A/N: Alright, I know it's been more than a year since I tapped out of this fic. But I'm coming back to it now that I've resolved myself to actually work on fixing my commitment issues, starting with all my unfinished projects.

I'm also increasing the (ideal) word count for each chapter to around 4-5k+, cuz 2k words feels a little short for my liking. And I think longer chapters would suit this fic better, idk. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rewrite :D

**edits/revisions made as of 5/12/2021.

8:22:05 PM

May 3, Monday

The details of their search-and-rescue mission were fairly simple.

Find the address given to them, locate the missing people inside so they could be safely escorted back to the station, and—if possible—identify the anonymous caller. If suspected, the team would take them in for interrogation. That was the plan, at least.

But then everything went downhill from the moment they stepped into the dilapidated building. Unaware of the looming threat that is now poised before them with a bloodied pipe in hand.

“For a group of supposedly trained officers, you all can’t seem to take down a single target.”

A deep, gravelly voice hung still in the dust-spotted air, sounding almost apathetic to the pitiful sight before them.

Three young officers lay sprawled across the concrete floor and bleeding out from their injuries, peach and ivory skins now tainted with cuts and bruises from the ambush, while the fourth one remains tethered nearby to a steel column. Watching the scene unfold with tear-worn eyes full of helpless anguish.

“What a shame, really…”

The unknown figure takes a step towards the officer closest to them, quietly observing her as she desperately tries to lift her beaten form with trembling arms.

“… I expected more from the likes of you people.”

By the looks of it, she appears to be one of the youngest in the bunch. Beneath the wounds and discoloration, her jade-white skin has this radiance to it from the dingy lights overhead. And her visuals were akin to that of a youthful maiden with her flowing, midnight hair and soft, pink lips. Part of them feels a little bad for ruining such a pretty face. Unfortunately, she just so happened to confront the wrong person tonight.

It’s just good business, after all, and they only did what they had to.

“Then again, I shouldn’t have set my expectations so high in the first place. You’re all just as incompetent as the rest of your dear colleagues.” A tone of disappointment surfaces in their voice. “Seoul’s finest, they say… I call it a joke.”

A couple feet away from them, another officer is also struggling to get up from where she had fallen minutes prior with a huge gash bleeding out on the side of her forehead. Caused by the very same person who is currently hovering before her teammate as she clawed at the floor, groaning in a mix of pain and frustration from the open wound on the crown of her head, before giving out completely with a soft thump.

Beside them, their other friend lies unconscious on her back. Her body is deathly still, save for the occasional rise and fall of their chest with each labored breath. A blood-stained hand weakly draped over her bleeding abdomen, where the skin has been torn from the ruined stitches there.

It was supposed to be an easy mission.

This person, whoever they are, has taken down four armed cops after luring them into an abandoned warehouse nestled deep within the forests of Gangwon-do. Having baited them over with a rather cryptic call to their dispatcher, wherein they claimed to have found twelve of the thirty missing victims in this very location. All tied-up and gagged to silence.

South Korea has been on high alert since the start of these kidnappings, with the most recent one being a Chinese family of six who were last seen exploring the streets of Daegu. Presumably on vacation.

Every abduction follows a specific modus operandi—targeting families and killing all but one or two members, each of whom are never seen or heard from again.

Of course, having a possible lead to the disappearances in this six-month long investigation was hard to pass up. Enough to even set aside their initial apprehensions and doubts so they could be a step closer into finally cracking their biggest unsolved cases yet. Or, at least, advance their currently-stagnant progress that have always led to dead or loose ends.

If only the team knew who they were up against, they would’ve thought twice about entering the warehouse without any back-up.

It all happened too fast. Too calculated and precise. Meticulous planning based on clever wit and careful thought, like the perpetrator had intended this from the start. Knew who their identities were and strategized from there to level the playing field up to their favor.

Had it not been for the circumstances right now, Minnie would admit that she’s impressed.

The hooded stranger had singled each one of them out by secluding them in four separate areas of the warehouse, since being alone meant being more susceptible to ambush without anyone there to guard your back.

Yeh Shuhua was first.

The Taiwanese girl is one of the top officers in their department and performed well in close-quarter combat because of her impressive speed and flexibility as a former gymnast.

