[ ✦ ]

The image of a man with his feet weighed down with cement was sinking into Joohyun’s brain the same way he was anchored to the bottom of the beautiful Velvet City ocean. That mental image, though only described by the news channel, was a bit unsettling and not really something one wants to see before going to a party. To make matters worse, the lack of description almost seemed to exacerbate Joohyun’s creative brain rather than muffle the raw response.

Of course, her internal train of thought stayed inside, while she kept as calm as possible on the outside to never betray her coolness.

She changed channels quite fast after taking in the news, only catching a flash of the minor news of a group of punks vandalizing a millionaire's property before turning off the T.V completely; her face remaining impassive while Yeri skipped back and forth in front of her eyes. Yeri who seemed to have completely ignored the news as shocking as they were. That only told Joohyun one of two things: either Yeri was really excited for the party and was distracted with the task of getting ready or this was the norm in Velvet City.

Either way, that was quite a… thing, to put it one way. For a fleeting moment she thought of not going to that party out of fear that something might happen, and sure it is kind of irresponsible to go…

But this was Velvet City, and a party right now sounding very tempting. Unaware of it, Joohyun was seeing the effects of the infamous Velvet City. And Joohyun could not lie that she was eager to see more of the city, especially during the night time.

Her thoughts drifted much like Yeri did, from one side to the other, going from the horrific imagery in her head (grotesque and getting increasingly detailed) to the more exciting prospect of party. The train of thought, was suddenly a zooming futuristic car that crashed against the wall of reality when the doorbell rang.

Huh?

Joohyun took a second or two to register the sound. She hesitated, until Yeri yelled from the bathroom.

“It’s the babysitter!”

“Alright!” Joohyun shouted back as a first reaction and only later moved. Reluctant, anyways.

For a moment, she truly considered what the Taxi driver told her. To get a good pepper spray and some karate classes. The nerve wrecking sensation that someone was behind the door and that it could be just about anyone reminded her a little bit of New York’s thugs. But at least she knew better than to answer the door after one in the morning.

Here? Everything goes.

She peered out of the peep hole and saw a young girl merely waiting outside, looking around and waiting patiently.

A sigh of relief, Joohyun opened the door and saw the young woman face to face.

“Hello!” She greeted quite cheerfully, sporting a charming smile herself. “I--Is this where Yeri’s staying? I’m Kim Saeron, the babysitter.”

And this Kim Saeron could not be older than Yeri, if anything they looked somehow the same age. Or maybe Saeron was a little younger? Whatever it was, she had a lovely set of eyes that glimmer with some genuine enthusiasm to be there, dressed very casually for the occasion but not missing the vibrant colors that make Velvet City the way it is. She was taller than Joohyun and slimmer, a young woman from Korean descent like herself. Unless Joohyun was wrong.

Joohyun stood there for a second in silence, just buffering, before she smiled at her own silence. Not a good impression to give off, but she just wasn’t in her right tracks these days. “Yes, ah. Sorry, I’m new around here. Uhh,” she extended her hand and Saeron shook it. “I’m Bae Joohyun, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Saeron said quite immediately.

Out of the two of them, Saeron had reasons to be frightened but she wasn’t. Instead, Joohyun was the one that was mildly on edge, she just had a gut feeling that something might go sour. Was that her endless distrust for people or a genuine intuition? The lines were blurred so much that Joohyun could not read them even if she wanted to.

Stepping aside and letting the girl in, Saeron entered slowly and with her hands clutching her bags close to her body, just looking around and taking into the foreign place. It was nice looking and had a simple structure from what she could gather from a quick glance; she could handle herself and a baby everywhere, so this was a piece of cake. Besides that, the house was tidy. “Woah, this looks nice!”

“Thanks,” Joohyun said kind of absentmindedly, peering outside for a second to see if anyone was around before closing the door shut and locking it. “You are Yeri’s friend?”

“Yup!” Saeron placed her bag down on the couch and sat down, her posture straight and a bit stiff. “I babysit Soojung when Yeri needs to”

“Really? So, quite a lot I bet?”

“Absolutely,” Saeron nodded. “I do a good job, though. So, don’t worry!”

