Moon Bin thought Taehyung might have fallen asleep again when it was all too quiet, and he was about to shout into his commander when Taehyung's gritty voice filled his ears. "Whose ID chip are you referring to?"

"Your sister's." He could hear Taehyung let out a sharp breath before scrambling to get up. "She isn't the target. Someone else might have unfinished business with the original owner of the ID chip, but the controller have no idea that the original owner is dead. So he or she ended up controlling Taehee instead."

Moon Bin let Taehyung absorb his new theory for a few minutes, and he swore he heard Taehyung mumble something under his breath. Taehyung didn't say anything, so he asked, "You do know who originally owns the chip, right?"

Silence. Moon Bin was starting to get nervous. "Kim Taehyung?"

"I bought it without knowing the origins. If I don't ask any questions, then they wouldn't ask me any. That's how things work."

Moon Bin closed his eyes in disappointment. Of course. He saw it coming, but still he had hoped it would be a special case this time. These businesses thrive on the 'no questions asked' policy. One wrong question and you might end up being on the table instead. It's a dangerous place but suitable for someone desperate. Then and there, Moon Bin made a decision. "Tell me where you got it. I will go there myself."

"Moon Bin it's dangerous-"

"I know, but if we're going to solve this problem, we're going to have to cut off the roots. I'm a detective for a reason; what's the use of being one if I'm not able to take risks?"

Taehyung was quiet at the end of the line. He bit his lips, debating whether it was wise of him to give it away. At that time he was desperate; he didn't think how dangerous it was to be involved in a seedy business, but he wanted to save his sister so he would do anything. He decided that this meant that he could protect his sister from further harm, so before he knew it he was reciting the whole address where the dark business was held. He reminded Moon Bin to be careful just in time before the detective ended the call.

At his apartment, Taehyung stood stone-faced as he stared at his commander. Moon Bin had ended the call a long time ago, but he wouldn't let go of his device. He gripped his commander as he laid there, deep in his thoughts. He knew he shouldn't have given the address, because he felt something bad was going to happen. Without missing a beat, he dialed back the detective's number. The call did not come through; Moon Bin already switched off his commander.

There was no turning back.

***

While driving, he repeated the address in his head, making sure that he wasn't missing any information. After making sure the actual path to go there, he immediately switched off his commander. He was more curious than nervous; he wanted to find out the real person behind Taehee's weird behaviour. He was especially curious on why the controller was too keen on getting their hands on the original owner of the chip. He kept his eyes trained on the road, and noticed that there were less and less people as he neared the address. After double-checking the address, he parked his car in a more open space.

He got off and he snatched off everything that would scream 'detective' from his body; his badge, identification and holster. He left everything in his car, and he was only left with his car keys and wallet as he made his way to the dark alleyway. Foul stench filled his nostrils as he treaded along the rough walkway, missing sunlight as he went deeper and deeper. There were no living person in sight, and he had to make sure he was on the right track. He crossed over puddles, avoided piles of trash and ducked under a wooden plank before reaching the said address.

The roller shutter was half-closed, and he could hear murmurs inside. Gathering his courage, he knocked on the divider; it was a special one as instructed by Taehyung. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to gain access. The murmurs stopped, and silence followed before footsteps made its way to the entrance. Moon Bin saw two pairs of feet wearing leather shoes, before coming face to face with a man bearing a huge mole on his left cheek as he lifted up the roller shutter. He lifted an eyebrow, waiting for Moon Bin to mention what he wanted.

The secret code.

So he mentioned the secret code and was let in without a problem. His whole body was searched, and he was silently grateful that he took out all of his identification. A detective coming here wouldn't gain a warm welcome. As the man nodded to the others, indicating that he came in with the right intentions. He was lead to the back room, where it reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. He was asked to wait by the man with the mole. He obeyed, acting with caution so as not to raise any suspicions.

He was starting to get fidgety; he glanced at the clock on the wall and noted that he had been waiting for 10 minutes. The person he had business with was still nowhere to be seen. He wondered whether it was fine to just go outside and ask, but that would probably mean suicide. He tried to remember how many people were there, and whether he would be able to beat them if he needed to fight. He figured the chance was really slim, so he sat patiently, trying to avoid seeing so desperate. After what seemed like forever, he heard the door creaked open.

He turned around, and the man in front of him was far from what he expected; the man was short, had a potbelly, thinning hair and a fatherly smile. In short, he wasn't intimidating at all.

