Dark...
cold...
Sunho stretched his arms, tied with thick, heavy chains, and slowly caress the empty floor where he was lying. Those three shallow, slanting wounds crept from his nape down to his waist, covered with dark bruises, kept him from wincing in pain.
His whole body is shaking. He's ran out of energy to even lift his head up towards the thin light coming from those tiny perforations on the ceiling.
He squeezed his eyes, swilled, and released a deep breath before taking another attempt to sit down but then again, he end up falling.
"I'm taking all of them down! One by one. I'm going to ruin everything you've built."
He bit his lips when he remembered what the woman said.
"Screw you!" He groaned, pounding the ground with his remaining strength.
"I'm leaving them to you, Shane," muttered and slowly closed his eyes.
* * *
"ZEN OPPA!" Shane screamed and immediately ran towards Zen who's playing with the roses.
She immediately pulled him away from them. "God! How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from sharp objects? It might prick you and you'll end up bleeding again," she pulled his hands to check for any injuries.
"Did you get hurt? Tell me!"
"He's not a baby anymore, Shane," Yi whined from a distance. "Don't be such a drag!"
"Says the guy who can't even stop Chan oppa, Eun oppa and Cheon oppa from being wild," Shane sarcastically whined back and looked at him. "I'm really not in the mood to argue with you, oppa, so better look for those kids, will you? And after that, we'll talk."
Yi cocked a brow. "Do we have something to talk about?"
"A lot," Shane nodded. "Tell Seiji and Xyler oppa as well. They have to know."
Yindidn't probe and walked back inside the mansion leaving Shane and Zen in the veranda.
"I'm okay, manager-nim. Don't worry too much," Zen pooched his lips and gave her an assuring smile.
"Tell me that after everything's fine, oppa," Shane sought. "Let's just head inside for now. You still have to attend the pres conference but don't worry, I'll be there. No one's going to hurt any of you."
Zen innocently tapped her head. "Thank you so much, manager-nim. We'll take care of you, too."
"Fine! Do whatever you want," Shane giggled and pulled him inside before things gets even more dramatic.
Everyone gathered at the family hall for a pep talk about what to do at the pres con. Nothing much can happen at the event tho since no one can go near them except for the staffs but still, there should be no room for failures.
Nothing happened for the past days. Not even the murderer's shadow showed up which is good but unusual.
"The murderer must have been scheming something," Shane groaned, throwing glances at the three guys in front of her.
Xyler looked at Yi and Seiji looked at Xyler while Yi remained staring at Shane with his arms crossed.
"I already had that in mind. It's been weeks since they popped into nowhere," Xyler added.
"Isn't that great? They must have realized to just leave us alone and live their own lives," Seiji beamed which made all their eyes squint.
"They took Sunho oppa and killed Taesoo oppa for a reason, Se," a flicker of intense emotion flickered over Shane's exquisite features. "I see no reason for them to stop, not around this time."
"So, what do you have in mind, manager-nim?" Xyler asked serenely. "Do you already have any lead who's behind all of these?"
"No," Shane chuntered and crossed her legs. "But I'm close to it," she took a folded paper on her pocket and spread it so they could see.
"The chart," Seiji muttered. "But no!"
Shane was holding the same chart she showed Seiji before but unlike the original, this one is something she have formulated herself. She wrote all of their names on the chart, following the same name positions from the original one.
"What is this?" Yi gasped.
"What do you see?" Shane asked back.
"A chart and our names," Xyler answered.
"Do you notice something?"
The two looked at the chart closely but it seems like none of them noticed anything.
"I only noticed Sunho being the only one on top," Xyler pointed his name.
"Taesoo's name being crashed out and your name is also written," Yi added, referring to Shane.
"And Yohanne hyung's name... is not there," Seiji marked and they all looked at him.
"Bingo!" Shane snapped.
They all gasped when the idea hit them.
"You mean it's... he killed..." Seiji stuttered and Shane immediately shook her head.