Deep down inside, Joohyun was questioning it but paid no mind to her rattling brain.

“So, where is Yeri—and, uh, you, right—going to go?” Saeron asked, still looking around and about.

“To the Neon Club, don’t know where that is.”

For a moment, the young girl paused and nodded, saying the softest ‘oh’ that Joohyun has ever barely heard. She tried to play off something. “Just wanted to know, just a precaution,” though Saeron had the smallest smile that did not fit with the look in her eyes.

The conversation was cut short when the baby Soojung’s soft giggles and Yeri’s tender talk came into the living room. In that moment, both Saeron and Joohyun stood up and were immediately enchanted with the siren giggles of the little girl.

“Oh my goooood, Soojungie!” Saeron’s voice went many pitches higher and she instantly pinched those chubby cheekies with a lot of love and carefulness. “How is my Soojungie?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m doing fine, thanks!” Yeri said while laughing. “You missed Soojung, didn’t you?”

“Too much,” Saeron said, still in her baby voice before she cleared . “And I missed you too, actually.”

Yeri shook her head with a laugh.

Joohyun just watched, standing back from the exchange between the two. The pale new-yorker knew that these two were a little more than acquaintances and looked at each other like childhood friends, like they were the only person each other could trust. Well, certainly a lot of questions were brewing up, but there was no time to ask—not when Yeri handed Soojung over along with a rapid-fire list of indications and precautions, and barely even finished talking when she grabbed Joohyun’s wrist and started yanking her towards the door, barely grabbing anything and barely giving Joohyun a chance to grab the car keys. Saeron just let her talk, naturally, knowing half of the things she was going to say anyways.

Yeri was still a young girl at heart, ferociously looking to party and eager to party with her friend—the very person who brought her here to Velvet City in the first place and made her new clean slate a possibility. Having a child was taxing, and it is not that she doesn't love Soojung but rather that she also wished to unwind and de-stress from her hard work as a mother. Now that she can, she will go out with her friend and unwind. Especially because she knows Joohyun needs unwinding, too. Something about Joohyun’s straight posture looked so fine and elegant, like it could impress a few folks in an interview or in a fine party in the richer areas of Velvet City. But this was just a club! She did not need to be so uptight for!

Yeri was driving, with the eyes on the road again, and she was focused, but she could still see Joohyun sitting up right like a robot on the passenger seat next to her, looking at the road like SHE was the one driving. Somehow, she knows not to talk or make conversation, mostly because she needs to concentrate but secondly because… something is bothering Joohyun, something is keeping her a bit on edge. To figure out what went through the woman’s head was like deciphering Braille without being blind (or having previous knowledge) while a military unit all around you shouting different things in all languages you know and don’t know.

Hard, strenuous and not really worth your time.

“Does Saeron like you going out?” Joohyun abruptly asked, as if knowing that Yeri was thinking about her. “She did not seem too thrilled about that.”

Yeri’s eyebrows furrowed and she shrugged. “I don’t think she minds. She has never minded, but it’s not like I go out to party a lot either. I mostly go out for work.”

Joohyun nodded, scratching her head. Was she overthinking it? “I dunno, she seemed a bit… unhappy? Or whatever, about us going out.”

Yeri then laughed, maybe to lighten up the mood a little in the tense car. “Maybe she wants to party, too?”

Joohyun highly doubted it.

[ ✦ ]

The sun was starting to slowly disappear through the horizon, glowing with a dash of orange, yellow and pink—a hue created by the gods and perfected by the angels, masters of their craft. The waves of the ocean smoothly move and rolled to the shore, swimming back, dragging the trash that the drunk beach goers left on accident, a brassiere adrift, a few bottles of beer buried or scattered across the beach, picked up by the conscient group of (ironically) wild partiers or the group of elderly people that live nearby. Or the folks running the nearest hotels and apartments.

It was quiet, strangely so, but the real party was out in the streets and inside the clubs and penthouses. The beaches were indisputably better when the sun was up and tanning, or rather toasting the skin of those who forgot sunblock. Right now the only habitants of the beach were the young couple looking to reach maximum ecstasy outside, in the possible gaze of a curious onlooker, as they reached nirvana solely with touches and kisses.

