In the far distance away from the heart of Imperial, Glory was as crowded as every night. Inside one of the many private rooms in the back, Kira sat in complete silence. He would often steal a few glances at the person he had bumped into outside the restaurant.
Seeing that this person was sitting across from him without uttering a sound, he struggles a gulp. This person was usually carefree and talkative, but one should know how serious the situation is when he is quiet.
Unable to withstand the silence anymore, Kira straightens his sitting posture and force a chuckle.
"How… How have you been, Shan?"
Liu Shan held a glass filled with liquor in his hand. His eyes blinked at a slow pace until he heard the question. He glances at the man with long hair and he scoffs a sarcastic chuckle.
"Is that really the question you should be asking right now?"
When he left De L'amour, he spent the entire night trying to find what his boss had asked him to do. He had to admit, Kira did a good job of erasing their tracks, but it wasn't advance enough as he was still able to find them.
What surprised him was that the three men had just recently come into contact with Lu Tian and the two groups were meeting in secret.
The only thing he couldn't find out was why they were here in Imperial.
He swirls the liquor in his glass like he was drinking wine and nonchalantly tilt his head.
"Did the band Faith disband only to come to Imperial?"
Kira felt his throat tighten like something hard was stuck inside. If it had been someone else in front of him, excluding Yue Ling, he would have uttered some excuse, but in the eyes of Liu Shan, he knows that he can't.
"Well?"
Seeing that the man was not planning to answer him, Liu Shan questions again. His entire being was like a detective interrogating a suspect in a crime.
Met with this side of the assistant, Kira could only sigh deeply. He leans forward and pours himself a shot of hard liquor and drinks it in one gulp.
If he is going to answer Liu Shan, he's going to need a few drinks to calm his nerves down.
"Faith did disband from the music industry, but we didn't disband from our real career."
Just like Yue Ling being a model to hide her identity as the designer of De L'amour and the leader of Fate, they also have their own identities.
He (Kira), Lee Shin, Qin Jun, Song Jing Li, and Park Min Lee were members of the band Faith, but only a handful of people know that it was only a cover-up.
Music is an interest they have in common, so they started the band. However, the real truth was, they are undercover agents from Chief Kim's special unit to track down criminals in the underworld.
It was also because of this that Shin lost his life.
Ending his thoughts, he pours himself another drink. He doesn't down it in one gulp, but casually drinks it.
"We're here in Imperial to work the case on Choi Li Sun."
He didn't answer with the whole truth, but it was part of the truth.
Hearing his answer, Liu Shan frowns and stares at the man with long hair. He could see that Kira wasn't lying, but he still felt something was off. However, not digging further, he averts his eyes away.
"Choi Li Sun… Are you sure he is here?"
Before moving to Imperial, he remembers Shin was working undercover in City Z's underworld. His task was to gain Choi Li Sun's trust and then capture the man.
However, didn't they capture him? Why would he be here in Imperial?
"I thought Shin closed the case?"
Kira felt his throat loosen, but when he heard Liu Shan's questions, that tightness moves to wrap around his chest. He slowly closes his eyes to inhale a deep breath and opens them again.
"He did. Sort of. Before the wedding, he gave all the intel to Chief Kim on the location to detain Choi Li Sun, but someone inside leaked out the information causing the bastard to escape and he fled to Imperial."
He raises one hand and massages the back of his neck.
"Don't tell her why we are here. If she knows, she will no doubt lend a hand and that's the last thing we want her to do. Especially when she already left that world."
Liu Shan chuckles sarcastically when he heard those words. He slightly leans forward and places the glass cup in his hand down before leaning back on the chair.
"You guys don't want her to know or help, but you guys are working with the man closest to her."
Even when a name was not mentioned, Kira understood right away who Liu Shan was talking about. He lowers his hand massaging his neck and reach for a cigarette inside his jacket pocket.
"That's exactly why we don't want her to know."
He settles the cigarette between his lips and lights the end with a lighter.
"Lu Tian is a man of many expertise. If he were to know that her past involved us, do you really think he will let it go?"
For this reason, they couldn't tell anyone they don't truly know about their connection to Yue Ling. They don't want any harm to come to her, especially when Lu Tian is a government official while Yue Ling is involved with the underworld.
He inhales a mouthful of the tobacco and smoothly blows the smoke out.
"Like everyone else who cares about her, we also want her to find happiness. Now that she has, we don't want any misfortune to happen to her."
Liu Shan kept quiet and listened. He wasn't sure if the members of Faith blame Yue Ling for moving on, but to hear that they still care about her, he was relieved.
He can also understand why they (Faith) don't want Lu Tian to know, but they have misunderstood the man.
"Lu Tian is not the type of man who will harm her. If you thought Shin loved her, you should see how that cold and ruthless man shows his love for her. So not cold and ruthless."
He sighs aloud and looks straight at Kira in the eyes.
"You guys are really going to be ghosts without seeing her while here in Imperial?"
He spoke calmly but when he saw Kira nod his head in response, he (Liu Shan) could only sigh a faint chuckle in disbelief.
"Then Qin Jun shouldn't have let her see him. Did he think she will act like she never saw him?"
Seeing Kira remain in silence, he leans forward a little and grabs his drink to take a sip of it.
"As one of your old friends, I won't tell her your reason for being here, but if you guys still consider her as family, you should all see her while you are here."
He smiles a smile that did not reach his eyes as the look on his face did not hide the pain he was feeling inside.
"Everyone thinks she is happy because she indeed found her happiness, but in the short time we've been here, none of you will be able to imagine the pain that just befell her."
Kira was nodding his head lightly in understanding to Liu Shan. However, when he heard the man's last few words, his eyes shook with worries, and his fingers tighten around the glass cup as if he wanted to break it.
"What do you mean pain? Did something happen to her?"
Liu Shan wanted to tell Kira about Yue Ling's car incident that led her to lose her child, but he held himself back.
He finishes the remaining drink in his hand and pours himself another glass.
"That's something you should personally ask her when you see her."