"Now...what?" Tae-Hyung dared to break the thin ice they were walking on. All of them were aware of what had to be done, but perhaps lack of knowledge about how to do it is what kept the silence from being interrupted.

Lisa, once again, was disturbed by persistent shivering. Fault belonged to the isolated walls of the warehouse on which the cold longingly settled. And each sound that was born, once it hit those walls, immediately came back to their ears as an echo, thus another reason behind their silence. Jung-Kook dared not to look at the brunette, for he needed to gather his consciousness to find an answer - not to Tae-Hyung's impertinent question, but an answer solid enough to destroy Lisa's doubts like a wrecking ball. Jennie also knew Lisa was the only capable person to do it, she was just held back by fear.

"Look, Lisa..." He bravely started, then stumbled upon seeing her attentive glare, and lost his thoughts. In an attempt to recall his speech, he pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes. "We're lawful men." He approached Tae-Hyung, both adopting a straight position. "One thing we learnt throughout this hell of an academy was that, sometimes, truth is too far buried for us to reach with lawful maneuvers. Sometimes, we have to go beyond the law in order to bring justice to those in need, Lisa! Don't you want justice for your teacher?!"

"I do." She muttered, avoiding eye contact. Her skin was pale - either due to the freezing temperatures or the mental pressure - or perhaps, judging by the lack of pigmentation, both.

"Then help us, Lali!" Jennie continued with the persuasion. "You're the last student that had seen her before her death! You must know something more than the rest of us! Now that I come to think of it, were you even invited for an interview regarding the investigation?" But Lisa refrained herself from negating. She acknowledged where this might lead to. "You weren't, were you? Do you see how dumb it is, Lali?!"

Then, the brunette contemplated.

There was not much inside the warehouse, excluding the obvious cargo symmetrically placed upon the enormous shelves. Jung-Kook managed to move a box beforehand, an improvised table for the laptop to be displayed. Moments of consideration passed by - in times of trouble, she wondered whether or not the outcome deserved the sacrifice. In this case, the outcome can be literally nothing useful, but on the other hand, it could be their lucky draw.

"I tried to ask teacher Song Jang-Mi for the password." She confessed, her eyes staring into nothingness, meanwhile everyone else's were fixed on her. "On our last encounter, that's the last thing I asked her."

<"You have her contact information in the database, right?"

"It's got a password, 쌤."

"So that's why you came." The elder amusedly understood the reasoning behind the visit. Laughter took over her, as she left her desk. Her lower back rested against the calorifier, where she stood drowned in deep thoughts for a while. "Lisa."

"Yes, 쌤?"

"Do you know Cho Nam-Joo?"

"The writer?" Lisa undoubtedly heard of her, for when she came to Korea, she's been reading books left and right due to having little acquaintance with the language and obviously having no acquaintances to spend time with.

"You remind me of her character, Kim Ji-Young, a- Yes? Come in!">

"So she hasn't told you." Jennie concluded.

"I feel like she's been meaning to, she just got interrupted." Tae-Hyung suggested after analyzing what Lisa has narrated for a while.

"So do I." Jung-Kook agreed, hands one over another, crossed over his chest. "Who knocked on the door, anyway? They might have been the last person to see her."

"That...I can't remember. Even if I magically did, I didn't know the guy. I haven't seen him before." The brunette was still relieved, for the laptop was untouched, still waiting on the cardboard box. "So, what do we do with it?"

"You'll keep it until we think of a way to unlock it."

"Who?"

"You, Lali." Jennie articulated her words in an irritated manner. "You're its rightful owner now."

"Don't start again! Its rightful owner is dead! I am not keeping this thing..." she pointed at the laptop, her upper lip trembling in disgust, "inside of my two square meters dorm! I already have trouble falling asleep."

"Whoever placed it in your room wants you to discover the mystery," Tae-Hyung added, placing it back in his bag, "Don't interrupt the course of things until we can do as desired, that being unlocking it. Passing it around can endanger more people."

