As one, all four of them stiffened, staring in shock at the scene before them. The girl had her hands out, clutching desperately at JB as she pleaded, “Please, you can’t do this to me…”

JB jerked his wrist away impatiently, “Don’t waste my time.” As the girl latched onto his leg, JB gave a brutal kick, throwing the girl to the side. And all of a sudden, it was like Jiyeon had returned to the past…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Four years ago: London-

Park Jiyeon yawned as she stretched, leaning back in the chair. There had been another notice, announcing to the whole wide world that mysterious criminal JB would be stealing the Shroud of Turin from the Queen of Britain, his most daringendeavouryet. She and her partner Myungsoo had been temporarily stationed in London until they were able to apprehend the criminal.

Just then, there was a sharp rap on the door. Jiyeon hurried to answer the door, and was startled to see Myungsoo standing there. Myungsoo looked up at her, “Hey, Jiyeon. I was wondering if you wanted to go to take a look around for a while? There’s nothing else for us to do here anyway, besides sit around in our rooms, and I’m kind of bored…”

Jiyeon hesitated for a moment. She glanced at her clock. It was only twelve in the afternoon…then she smiled, “Sure, just let me get dressed.”

Nearly fifteen minutes later, Jiyeon and Myungsoo were walking around, admiring the scenery of downtown London. Near a fountain spraying clear, refreshing water, Myungsoo stopped, noticing an cold drinks stand with a really long queue somewhere further off. He glanced at her, “Do you want a cold drink? I’ll get one for you.”

Jiyeon pursed her lips for a moment, “Um…sure. Can you get me an iced tea? Thanks a lot.” She smiled at him, and Myungsoo nodded, “Sure thing. Wait for me for a moment.” He turned and strode briskly towards the cold drinks stand.

Jiyeon sat down at the fountain, waiting for Myungsoo to return with the drinks. All of a sudden, there was a sudden cry, and the sound of a girl weeping heartbrokenly, “No, please don’t leave me!”

Startled, Jiyeon stood up, looking towards the source of the commotion.

She was shocked to see a Caucasian girl kneeling down in public, pleading with a handsome, blonde haired Asian man wearing dark sunglasses.  Her hands were outstretched, clutching the Asian man’s hand as she cried, “Tell me you’re lying to me, tell me all of it isn’t true!”

The Asian man shook her off impatiently, “Don’t waste my time.” He strode past her, ignoring the girl as she tried to get up and run after him.

Jiyeon saw red at the scene. Furiously, she went after the guy, grabbing his arm and pulling him around angrily, “What the hell is your problem, you jerk?”

The guy stared at her, “You-”

Jiyeon snapped, “Why the hell is there a bastard like you in the world? How can you be such an to make a girl beg you in front of everyone else?”

There was a long pause as the guy eyed her from behind the dark sunglasses. His expression cold, he answered, “I don’t think it’s any of your business, especially since we’ve only met once before.”

Jiyeon frowned, “What?”

The man interrupted impatiently, “Look, I don’t even know that Caucasian girl, all right? She just came to me and started begging me.”

Jiyeon blinked, even more confused, “But…but that girl…” Before he could continue, the man continued, “What are you, five years old? Haven’t you seen how people try to scam others in this same manner?”

There was a long silence, as Jiyeon felt like she had made a complete fool of herself. The man whipped his sunglasses off, “This isn’t as good an introduction as our previous one, is it?” He chuckled at Jiyeon’s puzzled look, and asked, “Don’t you remember me? It’s only been a week since we met.”

Jiyeon hesitated, scrutinizing the man. His spiky blonde hair, his shorter than average height, his mesmerizing storm-gray eyes…

“You’re that guy from the masquerade ball!” Jiyeon gasped. The man smiled. He held a hand out, “Jang Woojae, at your service.”

Jiyeon took his hand, introducing herself, “Park Jiyeon.” After a moment, she asked hesitantly, “That girl…you really didn’t know her?” Woojae shook his head, a pleasant smile on his face as he let go of her hand, “Not remotely. These Caucasians are really something, aren’t they?” He cast his gaze about, “What are you doing here alone, Jiyeon-sshi?”

“I’m here on…on a job.” Jiyeon tried to cover up her slip, but Woojae frowned, “A job? So you’re going back soon, then?”

Jiyeon nodded, “Unfortunately. London seems a pleasant place to live in. Are you from here?”

Woojae shook his head, “No, I’m from Korea, only here on a business trip. I trade in artefacts and relics. I’ve been here almost a month, actually, and I’m leaving soon as well.”

A spark lit up in Jiyeon’s eyes, “So…will we be able to meet up again in the future?”

Woojae’s lips curved into a small smile, “I don’t mind. There are some amazing sights in London that you simply can’t miss while you’re here.”

“I have time now.” Jiyeon replied, reaching out and taking Woojae’s hand. There was a pause as Woojae looked down at their entwined hands, and then back up at her. After a moment, he smiled as well, “Come on, then. My car’s parked that side…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiyeon was in a cheerful mood as she returned to her apartment, whistling to herself as she unlocked the door. Woojae had taken her to see the ruins of a great castle, entertaining her with interesting anecdotes about the people and events related to the castle.

