failures III » kpop ✓

chapter 4

· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ 04 « psyche assault »

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Headless mannequins, adorned in lacy underwear and illuminated by faint red lights, were arranged around the entrance of Blood lab. It was one of the numerous themed clubs of the district and it quickly became famous for it's distinct atmosphere. In Blood lab, instead of creating fake warmth, friendliness and love, the hosts especially tried to maintain the divide between them and the guests and make their skin crawl with chills, naturally sparked under the sharp gazes of their grey, red or even yellow eyes.

They were actually just a product of expensive contact lenses, the antique furniture of the club was just renovated trash from closed down museums and abandoned mansions and the red alcoholic drinks had zero real blood in it, but the concept still worked exceptionally well and thrived between the other clubs of the neighborhood. Most of them dulled in comparison to the 'vampire' host club that you could find within Blood lab, but they were a good option if you didn't have the 10000 yen that they charged just for entering the building. The additional 10000 yen that you had to pay for just the cheapest bottle of champagne on their menu, was a whole other story.

I was lucky to know a few people who worked in Blood lab. Or unlucky. Depending on how you looked at it. Some of the stories that I heard from them, about the unusual people who came to their vampire-themed club, certainly spurred new nightmares that would later come to hunt me at night.

'' Let's make this quick. Time is money. '' I snapped out of my thoughts, raised my head and looked at the guy that was standing in front of me. He was leaning against the doorway of his private room in the club and watching me. His red jacket was unbuttoned, exposing his muscular body and revealing long scratches that one of his customers left across his chest. Much like Seulgi, he was another one of those who didn't want to give sexual services for money, but he didn't have any strict rules besides that. Besides just chatting and drinking, if you paid the money, you could ask him to do anything. Or do anything to him.

'' Speaking of work... '' My gaze traveled around the hallway, with walls covered in black velvet and chandeliers throwing strong lights at the different private rooms. Then I looked back towards Kim Jongin and asked: '' Does Blood lab still have that woman who's in to drinking her customers' blood? I'm organizing a special creepy tour for someone who is coming to Japan next week. I was going to do the same thing as last Halloween, but when I was preparing for it, I discovered that half of the establishments that I included in it, got closed down because of murders and other wild things like that. ''

'' Oh, you mean Shiori? I'm not completely sure actually. Let's go ask someone. The lady who's working at the bar tonight will probably know and she'll also be able to tell you about any other special services that we might be offering at the moment. So that you'll be able to pass the information on to your clients. '' I followed him down the hallway and he started telling me about how he didn't really work in Blood lab that much anymore. He got some connections with important people and he was hoping to score a better job as a host in another, much more famous club called 'Lovers 100'.

Hearing that, made my eyebrows furrow together with confusion. '' Lovers 100? Are you hoping to get the position of the girl from there who got murdered? ''

She was the first victim of the serial killer who took down four prostitutes already. She was also the second reason why I visited Kai that night. She disappeared just a couple of days after leaving Blood lab and continuing her career at Lovers 100, only to be found beheaded and chained to the bench of a public park in the district. Needless to say, it pushed her former boss and his workers in the spotlight, but after a thorough investigation, they were deemed innocent and by then, the true killer already murdered his second target.