My mother had forgiven me without much thought. I'm not going to lie—it surprised the hell out of me. I mean, I was a ty daughter to her, even though she'd been overbearing and overreacting in the past. Things weren't exactly perfect between us again, but our relationship was on the mend. Still shaky, but the light at the end of the tunnel was visible.

Jaejoong and I on the other hand—nothing had really changed. He and I had always been competitive and he'd been the star of the family for years. We were both adopted, both had better lives than we probably would have had, and both of us had that undying need to earn praise from the people that saved us.

I strayed in high school. Trouble followed me and I often caught it, earning me suspensions and juvenile charges. But Jaejoong was always perfect. Jaejoong could do no wrong. He never did wrong; he was the perfect son, the more talented, the smartest, the most charming. Whatever I lacked, he had. People loved him and complimented him from his looks to his grades to his athletic ability. Jealousy made me act out. Acting out made me even less perfect than him. Being less perfect than him made me angrier. I rebelled and became an even more miserable daughter and sister. Because I was a miserable daughter, Jaejoong thought he had a right to lecture me on my faults and “encourage” me to do better. Which pissed me off and made me piss him off and that let to fights, him insulting me, me hitting him, and eventually causing me to break from the family entirely. It was a messed up circle of jealousy and anger.

We were the same age, so of course we were close. When we were younger, Jaejoong was my best friend, helped me up when I fell down, punched a kid that called me “ugly-face”. Inseparable until he began to stand out and be admired. I was left in the dust of his popularity.

Shallow me. Imperfect me. Ungrateful. Untalented. Selfish. Failure. Disgrace.

Everyone set such high standards for me, wanted me to be like my brother.

I cracked.

Mom didn't want me to work. She never did when we were younger. If she did, it was cooking for a church event or for the hospital or taking care of someone else's children. Jobs women were “supposed to do”. I was to stay home, love a husband, and have children, “grandchildren for her to spoil”. She preached that to me for years and I always shuddered at the very thought of me living a life such as that.

When I told them I was going into law, she thought lawyer and that was alright. It was prestigious, at least. But I wanted to be a cop and a eventually a detective—if I was good enough. She wasn't pleased. Neither was Jaejoong. She told me I couldn't because of my record. My goal was to prove her wrong.

I went to the academy. I learned how to shoot a gun, take a man down twice my size, deal with psychologically unstable individuals, and hurtle five foot fences without breaking stride. I worked harder than I ever had before.

I was going to be the best. I was going to be good at something that Jaejoong wasn't. I got straight A's, graduated at the top of my class. Only my dad came to the graduation ceremony. I was promoted to detective two years earlier than normal. When the news was delivered to my parents, blows passed between my brother and I. My mother was 'dishonored' and 'disappointed' that I didn't respect her wishes. But Dad was proud of me; it was shining in his eyes. And that's what kept me going.

The rest is history. I became a detective, got a damn good partner, and began to attraction of an assassin.

Life goes on. The past is the past. Except for Jaejoong, whose a douche bag.

Jaejoong's and I's relationship may work out, it may not. I was hoping for the latter, but if it didn't...it didn't, I supposed.

I sighed and leaned against my hand, waiting for the light to change. My phone chimed and I picked it up to check the I.D.

Unknown Caller

My eyebrows furrowed and I answered. “Hello?”

“Hell, Detective.”

His voice made my hair prickle and hand clench the phone tighter. “How the did you get my number?”

“That's not important. I hear your partner is still alive.”

“No thanks to you.”

“I'd never kill him.”

“Bull .”

UKnow chuckled. “Calm down. He's alive; be happy.”

“I won't be happy until you're dead.”

“Huh, Detective Kim has it out for me, does she?”

“Damn right, I do.”

“Good luck.”

“I will find you," I replied through gritted teeth.

He chuckled. "We'll see," he said. "I'm not sure you really do want to catch me, Detective. I think you enjoy this game just as much as I do."

“What game?" I hissed into the phone. "Its not a game when people's lives have been ruined!" My free hand clenched the steering wheel. "You better watch your back a whole lot closer, 'UKnow' because I'm coming to kill you."

He chuckled again, not taking my threat serious in the slightest. "Catch me if you wanna, Detective. I'll be waiting right here."

The call ended. I clutched the cellphone, the outer shell beginning to crack. This “game” he was playing...If he wanted to play, so be it. I was tired of feeling vulnerable, paranoid, my every move watched. I was sick of being taken advantage of.

I couldn't wait to see him six feet under.



White puffs of snow were falling lazily to the ground, blanketing it with the signs that winter was finally there. I stuffed a free hand into my pocket, the other holding a simple bouquet. I came to a stop at the security booth, breathe blowing out in visible steam.

“Name?” came a voice from within.

“Kim Jin Ae,” I answered.

After a few moments of waiting, the black gates swung open and I continued my pace into the graveyard. The temperature was dropping by the minute and I didn't want to freeze more than I had to. Sighing, I searched the names of the headstones until my eyes found the right one.

