Name, Jin Shiwon.

At least that was what Jinki went by for over the course of two years that three mystery novels, part of a series, The Cloaked Dagger, were published under that name. Now, his contract with Herald Publishing Co. was at the end and he wasn’t going to renew it. His stint as an author had ended… because the real Jin Shiwon had decided to retire.

And Jinki, who had been hired by Shiwon only to be his face and presence to deal with Herald Publishing Co., had made a good penny by strutting around as a crime mystery novelist. The man must be introverted with social anxiety issues, or perhaps old or with health conditions that didn’t allow him to handle public interactions, or just wanted to stay out of the limelight as much as he could. At least that was what Jinki had assumed, because he was only hired to deal with editors and company personnel and represent Shiwon in mandatory private events held within the company. Jin Shiwon did not have a public presence whatsoever. On Shiwon’s instructions, Jinki had refused all public and PR events such as book signings, author readings, interviews, and launch parties. Jin Shiwon was a mystery to his fans, so now that Jinki was breaking away from this identity, he would have no issues moving on with his actual life.

Does Herald have any private events coming up that I am required to attend?

Jinki glanced at the message in the draft folder that he had received from Jin Shiwon earlier on his mobile phone–not exactly his phone, as he had received it in the mail from Shiwon when he had agreed to the arrangement. Jinki had never met him and had found the gig through a vague-looking job ad in the newspaper. After a few emails had been exchanged, he had gotten this phone in the mail with all the instructions he needed.

The phone had nothing but an email app when it came in and he had kept it that way. With the credentials he received, he could access Shiwon’s email account–which Shiwon could obviously access too. The author left the manuscripts attached to draft emails, which Jinki went over before he forwarded them to the relevant personnel at Herald. He needed to read through them to understand their editor’s suggestions and questions, or as a matter of fact, deal with anyone else who would approach him regarding the book. So Jinki always read everything twice or thrice before he sent them. To keep the inbox clear, Shiwon and he communicated via draft emails only. This whole communicating-through-one-email-account thing was a bit cumbersome, but Shiwon had explained it was a measure he took to conceal a second person’s involvement in between and to minimize as many loose ends in this agreement as possible. Jinki hardly minded. As long as it worked, he could roll with it.

Jinki clicked ‘Compose’ and started writing his reply.

Yes. Since you don’t attend public events, Herald’s CEO Kwon Hyunjin is hosting a private, themed event in your honor, to celebrate the success of your series. He mentioned that it doubles as a farewell party since he’ll announce your retirement at dinner. The theme and dress code are from your books–1920s noir. Apparently, a murder mystery game is the highlight of the event. As for who will be there: Herald’s big names and authors. The CEO’s usual personal contacts too. No reporters. They sent a coupon to get a costume at Kibum’s studio. Neat, right? He designed the invite too. It’s fancy. The style matches your book covers. I wish I could show it to you.

Jinki had written down everything he knew about the event and clicked on ‘Save as draft’ before he lit himself a cigarette–from a customized gold case–a congratulatory present from the CEO himself. He left the phone on the couch and watched TV while he smoked it and when done, he snuffed it in the matching ashtray, twisting its end–a quirky habit of his. Glancing at the phone, he decided to refresh the inbox and check for a reply. As expected, a new draft was sitting in his drafts folder.

That does sound neat. Since it is in my honor, with a tight attendance, and no PR, you may attend. Enjoy yourself. It will be the last event you will attend as Jin Shiwon, after all.

Jinki felt overdressed in his 1920s-style, beige three-piece suit. To be honest, it didn’t seem much different than what people wore today, except for the accessories. Jinki could choose anything, so he chose a belt chain that was attached to a pocket watch. On the insistence of the store assistant at the store, he added a matching fedora hat to the ensemble. Well, he had to take it off anyway when he was inside, which he did. Thankfully, the hat hadn’t ruined much of his hair that the stylist had so painstakingly slicked back and tamed. He rarely dressed and cleaned up like this, so this experience felt good for a change.

The venue, as expected, was in line with the theme. Away from the city, a secluded vacation house of sorts slightly up in the mountains. It was an antique house–mansion, manor, or estate, as others were calling it–maintained or perhaps, decorated to give off the period ambiance. The owner was a family friend of their CEO, who was also the very owner of the luxury store that Jinki had gotten his 1920s noir makeover from earlier that afternoon. Kim Kibum.

