Byul heard the bedroom door open. She turned her head to greet WheeIn but was met with a sight that made her grin widely.
WheeIn stumbled out of her bedroom with a pouty frown on her face, messy hair and closed eyes. She was holding a towel in her hands.
Not always so perfect after all, Miss Smarty pants? Byul chuckled when the bathroom door clicked close. Strangely very cute though. She sighed and stood up to stretch long and hard. She cracked a few bones and loosened her tense muscles before taking her coffee mug to the kitchen. Her mind was a bit jumbled from all the thinking she had done all night.
There was a slight throb in her head thanks to the excessive amount of coffee she had consumed to be able to stay awake.
Byul washed the mug and splashed some water on her face. She used to be able to handle such sleepless nights on the jobs a lot better. I'm growing old, aren't I?
"Byul?"
She straightened up with a jerk and turned around.
"What are you doing? Are you okay?" WheeIn approached Byul.
"I'm fine. Why?" Byul answered with an innocent look.
"You've been standing there for a while now." WheeIn had a small smile on her face.
"H-huh?" Byul then realized that WheeIn had changed her clothes although her face was still bare. "Oh. Must've fallen asleep." She sheepishly admitted - walking past WheeIn to the living room while keeping her head down.
She fell asleep standing up? WheeIn had to chuckle. "Are you hungry? I have cereal," WheeIn offered. She was still standing in the kitchen, observing the uncharacteristic behavior of the usually composed and strict Byul with amusement.
"No thanks." Byul turned the TV off. "Sandeul will be here soon. He will take you to the office and stay with you until dinner." Byul went to unplug her phone from the charger. She then walked towards WheeIn with the charger in hand. "Thank you."
WheeIn took it. "No problem."
"May I use your bathroom?"
WheeIn chuckled. "Go ahead." She then went to her room to finish getting ready.
Byul came out of the bathroom feeling a bit better. Her phone suddenly rang. "Hello?"
"Hey Byul. I'm here. You want me to go up or should I just wait here?" Sandeul asked.
Byul checked her watch. "I think you can just wait in the car. We'll be right down."
"Okay then."
Byul hung up and went to the bedroom. She was about to knock on the open door but ended up just standing there, frozen in place with her hand in midair. She saw WheeIn humming to herself while fixing her clothes and final checking her make up. Byul gulped. Why does she look so attractive today? Or is it just my lack of sleep?
WheeIn stopped humming when she felt Byul's eyes on her. She turned around and met Byul's gaze. She was surprised to see what she thought was admiration and... She gulped - stopping her thoughts. She was rarely wrong about people so she knew she should stop right there. She broke the eye contact and grabbed her bag. "Is Sandeul coming?"
Byul snapped out of it. "H-he's downstairs." She quickly went to the living room to gather her stuff, scolding herself for acting so unprofessional towards someone she would be working with. She stopped at that thought. Oh damn... how am I supposed to work with her?
"You ready?"
Byul turned her head to see WheeIn standing at the door, already wearing her jacket and shouldering her bag.
"Y-yeah." Byul shook her head to get rid of the thoughts.
"Are you okay?" WheeIn watched Byul putting her jacket on. She opened the door with one hand. "You seem to space out a lot this morning."
"I haven't stayed up all night in quite a while," Byul replied flatly.
They left the apartment and went down the stairs.
"Go home and sleep then," WheeIn said.
Byul nodded. She saw Sandeul stepping out of his car the moment she set foot on the pavement. "There's your ride. I'll see you." She gestured at Sandeul then smiled at WheeIn. "Thanks for feeding me."
WheeIn chuckled. "You're welcome."
Byul walked away after a quick wave at Sandeul.
WheeIn watched Byul walking towards her car.
"Let's go, Whee," Sandeul approached WheeIn.
WheeIn merely nodded - her eyes fixed on Byul's until she got in her car.
-----------------------------------------------------
The ringtone woke her up with a start. She groaned and cursed. She felt like she had barely slept.
"What?"
"Byul, WheeIn was attacked."
She sat up instantly. "WHAT?! How? When? Where?" She jumped out of the bed.
"At her office just an hour ago," Seulgi said. "But it was nothing serious. She shouted for help and the culprit ran out, chased by the building security."
"How the heck did that happen?! Where was Sandeul?" Byul ran to the bathroom. "Where is she now?"
"He was waiting for her lunch break outside. We thought she'd be safe inside the building, remember? It's not his fault.
