It was a dark moonless night, the time somewhere around two in the morning. At this point in the night the bars were closing for the night and sending the remaining patrons stumbling home. One of those drunk patrons was a man named Lee Chung-su, a scruffy looking man in a rumpled three piece suite. His bloodshot eyes were dropping dangerously as he stumbled along the mostly bare streets of Seoul heading back to his home. Already too drunk to realize his surroundings, he unconsciously took a wrong turn and found himself lost in an alleyway far from where he was suppose to be heading. Laughing at his stupidity he turned to find a main road when he found his path blocked by two shadowed figures. Chung-su reached into his jacket to grip the gun he kept there as he made his way towards the pair. One of the men stood at the end of the alleyway acting as a lookout while the other had his eyes set on the approaching man. When he was close the figure spoke.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we have a wandering sheep in our parts." He said in a dark and humorous tone. "You lose your way?"

"Hyung." The other warned from his spot. "There is no time for games tonight. You remember what he said…"

"Yeah, yeah." The older responded back in irritation. "Stupid leader status because of a couple of days."

Chung-su was well past his tolerance level, but he was quick to recognize the two voices. He knew that he was in serious trouble, and if he was right, well into the depths of hell. He was about to pull out his gun when the figure was suddenly in front of him. The lighting was poor, but he could see that familiar and frightening smirk on the other's face before the well known silver gun was placed against his head. A second later there was a loud bang and his dead body slumped to the ground, a perfectly aimed bullet hole in the center of his head. The man who fired the gun, although point blank, had not a single drop of blood on his body. The second figure came over to inspect the body.

"How is it you can fire that right at someone's head and not get anything on you?" The man complained as he began searching the jacket for a wallet and other items.

"Because I am perfect." The older replied arrogantly before replacing the gun in his holster. Lifting a foot he rolled the dead body to its side. "Check for tattoos."

"Yes hyung." The other replied as he pulled the jacket partially off and rolling up the sleeve of the shirt up. He took a moment to look at the tattoo and then up to the other man.

"He's a member of M." He said with a hard tone in his voice.

"I figured as much. Damn, are those idiots trying to try and take this territory or was he too drunk to realize where he was?"

"I think it was the latter Hyung but we should go back and tell Leader-shi about this."

"Fine."

The man gave a kick to the dead body before the other on the ground grabbed everything they needed. Making sure there was no prints or evidence on the body the pair took off down the alleyway, heading back to their base and leader to tell him of the news.

*~*

Kim Jongwoon knelt down to the covered body and slowly raised the sheet. Making a disdained face he dropped the sheet back down and rose to his feet. Brushing off any dirt on his pants he looked at officer taking notes about the scene. It was obviously a new officer because he had a distressed look on his face and there was a bit of green on his cheeks. Jongwoon felt a little sympathy towards the young officer, but he did not display it. Clearing his throat he watched as the man jumped and whipped his head towards the detective. Realizing who it was, the officer quickly bowed his head.

"What can you tell me so far officer?" Jongwoon asked as he looked down at the covered body.

"Name: Lee Chung-su. Age: 35. He is a resident in the Seoul region and is unemployed. There was a tattoo of a M on his right arm so we believe he was a member of the gang M. Other than that, we don’t know anything until we can do an autopsy." The officer replied as he went through his notes. He winched again when Jongwoon lifted the sheet again but turned his gaze away.

"Very good, then lets get him to the station and have Doctor Park take a look at him. Perhaps she can find something else." Jongwoon decided as he dropped the sheet a second time. "Did you find anything around the area yet?"

"No sir, who ever picked him off was good to take all the shelling with them." The officer replied as he looked at his notes. "It was a clean job."

"Okay finish up here and get me the report soon."

"Yes sir."

The officer bowed to Jongwoon but the detective ignored it. Making his way over to the chief he sighed. He already had a feeling who was behind this killing. After all there were some facts that were as clear as day even if the evidence was not.

"Chief." He said with a polite bow.

"Ah, Jongwoon-shi there is someone here I want you to meet." The chief, a plump older man said as he waved his hand towards another person.

