Veil Of Shadows //Sunki FF

Chapter Four: Beneath the Surface

Please leave comments and vote, thank you <3

The faint glow of the early morning light filtered through the windows of Niki Nishimura’s modest apartment. He sat on his couch, his mind somewhere between exhaustion and adrenaline, sleep a distant afterthought. A mug of cold coffee sat untouched on the table in front of him, forgotten as he sifted through his case notes.

Three black roses. Three men dead. Three scenes stripped of evidence but marked with one chilling, poetic signature.

And now… Sunoo.

Ever since their strange encounter by the river, Niki had felt a deep unease, an almost magnetic pull that kept him circling back to Sunoo’s image. It was irrational—he had nothing concrete to suggest that Sunoo was involved. Yet, the man’s quiet, almost ethereal beauty, and the weight of his gaze held a kind of mystery that lingered in Niki’s mind.

He pulled out his phone, scrolling through the collection of photos he had taken during each crime scene. The black roses in each were the only unifying element, their petals smooth, perfect, and dark as midnight.

Sighing, he leaned back, letting his gaze drift out of the window. He knew his attraction to the man was compromising his objectivity, blurring the line between his duty as a detective and his intrigue as a man. A dangerous line, and one he had never crossed before. Yet here he was, trying to make sense of the way Sunoo’s presence lingered, haunting his mind like a shadow he couldn’t shake.

---

Later That Day

Sunoo strolled through the crowded Morcrest streets, blending into the flow of people with practiced ease. He wore a light, unassuming jacket, his face calm and innocent. But behind that serene mask, his mind was alive with thoughts of Niki.

That gaze, so direct and unrelenting, had unsettled him more than he cared to admit. Sunoo had spent years perfecting his facade, becoming nearly invisible, slipping through life as though he were just another face in the crowd. But with Niki, he felt seen in a way that both excited and terrified him.

The detective’s curiosity had been clear, and he had felt the spark of suspicion that lay beneath the man’s calm demeanor. It had been years since anyone had come close to understanding his motives, to seeing past his angelic exterior to the darkness he carried within. And Niki, with his quiet intensity and relentless drive, was already closer than anyone had ever been.

As he turned a corner, Sunoo’s thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a familiar face—a man he recognized all too well from his research. Marcus Cho, a wealthy entrepreneur known for his charm… and his hidden violence. His gaze darkened as he watched the man laugh with a group of friends, exuding an air of confidence that spoke of his power.

Marcus was exactly the kind of man Sunoo had vowed to protect the world from, the kind who believed he could do as he pleased without consequence. A surge of cold anger welled up inside him as he watched Marcus, and he knew what he had to do.

This one would be different, though. With Niki now trailing close behind his every move, Sunoo knew he’d have to be more careful, more precise. His actions had to be seamless, leaving nothing but the faintest trace behind.

He slipped away, fading into the crowd once more, his mind already weaving the threads of his next plan.

---

That Evening

Niki’s workday had been long, filled with meetings, paperwork, and the endless bureaucracy that plagued the Morcrest Police Department. But as night fell, he found himself outside a quiet coffee shop, fingers brushing the edge of his phone as he toyed with an idea he’d been wrestling with all day.

Sunoo.

Against his better judgment, he had saved the stranger’s number from a contact list he’d pulled for background checks. He knew it was probably reckless, even unprofessional, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he needed to know more about him, to understand the way Sunoo seemed to move through life with such haunting grace.

Before he could stop himself, he tapped out a brief message:

> “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye last night. Coffee sometime?”

He stared at the screen, his finger hovering over the “send” button. Part of him wanted to dismiss the idea entirely, but another part—the part that felt Sunoo’s presence burning in his mind—pushed him forward.

He pressed send.

As he waited for a reply, the weight of his decision settled over him, a quiet warning ringing in his mind. He was breaking protocol, blurring lines, and risking his own clarity. But the thrill of it, the dangerous lure of being drawn closer to Sunoo’s shadow, was intoxicating.

Minutes ticked by, and just as he was about to put his phone away, a soft chime broke the silence.

Sunoo’s response was simple:

> “Tomorrow night. I know a place.”

---

The Next Evening

Niki arrived at the location Sunoo had suggested, a hidden gem of a café tucked away down a narrow side street. The atmosphere inside was calm and warm, filled with the rich scent of coffee and faint murmurs of conversation.

As he scanned the room, his eyes fell on Sunoo, seated near a window, his soft, calm smile greeting him as if they were old friends. Niki felt his heartbeat quicken, and he cursed himself inwardly for the effect Sunoo seemed to have on him.

“Detective Nishimura,” Sunoo greeted, his voice gentle, carrying that same quiet intrigue that had haunted Niki since their first meeting.

“Just Niki,” he replied, forcing a calm he didn’t quite feel. “We’re off the clock, aren’t we?”

Sunoo’s smile widened just a fraction, and he gestured for Niki to sit across from him. For a moment, they sat in silence, the quiet hum of the café filling the space between them.

Niki cleared his throat, choosing his words carefully. “I didn’t take you for the coffee type.”

Sunoo tilted his head, his gaze soft but sharp. “And what type did you take me for?”

Niki paused, feeling his heart beat harder, uncertain if he should say what he was truly thinking. “The quiet, mysterious type. The kind who stays just out of reach.”

A flicker of something unreadable passed over Sunoo’s face, his expression momentarily faltering before returning to its calm, serene facade. “Maybe that’s because some people are meant to stay out of reach, Detective.”

Niki studied him, sensing a depth behind those words that he couldn’t quite grasp. There was a sadness there, a pain woven into Sunoo’s gaze, hidden behind a veil of tranquility. And in that moment, Niki felt a surge of something he hadn’t expected: the desire to understand, to break through the facade and see the man beneath.

“Or maybe some people just need someone willing to try,” Niki replied softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

For the briefest of moments, Sunoo’s mask slipped, and Niki saw something raw and vulnerable flicker in his eyes. But just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by that calm, angelic smile.

“Careful, Niki,” he murmured, his voice a gentle warning. “Curiosity can be dangerous.”

Niki met his gaze, a quiet challenge burning in his eyes. “Maybe I don’t mind a little danger.”

Sunoo’s expression softened, his gaze dropping to his coffee as he seemed to weigh his next words. The tension between them grew, a silent, electric charge that neither could ignore. It was a line they both understood—a delicate balance between trust and suspicion, between desire and duty.

They lingered in that moment, each aware that they were drifting deeper into something neither of them could control.

And for the first time, they both wondered if they’d crossed a line they could never uncross.

---