It's our fault. We underestimated this loan shark. One of his thugs got in the building and grabbed WheeIn when she was alone, right outside the ladies room," Seulgi explained. "She's shaken and got a couple of bruises on her arms but she's fine. She's a strong woman."
"Where is she now?" Byul asked through a mouth full of toothpaste foam. She was brushing her teeth furiously.
"At the station."
"I'll be right in."
Byul was about to end the call when Seulgi spoke again. "One more thing. We found Lee Byung-hun. The uniforms are picking him up. He's on his way here now."
"Okay." Byul ended the call before she rinsed. She then jumped in the shower, rushing everything so that she could leave the apartment as soon as possible.
-----------------------------------------------------
The young man jumped in her seat when the door open with a bang and in stomped Byul and Tae Hyung.
Byul slammed a folder on the table. She pulled the chair out roughly, sending it flying against the mirrored wall behind her with a loud bang.
The people in the small room behind the mirror flinched. WheeIn gasped.
"Never mess with Moon Byul-Yi," Seulgi mumbled. Or with Byul-Yi's secret crush. She suppressed a smile.
WheeIn and Sandeul said nothing.
"We found this at your house." Byul slammed the picture of the spiky thin metal in front of Byung-hun. It took everything in her to not yell at him or beat him senseless. She was still furious about WheeIn's attack. She blamed herself for underestimating her enemy - something she knew she should never do. And should this guy turn out to be responsible for it, she wasn't sure she could control herself. "It was used to alter the barrel of the gun we found on your partner when we arrested you two at Itaewon station."
Byung-hun clenched his jaws but didn't react.
"The bullet from that gun killed this man you claimed you didn't know." She placed the pictures of the bullet and of Kyujun on the table. "The man you mentioned by name to your partner. You lied to us."
Byung-hun looked up at Byul for a second but looked away again. He didn't fail to notice her boiling anger.
"Did you kill him?"
"No!" He instantly yelled.
"But you know who did, don't you?"
He looked away again.
"ANSWER ME!" Byul banged the table with her hands, leaning forward. The distance between her face and Byung-hun's was only a few inches now.
He was clearly surprised to see this lanky woman acting like that.
"Do not think that I can't hurt you. I can make you cry like a baby and I swear I will," Byul hissed.
"I can testify to that," Tae Hyung casually said. "Saw her take down a man bigger than you." He wasn't lying although he chose to leave out Byul's condition after that particular fight. She was hospitalized for almost a week thanks to the stitches and multiple broken bones.
Tae Hyung's words and serious look made Byung-hun shift in his seat.
"I didn't kill him," he told Byul - staring straight into her eyes.
"But you know who did." Byul was still not backing away. "Or maybe grabbing and beating up women is more your thing?"
"What?!"
"Where were you this morning?"
"Working!"
"Where?!" Byul also increased her volume.
"At the market! I get paid for unloading things! Ask the people there if you don't believe me," he insisted. "After that I went on my delivery rounds."
"Do you know this woman?" Byul showed him a picture of WheeIn. "Someone attacked her this morning."
He looked at the photograph. "I've seen her a few times but I don't know her name and I don't know who attacked her. She has connections. I don't want trouble so I make sure I stay away. I'm innocent!"
"Really? If you're so innocent then why did you run when you saw us yesterday?" Byul straightened up, folding her arms.
He clenched his jaws and looked away again.
"You left your teenage brother to take care of your sick mother. What kind of son are yo-..."
"I WORK HARD FOR THEIR SAKE!" He leaned forward, pushing the table a bit.
The people in the other room jumped again.
"BY BULLYING PEOPLE?!" Byul shoved the table back - undeterred by the outburst. "BY CARRYING GUNS? BY KILLING PEOPLE?"
"I HAVE NEVER KILLED ANYONE!"
"THEN EXPLAIN THE GUN!"
"IT WAS GIVEN TO ME, OKAY!?" He swore. "It was given to me for protection."
"By whom?"
"My boss."
"Who's your boss?"
He shook his head. "He'll kill me."
Byul took a deep breath, straightening up again. "So you're willing to go down for murder for him?"
"W-what?!" He looked at her with surprise.
"All the evidences we have right now point to you. You admitted to be in possession of that gun when Park Joong Heon was killed. You have no solid alibi on that day, you ran away from us and we caught you collecting money for illegal gambling." Byul started to gather the pictures on the table, putting them inside the folder.