"Oh, no! This is just my formulation, an example," she cleared. "But that is my point."
She then pointed her name that's been written in hangeul at the last part of the chart.
"셰인 this is obviously me," she started. "Now take a look at this," she pointed Sunho who's on the topmost part of the chart.
"Sunho oppa is obviously placed on the top since he's the leader and was the one who got abducted," her finger brushed through the chart's fine material and stopped on Taesoo's name.
"And then Soo oppa and supposedly... you," she pointed Seiji's next.
"Your name has been written in contradiction with Taesoo's," Xyler stated and looked at Shane. "This does have a pattern, doesn't it?"
"It does, but most probably, they won't just feed us their plans which means they won't just follow the same pattern which contradicts every names."
"UGH! It's official," Yi grunted. "I hate this and in extension... you!" He looked at Shane.
"Not her fault if you don't get anything," Xyler chuckled.
"At this moment, we will surely have a hard time separating facts from fictions."
"Facts from fictions?" The three asked in chorus.
Shane heaved a sigh and looked at them seriously.
*Two days ago*
"I'm asking you one last time..." Shane groaned, caressing the dagger she was holding across the man's cheeks. "Who's behind you?"
The man looked at her with wobbling eyes. "I-I can't tell you!" He said, feistily.
"Oh, really?" Shane cocked a brow. "What if I do this?"
"Uhg!" He groaned when she dug the dagger on its thigh.
"Still won't tell me?"
Shane's teeth gritted. She could see tears forming on his eyes out of pain when she dug it deeper. He's already shivering. This is against her will but she thought that if she don't do it, they won't be able to find Sunho fast.
"One last chance!"
"I r-really can't t-tell you because I don't know!" The man groaned.
Shane's brows met and slowly pulled the dagger out. "And you expect me to believe that?!"
He gasped for air before looking at her with squinted eyes. He's trying to free himself from being tied on a metal chair.
"N-none of us knows who the master is. We don't even know whether he's a he or she's a she!"
"Oh..." she sarcastically nodded. "And that's bullshit!"
The man shook his head. "It's t-the truth, miss. Anyone who knows this person's real identity... dies!"
Shane's mind went in circles.
"B-but one thing for sure..." he narrowed his eyes on her. "That person is someone you can't catch."
* * *
"And seriously, people? What's the plan now?!" Yi glared to no one in particular. "Now that we know that that person is like a fictional character who came out from a mystery novel, our lives are obviously hanging on a thin thread."
"Maybe yes, maybe not! That person maybe unknown but one thing is also for surez no mysteries lies unsolved for the rest of the time," Shane smirked. "I just have to outsmart whatever that person's plans are. After all, culprits from a mystery novels still are humans: they bleed, they die, leaving loopholes in every corner. Besides, we are not in a magical world
Yi, Xyler, and Seiji exchanged looks, not sure about what to say or think. Everything Shane said just didn't make sense to them.
What about the chart?
What about the names?
What exactly is going on?
Same questions kept on bugging their minds as they stepped out of her room. Seiji walked towards the window and looked outside. The chart is making him uneasy, for sure.
He glanced at Yohanne who's seriously assembling an eight by eight Rubik's cube.
"That was just an illustration, why am I so bothered?" He thought to himself and everted his gaze back outside.
On the other side, Yi contemplated. "What is she planning? She's just giving us puzzled clues and that's it!"
Xyler massaged his temples in frustration as he lay his back on the couch. "Eleven subparts and manager-nim's name was written on the list, Yohanne's name wasn't, which means..." his brows met and looked at everyone in the room "The culprit really is with us... ONE OF US!"
"Have you taken your meds already?" Shane asked as she take a look at Marlan's prescriptions.
"I already did," Marlan answered and laid on her bed. "You don't have to check on that every single time."
"I'm just making sure," Shane sat beside her bed. "Anyway, dad called a while ago and he asked me to send you back to Tokyo, so he could take care of you."
Marlan rolled her eyes. "And now he cares?" She hissed. "Why won't he just take care of his wife?!"
