Author’s Note: Due to it being Valentine’s Day tomorrow I will release 2 chapters tomorrow as a present

Moonbyul’s drive took her and Solar through the Hanam district. Solar gazed at the dilapidated area, astounded that a place could exist near in Seoul. Perhaps years back this avenue was bathed in pools of yellow light from the weather battered street lamps. The paint no doubt was smooth, the silver paint quite interrupted by the chunks of grey undercoat that grow ever more closely clustered like some unwanted bacterial growth. The concrete of the lane is cracked and sun-bleached, the buildings on each side were once gaily painted, but now peel, crackle and flake. Every building was a unique, bespoke structure. It’s unusual for a city not to have every apartment in the row identical in architecture and colour scheme. But here some have pitched roofs, some flat, some are two story and others three. What they all have in common is the amount of ragged people walking the streets.

“Every time I come to this part of town, the crime, the destitute, the loneliness”~Moonbyul said driving past a darkened alley

“It seems this is the most impoverished part of Seoul”~Solar said making Byul snicker

“Well it could be worse, you know”~Moonbyul sarcastically said

“How could it get any worse, Byul”~Solar inquired looking at Byul

“Well, at least all of them have two arms?”~Moonbyul joked making Solar giggle

“Who’s this guy we’re after by the way Byulie?”~Solar asked when Byul brought up a profile on the car monitor

“He goes by Keekle. A dealer I met a while back when I was undercover”~Moonbyul said as Solar read the file

“Why is he gonna help us?”~Solar asked asshe finished reading

“Cause he hates jail. And he doesn’t like Momo either”~Moonbyul said while they reached there destination, a small quaint rundown flower shop

“Okay, let’s go....”~Solar said unbuckling her safety belt but Byul stopped her

“Hey, uh, this place is, uh...They don’t take too kindly to androids. You should wait out here girl.”~Moonbyul said getting out of the car herself 

“Oh.... Alright”~Solar said settling down

“Give me 5 minutes”~Moonbyul said running into the building. Solar was left by herself in the car, giving her time to think. Her mind is so much like the ocean it remains still watching for the incoming ships, calm on the surface with so many deep under currents, all of them with their own purpose. Waiting here gives Solar time to let her thoughts escape the boundaries of the ordinary, to think beyond the offerings of her synthetic protocols. She ponders the threads that bind her synthetic mind to her body and the wounds that hurt it. She could feel emotional like a human, yet can say she was never truly born. She can taste, feel sick, even blush, yet she can’t feel pain. These limitations always gnawed at her like a dog with a bone. Solar genuinely believed in her emotions but could she ever be human enough for Byul. What does it mean to be nearly human? Solar thought to herself as a loud shattering could be heard.

[CRASH]

The air is suddenly filled by the sound of breaking glass. Solar looks over to see Byul careening out through the store window, rolling to a stop as the detective began laughing to herself. A visible cut above her eyebrow as well as a spot of blood around could be seen. The smashed glass that was once a window lay on the sidewalk around Byul like a thousand tiny daggers, the light from the sun violently shining off them. Solar storms out of the car to Byul’s side, checking her vitals and mending the cut to her arm.

“Byul! You ok?!”~Solar asked bandaging the scar on Byul’s arm

“You know besides the whole window part, it went pretty well”~Moonbyul said wiping away the blood.

“What did you do?”~Solar inquired as she finished fixing up Byul.

“Asked a guy at the counter to see Keekle........told him I was a cop.... seems like he got bodyguards since the last time I was here”~Moonbyul said stretching her scratched arm.

“That’s not good, we need to talk to this dealer of yours”~Solar said helping Byul stand up

“Maybe you should come in this time. Help defuse the situation”~Moonbyul suggested as Solar led the way in. As they entered, the guard was walking over towards them, covered in a light armor as if he was a soldier, though he knew that was not to be. His black hair had once again messed up, and he was whistling a low tune to himself.

“Hey, no cops”~The man said as he stopped them from proceeding any further.

“I’m no ordinary officer”~Solar said innocently as her eyes glowed a hue of red

“No synths either girl”~The man said trying to push Solar but she caught his hand, twisting it counter clockwise, snapping it in a clean break. He screamed in pain as she began striking him with a flurry of punches. Byul tried to avert her eyes away but was drawn to way her synth girlfriend beat the man up. Solar finished as the guard lay there unconscious. Byul was trying not to stare at his nose but she kept finding her eyes had diverted to it. One moment they were obediently on his red-rimmed eyes and the next they were rested on the bloody mess that had been a perfectly ordinary nose only minutes before.; so ordinary in fact that she could not recall what it had looked like.