"If this is what caring for your family looks like then I think you should go to a mental institution to get your head checked." She closed the folder. "But you're going to prison for murder instead and I don't know when you'll be able to see your mother again."
Byul signaled for Tae Hyung to follow her out of the room.
The door to the small room opened and Byul walked in, coming to stand next to Seulgi.
"Byul..."
"I'm fine." Byul folded her arms, staring at the man behind the glass who was now sobbing with his face buried in his handcuffed hands. "That's not a murderer's remorse, is it?"
"I don't think so," Seulgi said.
"He's protecting someone," WheeIn suddenly spoke up.
Byul nodded. "I agree. The question is who."
"You said he had a brother?" WheeIn asked.
"Yes. A seventeen-year-old younger brother. His mother is very ill. Hwasa took her to the hospital yesterday and her doctor friend said that it wasn't looking good. She had been ill and gone untreated for almost a year." Byul paused. She furrowed her brows in thought. "This doesn't make sense. Who paid for his bail? I thought thugs are very dispensable for people like his boss."
"Not only thugs," WheeIn muttered under her breath.
Seulgi heard it. "What did you say?" She turned her head to look at WheeIn.
WheeIn took a deep breath. "He told me nothing is irreplaceable. And that includes people."
Byul heard it but didn't react. She chose to ignore it to avoid the anger that rose every time she remembered what had happened to WheeIn just a few hours ago. "Maybe we're digging in the wrong place."
"What do you mean?" Seulgi asked.
"Maybe Joong Heon wasn't killed because he pissed his boss off," Byul told Seulgi.
"But Joon-gook said his boss had been using Joong Heon's death to intimidate his men," Seulgi protested. "This guy also told his partner that was the reason they got the guns."
"They're all criminals. I'm not sure they're telling the truth most of the time. Besides, even if it were true, I wouldn't put it past their boss to take advantage of the situation and use the death to intimidate his men," WheeIn said. "I'm pretty sure he's capable of killing him himself anyway." She gulped.
Seulgi patted WheeIn's shoulder gently. "Don't worry. This time we'll stick like glue to you. You'll be okay."
Byul was still quietly observing the man who had stopped crying. "Sandeul," she called the quiet young man standing behind them.
"Yes, Inspector?" He took a step forward.
"Find out everything you can about Park Joong Heon and his whereabouts around the time of his murder. Retrace every step as if you know nothing about him in the first place. I want to know whom he pissed off," Byul ordered. "Take Tae Hyung with you." She took out her phone and texted Bo Mi, telling her to re-analyze all trace evidences taken from the dead man's body.
"But what about Miss Jung?"
"She's not going anywhere and one of us can take over your shift for the day," Byul answered flatly.
Sandeul swallowed. "Y-yes, Inspector." He bowed a bit then left the room.
Byul heard the tone and sighed. She followed the young man outside. "Assistant Inspector Lee Jung-hwan," she called out.
Sandeul stopped in his tracks and turned on his heels. "Yes, Inspector?"
"It's not your fault," Byul softly said as she approached him and tried to pat his head. "You're too tall. Bend down a bit."
He grinned and bowed his head so Byul could reach it.
"I'm not angry at you at all. It was a miscalculation from my part. I shouldn't have underestimated him. You did what you should. Miss Jung will be safe here so it's better if I don't waste our resources by letting you babysit her," she tried to explain her intention to prevent misunderstanding.
He was obviously relieved. "Thanks, Byul."
Byul smiled. "Now go. Move!" She pretended to kick his butt.
"Ma'am, Yes, Ma'am!" He swerved to avoid the kick while mock saluting Byul. He rushed off, half running down the corridor.
Byul took a deep breath. "What are you staring at?" She turned on her heels to see WheeIn and Seulgi standing outside the door of the interrogation room, watching her. She met WheeIn's gaze for the hundredth time in the past week.
WheeIn was surprised by what she had just witnessed. She thought Byul was predictable: just another overachiever cop who was obsessed with her work. But now she wasn't so sure. There were too many different sides of Byul and every one of them invoked her curiosity in a big way although she wasn't sure why. She was about to say something when Byul shifted her eyes to look at Seulgi and spoke.
"Seulgs, call Hyej. Tell her to come in. You two are in charge of Miss Jung and of everything until I get back," Byul said as she turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Seulgi called out.
"Following a hunch," Byul muttered under her breath.
-----------------------------------------------------
"Are you okay?" Irene walked past Solar and approached WheeIn.
