[C h a p t e r 4 8]

Amber had taken slightly longer in the shower than she normally took, letting the water run down her face as she closed her eyes under its warmth. The stench of the two women’s blood still clung to nose and she repeatedly scrubbed her skin with the soap, feeling so dirty. It had been a long time since feelings of guilt had eaten up so much of her conscience, not since the early days of her training. Back then she had felt so dirty when she was forced to kill several of her classmates under the orders of Lee Soo Man. They died unbelievably easily at her hands and Amber had been left with a hollow, empty feeling as she stared at the blood that had covered her hands. And once more in this shower she found herself staring at those very same hands that had killed so many.

Her long shower over and dressed simply in a tank top and tracksuit pants to spend the rest of her evening inside the mansion’s walls, Amber stepped out her room, making her way downstairs. She headed over towards the wing of the mansion that housed the Syndicate’s many dojos, peering through the window of a door at the new recruits who were practicing their judo moves.

“Is your conscience beginning to catch up with you, Amber?” said a sly voice from behind. Amber could tell without looking that it was Key.

“I see you are home tonight, Master Key,” replied Amber, as polite as ever. But she wasn’t in the mood to play word games with Key. She walked off, heading towards the garden that lay behind this wing of the mansion.

Key smiled wryly as he watched her stroll off, soon following behind her at a distance. He paused at the doorway as he saw Amber walk over to the edge of a koi fish pond, sitting down on the lone stone bench by the water’s edge. The sky was a dark shade of purple, the sun long gone behind the mountain ranges in the distance.

“Yeah, I’m home because there is nothing better for me to do. I don’t feel like drinking and I don’t feel up for another fighting match with my father.” He came to sit beside Amber on the bench, leaving a comfortable distance between them. “The last time I remember seeing you sit here was when you were fifteen. It was just after that death match Lee Soo Man had put you and the other recruits through.”

He turned to study her face, wondering what kind of reaction she would have at him reviving horrible old memories for her. Her face remained blank and Key couldn’t exactly say whether he was pleased or not at the outcome.

As he turned back to stare out at the fish pond, Amber then suddenly asked, “What are you trying to get at by talking about the past, Master Key?”

A small triumphant smile spread across Key’s face as he realised he had struck a nerve within Amber. “It seems my father hasn’t exactly removed all the humanity from your soul, Amber.” He then paused, breathing the crisp evening air in deeply. “You’ve changed a little more over these past few weeks, Amber. You don’t seem so… dead anymore.”

A wry smile spread its way across Amber’s face as she looked up into the evening sky. “Is that so…? Then I suppose you want to know why as well?”

Key turned to look at Amber, studying the sad look in her eyes. “I think I already know why.” He suddenly reached out a hand and began to gently caress Amber’s face but she pulled away immediately, frowning at him in displeasure. Key just laughed. “And that is why.” Then he stood up, placing his hand in his pockets as he walked over to the edge of the pond a little distance away from Amber. “Do you know the true reason my father sent me away overseas?”

Amber stared at his backside, wondering why he would suddenly ask her such a question. “It was because he found you uncontrollable.”

Key laughed at her answer, nodding his head with his back still facing her. “True, true… I’ll admit to being the horrible child delinquent I was back then. But there was another reason to it all.” He spun around, staring at Amber with a seriousness in his eyes that slightly unnerved her. “The reason he sent me away was because he wanted me to forget about you. I used to harbour a crush on you and he saw right through me.”

Amber found that unbelievable as she remembered the way Key had treated her all those years ago. He had always found reasons to bully her, to plant more bruises on her during their training sessions together than was necessary. But as her eyes met his, she found her conviction beginning to waver as she realised how serious he was.

“You hated me,” she suddenly said, still unable to believe that Key would have liked her.

Key shrugged, turning back to stare out over the koi pond. “Perhaps, but I also liked you a lot. You had a strong spirit and one can’t help but admire that. But I was telling you the truth that night at my party that I used to think you were so ugly back then. You hardly ate and there was that dead look in your eyes, which I had still seen that night but… it’s now gone.”