As she opened the door, she was startled to see Myungsoo waiting for her at the dining table, his expression stony. With a gasp, she remembered how she had completely forgotten him, leaving him behind to go with Woojae.

Myungsoo looked up, and his voice was not unpleasant as he asked, “Had fun?”

Jiyeon swallowed, “Um…kind of.”

Myungsoo stood up. Taking a step forward to Jiyeon, he warned, “Don’t forget why we are here, Jiyeon. We have to apprehend a criminal. We’re not just here to have fun.”

Jiyeon looked down.

“I’ve tried to be nicer to you because you’re new to the job, but I won’t tolerate incompetence and distractions, Jiyeon. I may be your colleague, but whether or not you are able to advance in the Bureau depends on me. And if I am displeased with your performance, then you will have to suffer the consequences.” With that, Myungsoo left the apartment, closing the door behind him.

Jiyeon breathed out deeply. Just then, her phone began to ring. She glanced at the caller ID and a smile lit up her face, “Hello? Woojae?”

Woojae’s voice was cheerful as he asked, “Are you free tomorrow? Do you want to go out for lunch?”

Jiyeon hesitated, her mind turning back to the words Myungsoo had said. She bit her lip, undecided, and her eyes flicked to the documents on JB’s list of criminal offences that Myungsoo had left on the dining table.

Then she smiled, “Sure thing.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Myungsoo leaned his head against the wall, his fists clenched tightly. His eyes opened, slowly, and anyone who saw them would have been frightened by the venomous hatred in them.

“Damn it. We’re here to apprehend that bastard and you’re just playing around…?” He hissed.

Just at that moment, Myungsoo’s phone began to ring. He flicked it open and asked impatiently, “Who is this?”

There was a long silence on the other end. Then whoever it was began to speak, “Hello, Myungsoo. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Myungsoo’s fists tightened so hard, his knuckles turned white. He fought to control his voice, “How did you get my number?”

“I have a friend. He has all the numbers. I know what you’re trying to do, Myungsoo.” the voice chuckled, but there was a deadly undercurrent to it, a hint of warning. Myungsoo’s face twisted into a sneer, unbefitting his handsome face, “Are you telling me to back off?”

“I left because I didn’t want to fight with you. I left because I didn’t want any more conflict in my life. But if you keep on doing this, then I will retaliate, Myungsoo. Don’t forget, no matter what success you achieve in your life…I will always be better.”

The line went dead.

With a bellow of anger, Myungsoo hurled the phone to the ground. It smashed, bouncing off the ground twice. The glass from the screen shattered, and the phone lay there, like a wounded animal. Myungsoo glared at it, “We’ll see who gets the last laugh.”

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Gosh, I didn't realise it's been nearly two weeks since my last upload...I'm so sorry for the late upload, guys, but the thumbdrive that I kept the chapter in sort of went missing, and I went berserk trying to look for it, only to realise that it was, for some reason, hidden under my pillow the whole time...-.-

Back to the story. Do you guys think JB was telling the truth when he said that he didn't know that girl? Hehe, he seems pretty truthful, doesn't he? But no matter what, he definitely treats Jiyeon differently from all the other girls he leaves behind...is that because he had feelings for her? Or because he wanted to be able to use her again in the future, in case he ran into her again? Read on to find out~ And Myungsoo isn't the perfect angelic boyfriend he seemed to be at first, is he? He's much more dangerous, with a hidden agenda to boot. Wonder who he was talking to...

I'm gonna set up a poll for the four main characters, so please comment to vote:

Jiyeon:                                                                                                                                                                                                                           1: JB                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         2: Myungsoo                                                                                                                                                                                                                          3: Jinwoon (Yes, he appears later in the story)                                                                                                                                                             4: JR (unlikely, but wouldn't it be exciting for Myungsoo to have to fight with his best friend for his love, on top of all his other troubles?)

JB:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             1: Jiyeon                                                                                                                                                                                                                       2: Hyomin                                                                                                                                                                                                                     3: Kang Sora (Yes, she appears later as well, although in what capacity I haven't fully decided yet)                                                                    4: Bae Suzy (And, yes she appears as well. Can anyone guess her role? Hint: Related to Myungsoo and JB)

Myungsoo:                                                                                                                                                                                                                             1: Jiyeon                                                                                                                                                                                                                       2: Hyomin                                                                                                                                                                                                                     3: Bae Suzy

JR:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 1: Jiyeon                                                                                                                                                                                                                       2: Hyomin (Best friend starts dating best friend? Is that possible? Hmm...)                                                                                                                           

Hyomin:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                1: JB (Jiyeon's best friend starts going with the guy she just can't get over...could turn into a very messy catfight, or it could be the perfect ending for Jiyeon to be with Myungsoo...)                                                                                                                                                 2: Myungsoo (Jiyeon betrayal! O.O)                                                                                                                                                                         3: JR

Make sure you guys vote for the pairing you want!