This chapter dedicated to pressfitsprit cuz she's been reading my stories for a long time now and I'd like to thank her appreciation for the skytempo ship! 

THURSDAY

His lips were suddenly on her ears the moment they entered the club, talking loud enough for Chaerin to understand a few coherent words. The banging of loud music only made the conversation difficult but she got the gist of what Seunghyun was saying. It went somewhere along the lines of ‘watching you’ and ‘be safe’.

They made it inside the underground den with relative ease. He simply called for the blonde bimbo when they arrived in the café and they were instantly led to this pit of dancers and party animals. The club is decent enough though, not the kind of dirty den that Chaerin was expecting.

The entire area of the den was engulfed by the dance floor, a few scattered couches, an elevated section for the VIPs and the bar at the far corner. Chaerin estimates the area to be around a seven hundred square meters.  It surprised her that some of the people inside are from the upper crust of society, recognizing some prominent figures too. The duo decided to settle on a far corner, where the music slightly dies down.

“What the hell are these kids doing here? They should be in their dorms this time of the week!”

“It’s called social life, in case you didn’t know.”

“This is ridiculous! There are es here!!!”

Seunghyun chuckled, “Some kiddos are checking you out. Might want to entertain them?” Chaerin looked into the former’s direction and found a bunch of upperclassmen giving her the looks.

She was dressed to blend in the crowd (thanks to Seunghyun’s suggestion). Her chocolate hair was hidden under a straight jet black wig that ended on her shoulders. The thin material of her haltered and backless top made her an irresistible prey. It clung carelessly on her s and ended just above her navel, the string holding the piece together on her back is merely a gold chain. Yes, she’s definitely a candidate for Ms. of the Year.

“Hmm, amateurs.” She mumbled confidently flipping her hair.

“We need to split up now and search, you babysit them later perhaps.”  This actually made Chaerin laugh and the inspector stopped in his tracks and eyed her curiously.

“That was a first.”

“We’re here partly for fun right? Might as well make the most out of it.” she shrugs.

“Just be careful, I’ll be right behind you.”

True to his words, Chaerin was pushed into the crowd but she still felt Seunghyun’s strong presence and attention, bordering to a stalker’s obsession, if she didn’t know better. His scrutinizing gaze is surprisingly her comfort tonight and she’ll rely on his instincts and instructions, for now.

She starts to feel and search the crowd for some clue or someone who’d catch her attention. They’ve never had an artist’s sketch or even a DNA of the killer, so they were a blank slate tonight. They’d hope she becomes too irresistible that danger would come prancing her way.

She lingered by the bar to observe some lonely man who might stand out, but she found none. By her fifth tequila shot, her earpiece made a soft ruffle of noise, pressing it more to her, she heard Seunghyun giving her the go.

“Time to move to the dancefloor Miss Lee.”

She obliged and moved towards the center. As the rush of an upbeat music was mounting, she closed her eyes and allowed the rhythm to take her. Thanking the alcohol, she began gyrating her hips on her area and a spotlight suddenly turned its focus on her. ing her hips here and there at precise moments and raising her hands in a carefree manner, she’s giving the crowd something to appreciate tonight. By then she felt the stare of Seunghyun once more, his presence very demanding though she couldn’t exactly see him.

By instinct, Chaerin turned to search and meet his eyes while still lusciously grinding on her spot. From a far, she can see the evolution of his expression from collective calmness to an inviting and dark smirk.  But it’s a good kind of darkness she’d be tempted to dive in.  

She could feel the invisible force of his stare crawling into her skin, stretching her insides, undressing her and spreading her out as she begins to feel her pulse and her skin was suddenly too suffocating she couldn’t breathe.

But their moment was cut off when a dark haired stranger started to approach Chaerin. From her peripheral vision, she could make out a man in a brown leathered jacket, the varying party lights and the spotlight on her distorting the image of his face. Whether it was on pure law enforcer’s instincts or a result from the alcohol, her body briefly became stiff, and sensed danger from this man.

Seunghyun may have also noticed her abrupt reaction as he began to instruct her to continue dancing and flirting.

“Run a hand on your hair and continue to dance.” She obliged nervously. “ your lips and stare at him.”

 Chaerin hesitated.