Taejun doesn't wait for us as we huddle after him, his footsteps light but quick like he is in an obvious hurry. 

He puts on a mask the moment we exit the club and turns to the left, just a few steps down before pulling open another door and disappearing through it. 

I look around at the smokey back alley. There are a few people scattered along the brick walls, puffing on their cigarettes, their faces indiscernible under such poor lighting. Anyone of them could be someone watching, a paparazzi or a guest who recognises us. 

Paranoia crawls down the length of my spine, leaving my skin prickly. I keep my head down, just like Taejun did while Hyeon trails from behind. His presence is the only thing providing me some sort of comfort right now. 

I peer through the door before walking through, half expecting to be stabbed or shot. My heart rate slows when I see Taejun standing by a large refrigerator. The kitchen is empty, all smooth metal counters wiped down and shiny. 

There's no one else here save for the three of us. 

"Lock the door behind you," He says to Hyeon who does as told. 

The latch locks with a soft click and the three of us stare at each other. I try not to gawk at this entire situation. Try not to pinch myself just to confirm if this is all a dream. 

Taejun of TBT is standing right in front of me in an empty kitchen, behind a club in the city. I turn to Hyeon wondering if he feels the same way but he doesn't look as starstruck as I feel. 

"You're the mysterious member who joined the site after she died," Hyeon finally says, leaning against an empty kitchen counter for support. 

My feet are aching so badly that I bend down and shrug my heels off. I sigh in contentment when my bare feet touch the floor, my calves already burning from walking in such sky high shoes all night. 

Taejun leans against the refrigerator door, crossing his arms over each other. He looks like he's sizing both of us up. "That would be me, yes."

I catch Hyeon rubbing a palm over his face, looking bewildered with this discovery. Although it makes so much sense that only a friend of Dalia's would have had access to those pictures and intimate details of her. Somehow neither of us imagined, someone so famous accessing an obscure fansite of hers and joining as a member. 

"Why?" Hyeon asks and I remain silent, not knowing how much was exchanged between them on this fansite Hyeon used to get those pictures of Dalia and Park Do Yun. 

"I'd heard about the conspiracy theories surrounding that fansite and figured it was the only place I could contribute without getting caught." Taejun shrugs and then he looks at me. "When Loona told me that you were digging into her death I thought you might have something to do with it, or at least know about it." 

I gesture towards Hyeon. "It's all him. But yes we do believe she didn't kill herself. Or at least there's more to the story that we were all told by the media." 

Taejun's face darkens. "The timing is just too coincidental. She threatened to expose her relationship with Park Do Yun right before elections."

"So she was murdered then," Hyeon concludes, his voice tight. "This is the truth?" 

I don't realise my shoulders have tensed, chest tight in anticipation for his answer. Does Taejun know who killed her then? Does he have proof? 

I can tell Hyeon and I are literally hanging by his words when he answers.

"She loved him, you know. Like proper infatuation kind of love, maybe borderline obsessed." Taejun looks sad when he speaks of Dalia's relationship. "I used to think he loved her too. The two of them were like those sickly sweet couples that only existed on television. She used to talk about him all the time. I was her safe space and she used to be mine. We understood each other." 

I try not to look at Hyeon, at his reaction at hearing Dalia's affair confirmed by the idol rumoured to be dating her before she died. I try and fail. Hyeon's staring blankly at Taejun, but there's a subtle tick in his jaw, I wonder how hard he is clenching his teeth. 

"I know Loona was supposed to meet her the night she died but the Sweet Poison girls attended a fundraiser instead. I know Do Yun was there at the same event with his wife. All of them have rock solid alibis but no ones been acting the same since. Do Yun's a robot, he never meets us anymore and I only ever see him on TV when he's campaigning. Loona's been drinking like a fish and Maria is so withdrawn you would think she's undergoing depression."

"What about you?" Hyeon challenges and I notice Taejun tense up, having not expected that question. 

"I was in dance practice preparing for our comeback. You can ask the other TBT members or check the cctv footage if you don't believe that." He shoots back and I shift uncomfortably, stuck in the middle of their awkward stare down.

"So we can't prove that any of them did it?" I ask, trying to get them both to focus on what we came here for.

Taejun bites his lip as he frowns, an act that I know would have made his fans go crazy but it only makes my heart sink deeper into the pit of my stomach. 

"It just makes it harder to prove anything," He replies. 

"There are ways of killing someone without getting your hands dirty." Hyeon adds. 

"Exactly." Taejun nods. "And I know Loona knows something because she's been drinking so much more ever since and when she does get drunk sometimes she slips up. Maria's always there to watch her though. I don't think Summer knows, she's been too busy with her modelling gigs." 