Jinki had met Kibum a few times in similar private events arranged by Kwon Hyunjin. It was Hyunjin who had introduced Kibum to him, and out of all the people Jinki had met, Kibum was the only one who had been honest at the get-go to say he hadn’t read any of his (Shiwon’s) books. Yet, they had gotten along pretty well because crime mystery novels weren’t the only topic of conversation they could have. They talked about his fashion label and Kibum asked for his feedback on certain things, wanting to learn how his designs seemed in Jinki’s rather…laidback perspective.

It was something so out of Jinki’s usual playfield, but Jinki enjoyed those conversations nevertheless. He could never pass up a chance to learn and experience something new after all, and Kibum’s insightful conversations about his business certainly were interesting, especially because Jinki had plans to start one too someday. There was also the fact that Jinki hadn’t read enough to hold any deep, literary conversations. That was why, he always welcomed talking about other things, because everyone he encountered only ever talked about novels—or Shiwon’s novels, to be precise—and his time at these events often felt drab because of how redundant it was. But still, there were times Kibum and he debated over mystery fiction in general and Jinki had to admit Kibum made intelligent comments regarding it, even when he had read much less of it, compared to him. Kibum was quite a sharp man, after all. Talented and shrewd when it came to running his luxury label, amiable and graceful in social circles. The tabloids praised him rightfully and a glimpse of the real him proved it true.

“Shiwon!” Kibum had spotted Jinki entering after handing over his hat and coat to a staff member. Jinki smiled, turning to his call, immediately noticing his appearance. He was dressed in a well-fitted corduroy suit, the fabric a rich shade of something between maroon and purple, Jinki couldn’t say. What caught his attention immediately were yellow diamond cufflinks and the matching brooch on his tie. The ensemble suited him exquisitely. Even his hairstyle did. Permed and slicked to the side. Kibum offered his hand for a shake and a genuinely friendly, albeit small, smile. “The guest of honor.”

“All thanks to you,” Jinki shook his hand, not breaking away until Kibum did. Jinki could not help but linger on how it was a tad bit longer than the regular handshake. “And Mr. Kwon.”

Jinki noticed the slight twitch in Kibum’s expression at the CEO’s name. It wasn’t surprising. Rumor had it they weren’t on good terms lately; Jinki had seen Kibum avoid Hyunjin in the last private gathering he had attended. Despite their differences, they must have come to some kind of truce, because Kibum had still helped host this party.

“My pleasure.” Kibum seemed to have chosen to ignore Hyunjin’s mention and continued. “By the way, congratulations on the success of your book.”

“Come on. You don’t need to congratulate me again. You already sent me a congratulatory present.”

“Was it to your liking?” A hint of expectant curiosity flashed in Kibum’s eyes and Jinki couldn’t help but smile.

“Very much.”

“Are you sure that you’re not just being polite? You know, I did send quite an unconventional present.”

“Unconventional? Not at all.” Kibum had gifted him a set of smart mugs. He could control and maintain their temperature through an app on his phone. It was quite fancy. Impressive. And utterly useful. The last time they met (at a private brunch gathering for a Herald milestone) they both had to ask for a fresh cup of hot coffee thrice because it had grown tepid while they conversed, and both had shared how often this happened to them. Jinki smiled at the reminiscence. “It was a very thoughtful present, Kibum.”

“I’m glad for that.” Kibum’s smile slowly turned wider than it was before when he had greeted him. He allowed himself to fix Jinki’s tie. “You put together my pieces well. You look handsome.”

Jinki felt a slight flush at Kibum's not-so-nonchalant comment. He’d had a feeling from the start that Kibum might be interested in him…and as much as it pleased Jinki, he couldn’t let it become mutual. Not in this arrangement. So, he pretended to be thickheaded or found an excuse to evade Kibum’s feelers. The matter of how well he did those was up to contention.

“Are you sure?” Jinki ended up asking. “I don’t think I did anything special.”

“And it worked. You should look at how some have butchered my fine pieces. Goodness, who the heck pairs plaid with florals?”

Jinki let out a chuckle. "I'd love to see that."

Kibum laughed too. “I’ll point them out to you secretly. And let me know if any of the outfits catch your attention. I could do with some feedback since I am planning to release this themed line later in the year.”

