"Everyone is walking on the edge of life. Like a ghost of a shadow, barely alive.
Even time’s in a rush but it’s going nowhere."

Hop the saddle, Tweedledee-dees! I've got you covered for the juiciest scandalous life of Seoul's elites. They say money brings you happiness, is it really the case with that ancient old-money family? Being a giant financial power does not save you from family scandals and estranged children. Any words to say, Mr C? We will wait and see to find out.

Shim Changmin's Apartment, Seoul

Seoul' most eligible bachelor saw that alluring maid of his stomped her way out in her shabby grey shirt, he swore she bought it at a thrift store because it looked so worn out, and donned a pair of washed oversized jeans and he could not believe she still manage to stand out in that low-fashion article.

Oh well, judging superficially fair and square, he always thought with that face of hers and body proportion, any random clothes will look effortlessly amazing on that little perilous woman. But he is not going to tell that directly to her face.

He, Shim Changmin the bachelor extraordinaire, will not even think of complimenting his wayward maid slash assistant. At least not directly to her face. It was a shame she wasn't an entertainer. Really. She has what it takes to be famous, except her temper.

He saw her wearing her converse at the door from his peripheral. So he put his tablet on the marble table and was about to spew snarky spat at her. However, that feisty brunette threw him off-guard with her reprimanding tone.

"Don't event think of it." Of what? Maid clothes? That tasteless shirt? The dinner menu?

She slammed the door before he managed to rearrange his mind. He took a mental note that he might need to replace his door to something sturdier.

Really that hot-tempered, mannerless girl.

With the distraction of y well-shaped hips in maid outfit gone, the man finally manage to gather his scattered focus on getting his job done. He might be on leave, but he is still the heir to Shim Empire. No matter how flamboyant his private life was. He still has responsibility to fulfill to his subordinates.

There was an old saying that "Time flies when you are focused", and the round-eyed man really finally relished that saying in real-life. Because the next his focus was broken and he was starting to be aware of his surrounding, three hours had already passed.

His unusually wide ears heard the lift pinged and revealing the girl with shopping cart in hand (where the she got that) full of packed goods. The infamous Shim dropped his laptop and tablet and raised one of his eyebrows in amusement. He stretched a little as he left his make-shift workspace and leaning sleazily on the leather couch closer to the kitchen aisle.

Well, that was fast.

His curiosity got the better of him. Office matters were gradually being pushed back to the bottom of priority ladder as he carefully observed the girl unloading the groceries with ease.

He low-key scared that lanky limbs of hers will break while moving the weight of those groceries.

Is that celery? A kilo of it? Is she expecting him to digest that?

"You are early, Kyuhyun-ah. I thought you will be back after the sun sets." He commented.

She shoved fresh ingredients to his food-only refrigerator with lightning speed as if nobody was talking. The man whistled at that is a skill that comes with living as independent co-housing student. He admired that a little at least she is nimble and efficient as a basic human. The skill he wished he had perfected during his younger days.

"Hey, what did you buy?"

The tall girl might have upped her silent game but he isn't the most over-bearing chaebol for nothing.

"Hey maid-sshi, I am hungry." He snipped out of nowhere. The billionaire finally recognized that slight eyebrow twitch on the female's pretty face. The devilish businessman liked that annoyed look on her face. It was interesting.

Charming.

The pale skinned younger occupant had decided to blantantly ignore the older one. However, she still reacted to his little squabble as she started loading some fresh ingredients on the marbled kithen island.

"You are not going to inquire what I want to eat, are you?"

She ignored him again by pretending he did not exist. But he can see that she was agitated behind that farce of preparing something behind kitchen bar. So he decided not to probe further as he can see the menacing glint of knife within her hand.

With efficient flow, giving him the therapeutic vibes, the KUBS' princess started preparing edible light meal for her employer before he started to moan requesting for something more absurd than this.

The playboy-extraordinaire sighed in contempt as he saw her chopped a tomato as if she was stabbing him with ceramic knife he didn't now he owned. Well, she was really trying her best to make his life miserable. "You can cook right?"

She paused. Finally gave in to his annoying taunt. "It seems my cooking ability is not recited on my document, Shim Changmin-sshi."

He heard the playful statement slipped that tempestuous lips of hers, but he noticed the dark shade on her face, passing so quickly he almost missed it.

