Coming out of the tube station, Baram frowned as she felt tension in the air while heading back towards her flat. She thought she was imagining it, however as she turned her head to look in the direction of Eclipse it dawned upon her; today was when the sting operation was going to take place.

Hastening her steps, Baram fought back the urge to take a U-turn and sneak inside the club to see the preparations. Instead, she hurried into her flat and locked the door firmly behind her. Changing into an oversized shirt that reached her thighs, Baram tied her hair in a loose bun and poured herself a glass of whisky. Soon she was settled comfortably on the balcony. Sitting on the bench while leaning sideways against the railings, her eyes zoned in on Eclipse. Baram was not certain what time the sting was supposed to happen, however she knew that Youngjae wanted to avoid the peak time of the club in fear of endangering the civilians. Jaebum and Mark seemed to have agreed as well and arranged things accordingly. Looking at the time on her phone, she assumed that it was going to happen any time now.

Since it was still early for club-goers’ standards, there was not much of a queue outside Eclipse. This made the group of middle aged men in office attires stand out even more, especially since they seemed to be led by another male with prominent facial tattoos. It did not take much to reach the conclusion that they were the targets for the evening. Raising an eyebrow, Baram rolled her eyes at how conspicuous they were and wondered whether they were purposely trying to be caught. However, recalling how the whole thing started because Eclipse was being framed, it made sense if they were indeed purposely trying to get caught. In this case though, would it become a double play? The one who started the game ends up getting played?

Just as the group entered Eclipse, Baram noticed movements in the back entrance. Squinting her eyes, she saw a series of dark vans and police issued cars lining up the side streets, each one of them laying in wait for the prey. Finishing her glass of whisky, Baram suddenly felt light headed. Staring at the bottle of whisky standing proudly on the coffee table, Baram could only blame herself for not eating dinner and drinking on an empty stomach. Giving one last glance in the direction of the club, the girl sent silent prayers for a successful operation and crawled her way into bed.

Maybe it was a good thing that Baram drunk on an empty stomach, because she soon drifted to sleep, evading the worries pertaining to the sting operation, blocking out all the possible things that could go wrong. During such times it was best to keep her mind unoccupied, or she will end up going through all sorts of mental journeys, imagining scenarios that would only be possible in the world of fiction.

・・・

The incessant buzzing of the phone harshly dragged Baram out of her sleep. Eyebrows furrowed together, Baram poked a hand out from under the blanket in search for her phone. Checking the time, she realised that it was barely past 1 am. Seeing the caller ID however, she immediately pushed herself up, shaking herself awake.

“Let me in,” Mark’s deep voice echoed into Baram’s ears.

Jumping out of her bed, Baram clumsily dropped her phone in the process as she fumbled with the intercom, buzzing Mark in. She squinted at the small screen, in search of anyone else coming in with him, however before she could get a clear vision the screen had gone black. Turning her head towards her bed, Baram contemplated on going back to retrieve her phone. However, she found her feet rooted to the ground, her blood running cold at the possibility of the sting operation having gone wrong. Why else would Mark be showing up at this hour? Was he here to break bad news to her?

A swift knock came from the door, and Baram immediately pulled the door open, her heart beating so fast that