They retraced the roads the way they'd come. Through Dongdaemun's narrow streets to the design plaza, then around the base of Namsan mountain again and towards the river. Instead of diverting west, though, towards Jongup's building, they went east to a row of high rise apartment buildings built on the northern edge of the water overlooking Gangnam, and the city's south. The streets were getting busier, and the footpaths bustled with people walking on their way to work and to school, while the roads were congested with busses and taxis. It didn't take long for Himchan to be turning into an underground parking lot and slotting into a visitor's space beside the elevator. The building its self looked like a tall pillar of glass rising from the earth, reflecting the endless expanse of blue sky, and the faintest hint of clouds rolling in from Incheon, and beyond that, the sea.

Jongup tucked his hands into the pockets of his over coat again. Even in the carpark, the air was cold and he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet while waiting for the elevator doors to roll open, at which time both he and Himchan stepped in. Yongguk's apartment was on the sixteenth level, and when finally they made it to his front door, Himchan unapologetically punched in the entry code without knocking.

“Bbang?” He called as he stepped over the threshold, but held the door open long enough for Jongup to follow them in. Both Himchan and Jongup toed off their shoes in the small tiled vestibule, then stepped into the expanse of Yongguk's living room. The apartment wasn't huge, but it was beautiful, with wide open spaces and brown leather furniture. A pair of matching couches sat snugly on a black and white rug facing a television set, while the whole wall opposite where they stood was made of glass panel windows. They were high enough to see far beyond the limits of Seoul to a row of roughly shaped mountains, and the low grey sprawl of a city, Seongnam, maybe, or Suwon. Leading on from the living room was a dining table, and then built against the far right wall, a white marble kitchen and in it was two identical men.

They were standing facing one another, each with a steaming white mug held tightly in their right hand, while their left was folded across each of their chests like mirrors of each another, in more ways than one. The man leaning against the counter was dressed comfortably in jeans and a black sweater, but it took Jongup a moment to realise Yongguk was shirtless. Green leaves and red blossoms were etched under his skin, wrapping around both of his arms from cuff to shoulder and along the expanse of his back from the top of his spine, to dip below the hem of his sweatpants. Stylised twists of billowing smoke curved around his elbows, and when he turned to face them, the red eyes of a dragon stared Jongup down from where it lay in a bed of flowers growing from his chest and stomach.

“Himchan? What are you doing here?” Yongguk said with furrowed brows and pushed himself up to stand straighter, while his clothed mirror watched in silence from over his twin's shoulder. Something was troubled in Yongguk's eyes, but he said nothing as he watched Himchan lead Jongup closer towards the kitchen.

“Sorry for disturbing you, I didn't think you'd have company. Just a couple things came up, I wanted to talk to you before work.” Himchan smiled and touched a hand to Yongguk's bare shoulder, then turned to greet the fourth man, “Long time no see, it's good to see you.”

“You too.” The man said with a smile.

Jongup stopped at the edge of the counter. He hadn't taken his coat off, and he could feel the cool hint of sweat beading at the base of his spine.

Yongguk set down his mug on the counter and gestured with his left hand to his brother “Jongup, this is Yongnam.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Yongnam said, raising his mug in Jongup's direction, like he was giving a toast.

“Likewise.” Jongup replied.

“You said you needed to speak to me?” Yongguk turned to Himchan, who smiled and nodded his head.

“Yeah, it's about boring work stuff, though.” He chuckled and crossed the kitchen to help himself to a white mug from the cupboard, and poured himself his own cup of coffee.

“That's alright, Yongnam was just leaving.” Yongguk said without sparing his twin a glance, and the man nodded his head and pushed up off the counter. He set his cup in the sink and clapped Himchan on the back.

“I should be heading to work, anyway. We should grab a beer sometime, Himchan, have a catch up.” He said to Himchan, then turned to leave the kitchen, “Nice to meet you, Jongup-ssi.”