"Has Loona ever mentioned anything about that night?" I ask referring to the night Dalia died. 

Taejun's gaze is faraway as he tries to recollect. "She mentioned something about their contracts with PT. How she wished she had killed Dalia instead." 

I picture Loona slurring her words after one too many glasses of champagne like she did that day at the spa and frown to myself. "That doesn't sound like something a murderer who's trying to hide would say." 

"Loona's hardly been hiding. She's been all over the place," Hyeon mutters. He puts a finger under his chin and taps on his sharp jaw as he thinks. 

"I personally think it's Do Yun." Taejun says. "He had the most to lose among st them. And he could have easily hired someone to do his dirty work." 

I nod in response, agreeing with him. "But the girls were so anxiously looking for that ledger-."

I stop when Hyeon glares at me, warning me not to divulge more. It doesn't make sense to stop now. Taejun has already chosen to trust us with his secret, shouldn't we do the same? Maybe he might know about this ledger Loona's so worried about. 

"Ledger?" Taejun straightens up, looking curious. "I know about their contracts ending but nothing about a ledger."

Hyeon sighs and I decide to take my chances with Taejun. He's already shared so much.

"The girls were desperately looking for a ledger in Dalia's apartment that day at her wake. I caught them looking through her stuff and they mentioned it could get them all into trouble." Taejun's face is blank so I continue. "Serious trouble." 

"I don't know anything about this," He murmurs, chewing on his lip again. "But then again it makes a lot of sense why Loona and Maria have been so anxious recently." 

Something echoes from the back alley, making the three of us jump. It sounded like something hollow had fallen to the ground, like a trash can. 

Taejun adjusts himself, looking worried all of a sudden. "I should go. They will be wondering where I wondered off to. I trust you two to keep this encounter to yourselves. Either way no one would be believe you if you said anything." 

He walks past me and pauses. "I hope you can find something. Dalia didn't deserve an end like that." 

He nods at Hyeon and then leaves the kitchen quickly. 

"Well that was pointless." Hyeon grumbles, putting his palms against the metal countertop as he stares at its empty surface. 

"No, it wasn't." I reiterate. "It means we've been right all along. That we're on the right track here." 

Hyeon looks at me dejectedly and I can't tell if he's down because we still don't have concrete proof or because he just met the guy Dalia was rumoured to have a relationship with. It's obvious the two were just friends and that he was helping to cover up her affair.

I don't know if Hyeon sees it that way though. I take a step towards the door, knowing we should leave as well. 

God only knows where we are and the longer we stay here the more uncomfortable I feel. 

Hyeon finally recollects himself and runs a hand through his hair. He stares at me for a moment, looking like he just realised I've been standing there all along. 

"We should leave," He says, voicing the obvious. 

I begrudgingly put on my heels and we head back to the club. We gather our spare clothes and I switch into my comfortable sneakers before heading to Hyeon's car that is parked down the street from the club. 

The club was crowded when we left. Bodies so closely packed together that it was easy to disappear into the crowd and yet I kept feeling like someone was watching me. Someone close behind. 

I quicken my pace as we reach Hyeon's old sedan, thankful that he used a rental that couldn't be traced to either of us. I keep looking behind my shoulder but the street is empty save for a few miscreants lounging outside the entrance of Linger. 

No one's followed us and yet... I can't explain the growing paranoia I feel. 

I release a breath once we are inside. Hyeon is silent as he starts the car and turns on the heater. I rub my hands together and glance at him as we pull out onto the road. 

"You, okay? You seem off." 

Hyeon doesn't look away from the road but his fingers tighten around the steering wheel. "Don't know, I just feel like he wasted our time that asshole." 

"He basically confirmed our suspicions," I justify. 

"He's in the same situation as we are. Actually no, we're actually getting somewhere whereas he's been sitting on that information and done nothing."

"He released those pictures." I don't even know why I'm defending Taejun to Hyeon. This argument is pointless.

"He's a coward and he claims to be her friend. What a fake," Hyeon raises his voice. "They all are. All liars and actors and nothing's real."

I frown, not understanding his sudden frustration but then something catches my eye in the rearview mirror. I squint at it's reflection and my blood runs cold. 

"Hyeon," I say, my voice coming out weak and hoarse. 

He doesn't hear me, instead he goes off on a rant about how all the Sweet Poison girls are liars and that everyone could have killed Dalia but there's no proof so we have nothing to go on from here.

"Hyeon." My voice comes out more panicked when he turns down an empty two lane road and the car trailing two cars behind us does the same. 

He still doesn't listen. I have to grip his arm tightly to make him shut up. 

"I think we're being followed." I whisper and I feel his bicep tense beneath my fingers. 

He looks up at the mirror and picks up speed and sure enough the car behind does the same.