took so long. I had so much stuff to do and was too distracted with Bangtan. Plus, writing a mystery can be very taxing because...mystery. HAHA. But I hope I did well. I hope everyone's having a good time too. Please give this story an upvote or share me a comment. I'd really appreciate if you do either or both! :D Wait for me again!