HIS EAGLE-LIKE EYES WERE boring down at something in particular.
Kyunghee frowned as she forcefully tugged her arm out of his grasp. Jintae sensed Kyunghee's discomfort, glanced down at his hand, and immediately retracted his unsolicited touch. A voice inside his head urged him to apologize, but he brushed it aside.
"That person's acting suspicious," he said instead. Jintae pointed his chin in the direction of a dark, obscured figure loitering beside the apartment building. The person was pacing back and forth with a smoke in their hand.
Thanks to the lack of lighting in the area, and the person was dressed in all black wearing a cap, Kyunghee couldn't distinguish their features, but it was definitely a male from the physical outline.Unlike Jintae's wariness, Kyunghee simply got out of the car, slamming the car door shut. It wouldn't be the first time someone's friends or family decided to have a smoke right outside the apartment building. It was a common occurrence for Kyunghee. She thought the hotheaded cop was being a little too cautious. Perhaps he was still reeling from the wild cat-and-mouse chase earlier. He hasn't returned to ground from the adrenaline high.
"Hey!" Jintae jumped out of the car after Kyunghee. He hadn't expected her to ignore his warning and leave just like that. Then again, he wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting.
Kyunghee stopped in the middle of the road, and turned around when she sensed the cop following her. "Detective, thanks for the ride but we have safely arrived at destination," she calmly announced, hinting at him to take his leave. She didn't need a cop to escort her to the front door. She would be fine on her own, just like every other day when she got home late in the morning. Today wasn't a first, and it wouldn't be the last.
Jintae looked at the stubborn expression before him then flicked his eyes towards the shadow in the background. He could sense the person watching them under the black hat. As if the person also sensed Jintae staring at him, the person threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground, stepped on it to extinguish the flame, and then quickly disappeared into the apartment building.
"That was probably a tenant coming out for a smoke," Kyunghee said when the person had vanished. "It's not a big deal. You're being too suspicious."
His mouth parted to say something, but he was interrupted when something white, soft and cold landed on his lips. Kyunghee and Jintae looked up at the same time.
It was snowing.
Perhaps it had started snowing even earlier, but they hadn't noticed until now. The snow descended gracefully from the darkened sky, drifting and fluttering in the wintry air before landing gently on the road. In about half an hour, the landscape would once again be covered in a fluffy, soft blanket of white. The temperature seemed to have dropped, and it was colder than before.
Both of their faces scrunched up in dismay.
Donning a brown double-breasted trench coat reaching the knees, Kyunghee had a dark grey hooded sweater underneath, but she was also wearing an extremely tight mini-skirt underneath the coat, exposing her legs. Cold air managed to seep under the layers of clothes as she shuddered from the merciless attack of the wind. She was suddenly aware of how cold her hands were becoming, and she didn't have gloves to help.
Winter was seriously not her best friend.
Kyunghee exhaled, seeing her breath condense in mid-air. "Good-night, Detective."
Tucking her hands underneath her arms, trying to retain as much warmth as she possibly could, Kyunghee wheeled around and quickened her pace across the streets. The sound of her red glittering heels clacking against the cement ground reverberated across the quiet neighborhood. This time, she didn't hear the cop following her, which was a huge relief to Kyunghee.
Kyunghee hurried inside the building and stomped her heels on the wet, black rug. She dusted the snow off her shoulders. Instantly she was bathed in warmth and her skin tingled as her body adjusted to the sudden change in temperature. She couldn't wait to change out of these uncomfortable work clothes.
Crap, she thought, abruptly reminded of the fact that she had to call in sick later. After the hell ride earlier, she had no energy to go to work tonight.
Her apartment unit was on the fourth floor. The elevator was small and due for a maintenance check a long time ago. Many times a day it would suddenly stop service, but the landlord refused to get it repaired. After a couple of months, the tenants stopped trying. After a while, the sudden stops in service became a common type of thing.
Stepping out into the carpeted corridor, Kyunghee was almost home when she was abruptly pushed forward—her body slammed into the walls so hard that she lost breaths.
"AH!" Her heart leapt to her throat. Terror spread through her for the nth time that night.
She was about to let out a scream, but a hand immediately covered her mouth, effectively silencing her. Kyunghee stared at the number 402, her brain in shock. At the same time, her heart pounded loudly against her ribcage. Fear speared through her body as she attempted to pry the hand off her face. She wanted to breathe, but mostly she wanted to scream for help. For a split second, she regretted sending the detective off so early. Maybe she should have asked him to escort her to the front door.
"Shhhshh." A man's voice cooed.
Her heart rate picked up even more, her blood turning cold as she struggled, wanting to scream, but the calls for help were muffled by his callous hand. He pushed his body up against her back. She was pressed up uncomfortably against her own front door.
Kyunghee stiffened in trepidation, her eyes darting about in a panic, and she was sick in the stomach. She tried to move, but she was sandwiched tightly between the door and the intruder's body. She screamed again, trying to get a word out to no avail.
"I told you to be quiet!" He sounded more annoyed now, but—wait a minute—he sounded familiar. She heard this voice somewhere. She blinked, trying to remember whose voice this belonged to.
Then it hit her.
It was definitely him. Her hands curled into fists against the wooden door. The fear dissipated like smoke, instantly replaced by realization and anger.
The rat bastard.