[C h a p t e r 4 4]

Krystal slowly stretched out in bed, a small smile touching her lips before she turned around and stretched her hand out to feel the person that would be sleeping next to her. However, when her hand connected with nothing, she opened her eyes in slight disappointment. It was always like this; Luhan often left the room early every morning and she had yet to wake up seeing him lying next to her. Since that night at the cliff, Krystal had moved into his room deciding that if she was going to love a gang leader, she might as well not waste any of their time together. And she had to admit that she enjoyed every minute of his company in bed and she could tell that he did too, although at times she wondered how much longer this happiness would last. What she was afraid of most was losing him, but she also dreaded the day he would grow tired of her and find a new mistress, someone much younger and prettier than her.

With a soft sigh, she got out of bed, glancing at the clock. It was just after seven and little a grin crept across her face. ‘Maybe he hasn’t left yet and is still eating breakfast downstairs,’ she thought to herself. Quickly, she went to clean her teeth and changed out of her nightgown before hurrying out of the room.

She came to a halt on the stairs as Luhan shouts drifted up from below. Crouching down on the top stairs, she sat hidden as she eavesdropped on his conversation, which did not seem to be good.

“…the bastard has finally decided to get back at us after so many blows but I never expected two of our casinos to be sacrificed at the same time in the process! Explain to me why the police still made the arrests despite our influence!” shouted Luhan.

“Apparently, Lee Soo Man has involved several high ranking police officers in the matter, claiming that he had heard of the casinos but never visited them. The police who are on our side could do nothing against the orders,” replied Jay who seemed unfazed by his boss’s anger.

Krystal watched as Luhan spun around angrily, his fist curling into a tight ball as he tried to control his rage. After several minutes, he let out a sigh, massaging his temples with his right hand. “Close down our other casinos for a week until this thing blows over. Make sure our important members that were arrested keep their mouths shut or else get rid of them. I don’t want anymore of our casinos gone.”

Jay bowed his head before curtly turning around and walking off. Luhan watched the man walk off with a tired expression on his face before heading over to the stairs. Krystal thought of returning to her room and acting as if she hadn’t heard anything but decided against it. She leant her head against the rail as she watched him ascend the stairs, his head bowed low so that he didn’t notice her watching him.

It wasn’t until he saw her feet on the steps that he looked up and saw Krystal sitting on the top step, a small smile on her face. “Eavesdropping again?” he asked as he took a seat on the step below her.

“Well, I was going to see if I could surprise you at breakfast but instead I find you upset over your business.” She pulled his head in to rest on her shoulder, gently his golden brown hair. “You should give up this business. It doesn’t really suit you and I know you don’t like it either.”

Luhan circled his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly as he breathed her scent in deeply. He had never been so infatuated with a woman before and it was such a new experience for him. “You know me too well,” he said sadly. “But I can’t stop being the leader. Even if I hand the leadership peacefully over to someone else, they would still come to try and kill me. They would never be at peace if a legitimate successor to the Group survives. That’s why I hate being my father’s son.”

Krystal closed her eyes as she nuzzled her head against his hair. “I only hope that you won’t come to harm, Luhan.”

Luhan pulled back from Krystal, peering up into her face with a smile. “You know, you could’ve ended that sentence with ‘I love you’. I haven’t heard you say it yet. Why don’t you say it to me this once to cheer me up?” he teased.

Krystal’s face reddened as she slapped his arm playfully. “Who loves you, idiot?” she laughed, now trying to get out of his embrace but he held on tightly. “I was being serious there and you suddenly start playing around!”

“But I’m being serious! I haven’t heard you say ‘I love you’ yet. It’s not fair; I’ve said it to you so many times, why don’t you say it to me? You obviously care for me. Do you not love me as well?” pouted Luhan, making a sad puppy face.

Krystal shoved his face away with a smile. “I’m never going to say those words to you unless I’m ready. And now is not the time. Come on; we’d better go eat some breakfast” She tried to pull out of his arms again but this time Luhan pulled her in for a kiss.

It was a minute before he pulled away from Krystal, finally releasing her. “Alright, let’s get some breakfast. But don’t think I’m letting you off, Krystal – one of these days I will make you say those three words to me.”

Krystal rolled her eyes, standing up. “Whatever,” she smiled as she walked past him. His arm s around her shoulders and he held her close to him as together they descended the stairs. However, in the back of Krystal’s mind she wondered: why was it so hard for her to say those three words?
 

Amber sat quietly in a dark tinted car Lee Soo Man had given her for the day, parked across the street from an ice-cream parlour. She stared out her window, observing the scene inside as best she could from this distance. The driver Lee Soo Man had also given her suddenly yawned loudly, causing Amber to snap her head angrily in his direction. Realising his mistake, he nervously adjusted himself in his seat as he avoided eye-contact with Amber. Lucky for him, he did not know Amber’s identity as Dawn so he wasn’t as frightened as he would have been if he had known.

