Note: Hope you all enjoy this first chapter! And please do comment and subcribe. :) THANK YOU! 

Ps..poster anyone? Lol. That would be greately appriciated. :) 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

    “You know, sometimes it really working night shifts.” Tiffany sighed as she leaned against the bar table, staring at her manicured nails.

“I feel like you’re subtling trying to get me to close for you.” Dara raised a brow at her friend. She just finished wiping the counter and was going to start putting away the glasses and throw the glass bottles into the recycling bin.

Tiffany looked at Dara with pleading eyes. Dara sighed and finally gave in. She knew that Tiffany really wanted to get home to her new boyfriend and it was better than her standing around, complaining about working the late night shifts. “Fine, go on ahead. I’ll close up. But you owe me one.”

“Thanks, D! You’re the best!”

Tiffany blew a little air kiss before grabbing her bag and skipping out the door. Dara shook her head and went on with her cleaning. She finally put away the last glass and now only had to take out the trash located in the back alley. It always gave her the creeps, especially in a sketchy city like Black District.

She tied the ends of the plastic bag and kicked open the door leading to the back alleyway. She looked both ways, shivering a little with the cold before going over to the dumpster to dump the trash. Rubbing her hands together, she went back inside to lock up. Dara grabbed her bag from the back of the counter and walked out of the bar, making sure to lock the door behind her.

She quickly got into her 2000 Nissan Sentra and put the keys in the ignition. Her forehead creased when the car made a slight clicking sound before completely dying on her. Dara groaned and hit her head on the steering wheel. She popped the hood of her car and went out to check on the battery. Unfortunately for her, she had no jumper cables and no way of powering up her car. And so she took out her phone. “Hello? Mom?”

“Dara, honey, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you home yet?”

“Sorry, Mom...I had to close up. Do you think you can come meet me at work? My car died.”

Dara heard her mother sigh before chuckling a little. “Aigoo, you! You’re luck I’m not working tonight. I’ll be there in fifteen. Just hang on tight and stay in your car until you get there, okay?”

“Thanks! I love you!”

“Love you, too, Honey.”

Dara ended the call and went to sit inside her car to wait for her mother. She played on her phone for a bit before she finally saw her mother’s car pull up. She got out of her car and ran over to her mother to give her a hug. “Thank you for coming.”

“Sure, thing. Alright, let’s get this baby started up!”

Dara laughed as her mother took out jumper cables and attached it to her battery. Her mom started up her car and soon the lights on the Dara’s car came to life again. She sighed in relief and hugged her mom again. “Thanks, again.”

“Of course! How was work today? Think you finally made enough money to help pay for your tuition? It is your last year of college after all…”

“I think I’m getting there. Soon, I’ll graduate and become a successful doctor like you.” Dara smiled.

“One can only hope. You’ll get there soon, sweetie. I have faith that you’ll do great things one day and really make a difference.”

“Thanks. Mom, thank you…”

“You already said that---”

“No, I mean thank you...for being my mom and for always being there for me when I need you.”

“Well, that’s what mom’s do. They’re always there for their kids.”

“I know. Whenever I call you, you always come running. You’re the best mom anyone could ever ask for.”

Dara’s mother’s eyes welled up with tears for bit before she pulled her daughter into a tight hug. Soon, a dark vehicle pulled up in front of them. Dara frowned. She didn’t call anyone for a tow and the bar was already closed. “Hey, come back tomorrow! We’re closed!” Dara called out.

But the the headlights of the car went off and the doors opened. Dara’s mother pushed her back a bit, a nervous look on her face. “Dara, get in the car.”

“What?”

“Get in the car now!”

“Mom, what---”

Soon, three men dressed in black came out of the car and with guns in their hands. Dara’s eyes widened as she tugged on her mother’s sleeve. “Dara, get in your car now!”

“But---”

    BANG BANG! Dara gasped in shock when the men shot her mother dead right in front of her eyes. “MOM!” She screamed and was about to kneel down but the men suddenly pointed their guns at her.

