THREE

CONNECTION

✧

THAT SAME MORNING, in a crisp mansion on the peak of Angel Hills, a man with sleek black hair leaned forward in his dark swivel, twisting the ring around his finger.

In front of his sprawling desk stood a lean young man his age dressed in a dark gray suit, his head bowed and his hands clasped in front of him.

"That's what I've heard from him," he murmured, his eyes on the floor. "Unfortunately, there's another detective that's adamant on digging through the case."

The man behind the desk looked on coldly. "Then do your job. Eliminate the threat."

"I understand--"

"I hope you're not under the delusion that you're a valuable asset. If you haven't noticed already, I'm quick to get rid of people who don't do their jobs."

"But--" The young man shifted uneasily. "I know so much. You won't fire me."

"Fire you!" His lip curled. "When did I say I would fire you? I said I would get rid of you."

The man paled. Swallowed. Then he bowed his head. "I'll be sure the detective stays out of the problem." There was an unmistakable tremor in his voice. "Sir." Eyes averted, he hurried out of the room.

His fear and shame had engulfed him so much that, upon leaving the mansion, he failed to notice the hooded figure standing a short distance away.

Watching.

✦

"Get what information?"

Eris's mouth, which had opened in surprise, now went dry. Celestia Min waited coolly, brow still raised.

Eris clutched the coffee tighter in her hands. "What?"

Celestia laughed in disbelief. "Do you think I didn't hear you on the phone?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're talking about." Eris stepped past her, heart racing. "Excuse me, but I have somewhere to be--"

Celestia's hand gripped her wrist so abruptly Eris jolted back. One of the coffees tilted and spilled its steaming contents onto her hand. She hissed and bit her lip as it seared her skin, then looked up with a fresh wave of annoyance.

"These are for the head makeup artist and her assistants," Eris snapped, pulling away. "And they're about to murder me, so let go."

Celestia's lip twisted. "I will when you tell me what a volunteer like you is doing outside my trailer."

Eris stilled. "Your--" She turned, slowly, to the trailer behind her. Sure enough, a label read in crisp black letters: CELESTIA MIN.

"What," said Celestia, rolling her eyes away sourly, "are all the creepy photos and videos on the Internet not enough? Do you know how much shit my manager gives me for every little thing that gets put out there?"

She made a face. "Who said I--"

"Of course you don't," Celestia went on bitterly. "People are too obsessed with living vicariously through others now, aren't they?"

"I wasn't--"

"Spare me." Her gaze was cold steel. "As a volunteer, you hardly look like someone who's interested in filmmaking."

Eris's heart stopped.

"Celestia!" called a new voice.

They both stilled. Celestia's hand fell from Eris's burned wrist.

From the distant warehouse approached Luke, dressed in full costume--all rough black, a bulletproof vest, armed with a fake pistol that looked very real. His dark hair styled into roguish, tousled waves, as if he'd just filmed some fight.

When he spoke, his voice was laced with surprised laughter. "What are you doing all the way here?"

Celestia's brows raised innocently. "All the way here?"

"Kell's already waiting." His gaze slid to Eris before returning to his co-star. "Who'd you meet?"

Her face darkened as she considered Eris, whose heart was pounding faster by the minute. Mare would be furious. "I found her snooping around my trailer," said Celestia calmly. "I'm thinking of reporting her to Don, get her stuff checked before anything spreads."

Eris glanced away, annoyed. "I told you, I wasn't snooping."

Luke tilted his head to get a look at her. His smile was gone now. "What makes you think she's snooping?"

"She was on the phone next to my trailer. Caught her speaking to some friend about getting the information they needed." She tossed Eris a disdainful look. "Did I get that right, miss volunteer? Or are you going to lie again?"

Luke opened his mouth to speak--perhaps to question this, hopefully refute it--only to go still.

His gaze had fallen on her name tag. Eris, who had begun scanning her surroundings for an escape route, froze.

ERIS PARK.

In big, bold letters. A dead giveaway of her family name. He frowned, and Eris sucked in a breath.

He knows.

She could hardly breathe as Luke's gaze rose from the name tag to meet hers: wary, calculative, uncertain. Or does he?

He tore his gaze away from the tag and turned his head towards Celestia. "Leave this to me," he told her smoothly. "You should go before Kell throws a fit."

