~_____~

If Victoria was in the hospital, that only meant she could have been the first one taken down. Or at least Hyukjae’s men believed she was the first one taken down. Maybe…they could let Hyukjae’s team believe that, then wouldn’t they have the upper advantage of the situation?

If only…if only she and Suho could let Donghae in on what they knew, but if Donghae knew he’d want to ruthlessly attack Hyukjae head on. It would mean nothing, but blood and death. Namjoo feared that since they now knew Eunhyuk and his brother could be a part of this, no one would get out witout losing the other. Donghae would risk his all for this and it was something she and Suho were trying to prevent at the same time.

If they went to Victoria, problems could get worse since she and Donghae did not get along. She’d want to go against Donghae at all costs. She and Suho were on their own. It was impossible to bet on one or the other.

What was she and Suho going to do?

Namjoo barely turned around when she heard someone call her name. Upon swerving back she saw Kris hurrying toward her. She suddenly felt conscious of the kisses Tao had given her earlier.

He hesitated somewhat before asking, “Did you…see my text?”

Namjoo looked up at him and subconsciously felt for her pockets to feel that they were empty. Her phone wasn’t with her.

“Never mind,” Kris shot her a tiny smile, as if realizing it. “This Saturday then, lets have dinner. You can make time, won’t you?”

And she felt guilty for having tossed away their date for dinner with Tao. In actuality, she should have put Kris first since their date had first been scheduled. Truth was, there were so many things she couldn’t act against. She, like Donghae, knew Tao had the capability to be a good person but he didn’t know how to get there or what to do to be there. A strong sense of duty toward both Donghae and Tao forbid her from setting anything else in her personal life as priority.   

“Mm…” she nodded and watched his face brighten. “I’m sorry about the sudden cancellation yesterday. I didn’t mean for it to happen, really.”

“I know,” he said with much belief, trusting her with his all.

The delightful smile on his face gave all his emotions away. Why, when she’d lied to him so many times already? Clarifying herself to him really held no meaning anymore. She was the one in the wrong and from then on knew she would continue to wrong him.

“Saturday then, it’s really a promise.” He confirmed. “If you break it, you owe me packed lunches and one more date for every one you miss.”

A smile splintered over her lips. Kris’ sudden teasings suddenly seemed like mere jokes to her now than the first time. She didn’t despise it as much she used to. And she thought it brightened her up a little since it seemed like stress was all that surrounded her.

Locked in thought for a few seconds she awoke when he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You look tired,” he commented, “did you not sleep?”

Why were they all telling her that?

Footsteps approached, forcing the two of them to turn. Suho and Tao had finally left the meeting room. They were about to head out, Namjoo assumed, which meant there wasn’t time to loiter around anymore.

Work was work. She and Suho had always used that phrase to urge themselves forward when they started lacking motivation for a mission. Perhaps she was starting to wish for a real break in the midst of this chaos.

Namjoo turned to look at Suho when they arrived.

“I guess this means we should head out from here,” Suho smiled in greeting to Kris. “Donghae said he called you?”

Kris nodded in reply.

Suho pattered her back as if reading her thoughts and said, “I’ll drive. Lets go.” Then turning back to Kris explained, “We’re leaving Tao with you and Chorong. We split up from here on. You guys be careful.”

~_____~

Still entranced in the black tunnel unsure of how to find the exit route, Victoria had not found the way out of her sleepless dream. She was trapped, trapped, and trapped. Who had been here the last time with her? Why was she here?

Smoothness traced her fingers and silence surrounded her like a mysterious net. This noiseless space assured her she was well alone. Not the doctor or even a nurse had stopped by to check on her. So she continued wandering along that black tunnel with no light at its end.

That was until she heard the door quietly close. There was no such thing as being alone anymore.

Victoria listened for footsteps and heard only a pair of them slowly walking toward the bed. Was it Donghae? Why wasn’t he talking to her as he’d done before leaving? Why wasn’t he telling her he was back and asking if she was feeling better?

Slowly waking from her drowsy state she opened her lids to see someone with a black mask peering down at her. Victoria caught his eyes before he persistently pressed something warm and soft over her lips.

Tossing her arms up she grasped onto his wrist to pry his hand away, but it was a useless attempt. Mustering the strength from her weak body didn’t help one bit. A wave of pain like bees swarming through her stomach up the rest of her energy. It felt like someone was sitting on her torso and only a muffled struggle erupted from her lips.

