With a heavy heart, she heaved a breathy sigh that disappeared into the dark of night along with her remorse as she tailed the man in a navy blazer into the secluded area from the base of the dimly lit lamppost that screamed an eerie warning unknowingly toward the crooked man in the crowded space.

 

She could hardly make out a word he spoke, but this was it. She promised to make this quick. Ma Hyunwoo was going to be sent back to his maker before the wake of dawn.

“Hey, what are you doing over here? Do you need money? Oh-oh , it’s a pesky thief. I’ll teach you a lesson.” He smirked mockingly.

Had he just mocked her? The thought of torture sounded much more appealing than murder at the moment.

Instead, Chaeyeon yawned, “Sure, you’re one of those people who are ‘all bark, no bite.”

Hyunwoo sneered, “You’ll take that back, you !”

 

Her ruby strands glided along with her nimble frame as she evaded a predictable jab to the temple, sliding through the spacious gap between her target’s thighs. The masked girl turned around on her knees, unfolded her slender blade that she gripped tightly onto, now perpendicular to her victim’s shins, and in a swift sequence of precise motions, more specifically with a couple of flicks of her wrist, lacerated the fragile bone with the newly honed curve. The pathetic man staggered while the earth beneath his feet was calling him and a convenient opportunity arrived as the shadow-like girl rose on her feet, slitting the back of the neck of the faint man. 

A shallow crimson pool oozed from the deep cuts of the deceased human who plummeted face-first into the concrete, echoing a dull thud within the narrow and dim alley. She folded the polished metal and slid it inside a hidden compartment of her tactical boots with a lopsided smirk on her face. Easy. All talk, no action. That’s all the lifeless body was.

 

The red-haired girl stretched a pair of her nylon gloves and slid them on both of her hands as a mischievous thought came to mind. She dipped her index fingers in the pool of blood and began to paint the rough walls of the alleyway with her signature trademark: a ring enclosing a quartered heart, the bottom half with a pair of wings, and the top half wedged between a crossed pair of blades.

A few seconds later, Chaeyeon grimaced at the metallic scent, wrinkling her nose in response underneath the raven mask, and pulled her raven cloak over her head while retreating into the still night. 

-----

According to her contractor, he was an extortionist under the guise of a major humble CEO who specifically targeted small businesses that produced high-quality ice cream (mint-chocolate chip was their renowned flavor) and if there was no compliance towards his demand of 50% of their annual profits, he’d break their will to deny through frequent ER visits. Somehow, the rest of the company was clueless about his antics from his expertise to keep it under wraps while the sun was up.

She scoffed when the absurd information came to light. The thought was utterly ridiculous to her, how someone could be envious of the triviality of mint chocolate chip ice cream? But she realized he was an insecure man selling chemically manufactured goods in mass quantities because greed overtook his senses. Still, she believed there was no excuse for his misdeeds and there was no way she was going to attempt to understand her assignment that came with a hefty consideration of 5.2 million won. He simply had it coming. There was no time for thoughts of regret with this line of work, so she skimmed across the smooth terrain toward her silver 2018 Hyundai Grandeur parked 6 blocks down the muted street.

She slid out her phone whilst slightly leaning against the trunk of her car.

 

Sleaze bag

He’s dead. Wire me the money or you’ll never see me again.

 

She swung open her car door and shut it gently with a tug on the interior handle as she unveiled her monochromatic car blinds to shield her from her surroundings from every window before changing out of her stealth attire into her casual denim blue jacket and jeans and sneakers. After neatly folding her piled-up clothes on the seat next to her, she neatly tucked them into her glove compartment and confined it with 2 twists of her car key.

Sooner than later, cold pellets crashed against her windshield, and thus a bitter percussive accompaniment made out over her untamed heartbeat. It was a perfect time to let it all out. Besides, Chaeyeon wasn’t sure when the next time she’ll be able to have a moment of solace. A chance to simply be selfish without a form of backlash.

 

I need another story

Something to get off my chest

My life gets kinda boring

Need something that I can confess

 

She swore that she never wanted to resort to this illicit lifestyle that was once completely out of her depth, but how could she deny her contractor when… she shook her head, disapproving where her train of thought was leading towards.

 

‘Till all my sleeves are stained red 

From all the truth that I’ve said

 

Her stoic expression cracked. Her jaw clenched, filled with the urge to swallow an infinite number of escapes. She was once again reminded of the fact that one day, the walls will close on her and she will have no room to breathe as a consequence of her misguided integrity. But now wasn’t the time. It wouldn't be. She would make sure of it. Besides, she had other things to take care of.