Slippery as a snake, she can be a difficult target to engage with. Her kicks are also powerful enough to knock down any criminals with just the right amount of force and momentum. However, Shuhua’s weakness lies on her poor senses and difficulty to read her surroundings.

She was easily taken out with an iron pipe from behind.

Next came Shin Ryujin, one of the newbies from last year’s recruitment batch who had climbed up the ranks through her physical capabilities and intelligence.

She’s a remarkable fist-fighter who excels in hand-to-hand combat due to her brute strength and incredible stamina, and her punches are capable of breaking limbs if she doesn’t hold back. After her kidney stones were removed, however, Ryujin has slowed down. But both her resilience and strength still remained.

The bastard somehow knew about her surgery, so they jabbed two fingers into her stitches. Debilitating her in a matter of seconds as her knees gave out, a strangled cry falling past her lips from the searing pain that flared in her injury, and she toppled over with a resounding thud.

Jeon Soyeon came after. A fierce woman radiating a charismatic, no-nonsense aura that intimidated even her superiors. Her keen eyes allow her to see even the smallest glimpse of movement in her peripherals, which made her develop quick reflexes that are vital during timed sequences and intense situations.

But she’s the deadliest when wielding a gun. From semi-automatic pistols, to double-action revolvers. The captain and sharpshooter of the team who never misses a target.

Soyeon has never killed anyone, though, because she usually aims for the arms and legs.

For them to get close without being shot, they switched off the power to cut out the lights for a few seconds. Just enough for them to approach Soyeon from the side using night-vision from their camera and knock the gun out of her hands right before she could pull the trigger.

The captain barely had the chance to react when her head was met with a rusty fuse box, breaking the skin of her forehead open as she collapsed almost instantly.

Finally, it was her. Kim Minnie.

Despite being the lowest ranker in the team, she has been showing the most potential as of recently.

Minnie is mainly on the average spectrum whenever it comes to their overall skills and abilities, but she’s adept at using knives and daggers. Unlike Soyeon who relied on her guns or Ryujin and Shuhua who preferred using their fists and kicks, she fancies the lightness and maneuverability of these bladed weapons. Swift, sharp—and deadly. One swipe, and it’s a clean cut to the skin.

They quickly overpowered her. Rendering Minnie defenseless by grappling her wrist with some rope, then yanking her arm back painfully until she was forced to drop the knife—her only means of protecting herself—before snagging her other wrist so they could tie Minnie’s hands behind her back.

Now incapacitated, she is kept bound to the column. Left with no other choice but to watch in hopeless torment as they battered her entire team to the brink of unconsciousness.

Minnie never liked guns and didn’t bother carrying hers around. But now, she really wished that she did.

The stranger then turns their focus on her with those dark, almost soulless eyes boring deep into her very soul from behind the dragonesque mask covering their face. Its glossy, jade-green surface shines brightly under the fluorescent lighting, casting a looming shadow over Minnie that grew with each ominous step in her direction.

She can practically hear her heart beating in her ears. Louder and much more nerve-racking than the heavy thumps of their tactical boots against concrete as they drew closer and closer.

“A-…”

A trembling hand suddenly latches onto the stranger’s leg in a tenacious grip, making them stop as they glanced down with a curious hum.

Soyeon is barely conscious. The side of her face is caked with so much blood that has stained a lock of her silver-blond hair with sickening crusts of maroon, which have dried over her left eye and temporarily shut it close. Nonetheless, her other eye burns with seething rage at their attacker. A warning.

“Don’t you dare touch her…” Soyeon growled, her fingernails digging into the black denim of their pants.

They merely let out a hoarse chuckle. Thoroughly amused, yet equally menacing beneath the surface.

Without so much of a retort, they calmly removed their leg from her faltering grasp before raising the iron pipe in hand. Its flat, hollow ends glisten with fresh splatters of blood. (Is it Shuhua’s? Ryujin’s? The Thai couldn’t tell anymore.)

Minnie’s eyes widen in horror. “No!”

Thwack!

A gut-lurching blow is heard as the pipe connects with Soyeon’s temple. Knocking her out cold alongside Shuhua and Ryujin. The latter of whom had been taken out of her misery by having the of the pipe rammed against her head.

