THERE was not a cloud to be seen in the evening sky, no sign that rain was on its way, no suggestion of the coming thunder. None of the people around him was even carrying an umbrella. So when Onew shockingly barged into Siwon’s office drenched by the sudden downpour, the head chief managed to spit out his dark coffee on his papers.

“Onew! Don’t you know how to knock? Jesus…” Siwon spat at the guy sitting on the chair alongside his table while trying to salvage what was left of the ruined reports.

“Sorry, sir. I’ll fix that. Not… not just now,” Onew replied to his chief as he helped him dump the wet papers into the steel bin. “But this is something more important.”

Siwon noticed the depth of Onew’s voice between those lines so he started to lean back on his chair and made sure to be ready for the investigator’s story. It was rare to see his man unsettled like this. His agent’s eyes are unfocused, hands are jittery and hair is damp and dishevelled. Even if he is a responsible guy, Siwon can't help but feel worried if the case is being too much for his junior.

“Lock the door,” he ordered at Onew. The younger man complied and stood up, locking the door without haste and went back to the chair he once sat upon.

Siwon nodded at the officer and asked him to continue.

“This case–this mass murder case–is very old. This thought bugged me at first but I just went along with what I am enlisted to do. But,” Onew ran his hand through his wet hair and tried to get it out of his face, “We have many cases on our hands, much more recent and needed to be solved. Why was this opened up again?”

The head chief nodded at Onew’s speculation – the case was indeed old and there was not enough laid on the table that would have made them open it up again. But once again, he was also enlisted to this task. “Eunhwa Police Department takes all cases from the S.K. Bureau of Investigation, no questions. We do what we’re asked and do it well,” he drank and emptied what was left of the coffee in his cup and continued, “We send an officer from our department to take cases from the main branch – it’s the protocol. But like you said, it also made me wonder why we have to unravel this back. Now that you’ve mentioned it…”

Onew felt something went up to his spine, trailing to his head, and leaving a tingling sensation all over his body. This was too shady – too many points are hidden and too many facts are not questioned. He hopes that this will not lead into something terrible. He kept thinking about the possibilities, trying to fit his way in into every slits and coils just to find something out of this mess while he walked out of his chief’s office. Siwon promised him to check this case in the main branch. He unfortunately managed running down an intern while he was deep in thought, all for the search of something tangible or even as simple as a thought that may lead him somewhere near the end.

When he opened the door of his car, his boss’ words were replaying in his head,

 “If it’s unsolvable, we might as well drop it.” Onew remembers that dry chuckle Siwon gave before saying, “No one even from the family nor the other possible victims requested to cover this up.”

He revved the engine to its life, creating a purr that turned into a growl as he sped his way down the highway. The rain was still relentless; water coming from the skies never running out. He can feel the impending crash. The string in his hands that leads him to the end is getting tighter, shorter. Right now, Onew didn’t care for anything else that solving this case once and for all.

    THE damp and dirty ground stained his jeans and shirt, not that it really matters – his clothes are already soiled with the metallic blood and salty sweat. Taemin continued to shiver in the corner of an alley where rats don’t even try to dwell around. The artificial light from the nearest lamp post cannot even pierce through the corner he is in, making him well-hidden from the possible pedestrians.

The memories of his kill last night haunted and continued to play in his mind. That foul smell of the red substance that clings all over his body served as a very effective reminder of the sin he did. He tried breathing in as little as possible, but the attempt resulted into a heaving when he started to wail. A voice still kept whispering into his head, telling him that he made a splendid job of spilling red.

“It’s alright, Taemin-ah…”

“Those low-lives deserved it!”

“I’m so proud of you.”

“Did it feel good? When you felt their burning hearts on your palm, still beating to keep them alive and warm, did you felt

that thrill, that satisfaction?”

“You’re happy.”

Taemin started to shout and rip his hair out. Bloody crescents formed on his palm when he tightly closed his fist in attempt to resist the voice’s incantations. His nails started to draw out blood when he scratched the pavement to seek any distraction from the demon infiltrating his soul. He just wanted to pass out and surrender to whatever he is bid to do.

The dominant, immoral voice was laughing with glee and excitement as it made its way louder in his head, each word leaving a deafening pound into his brain. For years, the daunting demon within him awakened and had killed once again. The bastard was tempting him to do more, to kill more, to taste the power over death. It was pushing him not to be weak and meek, pulling him to unleash the pain he suffered under.

“You know what I need… what we both need.”

“No. No!”

“Kill.”

“Stop!”

“Don’t you feel the hunger eating up inside of you? You need to kill him.”

“Please! Leave!”

“Kill.”

“S-stop! Just g-get out!”

“The last descendant, the last Claud. One bite, one chew – finished. Isn’t it easy, my dear Taeminnie?”

“L-leave me alone! Just get out!” Taemin started to profusely shake his head and shiver. He can’t do it; he won’t do it. He thinks that it is impossible to find the last Claud since it all happened 11 years ago, that incident he wished he could forget and burn. Even if he manages to find the last Claud, he’ll make sure to resist the devil’s orders. He promises that to himself.

The demon in his palm started to rub its rough tongue and coated Taemin’s skin with its sticky saliva, “Oh child, he is closer than you think,” the creature on his hands started to rumble and laugh in a low and cold tone, “You will feel him, you will smell the same blood that drenched and pooled on your feet eleven years ago. That hunger will burn your body once again and make you blind. You will kill him and eat his heart – that is my order.”

The demon continued to hiss and his palm until he heard some footsteps heading towards the alley he is in. Taemin’s eyes blazed red as he quickly cover up his left hand to hide the disgusting creature on his palm. His senses are on its height as it remained on full alert, thinking that danger beside the one within him is near.

“Taemin?” a soft voice called out to him. He knows that voice.

Finally.

Jonghyun has found him.

“Kill.”

This is really awkward...

Hello, I am Flymouth! You might be wondering who I am and what the hell I am doing here. I'll cut the chase -- chaw2x decided not to update this anymore. Being the fan of this story among all of her other works (you can practically see my name flooding the comment section, haha), I requested and bugged the bajizus out of her to continue this. Then she told me, "Well, why don't you do it?" (not the exact words but yeah haha) I was hesitant at first since she's a very great writer and I'm really scared to ruin this fic. But tadaa, I accepted because I also want this to be finished! Hoho.

;____; Please don't hate me. You can tell me any critcism. I take them well.

Thanks again to chaw2x for trusting me with this! LILILILILI! lol She also wants to say sorry if the update took to long to be posted up.

We hope you all enjoyed reading!