Jongup dipped his head, “Nice to meet you, too.” He watched Yongnam head back towards the door they'd just come through and slung his coat over his arm.

It wasn't until the door fall closed behind him, that Yongguk turned to look at Himchan expectantly, “You've been to the bank?”

Himchan took a sip of his coffee and nodded, “We're lucky they open early. The Manager there worked with our victim for years before she quit out of nowhere last year. She said she dropped out of university and moved to Busan.”

“So?” Yongguk asked, “Dropping out of medicine isn't uncommon, and it makes sense for her to go back to her home town.”

“She said she was moving back for her boyfriend's job, but wouldn't say what that was.” Himchan said and Yongguk frowned.

“Boyfriend? She hasn't been reported missing yet, right?” The director frowned and set his mug on the counter, “It's already been three days since she died, surely he'd have to be a little concerned that he hasn't heard from her.”

“They could have broken up.” Jongup pointed out, but Himchan shook his head.

“Whether they have or not, she moved back to Busan because of him and didn't want to tell anyone why. That has to mean something, surely.” He argued, “I wanted to ask you to call Director Sun, get her team to focus on finding an identity for that boyfriend.”

“When they find it, you two are going to need to speak to him.” Yongguk turned his head and glanced to where Jongup still stood with his coat wrapped tightly around his body.

“Does that mean we're going to Busan?”

“It means you're going to Busan.”

“You're kidding.” Himchan deadpanned. His fingers were wrapped around the white porcelain of his cup, while a slow drip of coffee slid down its side towards his thumb from where his lips had been pressed a moment before.

Yongguk sighed and set his own mug down on the counter, and didn't respond to Himchan's comment. Instead he turned towards a doorway leading away from the kitchen and living room, while his lips twisted in frustration. Himchan followed.

“Bbang, are you serious?” He rounded the kitchen island Yongguk had been leaning against minutes before and followed him through the open door, into the small study he worked in from home. It wasn't nearly as big as his office at the Unit, but his desk was just as much a mess of printed documents and stationary, and the wide windows gave the light they all yearned for when they were deep under the ground. Stacks of paper with the word classified stamped in red across their covers surrounded the closed lid of his laptop, and Yongguk began to shuffle through them one by one in search of something.

“Of course I'm serious.” He scoffed, and sent Himchan a look.

“Daehyun is from Busan!” Himchan groaned.

“Daehyun is off the case. If anyone outside of the Unit found out I was letting him help would have my head for it, and you know that. I am not sending him to Busan to destroy everything our team is doing on this case, and risk our entire operation.” Yongguk pushed the papers aside and pulled his laptop closer towards him. It looked almost comical, this number of apparently classified documents, but Himchan knew their leader was smart, there wouldn't be anything here that was truly sensitive, or at least not redacted beyond being comprehensible.

“Destroy everything?” Himchan's lips pursed and he folded his arms across his chest.

Yongguk sighed and pressed his hand to his forehead. “You know what I meant. Daehyun is good at what he does, he's smart, but there is a line between loyalty and brattiness. A woman is dead, Himchan, and her family deserve to know what happened to her. I will not have your childishness jeopardise this investigation. You of all people should know better than that.” The air between them was heavy and tense and Himchan couldn't find it in himself to reply so Yongguk just turned away, until his back was to his old friend.

He opened the lid of his laptop and tapped in his password. The screen lit up onto a document, profiles of the Unit's members. Over Yongguk's shoulder, Himchan could see their photos each arranged in age order with their names, birthdays, blood types and Security Clearance Levels. Daehyun and Youngjae had the lowest clearance, a measly 6, and Himchan always teased them for it. “Need to know.” He'd say, when they asked him what he and Yongguk chatted about over coffee in the mornings. Of course, Himchan couldn't talk, he and Junhong were only just above them on a 7, while Yongguk took the highest with 8. Shinyoung was a 7, too, but Himchan suspected she knew more than she let off, they'd never quite been sure where exactly in the government it was she'd come from, after all. Second to last on the open white page was a photo of Jongup Himchan had seen a handful of times before on the Police ID card he showed to Uniform at the crime scene, and to the banker that morning.