And right now, Joohyun was fantasizing about the beach rather than where she was standing, right at the entrance of the Neon Club. And Neon was just the right name, with all the flashy colors assaulting her gaze. Flashy, mind you, the party has not quite started for the lights to start flashing an awful epileptic’s nightmare. The seizure madness had not yet started, see. The people were starting to pour in, ranging from hawaiian shirts, to casual to the most vibrant combination of loud colors that were an assault to the conservative folks fashion sense.

Couples, groups and solos’ alike were all inside and ready to start the party, starting off really quiet by standing around with drinks at hand chatting up to people, networking and possibly fishing in the vast sea of single folks, or those looking to cheat or adventure with seasoned veterans in the battlefield of love.

Or up-and-coming drug lords and actors/actresses. Or maybe just networking with a part-time clown or a part-time waiter. Just networking.

You know, the thing that Joohyun should be doing, but feels dread just to think about and feels an increasing anxiety about it. To look around and not know who these people were, if they were involved in the drugs trade or with the small time hoodlums, or if they were awfully rich, armed to the teeth, or soon to be psychopaths.

Joohyun, you must calm down.

A little voice in her head yanked her out of her somber pondering just before Yeri spoke.

“Where is Suzy?” Yeri had her arms crossed and her lips slightly pouty. “I hope she didn’t stood us up.”

“Isn’t this her party?” Joohyun looked around at the people passing by, the exotic cars zooming past and looking at the nicely lit buildings and the wonderful palm trees that decorated the whole landscape. Half paying attention to what was going on around her.

“No, I mean… This is someone else’s party, she just invited us.”

Joohyun deeply inhaled and tried to keep her paranoia in check. “Do you know who these people are even?”

Yeri didn’t respond instead she patted Joohyun’s arm. “There she is!” And pointed, quite rudely.

Joohyun tactfully brought her hand down and patted her hand as well.

A young woman stepped out of an Audi Quattro, brand new or at least fresh out of the carwash. It was nicely painted with black and flames on the doors, tuned to perfection with… I mean, who cares? It was tuned! I don’t know about cars, do you think I know about cars? I’m a nerd writer! Joohyun knows even less, she doesn’t even know the difference between a Delorean and a Camaro, two of the most popular cars followed by the Phoenix, a rich man’s dream—.

Sorry, back on track.

Joohyun assumed this was the very Suzy Costello, the one and only, that Yeri was talking about. Long raven black hair, frizzied up and voluminous. Wearing more or less the same outfit as Yeri. Jeans, casual croptop of neon colors with denim on denim and more denim. The shoes couldn’t be denim by mere chance, but they could have! Her smile is decorated with a noticeable pair of dimples and white teeth that glow just as much as the neon on the club.

“Yeeeriiiiii!” Suzy opened her arms wide and Yeri, who was jumping a little bit in place, just slides on over to give her a tight hug. “I’ve missed you sooooo much!”

“I missed you, too!” Yeri just melted into the hug, staying there for what seemed to be quite a long time. And she had no intentions of moving for a bit.

Suzy was taller than Yeri (not that it was a big feat anyways) and she assumed she was at least older, just unsure by how much. However, she dressed and spoke just like any other girl like Yeri’s age—even younger. She was up to date with the fashion, her bubbly attitude suggested that her Highschool romance sweetheart just asked her out on a date and that she had the hottest gossip to share with Yeri. Definitely youthful looking, giving off the ‘party girl’ aura.

“How was Barcelona?” Yeri asked, pulling away to look at Suzy well and squeeze her arms fondly. “Bet you had lots of fun.”

“Oh, it was lovely, lots of interesting—,” Suzy stopped short when she looked over to Joohyun, who was awkwardly standing there as she saw the two girls talk after seemingly an extended period of time. “Oh, hello! Sorry, I’m Suzanne—just call me Suzy.”

“Oh right!” Yeri piped up and stood beside Joohyun to give her a pat in the back. “This is Joohyun, the girl I told you about.”

