Chapter Two

            “Miss Chaerin,” a man awkwardly uttered my name as I stared at my computer screen. Jumping, I spun around in my chair and forced a smile to stretch across my lips at the sight of the one standing before me.

            Out of the people that looked for a chance to tear me down, there was one in particular that took time out of his busy schedule to care for me. Even as I stared up at him now, I could see the sincerity flowing through his eyes.

            “I’m a bit hungry, so I was going to go eat. Do you want to join me?” he inquired. My smile fell at his words and I turned back to my computer. There was an urgent matter that required my full attention. Helplessly, I looked between the message on my screen and back at my dear co-worker. “Ah, you’re still working on that?” he awkwardly laughed. “Actually, I have to work on something else a well. How about I go and grab food for both of us and we can focus on our work together,” he suggested. Truthfully, I wasn’t hungry and I was on a time limit. I needed to finish and get back to my father. But to appease his mind, I agreed. Smiling in return, the man dismissed himself and rushed away.

            Once I was alone once again, I heaved a sigh and stared at my computer screen. What lay before me was what everyone considered to be an “urgent report”. Basically, after each case I completed, I had to quickly send in a report that explained in detail what happened. I didn’t understand why it was considered so important since we normally filled out the official reports on the point of closure. Our dear chief simply implied that it was quite important to have a more in depth file stored away, and I was already a few hours late on it. Reluctantly, I set my fingers on the keys and began to type away. But after a few sentences, I pushed myself away from my desk and spun around in frustration.

            I hated writing papers while in school. I hated writing the silly reports. Overall, I hated writing. It seemed pointless to me to sit there and waste time recording words when I could be out on the field finding that information.

            “Ah, I’m going crazy,” I muttered to myself and glanced at my computer. I needed to finish the silly paper. My father needed me, but I couldn’t focus. “Coffee. I need coffee,” I sighed and picked myself up from my chair. With that, I rushed across the hall to the small room that was usually occupied by those who didn’t have anything better to do than gossip about the other workers. For some, though, it was a breath of relief after a stressful day as they steel away to drink down the bitter black elixir that seemed to bring them back to life once more. For people like me, the room was an excuse. It was a lifeline that I could grasp onto for the few minutes I had to prepare the coffee. However, that same place could prove to be a disaster whenever the local mugs were left in the sink—unwashed.

 Scrunching up my nose in disgust, I stood there, debating whether or not I was desperate enough to wash someone else’s mess. I could feel the slight stretch in my perseverance and it was growing harder to put effort into menial tasks. I needed the coffee more than an excuse to get away from the report. Swallowing my discomfort, I stepped forward to pick up the cup on the top of the pile. As I did so, shuffling erupted in the midst of my own silence. In return, I jumped away from the sink as if it had been on fire. Glancing in the direction of the sound, my heart nearly dropped through the floor at the man standing before me. The man that I had seen about a week ago smirked my way, finding amusement in the fear radiating off of me. Just when I had stopped thinking about the group, he showed?

            “Hello, Miss Chae,” he greeted in his dull, lifeless voice.

            “Are you here to kidnap me again?” I inquired with a frown, trying to still my pounding heart.

            “What?” For a few seconds, he merely blinked until what I had said settled in on him. “Oh. Yes.” With that, he stepped forward and grabbed a hold of me. Without waiting another minute, I was blindfolded and my hands were tied together before I was ushered out of the building. If this was how every meeting with this gang was going to start out, then it was going to get old, fast. Couldn’t they be more creative?

            “Where am I going this time?” I questioned when the car started to move.

            “You’re not allowed to know,” a female’s voice sniffed, catching me off guard. So it wasn’t just the man kidnapping me?

            Giving up on trying to figure out what was happening, I leaned back in my seat and stared out at the darkness created by cloth pressing into my eyelids. As I sat there, silence spread between the three of us until the ride was halfway over. There, the two started to cautiously hold a conversation. And all I could make out was that they were arguing about safety. At one point, the man even whispered my name with a little too much force. The two then paused for a second and went back to their conversation. What had been planned to make them worry like this?

            “Get her out and let Dragon know that I think this is way too risky—even for him,” the girl instructed when the car eased to a stop. I knew that if I were to meet this woman in person—without a blindfold—there were a few words I would like to exchange with her.

            As I began to fume at this predicament, I heard the door click open and hands clasped around my arms. This time, however, my blindfold wasn’t randomly ripped off. Instead, the man continued to push me in an unknown direction. I had no clue where I was going. The sounds were different compared to that of a club. When we entered a building, soft music played in the background and the smell of coffee filled my nose. I continued to figure out where I was until I was forced to sit in a chair with a semi-soft cushion.