For a moment, Celestia remained still--it felt as if her eyes, albeit cool, were burning a searing hole into Eris's skull. It sent shivers beneath her skin--as if suddenly the actress could peel through all her barriers and rifle through her secrets.

And when she spoke, it felt as if she'd done just that.

"Well," she began to Luke coldly, "you'd better do a damn good job of dealing with it. That girl's hiding something." Her eyes flashed as she turned to leave. "I can feel it."

✦

"Stop moving around like that," Luke murmured, shooting her a weird look. "It's rocking the entire elevator."

Eris returned his look. "I'm not that heavy."

"The warehouse elevators are fragile."

She huffed.

When Celestia had left, her words threatening to tear at Eris's disguise, Eris had expected the worst: for Luke to somehow piece everything together and question her about her brother, for him to interrogate her about her true job, to expose her secrets and bring her to Don, or even call security to get her kicked off set, right then and there.

But he'd surprised her. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately--he'd barely spared her a glance before nodding to the coffees.

"Those are for Mare, aren't they?"

Eris looked up in surprise.

"How'd you know that?"

"Because I was just listening to her fuss about it." His lip quirked in amusement. "Follow me. I'll take you to her."

And so he had--she'd followed him through throngs of noisy staff carting equipment around and reading off lists. It had felt strange, especially when Luke looked as if he should be on the rooftops of Downtown Seraph fighting crime, with that outfit and pistol.

She took time to notice things about him--anything that might give her an inkling of what she should be looking for. She noticed how his hand seemed to go back to his hair almost instinctively, raking through it or messing it up in some way. His lips curved and his eyes brightened in a smile of greeting whenever he saw familiar staff--it seemed as if they were particularly fond of him for it. He tugged at the collar of his dark costume, as if it was too hot, too stifling. But it wasn't just the costume--there was something about Luke that made him seem out of place, like a wild card, like someone who felt the desire or need to be in a place other than this.

As they walked, she'd noticed a few assistant stylists and volunteers taking notice of him, blushing scarlet before hurrying along. Though it was easy to roll her eyes at them, Eris supposed she could see the appeal--but after everything that had happened between her family and his, the conversation she'd heard in that stairway...her defenses were too high.

Now, the elevator tilted slightly as they passed the second floor. The bright fluorescent lights of the shaft cast sharp shadows across his face as he lowered his head, frowning as he attempted to pat down his heavily styled hair.

On the third floor, he led her down a bright-lit hall where men and women hauled garment bags and beauty products to and fro. At last, they arrived at a wide, sprawling room lined in closets and makeup stations peppered with bulbs of white light. The air was thick with powder and perfume. In the corner of the room stood Mare, hands on her hips, scrutinizing some jam-packed boxes on the floor.

Eris's heart stopped when she saw who was with her.

Audrey, Guardian's head makeup artist, sat in a dark chair, waiting.

An elegant woman with glowing unblemished skin, she had dark, arresting features and hazel eyes darkened by thick, smoky makeup. She'd propped her on the armrests of her dark chair, right hand massaging one temple, the other hand poised absently in the air, heavily-manicured nails glittering in the light.

The coffee tray suddenly felt heavy in her hands. Eris sucked in a breath.

At this, Luke paused a moment before entering. "Don't worry," he murmured. "You'll be fine."

They crossed the room, footsteps echoing--assistants and actors must be out running errands or shooting scenes already. At least there wouldn't be important people here to witness her demise--except, of course, for Luke Young beside her.

At their arrival, Audrey glanced over and rolled her eyes, her jewel-studded hand falling from her temple to the armrest. She looked weary--and deeply unhappy.

"Finally," she breathed, her lips twisting down.

Mare spun around and immediately shot forward in disapproval. "Took you ten minutes longer than it should have. I told you, Audrey doesn't like to be kept waiting," she added with a whisper, shooting her a look as she swiftly grabbed her cup. "And look who's decided to pay a visit." She looked at Luke dryly. "What are you playing at now, Young? Trying to steal my volunteers from me?"

An easy smile slid onto his lips. "Sorry. I thought this coffee was mine." He tilted his head with a wince. "I might've held her up for a bit."

Despite the pang of surprise that hit her, Eris offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry about the delay."