“Threat has been incapacitated, he’ll be fine”~Solar said letting go of the guards shirt collar, letting him fall to the floor with a audible thud

“D*mn Solar! I could of done that. I thought you were gonna talk to him”~Moonbyul said as Solar cleaned the blood from her knuckles

“Oh, you should of said something”~Solar said grabbing the keys from the guards pockets

“To be honest that was kinda hot”~Moonbyul said as Solar bit her bottom lip.

“So you like it rough? Eh?”~Solar teased making Byul shake her head

“Not that rough”~Moonbyul said walking towards the back of the shop. They opened the door and entered a rather large room with stacked to the brim with cardboard boxes. Standing at a nearby table was a tall man in a black trenchcoat. Byul walks over patting the man on the back surprising him with her presence.

“Hey Keekle”~Moonbyul said as the man jumped from the intrusion

“Jesus Christ, I thought you were dead.”~Keekle said backing away from Byul

“Well I was, past tense.”~Moonbyul sarcastically said when Solar opened one of the closed boxes revealing it being filled with bags of purple powder

“This is 500 kilos of Nitro Byul.”~Solar said making Byul smirk

“Wow 500 kilos a box. That’s at least 10 years a box, pal.”~Moonbyul said pulling out a pair of handcuffs

“Oh come on, I wasn’t even selling it. I’m trying to actually get rid of all of it.”~Keekle said crossing his arms in disbelief 

“Unless you want to cut a deal.”~Moonbyul suggested, putting away the handcuffs

“You break in, knock out my guard and you want a favor? Last time I did you a favor, Chung Ha tried to cut my throat.”~Keekle said showing Byul a scar on his neck

“Lucky for you, she couldn’t find it.”~Moonbyul taunted as Keekle gave a sigh

“Okay. Okay. What do you want me to do?”~Keekle said begrudgingly 

“I want you to broker a meeting with someone named Jihyo.”~Moonbyul requested making Keekle scoff

“Jihyo!? Are you insane?!”~Keekle proclaimed as Solar walked forth

“Occasionally she is. But don’t test her”~Solar said smiling

“What’s it gonna be, Keekle?”~Moonbyul asked making Keekle look down at his feet

“It’s gonna cost you something big.”~Keekle said sternly

“Try me. I’m in a generous mood.”~Moonbyul said leaning against a nearby table. A ball rolls in from behind Solar as a little girl no older than 5 chases after it.

“Hey daddy, who they?”~The little girl said looking at Keekle, Solar looked at the little girl confused.

“Go get in the car, daddy will be there in a bit”~Keekle said as he led the little girl outta sight from the law enforcing women. He emerged back sighing a bit, looking at Byul

“My wife got pulled over last week. The cops found a few of my guns. She’s got priors, which means major time. We got a kid, can’t do that do my little girl”~Keekle said as Byul gritted her teeth 

“What’s her name?”~Moonbyul reluctantly asked pulling out her phone.

“Lee Sunmi. She got booked downtown.”~Keekle said as Byul forwarded Solar her police identification number

“Access the docket in the Wonder Girls District. Dismiss the charges; use my ID number.”~Moonbyul said as Solar tried to object 

“Byul, we need clearance for that.”~Solar said as Byul looked at her

“Trust me Solar, just do it. Set the meeting Keekle”~Moonbyul said turning her attention back towards Keekle. He flipped open his phone and began making calls. Solar and Byul stood, waiting for him to finish his conversations before saying anything else

“Okay. I called in every favor I have. My *ss is on the line. You understand what that means, right? This don’t work, it ain’t “we don’t do no more business together” bad. It’s “kill my girl and kid” bad.”~Keekle said as Byul nodded in agreement

“Where’s the meet gonna happen?”~Moonbyul asked

“My contact says Jihyo wants to meet at Pier Four in the Goy District, in one of those old abandoned buildings.”~Keekle said packing a few of his things into a briefcase

“It makes sense. It’s isolated, discreet.”~Solar said collecting a few boxes of Nitro

“This whole thing only works if Jihyo turns up in person, you understand that?”~Moonbyul said as Keekle assured her.

“Yeah, she’ll be there. She’s been collecting a bunch of this product for weeks. Hope you guys know what your walking into. These girls don’t mess around”~Keekle said getting ready to leave

“Don’t you worry, we don’t either”~Solar said as her hair morphed into a short bob cut.