Kutsuna Shiori crossed her legs as she looked around at the customers filling the café where she worked as a part timer. Her boss was happily chatting with a little guy that was filling one of the seats placed outside of the café. Slightly bored, Shiori stood up and walked towards the MP3 player machine. She stuffed some coins into it and started searching for the song she wanted to hear.

 

“Not the same Korean song again, Shiori-chan???” her boss said as he walked passed her. Shiori grinned.

 

“Old habit, boss…” she commented. The man shook his head and left her. She continued to search for her favorite song again but stopped when someone tapped her.

 

“Gomen, Shiori-chan!!! I’m a bit late!!!” her co-worker said, tapping her hands together, as though praying for her to be forgiven by Shiori. Narrowing her eyebrows, Shiori tapped her wrist watch.

 

“Not just a bit late…you are for one hour already!!!” she said, pretending to be mad. The girl grinned and started hugging Shiori.

 

“Ah…you should be more understanding…I can’t come early today because my boyfriend is at my place…you know that we rarely get to be together…his college is too far away and when he is here, I just need to have this pleasant with him…” she said to Shiori who at once pushed her away. The girl laughed upon seeing Shiori’s red face.

 

“Stop with that juicy story of yours…just go and get ready with your shift!!!” Shiori said to her, blushing madly. She pulled off her apron and passed it to the girl that was still laughing madly at her reaction. She saluted Shiori and left. Shaking her head, Shiori went back to look for her song. She found it and clicked it to play. The sweet, retro feeling swept the café. Smiling, Shiori walked back towards the counter, satisfied with the mood surrounding the café.

 

“Shiori-chan!!! Your bag!!!” her friend shouted, throwing the bag to her. Shiori caught it and waved her hand at her.

 

“Ding dong!!!” the shop’s bell rang and a very tall boy walked in. Everyone fixed their eyes on him, stunned with his good look. Lee Jung Shin ignored them and walked on, earphones stuffed in his ears.

 

“Thanks!!!” Shiori mouthed to her friend. She turned her body around, heading towards the door. Her eyes caught Jung Shin, who was heading towards the counter. Jung Shin caught her face too. Glaring at each others, they walked passed each others. A familiar feeling crept inside them. Jung Shin titled his head to his right side as he looked to his back, staring at Shiori’s back.

 

“That’s weird…I don’t know anybody in Japan…” he mumbled as he sat at one of seats around the counter. He tore his eyes off Shiori. Shiori titled her head to her left side as she looked to her back, staring at Jung Shin’s back.

 

“That’s weird…I don’t know any boys like him…” she mumbled as she pushed the door and walked outside. She shrugged and stopped walking.

 

“Wait a minute…” she said, remembering Jung Shin as the boy she had earlier bumped into this morning. It wasn’t hard to remember him; he is way too tall for anyone Shiori had known in her life.

 

“Ah…” she said, chuckling at the thought.

 

“Shiori!!!” …and she looked up to see the man that was running towards her. A smile lit up her face.

 

“Dad!!!” she said, running into his arms. Laughing, they talked as they walked towards the car. Inside the café, Jung Shin ordered his drink. He pulled off his earphones and started to search for the paper inside his pocket.

 

“Excuse me…” Jung Shin said to the girl that was standing behind the counter. She looked up and a broad smile appeared on her face the moment her eyes caught sight of Jung Shin. Jung Shin almost rolled his eyes; this was the typical reaction he received from any girls that he met. Trying to be polite since he wanted to ask for help, he returned her smile slightly.

 

“Can you please tell me where this place is???” he asked her. The girl was Shiori’s friend earlier. She leaned closer to look at the paper.

 

 

“I think it is two blocks away from this café…but this club closed during the day…it only open at night…I heard there are lots of dangerous business happened there…you should stay away from this club…” she replied Jung Shin, lowering her voice a little when she mentioned about the dangerous business the club handled. Jung Shin raised an eyebrow at her.

 

“I see…thanks for that reminder…” he commented, winking at her. She chuckled and stood straight up once again.

 

“Can I get you anything???” she asked him, checking his whole appearance this time. Something about Jung Shin’s long hair that was tied up in a bun, his black clothes and black guitar case, gave her an aura that she shouldn’t be messing around him. She shrugged and reminded herself that kind of boys appeared a lot around Shinjuku. Most of them are underground musicians and of course, they loved to appear in black attire. Mysterious and cool, so they thought. But Jung Shin’s cold stare and deep voice made him stood out from the rest of those typical musicians. In face, if she wasn’t mistake, Jung Shin wasn’t somebody that was born in Japan. The way he talked, it was a bit weird for Japanese people.

 

“Nope…I will just sit there for a while…but bring me a glass of cold water, please…” he answered her and pointed to a little table that was facing the back of the café. That spot was a little hidden from the rest of café spot. She nodded. Jung Shin walked on. As she watched him, she titled her head to one side. Something about Jung Shin clicked her mind.