“Soyeon!” Minnie cries out as her heart plummets at the sight of their headstrong captain. Motionless and unresponsive.

With that interruption gone, the stranger approaches her and slowly kneels down to level their gazes. Minnie glares furiously at them through the messy locks of red hanging over her face, steeling herself to maintain eye-contact with the creepy dragon mask facing her. Baring its elongated fangs like a predator snarling before its prey. It makes the hairs on her neck stand on end. And yet, she bristles in the face of fear.

“You twisted …!” Minnie screamed as tears spill from her puffy, red eyes. Overwhelmed by the grief of seeing her teammates—her friends—lying like corpses in front of her, their uniforms drenched in their own blood as it pools on the ground.

The more she stares at them, the more she feels the crushing weight of despair on her chest.

“Now, now. No need for foul language.” They sneered, exuding an air of indifference as they gingerly hold Minnie’s chin with their free hand. She tries shifting away, but their gloved fingers keep her firmly in place. Their stony eyes didn’t leave her once. “Don’t be so stubborn, sweetheart.”

The nickname made her cringe. She loathes, hates, the way it rolled of their tongue. It was disgusting.

“You’re lucky I’m keeping them alive.” They callously said. “Had I been in a bad mood, then your friends wouldn’t be breathing anymore. Take it as a… rare act of mercy, hm?”

Minnie gulps thickly at the lump in . “W-What about me…?” The cop asked, her bottom lip quivering.

No response, so she repeats herself. Loud and firm.

“What are you going to do with me?”

They just tip their head to one side, squinting at her curiously. The pin-drop silence is eating Minnie up—the suspense wrapping around her neck like a noose with each tense second—while she miserably awaits her fate, treating it as if it were a death sentence.

“Frankly, I could just ditch you.” They shrugged, nonchalant and unconcerned. “The authorities would be coming in a few, and I’ll be long gone by the time they arrive.”

Beneath the shadows of their mask, she could see their eyes pinching together into slits. , the bastard is smiling… Dread seeps into her veins as her stomach churns at their next words.

“Except that’s not how you treat such a pretty girl.” They cooed in a sickeningly sweet tone, and her skin immediately crawls with discomfort.

She sure as Hell didn’t like this. Not one bit.

“I’ll be damned if I left you alone here for some other sicko to find. A bit unlikely, given the location. But you can never be too sure when people are still going missing these days, huh?” Humorless laughter echoes around them, taunting her. “Besides… I have a much better use for you other than just being another body count to my list.”

A phantom of a question lingers in the back of Minnie’s mind, and the stranger seems to acknowledge it with a snicker.

“If you’re wondering, no. I’m not the man behind all this.” They casually spoke like it’s the only explanation she needed. “And if I were one of his collectors, well, trust me… You’d be better off dead instead.”

Minnie’s breath hitches as terror flashed in her russet-brown eyes.

“But I won’t let that happen to you.”

With that point across, they reach into their jacket and pull out a wrinkled handkerchief. The sweet, almost chemical-like smell wafting from it raised every goddamn alarm bell in her head. Chloroform.

“This won’t hurt, sweetheart. I promise.”

Minnie whimpered. “N-No, wait—”

Before she could voice her protest, the cloth is brought to her face and the scent kicks in. She squirms uselessly in a futile attempt to move away, but they grab her head and pressed onto the cloth more.

“Easy now…” They murmured softly. “It’ll be over soon. Don’t worry.”

The sedation takes effect just a couple minutes later, and Minnie can barely keep her eyes open by the time it’s removed. Her consciousness flickering in and out of the present like a dying lightbulb.

“Rest up, dear officer. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Their voice sounds distant now, and the details of their mask start to blur in her clouded vision.

As her body slumped sideways, the last thing Minnie felt was a gloved hand cradling the side of her face gently. Keeping her head away from meeting the cold, hard metal.

5:17:30 AM

May 4, Tuesday

Hours later, Minnie regains consciousness and blinks away the fatigue from her tired eyes. A groan slipping past her chapped lips that are as dry as the air itself.

God, what happened last night…?

When she finally gets to her senses, the cop realizes that she’s not in the warehouse anymore. Instead, Minnie is inside an old cabin room set in what appears to be the attic. Sparely decorated with rustic themes and wood-based furniture, which clearly look like they’ve seen better days.