“Sure. And thanks.” Jinki finally returned the compliment. “You look quite nice tonight as well.”

Kibum just smiled, leading him inside. As they waded in, some of the Herald editors that Jinki recognized came over to greet him. The venue was quite crowded for a private event, which usually had at most twenty people.

“Let’s get you a drink at the bar.” Kibum said after the editors had left, “Unless you’d like me to introduce you to some people here. Hyunjin packed the place with his personal contacts.”

Jinki wouldn’t have minded but it would be going against his intended reserved personality. He had already made quite a few friends in this circle despite Shiwon’s request to keep his social interactions to a minimum, but it was inevitable to make connections with the kind of fame that followed Shiwon’s name, especially when Hyunjin boasted him off to his personal contacts. That was how he had met everyone he knew here, including Kibum. The only thing Jinki could do was restrain himself to a select few. “A drink sounds good.”

Kibum led him directly to the bar, where there was already a small crowd. Jinki immediately recognized a few. They were Herald’s higher management. They had taken the liberty to introduce him to their subordinates. Jinki had no idea they were invited too. Although Jinki accepted their interactions kindly, he was mindful enough to not let any of them extend beyond greetings, congratulations, and formal small talk. Having Kibum around was helpful too, because people were more drawn to him. For good reason. He was eloquent and had tried out a lot of things, thus he could make engaging conversations about anything. People wanted to keep talking and Kibum reveled in the attention too, of course, only if he had time to spare for it. He seemed to have some at the moment.

The crowd was discussing the variety of pieces Kibum had offered up for everyone to create their outfits. Currently, Kibum was passing a few tips. Jinki watched him with a smile when he asked two people in the group to switch their bowties—and that one difference had made quite the (good) impact on their outfits. Soon, the conversation shifted to something that Jinki couldn’t follow so he withdrew from the discourse and decided to observe the rest of the banquet hall. There was much he hadn’t noticed because Kibum had pulled him away the moment he had entered. He also decided to pick up some observations about people’s outfits—to act on Kibum's earlier request for feedback.

He finally took a sip of his drink. It was only now that he had been able to since he was swamped earlier. When ordering their drinks, Kibum had mentioned that though the bar had a full menu, the recommended drink was the mulberry and grape blend since Hyunjin had specially procured it for this event.

Another sip and Jinki’s attention had completely shifted to the ambiance. The very first thing his eyes caught was the imperial staircase that led to the upper level. It was quite grand, carved out of marble. After the first flight, it forked and curved into two, and then the two merged again to make the third and final flight. As majestic as it was, Jinki's attention soon shifted to the crowd, and he noticed that indeed a lot of people were enjoying the special mulberry wine. As he casually checked on everyone’s attire, he spotted a couple of people he recognized in a distant circle.

The first one he spotted among them was Kim Jonghyun. Although initially Jinki only knew him as Hyunjin’s family friend (Kibum’s too), he actually was the recently appointed CEO of The Press, the printing company that Herald had partnered with for the past ten years. Everything Herald produced—The Press printed. As its leader, Jonghyun was sociable but with a quiet aura. He was the only one among Hyunjin's circle who wasn't a public personality; Jinki had never seen him in the tabloid. It made sense, getting to know him. He was introspective. Introverted to some extent, but not at all among friends. He was also quite the avid enjoyer of all kinds of arts—books, paintings, music, poetry; every topic that Jinki could name, Jonghyun had something he appreciated in it. Dressed quite true to the theme in a sharp navy suit and bowtie, he also had chosen quite a distinct accessory. A pince-nez. It was giving him quite the trouble, though. It slipped off his nose bridge often in mid-conversation, attracting attention, and making the people around help him or fuss over it. But Jonghyun took the inconvenience lightheartedly, laughing it off and putting it back on whenever it happened.

The group Jonghyun was talking to had two more people Jinki could recognize. Hwang Areum and Park Injae. Both were authors signed to Herald and although Jinki had met them before, he had hardly ever exchanged anything but greetings with them. But since Jinki had done some research on all authors signed to Herald, he knew quite a few things about them.

