Sunggyu has promised me a terrible time. But when the elevator drops me off on the ground floor of the academy, I decide that it’s already the best night of my life. It’s twenty to eight, and inside the atrium, the sun is turning everything it touches to gold.

Sunggyu sleek suit is gunmetal gray—and so perfectly fitted that he looks like he’s been dipped in molten metal. No one we meet at the Alumni Party will mistake Sunggyu for a mortal. His black tousled hair defies gravity, and his striking eyes are more foxlike than human. They take me in slowly, and one side of his mouth curls up ever so slightly. “Let’s go,” he says. His voice is cold, but he gives my arm a gentle squeeze.

The car ride is quick and utterly silent. The academy’s driver checks the rearview mirror a little too often. I wonder if he’s watching both of us. Or just ogling Sunggyu.

When we arrive at our destination on Tenth Street, I slide out of the car. My eyes never leave the building in front of me. It’s a Village brownstone. Four stories. Three front-facing windows on each floor. A service entrance beneath the stoop. Just the sort of feature you look for when you’re planning a little breaking and entering. But there may be an even better option.

The buildings next door have buzzers with multiple names. Apartment buildings usually have crappy security, and some idiot will always buzz you in if you say you’re making a delivery. That’s the option I’ll go for if I need to come back here on my own. I’ll get into one of the apartment buildings and go up the communal stairway to the roof. Walk across to Jungyeop’s house and break in through the top. No witnesses—and all the time I’d need to crack any pesky locks.

“Are you coming?” I huff. Sunggyu takes his cue and joins me, slamming the car door for good measure. When we reach the top of the stoop, the front door opens. It looks like most of the guests have already arrived, but Jungyeop’s is lingering near the door, waiting to greet any latecomers.

“Don’t you make a pretty pair,” he observes with a smirk. I notice there’s a drink in his hand. I wonder how well the snake holds his liquor. “Though I’m still a little perplexed by your choice of , Sunggyu. This should be your evening to shine.”

“The best way to spot a real diamond is to place a fake one beside it,” Sunggyu purrs. “I’ll let the alumni decide which is which.”

“Well put,” says Jungyeop. He offers his arm to my date. “Let’s go show you off.” Jungyeop’s house is a tribute to some interior decorator’s impeccable taste. It’s all ivory paint, vanilla fabrics, and warm wood. Aside from the throw pillows decorated with needlepoint cats, there’s absolutely nothing in sight that screams “madman.” Still, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover a hidden room devoted to Nazi memorabilia or a freezer in the basement that’s stuffed with body parts. Whatever he’s got, I plan to find it.

I spot a few familiar faces from the last alumni gathering, but their eyes pass over me like I’m yesterday’s leftovers. They’re all eager for a bite of Sunggyu. When the feeding frenzy begins, I stick close to his side. I’d rather not make Sunggyu face them alone. But he’s a master of chitchat, and his research is serving him well.

It’s as though he’s prepared a mental dossier on each of the guests—and he knows exactly where to their egos. I reluctantly retreat, one small step at a time, and watch the alumni circle and surround him.

I spend the next hour prowling the perimeter of Jungyeop’s parlor. Whenever Myungsoo and I were ordered to attend one of our father’s parties, we passed our time making friends with the wallflowers. We’d look for the man paying a little too much attention to the art. Or the woman pretending to admire our lamps. Myung and I knew the most interesting guests would be the ones who didn’t fit in. We met artists and engineers and experts on unusual subjects. But we discovered that the wallflowers all had one thing in common.

They never fawned over us—or treated us like our father’s pets. They were just pleased to have people to talk to.

I’m the lone wallflower at this soiree. No one here thinks I’m worthy of a chat—or hors d’oeuvre, apparently. Even the snooty waiters are ignoring me. So I make a show of studying Jungyeop’s collection of Picasso sketches and perusing all the books with unbroken spines that line his shelves. He once told me he collects rare books. Maybe that’s true, but he doesn’t appear to read very much.

