That evening, Kim Taehyung found himself sitting in a huge French cafe, scrolling through his iPad, reading the various articles Chaeryeon had sent him about Aiza. Waiters carried hot chocolate in big blue mugs and croissant sandwiches from one corner to another. The smell of baguettes travelled around and three bodyguards stood near the door of a section of the cafe which was completely empty since Taehyung had particularly booked it for this meeting.

Taehyung yawned, where was she? He had been waiting for the past twenty minutes. He mumbled to himself, "Where is this woman? Did she run away or something." 

The door sling open at that very moment, as Taehyung shot up to see if it was Aiza, and well she was. She had short black hair, brown skin and was wearing a blue jumpsuit. "I am so sorry for being late, my photoshoot was delayed," she spoke as Taehyung nodded, "I understand." 

A waitress entered, keeping a cup of coffee and a cup of tea on the table before leaving. Taehyung managed to turn on the recorder, without Aiza coming to know that all their conversation was now going to be recorded. 

Letting out a small sigh, he started the conversation, "So Ms Choi, I am pretty sure that you know about the death of your ex-boyfriend's fiance." Aiza scoffed, taking a sip of her coffee, "Let's just skip the formalities, Mr Kim. Let's come to the point, I am the main suspect?" 

Taehyung didn't know what to reply to that— maybe the articles which said that Choi Aiza isn't the politest human were probably true. He straightened his back, keeping his arms on the table as he spoke seriously, "How did you meet Ten?" 

"We met during our sophomore year, we were in the same class. He needed notes because he never paid attention in class, that's how we started talking. We started hanging out and a few months later, we confessed our love and started dating." she answered, her voice cracking in the between as she stared at her coffee. 

Scribbling something on his iPad, he looked at her, the corner of his mouth curving into a small smile, "It looks like you aren't over him." 

She looked at him, her bracelet clanking against the table, "That's none your business. I am only cooperating because I knew how much Ten loved her." In utter sarcasm, but sounding very sweet, he replied, "That is very nice of you." 

"So may I ask why did you two split?" he asked her, taking a sip of his tea. Aiza uneasily fixed her collar, before beginning the story. "I was a struggling model and he was going to be the next CEO of his dad's business empire. We had dated secretly for 8 months and everything was going well even though we had big differences. Soon, we went public and that's when everything went wrong." 

She kept quiet for a minute before continuing, "Several articles were released about us because Ten was a popular face. Many of them made racist comments on me. Some talked about how I didn't match Lee's standards and how I was not a good model. These were enough to convince Ten's mom that I wasn't the right girl for him. And that day, she called me to their house." 

"Please don't tell me that she said that leave my son and I will give you something in return," Taehyung interrupted his forehead creasing. He had seen way too many cases like that. 

Aiza sadly smiled, "She did. She immediately asked me to leave him without saying a word and in return, she would get me a contract with one of the international agencies. I thought I could just sign the contract and when it ends I will come back to him and we can continue to date. I believed he truly loved me, and couldn't move on. Unfortunate for me, after just four months of our break up he announced he was marrying Lisa, another rich spoiled girl."

"Well, that's unlucky." Taehyung commented, "Ms Choi, from what I have researched, you were in Barcelona at the time of the murder? Anything to say?" 

"Yes, I was. I came to Barcelona for a photoshoot. You can contact my agency to see that I was only present at the shooting sites. I didn't attend the wedding even if I was invited," Aiza replied calmly. Taehyung looked at her confused, "You were invited?"

She nodded, "Lisa sent me an invitation. She probably wanted to show me that she was going to marry the guy I loved." 

Taehyung stood up firmly, keeping the empty glass on the table as Aiza did the same. "Well, that was enough for today Miss Choi. Although please remember that this case isn't solved yet and we can call you any time for investigation." 

"Sure," she replied nonchalantly before swiftly making her way outside the cafe, her bodyguard following her lazily. Running a hand through his hair and dialling a number, Taehyung spoke in a commanding tone, "Chaeryeon, I need you to make a call right away." 

"Sure, sir. What is it and to whom?" Chaeryeon's light and soothing voice ringed. 

