[C h a p t e r 3 5]

Jessica stood waiting outside the revolving doors to the office of Distributions, crossing her arms over her chest as she leant against one of the granite tiled pillars that held the upper floors. Every now and then she threw a glance in the direction of the security guards, exchanging an angry glare with one another before turning away. It was because of those security guards that Jessica was stuck waiting for Luhan outside. She had arrived outside the office straight after she had visited her mother, only to be refused entrance by the guards on the basis of her appearance. However, Jessica had to admit that wearing skinny jeans and a baseball jacket was perhaps a little too informal for a big building like this.

A silver Benz came up the driveway and Jessica stood up straight as she tried to peer through the window. She assumed this would be Luhan’s car judging from the way the security guard had suddenly stood up taller than before, neatening his appearance. A man in the front seat suddenly stepped out and came to open the back door, letting a tall man with golden brown hair step out. The man peered around him, studying his surroundings before proceeding up the steps. Jessica suddenly rushed forward and barred the man she assumed was Luhan from progressing further.

“Where’s my Dongseang?” she suddenly snapped at Luhan, glaring at the man.

Luhan stared back at her with a look of mild confusion as the security guard Jessica had quarrelled with earlier came to restrain her.

“Please forgive me, Master , for not keeping this delinquent away from you. She has been hanging around here all morning and will not leave,” apologised the guard as he began to drag Jessica away.

Jessica pulled herself free and ran to slap Luhan by the face. The man who had opened the door for Luhan stepped forward menacingly but Luhan held a hand up to stop him. Jessica glanced between the man and Luhan before pulling Luhan in closer to her angry face.

“I asked you, ‘Where’s my dongseang?’”

Luhan turned to peer down at Jessica had on him before looking back up into the younger girl face with a small smile. “Are you perhaps Krystal Jang older Sister, Jessica jang?”

Jessica’s frown deepened. “So you really did take her with you. What have you done with her?” she shouted, shaking Luhan.

Luhan continued to smile as he proceeded to pry Jessica’s fingers from his shirt. “She is living comfortably at my home, probably much better than she would be with your mother right now.”

Jessica moved in to grip Luhan’s shirt  and the older man rolled his eyes. “Shut up! Return her to me!”

His patience running thin with the girl, Luhan glared down at Jessica, the dangerous glint in his eyes making Jessica falter slightly in her determination. “Are you sure she wants to return with you? She is doing fine, living as my sister.” Luhan couldn’t resist smirking at the shocked look on Jessica’s face. He shoved off Jessica’s hands and walked past the jessical. “You’re welcome to go visit her now, if you’re so desperate to see your sister. Jay here will take you to her.”

The man who had opened the door bowed his head at Luhan’s orders and proceeded back down the steps to hold open the door to the car for him. Jessica turned to peer at Luhan with a confused look on her face. “What do you mean Krystal is ‘living as your sister’?”

Luhan couldn’t help but smile as he then turned to face Jessica, hands in his pockets. “Exactly that. Now get lost. I don’t have the time to talk with brats like you.” He spun around on the spot and promptly entered the building without another glance.

Jessica continued to stare after him, confused as to what was really happening. Jay suddenly cleared his throat behind him and Jessica spun around on the spot to see him nod in the direction of the open car door. Bowing his head in apology with an uncertain smile, Jessica stepped into the vehicle. As the car pulled out, Jessica couldn’t help but ask herself, ‘What is really going on here?’

Henry sat leaning on his motorcycle as he drank from his bottle of Coke, watching the entrance to the Enterprises behind a pair of sunglasses. He had already called Lay to tell him that he wouldn’t be coming in today and he had promptly chucked a tantrum, calling him a number of unrepeatable names. Today they were meant to go and interview the two witnesses in their safe house but he had passed the opportunity, saying that he had some urgent business to attend to. The lack of details about this urgent business of his sent Lay into another round of insults and Henry had promptly cut the call there. He had to admit that at times his partner was a little tough to handle with, especially if he was left to do something on his own.

He suddenly sat up straight when he saw Amber and Lee Soo Man emerge from the building, walking down the front steps to a waiting black Mercedes. Draining the last of his drink and throwing the bottle away, Henry started up his motorcycle and proceeded to follow Lee Soo Man’s car as they pulled out of the driveway.

Amber sat silently in the back seat of the car next to Lee Soo Man, her face blank as she stared ahead. Lee Soo Man had hardly spoken with her since that night, seemingly distancing himself from her. But that never bothered Amber. She knew it was only a matter of time before Lee Soo Man would begin to favour her again and send her back on those missions. She closed her eyes as she tried to suppress a shudder at the thought.