"Well, it's so trivial, my men could not possibly stalk you for the day right? After all, I do not need a Michelin's grade food at home." His half-joke, half-truth statement seemed to confirm something for her. Whatever it was, she felt safe enough to divert the conversation to his stalker-ish tendency.

"It is not like you are so inept that you can't cook a basic fried egg." He shall let her be for now.

He leaned on his arm lazily on the sofa. Feeling the leather as he replied absent-mindedly. "Oh yeah, It's your responsibility to ensure my safety and that's including my well-being? Have you read your contract throroughly?"

He's sure she had. with. distaste.

"Isn't it too late to question my cooking ability, Changmin-sshi?" Her skeptical, questioning eyes looked enticing to him. He had to forcefully stopped his brain from derailing to adult territory. That look was pure seduction.

He sighed nonchalantly, zipping up the adulterous thought behind his head.

Valid answer. He did ask her to go grocery-shopping and all. He chortled. “Just maybe, your diet consists only of instant ramen.”

Those liquid caramel eyes flare in disbelief. He was delighted bathed in her attention. "Don't jibe at my professionalism, jerk-face."

Yes, yes, he had dropped a fair judgement to his sarcastic employee. The ex-delivery girl has calming presence and very professional with her job to the point it baffles him. She rarely, almost never, gave him any troubles for the short few days he knew her. Her quiet presence did not ignite trouble at all if he excluded his inability to rein his own hormones and lust over her swaying hips.

Her work ethics are insane he probably just scored a potential future personal assistant or the next vice president with enough cultivation and guidance.

The man with impossible proportion had to applaud that to himself. Only if he could manage maintaining a good professional relationship with her. The chance is almost null but the brown eyed man will try somehow.

He shrugged his perfectly-built shoulder noncommittally. “You never knew? I mean, you looked malnourished enough.”

The tall man, felt a weird sticky sensation hit his head, as a goopy yellow-ish liquid fell down his hair. At that statement, the younger brunette had thrown an egg at the man.

A fresh, raw egg.

Utterly, completely, abandoning her professional code of conduct she had just flaunted minutes before.

Shim Changmin, one of the most influential men in South Korea, started reconsidering his lapse of judgement to hire the business student with short temper as his maid and assistant.

"Professional, huh?" The long-legged man muttered as he wiped some of the sticky liquid off his face.

Her warm eyes squinted, "please do shut up." her brown curls bounced off her shoulders that somehow made him wanted to tangle his fingers in it.

Wait, , he should have been angry at her. She just hammered him with an egg for no good reason. He was a little disgusted at the egg but somehow he did not mind, Maybe he really should just hold some brake to his tongue to divert this kind of unwanted attention from his cute little maid.

After all, he might want to deny his attraction to the weird delivery girl so much by teasing her. An act very child-like for a veteran playboy like him and very much useless if he realized the consequence sooner.

.

.

.

Because the action is unconsciously driving him to the verge of insanity.

Luxurious Condo Building, Seoul.

The condominium was impersonal, an evidence of a transit housing or the owner just not comfortable with exposing personal trinkets, but it was messy in a good way, showing that there are living activities within. It looks dim except for the main family room that somehow had decent lighting with minimalist wooden interior clashing with expensive golden ornaments adorned every nooks and cranes of the place. The room has all it takes for three medium-sized families to live prosperously.

Two men in their late twenty occupied what would be one of the most expensive condos in the heart of South Korea. One, the mixed Chinese-Korean man that looked serene and handsome despite having a pair of cold eyes. He leaned like a gargoyle statue on the window. His well-arched brows scrunched up as if he was contemplating some of his past decisions, including ones that causing him to end up in his current predicament.

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself, Jung Yunho." The more sober one mused as he tore his gaze from the bustling nightlife of Seoul underneath him. It was nice to have private apartment room on the 27th floor.

Well, if only he could have it all to himself. At times he even wonder why he was even friend with the oldest Jung.

The stern looking man sighed an exasperated sigh. He focused his gaze to the other occupant of the room, a shrewd bastard that had interrupted his short nap abruptly, just because he thought he can he whas the audacity to be drunk. The man was fine-looking, almost gorgeous by South Korean's fickle beauty standard with his well-build silhouette in black shirt and navy slacks. The small-faced man looked classy enough to not be called a drunkard.

This insane man, the owner of the apartment dared to bet that his sarcasm-coated-words didn’t go through that thick skull of his, was always full of himself.

"Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy's Pamphlets? It's unexpected of you to have interest in that kind of literature, Black Dragon." The Jung Yunho snickered as he took a sip at his last bottle of Gin. He acted as if he did not notice a smear of distaste flickered on the other man's expression. And if he did, he just plain ignored it.
“And I don’t think you have the audacity to read words of wisdom.” Point taken, Yunho was thickheaded during his younger days, but don't let that foolish act deceives you, he is a 6-feet tall cunning businessman to the core.

The Black Dragon caught that familiar sliver of astute in his counterpart's eyes despite being heavily intoxicated.

The man rubbed his temple as he threw himself on one of his esxpensive leather recliners, carefully sipping a well-aged red wine. "Who told you to come here? It's two in the morning, are you a retarded scoundrel?" it is unwanted.

"You are the one who told me to catch the earliest flight to Korea, Tan Hankyung.” Jung Yunho chuckled as he stretched his admirably long legs in pinstripped navy slacks. “Whose fault it is again? The party that young rich bastard threw in Tokyo was awesome, alright. Even Hwasa gave her stamp of approval to the madness."

“Too bad I have to leave early.” He added nonchalantly. The oldest son of Jung's voice is far from slurring. Hankyung swore the brown haired man faked his drowsiness as he observed him swiftly took a bottle of Cognac from his built-in mini bar. There were dozens of different types of liquors in the bar. Courtesy of black haired man’s crazy drinking habit when he was underpressured with what life has to offer.

String of curses including 'irresponsible bastard' and 'manwhore' filled the quiet air as Hankyung, with a sense of abandon, throw his iPad to Yunho's head, which was fortunately (or unfortunately in Hankyung’s case) missing its target by a few inches and landed on the other side of the expensive couches.

"Stop raiding my collection." Hankyung furrowed his brows. "You will be diagnosed with hepatitis soon if you have no intention of breaking that drinking habit of yours."

The younger one snickered his certified million dollar smile at the ironic hipocrisy of that statement. “Say... pot calling the kettle black.”

That statement made the shorter one scoffed.

The CEO of Jung Corporation cackled insanely before suddenly he stopped.

This alarmed The oldest of The Tan siblings. "Listen well, my friend." His dark brown hair fell to his eyes, suddenly he looked so much different. As if he was completely different person from the drunkard harmless Jung Yunho lounging on Tan Hankyung's expensive recliners. His cat-like eyes glinted in ominously, like a premonition of a storm, "I got a lead."

And that was all it takes for The coldblooded underworld lord to take The Jung's patriarch seriously. His languid posture shifted to that menacing one. Their eyes met.

"Speak."

The corner of Jung Yunho's lips lifted into a charming smirk and Hankyung knew this means business.

.

.

.

Because, only the same kind of tiger can befriend one another.

Choi's second residence, Seoul.

The black haired man keeps tapping his finger to the polished glass surface. He was very anxious. His nerves were going haywire. His hard-wired instinct refused to sit still.

It had been months since he had meet the youngest Jung. He got her message, he is very much in touch with his counterpart from that prominent politician family. Don't get him wrong, he liked that woman. She is very tacit with her words, her under-the-table actions are formidable.

Eventually he discovered that she was his unseen joint-force behind her disappearance two years ago. However time was different now. That ed-up brother of his has somehow managed to break all those layers of lies he laid out to grant her one selfish wish. He knew he did something wrong, but he also realized talking would be futile because everything that has already happened is irreversible. It is beyond repair.

His train of unhappy thought dispersed as he felt a presence of another human. A boy his age, in a casual black long-sleeved shirt and ripped blue jeans looked at him with concern marring his beautiful expressive eyes. He leaned still on the doorframe. He stopped his anxious taps.

"Kyuhyun-noona might need this," the man's melodious voice paused as if he was thinking something up, "and yourself."

The younger's felt conflicted at his childhoon friend's word. "You don't understand, Jonghyun-hyung."

He knew the shorter man tried to reign his emotion because one of them needs to be the rational one. His face shown no sign of agitation, but the black haired boy knew how much the lighter haired man wanted to wring his neck for that statement alone. The more eccentric guy is the brother he wished he had.

Jonghyun was already very much involved with this messy scheme as deep as him. Jonghyun strode into  the study carefully. "Minho, we have enough debating over this already. Krystal Jung brought a valid argument on the table. That we have-- you have ignored it long enough."

Minho understood. Jonghyun has always been there, with him, through the lowest time of his life. But he just can't. He did not want to admit that the time is nearing. Fast.

