It was late at night. The roads were quiet. Yoon Taehee input the address that Kang Yibin had given him into the navigation system and drove in silence. Neither of them said a word. The radio was tuned to a classical music station, and suddenly a familiar piece began to play.
The piece you just heard was... performed by Evgeny... Nocturne
No. 3... Liebestraum (Love Dream)...]
Jaegyeom realized he had heard it before—it was the same song from the music box that Yoon Taehee had given him. Hearing the title, the memory came back. Almost unconsciously, Jaegyeom glanced at Yoon Taehee. He stole a look at his profile, but his, expressionless as ever, was focused solely on driving.
Fidgeting with his hands, jaegyeom found himself speaking without thinking.
"When are you going to take away the wood plaque?"
"After this month. Around mid-next month."
The answer was short and indifferent. The conversation ended there.
"..."
Jaegyeom didn't add anything further either.
***
[You have arrived at your destination. Navigation ended.]
They had arrived at the location of the ring's owner. Yoon Taehee briefly parked the car and, with a blank expression, rested his arms on the steering wheel, his chin perched on top as he stared outside.
Jaegyeom looked around, glancing out the window. The scenery outside was a bustling downtown area, with many people on the streets even late at night. At the entrance of a party salon, guards in black suits and earpieces stood at attention by the door.
Yoon Taehee pulled into an alley a couple of blocks away and parked the car.
He opened the console box between the driver's and passenger's seats. Inside were various odds and ends, simple equipment etc. He pulled out two tie pins, which jaegyeom recognized. They were special tie pins that had been used during the mission when they went to exorcize the earthbound spirit; a combined radio and tie pin. Yoon Taehee clipped the radio pin to his shirt collar and extended his hand to jaegyeom.
"Let me have your hat for a moment?"
Jaegyeom took off his hat and handed it over. Yoon Taehee clipped the pin close to Jaegyeom's ear and explained how to use it. Then, he opened the car door and stepped outside.
[Hello, can you hear me?]
"Yeah, I hear you fine."
They both confirmed the communication was working.
[Okay, I hear you too.]
After getting back in the car, Yoon Taehee took off his suit jacket and tossed it onto the back seat. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned a couple of buttons on his shirt, neatly rolling up the sleeves. Instantly, his outfit was party-appropriate.
"Alright, let's go."
He and Jaegyeom walked toward the building entrance together.
When Yoon Taehee handed over the invitation he'd received, the guard at the door checked the invitation, looked over both Jaegyeom and him, and then checked a list. He spoke into his earpiece before saying,
"You may enter."
He gestured politely. They descended a staircase leading underground, and upon opening the door, they were greeted by another door padded with red cushions. Once they opened the second door, the party hall spread out before them, filled with loud, lively music. Jaegyeom instinctively raised his hands to cover his ears; the music was deafening. The cushioned door had provided perfect soundproofing.
Yoon Taehee frowned slightly as he looked around the party hall.
The interior was much darker and gloomier than he had expected.
Despite being called a party hall, it had the atmosphere of a lounge bar. On one side was a large bar serving alcohol, with standing tables scattered throughout.
The party was crowded with people, groups chatting and drinking, while some danced to the music.
With it being so dark and full of people, Jaegyeom wondered if they could even find the ring. But at least one advantage was that blending into the crowd would be easy.
"For now..."
Yoon Taehee leaned in and said something to Jaegyeom.
"What? I can't hear you!"
Jaegyeom raised his voice, the music too loud to make out the other's words. Yoon Taehee leaned down and spoke directly into his ear.
"First, we need to find the person wearing the ring. Let's split up and look. If you spot the ring, press the radio pin right away and let me know. I'll handle retrieving it."
"Mm."
"The ring is a silver one, with an emerald.. uh, a green gem. The stone is pretty big, so you should be able to recognize it at a glance."
"Mm."
"And..."
Yoon Taehee paused and looked around.