“Ah, nice to meet you,” Joohyun said a bit late and low, taken a bit aback by the sheer energy and friendliness.

“I’m so glad you came, I hear you’re new around here so, like, I think it would be good to have you network around—.”

And then she continued talking, at a high speed and raising volume now that the music at the club was starting to blast off. She seriously would not stop, and Joohyun tried to listen but she couldn’t keep track of all that was being said. Yeri, smartly, just dragged the chatting bird and Joohyun into the club—a backfired plan because Suzy seemed to somehow speak louder than the speakers.

And longer.

She talked from point to point, perhaps just trying to get Joohyun to loosen up or to speak, but then she started to speak about the news. Aside from the punks vandalizing her father’s property (... huh), which she was very happy about (... Huh?), she brought up the dead man found cemented to the bottom of the ocean.

Joohyun felt the tickles of ghost travelling down her spine. But this gossip was interesting. Frightening, sure, just a tad bit, but interesting.

Suzy’s father knew who that man was, naturally, but had no direct connections to him. An up-and-coming mobster, a tough guy who tried to jump higher than his higher-ups and ended up below the very citizens of Velvet City, and I don’t mean in jail or buried underground either, that would be an honorable burial by comparison. Joohyun was listening to her talk, moving on to talk about the other news about a man from Yeri’s apartment committing suicide, and in that moment, she gasped and dragged Yeri into the conversation.

“Oh my god, did you know about Jerico?!” Suzy asked Yeri, lacking all the tact.

Yeri gulped a bit nervously. “I—Uh, yes, I actually have to tell you.”

“Tell me, because I don’t think he committed suicide—I told you he was into some shady business!” Suzy said quite carefreely, knowing that the vibrant synth and the girly vocals would muffle her accusations.

Yeri explained and Joohyun was in second plane nodding to her explanation. Though she made it a bit flashier than it was but Joohyun wouldn’t stop to tell her otherwise. It wasn’t damning or tampering with the story, so what gives. At one point, Joohyun tuned out and looked around the club. Certainly a lot more moved now with people dancing and shaking it on the dance floor. Every other tired dancer bee-lining to the bar or tables to have a seat and a drink. Small groups of people gathered across the vast club, glowing under the lights.

And then Joohyun’s heart dropped, seeing a familiar face somewhere on the bar, waiting and observing. He hadn’t noticed her yet, but she surely noticed him. Moustache guy. This time, dressed for the occasion. A pink blazer, blue shirt tucked into his white trousers—tailored to perfection. He looked like he had muscle and was ready for action. He also looked like he was up to no good, but with a drink in hand Joohyun knew otherwise.

He wasn’t here to pick a fight, he was just there to relax and blow off some steam.

But that didn’t bode well.

Joohyun looked away and tried to act off as if she didn’t know him, or that she didn’t see him. He was face to face with the man in the elevator just hours ago; she has seen him flee the scene, she was a loose end if she didn’t keep shut about the thing.

Her heart was racing and nothing was even happening yet.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Yeri shrugged it off. “We have nothing to do with him, so nothing will happen, right?”

When the two girls looked over at Joohyun, she showed of a chagrined smile, only to receive Yeri’s elbow to her ribs for that, which instantly changed her smile to a more genuine one. Mostly out of pain.

“Don’t worry about it, I spoke to our guardian angels to come in and keep a good eye out on my welcome party,” Suzy confidently said, trying to get the two to loosen up more.

“I thought this wasn’t your party,” Joohyun said.

“It isn’t! But the club owner is my friend and the DJ is my friend and—.”

“I got it, I got it,” Joohyun stopped her.

“Are the Red Velvet Angels really coming?” Yeri asked, her head tilted and shouting a little louder than intended.

“Yeah! Julien is my friend, too. Remember?”

“I know, but I figured he wouldn’t come on duty.”

“Well, he’s coming with the folks but I don’t doubt they’ll be here to protect us.”

Joohyun raised her hands up and stopped them both. “What are you guys talking about?”

And they both ignored her.

“I hope they’re also willing to party, you know?”

“Well, not Vincent—.”

“Oh yeah, I know, totally not.”