The minutes crawled by as Amber watched patiently, her heart in a dilemma. After observing her target for the past few days, she found this new assignment of hers was tough for her target was constantly surrounded by guards. Amber was glad that her new assignment was a tough one, for that meant she could delay killing someone else for a little longer. But then again, she was slightly afraid because delaying the killing would mean that Lee Soo Man would not be happy and that meant more unpleasant things are sure to arise.

She suddenly sat up straighter when her target finally emerged from within the ice-cream parlour. Five bodyguards followed her out as a girl came to wave her off at the door. She got into her car with two of the guards, the remaining bodyguards entering a car behind. The girl, who Amber assumed was her target’s Noona, continued to wave her Dongseang off, long after they had disappeared around the corner. Amber watched the girl return to the parlour before leaning forward to tap her driver on the shoulder. A little startled by the touch, the driver then promptly started the engine and together they followed the car that carried her latest target, Krystal Soo Jung.
 

“What is up with Seoul these days?” shouted Lay in frustration as he and several other police officers crowded around the morning’s newspaper, discussing the latest drug bust of the yakuza gang and the arrest of several members in the East gang who were suspected of laundering money. “The gangs have all gone crazy! They’re ratting each other out, one by one!”

“Not to mention the increase in violent street gang fights,” mentioned another officer.

Lay clapped his hands before pointing them at the other officer. “That’s right! It’s as if we’re in the middle of a bloody war zone!”

“Who would’ve thought the Five would begin fighting against themselves so suddenly? They’ve always gotten along somewhat peacefully, even though it’s well known that the Group and the Syndicate don’t exactly like each other. The only peaceful place that’s left is Gangnam do, and that’s just because they are neutral,” said Jason, who sat on the desk.

Jiseok, who was seated on the chair beside Jason, nodded his head thoughtfully. “I wonder what started this whole mess. Haven’t some of our spies been saying that the  group was provoking the Syndicate? They got a new leader some time ago too, who goes by the name ‘Dragon’.”

“Yeah, I heard he wants to make the group the biggest gang in Seoul, second to none. And that means getting rid of the Syndicate. He’s a pretty brave fellow, if you ask me,” said another officer.

Lay made a face at the man. “Hey, you shouldn’t be praising these bastards. It’s because of them that the whole city’s in such a mess!”

Suddenly, they were all startled when something slammed onto the desk. A bunch of newspapers lay sprawled across the table and they all turned to look up into Henry’s frowning face. “Don’t you guys have anything better to do than gossip about the news? It’s getting annoying.”

Lay stood up from his spot, frowning as well. “Do you always have to be so moody? Every time you hear about the Five, you suddenly grow incredibly angry. What is your problem?”

Henry met Lay’s stare angrily before he turned away, guilt gnawing at him unforgivingly. “Nothing’s my problem.” He walked away briskly, sitting down roughly in his chair behind his desk as the others watched him. They continued to stare at him for a while, exchanging confused glances with one another before continuing their conversation in a quieter tone.

Truth was, Henry was getting sick with worry over what this news of the friction between the gangs meant for Amber. He knew that now things were getting intense it was only a matter of time before Lee Soo Man put Amber back into use as Dawn. And that was the last thing he wanted to happen to her.

Donghae and Seohyun stood outside the door to Henry’s office in the  house, peering up and down the hallway to see whether Henry had come back home yet. Receiving no sign of the man, Donghae proceeded to turn the knob of the door, only to be halted by Seohyun.

“I don’t think this is a really good idea, Donghae. It doesn’t feel right, breaking into Oppa room.” She suddenly pulled Donghae’s hand away from the door knob and proceeded to try and drag him away. “Maybe we should find some other way to find out the identity of that woman.”

Donghae pulled Seohyun to a stop, dragging her back to the office door. “Relax, Seohyun – it was your idea in the first place, remember? If we want to help Henry, then we’ll have to break in to his laptop. You said you’ve seen him staring strangely at her picture in his laptop before.”

Seohyun cringed slightly as she remembered her words. “But what if Oppa suddenly decides to come back an-”

“He won’t suddenly come back, Seohyun. I called Lay a few minutes ago, remember? He’s still at the station and it looks like he won’t be going anywhere soon,” assured Donghae as he reached the office door.

Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and the door clicked open. Pushing it in, they were greeted by Dino’s ear-piercing whistle followed by his loud squawks. Donghae hurriedly dragged Seohyun in behind him and closed the door, afraid that Seohyun’s parents might hear the bird. Seohyun went over to the side of the cage, immediately trying to hush the bird.

“Shhhh! Shhh, you stupid bird!” She suddenly found a maroon blanket which Henry used to cover the cage at night, throwing it over the bird. Immediately, Dino stopped whistling, squawking softly every now and then in indignation. “I’ve never liked that bird,” said Seohyun with a huff.

Donghae only smiled as he went to sit in the chair behind Henry’s desk, booting up the laptop that always remained in that room. “No one ever likes that bird, except for Henry and Josephine. I wonder why sometimes.”