 

“Why do I feel like I am talking to Shiori??? Their faces…almost identical…” she mumbled to herself. Shrugging again, she moved to get the cold water that was ordered by Jung Shin earlier. Jung Shin sat down on his chosen spot. He was now closer to the MP3 player machine. As he lowered down his guitar case next to his chair, he straightened up his body, tensed. He listened to the song carefully. Gulping, he found himself immersed in his past.

 

“Oh, come on now…do we have to listen to this song everyday???” asked Mrs Lee as she walked into the living room, wiping her hands with her apron, glaring at her husband. At her glare, Mr Lee laughed out loud, his laughter mixed up with his son’s laugh, Jung Shin. Both of the men playfully high fiving each others. Jung In, the little girl in that house, walked to her mother and hugged her legs.

 

“I like this song, mama…” she told her, flashing her white teeth at her. Mrs Lee rolled her eyes.

 

“Great!!! Now, even Jung In had fallen for this stupid song!!!” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. Again, the two men roared with laughter. Mrs Lee picked up her little daughter and held her in her arms.

 

“Shall we go out??? We don’t have to stay inside and be the jokes target from those two guys over there???” she asked Jung In. Jung In grinned and nodded. Hearing his mother, Jung Shin jumped down from the couch and ran to her.

 

“I want to come too!!! I want too!!!” he shrieked, jumping on his feet. Mr Lee smiled at his son.

 

“Very well!!!” he said and stood up, then ran to his wife and started jumping around, circling her and his children.

 

“Dad wanna come too!!! Daddy wanna come too!!! Bring daddy too!!!” he mimicked Jung Shin in a little voice. Jung Shin followed and they jumping and running around Mrs Lee. Jung In laughed and she struggled to go down on her feet again so that she can join them. Mrs Lee laughed. She put down Jung In and grabbed her husband by his t-shirt collar. He was jerked back and chuckled.

 

“I can’t come???” he asked his wife, battling his eyelashes, asking to be pitied. Mrs Lee smiled widely at him.

 

“Nope…you can come…because you know what???” she answered him and asked him back at the same.

 

“WHAT???” three voices replied her. Jung Shin held Jung In’s hand while she held her father’s hand.

 

“Because you three are my favorite people in this world!!! And we all shall be together forever!!!” she answered with a loud voice.

 

“YAY!!!” Jung Shin and Jung In cheered in union. Mr Lee picked his wife up his hands and swirled her around. She shrieked, asking to be put down again but he ignored her, still swirling her around. Laughing and cheering, Jung Shin hugged Jung In around her back.

 

“Jung In-ah…do you love oppa???” he asked her. Jung In nodded.

 

“Um!!! Jung In love oppa the most!!!” she answered with a wide grin. Jung Shin grinned too. Yeah, he love Jung In too. She was the little sister he had always dreamt to have. The sweet, retro melody that was played around in the living room, the one that his mother hated was actually the song that brought his parents together. It was the song that symbolized their love story. And now, it was the song of their family. Everyone loves it. His parents love it. Jung In love it. Jung Shin love it too. He love it the most.

 

Now, how can he ever forget that melody? Jung Shin sprang to his feet. As thought he had woken up from a long, deep sleeping, he looked around the café, searching. He was in Japan. There couldn’t be such coincidence that people here would listened to Korean songs. Okay, they might be. But this café was full with youngsters. Surely, they would picked up songs like Super Junior’s, FT Island’s, CN Blue’s, Shinee and whatever Korean’s heartthrob nowadays. No way would they listen to something as old as this song. Jung Shin’s heart told him that Jung In was here. She had picked up that song. Scanning the café again, he tried to search for a familiar face. He hadn’t seen her for 17 years but hey, she is his sister. He would recognize her instantly. But no. No such face or no such girl. The earlier memories played again in his mind. With tears filling his eyes, Jung Shin walked hurriedly to the counter. He grabbed the man that was standing there.

 

“Who picked this song??? Hurry!!! Tell me!!! Who picked this song???” he asked the man, shaking his whole body violently. The man, Shiori’s boss was jerked to front and back again with Jung Shin’s force.

 

“Sh…Shiori…she is my worker…” he answered Jung Shin, almost choked as his eyes rolled and his chest expanded, in need for air. Jung Shin released him. He wiped his tears away and glanced at the girl that was talking to him earlier. She was watching him with confusion, her hand gripping a glass. It couldn’t be her, Jung Shin thought.

 

“Are you Shiori???” but he still asked, not giving up any hopes to meet his little sister.

 

“No, I’m not…Shiori had left…her shift ended already…” she answered him at once, throwing a glance at her boss, who, still gasping for air as he patted his chest. Jung Shin looked back at the road outside the café. His mind flashed to the girl that had walked passed her earlier, the one with long, shiny black hair and round eyes.

