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Jung Daehyun's POV:

  Ahjumma is standing on the front steps of the house, arms crossed, with a suitcase sitting on the ground next to her. When she sees me, her face perks up and she holds up a soil-stained glove to wave at me. I wave back and start towards her.

  "Why do you have a suitcase, Ahjumma?" I ask her as I stop on the stair below her. "Are you planning on going somewhere?"

   She shakes her head, the smile remaining on her face.

   "No," she says. "You are."

   My eyebrows knit together in confusion. "What?" I say, confused. Where is she planning on taking me?

   She gives me a warm smile and holds out a hand to pat me on the shoulder. 

  "It's been wonderful housing a boy like you, Daehyun-ah," she tells me. "You're so polite and considerate, and you don't mind one bit in taking care of the errands I give you. But I have a suggestion for you, and I really want you to do this for me." 

  I have the sudden feeling that this will be more of a demand rather than a suggestion. 

  "Yeh?" I ask. 

  "Sarang has recently moved in alone in a place that's far from her aunt's home," she tells me. I already know this, as I had done my studying on her before I came here, but I nod as if this is new information to me. She pats my shoulder again. "It's been hard for her, living like that. And she has had to go through so many hard things in her life, already." 

  She says the next line so suddenly that I don't even have time to wonder why I don't feel annoyed when I hear about Sarang's life anymore. 

  "I want you to go live with her." 

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   I check the address on my phone one more time before looking back up at the small, two-level apartment building and setting my bag to the dank, pebbly ground. 

   Is this really it?

   The tiny building is located a fifteen to twenty minute walk from the flower shop and is near the local grocery and convenience stores, which I guess are pretty good advantages to living in this area. However, the walls of the place are lined with graffiti and the cement bricks that make them up are crumbling and corroded. The surrounding buildings are in the same condition. Loud, boisterous music blares dully throughout the neighborhood, and the faint smell of smoke plays around my nose.

  It reminds me a bit of how I grew up, going place to place, each foster home in an area simliar to this. Sarang couldn't possibly feel comfortable living here, not someone like her.

   I walk up to the front steps and assess the entrance. The hinges of the doors, I notice, are rusted over, and I know that when I open it, a giant creaking noise will greet me. 

  Does she even know if I'm coming today? If Ahjumma had only informed me of coming here today, did she even think of telling her as well? Or did she want it to be some pleasant surprise? 

  All I know is, if I come here to live with her, I will get more and more chances to carry out the plan that I'd had the moment I'd thought to come live in this town. To carry out the plan that I'd had ever since I was a child, living without my father by my side. 

  I look back at my cell and browse through my contacts, easily finding Sarang's number. My thumb hovers over the button for a moment, before I settle for sending her a text instead. 

   Hello, Sarang-sshi, I type carefully, I'm at your place right now. I don't know if Shin Mi Yung Ahjumma told you or not, but 

   "What are you doing just standing there?" a deep voice says out of nowhere, sounding vaguely annoyed. 

  I look up, startled, to see the familiar face of Bang Yongguk. He's carrying a large navy blue duffel bag over his right shoulder, and baggy sweats hang loosely over his muscled body. 

  "Yongguk-sshi," I say, raising my eyebrows at him, trying for my most innocent look. "What are you doing here?" 

   He nods his head to the building. "I'm going to be living here too," he says casually. Then he shoots a look at me, one that's almost challenging. "If that's alright with you."

   I stare back at him, dumbfounded. 

   Of course he wouldn't stand for me living alone with Sarang. He's practically obssessed with her, from what I've seen. His eyes follow her wherever he goes, and whatever she does suddenly becomes a great accomplishment through his perspective, like she deserves a medal for pouring water into a lily pot. I'd completely forgotten that he was a huge variable in my plan.

   And that is why, for now, to make him less aware of me, I have to act like he's the most pleasant delight that I've ever come across in my life. 

   I let my eyes light up and I grin at him. 

  "Thank you, Yongguk-sshi," I say, and I'm even surprised at how grateful I sound. 

   He stares back at me with a stupefied expression stamped on his face. 

   "Uh, why?" he asks. 

   "I was pretty nervous about how Ahjumma just suddenly told me to come live with Sarang-sshi," I explain to him. "I'm glad that you're going to be here, too. That way things won't be as awkward as I'd feared it would be." 

   He stares at me for a few more seconds, and then slowly gives in and nods his head. 