    Survival instincts took over and Dara ran as fast as she could away from the men, the vicious, horrible men that killed her mother. She ran until she came to an alleyway, not the best decision but her mind was so clouded that she couldn’t think straight. For one thing, her mother was now dead and for some reason there were people chasing after her with guns, aiming to kill her!

    She panted as she ran, her adrenaline pumping through her veins. She looked behind her for a brief second and turned back around in time to trip over a trash bag. Dara stumbled and fell to the ground, hitting her her head on the hard concrete. She palmed her head, feeling a bump starting to form and the warm wetness on her head. “Ah…”

    Dara winced and tried to stand but her vision was blurry. She had really hit her head hard on the ground. Dara looked up and saw the three shadowy figures of the men standing over her, their guns aimed at her head. She trembled and tried to push herself back as tears streamed down her face. “Please, please don’t kill me! Please! What do you want from me?! Why did you kill my mother?!”

    The men merely chuckled. She heard the faint click of a gun and closed her eyes, waiting for her impending death. However, it never came. She heard a vicious growl and her eyes snapped open. She was still in a daze so everything was out of focus but she could’ve sworn she saw someone beating up the men. A gasp escaped when one of the men landed right in front of her, his neck gushing blood.

    Dara looked up and saw a dark figure standing before her. She desperately tried to make herself focus but she just couldn’t. For a moment, she thought it had been some kind of animal or beast that had saved her...but the figure was human...or at least that’s what it looked to be. Before she was able to make sense of anything, she out.

3 Years later…

  Dara ran through the streets, bumping into people along the way and tipping over a street merchants cart in the process of trying to catch the man running away from her. She ducked her head as the man shot at her. The crowd dispersed and screamed in panic. She cursed under her breath as she panted heavily.

    She followed the guy to a narrow alleyway with a dead end. A smirk formed on her lips as she gained on the guy’s tail. Before the man had a chance to shoot her, she tackled him to the ground and twisted his arms behind his back. “Mr. Kim, you are under arrest for theft and attempted murder. Anything you say can and will be used against you…”

    “Dara!”

    Dara handcuffed the man before turning around at the sound of her partner’s voice. She smiled and yanked the disheveled man off the ground. “I was just about to call in for backup but looks like you handled it pretty well.” Bom nodded, obviously impressed.

    “It was nothing.”

    Soon two squad cars pulled up and their Chief as well as a couple of guys in the force got out. Chief Yang chuckled as he walked over to Dara and the perp, shaking his head. He patted man’s shoulder. “So, how does it feel to get your kicked by a woman?”

    “Shut up, you bas---”

    WHACK! Dara smacked him across the back of the head and shoved him toward the Chief. Chief Yang caught the man and handed him over to the other policemen. He turned to Dara and winked. “Wow, Dara. I must say, in all my years in the force I have never seen someone work as well as you do.”

    “HEY!” Bom protested.

    “Well, aside from Bom of course. Let’s head back to the station. We have new cases coming in.”

    Dara and Bom followed Chief Yang to his cruiser and hopped in the back. “So, what’s the damage, Chief?” Bom asked.

    “Double homicide. Two bodies were found in a hotel room, hunch is, one got poisoned and one with signs of blunt forced trauma on their head.”

    “Hm...sounds like the work of that street gang that’s been terrorizing people for the past three years. What do you think, Dara?”

    At the mention of the gang, Dara’s entire body stiffened. There had been one gang that has been responsible for half of the homicides reported in the past three years...her mother’s case being one of them. Three years, she spent days and nights trying to figure out why her mother had been killed. Everyone told her that it was probably because they were in their territory and gangs tended to hunt people that crossed onto their turf. But was that really the case? She believed that those men, those horrible men had hunted her and her mother down. It was like they knew her mother was there…

    News came about when Dara reported that some sort of animal or beast had saved her...but they told her that animals wouldn’t dare wander into the city like that They said that her concussion just caused her to see things and the people were probably killed by neighboring gangs that happened to be near by.  People ended up labeling her as crazy.

