Changmin heard the soft footsteps padding near and forced the instinct to whip out his knife in confronting the intruder. There was no cause for him to do so; somewhere into the month of staying with Sooyoung, he'd come to recognize her presence without needing his vision to ascertain that. It was years of training that spurred the fight-or-flight reaction and he didn't want to frighten his docile landlord anymore than his discreet nature had(plus, Changmin intends to stay till he was needed for service again), so he schooled his feature to relax as he waited for her approach.

In the month he'd taken up a routine that Sooyoung'd come to adapt as his lifestyle, she'd never once interfere and Changmin wondered what changes this. She plops herself an arm length away from him, face directed at the setting sun with the wave as an accompaniment that filled the void between them. Changmin had all the patience in the world from nightly stake-outs in worse condition. Waiting out for Sooyoung to speak her mind was, in comparison, a piece of cake. Changmin felt the beginning of a grin curve his lips as the silence dragged on. It was obvious she was settling on the right words to say despite that aloof demeanor. For a small town girl to control herself this well, Changmin had to give her points.

"Escape" In was inaudible, her voice lost among the crash of wave and had his focus not train on her in the time span, Changmin wouldn't have caught that.

He froze.

She knew.

At least, she'd known a little for her to make that assessment. Options filtered through, rejected and before his mind registered, his mouth was opened, "How did you know?"

Changmin could have feigned confusion, would have done so in any circumstances to protect this little escape from reality but something about Sooyoung prompted the truth.

"Shim Chang Min, an assassin. Explains your habit and behavior. I'm not that resourceful to dig these out, neither would I bother. You pay your rent on time and that's all that matters to me. A detective friend of mine arrived today. Cho Kyu Hyun... I see you two have a history." Sooyoung pointed out at his sudden stillness before leaning back, hands pushed against sand.

There was only one Kyuhyun he knew in his entire life who would track him to this remote corner of the world. His childhood friend, training buddy and now, the man who'd make it his personal mission to hunt him down.

Any sane being would have fled or chased him out knowing his profession and Sooyoung was the first, and only, female who confronted him with such normalcy Changmin would have laughed if he'd remembered how to. For a girl who'd shrieked bloody murder days ago from the invasion of a tiny cockroach in the cottage, this wasn't how he'd imagine her to be. He remembered how her face had contorted to disgust when he'd slapped a rolled up magazine against the black body and a distinct crraaak had signified it's death while she'd all but hug him from relief. It'd been an amusing sight to watch after he disposed the smashed creature while she cleaned the one tiny spot with enough disinfectant, Changmin was surprised it has anything left.

"Want to talk about it?" Her offer was without judgment and motive. If she had one, she was damn good at hiding it because he sensed nothing but harmless curiosity.

For someone whom he barely spoke to, it must have been the air on this island that had him gleaning his sordid journey to a girl whose most horrid scene must have been seeing a dead bug in her house.(Or perhaps it was the space she'd given him all along and he'd want at least one person to believe in him when he's gone from a stray bullet during mission)

"I was in the same training school as Kyuhyun; to be fine detectives one day. I didn't mind the tough training, not when I had Kyuhyun as my buddy as we hurdle through the strenuous training they dealt us every day. We were near graduation, and we were even posted to the same department, when it all fell apart." The sun has set low enough that hues of vermillion cast upon them, the pain in his eyes stark.

"I remembered how freezing cold that February was when we were lucky enough to be released from campus on a last minute decision. The snow was bitingly cold but I couldn't discern it until I stepped foot into an unusually hushed house. Our place was never quiet, not when I had a younger sister who loves singing in intervals--"

"For anyone to be loved by someone,
Makes life in this world shine
If it was me, I′d make your heart warm once more
With eternal tenderness"

Her voice was beautiful, albeit shaky at parts and she wonders if the world would miss this voice when she's no longer here.

"--then there was my Mom who loves to bustle everywhere, but mostly in the kitchen. Even when it wasn't meal time, it'd be filled with aroma and her handmade chocolate cookies are forever being stocked to the brim in this cookie monster jar--"

The elder lady hummed softly to herself while she laid out the heated tray on the counter to cool beside a silly looking jar that was nearly empty of content, the scent of batter and chocolate wafting to where she crouched by the dumpster. A sardonic smile curved her lips. At least there was a reward to this.

"--and my dad would be the quiet one. He only speak when others engages him but the things he associates himself with makes up for his lack of noise. When dad's around at home, the TV would be blasting some softball game or there'll be some old song coming from the radio."

A frustrated roar emitted from where she assumed would be the living room as the crisp voice of an announcer reported yet another failed shot at homerun. She heard a soft chiding voice and the approach of perfectly tuned tones. She took her chance then when she slipped out the silencer strapped to her thigh and took aim at her first victim.

"I knew something was amiss even before I saw the pool of blood seeping through to the hallway. My whole family was killed that day with careful shot to the head. In a twisted way, I was glad it was a painless kill but everything changed then." Changmin snapped himself out from the image of his family slumped within the spread of red, turning to face a motionless Sooyoung whose pallor has turned deathly pale. The apology was on the tip of his tongue when she rushed off away from him without a word, stumbling up the pathway to the cottage and Changmin cursed at his insensitivity. No matter how strong a facade she might put on, Sooyoung's still a female who isn't trained to accept details like he is.

Sooyoung pushed past the door without a care that it'll slam against the newly painted walls when she made a beeline to the bathroom, collapsing against the toilet bowl as she retched whatever acid her stomach could churn, her earlier episode robbing anything undigested in her. Just when she thought her day couldn't get any worse from Kyuhyun's announcement, Changmin's news shook the entire foundation of her current life. When they say karma would get you one way or another, they weren't kidding and Sooyoung was staring at it minutes later when she exited the bathroom to encounter a slightly flustered Changmin. Her knees wobbled and she clutched the knob for support, forcing a wan smile at him when all she wanted was to wallow at his feet.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said so much." He scratched his head, and if it was under other circumstances, Sooyoung'd found it endearing.

I'm the one who should be sorry.

"D... Don't worry about it. I'm just... light-headed from the day errand. I just need to catch some sleep. DInner's already warming in the oven so just take it out and eat as much as you like. I'll most likely sleep the night away. I'll be fine." She choked out a laugh that sounds even maniac to her ears, waving airily as she lurched for the safety of her bedroom only to halt just before she closed the door behind her.

"Changmin? I'm really sorry."

He merely waved her off, bidding her good night and assuring that he'd turn the lights off. The apologetic smile he wore had her slamming the door softly, her mind whirling with the load of information her brain refuses to accept. Changmin'd taken her reaction to his story as a form of aversion to the horrid incident of his family, had thought she was embarrassed for how she'd turned tail and puke her gut out. He'd thought her apology was a late offering of condolences for his loss.

It was partially that, but Changmin didn't know about the familiar cookie monster jar that sat up in the attic, untouched since she'd shoved the last piece of chocolate delight in as a reward for her final job done.