“He's on the roof! He's on the roof!”

My head snapped up at the last set of stairs before the door to the roof. “,” I muttered, taking two at a time until I arrived at the top of the stairwell. Unholstering my gun, I threw the door open, catching him in mid-stride. He turned to me, face breaking into a smile.

“Detective,” he greeted, “good to see you. Didn't know if you were in on this one or not.” He began to back towards the ledge as I pressed forward.

“UKnow...” I warned, hand tightening on the gun. “Stay right there.”

His smile broadened. “Do I ever listen?” He turned and ran, leaping from the roof to the neighboring one with ease.

Cursing, I took after him, heart already pounding in my ears.

“Jin Ae!” my partner shouted at me, but I ignored him as I leaped to the next roof without hesitating.

Look before you leap; who had time for that?

UKnow was in my sights as he rocketed across the rooftop. He climbed down the fire escape with me on his heels. He dropped to the asphalt and took off. Without wasting time at trying to get down to ground level, I aimed my gun at his retreating form. I inhaled deeply and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed off the alley walls as my target fell face-first.

When I made it to the ground, I approached him quickly, keeping my gun aimed at his still form. A satisfied smile came to lips.

Finally.

Suddenly, he sprang to life. One foot kicked the gun from my hand, the other slamming into my gut. My backside hit the cement hard and I struggled to get up immediately, wincing and cursing loudly.

“Better luck next time, Detective,” he called and saluted me before sprinting down another side alley. I hurried for my gun, knowing I still had my perfect shot as long as he was in the narrow alley. I grabbed the gun and looked up. He was gone.

Vanished.

Again.

“Son of a !” I shrieked, smacking the asphalt and screaming between gritted teeth when my hand protested against the abuse.

The scraping of my partner's running feet sounded behind me. “Jin Ae!” I sat there, fuming at where our target had just been. My partner came to stand beside me, panting. He looked where my eyes were locked before returning his attention to me. “You okay?”

“No,” I replied shortly. “My hurts!” I picked myself up, shrugging off my partner's hand when it wrapped around my arm. “I'm fine, Changmin,” I grumbled, walking stiffly back down the alley. I turned back, noticing he wasn't following. “You just gonna stand there? Get officers to search the area. He can't have gotten far.”

“Yeah, yeah...”

I narrowed my eyes at his dismissive behavior, but I didn't blame him. We both knew UKnow was long gone. He had that talent of just vanishing, impossibly so. That's why he also was known as “The Phantom”. I scoffed at the name. He was no ghost. UKnow was very much solid and alive—and a huge pain in my .

For two years, him and I had our run-ins. For two years, he escaped the Seoul Police Department like it was a little kid's game of hide-and-seek. He was Seoul's most wanted and most famous.

It didn't matter what we, or anyone else, did. It didn't matter how tight a spot he was in. He always vanished, just to come back and taunt me for my failures.

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