The second person standing by the chief is a few years younger than Jongwoon. His suite was cleanly pressed and his face shaved and clean. He looked like he was an actor straight out of a movie that an homicide detective. When the younger man saw him looking he offered a small bow.

"Hello, my name is Kim Kibum." He introduced himself in a deep voice. "I have been assigned to this case along with you."

"Kim Jongwoon." The other replied with a small glance over of his new partner. "Why have you been assigned to my case?"

"I have been studying up about both the M and T gangs through out my entire academy days. When I graduated they thought my fresh view would be a good view on this particular assignment."

Jongwoon made a face as he looked away from the younger man. He had been on this case for years now and he didn't need some snot nose brat telling him what he needed to know. He already knew everything he needed to about the two gangs. After all he was the one who has been on the case since the beginning. But he knew better than to argue with a decision made by his superiors. He turned away from the two men and went back to the scene of the crime. A new officer was waiting for him.

"Can you tell me if the attack was mutual or one sided." He asked as he pulled out his notepad.

"Based off of the blood splatters, it looks like the victim was surprised and did not defend himself. There does not seem to be a second trace of blood. However it does look like he was reaching for his gun. So he may have realized something was amiss and went for his weapon. The prints on the gun are rather fresh but I'm not sure why he did not draw it."

"So the victim either did not see his attacker or was killed before he could act."

"Well there was a stench of alcohol on his body before they pulled it away for the autopsy. Perhaps he was too intoxicated to react in a timely manner."

"Perhaps, any idea who his attacker might have been."

"Based off the fact that he was a member of M I wouldn't doubt if you are looking at an attack from someone in T. Though based off how well his cleanup was, the murder was one who is good at covering his tracks. It'll be hard to pinpoint it to just one."

Jongwoon nodded his head but he had an idea of which members it could have been. There are few in T with such skills. And they ranked high in the group. He patted the second officer on the shoulder before turning towards his new partner. The younger man was quiet with a stern look on his face. He didn’t look like the type to jump into a mess and for that Jongwoon was grateful. He has lost a few good partners who were to impulsive and crossed someone in either T or M that resulted in death. Walking over he cleared his throat to the younger.

"Seeing as there is probably nothing else we can gather from here until we have more evidence, lets go get a cup of coffee and get to know each other. If you are my new partner I should know a bit about you and perhaps you can show me some new lead I have not seen." Although he doubted that last part.

"Yes Jongwoon-shi."

Jongwoon nodded and turned to the chief.

"We shall take our lead. I'll come and look at the autopsy results when they come in. If there is anything else I will have my phone on hand."

"Very good." The older man replied as he waved the pair off.

"Come along Kibum-shi." Jongwoon said as he walked away.

The younger man glanced at his partner than at the chief. The old man merely waved him along and Kibum and to jog to catch up with his partner. Jongwoon barely spared the other a glance as he went over to where he parked his car. He waved a hand to tell the other to get in before he sat in the driver seat. Once the pair were ready he pulled away from the crime scene and onto the main road. Kibum finally spoke up at that point.

"So…where are we going?"

"To a café that I happen to enjoy. It has good coffee and it will give us the opportunity to talk."

Kibum glanced at the older man. His sentences were not rude but short and to the point. Kibum was able to feel that his new partner probably was not impressed to have to work with someone. But according to his records, he was the best to help out. So Kibum decided to let the other man to his thoughts and relaxed into the seat. He had to admit, coffee sounded good right about now.

The pair sat quietly as they drove to the place that Jongwoon spoke of. The senior detective finally pulled into a brightly color café and parked the car. Kibum followed him out and glanced around.

"Shinee Café?" He read out loud as he looked at the sign.

"Its pretty popular. But like I said, has really good coffee, even if its cliental is not normal for me."

Kibum was curious about that comment as he followed the other into the café. The inside of the café was also brightly colored and had cheerful music playing from the speakers. The chairs and tables were different colors that it looked like a rainbow crashed into the room and decided to stay. Kibum was a little overwhelmed by it but he found a table for them as Jongwoon ordered them two coffees. When he came back he sat the warm coffee in front of his partner.

"Thanks." Kibum muttered as he took a sip. He had to admit, colorful décor aside, the coffee at the place really was good.