 

“Are you okay???” she heard the girl asked him. Ignoring her, Jung Shin ran to his seat and grabbed his guitar case. Then, he ran towards the door and exited the café. He glanced from right to left, trying to search for the girl he had seen earlier. He had almost given up when he saw, at the end of the road on his left, a girl had stepped into a car with a middle-aged man. Jung Shin gulped. He slung his guitar case properly on his shoulder and sprinted towards the car.

 

“Jung In-ah!!!” he yelled for her. The car had started to move away. Jung Shin increased his speed.

 

“Lee Jung In!!!” he yelled again, this time louder. All passer by stopped when he sprinted among them. But he was never fast compared to the car. It was zooming away at high speed the moment Jung Shin reached the corner. Panting and gasping, Jung Shin stopped running. He watched the car, trying to read the plate number but it was too faraway for his eyesight. He sighed and groaned. Jung Shin threw himself on the ground, sitting as he continued to gasp for air. Frustration built up inside of him.

 

“JUNG IN-AHHHHH!!!” he screamed on top of his lungs. Seriously, he needed to know. In the car, suddenly, Shiori looked back on her seat. She stared ahead and blinked her eyes.

 

“Something wrong, my dear???” asked her father. Mr Kutsuna glanced sideway at her. Shiori looked to the front and leaned on her seat. She shook her head slowly, as thought she was deep in her own thought.

 

“I just thought I heard someone calling me…” she answered him with a soft voice. Mr Kutsuna smiled.

 

“No one is calling you…we are inside our car…you wouldn’t even hear anything if someone did call for you…” he reminded her. Shiori looked at him and smiled. She nodded at him. She found herself acting weird again. First, when she had bumped into that tall guy with long, wavy black hair. Then, when she decided to listen to that old Korean song and now, here. She was pretty sure she heard someone called her. The thing was, that someone wasn’t calling her as Shiori. He had called her with a different name. She was definitely clueless why she had responded to that name at all. A name that she hadn’t clearly heard and man, how can she knew that someone was a man too, she had no idea how and why. But she did know. And just like that. She knew it.

 

“Found anything so far???” asked his colleague as he sat down on his seat, next to Jung Yong Hwa’s desk. Yong Hwa, who was leaning against his seat with his eyes closed, shook his head in response.

 

“Nope!!! As usual, they managed to slip away again…and damn it!!! The evidences weren’t siding on us as well…” Yong Hwa answered as his eyes snapped opened. He sat upright as he glared at his computer screen. His colleague shifted his eyes on the screen too and sighed.

 

“You are too obsessed, Yong Hwa…calm down…this old man wouldn’t get away for long…that’s why this world has got people like us…we work for justice on people like him…” he said to Yong Hwa, pointing to the man on the screen. Being working on Taiga Gang’s cases since he had been established as a police detective, Yong Hwa had put on old Master Kang’s picture as his wallpaper on the computer, the head boss of the gang. Everyone in his department knew he hated that old man to the point where he started to hunt and profiling all the men that related to him. Since Yong Hwa walked into their department, they now had clear ideas on who were working under Master Kang and his partners in term of businesses. All thanks to Yong Hwa’s perfect hunting on the information. But things always seems to go wrong whenever they managed to slip in one or two informers within that gang in the hope they could send in good information on the gang that would help the police to catch them all. All of those cases of missing, killing and so on were related to Master Kang’s right hand man. A tough guy named Lee Jong Hyun.

 

“Huh…don’t make me laugh…if it isn’t for this guy, I bet Taiga Gang had long gone for the best...” Yong Hwa answered him as he threw a thick file towards him. The man caught the file and flipped it opened. Reading the name and looking at the picture, he groaned.

 

“Lee Jong Hyun…you are right…he is a mess…a big mess…” he agreed with Yong Hwa, pressing on the word ‘big’. Jong Hyun was a perfect match for Yong Hwa in this war between good versus bad. If Yong Hwa was good in hunting, Jong Hyun was brilliant in secrecy. The closer the police got to the gang, the farther he pulled the gang away. Yong Hwa snatched back the file and threw it on his desk.

 

“I will need to rewrite the information for him…I got one new thing about him today…” he told his colleague. Interested, the man raised his eyebrow and leaned closer to Yong Hwa.

 

“What was it???” he asked in a whisper. Yong Hwa smirked.

 

“He enjoys watching historical drama rather than sitcom…that was why his humors are so bad…” he answered. His colleague rolled his eyes. He stood up fast and smacked Yong Hwa’s head. Yong Hwa laughed madly at his reaction. His colleague walked away, cursing under his breath. But then, he stopped walking and turned around to look at Yong Hwa again.

 

“By the way, who is Mikako???” he asked him. That question put a stop on Yong Hwa’s laughter. Abruptly, he looked back and stared at his colleague with sharp eyes.