            “Ah, Miss Chae, it’s so nice to see you again,” Dragon’s uniquely cold voice filled my ears.

Unable to control myself, my heart began to pound and my hands began to shake. I felt like my composure had been stripped away when my sight was taken away. All I wanted to do was rip the cloth from my eyes. With that, I lifted my tied up hands towards my face.

            “No, don’t,” the man before me insisted, making it clear that I was being too obvious. Instantly, my hands froze in place. Was he wanting to frighten me again by blindfolding me this time? I was still deliberating over whether or not I should continue to press into Miss Lee, and he still felt the need to send me screaming.

            “Mr. Dragon, I ensure you that I have had my fair share for the moment. You are wasting yours and my precious time with all of this. I had some work to finish. If you are intending to pose more of a threat, then you can still your heart because it’s pointless.”

            “For the moment?” he scoffed. “Miss Chae, I don’t know what you are thinking, but I have brought you here for something entirely different. As you may know, D has his eyes and ears wherever he can get his hands on—which is almost everywhere. Despite the fact that there are cameras here, there are no sound bugs. So, I would like you to sit still and act pretty while I request something from you.”

            “What could you possibly request of a former nurse who is currently being used by the police department?” I snorted in disbelief. Why would he do such a thing after he so adamantly pushed me away the other day?

            “Because, dear Miss Chae, you weren’t merely a nurse, now were you?” he retorted, daggers filling my ears. Taken aback, I pressed my lips together and refused to speak. How could he have possibly known? “There’s a major gap between a nurse wanting to help the sick and a detective focusing on finding gangs that cause trouble.”

            “I don’t understand what you’re saying,” I managed.

            “You know very well what I’m saying.” The sound of his voice took a darker turn which made it clear that he didn’t want to play around. Swallowing, I straightened my back and waited for him to continue. However, I was only met with silence.

            “I admit that you are quite right. I do understand. However, Mr. Dragon, I don’t have a reason to relay any news to you.” At my response, the man slammed his hand down, forcing whatever lay on the table between us to clatter. A moment passed before he unexpectedly put his hand on the back of my head and yanked me forward until my chin barely hovered over his shoulder.

            “You will relay more information to me, Miss Chae, because I already know. You were studying to enter the police field a few years back until your father fell ill. Isn’t that right?” he hissed into my ear, fiercely over-enunciating his words. “But now that you’ve been able to get a taste of what the police system is like, you hate it, don’t you?” he continued. “Don’t you?”

            “Quite the contrary, Mr. Dragon,” I replied, berating myself at the way my voice shook. Apparently finding it funny, Dragon let his hand slip from the back of my head and his voice shook with laughter.

            “You’re hilarious, Miss Chae,” he laughed. However it wasn’t a true laugh. Instead, it was full of frustration. “I know for a fact that it’s not an ideal place to work. I’ve experienced it. So, I know that you’re willing to do anything to prove to them that you’re better than what they say. That you can do more than those with the correct credentials and training. Correct? That’s why you’re intruding on us. No one has ever gotten past the first point of contact. But! I find your entire case interesting. And that is why I’m requesting your help. I will give you a chance to poke your nose through my people under my protection. However, I need you to help me with a simple task. I need you to enforce discipline on my people that have threatened to break away.”

            “H-how am I supposed to do that?” My voice was barely above a whisper. I was finding it quite hard to speak the longer I was in his presence. Shouldn’t he have someone to punish his people? I was merely an untrained detective. I couldn’t possibly punish his people.

            “You will work with some I have picked out. You see, there is a clear rift in the middle of my people, and I want it mended. For some reason, I have a strong feeling that you would be perfect for such a job. Maybe it was because of the way they looked at you that night…” At that, he started to trail off on his own, straying from the main point.

            “Mr. Dragon—”

           “Do not deny this offer. Proving to the people in the field that you’re better is hanging on the line right now. If you want to tell me that I’m wrong, I will let Top take you away. But! If I’m right, then you will accept my offer and I will contact you shortly. What do you say?”

            “I’ll help,” I sighed. What did I think I was doing? Agreeing to help a man who was widely known as a murderer while blindfolded was a hilarious idea. However, if he stuck his word and helped me find D, then I would take any chance no matter how ridiculous the situation.

            “Great, now you can go. Top? Take her away, but don’t forget to give her back what you had taken.”

            “Alright,” the lifeless man grunted, reminding me that he had been around during the entire conversation. As I began to think about what he thought of all of this, I was instantly grabbed up from my chair and led away. 

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A/N: I'm worried about how this is going although it's just the second chapter. Any thoughts? ^^;