Opening her eyes again, she glanced at the driver, noticing that he was constantly turning to look in the rear view mirror. Growing suspicious, Amber pulled out her compact and pretended to check her appearance, all the while looking out the back window through the reflection. She saw the motorcycle tailing them and her heart literally stopped in her chest when she realised who it was.

Lee Soo Man seemed to notice Amber holding the mirror for an abnormally long time and turned to peer at her suspiciously. “Is there something wrong, Amber?”

Amber slowly closed her compact, concentrating on putting it away. “Someone is following us,” she said quietly after some time.

Lee Soo Man suddenly raised an eyebrow and turned to glare at the driver. “Is that so?”

The Driver nodded nervously as he peered at Lee Soo Man through the rear view mirror. “Yes, Master . I have noticed a motorcycle has been following us since we left the office, Sir.”

A frown creased Lee Soo Man’s brow as he turned to stare out the window. The car came to a stop at the traffic lights. “We cannot go to meet Harada under these conditions. It looks like we will have to change our plans.”

“Perhaps not, Master Lee,” said Amber carefully. Lee Soo Man turned to look at her wonderingly.

“How do you intend to deal with the tailer then?” he asked.

Amber continued to stare ahead of her, her face expressionless. “I shall go confront him and ask what he wants.”

Lee Soo Man raised a curious eyebrow before he turned to stare ahead of him. “That simply? Very well.” He leaned forward to speak into driver’s ear, “Find a place we can stop for a few minutes.”

As the light turned green, the driver did as he was told and turned left into a small street where he pulled up to the side of the road. Henry continued to slowly follow and came to an abrupt stop behind them, realising that they must have noticed him. He watched as Amber slowly stepped out of the car and came walking towards him.

“Is there a reason why you are following us, Detective Xianhua?” she asked coldly, her eyes betraying none of her thoughts.

Henry glanced between Amber and the car behind her, moving to remove his sunglasses from his face. “You managed to recognise me, Amber?” he asked with a small smile. His heart beat slightly faster as he stared at her, the suspicions in his mind rising to the surface with a stronger conviction than ever, now that he saw her before him.

“I happen to have a good memory, Detective,” replied Amber sharply. “You do realise that what you are doing is illegal and we reserve the right to call the police to arrest you?”

The smile on Henry’s face grew into a grin as he nodded his head in amusement. “It does seem like you have a good memory if you continue to call me XianHua.” He was pleased by the effect his words had on Amber as she looked shocked for a moment. Henry went to put his sunglasses back on and started the engine to his motorbike. “All right, I won’t follow you anymore. But let me tell you something, Amber ‘Liu’,” he said, putting an emphasis on her last name. “The one I wanted to follow was you. If you want to know why I was, then come to meet me at the place we shared our first kiss, midnight tonight. I’ll be waiting.” He smirked as he suddenly tore off, the engine of his motorbike roaring loudly down the street.

Amber slowly made her way back to the car, entering it as calmly as possible. Lee Soo Man turned to peer at her, waiting for her to tell him what had passed.

“He was a police officer, one of Park Jiseok’s underlings. He wouldn’t tell me why he was tailing us but I threatened to call the police on him for it was being done without a warrant. He left without arguing back. It should be safe to continue on now, Master .”

Lee Soo Man nodded his head as he accepted Amber’s explanation. “Very well; pull out, driver. However, take a round about way to where we’re headed, just in case that man still wants to try to follow us. We can’t let the police find out that we’re meeting a representative of the Yakuza today.”

The Driver nodded his head in reply and proceeded to pull out. Amber turned to stare out her window, her face an expressionless mask. Yet deep down, she was feeling incredibly troubled. Henry’s attitude towards her just now was different to the last time they had met. It seemed as if he had finally figured out her true identity. She had hoped it would be a little while longer before he figured it out, but it seemed as if that would not be the case. It was only logical that he would, seeing as he cared about her a lot, whether she was Josephine or Amber. Suppressing the urge to sigh, Amber turned back to stare at the chair before her. She would have to think hard to come up with a plan to sneak away unnoticed later. Tonight will be the night she will finally confront the misdeeds of her past as Jsephine.

Tbc.

 Henry is becoming more and more certain of his hunch. And I just have to say this: The best lies are those which incorporate pieces of the truth. (Referring to Amber's partial lie to Lee Soo Man .)

Next Chapter: Jessica finally meets up with his beloved sis and Henry wants more info on...?