"I'm fine," WheeIn smiled. "The bruises will go away."
"Do you want to press charges?" Yeri suddenly appeared behind Irene.
WheeIn chuckled. "I want to if I could but he got away and no one knew who he was because he was wearing a mask. Thanks though, Yeri."
"I apologize, Miss Jung." Solar came to stand next to Irene.
"No need for that, Captain." WheeIn stood up. "It's not your people's fault. They didn't know it would escalate like this."
"I told you, you should've talked to me first before you agreed to get involved in criminal investigations," Yeri said. "This could endanger your safety."
WheeIn smiled. "Thank you for your concern, Yeri, but I'm fine. I trust them. I feel safe when I'm with this team. Besides, I brought this upon myself, remember?"
"I trust your Inspector Moon will be handling things better from now on?" Irene asked Solar sternly.
WheeIn put an arm around Irene's shoulders. "She always does. No need for that tone, Mother. I'm fine. They're trying their best here."
Irene turned her head towards WheeIn. "You're defending her now?" A grin started to spread on her face. "Ooh. I see. Nice progress."
Solar quietly smiled. She made a mental note to ask Seulgi about Byul and WheeIn later.
"Who? What? What happened?" Yeri asked her friends.
"Nothing," WheeIn answered flatly. She let go of Irene and folded her arms, acting cool and nonchalant.
"I'll tell you over lunch," Irene told Yeri. "Are you allowed to go out to lunch? Wendy's meeting me at the café," Irene asked WheeIn.
WheeIn nodded. "But Seulgi or Hwasa will have to come along. They're nice. Come on, let me introduce you guys."
"I'll take my leave then. Let me know if you need anything, Miss Jung." Solar bowed to WheeIn. She then turned towards Irene. "Sorry, Unnie."
Irene gave Solar a warm pat on the back before the short young woman left them alone.
-----------------------------------------------------
"Hello?" Byul answered her phone.
"Inspector Moon?"
"Yes, Doctor Shin?"
"I took another look at the body of that drowned man like you requested."
"And?"
"Nothing new. He has cuts and bruises on his face, mostly a result from being punched or hit with a blunt object. Cause of death is still the gunshot wound to the head and no change to the estimated time of death."
Byul silently sighed. "Okay then. Thank you, Doctor."
She hung up and dialed Bo Mi's number.
"Hello?"
"Bo Mi-ah, please tell me you have something new?"
"I'm still working on it, Unnie."
"Okay then. Text me when you find something."
"Will do."
Byul ended the call. She dialed another number.
"Sandeul? What have you found out about the man?"
"Well, some of his clients remembered him but some were just too scared to even look at me. Apparently he had made some serious threats before his death." Sandeul proceeded to tell Byul the details of his interviews.
"What else?"
"Someone said that he had started to bully kids too."
"What?" Byul straightened up in her seat. "What kids?"
"A high school kid, according to this man. A boy wearing a school uniform."
"When was this?" Byul had a bad feeling about this.
"Should be in the same week as his murder," Sandeul answered.
"Okay. Do you have a picture of him alive?"
"Yeah. I'll send it to your phone right now."
"Thanks. Now find out about Lee Byung-hun's family. Everything about him, his father, his brother and his mother; especially his brother, Lee Ro-Woon, seventeen," Byul ordered. "He said his father sent him money from time to time. Try to pull a complete record of every transfer."
"You don't think-..."
Byul saw a boy walking towards her car. "Just do it." She ended the call and stepped out of her car. She walked up to the boy.
"Hi, Ro-Woon," Byul greeted the boy with a smile.
The boy bowed a little. "Good afternoon, Inspector. Why are you here? Is my brother okay?"
"Your brother is fine. How's your mother?" Byul asked.
"Better, I think. At least she doesn't have fevers anymore. Tell Inspector Ahn thank you. The medicine really helps although I don't know for how long," he gulped and looked down.
Byul felt bad but she knew she had to do this. "Ro-Woon-ah, I need to ask you some questions."
They started to walk along the narrow alleys.
"Have you had lunch?" Byul asked.
The boy nodded.
"At school?"
He nodded again.
"Is that for your mother?" She pointed at the plastic bag in the boy's hand.
"Yes."
Byul said nothing more.
She waited on the floor of the small living room, watching him feed his mother and giving her the medicine through the open bedroom door; silently praying that her instincts were wrong this time.
Her phone suddenly rang. She saw the caller ID and prayed one last time - harder.