"You most definitely should be sorry," broke in a smooth, biting voice. Audrey appeared in front of her, her eyes rising to Eris's in a calm and deadly manner. "I had quite the migraine the entire four hours I was putting on Shah's makeup." 

She exhaled a breath. God, what was it going to take her to get this story?

"It's not even the girl's fault," Mare pressed.

Audrey turned on Mare with sickly smile, that glittering hand still poised in the air. "My, are all your volunteers usually this dim-witted and slow?"

Eris set her jaw. "She's new," said Mare. "Give her a break."

"If she wanted a break, she signed up for the wrong fucking industry. Now, where is my coffee...?" Her fingers danced in the air as she considered the options, pulling back in a pitiful frown. "She didn't even label them."

Eris's brows raised. "Sorry?"

"Label them," Audrey repeated. "They aren't labeled."

"I wasn't told they needed to be labeled," she said, irritated. "It's right here--"

"Well, don't touch it, now. Your hands might be filthy."

Luke shifted beside her, his shoulder brushing hers as he plucked up Audrey's coffee smoothly with a tired smile. "Don't be rude," he chided easily. "The whole crew's been up an hour earlier than you, but they're not giving other people a hard time for it."

Audrey snatched her cup sourly. "A boy like you can keep your mouth shut. You've likely been spoiled your whole life."

His face gave away no reaction, as if he'd heard it before. But Eris couldn't stop the fresh wave of annoyance that hit her--and the words that came with it. "Was that necessary?"

The room fell silent. Audrey's brows raised, displeased.

It was then that a crew member appeared in the doorway, clutching his clipboard and phone. Suddenly aware of all their eyes on him, he shifted nervously, wary of the tense silence in the room. "I'm here for Luke," he began unsteadily, then cleared his throat when Luke looked over curiously. "Marc's done. Hope wants you over there."

Hope. Eris had nearly forgotten about him.

Audrey huffed, shooting them both one last disdainful look before she turned up her chin, took a long sip of coffee, and strode off with a toss of her gleaming hair. Beside her, Luke had glanced away. Eris noticed something flicker through his eyes and felt a new nagging curiosity. Who, exactly, was he?

"Luke?" tried the crew member again.

His gaze cleared. "Don't work your volunteers too hard," he told Mare teasingly, his gaze falling on Eris. Then he nodded goodbye and walked away, sending the squirming crew member an acknowledging smile. She watched as the boy relaxed and led him away.

Eris was so taken aback by what had just happened that she nearly missed the person had been waiting outside the doorway, arms crossed, face shielded by a cap and a hood. He or she was dressed in big sneakers, covered by shadows, this shady hooded figure entirely out of place in the stylist hall. They cocked their head to one side, then pushed off the wall and strode away in Luke's direction.

Eris's brows pulled into a deep frown. "Mare," she said, turning. "Who is that?"

Mare took a long sip of coffee. "Hmm?"

"That..."

She trailed off.

The person was gone.

✦

Appa was having a drink.

He liked to insist that soju tasted like shit in Seraph City, that Eris was an idiot to drink it. Yet here he was, sitting in a pool of yellow light in a closed up Cherub Proper, accompanied with a basket of chicken and a bottle of soju. For a moment, Eris simply stood in the doorway, a sigh leaving her nose as her lips curled into a knowing smile.

So it was a good night.

She was glad. So many times she'd hauled him up to their apartment above the Proper when he'd drunken himself sick. She'd swiped up fallen napkins stained with grease, grabbed clusters of clinking bottles as she kicked stools into their places. Once all was cleaned, she'd wash up with heavy-lidded eyes, pour herself a hot cup of milk and put some soft John Mayer on the vinyl, closing the door tight to drown out her father's drunken snores as she lured herself to sleep. On weekends, she even woke early to make him a piping bowl of haejangguk.

But today...today was different. For her and for him.

There was a new pressure on her shoulders. She couldn't half-ass her way out of this one: Eddie wanted a solid story, something juicy, as he liked to say. He was even excusing her from the office as long as the article was delivered to his desk on time. This should have been no more than one more daunting task: she should have had no problems qualms sneaking into Luke's trailer, digging out his secrets, and bringing them to Eddie for the paycheck that would keep the Proper alive. It should have been so easy--to continue being as blind as Eddie and believe all famous, money-happy celebrities were as terrible as Sebastian Ngo.