Everything about the place is so poorly maintained. From the horrendous amount of chipped paint curling over in strips and forming ugly cracks along its molded surface, to the vaulted ceiling with its hanging beams that seem to creak with age. So much so that Minnie is afraid it would actually cave in on her at the slightest provocation. Certainly not the best sight to wake up to on this strange morning.

Where the Hell is she, and how did she get here?

Fragments of the previous night flash through her head, and Minnie begins piecing together the events that led up to this moment. The failed mission, the ambush on her entire team, the unidentified attacker in the jade dragon mask who had drugged—. Her blood runs cold in an instant.

She was drugged… The bastard had ing drugged her!

“That nasty piece of—wait!”

With a newfound fear coursing through her veins, Minnie moves her frantic eyes to the handknit blanket that’s partly covering her. Only to let out a huge sigh of relief when she sees her uniform still intact. None of the buttons have been undone, and even her chest harness is untouched around her upper torso. But while her collared shirt is stained and creased in a few places, it was thankfully kept on despite its condition.

She’d much rather die a , after all.

Although her memories are grainy and clipped from the effects of chloroform, Minnie does remember being carried away in someone’s arms as her vision fades in and out of consciousness. Then carefully strapped into the passenger side of a vehicle as her head slumped against the door’s window, trees and lights whizzing past her in a hazy blur.

Not much can be recalled after that, besides her getting laid down on the bed she had woken up in and tucked under the thick blanket. No sign of the Bastard anywhere, though. She’s completely alone.

I need to get out of here.

Just when she moves to hop off the bed, the cop is suddenly tugged back by something that’s shackled around her wrist. Confused, Minnie turns to see what it is and almost cursed in frustration. The Bastard has chained her to the bedpost with her own handcuffs!

“Seriously?!” She yelled.

Right on cue, the door to her room swings open as a tall figure steps in. Minnie freezes on her spot and holds back a breath.

Speak of the Devil, it’s them.

“Oh, good. You’re finally awake.” That familiar gruff voice wasn’t hard to catch. Almost as deep and raspy as the first time, but sounding a bit smoother. “Good morning, officer.”

Even in the same clothes, the face that greets her isn’t the frightening jade dragon from the night before.

Instead, Minnie is looking at a young girl who looks somewhere around her own age. With black, shoulder-length hair that compliments her doll-like visuals and is styled with a curtain of bangs, which remind Minnie of a certain male character in one of Shuhua’s favorite Ghibli movies. Spirited Away, probably.

But she’s definitely a far cry from the chilling persona who had single-handedly taken down four officers in less than an hour, and her duality almost gives the Thai whiplash.

This can’t be the same person—!

“You were pretty knocked out the last time I checked. For a moment there, I was sorta convinced you wouldn’t wake up.” The Bas—the girl, rather—quips lightly. As if the very idea of Minnie dying in her sleep isn’t unnerving at all.

“Where am I? What did you do to my friends?” Minnie demands scathingly, pulling at the stupid cuffs like it’s going to accomplish anything.

Her pathetic attempts made her captor chuckle, and she walks over to seat herself on the rickety chair beside the bed.

“Careful there, sweetheart. I don’t want you hurting yourself.” She croons with her plump lips curling into an impudent smirk. Had it not been for these handcuffs, Minnie would’ve punched it right off.

“On the topic of your friends, they’re all fine now. I wouldn’t have called the paramedics too if I only intended on leaving them for dead.” At this, Minnie eases up a tad. It’s a miniscule relief, but she’ll take it for the meantime. “And to answer your first question, we’re in an old cabin near the outskirts of Gangwon-do. No one lives here anymore, so I’ve been using it as a safehouse.”

Minnie scoffed. “Now?” She repeats dryly. “What, did you kill the previous owner or something?”

It was obviously a sarcastic question, yet the girl seems to have taken it seriously when her smile broadens. The silent implication causes Minnie’s heart to drop and her eyes to go wide.

“Please tell me you didn’t…”

In a beat, her captor bursts into full-bellied laughter. Head thrown back as a hand goes up to her face, boisterous chortles echoing throughout the room while Minnie stayed quiet. Not finding it funny at all.

