~_____~

“You’ve been here three years?” Suho repeated.

The young girl with sleek long hair in front of him nodded. She was a pretty thing with a sharp nose and high cheekbones. When she smiled two dimples would appear on both sides of her face making her look essentially cute. From the five minute long conversation they’d been having, he found out she had been in a dance school before she was forced to drop out due to tuition expenses. Her father shortly ran away with all their money and their family soon split apart in which she ended up at the brothel. Suho found it a shame she was in such a place, but in all she really seemed like a down to earth honest girl.

“It’s not bad here, really,” the girl emphasized, “there’s some competition amongst some of the girls, but everything’s relatively calm here.”

“Can I ask if there’s been anything you would consider suspicious?” Suho asked.

The girl looked around before slightly whispering, “I heard a few of the girls on probation had to clean up in room 214. There are some rumors that the room was kept empty for a few nights, but when I walked passed it once, I heard some little girls talking inside.”

“Little girls?” Suho raised his eyebrow in surprise.

The girl nodded, “I’m sure they were voices belonging to little girls, but I don’t know what happened to them. I know it was given to some girl yesterday, but it’s empty again today.”

“No one’s in there right now?” Suho questioned.

The girl shook her head. “That’s all I know.”

Suho put her words into thought before asking, “What about your headmistress? What kind of person is she?”

“I’ve only ever seen her twice,” the girl explained, “when I came here and once when I was downstairs.”

“Do you know if anyone has come to see her? Particularly, a man,” Suho said.

He watched her eyelashes blink before she told him, “I know she has had a few meetings with the same person a few times, but I’m not sure who he is.”

Suho nodded putting her words into memory then smiled, “Alright, thank you. I’m going to get going now since my partner seems to have left. I hope you can find somewhere else to go. It’d be nice to have a fresh start.”

The girl sweetly smiled, “Thank you. I wish I would have met someone like you earlier. You’re such a great person.”

He awkwardly laughed, “Ah…thanks.”

Suho nodded at her and watched her head off before he turned away. It was back to business for him. So little girls had indeed been kept in the brothel for whatever reason there was, but it didn’t seem like any harm had been done to them. It was a little suspicious to start with. Why had they been brought there?

Pausing in front of room 214 Suho stared at the tan door as if he could see what was inside. Pushing the door open he stepped in and closed it behind him. Running his eyes over the walls and the floor he then turned to the little table against the wall. A diamond paper weight was sitting atop the table and he grabbed it out of curiosity. He assumed it was what had caused the cut on the side of Namjoo’s head before setting it back down.

Namjoo had spoken about Han Dan Bi’s initials covered by a poster. At the turn of his head he spotted the poster on the wall and walked toward it. It hadn’t yet been repasted back to the wall. Pulling the little flap aside he stared at the faded initials and stared. If Namjoo had found the initials and had discovered the note in this particular room, would there be other clues hidden in it? There must be…but where?

Suho turned to look around. In a room that had severely no hiding places, where would such clues be hidden? He walked around a bit tapping the bottom of his chin with a finger before he suddenly kicked at the bed. It easily shifted to the side slightly before he raised both brows.

“Oh? What’s this?” he asked reaching his hands out to push the bed.

He suddenly clapped his hands together. Yes, this was it! Why didn’t he think of this earlier? Suho pulled the bed toward the left of the room and walked back around it. The little girls kept here would have thought to leave their mark behind. Suho found a drawing of a sloppy tree house on the wall with the names Park Eun Bin and Han Dan Bi. But he wouldn’t be able to take it with him. Quickly digging out his phone he snapped a picture of it before suddenly turning back to stare at the table and the little drawers on the side. If there were drawings and writing on the wall, there had to be pencils kept in the room. Perhaps those pencils were the ones the little girls had used.

Walking toward the table he pulled open the drawers and immediately found five pencils stashed inside. Suho almost clumsily made a reach for them before recalling that he might be able to find finger prints on them and finger prints were the most crucial evidence needed. He peered around for some napkins, but didn’t see anyway. In the end, he resorted to taking off his sweater and took the pencils in them. However, during the process the door opened on him.

“What are you doing in here!?” one of the girls shouted. Whether she was a manager or one of the es, he couldn’t decide, but it was definitely time to leave.

And Suho could only end up acting suspiciously. Without a word and clutching the sweater to his belly like a thief he charged out of the room and down the stairs.

~_____~

Kris charged after Eunhyuk and made sure to keep him on target so as not to lose him. They ran on for a good five blocks before Eunhyuk made a turn into an alleyway. When Kris turned after him he spotted Eunhyuk climbing a tall ladder up to the rooftop of some building. On impulse he climbed up after him.

~_____~

“She inhaled a lot of chloroform, so she may be unconscious for a few hours, but don’t worry she’ll be alright,” the doctor explained to Donghae.

A few hours, but no approximate time had been offered. Donghae grew even more frustrated. Should he wait for Victoria to regain consciousness or should he head out and look around then come back? It was alright to leave Victoria in the hospital, wasn’t it?

Crushed between his decisions he turned around from where he was to look back at Victoria who was currently calmly asleep on the hospital bed. It would be alright, he assumed. He would definitely be back before she awoke.