Taehyung smiled to himself before replying, "Ten Lee. Ask him to book a table in a restaurant for us two. I need to discuss something with him."

***

Typing some letters, and staring at the huge heap of notes she had made, Jennie sighed. Staring at her empty screen with a tint of disappointment visible in her eyes, she patiently waited for Taehyung's call. Suddenly, her phone's screen lit up with the familiar name displaying. He spoke first, "Hey Jennie."

"How was the meeting?" she quietly asked. By the tone of her voice, he could figure out that something was wrong but patiently waiting, he decided to answer her question first.

"It was...nice? I don't know what to think though, it's like a fifty-fithy chance. One minute, she speaks something that sounds so suspicious and then suddenly she seems innocent like she really doesn't care." 

Jennie chuckled faintly. This reminded her of that one case in Busan where an old lady used to say the most peculiar things but the next day, she seemed all clear, like she was never involved in this case. When there was nothing other than eerie silence on the line, Taehyung spoke, "I recorded the whole conversation. I am going to mail it to you, right away." 

"Sure," she mumbled, "Taehyung...something went wrong." On the other line, Taehyung's facial expression changed into nervousness and concern because Jennie sounded really upset. "Jennie, what happened?"

He heard her sigh loudly, and then respond, "Someone hacked into our files. The list of who contacted Lisa and all data I retrieved is gone." 

Taehyung had to take two minutes to comprehend what Jennie said because this was something unusual. For the first time, someone had hacked into their files. It took him longer to realize that Jennie was still on the call, waiting for him to say something. "Hacked? Jennie, are you serious? How can that be possible?" 

"I was close to finding out who the blocked number belongs to. I set it on loading and went to grab something to eat in the kitchen. Five minutes later, when I came back, I saw there was trafficking on the site and then suddenly everything was erased. I still have the list copied but I need to work on hacking the blocked number again. This is so annoying and disappointing." Jennie told him, and Taehyung could tell she was really sad from the way she narrated it. 

Wanting to pull his hair in frustration, he asked her, "But Jennie...how is that possible? All the sites and apps we use are highly secure and it's so hard to access them. Only a professional who has been trained can do this." 

"Or maybe someone paid a professional to do it," Jennie said as Taehyung immediately understood the reference. And perhaps Jennie's thoughts made sense. "You're right maybe. I need to leave though, so I will talk to you later," Taehyung said before sitting in the car's backseat as the driver started the car. 

Jennie, totally confused asked him, "Leave for where? You're coming home, right?"  

Taehyung exhaled, a sign that he still had a lot to cover and was not really free at the current moment, "I have to first go to our office and then meet Ten. I will be home after that." 

"I will just start working on this blocked number again then, I guess," Jennie said before hanging up

***

Later that evening, the meeting was fixed at a restaurant. From this Italian terrace restaurant, one can get a clear view of the Han river which flowed in its own style in Seoul, the heart of the country. Cars looked like tiny specks moving along the road and the tall buildings stood high as if they're proud of something. A group of people who were sitting in the centre broke into loud laughter all of a sudden. 

Sitting at the corner most table, far from all the crowd, Ten tapped his fingers against the glass table which was covered with a golden muslin cloth.  Taehyung had called him on such short notice and that made him nervous. 

"He is here, boss," one of his guards whispered in his ear before walking towards Taehyung who was scanning the whole room. Ten smiled at Taehyung who did return it, before taking a seat. Ten made a gesture with his fingers, waving all the four guards away.

Ten looked at Taehyung, who looked quite chilled today, unlike others day when he used to look stressed. He wondered it was maybe it was because of Korea's air? Gulping, he tried to erase all the nervousness from his face, "Should I order tea or coffee?" 

Taehyung mentally groaned. He just had tea like an hour back, he would get dehydration or insomnia if he keeps drinking tea or coffee. "Is beer not an option?" he asked, resting his arm on the armrest. 

Ten lightly chucked before asking one of his men to get two beers. As the two glasses were being placed on the table, Taehyung continued to think about who could have hacked into Jennie's system. While Jennie referred to the Manobans, Taehyung thought it could be Ten too since he was pretty rich.