In desperation she started kicking her legs around, pounding the bed and shaking her head from side to side. It was difficult to breathe in this sudden situation and she could feel her hands becoming weak as if a vacuum were draining all she had. Victoria’s lids started closing on her again and she thought she was near death before a female scream shattered the windows in the room.

~_____~

What was it about the hospital? Why had Suho and Namjoo repeatedly told him to stay at the hospital?

Donghae couldn’t grasp the meaning of his assistants’ words of supposed caution. Along the drive to the hospital he tried putting the puzzle together, but none of that made sense. It wasn’t until he did arrive at the hospital that he slowly came to understand that Suho and Namjoo had probably been trying to warn him.

A security was standing in front of Victoria’s room and nurses were snickering by the service desk in low voices. A frown of confusion overtook his face as he started forward. The security guard immediately held an arm out to stop him and asked for his identification.

“I’m from government headquarters,” Donghae explained pulling his badge out to confirm his identity. “What happened?”

“There was an attempted assault,” the security guard told. “Someone tried to use chloroform on her. The situation could have gotten worse if the nurse didn’t come in time.”

In other words, someone had tried to kill Victoria.

“Where’s the perpetrator?” Donghae immediately questioned alarmed.

“He got away before we arrived.”

“Did he leave anything behind?”

The security guard shook his head, “The police couldn’t find any clues.”

Donghae nodded before walking into the room where Victoria was lying miserably. He’d never seen her so pale before, but at least Victoria wasn’t sleeping anymore. She should get a lot of rest was what he realized, but so much was going on that rest didn’t sound feasible at all.

First thing came first though.      

“You ok?” Donghae started.

Victoria, who’d been staring out the window, twisted her head to look at him as he approached. Pulling a chair closer to the bed he sat down.

“I must look great to you, huh?”

Donghae only mustered a smile before getting to the point, “Did you see his face?”

“No.”

It took a tiny amount of effort to repress a sigh. Nothing was working out. Nothing of advantage seemed to be popping up on their side.

“How are the others?” Victoria’s voice was weak.

“Lay’s investigating your case,” Donghae told, “I’ve sent the others to Wonju on an assignment.”

Even as weak as she looked Victoria still managed to have attitude toward him.

“You must enjoy taking full lead,” Victoria assumed with a tone that he’d gotten victory over her weak loss. “It suits you perfectly.” 

One more look at her condition sent him guilt vibes.

“So why’d you go there anyway?” Donghae wondered and allowed a moment of silence to elapse before continuing, “You knew it was Eunhyuk’s place.”

Victoria readjusted her head onto the pillow so she could stare up at the ceiling. “Isn’t it to your advantage now that you know? So what? I went there to look around, you’re angry about that? I don’t have energy to reason with you. Please leave.”

She closed her eyes signaling that their talk was over. Undecided about what to do Donghae got up to walk out and found the security guard still standing outside. Halting in his steps he looked the guard over.

“Do you work for the hospital?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll watch over her. You can leave.”

~_____~

“Did you ask why she wanted it?” Lay leaned so far over the counter that the police officer behind practically arched back into his seat.

Even thought older than he the police officer stuttered and nervously blinked his lids.

“Uh…n…no. She told me she was from the government, so I…I just gave the address to her.”

That didn’t offer him much. Biting his tongue he repeatedly tapped his fingers along the counter then turned back to the officer.

“Then, you can tell me whose name the apartment is filed under, right?” Lay asked.

Suddenly enthusiastic the officer nodded his head, “I just need a minute.”

Lay watched the officer get right to work and patiently waited. Whatever he chose to do next relied on who the owner of the apartment was. If he found that out then he could possibly break down any reasoning why Victoria had gone there in the first place and why she’d been shot there.

“Ah! Got it!” The officer exclaimed.

Shooting his attention to the officer he waited.

“Lee Hyukjae,” the officer spoke as if he’d done something spectacular to which Lay should be proud of. “I remember now, Miss Song wanted to know where Lee Hyukjae lived.”

The excitement in the officer’s face slowly dissolved when Lay showed no reaction whatsoever.

Lee Hyukjae, that name rung in Lay’s head like an alarm. On the drive to the apartment Lay had to separate the names that were starting to confuse him.

Hyukjae was Eunhyuk’s real name and Eunhyuk was Donghae’s close buddy since high school, but had gone missing. Hyukjae was or could be the ring leader of the huming trafficking ring and was who they were practically trying to find.

If Victoria had been found close to death at the apartment, who did that place really belong to? There was only one reason feasible enough for her to go there and it was that she was suspicious of Eunhyuk, thus a dead end had brought her there in search of evidence, because evidence was everything right now.

