Luhan’s brows rose as Park Jiyeon fled the scene; the grand double-doors to the ballroom slammed shut behind her, leaving its occupants whispering towards each other. He shot a glance at Yoona, who was staring at the scene with her jaw hanging open. “Still think they stand a chance to be together?” 

“Oh, my god. What did that idiot do now?” Yoona demanded through gritted teeth, glaring at JB; as her brother caught her eye, she made a series of inconspicuous gestures, signalling for him to clear up the mess now. 

JB’s lips curved up in a small smile; his expression pleasant, he spread his arms wide, raising his voice to address the entire room. “My apologies, gentlemen, ladies. My girlfriend is not very used to such events and attention - I should have warned her beforehand about how different it would be. It was my oversight - and I apologise. Please, continue enjoying yourselves.”

There was a soft murmur, but the majority of the occupants turned away, continuing their own little conversations - it wasn’t as if Jiyeon was their girlfriend, hence she wasn’t their problem either. 

Luhan relaxed. “Crisis averted, huh?” Yoona joined her brother, smacking him lightly on the arm. “Did you have to traumatise the poor girl that way? Aren’t you going to run after her? She might be in danger!” 

JB’s brows rose. “This is Korea, not India. She’s not about to be stopped and on the streets. Really, noona - anyone listening might think you’re her sister, not mine.”

“Girlfriend, huh?” 

There was a pause, as everyone’s smiles faded collectively; Yoona and JB both arranged their features into polite disinterest as they turned to face the speaker. It was Luhan who spoke first, his expression cold. “It has been a while, Jinwoon-sshi.” 

Jung Jinwoon folded his arms, his face twisted into a smirk. “I wonder what your fiancee would say about your new girlfriend, JB. I don’t think she would be very happy now, would she?” 

JB’s tone was cool and detached. “Sora-sshi may be my fiancee, but that doesn’t mean she’s my keeper. Do you think I would let my actions be dictated by a mere woman.” 

“I think your mother would be displeased if anyone were to go to her with stories about you sleeping around, with blatant disregard for the fiancee that she chose.” Jinwoon smiled, but his tone was malicious, his eyes glinting as he spoke.

“I thank you for your concern, hyung. But as your dongsaeng, I’m more worried for you - your proposal for the Hankyung Design was rejected, was it not? Rejected in favour of Daehyun-hyung’s...Ah, to have your little brother’s proposal preferred over yours...it’s a good thing I don’t have a younger brother, isn’t it, noona?” JB turned to Yoona, who reciprocated with a small smile. She patted Jinwoon on the head. “Jinwoon-ah, noona’s only saying this because she’s worried about you, but you should really buck up - not just Daehyun, but Byung Hee’s doing better than you too. Even Eunji - it’s not a very good thing to have even your little sister outshine you, you know.”

Jinwoon’s face was flaming red, but he tamped down on his emotions, tilting his head to the side. “Oh, I’m no match for Luhan-sshi - your family is just incredible, Luhan. Both your father and brother are famous throughout the world - everyone acknowledges them. You really do have to work hard to catch up with them, right?” 

Luhan had been watching the back-handed mudslinging with nothing more than slight interest, along with Baekhyun, Minho and Krystal, who’d joined the group - but as Jinwoon turned to him, his casual expression hardened, his doe-eyes suddenly darkening. “My family’s interests lie in politics, mine in a different direction - and at least I can make a name for myself in that particular direction, as opposed to those who simply free-load off the name of their family. I think it’s time for you to put a new word in your dictionary, dongsaeng - independence.” 

Baekhyun folded his arms, amused by the scene. “Word of advice, Jinwoon, just walk away and save your pride. What’s left of it, anyway.” 

Jinwoon shot Baekhyun a scathing glare, but, unable to think of a comeback to any of the three, could do nothing except turn and walk away. 

Krystal scoffed. “Well, he’s stupid. If I were him I’d definitely know better than to walk into a war zone with three people against me.” 

