“Cheol Yong-ah, I’m tired...” Jiyoon whined sleepily towards her boyfriend who was hauling both of their travel bags by himself. Any other time, she would offer him a hand but she was seriously exhausted from all the walking they have been doing for the last 20 minutes since they left the airport. Not to mention, she was still jet-lagged from the airplane ride back home from Paris.

Speaking of which, Paris was perfect. It almost made her wish that they didn’t have to come back to Seoul and that they could just stay there forever. Just the two of them.

She just knew, life back here is going to be hectic, just like always.

Cheol Yong chuckled softly as he mused over his messy yet still beautiful girlfriend. Her thin white blouse which had been ironed out carefully was already crinkled and her hair was sticking out messily from the loose bun that she had tied up. Her light make up that she had put on before they left the hotel was already washed away from the sweat yet she still looks naturally gorgeous.

Jiyoon has never looked anymore perfect to him, than how she is right now.

“What can I do when there’s not a single taxi in sight? I would carry you myself now, if only I wasn’t carrying these two bags Jiyoonie.”

Jiyoon wrapped one arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Maybe we should’ve called oppa to pick us up just now.”

“Hmm, you really think that’s a good idea? After all those calls you rejected from him?”

Jiyoon stuck out her bottom lip guiltily.

“I just didn’t want any interference during our last few days there. Who knows when we can ever have the chance to go there again.”

He was about to assure her that he would bring her back there when they have the chance again next time, when a movement from the opposite direction caught his attention.

Perhaps he was just tensed up ever since he nearly died a few months ago. He was always on his toes after that incident, judging each person with much cautious.

But it was as if he knew something was off about the guy in the hooded jacket, walking leisurely towards them.

He risked a look behind his shoulders and saw the exact replica of the person he saw just a few moments ago, except this other guy was wearing bright blue Converse sneakers, instead of a black pair.

His alert senses were raging off wildly but he had to keep a cool and collected composure in order to catch them off-guard.

“Jiyoonie...” he muttered softly.

“Hmm?”

“Just do as I say okay? When I tell you to run, sprint all the way to somewhere safe and don’t ever look behind alright?”

Jiyoon’s head shot up immediately as she shot him a worried look.

“What’s going on?”

“Not now. I’ll tell you later.” He was about to say if I survive tonight but decided against it. “And call Joon hyung when you have the chance. Tell him where we are.”

Jiyoon was starting to panic.

“Cheol Yong, what is happening?”

They were both only about a few steps away from them now. And the one in front of them pulled out a sharp gleaming object from the sleeve of his leather jacket.

“Run Jiyoon! Now!”

She didn’t have any other choice but to do as she was told when he pushed her out of the way just seconds before their attacker the knife towards her direction.

“Go Jiyoon!” he managed one last urgent cry at her before hitting the earlier scrawny guy with one of their luggage.

She wanted to do something, anything, to help him but he was right. Their best chance at survival right now was for her to get some help.

Jiyoon ran as fast as her legs could carry her, not daring to risk a look behind. She trusts him; she knows that Cheol Yong could defend himself while she get him the resources he needed.

She rand down the street and made a sharp turn at the first curb she could find. Hiding behind one of the huge trash containers, she pulled out her cell phone and punched in the first number she memorized by heart.

Thankfully, he picked it at the second ring.

“Jiyoon!” her brother’s anxious voice filled her ears with comfort. “Where are you? Are you already here in Seoul?”

“Yes...” she said, gasping for air. “But oppa, please. You have to come here now. We’re in trouble. Cheol Yong...someone’s attacking him right now.”

“What? Where are you guys right now?”

She told him the street name hurriedly before her mind elapsed into a blank state. She couldn’t handle it; if anything were to happen to him, she just couldn’t deal with it.

“Okay, stay calm okay. I’ll be right over soon.”

“Please oppa, hurry.”

“Did you get a good look at them?”

Cheol Yong winced silently when the medicated oil made contact with the wound on his right arm.

“I’m sorry,” Jiyoon started to dab his wound with the gauze even more carefully than before. “Do you want to go to the doctor and have this treated?”