Injae was a crime fiction novelist just like Shiwon, while Areum wrote young adult romance. Both were only one book old. As for Injae, he was supposedly on a creative break, or as rumors said—working on a movie adaptation of his book—The Faceless Portrait—which was in the country's top 10 bestsellers of the decade despite being released only two years ago. It was promoted heavily, Jinki had heard, and perhaps the reason for it was Injae’s wealthy background. It was an obvious assumption anyone had because Injae had quite an air to him, handsome bookish charms that were well-maintained. He carried himself expensively, and even now, he seemed to have come dressed from a global brand and not in Kibum’s fashion. His suit was far from vintage and carried the logo of an international luxury brand. Ignoring Kibum’s costume coupon was rude as is, but Jinki also felt Injae’s choice to ignore the dress code based on Shiwon’s books was a way to disregard Shiwon. Or maybe Jinki was just thinking way too much into it. Probably because a part of him suspected Injae could have been jealous of Shiwon, being authors in the same genre. But Jinki had nothing to prove it except for his minimal interaction with him.

His trail of thought broke when Jonghyun touched the floral lapel pin on Injae’s suit. Areum had touched it too… and so did many others. It was attracting a lot of attention. Jinki had to admit it was quite a unique piece with a sizable pink diamond in it.

Jinki ignored the buzz surrounding Injae’s lapel pin and focused on Areum instead. She had definitely come dressed from Kibum’s studio. Jinki remembered seeing the emerald green dress she wore in the digital catalog he had been passing his time with. She had added a lot of pearls to her outfit—from her headband, jewelry, gloves, and clutch, to her shoes even, but it didn’t seem overkill because her dress was plain to balance it. Jinki realized at that thought, just how much Kibum had influenced him that he was making reasonable opinions about fashion now, and in the type of words Kibum would use. Overkill. Balance. He allowed himself a soft chuckle, getting distracted soon by the way everyone around Areum was posing with her for a selfie. It reminded Jinki of how she had a good social media presence too. She posted almost every day, not only about her personal life but also promoting her upcoming book by sharing ambiguous bits and pieces of her writing.

There was a slight commotion right then, breaking Jinki from his thoughts. The buzz of the hall halted as well, as everyone turned towards the direction of the noise—across the hall where a projector screen was being set up.

“Everything’s alright!” Lee Taemin–Hyunjin’s PA–announced with a short, nervous laugh, and everyone got back to what they were doing.

“Let me check on him—” Jinki heard Kibum say and excuse himself, and with that, the crowd dispersed from around Jinki.

Jinki’s gaze followed Kibum heading towards Taemin. He watched Kibum ascertain everything was fine before a guest pulled him away. Out of concern, Jinki’s attention remained on Taemin, watching him help a staff member organize wires before he effortlessly got back to overseeing the projector setup. Jinki couldn’t help but notice how tired he seemed, but on second thought, it wasn’t very surprising at all, given his workload. But the guy had still managed to dress in line with the theme, although his outfit was lackluster in comparison to everyone else’s. He wasn’t wearing a suit or anything fancy; just a dress shirt and pants paired with suspenders and boots. No accessory whatsoever. No tie or a bowtie. He hadn’t made any effort with his hair either. It was just combed to the side and fell in an untidy side parting. He was rather sightly, having soft features, so his attire didn’t stand out as too plain, but Jinki couldn’t help but think that underdressing was a pattern for him now. Recalling all the times Jinki had met Taemin, he was sure the guy made the bare minimum effort to be presentable on purpose. Just enough to not incite complaints. Or perhaps, it was to avoid attention. Jinki could understand. When you worked under wealthy, fussy men with massive superiority complexes, it was best to stick to the job and pass under their radar. Attention, good or bad, always ended up being a harmful thing. Taemin had to make up in other ways because he had a knack for attracting attention due to his clumsiness, as Jinki had witnessed quite a few times, including today’s instance.

For the next couple of minutes, Jinki continued to entertain himself with the projector setup, but his eyes met Taemin’s unwittingly, and the guy immediately smiled and began approaching him.

“Mr. Jin!”

“Taemin.” Jinki felt his lips curving up involuntarily at Taemin’s bright, cordial smile. “You seem like you have a lot on your plate.”

Taemin let out a breath and stepped closer so he could lean against the bar too. “An occupational hazard of being a personal assistant.”

Jinki let out a short chuckle before he asked. “I think Mr. Kwon hasn’t arrived yet?”