"Oh, let's sacrifice Lisa then! I get it, I get it, guys." Lisa's tone reached irony. She's never been fearful about her well-being, but the latter events really left their mark on Lisa's rational thinking.

"No one is sacrificing you! You're already buried in quicksand, don't do something reckless and give us time to find a way of getting you out." The man continued. The laptop that once stood still in his grip was now handed to Lisa. Her initial reaction was nonexistent, she just watched it sit motionlessly in Tae-Hyung's hand for a while. Then her hand reluctantly reached for it, it took a while for her tremble to disappear before doing so, but when she eventually did, all the three of them lowered their head gratefully.

Regardless, as she accepted hosting it, she felt like she'd been given a bomb with which she had to run in order to save the rest. Is it selfish that I'm preoccupied by my own safety in such a major crisis? And maybe fear of interrupting her selflessness is what pushed her into making such a suicidal decision. However it may be, no other thoughts should distract her. She now had an important cargo to carry, and an important mission to finish.

"Good, then if the deal's made, we should put everything on the table." and as Jennie spoke, her steps brought her closer to Lisa, followed by her hand wrapping around her waist. "Li? You want to make the honors?"

"I want a locker for my door." she ordered, pointing her finger towards Jung-Kook.

"As you wish."

What was Lisa willing to uncover? Thinking of it, Tae-Hyung's analogy fits perfectly into their scenario. She's neck deep into quicksand, with little chances of survival. If she has to figure this out, she will do it quickly and neatly.

"The day of the murder, her behavior didn't indicate that she had expected something like this to happen, nor did it differ from any other day." She recalled her last conversation with the teacher.

But as she picked what to reveal, realization hit her. There was one thing that she omitted from their last conversation. Even more, it was the reason why Lisa even asked for the password to the database to begin with. Her eyes slyly looked for any sort of reaction on their faces, for she hoped her revelation went unnoticed, and so it was.

"Me and 형 also heard one thing or two..." Jung-Kook unconsciously announced. His hand lifted as if he asked for permission to proceed, then eerily began explaining under the girls' wide eyes. "Our instructor accidentally mentioned that there are CCTV recordings of the suspect. Later, I overheard him telling someone that he had gotten his hands on the recordings."

"Is your instructor bribable?" Jennie stopped him and mindfully questioned.

"Most likely."

"Then we know our first goal."

*

"Wait," Lisa, visibly flabbergasted, stopped Chae-Young mid-sentence by waving her hands chaotically in the air, "start over. He bought you what?!" and as she finished, her chin fell as low as the ground level.

"Who bought what?" Jung-Kook asked, teasingly watching how his elder friend, Ji-Min, began to boil in a shower of fury.

One thing all of the students, from both the Law University and the Academy, were expected to do together was work for the wellbeing of the campus. As translated in today's activity - gardening. What seemed like forced interactions and embarrassing actions for many appeared enjoyable to Lisa - perhaps because of the casualties she afforded with her teammates. It was her and Chae-Young against the rough flowerpots...And Jung-Kook, whom she did not mind, and Ji-Min, whom Chae-Young seemed to mind a lot.

"Keep digging that spot and stop digging in others' businesses, kid."

"Call me a kid one more time and I'll be digging your grave."

"Really? You wanna fight?"

"For the love of God, Li! Stop picking fights out of which you can't come alive!" Chae-Young frown only accentuated her begging eyes. She left her mini-shovel on the ground to be able to grab Lisa as if a physical shaking would get some sense into her brain. To Lisa, it seemed adorable - Chae-Young being unsure whether they were joking or not. Thus, at her desperate attempt to break the fight, the brunette wholeheartedly laughed.

"So..." she picked up the abandoned conversation after her giggles died down, "you were saying...?"

"After he brought me back to the campus, he gave me this enormous milky-way themed led-luminated picture! And if I turn it on, each star shines but at different intensities just like real stars!"