JB grinned at the younger girl. “Yes well, not everyone is a genius like our Soojung.” 

Luhan snorted. “If Kai heard that, he’d be spewing blood already.” 

Yoona broke up the happy party, frowning at her younger brother. “Yah, Im Jaebum, are you really just going to let the girl run off like that? Something might happen to her, you know.” 

JB glanced over at his sister, his expression infinitely bored. “Well, it’s been so long that if anything’s going to happen to her, it’s probably already happened, so it doesn’t make a difference whether or not I go to her now.” 

Baekhyun winced. “Ouch - that’s cold. As befitting our King of Players.” He patted JB on the back; Yoona, however, was by now furious. “Im Jaebum! How can you even say such a thing? Fine - if you’re not going to look for her, I am!”

Without waiting for her brother to respond, Yoona stormed right out of the ballroom; Krystal whistled. “Wow - from the way unnie is acting, you might think that girl is really her sister.” 

JB’s expression had darkened as Yoona exited the room; he removed his dinner jacket, shoving it at Luhan. “Hold this.” 

Luhan’s brows rose as JB followed his sister’s exit. “Well, at least he’s not completely misogynist - he still cares about his sister. Although why anyone would care for that woman is beyond me, of course.” 

Minho rolled his eyes. “Yes, and you’re just like Kai is to Krystal when it comes to Yoona.” 

Luhan shot Minho an offended look. “Hey! Kai’s just got an immature crush on Krystal which he refuses to admit, whereas Yoona’s just annoying, all right? Two completely different scenarios!” 

Krystal whipped around. “He does not like me, and neither do I like him!” 

There was a pause, then both Luhan and Baekhyun laughed at Krystal’s vehement denial; Minho gave a faint smile, but his eyes darted away, not meeting Krystal’s...

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

Jiyeon sat down by the side of the streets, desperately wiping away the tear streaks that stained her face - why had she allowed herself to get her hopes up, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she could have had a good time. Just because Yoona-sshi had been nice to her, and Luhan - well, Luhan hadn’t been nice, but he hadn’t been mean to her, either. But the moment that jerk JB came in, he just ruined everything...

Jiyeon bit back a sob; her dress was torn now - it must have torn while she had been running, without her even noticing. In the dimness of the streetlights, she began to laugh; she was supposed to be an idol, a star, more famous, more popular than anyone else. And yet now, she’d sunk to this low, doing the bidding of an arrogant, misogynist and selfish jerk, sitting alone down here like a wimp who’d run away - which was exactly what she’d done. 

It was impossible to fight back the tears; she choked, closing her eyes as the tears overwhelmed her, streaming down her eyes like water from a leaking faucet. She doubled over, not wanting to see her surroundings, the misery she was now in. 

And then she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

Her first instinct was that it was a random, kind-hearted passer-by, and she once again fought to control her tears, trying to speak normally. “I..I’m all right, I just need some...some time alone.” 

There was a pause, the person, whoever it was, not speaking. 

Then the person knelt down, holding out a handkerchief to her; his voice was unmistakable. “If you’re going to be so pathetic and cry every time I do something to you, how’re you going to stand the things I have planned in the future?” 

Jiyeon stiffened; she jerked back, out of JB’s reach, her eyes full of loathing as she stared at him. “Don’t touch me. Get out of my sight.”

JB looked amused at her reaction; he held the handkerchief out, waiting for her to take it, but she ignored his outstretched hand. He gave a slight laugh, pocketing the handkerchief. “An idol’s life must be really easy.” 