“Luckily he’s not a militant straight edge—.”

Well, this was going to be a night for sure.

The girls continued to chat and chat like they have been friends forever, while Joohyun briefly interjected to speak her mind in different occasions. The girls caught up with each other on all aspects, leaving no stone unturned about Suzy’s travelling to Barcelona and recounting every little detail of Yeri’s very quiet life—in comparison to other people’s and Suzy’s herself.

Suzy’s friends started to pour in and come on over to Suzy, hugging tight, kissing cheeks and shaking hands with the two girls. Finally, some company to chat with. Mostly wealthy men with glowing, silver and gold wrist watches. Some women with fine figure and crazy hair. One quick glance amongst the crowd and Joohyun found them all to look the same—no, no. Joohyun shook her head at her own thoughts. They just seemed to follow a structure or line of design, they experimented with the fashion. Nothing against following the crowd, especially if you’re comfortable, but Joohyun stood in a weird middle line where she wasn’t one nor the other. It made her feel... a bit... you know.

She wasn’t counter culture enough, but she wasn’t ‘in’ enough. A woman her age (which is not that old, quite frankly) didn’t bother to blend with any, she just talked and met people who came along the way. So, she spoke to these folks.

Their conversation wasn’t overwhelming at first, just merely inquisitive. She asked, they responded and they asked, and so she responded. All in all, it wasn’t too ground breaking. She spoke to a guy who showed her his business card. A lawyer, short haired with an attractive mole beneath his eye; his voice quite soothing despite having to shout. The thing was that his interests did not align with Joohyun, so she merely labelled him as an acquaintance. Another one was a man whose occupation was unknown—a drug dealer, she assumed, or perhaps a Mafioso’s right thumb. The men beside him were quite eager to show their cards to Joohyun (not literally, but figuratively) and to further impress her with whatever antics that came in mind. However, when their occupation was also unknown and they veered away from the topic, Joohyun excused herself from the group of pals, who looked unsettling to be around with for starters.

Talk about networking.

She met others and had a nice time with others, until the suffocating air of the club, for some bizarre reason, started to choke her and bother her. Everyone seemed to be absolutely fine, partying it up and dancing with drinks in hand, socializing with apparent walking criminal records and flirting while fidgeting with the wedding bands on their fingers. This land was wild.

Slithering amongst the crowd carefully, Joohyun found an opening to the outside with fresh air breezing through the cracks. Exaggerated, I know, but that is how she felt. The air was dense and she needed to be out for a second. So, she made it out of the club to find no one outside. Not a single soul. Perhaps this was perfect, or maybe close to it. Either way, she just needed to breathe. The music was vibrating against the walls and the floor, but it was significantly muffled now, less abrasive than inside. She hadn’t realized how much her vocal cords where sore from all the shouting and talking.

Joohyun leaned against the nearest and breathed in deeply, just admiring the night life outside. Still as vivid as the morning, do these people ever sleep?

Glancing at her watch, she noticed it had been two hours since the party started and it sure did feel longer than that.

“Tsk, tsk.”

She looked away and—.

That didn’t come out of .

“Too much noise, huh?”

Joohyun slowly glanced over to the side to met face to face—for the second time—with the moustache man, his pale green eyes now strikingly familiar and strangely menacing. A glowing hue usually attractive now turned a bit frightening. He had a cigarette between his lips and a pack of it on his hand, wiggling it at her.

She was absolutely frozen in her spot for a second.

What to ing do in this situation? Giving off a small smile, Joohyun took a cigarette and gave the softest ‘thank you’ before he held up the lighter with the flame already eagerly dancing. A zippo lighter, silver with engravings that shouted ‘Viva Velvet City!’ in all its glory. She looked at him in the eyes for a brief second, unable to read him.

.

She leaned down, placing the end of the cigarette against the flame and drawing in until it was lit, her eyes still awkwardly fixated on his. She stepped back the moment she could and went back to leaning against the wall, trying to keep occupied and her gaze forward, watching the passing cars and praying for people to flood the entrance of the club. A couple, maybe a small group, people calling a taxi to leave, guards or something—.