"Chae?" Lisa said through a serious tone, her expression emotionless. "I'm so visiting your room! I need to see this!" she finally broke character. Seeing her friend full of excitement only made Chae-Young's heart beat faster. As for Lisa, she was thankful the blonde's new date is successfully bringing Chae-Young back to being her bubbly self, which fell into a metaphorical coma after the night of the murder.

"Wow. So cool." Ji-Min bitterly cut the flower's outgrown leaves, each chopping sound of his pair of scissors more aggressive than the previous one. His dislike towards the so-called gift was found in Jung-Kook also, as it appeared.

"Just watch the sky through your window."

"Waste of money."

"You save her life one night, then get overshadowed by some dude who gifted her led lights."

"That's what I'm saying!" Ji-Min was overjoyed with the fact that Jung-Kook agreed, their conversation fueled by pure envy unknown to the girls whose deafening giggles overtook any background noise.

From one of the dorm's windows, a leaned over the frame Tae-Hyung scanned the outer part for his colleagues, and truth is - it was not hard to do so. If you searched right beside the two feminine figures dressed in radiant colors graciously handling delicate flowers, you'd see them. A duo of indignant men covered in camouflage pattern clothing, furiously stabbing the ground in a careless effort of digging holes.

"You two!" he called, his voice persistent enough to reach them. "Don't be bitter, be better!"

*

From up close, the interactive crepuscular, luminescent thing that resembled a painting was even more spectacular. You could tell it was attentively built by its details. Lisa was just as far from poverty, but even so began to wonder why one guy would empty his wallet for such an impressive gift on a first date. But then again, her friend was above anyone in terms of ethereal beauty, anything she received from that boy was well deserved.

"That's the best gift I might have received yet!"

"Better than my gift for your 18th birthday?" hurt, Lisa slapped her palm against her chest and exaggerated a gasp.

"Li, you gave me an inadequate two-piece clothing item."

"Girl, just say I gave you lingerie and stop! Plus," Lisa raised her eyebrow and the corners of her mouth radically traveled towards her eyes. "the way your relationship evolves with Mr. Provider, you'll make use of it soon."

"Li!" Chae-Young's hand came in contact with the brunette's shoulder, her usual reaction to feeling shame rise to her cheeks due to Lisa's teasing.

"I'm just saying!" She defeatedly hid her face with her arms in order to discourage further punches from her friend. "Now, time for insights! Tell me more!"

By this time, Lisa's legs crossed and her swallow eyes awaited with enthusiasm for the story to begin. The covers on Chae-Young's bed were scrunched up in the brunette's fists. Really, she was relieved that someone allowed her to display her inner teenage girl behavior, that is maybe why Lisa valued Chae-Young and her innocence - she was not expected to be any different around her.

"Well, we went to this really nice restaurant..." The blonde coughed as to clear her throat, then started in a low voice. "Then we went stargazing on this really high bridge...then he drove me here and asked me if I liked stargazing and obviously I said yes! So he leaned over and I thought he was going to kiss me, but he just reached for something from the backseat and boom! This..." as she pointed her entire hand to the gift, "happened."

"Important question, did he pay?"

"Obviously, he's most likely a 재벌."

"A what?"

"Oh, you poor foreign soul. A chaebol is somebody who belongs to a rich family that owns a business."

"Oh my God, Chae! You really hit the jackpot! But where did you even find him?" Conglomerates are people you simply cannot find anywhere, or even talk to while being anyone. Thus, as Chae-Young unraveled her love story, Lisa had even more questions regarding him out of fear of the guy turning out to be a cynical manipulator that has some sort of hidden interest as per why he would persuade her friend so intensely. As much as, for many, it would sound as if Lisa was jealous, her truthful concern was simply out of love for her colleague.

"I agreed to go to one of Jennie's parties and that's where I met him. Jennie's parties are like... chaebol filled!"

And Chae-Young felt the same about Lisa, as she was like a family member with which she could extend her rants close to points which her blood family would undoubtedly shame her for - Lisa was a golden chest. And her friend knew that whatever became part of her memory would be well locked inside her. Sometimes, it became a trouble, for not only she kept Chae-Young's secrets very safe, but so did she with her own. Despite their close relationship, there was a discrepancy between what Lisa knew about Chae-Young and what Chae-Young knew about Lisa.