Jiyeon’s gaze was antagonistic. “What would you know about that? Have you ever been an idol? Do you know how many hours, how many days, months and years we have to train just to debut, let alone become famous? What right do you have to think that we lead easy lives? If anyone leads easy lives, it’s you, you and your rich friends. You all have your paths laid out in front of you like carpets, you don’t have to work hard for anything in your lives. You wouldn’t understand the difficulties we idols have experienced, the humiliation-”

“Humiliation? You think what I did to you just now was terrible? You think it’s difficult and humiliating? You don’t know a thing about what humiliation means, Park Jiyeon.” JB was leaning forward, his eyes darker than she’d ever seen before, the grave, almost angry expression on his face so different from his usual nonchalance. “Humiliation means being unable to be seen on your own terms, to have everything you do and say be seen differently simply because of your family; humiliation means having no control over your life, be it your career, the people you want to date, even the person you want to marry; humiliation means having your own mother treat you like trash in front of everyone you know, even if the only mistake you made is to, just for once, get second in class instead of first because she thinks you can’t leave up to her standards.” He reached forward to brush the hair out of Jiyeon’s face; his sudden gentleness with her sent chills up Jiyeon’s spine. “You’ve never experienced real humiliation, Jiyeon-ah. You’re not tough enough - how’re you going to survive the things I have planned for the future?” 

“Is this why you so enjoy tormenting others? Because you think you’ve suffered a lot in the past?” Jiyeon’s voice was trembling, her eyes unable to meet his frighteningly intense gaze. 

“Then is the reason why you’re so weak now that everyone has always given you what you wanted, and never let you get a taste of what the real world’s like? You call that a difficult life, huh?” 

Jiyeon looked at him straight in the face. “Or maybe not everyone in the world is like you, transferring whatever hurt you may have suffered onto others. Maybe others are just kinder, just better than that.” 

JB just laughed. “What a naive person you are.” 

The thought of crying had long vanished from Jiyeon’s thoughts; she rose to her feet, ignoring JB’s outstretched hand. “I’m not going back to that party.” 

“If only people in this world were all as thin-skinned as you were. Then taking advantage of them would be so much easier.” JB replied, but he reached for his phone to call Kris. His words made Jiyeon hesitate; as he dialled the numbers she suddenly grabbed onto his hand. “I...I changed my mind, I still want to see Yoona-sshi. Let’s go back to the party.” 

JB turned in the direction he had come. “Then we’d better hurry up, before he ends.” 

As they walked, he could not stop the brief, victorious smile that crossed his face. 

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

Kai was infinitely grateful that one of the junior officers had brought a pair of gloves, not that he intended to show it. As he slid his finger along the gigantic, blood-red smiley face drawn onto the wall, he noted the strange in the smiley face: it was definitely the same MO, the murderer using the victim’s five fingers, dipped in his or her own blood, to draw. And yet-

“We still haven’t found a body yet, if there’s even one. It could just be a prank, you know. Some crazy who decides to pull our legs and drag us down here for nothing.” D.O suggested, staring at the smiley face in disgust. “Although who would be as sick as that, I have no idea.” 

“And where would that person get the blood from? Chicken blood?” Kai asked. The blood was fresh - if a murder had occurred, the criminal couldn’t be far off. “Draw up a perimeter.”

“For what? A criminal that might or might not be in this area?” D.O looked skeptical. Kai, however, was determined. “I’m not taking chances.” 

And indeed, he was proven right; for in the very next minute a junior officer ran up to them, nearly doubled over as he panted. Kai bent down slightly, patting the officer’s back. “Calm down and talk, Jimin.” 

Jimin waved his arm in the direction which he’d come. “There’s...there’s been...they’ve found...” He swallowed, hard, then suddenly jerked away, choking; it was then that Kai understood. “A body’s been found?” 

Jimin nodded, his face still green. “Two...two streets down. One...only one victim this time.” 

Kai took off running. 

Even from nearly a hundred metres away, Kai could hear the distinct sound of throwing up; as with every other of the killer’s victims, the scene must have been gruesome. His junior officers were all crouched outside the alleyway, by the streets, some on their knees, others sitting down with their heads in their hands. And, indeed, he was proven right; as he stepped into the dim alleyway, with light barely filtering through the entrance, he was struck by the copious amounts of blood. 