Silence fell between them, each falling into their own thoughts. Amber was the first to break the stifling silence. “Why are you telling me this?”

Amber couldn’t see Key’s face but she could tell that he was smiling sadly. “Why am I telling you now? Because I want you to know that I once admired your spirit and I still do. I realised what my father had hoped my time overseas would do to me was all a failure the moment I saw you again. But then… I noticed the way he looked at you.”

“…He?” repeated Amber, slightly confused.

Key turned around to peer at Amber, no longer smiling. “That detective who is on your case. He seemed to recognise you that night, even though he may not realise that it was the little girl named Josephine he had recognised. Am I right in assuming that he was the boy who was set up to witness your fake death?” When Amber remained silent, her eyes averted to the ground, Key nodded his head in understanding. “So he was the one… And I suppose that necklace was something he gave you too, am I right?” Again, silence. Closing his eyes, Key turned away in frustration. “Damn it, Amber! He knows everything now, doesn’t he? Have you ever thought of what my father would say if he ever finds out?”

“I never intend to let him find out,” replied Amber calmly. Key spun around to stare at Amber suspiciously.

“Are you… are you even suggesting that you would kill my father to protect that detective?” Key’s eyes narrowed when he received no response and he took a step towards her. “Then what are you going to do to me, now that I know everything about your lover? Are you planning to kill me off too?”

Amber snapped her head towards Key, immediately standing up to her feet. “Are you planing to use this information to get on your father’s good side?” she asked, taking a threatening step towards him. “If you do anything to hurt Henry, I swear I’ll be on your back like the devils from hell.”

Key was not in the least bit intimidated and continued to stare Amber down. He suddenly pulled her in towards him and kissed her fiercely, forcing his lips onto hers as she struggled in his strong arms. She suddenly kneed him in the groin, sending him collapsing onto the ground in a heap. As she turned to storm off, he suddenly grabbed her arm, pulling her back onto the ground with him and pinning her arms to her front with a bear hug from behind.

“I should have expected that kind of reaction from you,” gasped Key as he tried to ignore the pain in his groin. Placing a kiss on Amber’s neck he then moved to whisper in her ear, “Your little boyfriend will be alright, Amber, if you only just do one little thing for me…”

Amber’s eyes widened slightly as she listened to Key’s request. Once he finished, she remained silent in his arms before saying, “Fine.”

Luhan poured himself another glass of brandy, the once full bottle now almost empty. Yet he did not feel even the least bit drunk, the pain of losing Krystal still raw and fresh in his heart. All he wanted right now was to forget that she had died, that she was no longer smiling and laughing beside him.

Draining his glass in one mouthful, Luhan slammed the glass back down on the bar counter, his head falling down to rest on his arm. He couldn’t believe how upset he was at losing Krystal. It had always been something he had feared, a reason why he never really became emotionally involved with women. His mother’s death had been just as horrible on him and he should have realised that it would be no different when he decided to accept his feelings for Krystal. He should have remained strong instead and warded off his growing affection for her instead of following on through with his emotions and involving her in such dangerous matters as the gangs of Korea.

As Luhan’s thoughts turned to those of the Seoul gangs, his fist curled tightly around his glass in anger. If it wasn’t because of his father’s stupid involvement in this side of the law he wouldn’t be in such a mess. He had had no choice all those months ago when the news of his father’s death reached him in the form of his now closest underling, Jay. It had been years since Luhan had heard anything from his father, the last time he had seen him being a brief visit to pay his respects to Luhan’s mother when she passed away. He knew of his father’s dark dealings and he didn’t want any part of it just like his mother also wanted, but it was not to be when after initially refusing the position an assassin had been sent to try and remove him from the picture. It was then he realised that he had no choice but to assert his power and authority within the gang if he wanted to continue living.

Suddenly, Luhan lifted the glass up off the counter and threw it across the room, the fragile object shattering into a thousand small shards as it connected with wall beside the door. A mildly surprised Jessica stood in the doorway, raising her arm to shield herself from the glass shards. Luhan stared angrily at Jessica for a few seconds before turning back to reach behind the bar counter for another glass.