He is not ready. The tanned boy refused to accept that Krystal Jung's plea is the final blaring warning sign over hundreds that he had ignored over the years. It brings back the bitter taste he felt when he watched her leaving the manor. From his life.

The other occupant of the room was right. His countless days of talking reason to his head were not in vain because it finally made sense. The singer somehow really saw the unpredictable bigger picture.

"Minho, we have to make a move, before Siwon ruined everything like back then." The man in ripped jeans looked at his polar opposite as he let himself comfortable on the grey couch. Minho was in his favorite khaki hoodie and black jogger pants. He might looked comfy and casual but The South Korea's number one singer's very much aware of his dark mood.

"Don't say his name." Fiery eruption can be seen behind his steely grey eyes. The spat that slipped though his gritted teeth sounded very hostile it still surprised the older man.

Choi Minho's seething anger cultivated in years of silence. He's growing up down the wrong lane.

"Okay." The leaner man decided to stop at that. They have more pressing matter. "Which I will bring my second point out and it is not nice. More people are looking for her files. Other than your older brother I mean."

Does he even want to dig deeper to this? "Explain, Hyung."

"First, the least of our concern, Jung Yunho might have sniffed Krystal's meddling." The silver piercing on Jonghyun's glinted ominously under the lighting as he delivered the news. What in the ing world Kyuyhyun has done until The Emperor is interested? That man is a force to be reckoned. Abandoning his family's step in political world. He made a debut as businessman. A very successful one even without his resources as politician's son. Now, he has acquired almost all, if more, than his family's power. Minho realized that he as a second son, even from aged Choi Family, cannot and do not have the resources to go on a full-blown battle against that major capitalist power.

"Do you want me to continue?"

"There is something worse than this, Hyung?" The exasperated sigh seemed to constrict the older man's chest. As he can see a very quick change of expression, as if he really did not wish to deliver the horrible news. Jung Yunho's interest is a huge blow to their effort. But it was always better to have known enemies.

"There are actives investigation on your sister. Locally, an unknown investigator has been collecting information for 'Cho Kyuhyun'. Also some force from overseas is starting to dig into the event ten years ago." The handsome boy's feature blanched. Have the unknown wolves of the past caught up with his family's deed? He could not hope his father would intervene. He cannot clean up his mess all the time. Since the death of his mother, he had been very distant. Almost unrecognizeable as the man he was before.

Jonghyun's concerned hazel eyes met his. They both knew, they have no advantage at all. Maybe, what Krystal had suggested is the best step to take right now.

There was deafening silence as he tried to compartmentalized those impossible and unsightly problems. "Are you sure this Krystal Jung won't sell us to 'The Emperor'? He is uncharacteristically active."

"I can feel her sincerity back then. She's just as powerless as us when faced with that cunning brother of hers." He slammed the desk at the end of the statement. Echoing for a few seconds through the cold, lifeless room. Enhancing the direness of the situation.

"I will contact Krystal tomorrow. I shall inform her of our decision." He stood up and leaned his face to the hard freezing window glass. His heated head really needs the temporary cooling sensation.

A warm hand rested on his broad shoulder. "We will make it." It sounded like his childhood friend was reassuring himself more than making The Youngest Choi felt at ease. They are very realistic despite their immaturity. These boys are aware of the odd.

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.

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Can he, a mere rich university student, deal with those Asia's exclusive tigers?

Last night at Park Hyatt, my reliable minions reported the scandalous event of this month. Our Emperor Y, yes that "You Know" the one that never goes with the same girl twice, was caught going out from the same park suite room with J. Cliché much?

Are our resident drama-queen ready to throw a declaration of war at J? If I were you, J, I'd prepare myself for a war of Rodarte heels and Stella McCartney's clutch with the icing of Chanel perfume. Being a famous actress will not help you escaping from Queen H's wrath. I am so eager waiting for a HQ video of your fist-fight on Youtube, girls. Rawrl.

"Everybody needs to know, somebody who cares. Just a friendly face you can trust to be there.
Are you afraid to be known and not be a stranger?"

- Alone, Armin van Buuren featuring Lauren Evans

A/N : I added the last section here on June 5th, because I think it fits more to be on The Black Tigers than the next one. Changmin's Piano & High Heels revived my muse. Will be back with frequent but shorter updates. Is it just me but TVXQ's lyrics are getting ier, dirtier, and more playful as they matured?