Once he was outside he paused and turned back to glance at the hospital towering over him. He was feeling somewhat guilty, he didn’t know why. There was this feeling of uncertainty swarming around him, but what could he do about it when he also wanted to search for Eunhyuk?

“For just an hour, I’ll just use an hour of my time then I’ll be back,” Donghae promised himself before he turned to walk away.

~_____~

“I don’t know a Hyukjae, I’ll give you my word on it,” the headmistress was still at it.

Park Eun Young was good at thwarting her. Chorong had failed every bit at the interrogation so far. Nothing had come up. She hadn’t been able to gather any kind of information at all. She was useless, useless.

By now Chorong didn’t know what to do anymore. That was when loud shouting from down the hallway caught their ears.

Lay immediately turned to her and whispered, “I think one of the guys have gotten in trouble. Lets go.”

He opened the door and Chorong followed instantly. Lay was correct. Once they were in the hallway they spotted Suho shooting out the doors.

~_____~

Namjoo’s grip on his hand was tight, but it gave him a sense of security that he discovered himself liking. When they crossed the street to follow Kris down the alley the grip on his hand loosened. Tao watched a tall ladder tumble to the ground along with Kris when they turned to head into the alley.

“Are you ok!?” he could hear Namjoo shouting with worry as she rushed toward him.

Tao watched her help him pull his crushed hand out from underneath the ladder.

“Is your hand alright? What’s with you getting both your hands injured?”

“I should get hurt more often to get your sympathy then,” Kris murmured.

“What are you still joking about?” Namjoo slightly punched his shoulder with the palm of her hand. “Can you stand up?”

He watched Kris grab onto Namjoo’s shoulder to help pull himself up. Tao couldn’t help but roll his eyes from watching them both struggle. Walking forward he grabbed Kris’ arm before ushering him to his feet.

“You look fine to me,” Tao commented before receiving both their stares.

~_____~

“Whew!” Suho heaved a sigh of relief when he stepped outside still tightly clutching onto the bundle of sweater.

He peered down the sidewalk to see Kris, Tao, and Namjoo walking back toward the brothel and turned when the doors behind him opened.

“What happened?” Lay asked alarmed. “Why did you run out?”

“Ah…” Suho started, “I don’t know. One of the girls must have thought I was stealing.” Then he laughed cheerily before noticing the disappointed expression on Chorong’s face. “Something wrong?”

Chorong quickly looked at him before shaking her head. Suho stared at her a second before he tilted his head toward the other three.

“Looks like they had an adventure,” Suho remarked. “Where’d you come from,” he asked the others when they reached them.

“Lost Eunhyuk in a chase,” Namjoo sounded dismayed yet she also looked down cast. She nodded toward his sweater, “What’s with that?”

“A little something. Should we head back?” he asked before turning to Lay and Chorong. “Are you two done?”

Lay nodded with a firm smile, but Chorong still looked disappointed. Suho smiled at her only to have her turn away from him. Curiosity perked him at why the only cheery girl in their group suddenly seemed down.

“I’m going in your car,” Namjoo declared walking pass him.

“Oh…” Suho managed before glancing at Tao, “you coming too?”

Tao glanced at him before shrugging and followed Namjoo.

Suho watched him go before turning to the other three, “Lets meet up at headquarters then. Take your time getting back.”

With that he turned to head after Namjoo and Tao.

~_____~

Chorong watched Suho walk off after the others and was for the first time glad that she wasn’t heading back in his car. If Suho happened to talk to her she might end up feeling worse than she really was right now. Even if he seemed to be the only one who could cheer her up. Turning away she walked toward Kris’ car.

“We going or not?” she asked pausing by the car.

Kris who was staring after Namjoo slowly turned and unlocked the car.

~_____~

After starting the car Suho turned to glance at Namjoo. “What’s the matter?”

Five long years together had given him the opportunity to see the weak sides of Namjoo she refused to reveal. They’d shared secrets before and those secrets had allowed him more of an in depth look into her life. Namjoo, unlike him, rarely happened to crack jokes. She was more of a serious-to-go type of person. There were very few times when she actually did laugh or smile. That glum expression on her face only told him something unwanted had popped up during the mission.

Namjoo placed her elbow against the window and half blocked her face with her fingers. “I was thinking about how nothing’s really changed. Someone made a point today about how we’re unable to change what’s been meant for us. And I think about the days when I was growing up and the days when dad died and about how mom has always managed to trample on me, then I think about now...it’s still pretty much the same, isn’t it? I feel like I came far, but I haven’t done anything at all. Am I that incapable?”

Suho turned to look at her again. “Namjoo, you shouldn’t stress over something like that. I honestly think you’ve come a long way, and that you’re brave for doing what you’re doing. Being true to yourself is a strength itself. Not a lot of people can do that. You know that, don’t you?” Namjoo nodded her head silently, but it felt like she didn’t believe him at all. “Look at it this way; you saved 50 men in our last case. You spared children the experience of becoming fatherless. You’re not useless, you’re very capable. You are something, Namjoo. What do you think Donghae and I would be without you? It doesn’t matter how you grew up, look at the you now. I think you’re an awesome person. Who cares about your mom? Who cares about your dad? You’re your own person. I’m proud of you, Donghae’s proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself.” Suho glanced into the rearview mirror to see Tao staring at them. When Tao noticed him he quickly turned away. A smirk climbed onto Suho’s lips and he glanced at Namjoo. “This case has totally strained us for days, huh? I think a little rest would do us some good considering all the action that’s been going on. A little break sounds good, doesn’t it?”