While they waited for the laptop to load, Seohyun came to hover behind Donghae, kneeling on the ground as she began to search the desk drawers. Wondering what she was doing, Donghae peered at her. “What are you looking in there for?”

“For anything else that may help us find out about that woman, in case we can’t get anything useful from his laptop,” replied Seohyun absently as she carefully sorted through a pile of paper.

Donghae shook his head in amazement. “And you were afraid of entering just a minute ago…” Suddenly, the login page to Henry’s laptop showered, requesting a password. “Great… we should have expected Henry would password protect his laptop. Now what?”

Seohyun looked up from what she was doing, giving a small frown. “Well, use that brain of your’s to crack it! You’re studying medicine, right? You should be smart enough to decipher your best friend’s password.”

Donghae rolled his eyes at Seohyun’s response, before turning back to the computer. “That sure was useful, Seohyun. I’m starting to doubt how wise I was in deciding to fall in love with you – ouch!” he shouted as Seohyun pinched him in the side. She stuck out her tongue at him and he responded in kind. Turning back to the screen, he began to think what kind of password Henry would use.

“Well, I guess the most obvious one would be ‘Josephine’.” He typed that in, receiving a message that said he had three more tries to get it right. “An obvious dud.” Next, he tried ‘Jeju Do’ and ‘Dino’ but they also returned the same message. Now on his last try, he hesitated before typing anything in, thinking carefully over what it could be.

Seohyun suddenly nudged him in the side, startling him from his thoughts. Donghae peered over at her to see her staring at a piece of paper which had obviously once been scrunched up into a ball. “What is it?”

“It looks like… some note he wrote a while ago. It was written in pencil, so it’s kinda faded but I can still make most of it out: ‘I miss Josephine so much. I miss our times up in the mountain, sitting next to her in that hut she found. Why can’t I ever forget her? Why? And that Kris…’” Seohyun stopped reading and frowned. “I can’t make out what he writes after that.” She turned to peer up at Donghae. “Any ideas where that hut might have been? It could be the password.”

Donghae pondered the thought, wracking his mind for where it could have been. He recalled that the Mountains lay not far from the orphanage, but that seemed a little too general. Then a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Maybe…” He typed a three letter word, hoping that his hunch was right. And he was rewarded by the welcome screen of the laptop.

“Yes!” exclaimed Donghae triumphantly. Seohyun turned to peer at him confused.

“What was it?”

Donghae turned to look at her, grinning. “It was such a simple word – HUT. No one could have guessed that, whether or not they knew him. And it was all thanks to you that I could!” He suddenly leaned towards Seohyun, cupping her face as he planted a kiss on her lips before turning back to stare at the laptop screen.

A blush crept across Seohyun’s face as she busied herself with putting everything away neatly, a small smile trying to creep onto her face. She had to admit, Donghae could be unwittingly sweet at times and she has been happier since she finally accepted his affections for her. She had no idea what was running through her mind that day when she asked Donghae out, but she did and she didn’t regret it. Seohyun was tired of chasing after Henry, seeing how devoted he still was to Josephine, but she still worried for him. He was her Oppa after all, if only in name.

Donghae scanned through the list of icons on the desktop, not surprised when he saw that Josephine’s profile was there. There were quite a few other profiles on the desktop but only one of them besides Josephine’s didn’t seem like it belonged there. He clicked on it, inhaling sharply when he recognised the woman in the picture.

Seohyun quickly propped herself up behind Donghae, leaning on his shoulder to peer at the screen. “Isn’t that the woman we saw at the resort?”

Slowly, Donghae nodded before retrieving a notepad and a pen from his pocket. “Yeah, the exact same woman… Now I’m definitely sure I saw a ghost but I still can’t believe it.”

“What do you mean a ‘ghost’?” asked Seohyun, puzzled as she watched him scribble down the details of the woman named Amber Liu.

When Donghae had finished writing, he went to open up Josephine’s profile and Seohyun couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp of astonishment. “Now do you know what I mean by a ‘ghost’? Amber Liu looks exactly like Josephine. Maybe… they’re the same person and Henry has just confirmed it.”

Seohyun looked up at Donghae in horror, still finding the resemblance between Josephine and Amber a little too uncanny. “But how? She was dead in the hospital, remember? We all saw her.”

Donghae proceeded to shut down the laptop, shrugging. “Beats me. But there’s only one way to find out.”
 

Tbc.

Phew... a lot of things are happening at once in this story... A nice Luhan-Krystal scene at the start, Lee Soo Man's gotten back at the group, even the other two gangs are joining in the fight. Amber is chasing her new target, Krystal - who is doing her visits - and Henry is still as tense as ever. Finally, Donghae and Seohyun have found out about Amber, and what more is Donghae has begun to suspect her of being Josephine... Now, why did I just do a summary of this chapter.?!

Next Chapter: Amber has some spare time on her hands...

Oh, and I forgot to say, yes, I know Henry's password is lame..

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