A few months had passed since the incident. All of the clues Moonbyul and her team managed to dig up about Kang-Dae’s whereabouts ended up being a waste of time. She knew he was purposely leaving breadcrumbs for her to follow, but she couldn’t ignore it. He had made it personal and she wouldn’t stop until he was behind bars.

The Commissioner didn’t like wasting manpower on a wild goose chase. He left her alone, however, on the condition that the other cases her team was working on would not be affected. This meant there were very few chances she could use her whole team to go after Kang-Dae or chase down a clue the moment she came across it. She knew that Kang-Dae had probably calculated this outcome.

Moonbyul was studying the map, marking the new area they searched today. “That makes eleven,” she mumbled. “Where will you go next? What are you planning?”

“I hate this. I hate this,” Jade chanted as she filled out the paperwork.

A knock on the door interrupted them. “Detective Moon, there’s an envelope for you.”

“Who’s it from?”

“There’s no sender ID. We scanned it. It contains photos. Should we trash it?”

“No, I’ll take it.”

Moonbyul took out the contents and spread them on a table. She broke the pen she was holding in half the moment she laid her eyes on them. They were shots of her and her team raiding the places they had heard Kang-Dae was hanging around. He even featured himself in some, looking smug and flipping them off.

“He’s playing with us!” Jade threw the photos she had in her hand on the table as hard as she could.

“We expected as much,” Moonbyul said nonchalantly.

“Doesn’t make it any less irritating!” she ruffled her hair and groaned.

“Being angry won’t help.”

“He was right there and we missed him!” she slammed her hand on the photo with Kang-Dae’s smug face on it.

“What’s going on?” Dong-Yul walked in, sipping on his coconut water.

“Give it here!” Jade snatched the drink and chugged it.

“My coconut…” he whimpered.

“I’m so angry!”

“I told you to do your paperwork earlier.”

She ignored him. “More!” she screamed and stormed off.

“What’s her problem?” He got his answer when he saw what was on the table. “Oh, I see. No wonder.”

“He chose places where he could observe us…he wouldn’t do that unless he had an escape plan prepared,” Moonbyul mumbled.

“You’re not angry?” Dong-Yul questioned.

“It won’t help us find him.”

“You’re right,” he picked up a few photos. “What do you think he’s planning?”

“It didn’t seem like he wanted to kill me, at least not yet. A bullet would have been enough if he did,” she crossed her arms, pondering about Kang-Dae’s true motive.

“Whatever he’s planning, I think we should take the weekend to unwind,” he raised his arms to stretch. “We’ve been chasing him non-stop. It might help to relax a bit. Don’t you want to spend time with Solar? Go on a date?”

“Hmm…I haven’t taken her anywhere since she’s been back,” she mumbled. “It might be nice to go somewhere together.”

“Well it’s about that time,” Dong-Yul looked at his watch and waved. “See you next week. Let’s hope we don’t get called in.”

Moonbyul chuckled, “see ya.”

Moonbyul was exhausted and a bit frustrated that she hadn’t been able to find Kang-Dae. She looked up at the evening sky, the sun was still shining brightly. She closed her eyes and took in a few breaths of fresh air. Maybe Dong-Yul is right. A few days off, relaxing with Solar will help, she smiled at the thought. I wonder if she’s busy. I should text her.

MB: Will you be home late?

SL: Mhm, I might not make it back till tomorrow morning. What’s wrong?

MB: I wanted to have dinner together.

SL: Sorry, I can’t tonight. How about tomorrow? I’ll have the day off.

MB: It’s a deal.

She’ll be tired when she gets home. I should make something light for her. Soup sounds good. I’ll need groceries for tomorrow’s dinner too. What to make? She pondered for a moment. Steak? Fish? What about vegetables? Should we go out instead? I should just go to the market and see what they have. I can decide after.

After browsing the selection and grabbing some fresh fruits and vegetables, it was time to select the main dish. As she was deciding between fish or meat, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. The market was too noisy so she left to make the call before continuing her shopping.

“Hello?”

“MOONBYUL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

“Jade? What’s that noise!?”

“WHAT!?”

“NOISE! WHAT’S THAT…nevermind…”

“WE’RE PARTYING! COME PARTY!”

“Can’t.”

“WHAT!?”

“I CAN’T!”

“WAIT!” Jade had moved to a quieter spot. “What did you say?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” she pouted

“Buying groceries.”

“We have food and drinks! Come on!”

“Not today.”

“Moonbyul, come on, don’t be a party pooper!”

“Later,” she hung up before the conversation could drag on.

As she was preparing to tuck her phone into her back pocket, someone snatched it. She wrapped the handle of her tote bag, containing fruits and vegetables, around her arm and gave chase. The thief cut through the market, but she was right on his heels. She wasn’t about to let him get away with committing a crime, especially when he stole from her.

After chasing him for a few blocks, she managed to grab his shoulder. He spun around and swung at her. His punches were sloppy and weak, a sign that he hasn’t spent much time on the street. Most likely a new kid recently recruited into some gang. She wanted to go easy on him. She only meant to detain him, but the bag of fruits and vegetables had other ideas when it came flying straight for his face, drawing blood. He dropped her phone and held his nose and mouth, tears welling up in his eyes. And for a brief moment, Moonbyul actually felt bad for him.