"Don't say that. She's still our mom."
"No, she's not!" Marlan's eyes narrowed. "Let me just remind you, Amber. That woman is the reason why OUR mom died!"
Shane looked down. "I know but she's dad's wife now. We just have to accept her."
"Not a chance!" Marlan snarled and turned her back against her sister. "And I'm not going home… not now!"
"Okay… alright," Shane sighed, both hands in the air to surrender, and stood up. "I'm going to sleep now. Oyasumi nasai, onechan."
Marlan didn't answer so she moved along and went to her room. She's about to open the door when Eun approached her from their room's door.
"Ah-oppa. You're still awake?" She said, trying her best to hide her burning face.
Good thing the corridor is kinda dim since not all the lights are turned on. GOOD THING.
"Ah yeah and as well as you," Eun beamed which made her eyes bat.
"Oh, right. I..." she pointed Marlan's room, "I-I was in my sister's room... checking."
"You really are a sweet person, aren't you?" Eun walked near her. He stopped and smiled. "Ahm... you're sleeping now?"
"Ahh—" she took glances from side to side, not really sure where to look at. "Not yet, still too early for that."
"That's great! Can you accompany me for a stroll?"
Shane gasped and felt like her whole goddamn world just exploded.
"Ah, huh?" She asked with parted lips.
Eun chuckled. "I was saying, I'm going out for a walk. Would you like to come?"
"Ahh—sure!"
"That's good. Let's go?"
Eun was the one to walk first and Shane followed. She was only staring at his back as they traced their way towards the veranda, inhaling the chilling wind which brushed against her pale skin.
None of them talked as they strolled across the swan bridge which just made them feel awkward until Eun stopped at the brink of the bridge's banister.
Shane distanced herself from him before scooting her way towards the railings. Eun looked down the sparkling water under the bright moonlight.
"We're safe here, I supposed?" He asked without throwing her a look.
"Uhm yeah... actually, Sebastian and other two guards are just behind us."
She pooched her lips towards Sebastian, Ian, and Clark who are standing on the other side of the bridge.
"Hmm and them," Eun chuckled, pointing the other guards who are eyeing at them from afar.
"Oh!" Shane faked a smile. "I'm sorry. Do they bother you? Wait! I'll tell them to spread out."
She was about to press a random button on her watch when Eun held her hand. She froze for a couple seconds before looking at him.
"No, it's okay. It's better to be safe," he said casually, looking at the watch. "You have the same watch as Seiji."
Shane gulped and pulled her hand back. "I-I gave that to him."
"Is that so?" Eun sighed and looked at the moon. "That's great."
And for a moment, silence devoured them again. Shane looked at the swans, lips pooched. She's just annoyed about how Eun is acting these past few days.
She's neither dense nor assuming, it's just that Eun never acted like this before. He's been tailing her ever since that night she got injured. This is not even the first time he invited her for a walk—probably the fifth and just like what's happening now, he's not talking... none of them are.
"Lately, I was thinking..." Eun muttered, still looking at the clear night sky. "What's in me that you liked?"
Shane almost choked. She could have sworn she heard his words wrong, but Eun looking at her, tells things otherwise.
"P-pardon?"
"I haven't done anything for you ever since, manager-nim. Why do you like me? I cried to you over another girl. Why still like me? You knew I still love her but why still continue to like me?" He gripped on the handrail and looked at her. "Why me?"
Shane's lips thinned and for a moment, her mind went blank, but still managed to talk.
"It's because it's not just a like... it's love," she intoned. "You may think you haven't done anything for me but actually, you have. You made me who I am now. One of the reasons why I loved you. You cried to me over her, yes! But you cried because you love so much, one of the reasons why I loved you. And yes, you still love her and I know nothing has changed and that's also one of the reasons why I loved you. You just don't know how to stop loving someone you love."
Shane smiled through Eun's bewildered looks.
"Why you? Because I chose it to be you and that's the deepest reason I see so far."