   "Yeah," he says uncertainly. Then he straightens and nods his head again, this time more briskly. "Yeah, you're welcome. I was worried about that, too, so I decided to come along." 

   Liar. 

   I nod and grin wider. Then I motion towards the building. "Is she home at the moment?"

   "Yeah," he says. "I already called to tell her that I'm coming, so she's expecting me. You, on the other hand, I have no idea what she's expecting." 

  "Ahjumma just told me to pack my things and come here, no questions asked," I say. "She didn't tell me anything else."

   He purses his lips and looks me up and down. Then he shrugs. 

  "You might as well just come in with me," he says. "And by the way, Sarang lives on the second level, not the first, so if you knock on this door, the landlord will answer."

   I immediately step back from the door and he smiles, suddenly having no trace of annoyance in his expression. He points to the side of the building. 

  "There are stairs there, if you didn't notice. It leads to the second level." 

  I pick up my bag and follow him as he walks towards the rusted black stairs and I can't help but notice his obvious familiarity with everything here. How many times has he been here? It must be quite a lot, because when we reach the top of the stairs, he takes out a tiny silver key from his pocket and inserts it into the doorknob. 

  "Sarang-ah!" he calls before he turns the knob, "I'm here with Daehyun-sshi!" 

  And as the two of us walk in, I suddenly wonder why I feel this pang in my chest. 

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Bang Yongguk's POV:

   Yes, I know that I can't stay here at Sarang's place forever.

  It's the same reason why I couldn't come to live with her in the first place; I just have too many jobs and too much responsibilities, plus I can't leave my dongsaengs at home alone without me. I'm the thing that's closest to a parent that they'll ever have, now that our parents are gone. 

  However, they were also the reason why Sarang couldn't live with all of us, when her aunt moved away for business purposes and Sarang decided that she wanted to stay here. We'd tried it for a while at first, but the problem turned out to be too much when we soon learned that a girl couldn't live with a group of five brothers. It's simply something that shouldn't be done.

  But for now, I will stay here anyways. 

  "Welcome!" Sarang's voice calls from her room. "I'll be out in a minute! I made some snacks on the counter so help yourselves!"

   Sure enough, there is a tray of biscuits and chopped fruit on the counter of the small space that is the kitchen. I start to walk towards it when I notice that Daehyun isn't following behind. 

   When I turn back, I see that he's simply looking around the apartment, seeming strangely fascinated and a bit curious. He's probably wondering how Sarang had made the inside of the place look so humble and light whereas the entire outside of the apartment looks like it will break down into crumbling pieces any second.

   Sarang has decorated the place in hues of peach, cream, and light blues and greens, with floral wallpapers and small potted plants placed on the two windowsills and atop the whitewood tables. Yellow light streams through the light pink curtains, bathing the place in a sort of calm serenity. I am familiar with it, considering the fact that I'd helped renovate the place.

   He must be a bit nervous though, to be in a place filled with such an obvious femininity. He must be wondering how he's really supposed to live here.

   I have to admit that I did feel a tad begrudged when Sarang told me that she'd agreed to Daehyun's living here. A tad.

   I'd kept thinking of that first day that he started working at the shop. How he'd looked at Sarang after she'd touched his shoulder. How it was so full of hate. A hate that I didn't understand.

  Now I'm not sure what I should think of him. After that day, I'd constantly come to the shop inbetween breaks at my other jobs and scrutinized the way he worked. He's a commendable worker, that's for sure, and he seems to know his stuff. It was just the way that he watched Sarang that bothered me. It seemed almost to me like he was a hawk watching an innocent rabbit. Like he was about to pounce at any moment, but there was something stopping him. What that was, though, is still unknown to me.

   And that is the reason why I'd told Sarang that I would live here in the first place. I am still uncertain of him, still untrusting of him. Unlike Sarang, who believed at first sight that he's a saint. 

   "What are you doing?" I ask him now, and he looks at me, raising his eyebrows. Before he can utter an answer, I nod my head at his bags. "Those can go in the guest room. Which we'll be sharing for now." 

  His reaction is obviously startled. 

  What did he expect, anyways? That I would just sleep in the kitchen or in Sarang's room? We're both men, so there shouldn't be a problem. 

   But he considers this new fact for a moment and then nods his head. "Okay. Where is it?" 

  I motion for him to follow me and I bring him to one of three doors in the middle of Sarang's room and the bathroom. The room is small, and it doesn't have a bed either, just pull-out mats that can be found in the closet along with a few quilts Sarang had knit, plus a couple pillows. 