 

“How did you know that name???” he asked him back. The latter stared back with concerned in his eyes.

 

“Well, you called that name while you are asleep…so, I was merely curious…who is she???” he answered and at the same time, pressing a question again. Yong Hwa groaned. He stood up and walked passed the man.

 

“No one…don’t bother asking again…” he replied him. Yong Hwa grabbed his coat on his way out and exited without looking back. His colleague stared at him in confusion.

 

“I heard you were saying Mikako just now, right???” asked a small man that was sitting on a desk in front of Yong Hwa’s. The other man looked at him and nodded.

 

“Well, I only knew one girl with a name like that…I think Yong Hwa knows her too…maybe that was why she appeared in his dream…you know he is a workaholic…he hated all those unsolved files…” he told the latter.

 

“Who is she??? The one you are talking about…” the latter asked again.

 

“Tabe Mikako…a girl who had gone missing 6 years ago…her case wasn’t solved yet…she disappeared just like that…” answered the little man.

 

“I see…” the latter commented and he glanced at Yong Hwa’s desk. Sure enough, next to the pilling up files on Taiga Gang, a purple colored file with a tag ‘TABE MIKAKO – missing’ was lying on his desk.

 

Jong Hyun blew out air from his mouth. It wasn’t really the best activity in his life, but for the sake of his little brother, he would really have to do it. He looked to his right and sighed.

 

“Yah!!! How long do you think before you can be fully satisfied with that clothes???” he asked Kang Min Hyuk, irritated that he spent almost 4 hours already just to shop for clothes. Min Hyuk clicked his tongue, clearly unhappy with his question.

 

“Ah, hyung!!! Can’t you just wait??? I really need to look good for tonight…” Min Hyuk answered Jong Hyun as he scanned his own reflection at the mirror, first looking at his back, then at his front and then at his sides. He was now wearing a white colored leather jacket with a black shirt under it, paired up with a faded colored jean. Behind him, stood four other men, each one of them was holding pairs of clothes, for Min Hyuk to test them again. Jong Hyun sighed.

 

“I hate shopping!!!” he said under his breath, not bothering to say it in a lower voice. Min Hyuk glared at him.

 

“Wait till you are in love…you will definitely be acting like me…ne???” he commented before he titled his head to look at one of his body guards that was holding his clothes. That man remained expressionless as he nodded his head in response. Jong Hyun chuckled at his reaction.

 

“Yeah…even him disagreed with you…” Jong Hyun commented while Min Hyuk shook his head.

 

“You guys are seriously no fun…” he commented back. Jong Hyun chuckled. He started counting the stripes on the clothes that was hanging before him. A bell rang and someone walked into the shop.

 

“Hello, miss…how we can help you???” the girl that was standing at the door greeted the customer that had just entered.

 

“My father’s birthday is coming…can you help me by recommending some new design suits for him???” asked the customer. Her voice was very soft and she sounded too polite. Jong Hyun shook his head.

 

“Of course…only rich girls will enter this kind of expensive shops…” he commented. Crossing his arms, he turned around to look at the girl. Her face was hidden from his view as she had her back on him. Wearing a pink colored blouse with a matching pink colored knee-length skirt, Jong Hyun concluded that she was some kind of Barbie-type girls. You know, the plastic type with a historical beauty. She had a shoulder length black hair. Well, that hair wasn’t Barbie-typed. Barbie was supposed to be blonde. But come again, she is Japanese. Not American. Maybe she didn’t like blonde. Okay, who cares? Jong Hyun thought as he continued to watch the girl. The sales girl in that shop started pointing to some new design suits and she started walking towards them. The customer, the Barbie-like girl, turned around and followed her. It was very lucky for Jong Hyun that he was standing with his hand rested on the wall. If not, he would probably have fallen down on the floor. The impact of shocked, from seeing the girl’s face caused him to feel dizzy. With his jaw hung opened, he held on to the wall, so that his weight can be supported while his legs uselessly tried to stand properly. Weak and stunned, Jong Hyun used his eyes to follow the girl’s movement. The way she walked was too graceful and the way she talked was too beautiful. She might have been an angel but was sent down to earth. Not one girl can be as stunningly pretty as her, Jong Hyun thought. Barbie-like girl smiled at something that was said by the sales girl and with that smile, Jong Hyun lost his last strength. He landed flat on his back, down on the floor.

 

“Aniki!!!” his men screamed at once and the clothes they were holding were flying around the shop as they ran towards him. Even Min Hyuk, who was inside the fitting room came running outside, with only his jeans on and no shirt.

 

“Hyung!!!” Min Hyuk called and he kneeled down on the floor beside Jong Hyun. Jong Hyun blinked his eyes.

 

“Are you okay???” Min Hyuk pressed on, as he lifted Jong Hyun to sit up. Again, with a blank mind Jong Hyun blinked his eyes at Min Hyuk.