The body had been hung up - Kai’s first thought was of Jesus Christ; like the biblical figure the body had been strung up, arms spread out and legs together. The body was , back facing Kai, his head - for it was distinctly male, hanging limply. Even from that distance Kai could make out the whip marks, even bite marks, in the man’s wrists and body. 

The bile rose in Kai’s throat; despite this being the third time he’d witnessed one of the murderer’s crime scenes, but it didn’t change the brutality, the cruelty, the utter wrongness of it. He fought to keep himself under control; behind him, he heard D.O’s audible gasp, followed by a sudden choking noise. 

Struggling against the urge to back away, Kai approached the body; the stench of blood was heavy, and yet Kai could tell that the blood was already drying. He walked to the side, trying to identify the victim without yet pulling him down - Kai didn’t think he would be able to stand handling the body. As Kai caught sight of the man’s face, he stilled, his face a mask of shock.

D.O called from outside the alleyway, his voice weak. “Anything?” 

Kai stood paralysed, unable to take his eyes off the man. D.O seemed to sense that something was wrong; he steeled himself, taking two steps into the alleyway before the overwhelming stench of blood struck him; he backed away again, but the concern in his voice was unmistakable. “Jongin, what’s wrong?” 

Slowly, Kai backed away from the body, not taking his eyes off it. Now he could recognise the back - one that he’d seen many times before. “I know him.” 

D.O stared at Kai, startled. “You know the victim? Again? Who is he?” 

Kai closed his eyes, letting out a rattling breath. “Minseok-hyung.” 

--------------------------------------------------

And I'm back!

Not much Luyoon or Kaistal, although all four characters appear in the chapter - actually it's quite obvious to all the other characters that those four have a kind of "antagonistic romance" going on, although Luyoon of course denies it, as does Krystal (what's the bet that Kai would too, if he'd been there?) Yoona's probably the kindest of all the "rich kids", at least to outsiders; whereas people like Luhan, JB and Baekhyun are less concerned about Jiyeon, Yoona shows clear care for her - this actually highlights Yoona's difference from the rest of them. JB, on the other hand, couldn't care less about people who don't matter to him - but to people who do, like Yoona, he's fiercely protective; when she steps out to go after Jiyeon, he shows clear concern in chasing after her, and sends her back while going out to look for Jiyeon himself. At this point he's not so much motivated by concern for Jiyeon as opposed to just doing what his sister wants him to do. 

At the same time, however, for the first time ever Jiyeon sees a real hint of vulnerability in JB - he shows bitterness about his own chaebol life and is clearly unhappy with his lot; it also slightly explains his attitude to the "normal people" or "commoners", even Jiyeon - as a child growing up in a normal family he thinks that she hasn't experienced real humiliation or suffering before, hence he's dismissive of her. In a way what Jiyeon said of him was true as well - he enjoys crushing other people and making them hurt, because it's a way of spreading his pain and making himself feel better. Both Jiyeon and JB also have stereotypical conceptions of each other; JB as I mentioned above, and Jiyeon in that she thinks as a chaebol all is easy and well for JB - just wait till they start getting to know each other better. 

Despite JB opening up slightly to Jiyeon, however, he's still the one with the better grasp of what she's like - he knows which buttons to push, just like how he manages to get her to attend the party again. Also, it's worth noting that in JB's speech about having "control" over his own life, something he's really bitter about, it actually shows his own weakness - because both Luhan and Yoona managed to walk away from their families and are fighting to make a name for themselves on their own terms (indeed, in one of the previous chapters Jiyeon recognises Yoona as "the famous designer", which is her own chosen profession, as opposed to, say "daughter of the CEO of Empire International); conversely, it also shows the strength and similarity in both Yoona and Luhan. 

And the mystery of the murderer comes back - as with the previous murders, Kai once again recognises this victim...just what is the connection between them? And poor Xiumin, he got offed without even appearing...

I'll try to update the next chapter by the next two weeks, so remember guys, comment and subscribe!