"Wear this and don't hesitate to inform me in case you got something, are we clear?"
Seiji was only looking at the watch Shane gave him a while ago. Why is he only the one she's trusting? Why not Yohanne? Why not Yi or Eun since he's the one she likes?
Obviously because she know him more than the others.
"You might drown in your own thoughts, Se," Yohanne snapped him back into reality. He haven't even noticed that he's already sitting beside him. "You're thinking too deep lately. Is there any problem?"
Seiji shook his head. "Nothing, hyung. Where are the others?"
"Probably in the room," Yohanne answered. "So what did you and Shane do inside the room a while ago?"
Seiji almsot chocked by Yohanne's sudden question. His face even turned red, so he had immediately avert his gaze. Among the boys, only Yohanne knows that Seiji likes Shane since they were close with each other.
"N-nothing!" Seiji immediately said.
"Then why are you blushing?" Yohanne scooted near him and playfully elbowed his ribs.
"Ah-you know why, hyung!" Seiji whined. "But really! We didn't do anything."
Yohanne cocked a brow in disbelief.
"C'mon, Se! You know I'm not buying it. I'm your hyung. Just tell me! I won't tell anyone, I promise," Yohanne's grin went wider.
"It's the truth, hyung!" Seiji already looks pissed and Yohanned only laughed at him. "Stop it already."
"Yeah-yeah! You don't have to tell me right away. Just inform me if you're ready."
Seiji grabbed the pillow beside him and flicked it against Yohanne's face. "I said stop!"
"Hahaha I got it! I got! Haha So? Where is she?" He asked once again and Seiji groaned.
"I don't know. Maybe with Eun hyung. He's the one she likes, remember?"
"But Chandria is the one Eun likes, remember?" Yohanne asked back, imitating his tone of voice. "You still have the chance tho. She's your childhood friend, after all."
Seiji bitterly smiled. "I don't know. She can't like me back since she knows her sister likes me."
He was looking at Marlan who's talking at Chan and Cheol in the veranda.
"Then at least tell her what you truly feel," Yohanne nudged his shoulder.
"Should I start with Shane or with Marlan?"
"I suggest to talk to Marlan first. At least she knows what you think about her. Make her understand."
"Tsk! I still don't have time for that. We still have problem to solve to clear everything."
Yohanne nodded in agreement. "Thanks to Shane. We're somehow safe."
Seiji glanced at him. Nothing's suspicious about him so far.
"Hyung? What if the murderer happen to be one of us, what will you do?" Yohanne looked at him in askance.
"Why? Is there someone you suspect?"
"Can I trust you, hyung?"
"Of course you can," Yohanne secured, but Seiji isn't entirely convinced.
It can still be Yohanne, right?
"Thanks, hyung, " he whispered.
The two of them were only in the living room and meanwhile, the others came and joined them except for Shane who's working with some stuffs again with the other managers.
They've already turned over those two impostors to the police for further investigation. Sunho's grandfather just arrived from the States and had arranged search warrants for all houses and buildings all over the place but there's still no signs of them. They even used the flash drive to locate them but it's no use.
There's already a theorized place to where Sunho might be hidden but then they still failed. That place was nothing but just an abandoned old building. It seems like the murderer already planned everything from the beginning.
"Three slanting marks," Shane gritted her teeth as she look at the two corpse in front of her. "Same wound Taesoo oppa had."
Those were the bodies of those two guards whom Seiji said to be with him that time when they were at the parking lot. She's right, Seiji is supposedly the next victim and when they failed she was hunted instead.
"Blood on post," Shane whispered to herself. "What's that supposed to mean?" She looked down and turned away. Sebastian covered the dead bodies with white cloths and followed Shane outside the morgue.
"Well? Found anything?"
Shane's eyes widened when she saw Marlan beside the car together with her two body guards.
"One-chan? What are you doing here?!" She asked sternly and sprinted towards her. She then opened the car's door and pushed her sister in.
"Yah! What was that for?!" Marlan could only whine. Shane followed her inside and shut the door close.
"I told you to stay away from this mess!" She yelled. "Do you want to be hunted as well? Goodness, sis! I already having a hard time protecting my boys. Please don't add up. It's already too much!"
"I-I'm sorry," Marlan stuttered. "I didn't think everything is already that serious."
"Forget it! Just ride home with me. There's no one here you can trust!" She tapped her watch to check if anyone of her guards got changed again and thankfully, no one was.
"Come," she pulled Marlan out of the car and hurriedly walked towards her car. Sebastian followed them inside together with those same guards she's with the last time.
"Let's go," she commanded and Sebastian started the engine.
