The Heir: What Lies Underneath - [TAEBIN/BEOMKAI]

Chapter 6: Under a Knife

Soobin could see the visible gulp sliding down their throats. Which was a valid reaction, because neither of the two, even Kai despite his oftentimes dangerous endeavors the past few months, expected that a city like Busan could have... a region with such terrible crime and horror committing atrocities.

In public places too.

"Do I need to list any other reasons why I believe you should come home with me?" Soobin asked, a tint of smugness to his tone.

Taehyun shook his head.

"No."

"You win," Kai added.

"Great."

Soobin checked his phone to see what time it was, and he nodded to himself.

"Okay, it's already close to 11pm."

"Meaning?" Taehyun asked.

"No public transport. We'll have to walk."

Kai gave a thumbs up.

"Fantastic."

"Oh come on, we were the whole day on top of a haystack, I could use some regular movement that doesn't require me running for my life," Taehyun sassed back.

Soobin failed to hide his snicker, turning on his heel and walking in the westward direction, the two newcomers following him like little ducklings, through dark alleys, past a few rundown buildings, until they finally reached... an entire apartment filled neighborhood.

Quite frankly, they all looked the same.

Beige concrete buildings, some that had graffiti, others a boarded window to make up for the broken glass, and the grass looked like it hadn't been mowed in ages, although it was so dead looking that there was no hope for any fresh green grass to grow in its place.

"I know what you're thinking," Soobin said as they boarded the elevator.

The duo from abroad looked at him.

"What?"

"Sketchy looking area huh?"

"Kind of," Taehyun responded.

Kai shrugged.

"I've seen worse."

Soobin leaned back against the elevator to look at them better.

"Well, the sketchy looking-ness of this area has its benefits. It serves as a shield for all of us living here."

"A shield?"

"For?" Kai asked.

"Because this place looks so rancid and rundown, nobody comes looking here. We're relatively safe from crime here in comparison to other places."

I'll take your word for it.

The elevator reached the third floor in no time, and upon exiting the small lift box, Soobin pulled his keys out and unlocked the door to his place of residence.

"I'm back!" he called into the apartment.

Kai and Taehyun glanced at each other.

He doesn't live alone?

To answer their question, the quick footsteps coming from within the apartment clearly stated no, he does not.

"Soobin? What took you so long?"

A figure emerged into the living area, already dressed for settling into the night, but came to a surprised halt when he spotted two unfamiliar faces.

"Who are they?" he asked.