Song Ji Hyun

I bent down to set the two flowers—a Peruvian Lily and a stark white Delphinium—at the bottom of the stone. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I checked the time and waited, trying to look my best as a mourner. When the three minutes were up, I stuffed my hands back into my pockets and left. A set of chills swept through me, but I kept going. This wasn't exactly my best option, or what I really wanted to resort to, but I was ready to play as dirty as UKnow was. And that meant asking for help from a different side.



My fingers drummed against the table top, the other hand occupied with flipping my phone from one end the other as my leg bounced nervously on the ball of my foot. My eyes drifted across the coffee shop to catch a possible familiar face. The coffee shop was nearly deserted; I was sitting alone in one, desolate corner. Steam rose from a coffee cup in front of me. I looked over my shoulder, almost expecting to see UKnow watching me in his creepy manner.

When I turned my head back around, she was sitting across from me.

“Holy—” I clamped a hand over my mouth and steadied my breathing. “Ninja,” I said, pointing at the woman sitting across from me with smirk.

“I told you, I'm not a ninja.”

“You could be. New job opportunity,” I replied. “So you go my message.”

She nodded and sat back in her chair. “So what's this about, Jin Ae? I know you don't like to use my resources unless absolutely necessary.”

“Tell me about UKnow.”

Her face showed a flicker of surprise before going back to its passive state. “Why?” She arched an eyebrow when I didn't answer. “If this is about your partner...”

“Its none of your business,” I snapped. Both eyebrows rose and I let out a breath. “Its time I finally bring him in. I need you to tell me what you can about him.” She looked unconvinced and I rubbed my forehead. “I'm asking for your help, K. Please?”

She pursed her lips. “There's not much to say,” she answered after a while. “The guy shows up one day and starts taking every amount of work he can. He was practically super human, people were scared of him.”

“I know that. You know anything that might be of use in catching him? A weakness?” I offered. “Anything?”

“We only crossed paths once,” said K. “It was brief.” Her eyes hardened as she looked into mine. “Do not mess with him, Jin Ae. I'm saying this as your friend. He won't hesitate in killing you if you provoke him.”

I leaned forward, voice dropping to harsh whisper. “He's stalking me, K. He shot my partner and affected my sanity. If I don't put this son of a away, he's just going to kill more people and never leave me alone.”

“Instead, if you keep going down this road, he's going to kill you eventually,” she countered, own voice dropping as low as mine. “Jin Ae, you can't win this fight. The guy is a ghost.”

“Can you get him?”

“Are you hiring me for a hit?”

My inner urges and my duty as a detective were fighting one another. “Possibly.”

“Seriously, Jin Ae?” She arched an eyebrow. I could tell she didn't believe that I'd seriously hire her.

“What else am I supposed to do? Just let him do what he wants?” I hissed.

“No, that's not what I'm saying,” she replied. “Dealing with someone like him is...complicated.”

“Then, what do you suggest I do?” I demanded. “There's nothing else, but to go after him myself.”

“I'm telling you to back off,” K said. “Let me try to get UKnow off your trail...”

“You know that won't work.”

K leaned forward, eyes harsher than before. “You don't know what he's truly capable of Jin Ae.”

“I've been on his case for years, longer than anyone else. I know what he can do.”

K sighed, “His case has been yours for only two years. You're being stubborn. And stupid. Don't let revenge be your leading motive, Jin Ae. He'll take advantage of it.”

She was telling things I already knew—or figured I did. I'd come for something new, something useful, but she was feeding my own weaknesses rather than his.

I grabbed my coat from the chair and got to my feet. “Whatever,” I growled and shot her a glare, which she returned with mild annoyance. I wouldn't have contacted her if I had known she wasn't going to be of any help, only point out my own flaws—something I despised. Turning on my heel, I opened my mouth to tell her so, but she was gone. My eyes traveled across the coffee shop, knowing I wouldn't find anything.

“Damn ninja,” I muttered, zipping up my coat.

As the bell over the door tolled, the cold hit me like a wall. An inhale of the frigid air made me cough as I started my way to my car. A ringing began, followed by a buzzing in my pocket. I stopped, feeling my phone in the pocket of my jeans. I reached into my coat pocket and brought out another phone.

Puzzled, I answered warily, “hello?”

“I'll see what I can find on him.” It was K's voice. “Just don't do anything stupid until then. I don't want you ending up like Shim. Or worse.” And she hung up.

I looked down at the phone, curious—and slightly alarmed—as to how she had gotten the phone into my pocket without my realization. Knowing I wouldn't be able to figure it out, I slipped it back in and carried on for my car.

“Damn ninja,” I said again, shifting my eyes from side to side in case maybe—just maybe—I could catch a glance of her.

Of course, I didn't.

----

Be sure to check out the companion to this story; Just Two Kids.

K belongs to my very good friend and fellow writer, Manbear-n'-Me! on Mibba. She was kind enough to let me use her.

Thank you to all the supporters. Honest feedback is always appreciated.