But Luke was proving to be an enigma. Everyone at the Angel was breathing down her neck about him; yet the thought of invading his privacy was beginning to nag at her conscience.

"What are you standing there for?" said her dad, shooting her a look. He appeared to be very much sober. "Clean yourself up upstairs and get some sleep."

Eris considered her dad for a moment. Today was a good day, yes, but he was always alone, somehow. Even when he was with other people, he looked lonely.

"I'm joining you," she said. Ignoring his surprise, she put down her things, sat, and handed him a shot glass to fill.

He gave her another a weird look and filled it. Then he filled his own. They turned and drank, silent.

They drank in silence for a while, filling each other's glasses. She was aware of her dad's eyes tracking her movements as she drank, as if he wanted to say something. It was always like this, one of them choosing the right moment to speak, only to falter from the comfort of silence between them, a space far too familiar to break.

It was a long while before he spoke.

"Elias came over earlier."

Her heart stopped. When she looked up, she noticed that his lip was twisted down more tightly than before, but not because he was angry--no, she knew him well enough to know he was trying hard to hide a smile.

"Why?" she said.

"He wanted more kimchi." He refilled her glass. "The idiot is finally eating it."

"More kimchi?" repeated Eris in disbelief. "Are you kidding?"

He paused, offended. "Trying to say something about my kimchi?"

Eris laughed. "Appa. You know that's not what I meant. Elias hasn't come over in at least a year."

He shrugged, but she caught the quirk of his lip. "Well, he came today. He was in a good mood about it, too."

His voice was gruff and sharp-edged. But she caught the hint of softness in it. That hint of pride, that feeling of finally. A pang of doubt hit her chest. Yet as she watched her dad pour her another glass, she found a smile making its way onto her lips.

Shaking off her doubt, she released a sigh of satisfaction and drank again.

She supposed Elias had always been strange like that.

✦

The next morning, everything changed.

She woke at four in the morning, unable to sleep, so she chose to arrive on set an hour than she needed to and see if she could get answers then.

With the breath of mist fogging up her windows, the lights washing the small apartment in dark yellow, Eris tiptoed around the wooden floors--knowing where they creaked and where they didn't, careful to keep her father asleep. She pulled on a thick cream sweater, rolling down its high neckline so it framed her neck like a scarf. Her fingers brushed the necklace resting against her chest: a flat circle of rose gold engraved with a pair of angel wings. A complete pair, unlike the symbol of her father's restaurant.

She could hear his snores from his room. He'd be up at six in the morning, tidying himself up as Nico arrived downstairs to set up for another day. She made him some winter melon soup, poured it into a thermos to keep it hot until he woke up, and was sure to check that the heater was working before she slipped downstairs and out the door.

An hour later, the set was still washed in a hazy dark blue, the distant lights of the warehouse glittering like stars in the dark.

"Hard at work," she murmured to herself. There was no doubt Mare was awake already.

The chilly autumn wind nipped at Eris's skin as she strode down the dirt slopes towards the trailers. She passed Celestia's trailer, which sat in the dark, then chose to weave through the aisles in case anything caught her eye.

They loomed over her like sleeping statues. She made out their names in the dark.

Celestia Min. Reece Watanabe. Will Shah. Luke Young.

She was almost past Luke's when a dry laugh made her pause.

It came from Luke's trailer, which was as dark as any other trailer on the row. With a wary frown, Eris sent a furtive glance around her and crept towards the trailer, tucking herself neatly into the shadows to listen.

"Be frank with me, Young," teased a wry voice. "You think the girl's cute. Don't feed me bullshit."

The voice belonged to a girl. Eris sucked in a breath, puzzled. A girl at five in the morning?

Luke's voice sounded heavy with sleep. "We both know that's not why I'm doing this."

"Yeah?" she replied. "When are you going to cut out the mystery act? Even I can't read you, and I have to read people for a living."

There was tired laughter in his voice. "What?"

"The jobs my clients give me make them easy to pinpoint. They're greedy for money. Thirsty for revenge. Desperate for dignity. They're an open book even when they claim they're not." There were footsteps; Eris shrunk back. "You just give me one hell of a headache."

Her heart jumped as the door swung open.

