Close To Midnight

Chapter 6

Jihyo's vision narrowed to a pinprick as her eyes skittered around the empty parking lot carefully. She slid the pin into the car, twisted it in an angle that would get the lock open. They'd dump the car once their job was done. Stolen vehicles were perfect for their missions because it couldn't be traced back to them.

She muttered a curse under her breath when she heard footsteps behind them. She quickly leaned against the car, relaxed her body and kept a calm composure as she waited for the person to pass by.

Nayeon, perched on the bonnet of the car, one leg bent, a hand resting over her raised knee, another stretched out before her, drew a puff of her cigarette not looking the slightest bit alarmed.

"Fancy seeing you both here." A soft voice greeted them.

Mina. Armed with shopping bags in both her hands, struggling to keep balance in her high heels, the girl looked a menace to some unlucky parents' wallet. Jihyo thought she'd have learnt by now to avoid dodgy places late at night, but the girl seemed hell bent on repeating her mistakes.

Mistake like the one she just made. "Smoking is a terrible habit." She had said, plucked the cigarette out of Nayeon's hand and threw it to the ground.

Mistake number two. She either didn't notice how the muscles in Nayeon's jaw twitched or decided to ignore it and proceeded to take a step closer to her.

Mistake number three. She looked up at the older girl with something akin to fondness in her gaze, with absolutely no fear in her warm brown eyes.

With every mistake made, came the inevitable consequences.

Nayeon hopped off the bonnet. Slammed Mina against the door. One hand went for her throat. Another laid by her shoulder pinning her to the car. Everything happened in a flash of a second Jihyo barely had time to react, let alone stop Nayeon from strangling Mina to death.

Luckily for the girl, Nayeon seemed to regain some control over herself last second. Her hand hovered so close to Mina's throat Jihyo swore she would be able to feel the pulse in her neck. "I'll kill you with my bare hands if you so much as looked in my direction again." Her low voice dripped with so much rage that it sent chills racing down Jihyo's spine. "Get the fuck out of here now."

Mina's mouth which was dropped open, snapped shut slowly. Her chest rose and fell gently as she kept her widened eyes locked on Nayeon's dark ones simmering with anger.

Anyone with a wish to live would have nodded their head in assent and got the fuck out of there, but Mina apparently was on a suicide mission. Jihyo watched in absolute horror as a dainty hand lifted up slowly to cup Nayeon's hardened face.

Jihyo had known Nayeon since they were 10. She was familiar with her few emotions, anger and emotional coldness the most dominant ones. This was the first time she had seen anything remotely close to surprise dancing in her features. Until now nobody had ever dared to lift their head up in Nayeon's presence and here was someone who stubbornly refused to be afraid of her.

"You better leave." Jihyo warned, seeing the stunned expression slowly giving way to red hot explosion of fury.

"I would." Mina cleared her throat, retrieving her hand back slowly to cross her arms over her chest and replied with teasing lilt to her tone, "That is, if your boss moved. I need to get inside my car." She pointed a finger at the car behind her back, not looking away from the glare Nayeon was giving her.

The same car that they'd just tried to nick.

-----

"Stop the frame right there." Chaeyoung bellowed to Tzuyu as a white van came on screen, the same one she'd found near two other crime scenes. "Go back few steps and zoom on the driver."

The face was pixelated. Chaeyoung groaned in frustration. "Can you clean up the image a little?"

Tzuyu gave a reassuring nod. "I'll do my best."

"Did you run the plate?" Chayeoung turned to Jeongyeon who angrily kicked a chair to a short distance as she walked into their office. She took a huge swig of her double espresso and gave the answer Chaeyoung was already expecting, "Stolen vehicle. Fucking bastards."