Wait a second, there’s no guards at the entrance?

She couldn’t even glance around out of pure fear but she was certain that there was not a single guard outside of the door. There were when they stepped in at first, weren’t they?

, .

“Tonight’s particularly full, the club I mean,” he began. His voice a thunderously deep one.

“Really?”

“Yeah, you don’t come here often, I assume.”

God in—.

“No, not really,” Joohyun chuckled out nervously, taking a long draw out of the disgusting cigarette. A habit she quit years ago and now was forced to it, out of fear. “Not my kind of scene.”

He laughed softly and nodded, scratching his short black hair and combing it back in place. Joohyun only glanced at his hand a few seconds. Rough looking, steady and perfect to choke her right there.

She gulped discreetly.

“You’re more of a beach party babe, then?” He began, now turning his body to her direction fully and leaning against the wall.

Joohyun’s heart was beating absolutely madly, feeling the cold shivers run down her body. But she never let it show on her face, feeling that the cigarette kept her at least somewhat calmed. It was enough until she decided to go back inside. Then the question was ‘how’ will she go back inside? How will she excuse herself without raising suspicions?

What was he even trying to play? He knew that she was there, he knew that she was the very woman that came out of the apartment building with Yeri—who was their sub target—and she knows that he knows.

What was he going to do about it?

Joohyun glanced over to him and looked at him in the eye. “Do I look like a beach babe?”

“You look like you’ll rock a swimsuit.”

She gave off a small, forced smile, feeling incredibly uncomfortable at the suddenness of the flashing images in her head. Joohyun dead at the bottom of the ocean, her feet cemented together by a huge block which she wouldn’t be able to escape from.

Was that his intention? To give off a message?

Or was Joohyun connecting the dots a bit too well?

“I probably can,” she nodded finally. “Can you?”

“I am more of a boat guy, not fond of swimming.”

“With the fishes?” Joohyun said out loud and only widened her eyes for five nanoseconds.

Why the would she say that out loud?”

“Yeah, not fond of that either,” he said dead serious, his smile not matching his voice.

Joohyun only gives him a quick glance, and reverts back to the floor. “Not many people are, naturally. Scared of sharks.”

Swiftly veering away from it now, Joohyun took another long drag and nervously blew it all out.

“Sharks, of course,” he chuckled all naturally.

Was he closer?

“Frightening creatures,” she said absentmindedly.

Oh my god, he was closer.

“Are you fond of swimming with the fishes? You look like you are.”

Pardon?

She frowned and glanced over at him at the clear cut threat. Why was she suddenly... angry at that? Somehow fear was starting to take the shotgun seat, it was still there, but suddenly something was taking the wheel. Something more powerful, like a hidden beast within her. A beast that her calculated brain kept hidden for years. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me precisely right.”

Joohyun bounced off the wall and faced him, this time with clear frown. “I didn’t, the club’s earthquaking speakers left me a bit deaf,” she sassed him a bit, her rational side screaming at her for that.

‘The girl has spunk,’ he thought. But he had many years of experience to know how to deal with a feisty . He laughed, taking a drag from his cigarette which he hadn’t touched since the conversation started. She eyed it for just a second, knowing that if he moves forward at all, she’s getting the burning end to her body for sure.

“Cut the bull,” Joohyun said hanging on to the last bits of her own cigarette—as to not feel entirely defenseless. “What do you want?”

“Oh, you know,” he immediately replied. “You’re not dumb.”

And he doesn’t look dumb either, so he’s never going to say it out loud.

“I have my moments,” she groaned. “But on with it, stop wasting my time before I—.”

“What? Create a ruckus and force the guards to step in? It’s hopeless you know—.”

“What guards?” Joohyun spat back.

Then silence.

Her eyes were bore into his, but he suddenly was a bit confused and taken aback. He hadn’t noticed it either, not until she mentioned it. Oh , she was absolutely doomed. He looked backwards to notice that there weren’t guards, but when he turned to face her, there was... more confusion?

Suddenly, he didn’t look like he cared about the matter at hand but rather seemed to be thinking about something else.