-----

"Chaeyeon-ah." The poker-faced princess called out to her, worry somewhat evident in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Hyewon." 

"You're doing it again." Hyewon deadpanned.

"Yeah, Chaeyeon, your silence speaks volume!" A girl with duck lips stood up around the table and exclaimed.

"I didn't get enough sleep last night, don't worry about it guys. I'll get more sleep later today." Chaeyeon flashed a radiant smile and munched on her chicken.

The silence in their table, occasionally disrupted by Hyewon's loud bites, faded as the wall mount televisions scattered across the cafeteria projecting a headline Chaeyeon knew all too well about.

BREAKING NEWS: CEO MA HYUNWOO HAS BEEN MURDERED IN A BACK ALLEY. 

The middle aged reporter at the crime scene, passionately announced the information she's received, "Good afternoon. If you're tuning in or listening right now, this is Kim Yeongja. We're here at Dasan-ro where the renowned CEO, who was said to be a major donor of the infamous Seoul University, has been murdered. Oh my god, this is brutal," she points a finger in the direction at the limp figure with a severed shin within the dried blood bath and panned at a familiar symbol plastered on the wall where gasps could be heard all over the cafeteria. "5th murder this month committed by none other than Reverie."

"Police are useless, our lives will forever be in danger." One brat cried his heart out.

"When I see that prick, he will suffer for killing an angel." Another lanky student slammed his fist on the table.

"I wonder who they are though. Why can't anyone identify a single piece of accurate information about them?"

"He's a coward. I want to fight the one on one and put him in his place."

Chaeyeon's eyes were internally rolling so hard, they could put a bullet train to shame as she began to tune out more absurd statements. It's not her fault that her contractor paid her handomsely for monsters who deserve no less than death. How stupid could they be? She wasn't a man either. Either way, a sense of pride glowed in her chest, proud of her work to cleanse the earth a touch more. Even if no one would ever believe her.

Still, her heart ached because deep down, she cared too much about what people thought about her. What if her friends decided that they didn't want to stay anymore? What if her destiny's way of telling her to come clean? But no, then everyone she cared about would be dragged into her mess.

Chaeyeon snapped out of it as her friends began to deliberate about the situation.

"What if it's someone who attends here? After all his contributions amount to roughly 25 million won for this university alone? Yena pouted her lips and released some of her thoughts, curiosity overflowing.

"Yena, are you crazy? There's 51 million people in this damn country. No, the chances next to nothing, you silly duck." Yuri feigned a slap at Yena's face.

"Yeah, we all have nothing to worry about. Aish, I'm too old for this. This isn't a stupid movie." Eunbi murmured into her arms, resuming her long awaited nap.

Yujin, as observant as always noticed something was wrong, "Unnie, you've been very quiet the whole time. Normally, you'd offer a lot of commentary for nearly any topic we discuss," she paused, scanning Chaeyeon's exhausted features and the way her eyes slighty dimmed at the mention of the killer, "but hey, I'm here for you Chaeyeon-ssi. I'll always support you no matter what." The basketball star whispered and squeezed her unnie's hand.

'I knew she was going to try to read me like that, but it's for the better if I can keep you all out of this. I'm sorry'

-----

"Hii-chan, what do you think about this?"

The said girl turned to face the adorable shorty with an endearing gaze, "Hmm, well.."

"Nako, some things aren't meant to be found," the chubby cheeked girl went on, "but with Reverie, it's like they're trying to releasing a hidden message. All her targets are wealthy and either own a transcontinental corporation or own a large share of some revolutionary company. I don't know if I'm reading too much into it, but there could be something shady. They're businesspeople after all."

"I need to tell you something," Sakura's eyes toggled between the two younger girls in front of her. 

"Yes?" They tilted their heads in confusion.

"All of Reverie's victims have children that go to this school.." the gamer then pointed to her computer in which a pop-up tab displayed the victims' names: Park Donggeun (chairman of MissionDrives, a leading company that produces state media f the art tech), Son Minsu (CEO of Minsu Energy Corps), Choi Eunju (CEO of CEJ Entertainment), Yoon Sunhi (CMO of Hooked, the top national exporter of South Korean products and Ma Hyunwoo (CEO of Hyunwoo Farms, feeding over 14 million lives with its efficient production lines).

Sakura then typed a few dozen complex lines and commands of code onto an unknown processor. The face value biographies disappeared as several strings of shocking information. 

"Kkura-chan, is this what I think it is..?" Nako's eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets.

Hitomi's face paled, "N-no way, kuso! This can't be it."

The eldest gave them a stern nod, "Mhm, non-humans live amongst us and are out for the destruction of all civilization."