 

“Aniki!!!” once again, in union, his men called him and they all kneeled down in a circle around him.

 

“I…I…” Jong Hyun tried to form words, to tell them that he was fine and this sudden act by him wasn’t something that he intended to do. His body failed to respond to his. It reacted stupidly when his eyes caught the Barbie-like girl’s smile.

 

“Tap! Tap! Tap!” they all heard sound of heels nearing them.

 

“Are you alright???” Jong Hyun’s ears caught that beautiful voice. He looked up and stunned again as his eyes met the Barbie-like girl’s eyes. Her round, bright eyes were staring deep into his own dreamy eyes. Unable to blink or breath, he just stared at her, hoping that someone would stop the time so that he can stare into those eyes forever.

 

“I don’t think he is alright…” Jong Hyun heard Min Hyuk answered for him. Min Hyuk waved his hands a few times before Jong Hyun’s eyes. Annoyed that he was blocking the girl from his view, Jong Hyun groaned and hastily stood up straight, causing his men to stand up straight again in union. They rested their hands on their backs, as thought they were waiting for orders. Jong Hyun still kept his eyes on the girl. She too was locking her eyes on him. Slowly, Min Hyuk stood up. He cleared his throat. Standing in between Jong Hyun and the girl, he chuckled.

 

“I’m sorry for my brother’s stupid act, Miss Horikita…” Min Hyuk said to the girl, lowering down his head a bit as he offered an apology. Horikita Maki switched her gazes from Jong Hyun to Min Hyuk and she offered him a smile.

 

“Apology accepted, Mr Kang…” she replied him, lowering her head down too. Jong Hyun looked from Min Hyuk to Maki and then back to Min Hyuk again.

 

“You…you…know…Min Hyuk???” he tried throwing a question to Maki but failed with his stammering. Blushed, Jong Hyun looked away. Maki smiled again, this time at Jong Hyun.

 

“Of course…he is our famous Prince Kang back at our college…” she answered Jong Hyun. Jong Hyun looked back at her with his head turned so fast, Min Hyuk could have sworn he heard his neck cracked.

 

“I see…you two went to the same college…” Jong Hyun commented, this time successfully forming words. Relief washed all over his body. Min Hyuk chuckled when he read the expression on Jong Hyun’s face.

 

“Meet my brother, Lee Jong Hyun…hyung, this is Miss Horikita…” Min Hyuk introduced them to one another. Maki held out her hand at Jong Hyun who grabbed it at once. It was like being introduced to the mayor. Jong Hyun gripped her hand tightly and was shaking it up and down like they were sealing a deal.

 

“Horikita Maki…” Maki introduced her full name, laughing a little when she had to release her hand from Jong Hyun’s grip. Blushing again, Jong Hyun can only responded by nodding his head.

 

“Oh…why is it that your name is Lee??? I thought you two are brothers…shouldn’t you be Kang too???” Maki asked him, ignoring the fact that he was burning all over his body.

 

“Ah…that’s because I’m an adoptive son for the Kang’s family…however, our father wanted me to use my family name so…that’s why I am Lee and he is Kang…” he answered her, gaining confident when he caught Min Hyuk signaling to him that he should keep up with the conversation. Maki nodded, understanding the matter at last.

 

“Well…I’m glad you are alright now…sorry, but I need to leave first…” Maki said, excusing herself. She gave Jong Hyun another bright smile that almost knocked him off his feet again. Luckily, this time, Min Hyuk had supported his back. While Maki turned around to walk off towards the door, Min Hyuk had helped him to stand back properly again.

 

“Auw, hyung!!! Be a gentleman…not a sissy one!!!” Min Hyuk warned him. Turning his head at Maki once again, Min Hyuk called her.

 

“Ano, Miss Horikita…” …Maki turned around.

 

“Yes…” she said.

 

“There will be a party tonight under my faculty…do you think you can and join it???” Min Hyuk asked her. Jong Hyun glared at him, unable to believe that he was actually hitting on his pretty girl right before his eyes.

 

“Em…I don’t know…I will try asking my dad if I can come…but thanks for inviting me…” she answered Min Hyuk. With a bow, she turned around and walked off. Min Hyuk turned to look at Jong Hyun. He crossed his arms, giving him a business like stare.

 

“What???” Jong Hyun asked him.

 

“Explain!!!” Min Hyuk ordered him, his hand pointing to the floor, indicating that he was asking about why he was earlier laying with his back down there. Jong Hyun raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“Why don’t young master explain to me first why he was standing in front of Miss Horikita earlier without no shirt on and purposely asking her to attend the party that he worked so hard to actually look good for it???” Jong Hyun asked him back. Min Hyuk gasped. He looked down on his chest. Sure enough, he was shirtless.

