Scarlet Clue | Ryeji

Four

"Hello?" Ryujin answered with a coarse voice. She cleared her throat.

"Ryujin." A figurative bucket of ice-cold water was suddenly poured all over Ryujin. She knew who it was on the other line. She was looking for her all this time.

"Ryeong?! Oh my God. Where are you?!"

"Ryujin, listen. We don't have much time so I just need you to listen carefully and remember what I'm about to tell you. No questions asked." The raven head swallowed a large lump in her throat followed by a small okay.

"The men after you and the ones who abducted Yeji." Ryujin's ears perked up at the mention of her name.

"They're all under the Black Organisation. It's a highly infamous group known to be at the top when it comes to illegal drug and weapon trading. Their main target is me because I'm one of only ten people in the world who knows where and the code to open." There was a mountain of questions she wanted to ask but Ryujin remained silent and let Chaeryeong continue.

"Listen carefully, alright. With stakes this high, I can only trust you with this information." Ryujin nodded even if the girl on the other side of the line couldn't see her.

"There's a secret vault where highly confidential information is stored. Just a year ago, one of their scientists successfully created the drug and it was used to kill him. It's a highly lethal drug injected into a high pressure needleless syringe. Their goal is to get to that vault and steal the remaining file needed to perfect the syringe they've been working on. You know where this is going right?" A hum of agreement.

"Needleless meaning no pricks. The drug itself dissolves and leaves no traces. Not through forensic reports, not through autopsies. No, nothing. Our organisation caught wind of it and managed to get part of the recipe file, so they're onto us. Even more now, that they know you're personally involved with me." Ryujin stood there speechless.

"The vault is located behind the five story pagoda in Shitennoji through the shrine. I want you to go there and make sure it's still hidden and it stays that way. I'm counting on you, Ryu."

"Wait, Ryeong!" The line went dead and Ryujin was left to stare at her phone. At least the relief in knowing her best friend was alive gave her a boost of confidence and the information that was just shared to her shed a bit of light onto the whole ordeal she got herself into.

Shaking the exhaustion off, Ryujin continued to walk until she finally got out and caught sight of a staff member's shack in Amity Village. The plan was to stay there for the night and get the wound dressed up nicely, then she's bound for Shittenoji. She didn't know what awaited her there. All she knew was that if what Chaeryeong said was true then she would most likely find a bunch of guys from that Black Organisation surveying the shrine. And the closer she would get to their people, the sooner she would find Yeji.

Ryujin overslept. It wasn't good. She was used to ignoring the alarm every chance she got but not this time. She would blame herself for it, but she couldn't point a finger on her body. It was the exhaustion that still knocked her off. Even if the wound ballistics over her arm was in fine fettle a little, her leg muscles were still worn out considering the sparse barrage on it was a pain in her arse. Until her phone became inconvenient eventually. As if she was in constant battle against the palm of the universe, Ryujin kept going in circles on the streets of Osaka, not knowing any instructions and directions. She wouldn't even bother to ask a local, that's how stubborn she was. Ryujin just hissed underneath her warm breath.

Or she wouldn't even bother the unvarnished truth that Yeji occupied every region of her brain.

"Yeah, I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't." In depth, she put her brain upon the pedestal―her heart. All right. She wasn't the most silver-tongued person to be talking about this.