  The only use for this room was mainly for when Sarang's aunt would come visit for a day or two, or when me or any of my brothers needed a place to sleep for a night, which explains the few things that decorate the room such as various posters of our differing interests or other things (movie posters from Himchan, a Jay Park poster from Youngjae, b-boy posters from Jongup and a basket of baseball and basketball and skateboard equipment from Junhong and I). Other than that, the room is practically empty. 

  I let my bag drop on the floor and point to the door of the closet. "You can put your stuff there. When you're done, just come out and we'll eat."

   He nods and I leave the room to look for Sarang.

   She's come out of her bedroom already and now stands in the kitchen, surveying the untouched tray of food she'd told us to help ourselves to. At the sound of my entrance, she turns to me and raises an eyebrow.

   "Not hungry?" she asks.

   I shake my head. "Nah, I'm plenty hungry," I say, grabbing a biscuit and popping it into my mouth. "I was just showing Daehyun-sshi to the guest room."

   She nods her head, then smiles. 

  "What?" I ask. 

   "It's nothing," she says, still smiling. "It's just...I'm happy." 

   Her smile is contagious. "Why so happy?" 

   She shrugs. "I feel...safer now. Secure."

  Excited questions tug at my mind. Because of me? Because I'm here? 

   Then suddenly her face lights up, smile stretching into a grin. Confused, I follow her eyes to the back of me, where Daehyun stands, looking sheepish. 

  He raises a hand and waves. "Hello," he says.

  And she pushes past me and takes hold of his arm, leading him into the kitchen. 

  "I wasn't sure you were going to come," she explains. "Mi Yung Ahjumma barely told me anything about this entire idea. But I'm glad you did. I prepared a lot for dinner, to welcome you..."

  She goes on and on, not casting a single glance back at me. 

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Jung Daehyun's POV:

  I have no idea how I'm supposed to make nice with this guy. 

  There's no mistaking the glare that I meet when I look in his direction. Bang Yongguk officially hates me. 

   It may be the fact that Sarang is spending so much of her time fussing over me and trying to make me feel welcome. She's placed so much food into my bowl while we eat and keeps asking me so many questions to "try and get to know me better and stop me from being so distant" most likely. The thing is, I'm not annoyed by it as I thought I would be. It's just that there are so many lies to make up as I continue to speak to her.

   I remind myself to write this all down as soon as dinner ends.

   "What are your hobbies?" Sarang asks. "Is there anything that you enjoy doing in your spare time?" 

   "Uh..." I say, wracking my brain for anything that would make me sound as innocent and polite as possible. 

   "You don't need to tell us," Yongguk says out of nowhere. He shoves a blob of rice into his mouth and washes it down with a slurp from his soup bowl. He drops it back on the table with a clatter, looking irritated.

   Sarang casts a scolding look at him, then faces me again. 

  "I like to play the guitar, paint, and, as you already know, garden," she shares, then gestures to Yongguk. "Yongguk-ah likes to play baseball and basketball and nag a lot." 

  Yongguk-sshi makes a noise at the back of his throat and slurps at his soup bowl again. When he swallows, he switches his glare from me to her. 

  "I don't nag," he says defensively, "I just like to be cautious." 

   Sarang scoffs, a sound that's the closest thing to irritation that I've ever heard from her.

  "It's a pretty repetitive and consistent and urgent way of just being cautious," Sarang interjects.

  They continue to glare at each other for a moment and I feel like if I eat the piece of food that's hanging in my chopsticks, I'll break some unknown tension in the atmosphere, and I don't feel like I want to have that responsibility. 

  Finally, I sigh and settle with saying the truth. 

  "I like to take pictures," I say. Ahjumma knows this already, so it shouldn't be a big deal if Sarang knows about this as well. And if I tell her that I like to draw, Yongguk might scoff or Sarang might ask if she could see some of my drawings, and that's not simply not an option, considering the fact that most of the drawings I've been making nowadays are of her. 

    Sarang immediately looks back at me, eyebrows raised in delight. 

  "Really?" she asks. "That sounds wonderful! What do you like to take pictures of?" 

  "The sky," I say without hesitation. 

  Sarang pauses for a moment. When I look at her, her face breaks out into a small, almost tired smile. 

  "My appa loved the sky," she says. "He would bring me out on a bad day and take me to that little beach shore just outside of town and we would lie down and just look at it."

  Even Yongguk is quiet. 

