Beneath the Surface // Moonsun

Chapter 10

Byulyi's POV

The look on Yongsun's face when she saw me was absolutely priceless. Her crescent tattoo had been painstakingly concealed on her chest which was not surprising and not my main point of focus in the slightest. I finally had an excuse to touch her, something I'd been yearning to do for so long that it was almost hard to control myself.

Until Taliah shows up.

Something definitely isn't right. No one should be able to fly below Wheein's radar for more than a day, let alone the possible months that she's been here. It annoys me. Worse, it makes me feel as if I'm losing control of my own damn city.

She sits across from me, unsuspecting of the deep shit she's about to be in if her answer for being back in this town isn't satisfactory. And right now, no version of an excuse feels satisfactory to me.

I'm very aware that I'm staring at her and doubly aware that she's noticing the intensity of my look.

"Are you from here?" I abruptly ask her, probably interrupting dickface in the middle of a topic about something no one cares about.

"Nope." She takes a sip of water, scratches her nose. "I move around a lot."

"Mm." I swallow down my anger. "How long have you been here for?"

Taliah shrugs, avoiding my gaze. "A few months."

To my right, I can feel Yongsun's eyes boring into the side of my face, her knee nudging mine in what I would guess is warning. I ignore her.

"That is really interesting Taliah."

Derek throws an arm around her shoulders, "If you're done playing twenty question with my girlfriend..."

"I'm not. So shut the fuck up."

"Your girlfriend's a real sweetheart, Yongsun." He snaps, shooting me a glare.

"Can we please just enjoy our meal?" Taliah mutters softly into her menu, ignoring me completely.

Yongsun nods in agreement, "Please. Be nice, Byulyi."

I slide my attention over to her silently warning face as she brushes her fingers across the back of my hand that I just now realize I have curled into a fist. I loosen my body a bit and pick up the menu in an attempt of casualness.

"Get anything you want Yong. I'm paying."

She points to what is obviously the most expensive steak on the menu, "Even this?"

"Sure, get twenty of them while you're at it." I retort, unfazed as I look through my own menu.

"What kind of job do you work?"

Taliah dark eyes show that question is loaded, as if she's now catching on to who I might be. I hold her stare, giving her a tiny predatory smile.

"I'm in charge of industrial distribution." I watch her throat bob. "And you?"

"I used to be into something similar."

"Funny." I drop my menu, steepling my fingers. "You said 'used to be'. Did you, perhaps, find something better than your previous job?"

She shifts in her seat, face tightening. "You understand that better opportunities come up. But I'd never give up trade secrets."

I laugh at that, if only to prevent myself from becoming angrier than I already am and leaping across the table to end her now. Because I could just end her now. Black fuzzes at the edges of my vision even as I feel myself laughing from some distance place. If Lin's Clan could have somehow turned into a greater personal vendetta then it just succeeded. And the murder of Taliah has reached top priority.