“Oh, he has.” Taemin’s gaze pointed to the imperial staircase, to indicate where Hyunjin was—upstairs, “A meeting ran late so he didn’t have time to dress. He is changing upstairs in one of the rooms. He will come to greet you shortly.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, you have already tried—”

“Shiwon!”

Both Jinki and Taemin turned to the voice. It was Jonghyun approaching them with a grin.

“Oh, Taemin’s here too. How are you two fine gentlemen doing tonight?”

Jinki helped himself to a laugh because Jonghyun truly was enjoying the theme since he had even greeted them in the formal classy speech used in old movies. “Good, good.”

“Me too, Mr. Kim,” Taemin said with a sweet smile. “I like your glasses—” As if on cue, the pince-nez had slid down Jonghyun’s nose but Jonghyun had immediately pushed it back up, pinching it so it would stay on tighter.

“I am starting to not like it,” Jonghyun said with a soft sigh. “I heard Aiden Glazer was coming but I haven’t seen him yet…” He turned around to glance at the attendance before turning back.

“Aiden Glazer?” Jinki asked with interest. He had encountered or spotted quite a few authors at the events he attended, but never the most famous one on Herald’s roster. The author of a fantasy series that was now an international bestseller–Aidan Glazer. He was hardly seen in any of Herald’s events. But again, not many authors turned up at company events, especially if they weren’t related to them.

“Yeah.” Taemin answered, “He RSVP-ed since Mr. Kwon won him over with the murder mystery game, but unfortunately, he got stuck in an overseas schedule. “

“That .” Jonghyun sighed. He was swirling his wine, lost in thought—troubled, perhaps—but it was only momentary. He had blinked it away just as soon as Jinki had spotted it. “It would have been a good opportunity to finally meet the man.” With that, he was back to his usual easygoing self. “Have you met him, Shiwon?”

“No, I only ever saw his interviews on TV.”

“Oh, I saw one too recently. He was on a talk show earlier this week, right?”

Taemin nodded. “Yes, he made an appearance on a Japanese talk show.”

“Hmm,” Jinki hummed, continuing the conversation, “I was always curious about this–he doesn’t seem to be of foreign descent. So, his name, it must be his pen name, right?”

“Yep,” Taemin answered. “It’s the English name he gave himself and uses it for publication.”

“Does it have a story behind it?” Jinki asked. In this field, he had come across a few who had quite unique names, something with an interesting meaning or a pun, and it always was a detail he enjoyed learning about.

“I’m sure it does.” Jonghyun quipped, “Going by all the Western names in his book, I feel like he named himself as a part of his own story.”

“That’s interesting…” Taemin raised a brow, “But it’s literally an English name he made up using his real name. Just twisting it around so that it sounds…Western.”

“Huh,” Jonghyun pursed his lips in thought, "The reason I gave it is cooler. He could write a story about himself too, had he come up with my reason!”

“He could..." Taemin agreed thoughtfully before he asked Jinki, "Mr. Jin, does your name have a story behind it?”

Jinki was a bit taken aback at Taemin’s question, but he hid it well. Unintentionally, he had probed whether Jin Shiwon was a pen name or not. But the truth was quite the opposite. There wasn't a fake name disguising this man, but a fake man disguised behind a real name. It wasn’t something that Jinki could share or something anyone could ever know.

Jonghyun had perked up at the question too. Jinki could clearly see his thoughts on his face as he assayed the possibility of Jin Shiwon being an alias. Jinki answered quickly with a shrug and a smile. “Unfortunately, mine isn’t a pen name at all.”

Taemin’s expectant smile mellowed into a laugh. “Thought so. It doesn’t seem like one.”

Jonghyun had settled too but was still in thought. Before he—or even Taemin—could ask anything more about him—about Shiwon, that is—and especially something he couldn’t answer, Jinki distracted them with a question of his own.

“If you two were authors, what would be your pen name?”

“I’m not an author though,” Taemin shrugged simply. “So, I’ve never thought of such things.”

“I haven’t either.”

“Well, you can think of it now.”