  Of course, she asks if she can see my photos. I tell her later; we are eating now. I don't tell her how begrudged I feel now. Because now, whenever I look at the sky, it won't just me my mother that I'm thinking of. 

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  I cannot sleep. 

   Yongguk-sshi was not a very welcome roommate to begin with, and the fact didn't improve much at all. He'd set his mat the farthest way away possible from where I lie, and now sleeps with his back turned in my direction, looking like some angry black border that cannot be crossed without any consequence. 

  Also, to add to that, he snores. Quite monstrously, as well. I'm even beginning to think he's awake and doing it on purpose just to annoy me. 

  I push off the thin knitted blanket that Sarang had provided for the both of us and stare up at the ceiling. Sarang had decorated it with little glow-in the dark star stickers, which give off a faint luminescence. 

   I had eaten home-made food today. Food that wasn't just ramyun, but actual food that had taken real time to make, real effort. And someone had placed the food in my bowl and encouraged me to eat more. 

  I'd thought that only happened in those corny dramas that Ahjumma loved watching so much. Of course, she'd wanted me to eat food that she made, but the agreement when she let me rent her basement was that I was to feed myself, and that was how I liked it. Naturally, I just declined her offers. 

   Today I simply had to eat Sarang's food. Because what would they think if all I did was lock myself in the guest room and eat by myself? What would Yongguk think? Certainly not good things. 

  Will that be how it will continue from now on? Will we always eat side by side for every meal, again and again? 

  I can't even imagine it. It's unthinkable. 

  I will only be here for a matter of days before I leave, after I carry out the deed that I'd originally came to do. Then all that's left to do will be to run. 

  Running. 

  That's all I've ever really done after my father died, isn't it? No, not died. He didn't die. He was murdered. 

  And it was practically as if Sarang had pulled the trigger herself. Injected  him with those poisonous needles herself. She killed my father. 

  She did. 

  I can't stand the feeling of just lying here while this brute beside me snores his brains out. I have to get up, do something. I have no idea what that something is just yet, but I'll find out soon enough. 

  I get up as slowly as I possibly can, and when I soon find out that no sound possible would wake up Yongguk, I pull on a sweater and leave the the room. 

  Just as I'm about to look for my shoes, I look at the door next to the guest room that I'd just exited. Someone had painted intricate designs of crawling vines and tendrils with budding flowers and other light blooms around the border of it. Sarang told me earlier that she enjoyed painting. 

   Right behind that door lies Sarang, sleeping. Devoid of the world and anything around her. I can go inside right now and take her life then and there. I haven't even unpacked any of my things yet; I can just as easily kill her and then take off on my bike, and no one will ever see me again. She killed my father. She killed him. 

  I walk to the kitchen and take a knife hanging from the dishrack. It has a serrated edge, the kind Sarang had used earlier to slice the bones from the meat we ate. 

  As if on cue, my heart begins to accelerate, so much that I can feel the thumps all the way to my temples.

  The door swings open easily, silently. It's almost as if it's inviting me inside, welcoming me to the task that I am about to carry out. The sliver of the door I'd opened casts a streak of moonlight across Sarang's sleeping face. She looks so vulnerable when she's asleep, so innocent. So unknowing. 

   Just as I'm about to step inside entirely, I hear a sudden rustling noise. 

  My eyes immediately catch the form of a dark figure in the room, standing directly behind Sarang's bed. He's wearing a dark sweater with his hood covering his face. 

   My breaths come to a stop.

....Appa?

  Before I can say or do anything, the figure turns around and jumps out of the open window, the pink curtains blowing darkly behind him. 

   I rush to the window and stick my head outside. Wind blows at my face and ruffles my hair, but I ignore it and search the empty ground beneath me. 

  There's no one there. Almost as if he's just disappeared into the night, into the shadows. 

   ...How...?

   "Daehyun-ah?" 

  I turn around to see Sarang sitting up in bed, face looking pale and instantly alert. She assesses the open window behind me. 

  "What...?"

   Suddenly her gaze drops to my hand, and if possible, her face grows even whiter. I look down to where she's looking and realize that I am still holding the knife from her kitchen. 

  I look back up to he pale face.

  "D-Daehyun-ah?" 

Thank you so much for reading the eigth chapter of "Love in Murder!" 
I'm sooo sorry I took so long; I've been pretty busy lately, plus all these comebacks ... AGH I couldn't update with all of this goin' on, mianhae~ How did all these comebacks happen all at once??
Excuse the mistakes I made, juseyo! Haven't proofread :S 
~TheNightCircus~