 

“Aish!!!” Min Hyuk said, groaning and he sprinted back into the changing room, slamming the door as hard as he can behind him. Jong Hyun pouted.

 

“Miss Horikita…” he breathed her name under his breath.

 

Jung Shin sat at the bar. He looked to his back passed his shoulder as he scanned the crowded club. Girls were pole dancing in the middle of the dance floor, earning loud cheering from men that surrounded them in a circle. It was like how bees were buzzing around the honey. Not interested in that area, Jung Shin shifted his gazes to the second floor of the club. People were gambling there and almost at the back of it, light were dimmed out. Jung Shin expected it to be the VIP’s area. There might be some butterflies there, girls that were serving old and rich men. Jung Shin chuckled.

 

“All the good things in life for men are in this club, huh???” asked a man as he sat down next to Jung Shin. Jung Shin looked at him.

 

“Money, and drinks…” the man concluded, waving three fingers at him. Jung Shin nodded.

 

“Jung Yong Hwa…” the man introduced himself. Jung Shin cracked a grin at him.

 

“Lee…” he introduced himself back but not willing enough to trust this stranger that he will introduce his full name to him.

 

“Ah…are you related to the boss of this club???” Yong Hwa asked him. Jung Shin shook his head.

 

“Nope…I am new here…I mean, not just in this club…I am new in Japan too…I’m from China…” Jung Shin answered him, offering a little truth and a little lie. Yong Hwa nodded. Apparently, Yong Hwa knew that this guy wasn’t an ordinary customer for the club. He had been looking for Lee Jong Hyun since he arrived but when this guy stepped in, something told Yong Hwa that he was something. He had taken Jung Shin as a subject for his eyes scanning and so, while scanning, he realized that Jung Shin too was actually doing some scanning himself. Sat at the end of the bar, hidden from the eyes of guards, this Lee was pretending to be drinking alone but his eyes kept scanning the club passed his shoulders.

 

“On business???” Yong Hwa asked again. Jung Shin shook his head.

 

“Looking for a missing relative…” he answered, again, offering a little truth and a little lie. Jung Shin knew that this Jung Yong Hwa wasn’t an ordinary man. He suspected him to be an investigator. He could be a detective, a prosecutor, a gang member for the club or an assassin like him too. Usually, people won’t notice Jung Shin unless he wanted to make himself noticeable. Tonight, he definitely was doing his phantom acts again when he decided to check out the club. But this man somehow managed to hunt his movements. Not trusting anyone, Jung Shin started to play his poker face.

 

“Are you regular???” this time, Jung Shin asked. Yong Hwa took a long minute to answer him.

 

“Quite…but I dealt more with the back office…” he answered him. Jung Shin raised an eyebrow.

 

“I see…” and he nodded his head, like he understood what Yong Hwa had meant by ‘dealt more with the back office’ phrases. Yong Hwa tried to read his expression while he remained expressionless. But in truth, Jung Shin knew he was lying. Someone that was dealing with the back office wouldn’t be saying it directly like him. Nope. Drug dealer usually would be cautious. Come on, a new face in the club, looking for a missing relative, alone by himself. If Yong Hwa was really someone that deal with the ‘dark business’, he wouldn’t be too trusting towards new faces like Jung Shin. Not especially if he thought Jung Shin as a detective or undercover police. At that time, before either of them could speak again, the lights at the club were dimmed out.

 

“What happened???” Jung Shin asked but he heard Yong Hwa groaned next to him. It clicked to Jung Shin then that he indeed wasn’t someone from that club. If he was regular or close to the people in this club, he wouldn’t be groaning like that as thought he didn’t know what to expect when the lights were dimmed like this. Yong Hwa bites his lips after he groaned. His cover must have been blown. Because he saw Jung Shin stared at him with a little smirk that wiped back almost a second after that smirk appeared on his face, to remain expressionless. Cursing under his breath, Yong Hwa scolded himself for being too stupid that he couldn’t even maintain his posture as an undercover within 15 minutes talking to this stranger. In the middle of the dance floor, a stage appeared. Indeed, this club was very high class. Even the gadgets and services were different from any other clubs around Shinjuku. Yong Hwa thought to himself, ignoring the fact that he was still sitting with Jung Shin. Jung Shin was looking at the stage too. A tall, slender girl with long, shiny black hair walked towards the stage. Judging from the way she walked, Jung Shin concluded that she was the one that will be performing on that stage. In the almost absolute darkness, he doubted that she was wearing any clothes on her. But then, as she appeared closer to the lights shining on the stage, he saw that she was wearing very little and fluffy things to cover the little parts of her body. In fact, he wasn’t sure if that kind of clothing could be called as clothes too. It was too revealing, like she was half . She stopped walking in the middle of the stage. Her face was still hidden as her long hair curtained her face. Few girls walked in after her and they stood around her. Back up dancers. Nice. Jung Shin stood up. He needed to stay away from this. Strip dancing was never his thing.