Did that place belong to Hyukjae, the code name of their target? Or Donghae’s friend who was claimed as the good person, Eunhyuk?

A person with the code name who looked just like Eunhyuk…who could he really be? Was he Eunhyuk who had staged his own disappearance?

Now that was a possibility that deeply puzzled Lay. Could Hyukjae just be one person all along, a person living two identities? Was it Eunhyuk’s secret that Donghae did not know? What other explanation would put these pieces together?

Hyukjae and Eunhyuk…could they possibly be the same man?

At that point Lay was certain that was the answer he was vouching for. Hyukjae and Eunhyuk were no different. Two were one.

Shortly after organizing his thoughts he arrived at the crummy apartment building, made his way through the door, and up the stairs. The passageway had become so familiar after one trip there. Once he arrived at Eunhyuk’s apartment he saw that the yellow tape was still up, but no one was around.

Trying for the doorknob he discovered that it had been left unlocked and supposed the cops had assumed no one would trespass with the tape still up. It was a foolish move, but Lay couldn’t do anything about it. It was their fail on keeping a site under investigation private that allowed him entrance.

Nothing had been touched nor did anything look out of place. The presence of the cops should have kept anyone away. Stepping further into the room Lay left the door open behind him since he had nothing to hide anyway. He paused after a few steps forward in the exact spot he’d been when they spotted Victoria lying on the ground bleeding a puddle large enough to have been mistken for one left behind by rain.

Lay stared at the area and silently wished Chorong would have come with him. After all, she was in the profession of a better investigator than he. He believed she would have caught something he didn’t know and it would have served him better to placing the puzzle together.

As he stood there he fought to reason where Victoria had looked before she’d been attacked. Finally moving forward Lay randomly searched through a pile of newspaper, under the cushions on the couch, and underneath them. He had no idea what he was doing or what he might find, but he knew he had to start doing something.

A minute fluttered by and he stopped to think, wondering whether there would be an answer there at all. Deciding he would first report to Donghae he walked out of the room for a change of atmosphere and started to reach for his phone. He paused when the neighbor next door stepped out. In the moment of silence the two shot curious glances at each other.

The neighbor was somewhat taller than Lay and looked of middle age even though he was bald. New lines of wrinkles were apparent at the corner of his eyes. His skin looked dry dotting his face with exhaustion.

“Hi,” he greeted friendily, “are you new here? I haven’t seen you before.”

Lay glanced around and figured that even if Victoria’s case should be kept low and private, he couldn’t do it himself. Asking around, as dangerous as it was, was all he could do.  

“Actually, I’m investigating the incident next door,” Lay started, “have you heard of it?”

The man’s eyes darted around, searching the hallway as if to make sure no one had seen them talking before nodding.

“Come in and I’ll tell you what I know,” he discreetly stepped back to allow Lay into his small apartment identical to Eunhyuk’s.

A blinding ray of the fresh sunlight shone into the room, but in the open space Lay found himself standing in he felt a tremor of suspicion. The atmosphere in the apartment was different from when he’d been in Eunhyuk’s. Lay couldn’t explain why.

His eyes darted toward a room to the side when he thought he heard the muffled voice of an individual. The neighbor shot him a smile backing toward the door to shut it eliminating the noise.

“You see, everyone here minds their own business,” the neighbor began as he walked toward his kitchen and opened his fridge, “would you like a glass of water?”

“I’m fine,” Lay refused running his eyes over the man carefully.

The neighbor was dressed in a casual plaid button down and faded blue jeans. His black boots seemed to weigh his feet down as he shuffled back toward Lay pausing by the counter that hid the sink from view.

“People who are running from loansharks stay here as well as those who aren’t well off, you see that’s why no one bothers with the other,” the man took a sip out of the beer can in his hand. “Nosiness often gets one into trouble. I bet you know that, Officer.”

Lay watched the man set down his beer can, waiting.

“I heard the girl next door was shot with a pistol,” the man told then clicked his tongue with a shake of his head, “poor thing, should have died.”

Lay’s brows twitched and reacted a second too late when the man jumped at him with a pry bar in hand. The assault ended up with Lay being slugged across his forehead forcing him to fall to the floor. 

***Uh-oh! Now that Vic is saved, Lay is in trouble! That can only mean one thing: more trouble for the other group in Wonju! 

***I sense jealousy next chapter ^^

***I have the ending planned as of right now, just need to get there! Woohoo for that!