Name: Moon Jongup

Date Of Birth: 19950206

Blood Type: B

Security Clearance Level: 9

*

Himchan drove with Jongup back to the Unit's headquarters in silence. Neither one pretended that Jongup hadn't heard Himchan's argument with their director, but nor did they think to waste time by discussing it. Jongup knew Himchan didn't like him, through no fault of his own, and Himchan knew Jongup was smart enough not to attempt a friendship neither of them particularly wanted.

What bothered Himchan, though, was the knowledge that Yongguk was angry with him. Their friendship was well seasoned, and weather-worn. Himchan'd had Yongguk's back up in the mountain passes of their military service, when both their bodies and minds were tested beyond their limits time and again while old men dressed up like toy soldiers watched them, only to insist they be pushed further. Yongguk had Himchan's back, too, on the days it mattered the most. Like the time he held the barrel of his gun to the temple of a weeping new recruit, and the day they were finally discharged, when the men in blue came to tell him his sister had been murdered.

The car pulled up out the front of the Unit, and Jongup turned to glance towards Himchan. Underneath them, the engine rumbled with a slow hum, but Himchan's eyes stayed forward and focused hazily on something in the middle-distance.

“You coming in?” Jongup finally asked, and Himchan blinked. He seemed startled, like he hadn't noticed the car had stopped even though he had stopped it.

“No.” He replied, “I'm going home. There's a couple things I need to do.”

Jongup nodded his head, he needed to figure things out for their trip to Busan, but first at least one of them needed to tell the others what had happened. With a flick of his wrist, Jongup opened the door and slid out of his seat, and Himchan barely waited for him to close it before he was taking off down the road again, sending the murky water that filled the streets potholes splashing behind him as he rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

A uniformed officer greeted Jongup with a smile as he entered the building and removed his coat to be inspected while he passed through the metal detectors stationed at the front entrance.

“You have a good day now, DS Moon.” The officer nodded to him, and he smiled.

“You too.” He replied and headed for the elevator that carried him down and below ground into the Unit's headquarters, where Daehyun, Youngjae and Junhong all stood in front of the array of television screens, watching them in silence. None of them turned towards Jongup as he strode across the overhanging mezzanine and descended the steps with his coat folded neatly over his arm.

“What are we watching?” He asked, and Youngjae startled. He hadn't heard the resounding clang of the elevator doors opening.

He was leaning back against Himchan's desk, while Junhong sat backwards on one of the many wheely chairs with his elbows both resting on the chair's back, and his legs spread wide to fit it between them. Daehyun was a little way off and had folded his arms over his chest as he focused on the screens, serious and contemplative, but with eyes full of sadness.

“It's a feed from Busan.” Youngjae provided and shifted over to make room for Jongup beside him, “Some of director Sun's team are... Speaking to the victim's parents.”

Jongup dropped his coat over the back of his own chair and rounded the desks to where the others stood. The video they were watching seemed like it was filmed from a security camera mounted high enough on the wall so that it skewed with the perspective. It was a small room, though obviously one for interview rather than interrogation, and two women dressed in pristine pantsuits sat facing an older couple. The man's arms were folded across his chest too tightly for it to be comfortable, while the woman beside him twisted her fingers together anxiously as her head turned to look between the agents. There wasn't any sound, either that or they had switched it off, but it was obvious the agents were trying to ask questions as gently as they could, while the couple shook their heads, or nodded their responses.

“Shouldn't that be us? Shouldn't we be speaking to them?” Jongup asked. His insides felt all hot with hurt and anger, these people had lost their child, and it was them, the Unit, who had been charged with finding who was responsible. Surely, they owed them that.