 

“Please welcome…our new singing and dancing goddess…Miss Kobayashi!!!” the DJ at the music booth announced. Everyone clapped their hands and the lights were back but this time, it was being flashed here and there, changed from red to blue then to purple and so on. Jung Shin stood still, trying to adjust his eyes to the lightning. Music started and he looked back at the stage.

 

“Korean song???” he commented unknowingly. Yong Hwa heard him. He too turned his head towards the stage. The singer, the goddess of the club, started singing to the rhythm.

 

Do it right! You are such a bad boy!

Rather than love, you only have curiosity…

 

She flipped her long hair to the back and Yong Hwa gasped when the light shone on her face. The girl had big, round eyes. She had long, pointed nose with a little lip that curved perfectly with her face. As she danced, Yong Hwa found himself unable to take his eyes away from her face. That face. That reminded him to someone else.

 

Because of you, I’ve been fooled the entire time…

 

Suddenly, she pointed her finger at Yong Hwa. Yong Hwa stared at her. She smiled.

 

You are boring, no manners…

 You are a devil, devil you are…

 

She sang, still with her eyes on Yong Hwa. Then, she moved back towards the center of the stage, in the middle of her dancers.

 

So many men that are in your phone…

Are girls with only one letter changed…

The perfume smell that is sickening to my nose…

Tell me whose it is…

 

Unknowingly, Yong Hwa stepped through the crowded people, leaving Jung Shin to stand alone in the corner. He pushed his ways among the buzzing and cheering of the people until at last, he reached the spot where he can see the singer’s face clearly.

 

You didn’t fix that terrible habit of seeing people behind my back?

No matter how much you run, you are still in my hands…

 

She sang. Like she knew that Yong Hwa was now standing closer to the stage, she turned her body around to dance right before Yong Hwa.

 

You better run, run, run, run, run…

I can’t stand seeing you anymore, I’ll kick you away…

You better run, run, run, run, run…

Even if you grab hold of me, I’ll ignore you, hey!!!

 

Exactly at that minute, Jong Hyun and Min Hyuk stepped into the club.

 

“Urgh…I don’t like this…” Min Hyuk commented, closing his ears as the loud voices reached his eardrums. Jong Hyun glanced sideway at him.

 

“Come on…” he said and he urged Min Hyuk to follow him. Jung Shin spotted them and quickly recognized Jong Hyun.

 

“So that is him…” he muttered as his eyes followed Jong Hyun’s steps.

 

On the day that I became a great person…

I’ll get my revenge, don’t you forget it…

 

The singer sang and she smirked at that part as once again, she pointed to Yong Hwa then to herself and then waving her fingers, signaling the ‘don’t’ sign at him. Yong Hwa groaned and he looked away.

 

“Who are you???” he muttered.

 

“Who is who???” Jong Hyun asked, appeared suddenly on Yong Hwa’s left. Yong Hwa jumped and he looked at him at once. Jong Hyun ignored his staring and kept his eyes on the singer. She smiled and moved away, to dance again in the middle of the stage.

 

“Who are you talking to, hyung???” asked Min Hyuk, finally caught up with Jong Hyun. He stood behind him but his eyes were staring at Yong Hwa in wonder.

 

“Who is this???” asked Yong Hwa at Jong Hyun, shifting his eyes to Min Hyuk. Min Hyuk rolled his eyes.

 

“Who are you, then???” he asked Yong Hwa directly. As the loud cheering from the people wrapped the three of them, Jung Shin stood with his arms crossed together. He smirked.

 

“Well…well…well…isn’t this exciting…who the hell are three of you???” he asked to the hot dance floor with no one answering him. Sure enough, he will find the answer by himself. With his wrist watch, he took a picture of the three figures he met tonight. He looked again at them properly when he had lowered down his hand. One, the youngest one was looking at the Jung guy with curiosity while the Lee, the one that Jung Shin will have business to attend to was exchanging dagger stares with the Jung.

 

You better run, run, run, run, run…

 

Everyone in the club sang.

 

You got caught, you teased me…

 

The singer sang, this time pointing first time Yong Hwa, then to Jong Hyun, next to Min Hyuk and finally towards Jung Shin. Jung smiled and he nodded his head.

 

“Run devil, devil, run, run~~~” Jung Shin sang along. His cell phone beeped. He looked at it.

 

“Show time…” he mumbled as he stuffed his phone away. He turned around and walked towards the door.

 

Erina Mano found herself being dragged into the hall by her two friends. She rolled her eyes when they screamed as they stood at the entrance door. Well, practically. No one paid attention to their screaming since it was only a very silent screaming. Huh. Lame, Erina thought.

 

“This is the paradise of handsome and rich boys!!!” Kaori said, her eyes looked from the left to the right in a very fast mode that Erina thought she was watching tennis game right before her eyes.