Namjoo glanced over at him and smiled. Watery sparkles appeared in her eyes before she closed them. “You talk to him about it.”

“Of course, who else but me?” Suho smiled.

~_____~

Useless. Useless. Chorong hadn’t been able to do anything. Even something as simple as an interrogation she couldn’t handle. If she was such a failure, of what help would she be to Donghae’s team? How could she face Suho without feeling embarrassed? Of what use would she be to society?

“Hey, you ok?” Kris asked with his eyes glued onto Suho’s car in front.

“Mm…” Chorong meekly answered staring out her side window.

Lay stared at her from where he was sitting in the back seat. “Are you stressing over what the headmistress said?”

“In actuality, I didn’t do anything at all,” Chorong spoke before sighing and pulled on a smile.

All along…what had she been able to do for them? From Incheon to Wonju and Yeongwol, Chorong hadn’t been able to pitch in at all. She just felt so ashamed of herself.

“I would have done the same,” Lay helped, “there wasn’t much for us to do anyway. We weren’t actually there when Victoria walked in on her and Hyukjae. There was nothing we could have used against her. It’s fine. Anyways, it looks like Suho got something.”

But even without being there when Victoria walked in on the headmistress and Hyukjae, Chorong should have been witty enough to pry something out of her. In the end, she hadn’t obtained anything useful at all. Everything was repetitive information without any backup evidence.

“We didn’t get anything from our side either,” Kris mentioned, “don’t stress over it.”

Chorong eventually nodded, but even with their words she didn’t feel better about herself.

~_____~

Victoria was confused when she woke up. Bright lights were shining down on her and she could hear conversations happening from all around. Women and men in dark green or white uniforms were walking back and forth. Sometimes they had white masks over their faces and clipboards in hand, and most of the time they were walking at a constantly fast pace. Across from her she could see a family standing along with a tall man in a white jacket, who seemed to be passing along important information. Their faces became crushed with happiness before repeatedly bowing toward him as if praising a god.

There was a man lying on the empty bed next to her whose heart monitor had suddenly gone flat. The eerie sound of it echoed scarily inside her ears for a long time. Upon the notice of it nurses flocked over in panic to tend to him. She witnessed them try to bring him back to life by pumping his chest with their hands, opening his eye, and flaring a tiny ray of light into his pupil. The moment they screamed for a doctor was when Victoria decided to leave.

Along the hospital corridor she saw various advertisements. Some of them were about blood donation, other posters had enlarged pictures of half- babies happily smiling or laughing at the camera, and another one was about burn patients. Most of them were what she recognized; posters promoting health and exercise. Victoria paused in the hallway to scan her eyes over them for a few minutes and turned when a few children ran passed her. A scolding mother with a bulging stomach followed them before they eventually disappeared around the corner of an intersecting hallway.

Turning around she started down the hallway.

~_____~

“What!?” Donghae asked a little too loudly when he returned almost two hours later. “You don’t know where she went!?”

“There were a lot of emergencies, I’m afraid no one really kept an eye on her.” the male nurse calmly explained.

Donghae let out an exasperated sigh. “No matter how busy you are, isn’t it your job to keep watch on your patients!? Isn’t that what you get paid for!? There are about 50 of you in here and not one of you took a second to look after her!?”

“Sir…” the male nurse began, but Donghae was already turning away.

“Someone saw her going up to the rooftop,” the voice of a nurse helped.

So much time had already been wasted and not a thing had been achieved. Half the day had gone by almost uselessly while Victoria had remained unconscious and had disappeared without a word. What if someone had come for her? Or what if she had walked out on her own? Donghae was starved, impatient, and moody. The thought about how they’d lost any trace of Eunhyuk was egging at the corner of his mind. All he wanted right now was to return to headquarters.

His footsteps echoed in the empty space of the winding staircase as he raced upwards. Pulling a white door open he walked out onto the wide rooftop to see a single figure leaning against the edge of the high wall overlooking the city.

A sudden anger boiled over him and he shouted, “What do you think you’re doing up here!?” 

***What is this I sense? Another argument coming into being for HaeToria? xDD It's predictable, right? And there Suho goes, screwing things up LOL  But at least here we can see the team mates supporting each other, excluding Tao - he will have his own way of doing it ^^

***My apologies, I miscalculated. I'll try to focus more on HaeToria next chapter. And maybe a little more of SuRong or LayRong? heh~ I'll have to see. 

***I'll give you a hint about the foreshadowing: it has something to do with the posters Vic looked at. Something will happen later in the story. I think you can sense that I'm going pretty slow w/this story since I've got so many characters, but we'll eventually get somewhere. 

**And Happy Valentine's Day!! <3