Paper Dolls

Chapter 31

"Fifteen minutes?" I ask him hopelessly. Who am I kidding? I have no idea where we are. I'd be worse off leaving him and finding my own way home than having a quick dinner. 

"Yup, that's all we need." We pulls the car into park and smiles at me brightly. His excitement causes that uneasy feeling to return in my belly but I ignore it and follow him to the stall by the end of the street. 

He seems to be pretty good and picking places that aren't so crowded. The stall here only has two occupants and neither of them pay us any attention when we walk in. One of them looks like he is about to pass out and there are about a dozen empty soju bottles scattered over their table. 

Hyeon orders for us and I take a seat far away from the two drunkards and the staff behind the counter. I've always been paranoid about people recognising me and am not taking any chances even though I have been pretty lucky so far. 

Hyeon's delivers his promise and the ready made soup is placed in front of me within minutes. I inhale deeply and take a sip, the warmth melting into my skin like a much needed hug. 

"Hmmm," I sigh happily and Hyeon grins so wide it's comical. 

"See I told you," He says and then drinks some of his right from the bowl. 

Once we are both satiated we lean back and I caress my full belly. That was the best ox tail soup I've ever tasted. 

"We need to find out about that ledger. Loona said it could destroy them. That sounds like motive for murder to me." Hyeon leans in and whispers even though the two drunk guys four tables away have begun to fall over their chairs, not a care in the world for our illicit conversation. 

"Dalia has it. Or has it," I say. "They were looking for it in her house during her funeral." 

"And Jungseok knows about it. Or is involved with it as well." Hyeon ticks off his fingers as he speaks. "Sweet Poison. Jungseok. Ledger. Incriminating. Must be something illegal." 

I nod. It does sound like it and he's right, if this ledger could destroy these four people's careers, there is a high chance Dalia could have been murdered for it. Not only did she want to break up Sweet Poison, she held something dangerous over their heads. The more I think about it the more likely it seems.

"If we find this ledger, they would be forced to reopen the case and investigate the murder from a different perspective." I conclude, feeling a surge of hope bloom in my chest.

Hyeon puts his hands on the table, looking like he wants to reach out for something but then he pauses. "Yes, best case scenario is that they actually solve it but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. Remember the case was closed in less than two weeks. The fact that it wrapped up so fast makes me wonder if someone with power wanted it closed quickly."

"Who do you think it is? Maybe someone involved in this ledger Loona was talking about?" I wonder out loud but then I remember my conversation with her in the spa. "She did mention Dalia having an affair with someone she shouldn't have. We should look into that too." 

"Did she mention who? Or at least hint at it?" Hyeon asks. I'd expected him to clam up like he usually does when I mention Dalia's secret relationship but he's surprisingly receptive. 

My lips purse together in a thin line. "No, but I suppose a good start would be that picture in Mr. Wan's room. It looked like she was holding one of their hands." 

"We'll take it from there then," He says. "Do you recognise anyone there?"

"Only the artist Lee Gi Eun." I try to rack my brain about the other men in the picture but it's drawing a blank. "There was someone who looked like a politician and.... damn it I don't remember." 

Hyeon smiles and waves me off. "It's fine. I'll look into Lee Gi Eun. You try to get a copy of that picture if possible." 

"Will do," I say and for a moment we both smile at each other. Aside from awkward situations we make quite the team. 

"You want a drink?" Hyeon gestures to the fridge stacked with different flavours of soju bottles and I shake my head vehemently. 

"No, no more alcohol for a week," I say, laughing. 

"Only a week?" He teases and all the previous unease I felt with him disappears. He drops me home and we fall into a breezy discussion about our next steps. I'm to get a picture of the one on Mr Wan's board which should be easier now that we can keep our phones with us and Hyeon is to look into the ledger and Lee Gi Eun. 

This is our relationship and it feels nice to fall back into chattered territory. No more weirdness from the bar lingering between us anymore. 

Hyeon drops me off a few blocks away from the trainee dorms so that I can walk in alone. I'd told the girls I was heading to the library to do some reading today. Binna of course looked annoyed with my lie but the other girls bought it. 

"Bye Jina. Today was amazing." 

I wave at him and he drives off, his car disappearing into the horizon where the sun has already set, the day giving way to nightfall. 

I stare after him, pondering on his choice of words. Today was amazing.

I know I shouldn't be over thinking this, it's definitely nothing but I can't stop thinking about what happened in the private booth at that bar. My belly churns uncomfortably again and I reach for my phone and type out a message to Jiho. 

"Hey, what are you up to?" 

He replies immediately. 

"Just got up from a long nap. Thinking of heading out for a quick walk to clear my head. You want to join?"

I should be heading home and resting before the full week of rehearsals ahead of me but the need to see Jiho is almost gnawing. 

"I would love that." 

He meets me at the corner of a deserted building which is about a fifteen minute walk from the night market. I've got a mask and beanie on and Jiho is all covered up with his cap and mask but the moment I see him, my entire body slumps in relaxation. 

He reaches me quickly and the excitement in his eyes is evident. "I've missed you." He murmurs and he holds out a hand for me to take but I wrap my arms around him tightly instead. 

Jiho freezes, taken aback because I've never done this but he soon recovers and hugs me back. I let his warmth envelope me and breathe in his scent, which reminds me of chocolate and mint. My face is pressed comfortably against his broad chest and I want to stay like this forever. 

"Everything okay, Jina?" He strokes my hair gently and I sigh. I love this. I needed this. 

I nod and hug him tighter, not wanting to ruin the moment by saying anything. I just want to hold him like this. It's like I've been holding my breath the entire day and now I can finally breathe. 

"What's wrong?" Jiho kisses my head softly through his mask and I close my eyes, imagining what it would feel like without a slip of material separating us. I then imagine what his lips would feel like on mine. 

"Jiho. If there was something dangerous but could potentially be rewarding, would you pursue it?" I ask and he slowly peels me away so that he can look at me.

"Dangerous?" His eyes are filled with concern. 

"Potentially but not definitely," I reiterate. "If there was something you know could give you closure, would you risk your safety for it." 

Jiho looks deep in thought. He pauses before answering. "It depends on how important that closure is for me. Is it would endangering myself for."

I bite my lip and contemplate his words. Between Loona and Hyeon and Jungseok, I feel like I'm playing with fire or swimming in a pool of sharks. 

I've never felt concern for it before but right now I wonder. Is solving Dalia's mystery really worth the potential trouble I could be putting myself into?