“Ha! You should’ve seen your face!” She wheezed, wiping off her mirthful tears with a finger. “I haven’t seen anyone look so disturbed over nothing. Oh, that was good! Now I wish I had my phone on me.”

Minnie was too stunned to reply, and the girl decides to just spare her the overthinking.

“But, to clarify, no. The place was already abandoned by the time I found it.”

Leaning forward, she stares at the dumbfounded cop with her head resting lazily on a hand. That infuriating smirk still hanging on the edge of as she spoke.

“Sorry ‘bout that. Silly, old me likes scaring people for the s and giggles.” She purrs in such a way that has Minnie popping a vein on her temple. This girl, whoever she is, better not try to be slick and suave with her right now, because she isn’t having it. Not today, Satan.

“I’m not in the mood for your bull.” Minnie snapped. “You better start talking, or so help me God I will strangle you once I get out of these damn things!”

She roughly tugs on the cuffs once more, only to wince at the sharp jolt in her wrist from yanking too hard. Idiot, the back of her mind chastised.

“You okay, sweetheart?”

The nickname almost bursts a blood vessel in Minnie’s brain. Not this crap again!

“I know I shouldn’t be giving my name to a possible serial killer. But keep calling me that, and you’ll find a knife to your throat within seconds.” She threatens. Not that it even scared the other girl, who continues to smile. “It’s Minnie, by the way.”

“Like the mouse?” Big, almond eyes sparkle in amusement.

All Minnie could do is sigh. She’s heard this far too many times in her twenty-four years of existing, and it’s honestly growing old.

“Yes, like the mouse. The female one. Mickey’s girlfriend, yada yada.” The cop grumbled. “Can you please let me go? My wrist is aching.”

“That’s what you get for making such a fuss about it.” As simple as that, the girl fishes out a small key from her pocket and calmly approaches to remove the handcuffs. Unlocking them with a discrete click. “There you go. Free as a bird.”

“Thanks…” Minnie rubs her sore skin while regarding the girl suspiciously.

Strange, she thinks to herself. She doesn’t seem concerned about me escaping or attacking her, but what if it’s just a trap to lower my guard?

Her captor shrugged, then flashed a grin that shows off her killer set of pearly-whites. It was—in Minnie’s opinion—much more unsettling than friendly, as it gave off the impression of a rabid hyena about to pounce.

“I’m Yuqi, but you can also call me Mickey to your Minnie.” She throws in a greasy wink to add to Human Minnie’s repulsion at the terrible pick-up line.

Scratch that, this Yuqi girl is by no means intimidating. Not when she’s tossing such a lousy comment around!

“I’ll just stick to Yuqi.” Minnie deadpanned.

“Fair enough.”

The boards creak under the weight of Yuqi’s boots as she strides over to the windows across the room, pushing aside the dirty curtains for the sunlight to seep through the dust-coated windows and bask the wooden floor in a muted glow.

From this angle, Minnie gets an ample view of Yuqi’s towering form. She’s… unnaturally tall. Way taller than the average Korean woman with her imposing height, in fact, as the top of Yuqi’s head is nearly at the same level as the window’s upper sill. That, combined with her shockingly deep voice, just made her baby-doll face all the more deceiving.

Jesus, she’s like a giant!

Oblivious to the cop’s mental perplexity, Yuqi returns to her previous spot and casually leans back in the chair. Her shoulders lax as she clasped her hands together between her parted legs.

“How about you, dear officer? Or should I say, sweetheart?” She teased out of the blue. Did the threat not process in her brain, or is she selectively ignoring it? “If you don’t want me to call you that, what nickname do you prefer? Nini? Little Mouse? Mousey?”

They each sound worse than the last, and Minnie has to bite down an exasperated groan.

“Can’t you just use my actual name?” She glowered.

“Nah, too boring. Gotta keep our dynamic fun, you know.”

Minnie can tell that Yuqi is just messing with her. But now that her hands are free, she can finally punch that annoying smirk off her dumb face.

Hell, she would’ve done exactly that… if it weren’t for the malignant gleam in those coal-grey eyes warning her not to dare challenge Yuqi. It’s hard to explain, but something about that look alone told Minnie she wouldn’t stand a chance against her—with or without her knives—and last night’s ordeal should serve as a scarring reminder of what Yuqi is actually capable of.

