Chapter-4

 Hyun Hae-Il made his way to the gold-blue hotel, he was told by detective Nam that Ryu Tae-Ra would stay there for few days. Gold-blue hotel was for premium guests, so how is it she could stay there? Even if she was a high ranking officer, there is no way the department would pay for that. He has to check it for himself, were they the same person or not?

 He went to receptionist, "excuse me, I am looking for Detective Ryu Tae-Ra"

 "Please give me a moment, sir", said the receptionist as she browsed through her computer looking for the name, "there it is" she said, "room 811"

 When he had reached the room, he was welcomed by a young boy. Could he have to the wrong place? Why would the detective be accompanied by a child? "I think I am at the wrong place", he said to the boy.

 "May I know who you are looking for then, sir?" asked Rhee Kwan.

What a good manners? His parents must have taught him well thought Hyun Hae-Il as nowadays children were spoiled to the core.

 "Detective Hyun Hae-Il", he took out his ID and showed it him, "and I am looking for detective Ryu Tae-Ra"

 "Then you came to right place, Sir" said Rhee Kwan Smiling at him, "she is my aunt you see", Rhee Kwan opened the door wider for him to enter, "please come in"

 Hyun Hae-Il entered the room and was taken into the living room. He sat at the sofa while the young boy bought him refreshments. Well the boy insisted he had something while waiting for detective Ryu Tae-Ra, who was apparently not present at the moment but was expect to come any minute now.

 "What is your name?" asked detective Hyun

 "I am Rhee Kwan, age thirteen, student of international middle school of Seoul"

 "Aren't you scared I might do something to you? We are basically strangers"

 "There is no need for me to fear you, sir" he said, "as even if you had bad intentions for you can't harm me, no matter what you do" Rhee Kwan smiled at him with confidence, just then the door opened and Ryu Tae-Ra came in carrying lots of snacks.

 "Oh, looked at that" she said looking at Hyun Hae-Il, "what are you doing here, detective?" she asked 

"I wanted to speak with you"

 "Lets us talk over the dinner, shall we?" she said while keeping the snacks on the kitchen table, "I just finished making pasta"

 "I won't stay for long"

 "We won't be eating for long", replied Ryu, as she prepared the plates and the glasses, "Talking over having dinner is actually very good, therefore I insist"

 Hyun Hae-Il had no choice but to accept the dinner. It would be very rude of him to refuse her hospitability. As he had his dinner, he had recalled every word he had with her today, at the crime scene and at the club house her way of speaking was informal, however, right now she was talking full formal. Is she really not the chairwoman whom he had seen in the party? Or is she just pretending to not know him? 

 "I am not going to investigate any further"

Hyun Hae-Il was bought back to the real world. He was lost in his thoughts again, "why not? Are you saying it's not worth looking into" he said.

 "Why did you assume that I said it that way?" she asked feeling offended, "all I said is that this case was beyond human capabilities. The investigation will be taken over by the department who specializes in these matters", Hyun Hae-Il opened his mouth to object, but, Ryu Tae-Ra tilted her head as the sign of disapproval, "so your team will be freed of its burden after all these years, detective Hyun", Ryu crossed her legs, back up straight she was a dominator.

 "I do appreciate your concerns, Detective Ryu", he said forcing himself to smile pleasantly, "but my team has been working on it for very long time. You cannot suddenly say that we should quit on it that is out of the question here"

 "I never said you should quit, detective" she said in calm tone, this was second time he misunderstood her, "the rest of the investigation will be taken over by the specialists on the subject. That does not mean that your department will not be acknowledged when this case closes"

 "That isn't why I am objecting to it"

 "Then why?"

 "That's…" he couldn't answer her question but he has a reason to find the culprit. He stared at his plate as he couldn't come up with perfect excuse.

 "Revenge?" she gave out a sinister smile, "he must have taken someone dear to you right?"