As far as Chae-Young knew, Lisa had no troubles, issues, bad moments, emotional breakdowns, hardships to overcome. Which, undoubtedly, was unachievable. But recently, looking at how calmly she handled the mental barriers left by the murder, the blonde began to wonder just how much bigger waves she had to swim through before.

"Hello, guys, sorry to disturb you! Oh- what's with the huge sky pic?" Jennie banged in, and in visible shock stopped in the hallway. Physically shaking off the surprise in her eyes, she worded the reason for her sudden visit. "Anyway, I was looking for you, Li! Jung-Kook really needs to see you right now. Why don't you get out and I'll stay with Chae?"

"Oh?! Want me to hand you that lingerie, Li?" Chae-Young returned the teasing.

Lisa left the bed reluctantly, and in the same manner threw Jennie a questioning look to which the latter signaled for her to go. As per request, she flashed a smile for her friend whom she is about to abandon mid-conversation with, then exited the room somewhat anxious. Unexpectedly, he was already there, rested against the door frame, head hung low and eyes closed. Regardless, he was quick to react when Lisa appeared. His hand circled around hers, and gently - at least the amount of gentle a mad person can be - dragged her towards the end of the corridor. Stopped face to face, he grabbed a wrinkled piece of paper then looked her straight in the eyes without further motions.

"What's that?"

"You tell me. It was in your room."

"Did you search through my room?!" revolted, she smacked it from his hand and desperately tried to bring it to its former form.

"I went to install the lock, because I thought <Hey, I should keep my promise.>, and this was on the floor." but contrary to how she expected him to talk, his tone was plain - betrayed, perhaps even hurt - but plain and calm. He demanded an explanation, indeed. "Why did you not tell us, Lisa? Why didn't you tell me you went to see her corpse? How are we supposed to put an end to this other way?"

Her words struggled to gather in a sentence. She refused to meet his eyes, out of shame mayhap or rather out of fear that, through her eyes, he will see what more resides inside her.

"It was her, wasn't it? The doctor we visited the other day. The one you asked me to carry the gift for. She's the one who let you see Miss Jang's corpse."

"No!" at his accusation, she reacted. Realization hit and she acknowledged that is what he waited for, therefore she continued her line in a lower tone. "I got a permit from her family..."

"Do you not trust us?" but to the lack of any response he further preached. If his tone became rougher, Lisa would feel like a child scolded by an adult. Thankfully, it never did. "Lisa, how are we meant to work together if you can't trust us?"

"Her heart is missing."

"What?"

"Miss Song Jang-Mi." Lisa explained, swallowing her pride. "Her heart is missing. And she will soon be cremated. That's all I know, I promise!"

"I believe you, Lisa. It's just that it doesn't make any sense." his stiff, confrontable posture melted, and his look was buried in confusion.

And so, they drowned in silence. Thus, Lisa's phone ringing only appeared louder.

As she took it out to check, Jung-Kook disappeared from in front of her eyes and instead towered above her from behind, therefore looking over her shoulder was no challenge for him. His jacket's cold zip brushed against Lisa's bareback, the thick outsole of his boots missed by millimeters to kiss the heel of Lisa's shoe. At the feeling of him behind her, Lisa opened the message, and skimmed through the unknown number.

"I can't assemble the car. Could you come over to help?"

The brunette turned to Jung-Kook, who perhaps stood to close for this maneuver to be executed safely. But, understandingly, he backed away and displayed a questioning look, as if he wanted to confirm that what he thought that message means is actually what that message means.

It was the doctor.

"Let's go, then."

"Wait." she said. "You can't tell the others."

"I assumed you'd want that. Fine, I won't. Let's go."

"Wait."

"What?" he turned back once again, almost by the staircase.

"I need to change my shoes. I can't run in heels."