"Raise the price, Petra. I wouldn't mind," said Luke.

Petra snorted. "You already pay me extra. What is that, pity money? Jesus. We both hate Elias's guts. I'd do this for free."

Eris's blood turned cold. Their footsteps hit the dirt.

"Would you?" came Luke's voice, quieter. "We both know the stakes are higher now. There's a bigger player in the game."

What game?

"Whoever they are, that's my problem. The liar's our main concern now."

If Luke replied, Eris didn't hear it.

When she shifted out of her hiding spot and into the open, she saw them in the distance--Luke, dressed in a dark hoodie with hands in his pockets--and the girl beside him with a hood pulled up, a cap, and big dirt-stained sneakers.

So the hooded person in the hall yesterday had been a girl Luke was paying...for what? For information?

And Elias--they were after Elias, her brother. Truly after him. These were no longer cold words thrown around some stairway. This was action.

A fresh wave of fear rose up within her, cold as ice. This was beyond simply her job. This was about her family. She needed--no, she deserved to get to the bottom of it and find out what the hell was going on.

She slipped a bobby pin out of her pocket, twisted it into shape, and crept up the stairs. Eris had done this a million times--her brother had taught her in the few years they'd been close. Within seconds, she was in.

Inside, the floors inlaid with plush carpet stretching from corner to corner, the walls a dark charcoal grey. A bed with dark sheets sat at the end of the rectangular space across a TV. Chargers stuck out from outlets. Scripts were stacked upon the desk against the wall. A stash of instant noodles, instant coffee, and water bottles spilled out of one corner.

She surveyed the room warily, peering into cabinets, finding nothing of interest...until her eyes fell on the photo lying on Luke's nightstand.

It was taken at some night market. Luke stood in a dark coat, a smile consuming his entire face. She had never seen him smile like that before. Perhaps that was because here, he was looking to a girl a few years younger than him, bright blue cotton candy in one hand, head thrown back in laughter. She was the brightest part of the picture. 

She was Mei Young, Luke's sister and Elias's last girlfriend.

Suddenly, Eris's eyes stung with tears. Her throat ached. Air felt sparse. She pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from making noise, and pain swelled inside her, sharp as knives.

It had been so long ago. But had anyone truly healed from it?

Her gaze fell from the photo to the nightstand cabinet, which was half-closed. More photos. Before she knew it, her own shaking hand was nudging it all the way open. Her vision blurred.

They were labeled. 1998. Luke as a five-year-old, attempting to teach Mei how to bike. 1999. Mei in a party hat for her fourth birthday. 2001. Mei at Luke's first movie premiere. 2008. Thirteenth birthday. 2013. High school graduation. And there were other ones. College visits, set visits, vacations. Mei laughing. She was always laughing.

Eris's face was wet with tears. She reached for the folder beneath the array of photos, expecting more.

What she saw felt like a slap to the face.

DECEMBER 21, 2016 | 6:32 A.M.

A 22-year-old West Seraph U undergraduate student is dead and two more are injured after a car crash near Seraph City's famed "Cherub Lights"...

The article of the accident. But with it she found more: pictures of the accident from the footage, of Elias Park, notes and reports of the accident, numbers, dates, text messages. We both hate Elias's guts. I'd do this for free.

Shock rippled down her spine. Luke wasn't just threatening her brother.

He was framing him for Mei's death.

✧

REFERENCES

korean

soju: 소주 , vodka-like rice liquor from Korea meant to be consumed with food. it's served in a traditional way that is important. for example, you never pour your own soju; the first drink is poured by an older person, and you are to take it with two hands and shoot it with your face turned to the side to avoid eye contact. there is more but i'll cut it off here; i encourage you to look it up :)

haejangguk: 해장국 , "soup to chase hangover", traditionally eaten as a hangover cure and consists of napa cabbage and other vegetables/meat in broth

chinese

winter melon soup: 冬瓜汤 , popular chinese soup during winter time; it's basically what its english name is and can include other meat and vegetables

✧

lmao those references made me so hungry.

hey guys!

this chapter was a bit longer, but i hope you enjoyed it. if you did, a vote and/or comment would be much appreciated! things will only get more intense from here, so stay tuned. there will also be action scenes later :)

thank you for reading!

❥ krissy