Eventually I visit the bar and request a glass of white wine. A man I once met at my father’s house is standing less than two feet away, but he doesn’t acknowledge me. I take a swig of my drink and discreetly tip the rest down my shirt. When I ask the bartender for directions to the bathroom, I try my best to look embarrassed. I think I’ve even managed a blush. But the performance is unnecessary. No one is watching my dumb show.

I bypass the bathroom and scurry downstairs. The kitchen is hot and its atmosphere frenzied. Waiters load trays with crystal glasses while a crew of caterers decorates silver platters with edible artworks. I’m sure somebody must see me grabbing a bottle of Scotch. But no one says a word when I tuck the booze under my jacket and head up the stairs to the second floor.

• • •

It was Sunggyu’s idea.

“How many Woollim graduates are still alive?” he asked just after I’d kissed him for the second time in months. It was the last thing I wanted to think about at that moment.

“Jungyeop said he recruits eighteen students a year but only half ever graduate. Fifty years’ worth of graduates might be out there. Nine times fifty is four hundred and fifty. But some of those guys will have kicked the bucket. So my guess is there are somewhere between three and four hundred,” I calculated. “Maybe more, maybe less.”

“Four hundred of the most powerful people in the country. Jungyeop told me that I’d have to work for the Woollim Academy after I graduate. Is it the same for everyone?”

“You can choose a career, but all alumni are secretly employed by the Lee-Kwon family.”

“Yeah, ’cause otherwise, the graduates would all go off on their own. We’re not talking about a bunch of people who value stuff like teamwork or charity, right? So how does Jungyeop keep them all in line? And how does he convince them to ‘donate’ big bucks to his school? He’s got to be getting a pretty hefty cut of their profits to keep running this show.”

“That’s why half the alumni want to force him out.”

“So why haven’t they?”

The answer was so obvious that I was surprised he couldn’t see it. “He knows all of their secrets, Sunggyu. He knows who they’ve killed or robbed or cheated. The academy keeps files on everyone. Jungyeop owns the alumni. They have to do what he asks or he’ll ruin them.”

“Sure,” he responded as if I’d just told him the earth was round. “But where do you think Jungyeop stores all the files?”

Another strange question. “On a computer?”

Sunggyu’s brow furrowed. “Maybe. Though don’t you think that seems kind of risky? There must be dozens of graduates who are capable of hacking the academy’s server. And I bet every single one of them would love to delete his own file. Besides, when did your dad graduate?”

“1985.”

“What if his file was never digitized? What’s your dad’s name?”

I hesitated.

“Flick?”

“His name’s Nam Joohyun.”

“What if there’s an actual folder somewhere with Nam Joohyun written on the label?”

“I’m pretty sure the files are all electronic now. Jungyeop downloaded something onto my computer the other day, and I have a hunch it was dirt on my father. I don’t know what the document was, but it was obviously digitized.”

“I’m sure he’s scanned a few things here and there. But do you think the Lee-Kwon family ever took the time to upload thousands of old documents?” Sunggyu asks. “And if the files are filled with lots of juicy secrets, who would the Lee-Kwons have trusted to do the work for them?”

It was all adding up to a conclusion that I couldn’t quite buy. “So you think there might be physical files on all the academy graduates locked up somewhere in this school.”

“Probably,” Sunggyu said. “But Jungyeop strikes me as the kind of guy who likes to take his work home with him.”

“Come on,” I scoffed. “You think there might be files at his house? He would never take that kind of risk. Especially if he’s throwing parties there.”

“You keep forgetting that the man’s totally nuts. Jungyeop could have a stack of alumni files on his bedside table so he can read himself to sleep every night.” A memory flickered in my head. The first time I visited the academy, Jungyeop told me that he’d read my father’s file. There was something about the way he said it—like it wasn’t just some document he’d stumbled across in the course of his duties. He talked about that file like it was one of his favorite books.

“You’re taking me to the party so I can check out his bedside table?”

“I know it’s a long shot, but it’s worth a look, right? I can charm the alumni while you snoop around. Even if you don’t find any files, you might find a computer or something.”