    “Dara?”

    Dara snapped out of her daze and shook her head. “Sorry, what was that?”

    “What do you think about the case? You think it’s the same people?” Bom asked again.

    But Dara didn’t need to answer that question. Bom could see the intensity in Dara’s eyes and knew what she was thinking. She sighed and rested a hand on Dara’s shoulder. Dara startled a bit and looked over at her. “Dara…”

 “I-I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something.”

    “You were thinking about your mom again, weren’t you?” Bom looked at her sadly.

    “Yea...I know it’s been three years and I should get over it by now but---”

    “Hey, it’s ok. You lost your mom to those low lifes. I understand. It’s ok to get angry at them for what they did. We’ll catch them one day and we’ll take down those bastards.”

    Dara laughed slightly. “Thanks, Bommie. I just wish I knew why they did it, you know? Why my mom? What did she ever do to them?”

    “We’ve been through this. You guys were probably on gang turf and that ticked them off and so they came after you two. Don’t make this to be bigger than what it is. I really hate to see you so worked up.”

    “I know. You’re right. I’m sorry. I just want some answers is all.”

    “And we’re going to get it. Chief, let’s head down to the hotel now.”

    Chief Yang nodded and sped off down to the hotel a couple blocks away. They parked out in front and quickly made their way to the crime scene. Dara lifted the yellow tape on the door and stepped inside, followed by Bom and Chief Yang. Two bodies, a man and woman were sprawled on the room floor, their faces pale and lips cracked. Dara kneeled down in front of the woman and tilted her head to the side to find a couple of abrasions and slight bruising on her neck, indicating that she was also strangled.  

Dara looked over to the man and notice the large gash on his forehead. Her brows furrowed when she noticed something tucked away in the man’s jacket. “Bom, check his jacket pocket. I think he’s hiding something.”

 Bom nodded and slipped on a pair of gloves before reaching into the guy’s pocket. She clicked her tongue when she pulled out a bottle of cyanide. “Well, looks like we just found the murder weapon… the guy must be our killer…”

    “So, he strangled the girl, poisoned her, and then somehow killed himself? That doesn’t make sense. And by the looks of it. It looks like the guy had some sort of struggle on his own.”

    Bom looked over to the wall and spotted faint traces of blood. Dara noticed it too and stood back up, completely stumped by the crime scene. It just didn’t make sense. It seemed like the guy killed the girl but then their killer somehow became the next victim. “So, what do you think happened, Chief?” Bom sighed.

    “I don’t know. Let’s get these bodies back to the station to get examined. Hopefully we find something that will help us solve this case.”

    “I agree. Something just doesn’t make sense.”

    Dara, Bom, Chief Yang, Chaerin, and Seungri gathered in the office to look over the case. From what they found out, the woman went by the name of Im Yoona and the man was identified as Ok Taecyeon. According to family members and friends, the two had dated a while back but split when Yoona found another man and got engaged a few months ago.“Where is she? Yoona...is she alright?” A young man rushed into the room, his hair disheveled; Lee Seung-gi, Yoona's to be husband.

    “Mr. Lee, please have a seat…”

    Dara gestured for him to sit at her desk. He sighed and sat down on the chair while Dara took her place in front of him, the rest of her team standing by. “Is she ok? I got a call asking about Yoona. Did something happen?”

    Dara took a deep breath before speaking. This was never easy… “Mr. Lee...I’m so sorry to inform you but your fiance was found at dead in a hotel room. She was poisoned.”

    “Wh-what? No, that can’t be… I just talked to her last night...I knew I should’ve went with her. I never should have let her go on the business trip alone. How could I have let this happen?”

    “Mr. Lee, her body is downstairs...would you like to come down with me to confirm that it is her?”

    “Y-yes, please.”

