[C h a p t e r 1 8]

Lay angrily sorted the files on his desk in the office, removing from the pile an assortment of photos and documents that were related to the ‘Dawn’ case. He threw them all into a box spitefully.

“Aishh That’s for running away on a trip without telling me first!” whispered Lay angrily as he closed the lid to the box. “And if that’s the way it’s going to be, then I’ll go on a trip of my own.”

Shoving the box under his desk with his foot, he picked up his bag and was about to leave his cubicle when he ran into Superintendent Jiseok. He looked up at him with a bright smile and he returned the same bright smile sarcastically.

“Planning to leave early today, Detective Lay?” he asked, still smiling that smile of his.

Lay let out a nervous laugh. “Well, you see, Superintendent, I was, er, thinking that I could-”

“Take a holiday like Henry suddenly did today?” finished Jiseok. Lay smiled back up at him nervously and Jiseok rolled his eyes. “Seriously now… You don’t have to sneak away from work; just ask. It’s not like I’d bite your head off for taking a couple days off from work.”

Lay nodded his head slowly, not really believing what his boss was saying. Just an hour ago he had been yelling at several other over small mistakes after finding out that Henry had left on short notice. Jiseok stepped into the cubicle, taking Lay’s seat as he threw a file onto the desk.

“Unfortunately though, I can’t let you off work yet. There’s a new job for you.”

Creasing his brow in confusion, Lay picked up the file and scanned through the pages. his confusion soon changed to horror as he realised what his superintendent intended for him to do.

“You want me to go be some pompous politician’s son’s bodyguard? That is the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard! I’m a detective, for crying out loud! Not some cheap thug!” yelled Lay as he threw the file back onto the desk. It slid across the surface a little, the contents of which spilled out onto the desk. Sehun’s smiling face peered back out of the pile.

Jiseok let out a sigh, rubbing his temples. He knew Lay would react like this. In fact, he had reacted in a similar way when his superior gave him the instructions, for this kind of work was not what the SIU was about. “I understand how you feel, Lay, and even I was against it. But, orders are orders and our superiors wouldn’t be swayed otherwise.”

A string of silent curses was whispered by Lay as he turned away angrily. There was nothing he could do if the order came from higher up. Then he suddenly realised something; wasn’t it strange that the superiors would give a detective bodyguard duty? He peered over at Sehun’s photo once more and frowned. For some reason, this new assignment sounded fishy.

Turning to look at his superintendent, Lay grudgingly replied, “Fine, I’ll do this mission. But only this once.”

Jiseok stared back up at Lay, slightly surprised. “You’ll do it? That was quick. And here I was, expecting to have to listen to more of your complaints before you’d agree.” He stood up, smiling. “Well, then I guess that’s all for today. You’ll be accompanied by three other officers, whom you’ll be able to meet tomorrow morning at the political headquarters.” Jiseok strolled past Lay, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “Try to keep your thoughts to yourself on this mission.

Lay was about to open his mouth to retort back when he thought better of it. He glared at him back as he returned to his office, turning back to stare at the smiling photo on the desk.

“What are you smiling about, Oh Sehun?”

Sehun continued to smile quietly as he sipped his drink, watching the othis patrons of the bar chilling to the blaring techno music. Luhan noticed these small smiles and leaned in close to give his friend a nudge.

“What’s put you in such a good mood, Sehun? You normally wear a bored face whenever you come to one of my pubs.” Luhan returned to lean back in his chair, placing an arm around one of the hostesses of his bar. The girl snuggled in close to Luhan, leaning his head on his shoulder in an affectionate way.

Sehun glanced at his friend coyly. “Let’s just say, I’m looking very forward to tomorrow’s schedule.”

Luhan raised an eyebrow with a sly grin. “Ah… when you’re looking forward to something, it obviously means bad news for someone. I wonder… who’s your victim this time around?”

Sehun shrugged absently as he took another sip of his drink. “Someone interesting,” was all Sehun was willing to say.

Luhan rolled his eyes, removing his arm from his girl. “You and your interesting people, Sehun. I’ll leave you to smile thise like an idiot while I go take a piss. These beers sure run through you fast.” He leaned over to give his girl a lingering kiss before he stood up, making his way over to the men’s room. Sehun watched him walk off with an amused smile on his face.

In another part of the bar, Krystal sat at a small table, absently stirring the olive in her martini with a toothpick. She suddenly stuck it into the olive, taking it out of the drink and peered at it with a bored look.

“How much longer will I have to live like this?” she sighed quietly before eating the olive.

A man suddenly fell onto her from behind, gripping her in a tight hug. Krystal turned to see who it was, covering her nose in disgust when the strong smell of alcohol mixed with cigarettes reached her nose. She tried to push him off, but he only held on tighter.

“Get off of me, you bastard!” she snapped, still straining to get him off her.

The man let out a drunken laugh, refusing to budge. “I’ve been trying to get you to come over to me all night, but you kept refusing me. Now that I’ve got you, you think I’m going to let you go that easily?” He began to move his face in closer to Krystal’s.