Youngjae shook his head, “It's best they don't know who we are. The fewer people we need to meet, the better.”

“Where is Himchan?” Daehyun asked, seeming to have just noticed his absence.

“He had somewhere to go.” Jongup provided, and the Busan man sighed.

“Probably for the best. He finds these kinds of things hard.” He rubbed his palm against the back of his neck, “Did you learn anything?”

Jongup filled them in on their visit to the bank, and what they had learned about the victim's move back to Busan and dropping out of university, and the boyfriend who was yet to report her as missing.

“Strange.” Junhong frowned. He'd spun his chair half way around towards Jongup, and had lowered both arms to rest his forearms along the back of the seat, then leant his chin against them. He looked so boyishly curious as he peered up at his Hyungs, all wide brown eyes with the faintest hint of his dimples indenting his cheeks.

“It could just be that he hasn't thought to yet.” Youngjae pointed out, but Daehyun shook his head.

“She died three days ago. Surely you'd be worried if you hadn't heard from your partner for three days.” He said, and Youngjae nodded in acceptance of his point.

“The apartment Director Sun's team are searching this morning is just hers, from what we know. Maybe they're not that serious.” Junhong added, “I know her forensics team, they'll be giving me everything they find down there.”

“Himchan and I stopped by Director Bang's place this morning and he says he's going to pass on the message for them to try and look for anything that could pin point who this boyfriend is.” Jongup said, but it still didn't sit right to him that her boyfriend hadn't said something, “They were serious enough, though, for her to follow him back to Busan.”

“Wait, you went to Yongguk's place?” Youngjae arched an eyebrow in surprise.

Jongup nodded, “Himchan drove us there.”

“What the I've been on this team for years how come I've never been to Yongguk's place? What was it like?” Daehyun asked, “I bet it's really big, and super, like... Clean.”

“It's pretty big, but I wouldn't say it's clean. Tidy, is probably a better word.” Junhong chimed in, then rose up from the chair he'd been curled up on. For a moment, Jongup was amazed by the fact that he just kinda kept going. He'd never seen someone so big capable of making themselves look so small.

“You said the forensics team is sending you what they find?” Jongup asked, steering their conversation back on track, and preventing Daehyun from saying anything in response.

The doctor nodded, and stretched his arms above his head, “Yeah, I should hear more about what's on its way by this afternoon. Some tests I ran yesterday should be finishing up in about an hour, though. I'll let you know anything that comes up.”

“I hope they show up something useful.” Jongup nodded and rounded his desk to drop back into his seat. He flipped open his laptop, it was still on from the night before and as the screen woke up he was faced with tab after tab of local newspaper articles from across the country, still convinced that each one was even less useful than the last. As he closed the pages he looked over the dull headlines, from record snow fall in the mountains, to speculation of a wet summer, and a disappointing tourist season. If the Spring was too wet, the Autumn harvests wouldn't yield much, and Jongup was grateful they lived in a time when that wouldn't affect the lives of too many people, as it once would.

“Wait, what was that?” Junhong asked and leant over Jongup's shoulder. He'd been tucking his chair back under the desk when he spied the picture out of the corner of his eye. With a flick of his wrist, and a keyboard shortcut, the article loaded back up onto the page, and Jongup read across the headline, 'Spring Festival Cancelled' it said in black, bold letters. Below the title was a photo of an elderly couple, each dressed impeccably well as they stood in front of a stone wall with small bouquets of purple flowers held in hand. The stems were long and slender, and from each side a delicate blossom curved forward like a single butterfly wing ripped from a slender thorax.

“Festival chair people Kim Yeohwan and Ahn Soojin each hold arrangements of Korean Monkshood at the 2017 festival.” Youngjae read aloud from where he too peered over Jongup's shoulder.

“That's it, that's the flower!” Junhong said, “That's what I found in .”