“It’s okay,” he told her with a pained smile. “It’s just a cut. I’ll be fine after bandaging it up. And no hyung...” he glanced up to meet Chang Sun’s hardened gaze. “It was dark and I was busy trying to defend myself. But there was nothing outstanding that I can conclude from them. Probably some street gangs who has the wrong definition of fun.”

“This is not just some random attack, Mir,” Byung Hee spoke up seriously.

“You’ve been marked,” Seung Ho added in with an equally grave tone.

“We’re all marked,” Chang Sun said exasperatedly. “They know us, where we live, where we hang out but we don’t have a damn clue about them!”

Both Cheol Yong and Jiyoon exchanged confused looks.

“Wait oppa, what are you talking about? Who’s marked you guys?”

“Yeah hyung, what’s going on?” Cheol Yong’s expression was now even more worried than when he had gotten hurt. He didn’t like the sombre atmosphere which had greeted them back home. Something had happened while they were away, he could tell that.

“Well, while you guys were away on your ‘honeymoon’...” Byung Hee grinned mischievously. “We’ve had a few problems here in Seoul.”

“Murders, missing bodies...have been surfacing once every few days,” Seung Ho piped in.

“Doo Joon and Jun Hyung came over earlier just now,” Chang Sun started to explain. “And they shared their concerns with us and we have come to a conclusion that a new gang has emerged and now are targeting the older gangs, specifically us, because they want to make a name for themselves.”

“So when you mean us, I take it that Beast is included too?”

“Yes,” Chang Sun replied grimly. “Yes, all of us are deep in trouble now.”

Cheol Yong let out a soft whistle.

“Wow, like almost being killed last time wasn’t bad enough. Is there even a time when nobody is after us? When nobody bothered us?”

Jiyoon studied his face carefully, the old guilt and remorse catching up to her fast. What happened last time was partly her fault, even though everyone else, including Cheol Yong, kept denying it. They never blamed her for it but she knew anyway. She knew that if it wasn’t for her, Junsu and the rest of his gang wouldn’t have come after them all? Their lives wouldn’t have been jeopardized.

“What...what have the police found out so far?” she asked quietly.

“Looking for suspects I guess,” Seung Ho replied nonchalantly. “But as long as we have Eun Jung backing us up, we have nothing to worry about, regarding the police force. We just have to concentrate on finding this new gang before they find us.”

Jiyoon pushed aside the medicine and started to get up from her seat slowly.

“Where are you going?” asked Cheol Yong.

“I have to make an important call. I’ll be right back.”

She tore away from the group and headed for the kitchen where she could have more privacy to talk. She dialled in Eun Jung’s familiar phone number and waited patiently for her colleague to answer it.

“Hello?”

Her voice sounded distressed and tired at the other end.

“Eun Jung, it’s me,” Jiyoon said with a smile.

“Jiyoon? Are you back already?!”She started to sound cheerful and upbeat at the sound of her partner’s voice. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice it was you calling. When did you get back? Did you have fun?”

Jiyoon let out a small chuckle.

“I had lots of fun, but I didn’t call you to talk about that.”

“Of course, you owe me a dinner to share it all with me. Okay, what is this about then?”

Jiyoon started to low down her voice.

“The guys have told me all about the recent murders.”

There was a short pause.

“Oh.”

“Eun Jung, what’s going on here?” Jiyoon pressed her further. “Is it true? Is there really another gang out there?”

She heard the other girl taking a deep breath.

“If they are telling the truth, then it must be true. Look, I’m not doubting them okay. Heck, even my boyfriend is in a gang. But you know our job. I have to look at all possibilities. So I guess it’s safe to say, everyone’s a suspect right now.”

Jiyoon tightened her grip around the phone.

“I’m coming back to work tomorrow.”

“What? But Jiyoon-ah, you still have about 2 more weeks of leave. I know how restless you must be feeling right now, about everything. But you need the break. And you just got back.”

“I don’t care. I’m still going tomorrow. I can’t just sit back and do nothing, knowing my brother and boyfriend is a suspect in another gang-related case. I need to get to the bottom of things.”

“Are you sure Cheol Yong is okay with this?”

Jiyoon bit her already glossless bottom lip.

“Well, that’s not up to him to decide right?”