Jonghyun laughed a bit before he let out a thoughtful sigh, “Okay, let’s see.” He pondered a bit more. “I can’t come up with it in such a short time. I would need at least a few days of researching and thinking to decide on something but... it should be something clever but also meaningful.” As he hummed in thought, he seemed to have come up with something. “Something related to the moon! Not only because I’m drawn to it in every artistic form, but because, if you think about it, it is the only true light in the dark, and somehow, solving a mystery is the same way, isn’t it? The solution. Always there to see. But goes through phases where darkness both conceals and shows it. But the truth always comes out, just like the moon does on a full moon night.”

Jinki was quite taken by his words. “That would make quite a name.” He couldn’t help but smile. “Poetic, mysterious, and the moon.”

“Yeah!” Jonghyun chortled. “Bonus points, a name like that wouldn’t give away anything other than that. People I know or meet wouldn’t even dream of relating it to me. Of course, this wouldn’t work if my face is out there, but it would be nice to retain my mundane civilian life and have the taste of fame through a mysterious, secret identity.”

“Yes, that would be nice.” Jinki raised his glass, although he had a feeling people would relate such a name to him. Jonghyun was just too vocal about things he was passionate about, at least to people he was friendly with. After taking a sip, Jinki pointed his glass toward Taemin. “Your turn.”

Taemin, who had been listening to Jonghyun quite intently, broke from his daze and laughed nervously. He scratched his temple. “Hmm.” He allowed himself a moment to think before he answered, “I would rather just use my real name. Because pen names can get tricky to handle when writing up contracts and especially when dispensing profits. You would still need to use your real name on the contract, but to safeguard your profits it’s always good to register the penname as a DBA—doing business as. Quite a hassle, isn’t it? So, I think I’ll use my real name to avoid all that.”

“That’s no fun at all! No real names, right, Shiwon?” Jonghyun immediately objected, before turning back to Taemin. “Go again.”

Taemin smiled defeatedly. “Okay. In that case… my Catholic name. Lee Francesco. It would be quite easy to get that registered, compared to a completely new made-up name, that is.”

Jonghyun was still quite a bit dissatisfied by Taemin’s answer, but Jinki nodded in understanding, taking his answer in thoughtfully. His response had more of a publisher-side perspective, giving importance to an easy contract and hassle-free earnings rather than considering the thrill of a meaningful, mysterious identity, which Jonghyun’s answer carried. An informed choice rather than an impassioned or inspired one.

“Taemin!” Jo Sulhee—Hyunjin’s other, and new PA—had approached them. She noticed the other two, “Mr. Kim, Mr. Jin. Hello.”

“Hi.” “Hello, Sulhee.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” She had gotten right to the point and turned to Taemin. While she spoke to him, Jinki noticed that she was dressed simply as well, but not as low-effort as Taemin was. Vintage style work formals? Or at least that was what Jinki thought about the way she had matched her coat to her skirt and had buttoned it all the way up. She had sweet features but was professional to the T. She gave off the perfect employee vibe, and Jinki had to admit it came off as intimidating sometimes. He was glad that it was Taemin who handled things for him other than Shiwon’s editors.

She had finished discussing something about their setup in the last room in the left hallway upstairs, and when Taemin had acknowledged it, she said, “All the guests we were expecting have arrived and many are asking when we will start the game. We are only waiting for Mr. Kwon’s presence and cue.”

“Yeah.” Taemin straightened up, glancing at his watch. “I’ll go check on him. Ask Haejoon to check on the projector setup and will you double-check on the room setup in the meantime?”

“Sure.” Sulhee left right away and Taemin smiled at the other two. “Duty calls.” And he excused himself too. Jinki watched him hurry up the imperial staircase but turned back to Jonghyun because the guy had started talking.

“Look, Shiwon, they have props for the game too.”

“Ah.” Jinki followed his gaze to the other desk across the hall, near the one Taemin had been standing at earlier. Jinki hadn’t noticed it then since staff members were blocking it, but now that no one other than Sulhee and another, who Jinki assumed was Haejoon, were occupying that space, he could see it clearly. After a quick word, Sulhee had left upstairs and after watching her for a moment, Jinki had turned back to the pile of assorted, random things placed on the other desk. At first glance, it was quite a random collection of mundane things. But the pistol and knife (fake) that were among them, gave away what their purpose was.

“That must be fake blood.” Jonghyun continued his observations, and Jinki’s gaze shifted to the many tiny bottles of a red liquid that were set aside separately from the props. “And those props must be clues—evidence and potential murder weapons.”