“Are you sure?” Jongup asked. To his eyes, the flower was hardly recognisable as organic life anymore, but Junhong's palpable excitement was enough to ensure that he was probably right.

“I'm certain.”

Junhong glanced up at the television screen in front of them again, as the others flurried into movement around him. The two agents in their suits hadn't moved an inch, but the man they faced had sunk down in his chair and trembled with tears, while the woman beside him crumpled under the weight of her grief. This was a break, even if just a small one, and if the flower truly did mean something, it wouldn't be long before they knew just what. They were going to find this guy, he knew it.

*

In the Unit's headquarters, it was impossible to know how much time had passed. There were no windows, no sunlight to remind them of the world above ground, and only the rumble of their stomachs to signal the coming of afternoon. By the time the elevator doors signalled Yongguk's arrival, Junhong had already retreated back to his labs even further below ground, and the other three agents' stony expressions were focused on their screens as they scoured encyclopaedias and police records for some mention of the blossom that sat curled up and decaying in the jar between them. The director didn't stop to greet them, he instead strode across the wide room and disappeared into the seclusion of his office, with Agent Jin following not far behind.

It was nearing midday when Himchan finally came, and Daehyun greeted him with a smile and a loud announcement of: “We found something.”

Himchan's hand was curved around a paper coffee cup, but where that morning he'd been collected and unflappable, now his hair was unruly, and his eyes tired as though the preceding hours had drained him of all energy. A tired smile pulled at his lips and he nodded, “Good.” He came closer to read over his friend's shoulder, “Korean Monkshood?”

“It's the same as Wolf's Bane, it's a poisonous flower native to all around these parts.” Daehyun explained, “We're trying to find any mention of it in cases before.”

“It bears all resemblance to a signature.” Himchan agreed and Daehyun nodded.

“Exactly.”

“Try looking at other murders of women, maybe around Busan, if that's where she's from.” The elder man instructed, and Daehyun nodded with a twitch of a smile.

“On it.”

Jongup kept his head bowed over his computer silently. He'd fitted the tip of his thumb nail between his teeth and tugged at it non too gently, until he felt the prickle of Himchan's gaze settling on him from over the desk.

“Where's Bbang?” The agent asked after a moment, turning back to Daehyun.

“In his office. We're still waiting for the transcripts of the interview Director Sun's lot did of the victim's parents this morning.”

“Still?” Himchan frowned. He straightened up and slipped his arms free of his coat so that he could dump it over the back of his seat, “You come get me if you find anything, yeah?”

“You got it, Sir.” Daehyun saluted comically as Himchan pulled away and headed straight past Shinyoung's desk and into Yongguk's office. Though not without a perfectly aimed swat to the back of Daehyun's head.

He didn't knock. It'd been years since he'd bothered, and having said that, it had only been three since Yongguk had become director. Yongguk was sitting behind his wide desk with his forehead resting in his hand while dark eyes flicked across the screen before him as Himchan stepped over the threshold;

“Close the door behind you.” He instructed without looking up, and Himchan did so by nudging it with the heel his foot so that it fell shut with a resounding thud.

“I don't want to argue with you.” He said, and Yongguk's lips twitched into a weak smile.

“That's usually what you say before you argue with me.”

“I'm serious, Bbang.” Himchan sighed, “I don't want to fight.”

“I know you don't.” Yongguk finally straightened up, looked at him head on. Himchan didn't know how he was able to sit in there, day after day with nothing but white plaster walls surrounding him. It was so monotonous, other than the books that lined shelves along the back wall, and the illustrations across his desk Junhong had gifted him not long after he'd joined the team. Himchan still wasn't sure how the doctor had found out it was their director's birthday, but the look on Yongguk's face, so absolutely mesmerised by the drawing, was all that mattered in the end and Himchan thought that was probably the precise moment his oldest friend started to fall in love.