"So, how does it feel to be back home?" Taehyung asked, shrugging those thoughts away for some time. Ten fidgeted his fingers, "Well, everyone is back to business. I am planning to move out of the penthouse I and Lisa shared. The house just has a lot of memories, so I cannot live there. I am going to live at the Lee family mansion for now. How about you?" 

Taehyyung stared at the beautiful view as he answered, "Everything is still the same for me and Jennie. We're still working on this case and bearing headache, but not being with the Manobans in the same building is actually making me feel better though." 

Ten slightly laughed at Taehyung's sarcasm. Taehyung then out of nowhere decided to bring the topic of Aiza, "Although, I feel happier today because I met this gorgeous lady named Choi Aiza. You must know her? She is a rising model." 

Ten averted his gaze, understanding why Taehyung had called this meeting. "Well, if you met her, you already know she is my ex-girlfriend who left me after 8 months of dating. The last time I saw her was in a fashion show" he said, still not looking at Taehyung. 

"I am glad you guessed it," Taehyung spoke taking a sip of his drink, "She told me some interesting stuff but one thing which I can't erase from my mind is that she was in Barcelona the day, Lisa was murdered."  Ten's eyes widened, totally astonished to hear that, "She was!?" 

Taehyung nodded, "Yeah... Why? Do you think she was maybe involved in Lisa's murder?"

Uneasily shifting, and passing a weird look, Ten shook his head, "Why would she kill Lisa? She left me, it was her own decision so why would she have a problem with me marrying Lisa? After all, she was the one who thought we weren't a good couple." 

"What if I say your mother told her to leave you and in return, she would get her contract with an international agency. Also, I am pretty sure Aiza still loves you. Now, do you think she is the one behind Lisa's murder?" Taehyung asked. 

Ten loved his mother a lot, maybe a little too much, and hearing this made his blood boil. Raising his tone a little, he asked "Why would my mom try to break me from my girlfriend? She knew I loved Aiza? I am damn sure that Aiza is just jealous and told you a fake story."

 Taking another sip as the liquid burnt in his throat, Taehyung took out a paper from his pocket, keeping it in front of Ten, "Well, I did look into it and there is a huge possibility that what Aiza said is true. She did go to your house and three days later she signed the contract."

Ten read the printed words, stating everything with proofs of Aiza's contract, a list that indicated that a number had called Aiza three days back. A number Ten recognized very well. His mother's. He didn't want to believe this, "How could she?" 

There was no time for showing sympathy, Taehyung thought before skipping to his question, "Do you think Aiza is capable of killing Lisa?" Through his gritted teeth, Ten shook his head slowly, "She is not...I don't think she can murder anyone..." 

Taehyung smiled sadly, "Love makes us do really really foolish things." Ten raised his head, "How do you know that? Have you ever fallen in love?"

Taehyung smile soon faded. He wasn't certainly expecting a question like this in the interrogation. At the question, a very familiar face came to his mind but when he felt Ten's stare at him, waiting for an answer he just sighed, "Never had time for that but I have solved many cases where people did the worst things for love." 

Ten nodded, still shook with the fact that his mother was the reason behind his first breakup. "So, when are you moving out to the penthouse which you and Lisa shared?" Taehyung asked, a question popping up in his head. 

"Tomorrow," Ten responded, finishing his drink. 

At the response, Taehyung dialled a number real quick and then excused himself to the washroom. After a minute of ringing, Chaeryeon picked up, "Yes, sir?" 

Taehyung didn't waste a minute before speaking, "Chaeryeon, make sure some policemen guard the penthouse which Lisa and Ten shared. I am going to ask Ten and send you the location but make sure no one enters that house. The first thing me and Jennie would do tomorrow would go there and search for clues." 

author's note: 

I HOPE YA'LL LIKED THE CHAPTER. I WROTE IT 1 HOUR BEFORE THE PUBLISHING TIME. I SUCK, I KNOW-

also, stream hot sauce by NCT DREAM

and I love you all <3