“Name: Changjo
DOB: November 16
Age: 23 years
Code: WAN143S-OL95
Skill: Kendo, Judo, Jujitsu, Taekwondo & Close range
Charge: Theft, assault, drugs, gang relations, & murder
Location: Seoul
Find him and bring him to me. Any questions?” the man in a white tailor shirt asked a group of investigators sitting around in a circle table. Looking around he saw many grieve faces filled with anger and sincerity.

“No? Good. Meeting adjourned.”

As the investigators piled out of the room, he went up to a young man in his newly pressed uniform with a manila folder in one of his hands. “Sir,” the latter addressed him.

“I noticed you were a bit flustered about the new assignment, newbie,” he informed the younger.

“It’s just, why are you looking for him now, Commander?” he asked.

“Because, Lieutenant,” replied the commander. “He finally decided to return to South Korea. Seoul, nonetheless.”

“But aren’t you curious on why he returned after only a short amount of time?” questioned the former. The commander looked at the latter and eyed him. Looking down at his name tag, he couldn’t help but form a lopsided smile.

“Lieutenant Lee Byunghun,” he said as he looked at the latter directly in the eye. “Walk with me.”

Silence was met as the two sat down in the commander’s office opposite each other with nothing between them but two cups of tea. Slowly sipping his tea, Byunghun dared not to meet his commanding officer’s eyes lest his anxiety overtook him.

“How old are you?” the superior asked him.

“Twenty-five, sir,” he replied with sweaty palms.

“When did you join our forces?”

“It’s been a few months, sir.”

“Where did you transfer from?”

“Oregon State Forces, sir.”

“Why did you change your name?”

Byunghun looked at him with wide-eyes and for a moment he almost lost his composure. “I beg your pardon, sir. M-my name?”

“If I remember correctly, you were there three years ago,” he suspected as he put down his finished cup of tea. Scooting his chair a bit back, he reached for a manila folder in his desk and slid it in front of Byunghun.

Eyeing the skin-toned object labeled “Dismissed” and the contents spilling from it, he looked up to his superior with eyes of discontent. Byunghun’s hands began to shake as he reached for it and carefully pried it open.

Inside he saw a familiar picture of what he used to carry around in his wallet. Every one of the six inside the picture would; save one for an extra person who took the picture with them.

“You didn’t erase every information now, did you, L.Joe?” Gulping down his saliva, Byunghun didn’t know what to say or what to do. Instead, he sat there confused and lost. “You forget I was there. The night he ran away from us.”

*Well, .* Releasing his breath that he had been holding in, Byunghun relaxed his muscles and loosened his uniform so that he was a bit more comfortable.

“Didn’t think I would run into a BAP member. Their leader nonetheless,” he stated as he crossed his legs and propped his forehead on the tips of his fingers with closed eyes. Letting out another breath, he slowly opened his eyes and faced his once enemy. “Bang Yongguk.”

Yongguk smiled at the youngster before him. “I’m still your superior, whether you like it or not. Not to mention your elder.”

Byunghun eyed him with distaste and scoffed. “Elder superior, my .”

“Where is he, L.Joe?” Yongguk questioned tossing away his superfluous comment.

“Why the hell should I tell you?”

“Because,” he began as he leaned in with his elbows propped on the table with intertwined hands. “I know she’s alive. And I know where she is.”

Byunghun stared at him with round eyes that held his disbelief. “Bull! You and I know of all people that she didn’t survive.”

“You really think she died? You really think that Beast would have left her to die? To rot away and have him breathing still? No,” Yongguk stated as he shook a finger. With the same finger, he pointed it at Byunghun, “He breathes because she lives.”

“Save your lies for hell.”

“You really don’t get it? Changjo breathes and lives and hasn’t been hunted down by Beast or the Blood Flame yet because she lives. Because she is safe and sound under their care that he still has a life.”

“What about the funeral? The ashes and bones that were scattered. The blood we stained our own hands with. The hearts that were broken that night. The days we spent grieving for her loss! What about those, huh?!” exclaimed Byunghun as he stood up with hands slamming down on Yongguk’s desk.

Yongguk didn’t flinch and stared at the space in front of his eyes. “Sit down, Byunghun. I didn’t expect you to get all emotional about one little topic.”

“Don’t you ever ing bring it up again then,” he snarled as he began to walk out the door but stopped as he parted the door just as Yongguk began to speak.

“Sung Byulhee,” he began. “Her death was a decoy.”

“I just ing said to keep your ing lies for hell. Did you lose your hearing, old man?”

Yongguk eyed Byunghun who looked calm and composed but his white knuckles on the doorknob proved otherwise. “The body the DNA investigators found didn’t match the ones of her blood sample they took a month before.”

“What?” He now had Byunghun’s full attention.

“It wasn’t a match.”

“What? Then why the did we have all that I just explained about?!” he complained in anger. But Yongguk knew better that his voice contained remorse in it.

“Because they were paid. Paid to be silent and feed lies.” Looking up at Byunghun, Yongguk saw the confusion and anger. “By the nation.”

“What did you just say?” Byunghun questioned as he walked back to the chair he had been sitting in earlier.

“They thought it would draw him out, but it only pushed him away. It grew worse as word of his departure to China came to their ears. They were outraged but nonetheless shameful of their actions. They decided to disregard the case and erased all contents of Changjo from nation board. Or whatever was left.”

“And how the hell do you know if she’s still alive?” Byunghun questioned as he slowly began to descend towards his chair.

Yongguk tossed another folder in front of him and sat back in his chair with his eyes closed. The younger eyed the beige booklet and looked up towards the elder. “Just open it, L.Joe.”

He carefully opened the booklet and browsed at the fillings as his eyes grew wider and wider. Without another word he ran out of the office leaving behind the traits.

Yongguk let out a sigh as he unraveled his fingers and reached for the object Byunghun was holding onto earlier. Looking at the photograph he couldn’t help but trace his fingers across her features. He would do them so often when she was before him.

The porcelain feeling beneath his touch gave a honey glow to her crème face. The way she would let out a soft giggle and pull away from the ticklish feeling. The way she smiled brightly up at him. He missed them all.

But soon he would see them again. All those wonderful dreams and thoughts would become a memory soon enough.

“Like old times right, Byulhee?” he said as he smiled to himself then let his eyes wander to the date the picture was taken.

It’s only been less than a week since then.