Crimson liquid began to stain the palm of his hands, and there was only a big splash of blood smudging her outfit. Woo Hyun had no idea where the bleeding came from; it could be her shoulders, her arm, or maybe even her chest.   Should he call 911? But he was sure Hyun Mi wouldn’t want that since the medics were not supposed to find Choi Min Ho’s corpse. He tried to fetch her phone with semi trembling hands in an attempt to dial the last number she had called. That Tae Min guy should be able to help right?   Before he could press the first number, he heard the front door from downstairs smashing loudly against the side wall. It was then followed by hasty footsteps ascending the stairs, probably to their current location.   Panic rose in him, but he was well aware not to let the fear control him. With a clear mind, he held unto the gun Dong Woo had given him earlier and got ready to shoot it towards the intruder. The footsteps stopped. The door handle turned. The entrance opened.   “Hyun Mi!” A tall guy with dirty blonde hair and eccentric fashion appeared, eyes immediately falling on the girl who was unconscious in the other guy’s arm now.   “Shoot, we have to take her to a hospital.” The stranger knelt down and was about to take the girl away when Woo Hyun held the gun against his head.   “Who are you?” The politician gritted his teeth.   The guy flipped his hair backwards and gave him an eye roll. “I’m the one who told Hyun Mi to catch your attention during the gala. So if you care for her and want her to live, we need to go now,” he said, leaving no room to interject.   This entire situation was truly a test of trust whereby one got to decide which side to trust. For now, Woo Hyun had a sense this guy was Hyun Mi’s partner, Kim Ki Bum or something.   “I’ll carry her, you lead the way.” Woo Hyun kept the unconscious girl protectively close to him and carried her motionless body in his arms. If the other guy was truly her partner, he wouldn’t make a fuss about this matter.   “Great! She has been eating too much lately anyway. I don’t wanna put up with her weight. My car’s outside.” Ki Bum led the way.   For someone to speak so offensively about a collapsed person, Woo Hyun figured they must’ve been close. This was Ki Bum alright. He felt more at ease as he followed the guy to a black car parked at the mansion’s driveway.   “You take the backseat,” Ki Bum instructed him and got busy getting rid of some disguise camouflage from the car’s roof. He waited till the two got in, and finally drove away in a rush.   “Tae Min, there was an emergency and I have to take Hyun Mi to the hospital. But we’re counting on you guys to investigate the place,” Ki Bum spoke through the wireless bluetooth connection built in the car. His eyes shifted to the rear view mirror and saw the reflection of Woo Hyun carefully watching him from the backseat.   “You don’t trust me,” he said.   “Do I have a reason to?” Woo Hyun acknowledged his guess.   “Hyun Mi trusts me, that’s all the reason you need,” Ki Bum uttered and kept his hands on the steering wheel.   “Hyun Mi trusts everything I say as well. She’s not as careful as she seems,” Woo Hyun said, his tone serious.   This made Ki Bum frown at him, realizing how dangerous the target actually was. If he had easily figured out Hyun Mi’s weakness, which was to let her feelings and sympathy get in the way of her mission, could he have utilized it to manipulate her in some way? What if the things he had told her were not entirely true?   “Are you hinting at something, Nam Woo Hyun?” Ki Bum squinted his eyes at the guy who dared to smirk at a situation like this.   “I’m just saying it’s hard to distinguish who is really on your side, and who isn’t,” Woo Hyun spoke, still watching the guy drive. “I truly hope you are on the same side as Hyun Mi’s.”   Ki Bum scoffed. “We may be partnered, but just because you gained her trust doesn’t mean you’ve gained mine,” he said.   “Trust should be earned,” Woo Hyun quoted what the girl had told him. He now shifted his gaze to the girl whose head was leaning against his chest as he held her entire upper body from falling over. At least the bleeding had stopped and she was still breathing. Judging on how leisurely Ki Bum acted, Woo Hyun guessed the wound wasn’t that severe after all.     They had arrived at one of the most well-known and prestigious hospital in the country, Jureumi Hospital. The team of medics had rushed to their aid, especially since the patient was a known public figure herself, accompanied by a fellow known political icon. Like anything else in this corrupted world, higher status in life gave one priority treatments.   “Please wait here. We need to take her into the emergency room,” one of the nurses told the two guys, holding them back from stepping into the next room.   “Make sure the best surgeon is going to handle the surgery. We can’t risk anything happening to her,” Woo Hyun insisted. The nurse was slightly in awe as Ki Bum rolled his eyes.   “Don’t worry. She’s in good hands,” The nurse said and closed the entrance to the emergency room behind her.   The two guys had no choice but to wait together in that deserted hospital hallway. For the first few minutes, none spoke a word and awkwardly moved around to kill the heavy tension. But both didn’t last long in the silence.   “Since we have time, why don’t you enlighten me with the things you have told Hyun Mi?” Ki Bum spoke up, watching the politician halt his steps from the circles he’d been walking.   “I’d rather not,” he said frankly.   Ki Bum glared at him from his seat. “Why not?”   “I don’t want to give you a reason to turn my truth into lies.” Woo Hyun put up a fake grin on display.   The words made Ki Bum stay on guard at once, realizing Woo Hyun was no ordinary target. He could immediately sense why Hyun Mi chose to side with the guy. He was smart enough to read people’s character and knew how to handle each one of them. In Hyun Mi’s case, he simply had to put on a charming act as the defender of truth to win her over. As much as Hyun Mi fitted the politician’s ideal type, Ki Bum forgot the fact the politician was the kind of guy she’d be attracted to as well. This was a dangerous set up from the start.   “Truthfully, I don’t care about who you are or what you are capable of, but if you dare to hurt her in any way, I won’t ever forgive you,” Ki Bum threatened the target.   “Tell that to the person who shot her. If your organization is all that great, you better find the assassin who killed Choi Min Ho and hurt Hyun Mi,” Woo Hyun said, watching the glint change in Ki Bum’s eyes as if realization just hit him.   “Don’t worry, we have people on site doing the investigation,” Ki Bum said. He wasn’t sure how much Hyun Mi had foolishly revealed to the target, and therefore needed to be careful with the things he said. He couldn’t possibly say the case had become somewhat of an internal rebellion now and only had several people working on the investigation. Ki Bum just hoped these few people were enough.     When Tae Min, Maerin, Hana, and Dong Woo arrived on the crime scene, the girls nearly threw up at Min Ho’s sight. They had always worked behind the scenes, and never actually encountered a brutal murder scenario in reality.   “Don’t worry about it. I’m gonna take some samples for research purposes,” Tae Min said casually, as if seeing murdered corpses was part of his daily living. He was a forensic analyst after all.   He carefully knelt down besides the dagger penetrated through Min Ho’s mouth and throat. Tae Min retrieved a small bag of black granular fingerprint powder and poured it over the weapon’s handle. Then he began the process of dusting it in order to see the fingerprint.   “Strange,” he commented to himself and got up on his feet after few seconds passed.   “What?” Maerin questioned as she was browsing through some of the victim’s check books.   “There are no fingerprints at all. Whoever killed Choi Min Ho is an experienced assassin who probably knew we’d be on the chase,” Tae Min spoke, the frown sinking on his forehead.   “But who would kill him? The only person who could possibly have a wrath against him is Nam Woo Hyun,” Hana remarked, gasping a little at the possibility.   “I’ve met the guy, and skill-wise, he is capable of it,” Dong Woo said with his eyes glued to the laptop belonging to the dead man. “But he was with my sister at all time, so he couldn’t have killed