"If someone tries to grab you, ignore them. Don't answer if they talk to you. Just don't engage."
"Mm. Understood."
Jaegyeom obediently nodded. Suddenly, Yoon Taehee felt a pang in his chest. He had the urge to rip off that hat, bite his forehead, and kiss him passionately.
"..."
He ran his hand roughly through his hair and disappeared into the crowd.
***
About an hour had passed. Jaegyeom was at the brink of his patience.
After splitting up with Yoon Taehee and wandering around the party hall, he had been jostled by the crowd. Now, he found himself seated at the far end of the drinks bar, taking a brief rest.
He pulled his hat low and rubbed his eyes with his fists.
They had said all he needed to do was find the ring, so at first, he thought he only needed to pay close attention to people's hands.
But it wasn't as easy as it sounded. At first, he tried focusing on those who were standing and chatting, but people often gestured while talking, which made it hard to keep track. Those dancing in the crowd were even harder to observe, obviously. Moreover, given the nature of the event, most people were decked out, many wearing at least one accessory on their hands. To think he had to find a ring with a green gem in the midst of all this... Jaegyeom was growing increasingly frustrated.
Staring at people's hands in such a dark, noisy place was starting to strain his eyes. The place was too loud and packed with people, making it hard to concentrate. To make things worse, some people were quite daring with their outfits, causing Jaegyeom's eyes to wander uncontrollably, forcing him to divert his gaze awkwardly.
Feeling hopeless, he fidgeted with the radio pin attached to his hat.
Since there was no word from Yoon Taehee yet, it seemed he was still diligently searching for the ring as well.
Just then, something flashed green in Jaegyeom's field of vision.
"Huh?"
He thought he saw something glowing green on the hand of a person standing by a nearby pillar. But the person was waving their hand around while talking, making it hard to see clearly. Jaegyeom leaned forward, raising the brim of his hat to get a better look, contemplating whether he should approach.
"Hey."
Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Jaegyeom turned to look at the person. It was a skinny guy covered in tattoos, with a piercing in one ear.
"What's up? Do you like that girl?"
The man swirled his drink, gesturing mischievously with his eyes.
Despite being a stranger, he spoke to Jaegyeom with familiarity.
What the...?
Jaegyeom stared blankly at the tattooed man.
"What?"
"You've been staring at her for a while now."
Realizing someone had been watching him, Jaegyeom felt a bit flustered.
"Uh, her... her outfit's cool."
Jaegyeom gave a quick excuse, to which the tattooed man grinned.
"Really? You like that kind of style, huh?"
"..."
"If you're interested, I can introduce you. We're not close, but I know her somewhat."
"...No, I'm not interested."
After a brief silence, Jaegyeom averted his gaze.
"Hmm... Is that so?"
The tattooed man raised one corner of his mouth, glancing up and down at Jaegyeom. The meaningful gaze felt oddly unsettling. Oh right, now that he thought about it, Yoon Taehee had told him not to talk to anyone. But caught off guard, he had ended up engaging with the guy.
Jaegyeom quickly got up to leave. At that moment, someone approached the tattooed man and said something to him. While the tattooed man was distracted, jaegyeom seized the opportunity to quietly slip away.
As he passed by a large pillar and rounded the corner, he spotted Yoon Taehee. Instinctively, Jaegyeom moved toward him but then hesitated. The man was standing at a stand-up table, engaged in conversation with someone.
The other person said something, and Yoon Taehee leaned in close to listen. After hearing her, he smiled and nodded. Then, he whispered something back. The other person laughed, playfully slapping Yoon Taehee on the shoulder. She even casually touched his arm and reached out to brush some dust off his clothes.
"..."
What, this bastard told me not to talk to anyone...
Jaegyeom suddenly felt ticked off. While he had been scouring the place, practically straining his eyes to find the ring, seeing Yoon Taehee casually chatting away like that for some reason put him in a foul mood.
With a huff, Jaegyeom decided to refocus and continue searching for the ring.