HURRY►

When the morning shift began, it was greatly evident in Myungsoo’s face the joy and lightheartedness following the events that took place. He was very welcoming to the guests and was extra accommodating to the museum staff. He smiled brightly, talked eagerly and moved about cheerfully.

“Hey, lunch is on me today.” He winked as the last batch of guests came out of the room.

“Alright, I wouldn’t decline if it’s coming from you.” Krystal replied.

“So why are you suddenly treating me?” Krystal asked.

The clam shell soup was served and the aroma filled the space between Krystal and Myungsoo. “I promised you one. Remember that time I ditched work for Jiyeon?” Myungsoo started eating.

“Oh. I remember that, but I didn’t remember you saying you’ll treat me.” Krystal also began to eat.

“Have you heard anything from your brother?”

“Hmm, nothing so far. I met him yesterday and there was nothing special that he told me.”

Myungsoo nodded and continued eating.

“It scares me more that he’s not up to something these days. Do you think so?” he said.

“Ah, by the way, he asked me over the phone last night how you and Jiyeon were doing. I told him you were doing fine. He also asked me if Jiyeon works during the weekends. I told him she does but the schedule isn’t as packed as the usual weekdays.”

“Mmmm. I wonder why he asked….” Myungsoo paused.

--

Meanwhile, the real Kai packed up his things in the hospital in preparation to leave. Today is the day he will be discharged. He no longer had a cane when he processed the discharge papers in the lobby. Finally, he was officially out of the suffocating smell of the hospital. And finally, his plans are slowly coming into action.

“Hey, I see that you’re going out today.” Jiyeon approached him and smiled brightly.

“Ah, yes. It’s all thanks to you, Doctor.” Kai smiled in reply.

“I hope to never see you around here again.” Jiyeon teased. “You should be extra careful, okay?”

“Yes, I will. By the way, do you have time?” He asked.

“Mmm, maybe fifteen minutes…? Why?”

“Can we have some coffee? If that’s alright…” Kai asked.

“Actually, I have to ask you a favor.” Kai said, while sipping from his iced Americano.

“What is it?”

“Can we meet each other sometime again? I mean, if I send you a text to meet me somewhere, can you please do?” he asked, this time with eyes staring directly into Jiyeon’s.

Even though she thought it was weird to be a favor, Jiyeon swept this feeling away. “If it’s something important, why not?” She followed it with a grin.

“Thank you..” Kai’s gaze changed into an innocent child.

Jiyeon looked at her watch and stated, “I should go back now. Is that all you want to say?”

“Yes, I guess that’s all.”

“Can I take this?” she chuckled as she picked the mug of coffee.

Kai weakly smiled and from his gaze, he watched Jiyeon go out of the coffee shop.

A little after, he also came out. He was in a very good mood that he failed to notice the physique of a tall man leaning against the lamp post just right outside the shop.

Wearing casual clothing and with sunglasses on, Chanyeol stood outside the coffee shop the whole time Jiyeon and Kai were in. Although he couldn’t hear what they were talking about, he definitely saw the real Kai grin scarily the moment Jiyeon got out of the establishment. It was the type of grin only a criminal would make.

Only then, Chanyeol knew that he was a dangerous person and that his identity is a whole lot of mystery.

Chanyeol got down on his office chair and hastily opened the laptop. He clicked on the empty search box and entered Myungsoo’s name. The usual fast search results seemed years to him, and his fingers restlessly tapped the wooden furniture.

When the results came out, he was surprised to see Myungsoo and Kai’s photos together. As he scrolled down, he saw an article entitled “2013 Seoul National Painting Competition 2^nd Placer Takes Home the Trophy after Champion Disappeared”. He clicked it and the whole article was now in front of his eyes.

2013 Seoul National Painting Competition 2^nd Placer Kim Kai automatically takes the win after the supposed to be Champion disappeared during the awarding ceremony. During the closing program, Kim Myungsoo was nowhere to be seen and it became a mystery whether something happened to him or he simply backed out of the competition. Some people are thinking that Kai might have something to do with his disappearance since he did not show any concern about the missing longtime ‘friend’. To date, there is still no news of Myungsoo’s reappearance.