“Jun's smoking again.” He said, stepping forward and turning the framed drawing around to give it another look. From between the floating ribs, just below the cage, a slender sprig of Wolf's Bane was tucked between the bulging shape of chrysanthemums, arching up towards the sternum. He wondered how their leader hadn't recognised it straight away, after all the hours he spent staring at it.

“So are you.” Yongguk leant back in his chair, “But it's none of my business what either of you do in your private time.”

“You told me you'd never have a relationship with a smoker.” Himchan quirked an eyebrow and turned the frame back around.

“Junhong and I aren't-” Yongguk started, but Himchan cut him off.

“You're no more convinced by that than anyone, Bbang, and you know it. Insisting is only going to end up hurting the both of you in the long run.” He reasoned.

“What did you come in here for, Himchan?” Yongguk sighed.

Himchan debated asking about Jongup's security clearance, who he was, where he'd come from. It was clear he'd been hand picked by the commissioner herself to join their team, and he wanted to understand why. He didn't ask about it, though, he knew better than to think Yongguk would be honest with him. Himchan had never known anyone so skilled at keeping a secret.

“Do you remember when I found out that my sister was dead?” He asked.

Yongguk straightened up in his seat, and nodded his head. Of course he remembered. It had been snowing, the first snow of the season, and both he and Himchan had been dressed warmly in their fresh pressed dress uniforms, all button down camo, with a beret tilted on their heads. They'd made it down from the mountain in the middle of the night, after the success of their final mission, and as they faced their tidied reflections, Yongguk had seen Himchan smile for the first time in weeks. Their looming discharge felt strangely alien, like it was the last day of school again and they were leaving the only world they knew to be into an open expanse of endless opportunity, but Yongguk knew neither of them would feel nostalgia. Not after everything they'd been put through.

“What's the first thing you're going to do?” Himchan asked. He straightened his bunk for the last time, getting it ready for whoever would occupy it next.

“Visit my family, probably.” Yongguk said. Their bags were leaning against the wall, waiting to be loaded up onto the trucks that would carry them home, “My brother was discharged a couple weeks ago. It'll be nice for my parents to have all of us home together again.”

“I'm going to get drunk.” Himchan had laughed. His smile took up his entire face, but Yongguk could see where it was worn down at the edges, not as bright as it had been when they'd first met, “I want to have a huge get together, with all my friends. A big welcome home party.”

Yongguk had heard him the night before, the way he called out in his sleep. They both had the nightmares, but the guilt made Himchan's worse, and it was becoming common for him to toss and turn and whimper through the night, only to wake up grey skinned and exhausted the next morning. He hoped freedom would give Himchan time to feel whole again.

“It's really over.” Yongguk smiled, and Himchan grinned back at him.

“Finally.” He said.

The men in blue met them out the front of their building, and asked to speak with Himchan alone. He was confused, but Yongguk was his partner through everything, and he told them there was nothing they could have to say to him that his best friend couldn't hear. Yongguk was glad he'd been there to catch Himchan when his legs gave out from under him, and to hold him back as he shouted and screamed and denied their news. He was glad still when the strangers left, and Himchan couldn't breathe from the tears and the grief that had its hand wrapped tight around his windpipe, and Yongguk rubbed slow circles on his spine as he bent in half and vomited on the freshly fallen snow.

“You know I remember.” Yongguk said and looked up at Himchan, “I couldn't forget that.”

“When I joined the Unit, I swore I wouldn't fail a family, like those police failed mine.” Himchan replied, “I'm going to find who did this, regardless of who is at my side. I'd never let anything get in the way of an investigation.”

Yongguk's lips twitched into a smile thin and tilted like a waxing moon. There was no doubt that he trusted Himchan more than anyone. In fact, he'd trusted Himchan before he'd even liked him, back in the early days of their enlistment, when summer just began and the Gangnam boy smiled so big Yongguk doubted he even had enough room on his face for it.