 

“Ah…I would be more than willing to die if such paradise do exist…” commented Ady, who too was gawking at the boys around the hall. Erina clicked her tongue and shook her head.

 

“This isn’t a party set by our faculty!!! We are not supposed to be here!!!” Erina hissed at them. Ady glared at her.

 

“Who cares??? They don’t ask for our student cards, right??? Let’s just crash it!!!” Ady hissed back at her. Erina opened to say something back but she was being hushed by Kaori.

 

“Shhh!!! The boys are looking at us now…smile…” she told them with a whisper and then flashed her smile at the boys. Ady too, immediately arranged her face to look stunning with her no-doubt pretty smile. The boys smiled back at them and they walked to the girls.

 

“Hi, there…” one of them greeted the girls. They bowed their heads and the girls returned it back. Well, as a matter of fact just Kaori and Ady did. Erina remained as statue.

 

“Erk…Erina…smile and bow, please…” Ady said to her. She pinched Erina on her arm. She gasped. Glaring at Ady, she cleared . She looked to the boys, grinned and bowed.

 

“Excuse me…” immediately, Erina excused herself. She didn’t like being in this kind of party. In fact, she didn’t like to be the center of attention, more if she was the subject of boys. Walking as fast as she could, with no idea where she could go, Erina tried to find a spot where people wouldn’t come and speak to her or a spot where she wouldn’t have to mingle with people too. She saw an exit door at the side of the hall and hurriedly exited.

 

“Fuh!!!” she said, letting go of a very long, relief sigh. She looked at her watch. It was almost 10 pm. Wondering when she would be able to get home, she cursed inside her heart at her two friends. They had tricked her saying that they needed to have urgent books from the library, causing her to agree and came with them to the campus so that they could sneaked into the library and have they books they wanted. Now, she didn’t have any transport or any money to go home with.

 

“Great…just great…” Erina mumbled. Sighing again, she started walking along the corridor. This was the first time she had came to the Business Faculty. She was the student under Literature and Language Faculty. The two faculties were built far apart from each others, causing her to never set foot in here. Curious, Erina walked on.

 

“This fac is quite big…” she mumbled again. At the end of the corridor, she stopped. There was a large board pasted on the wall. There were pictures of students under that faculty pasted on the board. Here and there, there were captions under those photos like ‘Orientation Day’, ‘Fieldwork in Yokohama’, ‘Valentine’s Day’ and so on. Erina smiled at the photos. Business students were known for their active sides. Compared with Literature students like Erina, they were more passive and seems to like keeping the company among themselves. She looked on. Then, her eyes stopped looking when they landed on another caption.

 

PRINCE KANG!!!

 

Erina narrowed her eyes. This caption had taken almost half of the board. There were too many snapshots of Kang Min Hyuk pasted on it. Those shots, probably taken when the so-called Prince were ignorant and clueless that he seems to be looking somewhere else but definitely not to the camera. There was a picture where he was burying his head down on the book, reading. Next, there was a picture of him laughing at some jokes made by his friends. There was also a picture where he was presenting his task to the class. Picture of him while he was eating at the café, picture of him waiting under the sun for his driver, picture of him walking along the corridor, picture of him talking on the phone, picture of him sitting down on some benches, listening to some music and there was also picture of him as he sneezed. At that, Erina chuckled.

 

“Seriously???” she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. Does girls actually thought he was so cool up until to the point when he was sneezing too? Wow! That was…was…so…exaggerating. Erina thought as she laughed when she saw the next picture. This time, Prince Kang was yawning. It looked really hideous that Erina couldn’t find any arts or lovely moments in it. But, something about those pictures were tugging Erina’s heart. Especially, the one where Min Hyuk was sitting next to a window, staring off space as he looked passed the window. The expression on his face was indescribable. There was longing in it. No, there was lonely. His eyes seems to be so stunningly depressed, lonely. Yet, softness and loveliness lingered in it too. As Erina stared at the picture, she suddenly reached out to touch it. Her fingers traced the outline of Min Hyuk’s face. She had no idea that he could have that expression on his face.

 

“Why do you look like that??? Aren’t you the luckiest guy in this world??? Rich, handsome, smart and very popular…why would you still look so lonely???” Erina asked the picture. Still, Min Hyuk remained in his position inside that still and stiff shot. Erina continued to pat the picture. The same tugging was filling her heart again. She sighed. Erina looked around the corridor. It was empty except for herself.

 

“Just this one…” she said. With a quick move, Erina pulled the picture off the board. She slipped it inside her bag. Erina smiled.

 

“Every girl can dream, right??? Just once, just this time…let me dream of you…Prince Kang…” Erina mumbled to herself.   

 

(A/N) Thank you for reading...sorry, I updated very, very late...got caught up with real life issues...hehehe...comments will be loved...thanks again~~~