She secretly swiped her watch to check the boys. They're complete in one room. That's good! She looked at Marlan when she noticed that something's bothering her.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I'm scared, Shane," her voice went soft. "I'm scared that I might loss you."
Shane only gave her an assuring smile. "You don't have to worry about me, one-chan. I can handle myself! Worry about Seiji instead."
Marlan pouted. "Don't remind me. I've already moved on."
"Really?" Shane teased and the both of them chuckled.
"Ian? Clark?" Marlan looked at the two guards behind them.
"Yes, milady?" The two guards answered in chorus.
"Protect my sister, arasseo?"
"Of course, my lady."
They smiled and Shane grimaced. She might be impressed that her sister knew her guards' names which she haven't actually cared to know about even if Ian and Clark were already working for her for years now. She rolled her eyes and dialed Seiji's number to check on them.
Weeks had passed but they still haven't found Sunho even a single thread of his shadows but they didn't give up. Sunho's grandfather called all his trusted generals from the other countries to help them find his grandson but as crazy as it may sound, they haven't seen anything up until now.
Shane crumpled the map she's holding as she was looking at the screen where the generals are marking the place they've searched. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes together before leaving
The people behind these sure are intelligent.
Shane pressed the button and the elevator opened. She entered and it closed.
"I just have to outsmart you then and let's see who's better."
The boys were in the garden, playing with Shane's chocolate coat labrador retriever, Lacy. Lacy was about Xyler's size and was a playful, loving dog who loves licking Eun's face.
"Wahhh!" Eun squealed when Lacy bumped him from behind causing him to fall down the ground. Just then, Lacy went on top of him and stared licking his face again.
"Yah-pweh! Mallaji! Mallaji! Guys, help me!" Eun struggled to free from Lacy's deadly licks but the others were only laughing while watching them.
Xyler sat down and looked at the dark sky. "It will rain soon." He whispered to himself and looked at the others. "Please be safe, guys."
Yohanne heard what he said but he only brushed it away.
The sky turned even darker and small peck of rain started to drop so they had to go back inside.
"Yah! Lacy, I told you to stooop!" Eun moaned as he was trying to free himself from Lacy's grip on his legs. She's pretty big, so he couldn't just escape that easily.
"It looks like she likes you a lot, oppa," everyone turned at Shane who's walking towards their direction.
"Sure do," Cheon snickered. "Like owner, like pet."
Shane stopped at one pace and for a moment, the atmosphere went awkward between Eun and her. Seiji elbowed Cheon on the ribs just then he realized what he just did.
"Ah-I mean... Lacy likes Eun and all of us just like you like... us," Cheon's lips twitched.
"Right!" Seiji chuckled.
They could see her face turning red now.
"I nailed it, didn't I?" Cheon scratched an eyebrow.
"A-Anyway, Yi oppa? Sunho oppa's grandfather would like to talk to you after lunch in his office. D-Don't worry, I'll be accompanying you."
Yi nodded and, yeah! Everything's still awkward, so Shane excused herself. Seiji sighed and looked at Yohanne with a shrug.
Around eight o'clock in the evening when Xyler and Seiji sneaked towards the kitchen for supper. They haven't eaten anything yet.
Seiji couldn't help himself from observing his hyung. He even kept on glancing at those guards, meters away from him. Just in case something suspicious happens.
"What do you want, Se?" Xyler asked as he opened the fridge to choose something to eat.
"I'll do great with fresh milk, hyung," Seiji sat down the chair in front of the very long table. "That's odd. Why aren't there any maids around?" He thought to himself and checked his watch.
Ten blinking blue lights are still complete, guards are still complete. He shouldn't worry, right?
Seiji and Xyler headed back to their room afterwards. Zen was already asleep as well as Min. Yi was in front of a laptop and was talking to Mr. Aramando while the others were doing their evening routines.
Seiji kept glancing at the door headed towards Shane's room. He haven't seen her after that awkward moment she and Eun had lately.
"Have you seen manager-nim?" He asked, nudging Yohanne's waist.
"No, I'm afraid not," he simply answered without looking at him. Seiji sighed.
"Where could that noona be?" He thought. "Should I go knock her door? Nahh!" He tried convincing himself, but there's just something else that's bugging him.
"Geez!" He hissed and rolled his eyes.
He secretly tap his watch to check that yellow light—it's Shane's—and his eyes widen when that yellow light turned red which means… she's in danger!
"NOONA!" Seiji yelled, making everyone gasped in shock. He immediately sprung into his feet in an incredible speed towards Shane's room and was dumbfounded when he saw blood spilled all over Shane's floor.
His hands shivered.
"What happened?!"