Yena almost dropped her phone in shock. Yuri? Conned? How? Who? It’s definitely not Nako or Sakura, they would have told me about it. Who would dare do this to my girlfriend?

She quickly recovered and asked Gyuri to tell her everything she knew, which was not much. All Gyuri knew was that Yuri bought something with the help of a Korean friend in Japan and it turned out that the sale was fake, and Yuri’s money was nowhere to be found. What Gyuri didn’t tell her was that Yuri bought an expensive engagement ring for Yena, because she felt like it wasn’t her story to tell.

Yena couldn’t help but clench her fist as she listened to Gyuri. She knew about how the scam worked; it was a classic scam that was usually done as a rite of passage for con artists. If only….

If only she asked me first. If only she knew that I was the perfect person to ask whether this was reliable or not.

I was the perfect person to protect her from this, but she doesn’t even know.

And she shouldn’t ever know.

Gyuri, unaware of what was happening on the other end of the line, said, “I’m sorry, Yena. Yuri didn’t really talk much about what happened, so I’m sorry I couldn’t help as much. She’s currently talking to the detectives right now to make a report about what happened. All we can do now is to hope for the best and believe in the police.”

“And one more thing Yena,” Gyuri continued, “can you come pick Yuri up from the station? It’s getting late and I have to go back to the agency because of my curfew. I must warn you; it might be hard for Yuri to open up about what happened to her. Ever since that incident--- never mind. Just let her be until she’s ready to talk.”

Unknown to Gyuri, Yena knew about the incident that Gyuri was referring to. Yena couldn’t help but wince at the mention of the incident, she knew how bad it was for Yuri.

In fact, she knew too well.

“Sure, I can be there in 20 minutes. Thanks for being there for her, Gyuri. I’ll be right there,” Yena said before she hung up. She dialed another number, to which a familiar voice picked up.

“Ya, Heose. I thought we were on a break. Why would you call me at this hour?” said Kkura, obviously annoyed. Yena heard faint keyboard tapping and mouse clicking sounds, which meant that the tech girl was busy gaming.

“Kkura-unnie Yuri got conned and I want to know who did it.” The keyboard tapping and the mouse clicking sounds stopped immediately when Yena said this, but the sounds were replaced by soft chuckling.

“Are you serious, Yena? I’m sorry for laughing, but this is just too funny. The best con artist’s GF getting conned by another con artist? You know how stupid that sounds?” Sakura said as she tried to contain her laugh.

Yena was not laughing at all. As if on cue, Yena’s phone vibrated. It was a text from Gyuri which said:

Yena, Yuri just finished talking to the detectives. She still looks so out of it, so come quickly. I’m worried sick about her. She’s also been saying a name repeatedly for a while now. I think it was Kim Chaewon. Do you know anyone named Kim Chaewon?

Yena did not recognize the name, but she was sure that this Kim Chaewon is related to the scam. She returned to the call and told Sakura,

“Kkura-unnie, find everything that you can on a Kim Chaewon. I don’t recognize the name so she might be a new face in the industry. Call me as soon as you find anything.”

“But I can’t pause an online---” Yena had already hung up before the gamer finished her sentence. She was about to go out of the house when a thought suddenly came to mind.

I’m going to a police station.

She opened her closet and took out a black cap and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. She needed to disguise herself to avoid being recognized near a police station. Although she was pretty sure no one would recognize her, she wanted to take precaution; she didn’t want to give herself up by walking into the lion’s den. She would be the laughingstock of the underworld, and she didn’t want that to happen ever. She wore the accessories on her way to the car, and then drove to the police station as fast as she could.

As she pulled up in front of the station, Yena saw Yuri sitting down at the front stairs of the station with Gyuri. Yuri looked horrible; her eyes were swollen, and her nose and cheeks were red from crying. She was staring off into space until she saw Yena. To Yena’s pleasant surprise, Yuri suddenly ran up to her and hugged her tight. Yena could feel the urgency of the younger girl’s embrace, and