"No problem. Now there is something you need to know here." Jongwoon began to say.

Kibum met his eyes to show he was listening.

"This café has a very interesting cliental and you are going to see people that you normally don’t. And you need to understand that no matter who you see here, you do not act."

Kibum was confused. He wondered who came in here that was so important that he couldn’t act. He was about to ask a question when the door to the café opened and a new customer came walking in. Kibum glanced up to see who it was before his hand automatically flew to his gun. He would have jumped out of his seat if not for the tight grip on his arm.

"I said not to react!" Jongwoon snapped at him.

"But that’s…" Kibum snapped back.

"Its Kim Ryeowook from the M gang, I know." Jongwoon finished calmly. "He comes here every so often to pick up food that the gang normally orders."

Kibum was about to say something, most like to inquire how the older knew about this when the door opened a second time and a new person walked in.  His eyes widened in surprise.

"Lee Sungmin!" He hissed.

"From the T gang, I know." Jongwoon replied. The grip on his arm was still there and tight.

Kibum watched as both men from rival gangs nodded to each other tersely before going to the counter. A rather young man with long hair smiled at them brightly as he placed both their orders on the counter. Each gang member paid for the meal before they exited the café. They never even glanced at the two detectives sitting at the table nearby. The scene only took a couple of minutes, but to Kibum it seemed like a life time. He was waiting for someone to whip out a gun or start up a fight, but both men were polite if not a little tense. He waited until both were far from the café before turning to his partner.

"What the hell is this place!" He cried loudly. "Are you telling me that both members of the T and M gang can come waltzing in here all the time and you don’t bat a ing eye at them!? What is your problem!?"

"This is neutral territory. It is the one place where both gangs, and the police, can meet up without anything happening." Jongwoon explained as he sipped his coffee. "And you can go and tell the chief all about it, he knows about this place. We are allowed to be in here because we promise not to arrest anyone we may see. But we can also gather information here about the rival gangs. So it’s a treaty we like to keep."

"Who the makes a treaty like that!"

"TVXQ." A new voice said. Kibum looked up to see another worker of the café in front of them. "They created the neutral territory as a place where both gangs can have meetings as well as get food or supplies they may need. It was done so there wouldn’t be any bloodshed when they needed to talk."

"You beat me to it Onew." Jongwoon said with a sigh.

"Sorry." The man said without looking apologetic. "Did you need a refill on that coffee?"

"Might as well. I have some explaining to do."

Onew nodded his head and left to go get some coffee for the pair. Kibum was still trying to wrap his brain around the fact that the most powerful gang in all of Korea and Japan was also involved with this whole mess. Jongwoon patiently watched as the information flew through his new partner's brain. It was always a lot for a new person to take in. The new coffee had arrived at that point and Jongwoon took a sip as he saw his partner was ready to talk.

"How long have you known of this place?" He finally asked.

"A while. I came across it during one of my first cases. I was explained all the rules by the leader of TVXQ himself and sworn to keep the peace while I was in here. It was a little difficult at first to do so, but I learned that in order to get the information about the big guns in both gangs you had to play nice with them. And they were fine with me going after the small fry when they got to rowdy at times."

"You've met Jung Yunho?"

"A few times. This is neutral territory of course so he and his inner circle come here a lot of times as well. And when he needs to drag both leaders from the other gangs in to talk this is where they met. Of course when that happens we the police are not allowed inside. Oh all the wonderful coffee I have to miss out on…"

"This isn't a game!"

Jongwoon's eyes narrowed at the other. He leaned in very close so Kibum could tell he was serious.

"Look rookie, the only reason I'm telling you all of this is because you are my new partner. I could care less if you want to go all righteous and try to drag them down but you will die where you are standing. I have been on their tail for years and I've seen a lot of good men die because of them. Men that are far better than you. But if you want to live to see tomorrow than I suggest you do as I say."

Kibum's mouth narrowed into a thin line.

"I understand." He gritted out.

"Good. Now, how about I fill you in on what you don’t know and maybe you can use that brain of yours to show me why I should give you any bit of a damn that the chief does."