"She wasn't there," Jung Yonghwa reported. "I searched for her address. The people there told me she'd moved. I moved. I met loads of people who knew of her. They talked about her. She's just like the description you gave."

"But did you find her?" Sehun asked.

"Not in person."

"Then she wasn't there," Sehun paused. "She wasn't there because she's not there. She's here."

"Yes, but why?"

"That's what I'm going to investigate."

"She's paved a good path for herself," Yonghwa admired.

Sehun ignored him, ruffling through the content Yonghwa had handed. "How easy is it to forge an identity?"

"It's not too hard."

Sehun handed him a file he'd meticulously pieced. "I want you to search this person in private. Report anything suspicious."

-

Yerin gargled a laugh. Her husband had been constantly warning her to keep away from Zitao. The demeanor with which he warned brought childish delight. The more Sehun loathed him the more Zitao became viciously attractive in her eyes.

“He really does hate you, you know,” she giggled snuggling into him. He planted tender little kisses on . She felt herself unknotting desires at his warmth. Safest in his arms, she’d found the perfect security net she’d been searching for.

“Are you using me to get back at him?” His soulful eyes beseeched. “If it’s revenge let me know so I don’t delude myself into thinking you’re into me.”

His frankness made her eyes grow wide. He often made her wonder how he could be so direct while they lay together. One moment he was her ideal lover melting her like ice cream on a hot summer’s day, yet he was also culpable for sweltering her through wayward accusations. It was a quality that made him tolerable. “Why ask something you already know?” She traced his face affectionately somewhat pleased to see him pout.

“Understood,” he said, his voice laced with disappointment.

“Oh don’t be a downer!” She poked his bare chest. “If I had to choose, I’d say I like you better,” she clarified in a seductive tone. She kissed the corner of his mouth teasingly, allowing her fingers to knot in his thick hair, hoping to see him dazed.

He grinned unscrupulously. “If I had to choose, I’d say I like you better,” he preached huskily, pinning her under him.

-

As Sehun’s lawful wedded wife Yerin was also inherent to his enemies. It was a miscalculation on her part to tread out of the hotel earlier than her lover in fear of getting caught. This was all part of the thrill she loved. Who cared if Sehun was being tormented by a stalker? Not her. But what she didn’t bank on was being chased.

She knew something was off when she’d kissed Zitao farewell and left their room. She had an eerie suspicion that someone followed her.

Taking the elevator alone she’d been unable to shake off the feeling. By the time she’d reached her floor she felt jittery.

She’d raced to her car, not caring about breaking her heels or the shortness of her skirt. She’d fumbled with her keys, dropped them with a crash.

After she’d picked them up she heard her name ripple through the parking. His arms locked her shoulders in a protective vice. She was into his chest. A heartbeat was all it took for Zitao’s back to be thumped by a brick...

She heard the awful shattering and his hiss of pain. Something cracked inside her when he pulled away to inspect her face for injury, as if he hadn’t taken the hit that belonged to her, as if the brick had really smashed into her face.

Overwhelmed by emotion she burst into tears. It alarmed him and seeing him visibly pale upset her further. He kissed her trembling lips and then the tears puddling under her lids. He was convinced she’d been wounded. He promised to strangle the stalker. She clutched to him as if he were a mirage that would fade if she let go. She wouldn’t let him chase the culprit, she couldn’t let him walk into the face of danger.

“Stay with me, please,” she begged earnestly. She took his hand, holding his hand as a child would hold its parents for courage.

“I’m fine,” he insisted. He squeezed her hand. He saw tears well her eyes and joked about being ‘a man of steel’ to relieve her tension. It upset her further. She punched him lightly for teasing her, and spoke of ambulances and hospitals with such seriousness that it amused him to see her trouble herself.

“I’m fine,” he repeated after her monologue. “Really, no bother.” He rolled his shoulder to prove it but the twitch of his eye gave him away.

“You’re not fine. You got hurt! How can you be fine?” She cried. “I’m going to ring emergency services.”

He sighed, holding her hands, folding his fingers in hers to pacify her. “Don’t, okay.” He offered a peacekeeping smile.

“You’ve got to get it checked,” she whispered.

“There’s nothing wrong.”

“Tao!” She tugged on his hand sharply gaining a wince from him. This made her arch her brow.

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