“You'll need this, then.” Yongguk took hold of a stapled document and tossed it across his desk, towards where Himchan stood.

“What is it?” He asked, even as he picked it up and skimmed over the page.

“A transcript of the interview Sun's people did. The victim's parents identified her boyfriend.” Yongguk leant back in his chair again and pressed the tips of his fingers together as he watched Himchan glancing over the document.

“I thought this hadn't come through yet. Who is he?” The sound of rustling pages seemed to echo in the small, empty room.

Yongguk watched Himchan flick through the document with his brows furrowed down over his eyes, “They talk about him on page twelve.” He finally said, “His name is Lee Taejin.”

Himchan flipped through to the page and folded it over to read the exchange. Her parents didn't say much, just a name and a few details about him, but it didn't explain the grave expression on Yongguk's face.

“And?” Himchan prompted.

Yongguk took in a deep breath, then grabbed a second document. This one was tucked into a manila folder, with a familiar red stamp pressed across the front cover, and he held it out for Himchan to take without a second look, “He runs a nightclub in Busan, on the waterfront somewhere. Sun says it's the hangout for some pretty serious people, and it's been raided before for everything you can think of, gambling, drugs, ion.”

“And she thinks this guy is involved?” Himchan flipped open the front of the document and looked at the mugshot. He wasn't that old, probably the same age as Song Ahra herself, and he was handsome enough but his lips were curved into a cocky smirk. The kind of smirk someone would have if they knew they were going to get away with something.

“She says he's the leader. It's a whole syndicate, Himchan, operating right out of that club, and they're involved in everything from gambling to smuggling weapons and trafficking drugs, people even sometimes.” Yongguk ran his fingers through his hair, then down the side of his face.

A knock came at the door and Himchan flipped the folder closer, then glanced back over his shoulder.

“Come in.” Yongguk said.

Daehyun pushed the door open, “I'm sorry to interrupt, but Jae found something else. It's about the flower in .”

Himchan set the profile down on Yongguk's desk beside the interview transcript and together both he and Yongguk followed Daehyun back out into the main room under the vine canopy where the television screens displayed photo after photo of bodies found with Wolfsbane in their mouths.

“Jesus Christ...” Himchan grimaced and Daehyun nodded.

“There are twenty-four known cases over the past century in Busan and the surrounding areas of bodies found with these flowers in their mouths, and each victim is connected to a criminal organisation operating down there called Golden Lotus.” Youngjae explained, “There hasn't been a body found like this in over twenty years, everyone assumed they went out of business or broke up or something, but...”

“No one else's mouths have been sewn shut.” Junhong added and Himchan nodded. He looked over every face. Most of them were men, and the blood spilling from their chests showed most too were shot, or stabbed, nothing like the murder of their victim.

“It could be a copy-cat.” Daehyun suggested, and Youngjae turned to give him a skeptical look.

“Or it could be a reformation.”

“One thing is for sure, though. It's not a signature.” Himchan said, “It's a message.”

“A message of what?” Daehyun asked and Himchan turned towards him.

“That is what Jongup and I are going to Busan to find out.” He was already pulling his coat from where it had been slung over the back of his chair.

“Right now?” Daehyun didn't sound so sure, “Hyung we don't know anything about these guys, you don't even have a gun.”

“I don't do guns.” Himchan responded as Jongup followed him to his feet and began to gather his own things. He slung his coat over one arm, tucked his laptop under the other.

“These guys are serious, Himchan, you don't know what they're capable of.” Daehyun tried but Himchan just cast him a confident smile.

“Guess I'll have to be extra charming then.” He replied, “Bbang, you'll tell Sun we're on our way, yeah?”

Yongguk nodded. He stood with his arms folded over his chest a few metres behind Junhong, “I'll let her know you're in the area. We'll organise accommodation for you, too.”

Himchan nodded his thanks and slipped his coat on, then turned to face Jongup, “You ready?” He asked.

“As I'll ever be.”