    Dara looked at Chief Yang and he nodded. She helped him stand up and escorted him down to the lab. The elevator chimed when they reached the basement and Il-Woo came up to greet them. “Hey, Il-Woo, this is is Mr. Lee Seung-gi...he’s here to see his fiance.”

    “Of course. Right this way.”

    Il-Woo led them over to a small lab table with a large black body bag on top. Seung-gi looked at both of them before swallowing his saliva nervously. With shaky hands, he ped the bag and opened it just a crack. He instantly fell to his knees and sobbed. “No...no! NO! Why? Who did this to her?!”

    Dara bit her lip and kneeled down to touch his shoulder. “Mr. Lee, I---we’re very sorry for your loss. By any chance, has Yoona been in contact with a man named Ok Taecyeon?”

    “Why do you mention that bastard? Is he the one responsible for this? Did he do this to her? I swear, I’ll---”

    “He’s dead, Mr. Lee. He was found at the same crime scene as your wife. It seems he poisoned her but then someone came and finished him off.”

    “That bastard was with her? Why is that? And who killed him? I’ll gladly thank whoever avenged my fiance’s death.”

    “We don’t know everything yet, Mr. Lee but we will contact you when we find out more information. For now, I’ll call down Detective Park Bom to you to our lounge. Have a cup of coffee. You need it.”

    He nodded. Dara took out her walkie talkie and paged Bom. Bom informed her that she was already in the elevator about the come down. Soon, Bom arrived and stepped inside to help Seung-gi off the ground. Dara thanked Bom quietly and sighed before turning back to the body. “Tell me you have something for me, Il-Woo.”

    “Well, I do have two tickets to see Phantom of the Opera tonight at eight…” He raised his brows.

 “I mean about the case, Jung. And as much of a fan I am, I can’t tonight. My brother is coming in from Seoul.”

    “Gotcha. Anyway, I do have something for you about the case.” Il-Woo went to his desk and picked up a blue folder and handed it to Dara. “These prints were found at the crime scene. I also managed to find a bit of blood from our hero-slash-killer.”

“Thanks, Il-Woo. I’ll take this up to Chief Yang. And sorry about tonight, I really wish I could go but I can’t.”

“No problem, babe. But you know I can’t wait forever.” He winked causing Dara to roll her eyes.

She shook her head before leaving the lab and headed back up to the office. They were still trying to figure out everything. Dara dropped the folder on her desk and pulled out the files. She ran the papers through the scanner and soon a bunch of windows popped up on her computer. They showed up on the big screen as well, allowing Chief Yang and everyone else to see. “Is this our killer? Kwon Jiyong?” Seungri nodded to the screen.

“Looks like it if Il-Woo found his prints at the site. Someone find out where this guy lives and---”

Dara gasped and pushed herself away from her computer. Chief Yang and Bom looked at her questioningly. She bit her lip and gulped. “He’s dead…it says here that he supposedly died four years ago. Apparently, he was killed by…” She stopped and her face darkened.

Without another word, she pulled up the files on the big screen. Bom saw and looked back at Dara. She walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “He was killed by SM…”

“Yea, he was killed by the same gang that killed my mom.”

“This still doesn’t make sense. How did the prints of a dead guy end up at our crime scene? Unless some freaky resurrection crap happened, I can’t understand how he’d be our killer.” Chaerin frowned at the screen.

“Then we have to find out. Dara, check to see who this guy was associated with. Bom you help Dara. Seungri, Chaerin, you two are coming with me. It seems we have a bit more investigating to do. We’ll head back to the hotel to check the scene again to see if we missed anything.”

The girls nodded at their Chief as he left and went straight to work. It wasn’t long before they finally managed to find a connection the man. It seemed as if he was a doctor before he died and worked at Black District General Hospital. “Well, let’s go see what we can find. You up to going to taking a trip to the hospital?” Dara nodded at Bom.

“Let’s do it.”