“Interesting,” Jinki commented, leaning back against the counter, and taking a thoughtful sip of his wine. Jinki had only been expecting a discussion of sorts. A vocal, guessing game. But having props meant they were probably going to play it out. Like a treasure hunt of sorts.

“Murder weapons remind me…” Jonghyun’s eyes had sparked with excitement, “The murder-weapon-reveal in your book!” He was now completely turned towards Jinki, his arms crossed and one elbow resting on the counter, “Throughout the last two books, I thought it was a mysterious poison that passes undetected and causes the heart attack or but… to think that the murder weapon was a syringe! An empty syringe, at that! That was so clever! And wait! The culprit? . You had me guessing with so many theories about the three shady characters you hinted at throughout the three books but turns out the murderer was our detective’s sidekick all along! At first, I was like…how?! And when I read the conclusion… oh my ing god. Everything made sense. To think that the name of the series was a major hint all along! The Cloaked Dagger!” He paused, out of breath, and shook his head as he concluded. “Mind. Blowing.”

Jinki laughed heartily at his excited words. “Thank you. You always have nice things to say.”

“It’s only the truth.” Jonghyun brushed it off with a tilt of his head, but his eyes sparked again, “But wait, there’s one thing that felt weird to me. I couldn’t stop thinking how this wasn’t the end. Because though our detective figured out who did it, the how—the murder weapon was only recognized when she received the anonymous tip. You never revealed who the tip came from! But…I have a feeling about this.”

“What kind of feeling?” Jinki humored him, taking the last sip of his drink.

“That the anonymous tipper isn’t just a happy coincidence. It is someone just as smart or smarter than our detective. So… were you hinting at the protagonist of your next book?!” He raised a brow, “A detective with a medical background, maybe?”

Jonghyun had quite the imagination and could quite possibly be getting at something. Jinki had read the books too of course, and Shiwon really was clever about the details, but this one detail about the anonymous tip lacked the usual depth, so he understood where Jonghyun was coming from. It made him quite curious too, but alas, he wasn’t Shiwon so the best he could answer with was, “I can neither confirm nor deny.”

Jonghyun groaned. “I will just have to wait for your next book then.”

Jinki could only smile. He felt bad, thinking about when the crowd would gather for dinner and Hyunjin would announce Shiwon’s retirement over a toast. Jonghyun would truly be the one most crestfallen by the news.

Right then, they heard loud gasps and voices. Turning to them, they noticed that the cause of the commotion was Taemin again. The PA had collided with Injae and spilled the latter’s drink. Although the liquid was spilled, Taemin had somehow managed to catch the empty glass before it hit the ground.

“That was a close save, Taemin!”

Taemin laughed, looking at his shirt which was now stained red. “I wouldn’t say that.”

Everyone else laughed too.

Injae who had stepped back when the collision had occurred, hadn’t taken any impact, but due to his reflex, some of the wine had fallen on Areum’s pearl clutch—which the lady as well as Injae and Taemin had only just noticed. Taemin had offered Areum a handkerchief and was apologizing to her too now, and offered to refill their drinks for them, to which they obliged after brushing off Taemin’s clumsiness good-naturedly. Despite that, Taemin seemed embarrassed and regretful as he headed towards the bar.

“You better get changed. That stain is huge.” Jonghyun commented after Taemin handed over the empty glasses to the bartender

“If you don’t have spare clothes, maybe something to cover it up could work?” Jinki offered, “I can give you my waistcoat.”

“Oh, Shiwon, that’s fine.” Kibum had joined them then. “I have clothes in my room, Taemin. Please feel free to wash up and choose anything.”

“Thanks.” Taemin seemed calmer now. He took his leave after getting new drinks. They watched him carefully hand them over to Injae and Areum before hurrying up the imperial staircase to change.

“What’s the hold up with Hyunjin?” Jonghyun asked Kibum then.

Kibum hummed, “Didn’t you check your phone? He texted our group chat.”

“No. 1920s didn’t have a phone. So, I’m not using it tonight. To stay true to the theme.”

Kibum let out a snicker. “Suit yourself. Anyways, he texted saying he was attending an important client call and not to disturb him for an hour. The hour should be up by now, though.”

