Demon in Disguise

Ke Tian

Qiang takes a deep breath and looks at the address on the paper one more time before knocking. It would be embarrassing to knock on the wrong house.

"Who is it?" Qiang hears a female's voice ask from the other side of the door.

"It's Zhou Qiang. Remember me?"

After a moments silence, the door cracks open to reveal Ke Tian. Her short brown hair is straightened and she has simple makeup on.

"Qiang? I haven't seen you in a while.... What brings you here?"

"I..." Her mind is thinking of two different things: to lie and go in or to speak the truth and possibly get turned away at the door. "I want to talk about something."

From the look in her eyes, Qiang knew that Ke Tian had a grasp of what she wanted to talk about.

"Please." She begs.

With a hesitant nod, Ke Tian steps aside and Qiang walks into the house.

"I'm sorry, my house is a bit messy. I was out of town for a week and I just returned yesterday."

Ke Tian's house looked perfectly fine to Qiang, she didn't know what mess the other woman was addressing. "Your house looks perfectly fine." She sits on the couch and waits for Ke Tian to do the same.

But said woman remains standing she doesn't want to talk about the issue, Qiang could see it in her eyes. Ke Tian is trying to take up as much time as possible.

"Would you like some refreshments? Water? I have some bread I bought at the bakery yesterday evening."

"No, it's fine. Sit down Ke Tian. I have questions I want to ask you and I know you know exactly what I want to ask. Please, sit." If Ke Tian says no then she won't push the issue, but because the other woman isn't saying anything Qiang takes it as an invitation to continue.

Ke Tian shuffles to the couch and sits on it, as if it was prickly and she was itching to jump off at the chance. "What do you want to ask."

"This topic, I assume, is sensitive to you. While you tell the police and the detectives that you don't know anything I know you know something. One of you four must know something about her death." At the mention of the words 'her death' Ke Tian flinches. "You know who did it didn't you?"

Ke Tian doesn't answer, she stares down at her lap with her tightly clenched hands shaking.

"Please, I must know. If you know anything please tell me." Qiang pleads. "It was her lover wasn't it? BiYu was pregnant. She must have told you all this. She was with a man before she died. Who was that man? Did he cause this?"

Ke Tian's face registers shock, "How do you know all this?" she exclaims, standing up. "Who told you this?"

Qiang remains calm so as to not anger Ke Tian. "Mr. Wang told me that she was pregnant. She told him that it was love and she was going to marry the father of her child."

The other woman eyes Qiang skeptically, "Did he tell you the name of the man?"

Qiang hesitates, "Yes."

"What's his name?"

"Zhang Yixing."

The name seemed to click something inside Ke Tian and she sags down onto her chair. "Alright... I'll tell you. They met each other at Melanin, a club in Ming. They began talking and she became interested in him. I was never too sure about him, he may have looked like a gentleman but what gentleman goes to clubs? Especially that club. He got her pregnant and obviously she stayed with him. When she told him the news about her pregnancy he didn't look too thrilled. His eyes had flashed down to her stomach with malice. She thought he was going to hit her stomach, kill the child. But he didn't, he told her that they would get married and live a happy life with their child. A month later she..." Ke Tian's bottom lip trembled, she closes her eyes and releases a heavy sigh. "After her death he came to each of us, one by one and threatened that if we said anything he would kill us just like he did to her. I stayed up every night after that, anxious and frightened to death that he would show up and kill me if I ever fell asleep."

"How long were they together?" Qiang's stomach feels queasy with the newfound information. BiYu's lover is a dangerous man.

"Five months." Ke Tian reaches over the little coffee table and grasps Qiang's hands, "Please. It's no use, drop the idea of finding out about her death. If he finds out surely I will die and you will too. Don't find out any more information Qiang. We don't need anymore innocent lives taken."

"I... I'll try." Ke Tian looked like a nervous-wreck, Qiang couldn't possibly tell her that she won't stop until she finds out the whole story -- the woman would surely die of anxiety.

Ke Tian's eyes skitter around the windows and the doors, "I-I think you should go now. I've said things I shouldn't have. Drop the idea of playing detective Qiang. Keep your life."

She pushes Qiang out the door, throwing her shoes out with her. "Good bye."

The ride back home was very distracting, Qiang's mind keeps going back to what Ke Tian said. One thing she really wants to know is who is he? Not his name but his status and role in his society and what he does that his threat would make the girls separate and move away.

Upon arrival of her home, her phone buzzes. "Hello?"

"Qiang? Are you busy?"

"Oh, Junmyeon." Qiang licks her lips, "Um, no I'm not busy right now. Why?"

"Would you like to come over and have dinner with me?" He asks sweetly. "It gets pretty lonely sometimes."

She gives out a dry, nervous chuckle hoping that it didn't sound as fake to him as it did to her. "I'll be there. What time?"

"Let's say... Six o'clock?"

"Sounds good."

"Alright see you then, bye."

"Good-Bye." She sticks her phone in her back pocket after unlocking her door. "Wonderful. A date with Mr. Kim."