As she was waiting for his next move, something behind him caught her eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows, dropped her tote bag, and clenched her fists. The thief got scared, kicked her phone into the incoming traffic and ran off, but she didn’t give chase. A different, more important prey was right in front of her. What are you playing at? It doesn’t matter. I won’t let you get away.

Kang-Dae was standing on the other side of the street, waving at her and smirking when she noticed him as if they were best buddies. When she took a step forward, he took a step back; never once dropping the smug look on his face. She was about to dash to the other side, but he didn’t wait for that to happen. He hopped on his motorcycle and drove off. Moonbyul quickly commandeered a nearby civilian motorcycle and went after him.

He wouldn’t just show up like that. This must be a trap. But if I let his chance go…how long will I have to wait for another? The memory of what he did to Solar was still freshly imprinted on her mind. I can’t. I won’t. Kang-Dae swerved through traffic like a maniac. Moonbyul was speeding after him, but she tried not to endanger others.

He was standing half-way up the mountain road, waiting for her to arrive. His arms crossed, eyes closed, leaning against his bike. As if he was just a normal civilian enjoying the evening sun, and not a dangerous criminal. She approached slowly and scanned the area, they were the only two around. She pulled up next to him and took off her helmet.

“You’re slow,” he mocked the moment the bike engine turned off.

She sighed, not wanting to waste her breath, “let’s end this.”

“Yes, let’s,” he flung a handful of powder in her direction.

She tried to block it but some got in her eyes. “Bastard!”

“You’re still so naive. Let me give you a free lesson today,” he said smugly, kicking her into her bike, she and the bike were both knocked onto the ground. “It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you win!”

As if she could anticipate his movements, she dodged his kick, making him hit the bike instead. Her hand landed on the bike helmet, she swung it as hard as she could. It made contact with his knee, sending him hopping backward, cursing at the top of his lungs. She took the opportunity to get back on her feet and managed to regain some of her sight, although it was still hazy.

It was mere moments later when she felt a punch against her cheek and the taste of blood filled . The barrages of punches continued, she held up her arms to defend herself. She focused on his attacks and realized it was off-balanced. He’s still limping? Did I break something when I hit him with the bike helmet? She waited for the opportunity to grab his arm and Shoulder Throw him to the ground. After he was down, she squeezed his arm between her legs and dislocated his right shoulder. He held his shoulder, screaming and wheezing, grinding his teeth and seething on the ground. His face was red; his veins visible.

Moonbyul approached him slowly, keeping her guards up in case he had any more tricks up his sleeve. At that moment, she heard the roar of a car engine and turned in its direction. It was going at high speed and heading straight for her. She tried to move but Kang-Dae grabbed her leg. She kicked his dislocated shoulder, causing him to scream some more before jumping out of the way. The car swerved and the brake squealed, it crashed into Kang-Dae’s motorcycle, sliding it against the railing before it stopped. By now, Moonbyul sight had mostly returned.

Three guys stepped out of the heavily graffitied vehicle. The first one almost fell, his legs were still shaking. He quickly retrieved his wooden bat that was on the ground. The second breathing was uneven, his hands sweating on the handle of his bat. The third looked the most imposing and experienced among them. But even he was having a hard time hiding his nervousness. She looked past them to see the driver, and there was a body leaning against the wheel. Is he dead? She raised an eyebrow before turning her attention back to the other three. They’re definitely new to this, but a group is still dangerous. I need to separate them.

She threw the bike helmet at the imposing boy, hitting him on the forehead, and charged in before they could react. By the time they realized what was happening, she had already swept the shaking boy’s legs, causing him to fall on his . The sweaty boy followed her when she jumped onto the hood of the car. She turned around and kicked his chest before he could do anything, sending him flying to the ground. The imposing boy ran up from the back but missed his swing, cracking the windshield. She yanked his bat away and swept his legs, he fell and hit his head on the roof. She kicked him off the car before throwing his bat down the side of the mountain, disposing of it.

Moonbyul jumped off the hood and went directly for the shaking boy. “D-don’t come any closer,” he said as he blindly swung his bat. She easily disarmed him, twisted his arm behind his back and held him still.

“Let him go!” the sweaty boy screamed before charging in, raising his bat to aim for her head.

As she turned around, the shaking boy still in her grip, Kang-Dae tried to kick them from behind. She moved aside to dodge the bat, causing Kang-Dae to miss. It just so happened that his good leg was in the perfect position of the bat trajectory and it came down on his shin. As he was howling in pain, she pushed the boy she had captured onto him. The boy landed on Kang-Dae’s legs and caused him to bash his shoulder against the railing. He groaned and cursed as he threw the boy off.

The sweaty boy continued his attempts to hit her, more desperate than before. She took his bat and jabbed him in the gut. He went down holding his stomach. The imposing boy was finally back on his feet. He held up his fists but instead of attacking her, he regrouped with his buddies and whispered something to them. A few moments later, another car with similar graffiti pulled up. . There were more of them. Even if they can’t fight, there are too many for me to deal with alone.

Moonbyul scanned her surroundings for the best escape plan. If I break through…no, they can still chase me down in their car. She looked behind her, it’s the only way. She hopped over the railing and down the hill she went.