Jonghyun’s expression had shifted a bit at that knowledge, “Did he say what client?”

“It would probably be an overseas one, given the time.”

 At that, Jonghyun grew slightly irritated. He looked around before he said, “Can’t we just start without him? It’s a party to celebrate Shiwon’s book and all he has done is wait.”

“I’m fine with waiting.” Jinki had added to curb Jonghyun’s irate words.

“What’s wrong with you?” Kibum asked Jonghyun with constricted brows.

Jonghyun retracted in realization. “Nothing.” He sighed.

“It’s something,” Kibum said but before he could further it, he noticed Areum coming his way. “Kim Jonghyun, you need to tell me. Later. But you have to–” He had left and covered the few steps to meet Areum halfway, who had asked him right away how she could clean the pearl clutch, “A damp cloth or a wet wipe. The bathroom downstairs might not have wipes… but the rooms upstairs do. Come, I’ll unlock a room for you–”

Kibum then began leading her upstairs. Jonghyun turned around but Jinki’s gaze lingered for a few moments longer on Kibum’s departing back before he turned back as well, sighing to himself. Remembering what Kibum had said earlier, he watched Jonghyun for a bit out of worry. The man only sipped on his drink a bit dejectedly. Judging by how Jinki had caught him troubled earlier and with the mild outburst now, which even Kibum hadn’t dismissed, something indeed was up. “It might help to talk about what is bothering you.” He immediately added. “I meant with Kibum. Not me.”

Jonghyun laughed wearily. “I have talked to all the people who could have helped. But yeah, it wouldn't hurt to try Kibum. Or you.”

“If you need to. I’m all ears.”

“Thanks—"

“Shiwon, there you are.”

Both Jinki and Jonghyun turned to the voice to find Injae walking towards them with a genial smile.

“Congratulations.” Injae offered his hand to Jinki when he was closer. “Areum wanted to greet you too… but she had to excuse herself for a minute.”

“Ah, yes. We saw.” Jinki shook his hand, smiling politely. “Thanks.”

 “You’re welcome.” He responded with a curt nod before he wrinkled his brows. “Actually, Areum also tasked me with bringing you upstairs to the balcony.”

“Oh.” Jinki raised his brows, curious. Because he didn’t quite believe he shared any kind of rapport with Areum, or even Injae, as a matter of fact, to be called for a private rendezvous. They had only ever greeted each other, after all. “Did she say why?”

“No, but I think she might have something important to talk to you about.”

“I see.” Jinki was now beyond curious just what Areum would want to talk about. A favor? Advice? Jinki could only guess and there was only one way to find out. He looked at Jonghyun, who seemed just as intrigued by what Injae had suggested. He knew it wasn’t a big deal but it was always better to have company in… new situations. “Can Jonghyun join?” He waited for Jonghyun to look at him and added softly, “Of course, only if you want to.”

“I guess.” Injae shrugged. “If Areum wants us gone, we can leave. Until she gets there, we can just get some fresh air.”

Jonghyun responded to Jinki with a slight smile and nodded. “Fresh air sounds nice.”

Jinki allowed himself to enjoy the smoothness of the marble staircase railing on his palm as he grazed it while ascending, following Injae and Jonghyun a step behind. The final flight had landed them in the middle of the hallway that had nothing but some minimal décor and doors, but still, everything matched the vintage vibe of the estate. Jonghyun, who had been here before, enlightened Jinki with the layout. Apart from the balcony on the left end of the hallway, the upper landing had nothing but bedrooms. Kibum prepared them for every event just in case they ended up having overnight guests. Jinki recalled from earlier that the leftmost one was the room being set up for the murder mystery game. It was ajar when they passed it. Sulhee had walked out right then and closed the door immediately behind her, smiling apologetically as she said. “No spoilers.” And she left after locking it—with a huge, old-fashioned metal key.

“Ah, this is nice.” Jonghyun’s voice made Jinki turn back and finally enter the balcony that was just a couple of steps away. When Jinki had stepped out and the breeze hit him, he couldn’t help but agree with Jonghyun.

“Want a smoke?” Injae had set his glass of wine on the railing to pull out a cigarette case. It was similar to what Jinki had received from Hyunjin to commemorate Shiwon’s third book release.

“I’ll pass,” Jonghyun said, sipping on h