Joohyun was prepared to counter attack upon him noticing, but was oddly anxious about him not doing so.

“What’s going on here?” Sounded the voice of someone else, a new person—a woman—that had just arrived the scene.

Finally, someone was around. Maybe she could beat his with someone as a witness?

They both turned around, meeting eyes with a lanky woman with a black beret, gloves and a denim jacket with pins and designs sewn onto it. A woman whose face was a beautiful and whose foxy eyes held a menacing aura to them, especially as she gazed up and down at the man. Did they know each other? She was by no means bigger or taller than him, but something about her aura—her attire—was annoying the man greatly. Her mere presence made him walk back and toss the cigarette down to step on it.

“Nothing, officer,” he said.

“Sure,” the woman said, crossing her arms. “Don’t go causin’ trouble now.”

Ignoring what the woman said, he looked up at Joohyun; the man’s face was impassive and unreadable while Joohyun’s gaze was still fired up with flames. “I’ll be seeing you later,” he said lowly before he walked back inside, roughly pushing the doors open and disappearing into the cacophony of the club.

In that moment, Joohyun could have sighed in relief, but she still didn’t know or trust the woman before her—who looked like a strange fashioned punk.

“You okay?” The woman said, keeping her distance.

Joohyun tossed the cigarette away quite violently, still boiling with the rage. “I could be better, who are you?”

The woman instantly could tell that Joohyun was up in arms and defensive, so instinctively she raised her hands up to show that she came in peace. “Hey, relax. I’m Seulgi. I’m part of the Red Velvet Angels.”

‘Another gang?’ thought Joohyun. Was this the gang Yeri was talking about?

Speaking of which, Yeri was inside—and while she is sure that the man didn’t see her before, she had to be by her side to make sure she was alright. Yeri IS her responsibility as the oldest of the two.

“I just saw that Sergei was giving you trouble, I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

So, that’s his name. Sergei. Now that the monster has a name, Joohyun has no idea what to do with that information. But that was beyond the point, this woman was named Seulgi and somehow managed to make that man scram away. He was big enough to take on the two of them for sure, and he called her ‘officer.’

Was it a nickname?

Many questions she did not wish to answer now. She needed to go back inside.

“Sure,” Joohyun was still not surely convinced, she was about to walk inside before she felt Seulgi stop her. Shoving her arm away quite forcefully, she groaned. “What?”

And Seulgi could sense that she didn’t trust her. “I don’t recommend you stay alone with him, ma’am. I mean it. You new on Velvet City?”

Was that a genuine question or a remark? “What’s it to you?”

Still as peaceful as ever, Seulgi spoke softly. “I was just wondering. Sergei tends to come down on the tourists around town, but he’s bad news.”

Huh...

Okay, settle down Joohyun.

Joohyun quietly listened and remained that way for a moment before she finally sighed out some tension. Despite her attitude, Seulgi was remaining incredibly patient. It reminded Joohyun to control herself. “Sorry about that, I—.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Seulgi smiled a bit and finally dropped her hand. Upon closer inspection, Joohyun noticed the ‘R.V.A’ insignia sewn on the left side of her chest.

The pins and insignia designs all had nothing to do with one another, were probably merely a design that she liked. The only thing that seemed to have anything to do with the Red Velvet Angels was a design of an angel. Still, that gave Joohyun no information.

Joohyun looked up at her and nodded. “It’s not the first time he does this in front of you, ‘officer’?”

Seulgi laughed and shook her head. “I know he can put people on edge,” she nodded.

There was something oddly... peaceful about this woman. She highly doubted that she was a gangster now. But... what was she?

“That’s an understatement,” Joohyun laughed. “He’s infamous, right?”

“Yeah, he is. He’s not relatively new but has made quite a name for himself since he got here,” Seulgi said, looking back and stopping for a second. “Uhm...”

“What is it?” Joohyun frowned, looking at her direction. Then she froze.

She saw it, too. Or better yet, she saw that nothing was there.

But this time it clicked on her head at the same time that Seulgi asked.

“Uh, where are the guards?”

Joohyun’s eyes widened. She understood it in that instant and it was a bit too late as she heard the first gunshot.