“Or Jungyeop’s private collection of pickled brains.”

“Even better.”

I sighed. “And here I was thinking this was going to be our first date.”

That’s when I had to kiss him again.

• • •

Turns out Jungyeop’s bedroom isn’t the treasure trove we hoped it would be. There’s nothing in it but a bed. I step into his bathroom and take the opportunity to pour some Scotch down the sink drain. If the bottle is still full when he finds me, he’ll know I’m not drunk. I’m a big fan of little details, so I empty my bladder into his toilet as well.

After I’m all zipped up, I head down the hall. Slowly. I don’t want to miss anything—and when Jungyeop checks the data from my tracking chip, I want him to think I was wandering aimlessly. Which, as it happens, is just what I’m doing.

There’s nothing of interest here. In some rooms, there’s nothing at all. When I reach the top floor of the building, I find it’s completely empty. There’s an enormous skylight in the ceiling and a puddle of moonlight on the floor. Seems like a good place to pause for a drink.

I take a few swigs of the whiskey. I still don’t have a taste for the stuff. But I’ll drink it out of duty. I glance around and wonder why Jungyeop didn’t set his decorator loose in this room. The light must be great during the day. But the walls look like they haven’t been painted for years. There are dark rectangular patches where bookshelves or furniture recently stood. And then it hits me.

The dark patches are the height and width of filing cabinets. The files exist. This is where he kept them. And now they’ve been moved to another room just like it.

The painter’s studio. That’s why he asked me to rob the house he was secretly purchasing. He could have gone with a professional thief. Or fought the artist’s lease in court. But he didn’t want anyone connected to the academy to know about the building. So he chose a dumb kid for the job. A kid who wouldn’t ask any questions. One who was about to be locked up for a while. I was a pawn before I even knew I was playing a game.

I take another gulp of soju to celebrate my brilliant breakthrough. I think I know where the files are—and if I’m right, I know exactly how to get them. I’m feeling nice and tipsy, which is great, because I suddenly hear footsteps on the stairs. Jungyeop finds me sitting on the floor with a half-empty bottle of Scotch in front of me.

“What are you doing up here?” he demands.

“Letting Sunggyu shine.” I do my best to slur the word shine. “Want some?” I ask, holding up the soju bottle. “It’s not as good as the last stuff I got off you, but it’s better than nothing.” Jungyeop just gazes at me with that crazy smile.

“Oh, come on, you know I don’t have cooties.” I shake the bottle at him. “Your doctors would have put me to sleep if I did.” I don’t think he’s buying the act. I need to find some way to convince him. “I want you to know that I’m ready,” I say. I take a gulp of liquid courage. “The switch has flipped. I can beat him now. Just give me my chance.”

At the very least I’ve amused him. “Stand up, Flick. Time for you to go home.” The alumni have gathered to watch Jungyeop return with his runaway guinea pig. I give them all a big, sloppy smile right before I purposely slip and bounce down the last few stairs.

“If any of you wondered why I brought Flick as my date, I think the answer should be clear by now,” Sunggyu quips to the crowd. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is my only competition.”

• • •

Sunggyu and I stand three feet apart in the academy’s elevator. Or rather Sunggyu stands. I slump against the wall. When we reach the dorms, we head in our separate directions. The lights are out on the balcony, and I don’t bother turning any on in my room. I just lie down on my bed and kick off my shoes.

Five minutes later I hear bare feet padding across wooden floorboards. I left the door open a foot, and a shadow slips inside.

The door slides shut, and I smell vanilla bean and strawberry oil.

Sunggyu left his chip and his clothes behind in his room.

AN: Hey guyss~ This is just a small filler chapter that I decided to upload, but remember - the events of this chapter will be important!

Sooooo keep your eyes peeled. There was a reason for each of the events that occured, you guys just have to find it XD

Also, on another different note, I've started the rough drafts for a different story :) It might be a while until I get everything finalized, but I have a feeling you guys will like this one~ (I also might be starting on a whole 'nother different idea also - SO EXCITED) Get ready for it!

See you guys next chapter!