Both girls set out the hospital and stopped a few nurses to ask about Kwon Jiyong but a lot of them were new and had never heard of him. Dara sighed and leaned up against a counter, ready to give up but her eyes caught something hanging on the wall near the employee lounge. She walked over to the wall and saw that it was a picture of him. He was voted as “Most Valued Employee”. “Did you know him?” Dara jumped a little but straightened herself out seeing an elderly nurse standing beside her.

“N-no. Did you?”

“Very well actually. He was a fine young man and very handsome, too. All the female nurses completely drooled over him. All the other doctors here were arrogant and prideful but not him. He was humble and very down to earth. He was a good man. I would’ve loved to have had a grandson like him.”

“He sounds like a wonderful person. What happened to him?”

The nurse smiled sadly. “About five years ago, there was a massive gang shooting, if you can recall…”

“I-I remember…”

“The shooting took place at his sister’s workplace. He kept waiting to get a call from her saying she was alright but it never came. So, he went looking for her but never came back… he just disappeared and I never heard from or saw him again. Then news got out that he was killed by that wretched gang.”

Dara tensed up and she clenched her jaw. It seemed as though the infamous SM gang was causing hell in everyone’s lives. “Do you know where he lived? Who he talked to?”

“The only people he ever mentioned was his sister and his roommate.”

“Do you think you can tell me about his roommate?”

-----------------

    Dara and Bom arrived at a rundown warehouse in the outer limits of town. Bom shivered as she got out of the car. Dara shoved her hands in her pockets before walking up to the fence. She looked at Bom before kicking the gate open. They yanked open the heavy metal doors of the warehouse and peaked inside.

    Luckily, there was still light out so it wasn’t completely dark. They walked inside and came to another door. Bom pressed her ear to the door and nodded upon hearing noises coming from inside. “Mr. Choi, it’s the police, open up!” Dara knocked on the door.

    They heard shuffling and then heard something crash onto the ground. Dara had enough of this. She stepped back a little before kicking the door open. “Holy !” A man with dark hair fell back, knocking stacks of paper off a table.

    “Are you Choi Seunghyun?” Bom asked, helping the man up.

    “Y-yes, that’s me. Although most people call me Top. Anyway, what can I do for you two?”

    “I’m Detective Dara Park and this is Detective Park Bom. We came here to investigate for a murder case. Did you know someone by the name of Kwon Jiyong?”

    “K-Kwon Jiyong? Um...no, I did but he’s dead. I mean, he last I heard, he got kidnapped by that SM gang and was killed. Why do you ask?”

    Bom and Dara exchanged a look. “Your buddy, Kwon’s fingerprints was found at the scene of a crime. But he’s dead as you say and as records say...so tell me how that’s possible.”

    “Well…”

    Dara looked around the room and noticed a staircase leading up to the second level but the top was fenced off. She walked over to it and looked up the stairs into the darkness of the room. For some reason, she had a feeling something was there and that something was watching her. “There’s nothing up there. Just a bunch of boxes and old . You don’t want to go up there anyway. There’s rats and all kinds of creepy crawlies.” Top scratched the back of his head nervously.

    “I don’t mind rats.”

    “Dara, let’s just get out of here. Obviously Il-Woo’s scanner is broken and it messed up. There’s nothing here for us so let’s just go. Thanks for your time, Mr. Choi. We’ll be going now.”

    Bom smiled and grabbed Dara. “You can call me, Top or Seunghyun! And by the way, you have a very nice smile, Miss Park Bom.”

    Bom turned bright red as Dara laughed. “Th-thanks...Come on, Dara, let’s go.”

    Dara continued to laugh as they walked out of the warehouse. Bom shook her head and playfully punched Dara’s shoulder. “Yah! Shut up!”

    “Aw, how cute. ‘You have a very nice smile, Miss Park Bom’. Looks like someone wants a piece of you.”

    Bom scoffed. “As if. That guy is an alien. Let’s get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps. We should go out and eat some corn!”

    “I swear, you’re an alien, too.”