And the scariest part is, that might not even be the full extent of her capabilities.

Just play along, Minnie. You don’t want to get on her bad side, do you?

“… Fine. Call me whatever you want, if that’s how you want to play it.” Minnie says reluctantly, trying not to cringe at her own words. Is she really going to allow this? Begrudgingly, yes… if it means staying on the giant’s good side.

Probably a smart move, though. Because Yuqi beams like she was being praised for something good. As if. “I knew you wouldn’t resist it.” She happily said.

The Thai shoots her a face. “You disgust me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Okay, real talk.” Sitting up straight on the bed, Minnie locks her gaze evenly with Yuqi’s. Stern and narrowed. “Do you know anything about the missing people? Are you working for the bad guys?”

“Easy now. Let’s not assume things so quickly, yeah?” Yuqi does a “calm down” motion with her hands and kept smiling.

Now that Minnie notices it, Yuqi never once dropped her smile or shown any other natural emotion besides fixed indifference and a carefree disposition. And this awareness washes over her in a sense of unease. Something isn’t right about her…

Whatever it is, she decides not to dwell on it. There are more pressing matters to be addressed.

“Firstly, yes. I have some evidences that should help with your investigations. And secondly, no. I’m also trying to catch the same fish since they took something valuable from me.”

Minnie isn’t entirely convinced yet. She needs more than just vague answers.

“You tricked us, ambushed us, beat all three of my friends on the head—” She strains each verb through a tightened jaw, almost growling. “—and if that wasn’t enough, you drugged and kidnapped me so you could hide me away in a ty cabin that’s miles away from the city! How am I supposed to trust you?!”

Yuqi was not at all fazed by her livid expression. She looks satisfied, pleased even, that Minnie is testing her.

“I figured you’d react this way.” She simpered. “I only did what I had to because I needed help from an honest, reliable cop, and you just so happen to fit my criteria.”

A twitch of the eye. “The Hell is that supposed to mean?” Minnie asked, impatient.

“Maybe this will get you to listen.”

Before she could complain any further, Yuqi reaches into her back pocket. The idea of a hidden weapon alerts Minnie’s senses, and her instincts flare up to defend herself from another attack. But then simmers down upon seeing that it’s only a polaroid photo in Yuqi’s hand. She sighs again and relaxes immediately.

Deep breaths, Minnie. You’re too tense.

Once the image came into view, however, she nearly lost her cool.

A disemboweled torso of a middle-aged woman can be seen in the gritty picture, mouth gaping open as she stares directly at Minnie with those haunted eyes. Lifeless and inflamed with red. Her deathly pale face is streaked in a mix of tears, dirt, and the blood pouring out from her orifices as it pooled around her in a bed of dark crimson, while her intestines have been taken out and scattered like confetti ribbons that decorate her mangled corpse.

She instantly feels sick to the stomach.

“How…?” Her frantic eyes flew back to Yuqi, who meets the Thai’s disturbed gaze with her dark, foreboding one. “H-How did you get this?”

“It’s from one of the people you work with. Your dear colleagues, as a matter of fact.” Yuqi explains, a mocking lilt in her tone. “They’re the ones behind all these kidnappings, or should I say… murder.”

The stress in that last word frightens Minnie, and she gulps down the trepidation building up in . God, she can’t breathe.

“Hard to believe, I know. But I have solid proof that it came from one of them.”

Yuqi takes out another polaroid from inside her jacket. This one shows a man whose face is hidden behind those plain, white masks you can buy from the bookstore, sitting on a chair with his hands tied behind his back—and donning the very same uniform Minnie is currently wearing.

“Does Officer Lee Hyukjae sound familiar to you?”

A chill ran up her spine. This can’t be true.

“Yes, but… He went missing more than a week ago…” Suddenly, the realization crashes on her like a tidal wave. Eyes blown wide in shock. “Don’t tell me it was you who…”

The smile on Yuqi’s face broadens to a malicious sneer in light of her discovery, and something like ice creeps into Minnie’s pounding heart. For the first time today, Yuqi’s presence in the room genuinely scares her.

“I didn’t have a choice, sweetheart. He was going to kill me first.”