 "How did you…" 

 "I never expected that at all, Detective Hyun" Ryu took her fork from the plate, "you should be on your way now. And you can continue to investigate"

 Ryu Tae-Ra's words were echoing in his head as he walked out of the grand hotel, 'revenge is not worth it' is what she told him at the door. How would she know anything about him? He became a detective after what had happened with his friend, eight years ago. It was gruesome. He couldn't arrive on time to save him. He regretted that moment, the darkest time of his life.

 "Heart eater", he said furiously, "I will kill you with my own hands"

 As he went to silent parking lot, searching for his car, he heard foot steps behind him. He didn't give much thought until; it felt as though the speed of the footsteps were same as his. He took out his gun from his inside his shirt. Detective Hyun glanced at his sides before turning around and pointing gun at whoever was following him. But there was no one.

 He searched the area with his eyes, not moving from his place. However there was no one, no body at all. Was he just imagining things because of what detective Ryu had said to him? That must be it.

 The moment he relaxed his body, a hand grabbed his neck from his left, and smashed him into a car. The attacker was unimaginably strong. Hyun Hae-Il could not free himself from the man's grip.

 What was even more unbelievable was that the attacker's eyes were glowing purple, "what in the world?" Hyun was strong but the man in front of him was just powerful, the man was pale white he seem almost blue and sick, a golden light glowed from within his t-shirt, "what the hell…" he could barely say, when he saw a another hand grabbing the collar of the his attacker and with such force threw him away in the sky after his attacker let go him.

 It was detective Ryu Tae-Ra; she jumped right after his attacker. He couldn't believe his eyes. Hyun Hae-Il did not have the time to even call her. As he looked at the night sky, in the direction where she had apparently jumped. He wondered what was going on. How was she, able to jump like that and throw like that? What is going on?

 Few seconds later, Ryu Tae-Ra landed in front of him causing the ground to crack around her. Hyun Hae-Il used his hands to protect his face from the flying dusts wave caused by Ryu's landing.

 Ryu walked towards him, she scanned the area around them for more threats but fortunately it was clear, "you okay there?" she asked him "you must be surprised"

 "What was that" he asked in shock keeping his hands down, "and what are you?"

 "Long story" she said immediately and looked at his neck, "where did you get the necklace?"

 "You mean this?" he asked as he took out the small pendent, "why do you ask?" there is no way he was going tell her about it. She could be dangerous.

 "I gave that pendent to someone when I we were kids" she said then she made a phone call, "it's me, I will send you the location" she said in the phone "there is clean up needed", "okay", "bye", she turned to Hyun Hae-Il, "now you tell me" she said, "where did you get it?"

 "A friend of mine gave left it to me"

 "Where is that friend of yours?"

 "He passed"

 "Why would he…." Ryu felt devastated and confused at the same time, she never thought this would happen to a person she had promised to protect, "why…."

 "What"

 Rhee Kwan came running from behind them. "Aunty", he called "you okay?" then he noticed the detective next to her, "Are you okay detective?"

 "I am" he said

 "Kwan" Ryu called, "we will return home get packed"

 "Okay"

 "Detective Hyun, how about you join us in the journey, in my car instead. We have a lot to talk about"

 "I have my own to drive"

 "Which one is it?"

 "Why"

 "Just tell"

 Hyun was hesitant but still told her that it was the white Mercedes, in the left. Ryun walked towards the car and smiled devilishly. As she moved her fingers in the air, an invisible attack would hit the car.

 "What is she..?" said Hyun Hae-Il, "my car"

 Ryu crushed the car leaving no clean spot on it. The car cannot be even fixed anymore. Hyun stood there frozen in his place, unable to move or utter a single word.

Rhee Kwan wasn't surprised at all. His aunt did that all the time. He regretted not warning the detective sooner. "Poor him", he said looking at the detective.

 "Now then, shall we ride on my car?" she said turning towards the hopeless detective

 "Mr. Detective, do you like chocolate cake?" asked Rhee Kwan offering him a piece, "not sure" he replied,

 "Never tried one before?" asked Ryu

 "Not really" he said, "by the way why is your nephew traveling with you?"