She raised a hand, shoving his face backward. “You’d better let go of me before you regret it. I have the right to refuse to see anyone I don’t feel like seeing.”

The man pulled Krystal’s hand out of the way, laughing once more. He gripped his arms tightly, forcing his lips onto her. Krystal kneed him in the crotch, wiping his mouth as she stepped away from the despicable man.

“You bastard! I told you to leave me alone!” she shouted. She went to grab her drink and poured it on his head. “Maybe that will sober you up a little.”

As Krystal turned to walk away, the man recovered slightly and managed to grab her wrist. “Don’t you walk away from me, ,” he spat, pulling her in roughly towards him. He raised his hand, bringing it across her face with a loud slap. “That’s for kneeing me in the balls, you !”

He pulled her in once more, crushing his lips against her as she pounded his chest with her fists. Suddenly, Krystal felt him release her and she gasped for air as she saw the man being dragged away by another, who had a tight grip on his hair. her saviour lifted the drunken assaulter up painfully before throwing a punch into his face with his other free hand. The man fell to the ground, glancing disoriented back up at Luhan, feeling the blood at the corner of his mouth.

“That is not the way you treat the women in my bar, Mister,” said Luhan in a dangerous voice. He kicked the man in the chest, winding him. “Never come back here again.”

Two bodyguards appeared by Luhan’s side, picking up the man from the floor and dragging him out limply. Luhan watched until they disappeared, turning to face Krystal with a small, concerned look.

“Are you alright, Miss?” he asked, searching his eyes for an answer.

Krystal stared back at him, a little startled. For some reason, as she stared at Luhan, her mind seemed to go blank. The way he looked at her with concern was unlike the other men who visited the bar, always looking at girls like her as an easy target not worth anything. A strange feeling began to stir in his and she quickly averted his eyes.

“I’m fine, Sir,” she replied quietly. “Thankyou.” Krystal turned around, and was about to walk off when Luhan grabbed her arm. She glanced back up at him, tensing slightly as she wondered whether he was going to turn into another brute. Luhan felt his stiffen and he smiled knowingly.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a napkin. “You have a split lip,” he said as he turned her face to him, gently dabbing at the blood.

Krystal took the napkin from Luhan and glanced down at the tissue to see small specks of blood. She realised that her lip had probably split when that man had slapped her. Looking up at Luhan, she thanked him once more.

Luhan nodded, with a smile. “You work here, don’t you? It is my duty as the owner to look after all my workers, whether they’re bargirls or accountants. Although, I do enjoy looking after the bargirls more,” he added with a mischievous smile.

Krystal laughed back at him softly. ‘So he is Mother’s loan shark. A little… different from what I had expected. I will have to play this game carefully.’

Luhan held out a hand, his mesmerising gaze boring into Krystal’s eyes. “you can call me Luhan.”

Krystal took his hand, returning his gaze. “My name is Krystal Jang,Krystal as I’m better known.”

Luhan then lifted his hand to her lips, caressing the back of her fingers with a soft kiss. “It is a pleasure meeting you, Krystal,” he smiled up at her sweetly.

Krystal smiled back at Luhan in the same manner. “Nice to meet you too, Luhan.”

Lay sat waiting in the reception area of the political party headquarters, the other three officers that were accompanying him standing idly around as they surveyed their surroundings. He rolled his eyes in frustration for what must have been the hundredth time, wondering why these guys were taking this job so seriously. It wasn’t like Oh johnhoon and his son actually needed police officers; they had their own army of bodyguards. This was what frustrated Lay to no end.

After waiting in the room for nearly an hour, Oh Johnhoon and Sehun finally emerged from within the office, a stream of their people following behind. They all came to a stop when Lay and his crew went to stand at attention before them.

“Good morning, Senator Oh and good morning, Mr Sehun. I am Detective Lay Zhang Yixing and these three behind me are Officers Simon, Nathan and Sung. We are here today as per your request for a contingent of police to accompany you and your son on today’s campaign events.”

Mr Oh  studied the four of them, taking slightly more time with Lay. “They sent a detective? Isn’t that a little… strange?”

Lay refused the urge to agree with the senator, biting back a sharp retort. Instead, he said, “I was ordered by my superiors to undertake this mission and I must follow orders.”

Mr oh continued to peer at Lay for another minute before nodding his head. “If that is the way it is, then follow us. We are heading out to the car park. But I must tell you; I did not ask for the guard, my son did. So it is he who you must answer to. I have enough of my own bodyguards to deal with without extra police to worry about.”

He continued to stroll past them and the crowd behind followed. Sehun, however, hung back, a small smirk on his face as Lay turned to glare at him. He took several steps closer to Lay, still smiling.

“It looks like you will be working for me today, Detective Lay . Stay close to my side, okay?” he said in a voice that seemed to be on the edge of laughter before he turned to follow his father.

Lay watched him walk off, fuming slightly. “I knew there was something strange about all this! What does that arrogant rich boy hope to achieve by making me his bodyguard?” he whispered furiously before he stormed after him, the three other officers following behind with a slightly worried expression on their faces.

tbc.