"Hello?"
"Unnie, I don't think there's anything new. I've reviewed everything and I'm currently re-analyzing the red and blue fabrics under the man's nails but like I said before, they're just common wool/polyester blend used to make everything from cheap suits to school uniforms. Practically untraceable," Bo Mi said.
Byul's head jerked up. "What did you say?"
"They're common wool/polyester blend used to make everything from cheap suits to-..."
"School uniforms," Byul mumbled, watching the boy wiping his mother's mouth. "What colors are they again?"
"Navy blue and red. Mostly blue though. There is only a small amount of red stra-..."
Byul saw the navy blue jacket with red lining along its collar hanging from a hook on the wall - where Ro-Woon had just left it a while ago. "Thanks, Bo Mi." Byul ended the call.
It was one of the rare moments when Byul hated the fact that she was right.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Inspector." Ro-Woon took a seat in front of Byul. "Do you want anything to drink?"
She smiled. "I'm fine, thank you." She took a deep breath. "Can you be honest with me, Ro-Woon? Please?"
"Err... sure?" He looked at her with confusion on his face.
Byul showed the boy a picture of Park Joong Heon that Sandeul had sent to her phone. "Recognized him?" She observed the boy's expression carefully.
Ro-Woon squinted to look at the screen. "The dead guy?"
"How did you know?" She pocketed her phone.
"How did I know what?" He started to fidget in his seat.
"That picture's not of a dead body, Ro-Woon-ah. How did you know he's already dead?"
The boy clenched his jaws. "I-I... I saw it on the news."
"His face was never really shown on the news. Plus, it wasn't big news and it's been more than a month ago." Byul leaned forward, clasping her hands. "Please tell me the truth? I can help you if you tell me the truth."
He shook his head. "I don't know anything."
"Ro-Woon-ah..."
"No." He kept shaking his head. "Ask my brother. I don't know anything." He hugged his knees.
Byul softened her tone and scooted forward a bit. "He was trying to protect you, wasn't he?"
The boy moved away from Byul.
"What did that man do to you? I know you're a good kid; a responsible son. Your family is lucky to have you. That's why I know that he must've done something bad to you or to your brother," Byul tried to convince the boy.
He started to shake.
"Please, Ro-Woon? The truth?" Byul gently asked again. "If you don't tell me the truth, your brother will go to jail for that man's murder."
"My brother is NOT a murderer!" He shouted - tears now streaming down his face. "H-he got into a l-lot of trouble but he only did that t-to get money. For m-me. F-for Umma. He's n-not a murderer." He started to sob.
Byul clenched her jaws. "I know. Tell me what happened and I'll try to help you and your brother. It's time to stop lying, Ro-Woon."
He didn't react. He just kept crying, burying his face on his knees.
"My friend Inspector Ahn and I will make sure that your mother will be well taken care of so you don't need to worry about that." Byul tried to coax him again.
"He h-hit me," Ro-Woon finally said. His voice was muffled by his arms.
"Who? Who hit you?"
"That man."
"The dead guy?"
He nodded.
"Why?"
He sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Hyung borrowed money from him to buy medicine for Umma and to pay my school fees." He took a deep breath to calm himself.
Byul started to understand.
"When we couldn't pay him back, he started threatening Hyung and me." He gulped. "He even came here once."
Byul sighed inwardly. "What happened that day at the river?"
He swallowed. "I-I was out with some friends. I saw him there so I tried to avoid him but he came after me." His voice trembled. "He dragged me to a secluded park and threatened to come here a-and..." He shook his head. "He wanted to hurt Umma." He started to cry again. Although it felt somewhat relieving to finally tell the truth, he knew there would be dire consequences for his family.
"Then what happened?"
"He hit me."
Byul inched closer and gently put a hand on the boy's arm to soothe him.
"Hyung suddenly appeared." Ro-Woon wiped his eyes. "They started to fight. H-he pulled out a gun and he kicked Hyung a-and..." He shook. "I pushed him... Hyung hit him and I-I don't know how but the g-gun... on the ground... I-I picked it up..." He sobbed again. "I p-picked it u-up..."
"Sshh... it's okay." Byul hugged the boy. "We'll try to help you and your brother, okay? We'll try to help you."
-----------------------------------------------------
Byul snapped out of her thoughts when she heard someone clearing her throat behind her.
WheeIn approached the woman staring at the water dispenser in the pantry. "You okay?"
Byul took a sip from the glass in her hand. "Of course."