    Dara chuckled and shook her head. She stopped for a moment and looked back at the warehouse. Her eyes flickered to the cracked window. She could’ve sworn she saw something move but she just shook it off and followed Bom to the car.

-----------------------

*SLAM*

“What the were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to go out? Do you even know how much I’m risking by letting you stay here?!” Top hissed furiously as the man leaning against the wall, his eyes dark and reserved.

“Top, I---”

“No, no don’t apologize! Tell me what the hell happened! Why were your prints discovered at the crime scene? What were you even doing out?!”

    The man sighed and his eyes wandered over to the old newspaper resting on the desk. Top followed his gaze and picked up the paper. “Woman claims a beast saved her….? Oh, great! That was the girl you saved the other time? What the hell, man!?”

 “How the hell was I supposed to know she was going to come here? I-I didn’t even know she was in the police.”

    “Well she is and she’s pretty damn suspicious! You’re just lucky I covered your and stopped her from going up there! You need to be careful or else you’re going to expose yourself and get us all killed...and you’re going to die for real!”

    “I know, I know. It won’t happen again. I’m sorry, Top…”

    Top sighed and set down the paper. He turned back to his desk and bit his lip. “I’ve trying to find a cure for you but it’s been hard. I may be a very well qualified Biochemist but this is hard…”

    “I know. We’ve trying to find a cure for the past four years. I doubt we’ll come up with one soon. But thanks for sticking by me and taking my . I appreciate it, man.”

    Top stood up and patted his friend’s back. “Of course. You’re like a brother to me. Just be careful from now. We can’t help Miss Snoopy and Miss Hottie finding out about all of this.”

    “Miss Hottie? Are you talking about the girl that was with her? Do you have a crush on her?”

    “N-no! I just think she’s hot. Nothing wrong with that!”

    “I guess not. I’m going to go back up. If that girls shows up again, let me know…and tell her sorry for me…”

 Top scoffed. “Tell her sorry for you? Bro, I’m just hoping she never shows up here again. It’s for her own good.”

    “Good point...Sorry again, Top. I really don’t mean to drag you into this .”

    “It’s fine.”

    Top waved him off and he went back up to his dark room, staring at the photo of the girl he saved three years ago. The girl who appeared in his life again...and the girl he had to avoid.

----------------------------

Police Station

 Dara threw down the papers on her desk and groaned, rubbing her forehead. It was already past ten and her brother was probably home wondering where she was. But she had work to do and a case to solve. She opened her eyes when she heard footsteps approaching. “Hey, thought you could use a coffee.” Il-Woo set down a cup of coffee on her desk.

    “Thanks. I really needed it. What are you doing here? I thought you had a play to go to?”

    “I did but I gave those tickets to Chief and his wife. Besides, I thought this way I could spend more time with you.” He winked.

    “Your playboy charms don’t work on me, Jung. Anyway, I’ve been sitting here for the past three hours trying to figure out this case but I got nothing. Everything leads to a dead guy and we can’t exactly arrest a dead guy.”

    “Right...listen, I did some snooping around and the blood found on our killer matches up with the blood found at your mother’s crime scene.” Il-Woo took out a folder and placed it on Dara’s desk. “The strange thing is, the blood is completely abnormal. It carried traces of animal blood and some sort of rare drug. Whatever we’re dealing with is not your average day killer…”

    “Then whatever killed my mother’s attackers must be what killed Taecyeon. I don’t understand though...it seems like this killer is only going after the bad guys. Does this mean that he or she is good?”

    “That is your job. My job is plainly to look over evidence and find clues. Your job is to decide whether someone is guilty or not. But whoever this is, they’re dangerous, Dara. So, be careful.”

    Dara nodded and took a sip of her coffee. “Thanks, Il-Woo. This is really helpful. I think I’m going to head out now.”

    “Do you want a ride home?”

    “Thanks but no thanks. I do have a car, you know? I’ll be fine.”