"Ah, I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I had some business outside but I came here as fast as I could when I heard a customer is waiting." He extended out his hand, gripping Moon Bin's hand. "My name is Lee Jinhong. I believe you came for an ID chip?"

Moon Bin couldn't find the words to say. This is the man who sells ID chips illegally? Moon Bin shook his head to kick away that thought, but Jinhong took it as his answer. "Oh, so you came here for something else? Not an ID chip?"

Moon Bin regained his composure and he calmly said, "I believe you had a very important customer roughly around two months ago."

"Important customer?" Jinhong leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "All my customers are important."

"Kim Taehyung. You must know him, unless you live under a rock. He was everywhere in the news."

Jinhong straightened up; Moon Bin seemed to be able to catch his interest. "Ah, the one who was declared innocent? What about him?"

"He bought an ID chip from you. I need to know whose ID chip it originally is." Moon Bin went straight to the point.

This time, Jinhong took more than a few minutes guffawing. He slapped the table, held his stomach as he kept on laughing. "You think that I'd be able to give details like this easily? What are you, a detective?"

Moon Bin gulped, but he wasn't giving himself away. "It's a matter of life and death."

"Every day is a matter of life and death. It's just a matter of when you live and when you die." His fatherly smile was gone, and replaced with an ominous shadow on his face. "You should know how things work here."

"I'm being serious here," Moon Bin said, through gritted teeth.

"I'm being serious too... Mr.?"

Moon Bin did not say anything.

"Right, Mr. Whatever-Your-Name-Is. The point is, I don't leak my information. If I ever do, then my business is over. So if there's nothing else you want to do, I suggest you to leave before my men drag you out of here forcefully."

Moon Bin glared at him, but realized that there was no point in taking any chances. He wouldn't stand a chance against his men, and he was lucky enough to get out alive after asking a risky question. He got up, made his way to the door, but as he was about to put his hand on the door handle, he heard the man clearing his throat.

"Say, I'm quite curious as to why you're really interested in the ID chip the runaway- what's his name... ah, Kim Taehyung, bought. I have no idea what he did with the chip, but usually people don't come back to ask about previous ID chips they bought; they're only looking for more. It's safe to say that for as long I run this business, you're the first person to ask about a chip's history. You're an interesting young man."

Moon Bin turned around and stood in front of the door, blocking the exit. They were staring at each other, and as it was starting to intensify, Moon Bin replied, "To you it might be a money-making industry, but to others it's the only way to escape death." Moon Bin didn't realize he was balling his fists.

The man's eyes traveled down to Moon Bin's fist and he smiled mockingly as he noticed the younger man had tensed up. "Why don't you relax? After all, we're just trying to gain money to eat and live."

This time, the detective felt like he almost reached his limit. He was really restraining himself from throwing a punch. "You kill people, yet you say you're just trying to gain money to eat and live?"

Jinhong seemed challenged, but he just lay back in his chair. He clasped his hands and chortled, "Do you even have any proof that we kill people? Do you see any bodies lying around?" He spread out his arms and stood up. His face was unsmiling. "Don't get ahead of yourself, young man. Just because we collect ID chips from people everywhere doesn't mean we killed them. Some were criminals who died in captivity, some were unclaimed patients from hospitals while some were homeless people."

Moon Bin felt it was a waste of time; this man was doing nothing except running around in circles. He unclenched his fist and collected himself; he couldn't be challenge him if he ever wanted to come out alive. Knowing that he got little to zero information, he smiled before saying, "I must've come to the wrong place, then." With that, he turned around and exited the room. He wasn't stopped, so he made out of the back area and to the main one.

There were still a number of the members there, but now he noticed that there was a new person. It was a girl, much younger than him. She had her head down, and she was sitting at the corner of the room while the rest of the men were talking loudly among themselves. They took no notice of him as he walked past them. Moon Bin was wondering what the girl was doing there, and what's her relation to them. He was stuck between wanting to interfere and wanting to get out.

As he was about to step out, he saw one of the men beckoning towards the girl, "Lee Jinah, go and make coffee for your dad. He must be really thirsty after dealing with a customer."

Moon Bin took a step further, nearing the roller shutter. It was fully open, and he stepped out. He turned around for one last time and from the distance, he locked eyes with the girl. She had deep eyes, but her face told him that she didn't eat enough. Moon Bin was about to turn away, determined that it would be the first and last time he would be here. Still, he couldn't look away from the girl. His first instinct was telling him to ignore it, but his conscience was telling him otherwise.

He was sure that the girl's eyes were screaming two desperate words: Help me.