"I don't think you are." WheeIn leaned on the small kitchen counter, facing Byul.
"If you wouldn't believe my answer then why did you ask?" Byul was tired and this case had drained everything out of her. She just wanted to be left alone. It was one of those days where she wished she had another job.
WheeIn understood why Byul was so harsh so she ignored the snappy comment. "So what's going to happen to that boy?"
Byul shrugged, taking another sip from her glass. "It's all up to the prosecutor and the judge."
"What about his older brother?"
"He denied everything until we let him listen to his brother's confession," Byul solemnly answered. "Is Yeri in there talking to him?"
"Yes."
Byul emptied her glass then placed it in the sink. "Good. Thanks for calling her."
"No problem. She does a lot pro bono work."
"Goodnight then." Byul started to walk away.
WheeIn hesitated for a few seconds. "Byul," she called her.
Byul stopped and turned around. She raised her eyebrows.
"Err..." WheeIn suddenly didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say.
Byul said nothing. She was about to continue on her way when WheeIn spoke again.
"You can't even nod or say 'thanks' or 'it's okay'?"
WheeIn couldn't help it. She was worried about Byul but the cold treatment after what she thought was progress between them was very disappointing. It irked and confused her to have Byul treating her like this again.
Byul heard it but she couldn't feel guiltier than she already did nor did she have the energy to argue. She just kept walking towards her desk like a robot, ignoring WheeIn.
"Byul," Sandeul approached Byul who was putting her jacket on. "We found out who paid for Lee Byung-hun's bail."
"Let me guess. His baby brother?" Byul asked. Her tone was flat.
"Yes! How did you know?"
"Just a hunch. Where did he get the money from?"
"He paid for it using the money their father sent them last week plus the money they stole from Joong Heon before he died," Sandeul explained.
"Okay then." Byul grabbed her bag. "Hyejin-ah..."
The woman who was talking on the phone spun her chair to look at Byul. "Thanks Appa, I'll call you later." She quickly hung up. "What's up, Byul?"
"Tell Tae Hyung to replace you tomorrow morning. Then Seulgs can take the shift after that."
Hwasa nodded. "Got it. Go home, Byul. Get some sleep and forget about this for tonight. At least we closed one case today. We found Joong Heon's murderer."
"That doesn't make me feel better somehow." Byul headed towards the exit. "See you tomorrow." She told no one in particular.
WheeIn leaned on Hwasa's desk. Her eyes were still on Byul's disappearing back.
"Can I ask you something?" WheeIn asked Hwasa.
"Sure. What's up?" Hwasa looked at WheeIn.
"Why does Byul dislike me?"
Hwasa smiled. "She doesn't dislike you. She's just under a lot of pressure and I know this case will be one of those cases she can never forget. She'll be chirpier tomorrow." She tilted her head. "Already on a first name basis, I see?"
WheeIn shrugged. "So? I'm on a first name basis with all of you." She tried to act nonchalant while hoping that the color of her cheeks wouldn't betray the slight rush she felt whenever she was reminded of their short conversations last night.
Hwasa said nothing. "Where do you wanna have dinner?" She stood up and grabbed her jacket.
"Let's go to Irene's bar. Yeri said she'd meet me there after she's done talking to the brothers," WheeIn said.
"Can we come along?" Seulgi suddenly spoke up. "I think everyone could use a drink."
"Sure!" WheeIn smiled. "The more the merrier. Let's go!"
-----------------------------------------------------
Her phone kept vibrating on the nightstand.
With a sigh, she finally grabbed the noisy device. "Yes?"
"Are you okay, Byul?"
"Yes, Yong. I'm fine." She lied. She had been lying in her bed for the past few hours and found herself unable to sleep. Her mind was still preoccupied with the small poor family.
"Sorry about that boy."
"He was just trying to protect his brother."
"Yeah, I know." Solar paused. "You wanna grab a drink?"
"No thanks. I think I'm going to try to get some sleep."
"Okay then. You eternally owe me dinner, Byul."
Byul chuckled. "Yes, Captain."
"Goodnight."
"Night," Byul said as she placed the phone back on the nightstand.
-----------------------------------------------------
Two men dressed in black hoodies and jeans snuck out of the 2nd floor apartment.
They went down the stairs stealthily and checked the quiet street. They quickly walked away, waiting until they had turned a corner before taking their masks off.
One of them took out a phone. "It's done, Boss."
"Good. Make sure you get it right."