    Dara grabbed her jacket off her chair and swung it over her shoulder before snatching her backpack off the floor. She winked at Il-Woo before heading out of the office. In truth, she wasn’t going home...she was going to get answers. And so she found herself at the warehouse again, which was now eerily quiet and dark. She exhaled before getting out of the car.

    She climbed over the fence and took out her flashlight from her pocket to shed some light in this dark place. For safety measures, she kept her hand on her gun just in case she needed to use it to protect herself if someone attacked her. She just had a horrible feeling about this place.

    Slowly, she opened the door of the warehouse and walked over to the back room. She listened for any movement or noise but there was none and so she propped open the door just a crack. There was no sign of Top anywhere but it seemed he left the lights on upstairs.

    Her brows furrowed as she cautiously made her way up the steps to the gate. She was hesitant of opening the gate but forced herself to open it. It creaked open slightly and Dara walked in, her flashlight in one hand and gun in her other. “Hello? Is anyone in here? Top?” She called out.

    She walked further into the room until she came across a table stacked with papers on DNA splicing and something about animal blood transfusions. Her forehead creased as she stared down at the papers and then something else caught her eye. Under the stack of papers was a new article of her and the night her mother was killed. Why is this here?

    Suddenly, something fell in the back of the room. Dara jumped slightly and peered into the dark corner, blocked off by a shelf of books. As she got closer, she could’ve sworn she heard breathing and could vaguely make out the shape of someone standing in the shadows. “Show yourself! I know you’re there…”

    She heard the sharp intake of air and lifted her gun. Soon, the figure came closer but she still couldn’t see who it was. “Come out where I can see you.”

    A sigh escaped the person’s lips and soon they emerged from the darkness. Dara dropped the flashlight and nearly dropped her gun when the person finally revealed themselves. She gasped and took a step back, her hand shaking. “You shouldn’t be here…” He hissed.

    “I-I could say the same for you. Y-you’re Kwon Jiyong...you’re supposed to be dead. How are you alive?”

    “I can’t explain everything to you now. But you need to leave before someone finds out you’re here. No one can no I’m alive, do you understand me?”

    “Why? Why can no one know you’re alive? Why do you want people to think you’re dead?” Dara asked.

    She looked over him from head to toe. He looked almost exactly like his picture at the hospital but his hair was darker and longer and it seemed the warmth in his eyes had faded and was replaced by a certain sadness and fear. “Did you kill that man?”

    Jiyong sighed and nodded. “He poisoned the girl...I-I had to do something. I could smell the poison as soon as he walked into the hotel---”

    “Wait, wait...you said you could smell the poison? What, do you have super senses?”

    “Something like that...look, you really shouldn’t be here right now. It’s too dangerous. You need to get out of here.”

    Dara took a step towards him now and glared. “Not until I get some answers. You...you were the one that saved me three years ago. That was you, wasn’t it? Your blood was found at the scene as well as the crime scene today.”

    “Yes, yes...seriously you need to go before---”

    “Dara? Dara, are you here?” Bom’s voice echoed throughout the room. She must’ve figured out she’d come back here. Dara cursed inwardly and turned back to Jiyong.

    “Go, just please get out of here. No one can know I’m alive. Please…”

    Dara saw the desperation in her eyes and felt a sense of guilt. How could she turn him in like this? So, she sighed and stepped away. “Fine. But we are not done here.”

    She shot him a look before meeting Bom downstairs. Bom gave her an odd look but Dara just shrugged. “Sorry, I just came to check out something. That Top guy seemed awfully adamant about not letting us up there. But he’s right...there’s nothing there.”

    “Okay...are you alright, Dara? You’re shaking a little.”

    “I-I’m fine. Just saw a couple of roaches that’s all. Let’s get out of here. I don’t like this place.”

    “Lead the way.”

    Dara nodded and headed out of the warehouse. She looked back up at the window and saw Jiyong’s shadowy figure standing in front of it...watching her. This isn’t over, Kwon...not until I get some answers…