 "He insisted on coming along" she said "he got nothing else to do he says, if I didn't bring him along he end up making a mess at home"

 "Do you really not know me?" he asked her hopping she would say 'yes', but all hopes went in disappointment as she replied that she had seen him in the TV and that everyone knows him, 'the famous celebrity actor who retired to become a detective and become his family heir', "that wasn't the answer I was looking for" he sighed and turned towards the window and Ryu focused on driving in the night. After few minutes of silence he asked her a question, "Why were you dressed up as a 'janitor' when we first met?"

 "Well that's because I was…" she suddenly realized what question's answer she was giving, Ryu literally told him that she remembers him from years ago, "shit"

 "Well now I know you were lying all this time", he said feeling satisfied at her answer. By talking to her for few minutes he found out that she would answer every question honestly if she was distracted, that is only if she does not pause between the questions to think of an answer. After he asked her that last question he took a pause, so she could let her guard down. And that as exactly what had happened, "you knew me since the beginning in the party and even today, and you dimed ignorance?"

 "Well you see…." she tried to object when he spoke again, "I was trying to get to know you, were you the same person I met before or not? I wanted to know, but you just played"

 "Correction please" Ryu opposed to his comments, "I was trying to hide my identity. It was risky for a person of my status to roam around like that, therefore you cannot say that I lied to you and get angry at that fact", she says, "and besides who are you to me for even considering revealing my identity"

 He paused to organize his thoughts because she was right. He was no one to her. Why would she even consider telling about herself to a stranger? He had nothing to back that fact, "I am apologies" he said without breaking a sweat.

"Finally", said Ryu as she thought he had stopped asking questions about her. "About the necklace, what did you mean you gave it to him? How do you know my friend?" he asked, his friend did tell him about a certain girl he met when they were fourteen.

He talked lot about her. Some of the stories were unbelievable that he thought were made up because he was in love.

 And now that he had met that girl himself he understood, that the stories were all true. Hyun Hae-Il got interested in Ryu Tae-Ra and about his friend's relationship with her.

 Ryu had no choice now but tell 'this man' as she called Hyun Hae-Il about it but just a little. "Long story", she said, "but I will tell you the short version", "when I was fourteen, I went to some mountain whose name I forgot. My grandpa left me in the forest, under the mountain, so I was alone".

 "What a grandpa you have?" said Hae-Il.

 "While roaming in the forest, I came across a boy who was lost just as I was, I gave it him as a token of our new friendship and a short while adventure", she told, remembering the boy's curious smiling eyes, pleasant smile on his face, his black hair which fluttered softly in the cool wind, "I never met since then, never once had I tried to do so"

"Why not?" asked Hae-Il

"it was better to let then to form unnecessary bond which might put him in harm's way", looking straight ahead in the road she said, however, it was not what showed in her eyes. Ryu was filled with regret and longing, "my life is twisted and full of unexpected events and always in harm's way, only the strong can stay with me"

Hae-Il looked at the child in the back, "what about the kid?"

"Don't worry about him", Ryu Tae-Ra gave out a light chuckle, "he is far stronger than yourself, and he can protect himself from the at least level-3 greed demon unlike you who can't even fend off level-5", she smirked and mocked the detective.

Hyun Hae-Il was offended but did not bother with it. He sighed because she was right about it. He neither knew magic nor can he learn it.

"By the way, you divided the monsters on how strong they are?" he asked her, "yep", she answered bluntly simple and short. Hae-Il waited hopping she would at least explain something on it but Ryu Tae-Ra didn't. The silence after this conversation between them continued in the long night.

Hae-Il watched Ryu Tae-Ra as she yawned like a hungry lion barely holding herself from falling asleep. "You should just leave me the driving", said Hae-Il, "you look barely awake"

"If I fall asleep right now, you'd be in danger now", she said smirking at him, Hae-Il was confused at her words what did she mean, although he did not get any answer from her accept that she said, "Soon, it will come out to greet us"