The article read. Chanyeol’s eyes widened when he saw Kai’s picture below the page captioned, “Myungsoo last seen during a 30 minute break last 2013 Seoul National Painting Competition”.

He zoomed in on it and he couldn’t believe it. It clearly captioned Kai’s picture as Myungsoo. The other photos which had Myungsoo’s face on them were also captioned as Kai.

He closed the laptop and just stared at the ceiling. Name exchange. A name exchange was definitely happening. The Myungsoo he knew was actually Kai. And the Kai he countless of times met was actually Myungsoo. He had tons of questions in his mind, and he needed to find the answers to them.

--

After dinner, Chanyeol drove to Jiyeon’s house. As he got out of the car, Jonghyun saw him and caught his attention.

“Hey,” Jonghyun said.

Chanyeol looked at him irritably.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for Jiyeon. I had to ask her a few things.” Chanyeol briefly replied and walked to enter the house. Jonghyun just shrugged.

“Wait….” Chanyeol turned to Jonghyun, the latter was surprised. “I need to talk to you.”

“Did you know about Kai and Myungsoo’s name exchange?” Chanyeol asked, while he and Jonghyun took a stroll by the park.

Jonghyun smiled to himself. “Now all that is left is for Jiyeon to know.”

“What exactly are they? Why are they doing this?”

Jonghyun stopped and opened his mouth. “They were close friends in the past. But seeing how Myungsoo became so successful in the world of art, Kai felt inferior. He began to change and planted tremendous amount of jealousy with Myungsoo hyung.”

“I read the article, when Myungsoo disappeared last 2013 Seoul National Painting Competition.”

“I was there. And I saw how Kai and his friends beat Myungsoo hyung to a pulp. I went to the authorities to call for help, but when I came back, he was already gone. I looked for him for about a month, and I found him again, here.

We never thought we would run to Kai again. And when they met again, Kai hyung initiated the exchange. Myungsoo went with it, thinking it would satisfy Kai. We actually don’t know why Kai did it, but I have a hunch he is doing it to ruin Myungsoo’s name.”

“And why aren’t you telling all of this to Jiyeon?” Chanyeol asked.

“Myungsoo wants her to be out of the game. From the past events, it seems like Kai has plans for Jiyeon, though we don’t exactly know what it is.”

“So all I can do to help is to keep quiet right?”

Jonghyun nodded. “Maybe you could also….”

--

On a Saturday weekend, Jiyeon lagged her feet towards the kitchen counter. With her eyes closed, she looked for the glass. But instead of finding it, she finds Myungsoo’s hand from afar.

“What are you doing sleepyhead?” Myungsoo’s voice echoed through her ears, and it awoke her completely.

She hugged him and Myungsoo rested his head on Jiyeon’s shoulders. His warm breath caressed her neck and she felt sleepy again. “Do you have to go to the hospital today?” he asked.

“Just the afternoon shift….”

“Mmmm… why don’t you get some more sleep?” Myungsoo carried her into his arms and laid her carefully back into bed. He slept beside her also.

When he woke up, the sun was already setting high. Jiyeon was no longer beside him. He looked for her around but she was nowhere to be seen. Where could she be when she said she only had the afternoon shift today?

Just then, his phone rang.

“Oh, Krystal?”

“Is Jiyeon there?” Krystal’s voice said from the other line.

“No, why? It seems like she went early for work...”

“Just now, Kai oppa told me to get ready. He said today is the day….”

“W-what? Where is he?”

“He’s gone and he didn’t tell me where he was going. I’m afraid it has got something to do with Jiyeon.” Krystal’s voice shakened.

Myungsoo hang up.

A/N: Alright, this is the second to the last chapter!! :) Although I don't deserve all of you, I am working hard to finish this in a great way possible. Please anticipate!!! :D I still appreciate your lovely comments though <3