“What are you doing here?” he asked surlily. He roughly poured himself another glass of brandy, downing half its contents in a small mouthful.

Jessica came to sit on the barstool beside Luhan, reaching behind the bar counter for a glass of her own. “I came as per your suggestion. I want revenge for my dongseang and you’re going to help me.”

She snatched the brandy bottle away from Luhan and poured herself a glass of the brown liquid. Then, taking a small, hesitant breath, she swallowed down its contents rapidly, her face screwing up at the strong, bitter taste of the liquor. Luhan chuckled slightly at the girl expression.

“I thought Krystal said you never drink,” he said casually, pouring Jessica another glass.

Jessica nodded her head. “I don’t, but now is a good time.” Again, she swallowed the liquor down in one gulp, this time not so shocked by its bitter taste. Already, she was beginning to feel light-headed from the effects of the alcohol.

“Maybe you should go easy on this stuff,” suggested Luhan as he moved the bottle away from Jessica who tried to reach for it. Jessica frowned, displeased that Luhan was now denying her the only means of forgetting the pain of losing her sister.

“I don’t want you deciding for me, Luhan ,” she snapped, glaring at the man. They continued to stare one another off for some time, before Luhan finally relented and allowed Jessica to take the bottle from him. As Jessica poured another glass for herself, she said, “I see you’re just as badly affected as I am over… Krys...” she paused, staring before her at the wall covered in shelves upon shelves of Luhan’s liquor collection. “If it wasn’t because of you entering her life, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.”

“I see you got out of the police station rather quickly,” said Luhan, changing the subject. He didn’t need to hear Jessica blame him for Krystal’s death. He had enough of that from himself.

Jessica just shrugged as she took a small sip of her brandy. “There wasn’t much I could tell them, except that it was your fault what happened to krystal.”

A sarcastic smile spread across Luhan’s face as he lifted his glass up to study. “Oh, really? Did you tell them everything, how I own casinos, manage several bars and am the leader of the second most powerful gang in Seoul, the Group?”

Shocked, Jessica snapped her head to glare angrily at Luhan. “I never knew you were a gang leader, much less the leader of the  Group!” She stood up off her stool, forcing it squealing along the floor in her rush to get up and hold Luhan up by the front of his shirt. “Is this the reason why my dongseang was killed? All because of this gang feud which has been plastered all over the news?”

Luhan stared back into the younger ladie’s eyes, a look in her eyes that said she no longer cared about anything. “And if it is, what are you going to do to me? Kill me? And leave the ones who really killed your sister to live?”

A frustrated look spread itself over Jessica’s face before she turned away, angrily swallowing the rest of the brandy in her glass. Luhan studied her reaction, waiting patiently for the questions he knew she would be asking him next.

“So who did kill my dongseang? And don’t give me any of that crap you were giving me earlier today. No one can decide whether or not I should involve myself in this matter of revenge and if you really did love my sister, then you would also agree with me that seeing this killer behind bars is not enough.” Jessica refused to turn around and face Luhan, instead standing with her back facing Luhan while her grip on her empty glass tightened.

Luhan realised that there was nothing he could do to sway her off the path for revenge and he had to admit that he was more than willing to comply with jessica suggestion. With a small smile, he patted the barstool next to him. “Come and sit back down. We have a lot to talk about tonight.” As Jessica turned around to look at Luhan wonderingly, he then continued to explain, “Because getting to Lee Soo Man’s pet secretary–slash–assassin is not going to be that easy.”

Jessica’s eyes widened in surprise at the information. “You really do know who killed Krystal!”

Luhan stared at her impatiently out the corner of his eyes. “That’s why I said we have a lot to talk about.”

Tbc.

So in this chapter you saw something "secret" happen between Amber and Key, and Luhan and Jessica team up for revenge. I must say, Key's thing was totally unplanned and I have a feeling that my story is beginning to deviate from original plan  Ah well, we'll see together how this will turn up in the end, and jessica character is mean to be abit rough and tomboyish  ;

Next Chatper: Donghae makes an untimely visit and Henry finally decides to do something...

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