𝘖𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 | JJK |

19

Heiran remembered feeling as if she was about to die. As if the whole world was caving in on her self and feeling as if though there was no escape.

The rest of what happened was a blurry mess in her memories. She recalled vague flashes of her body succumbing to the panic attack, losing control of her limbs, as darkness invaded her vision. At some point, she had surrendered to the floor unable to inhale a proper breath. Thankfully, the lady at the counter had pushed a paper bag to her mouth for her to breathe into. She remembered the insane itch that came with the attack, that maddening instinct to scrape the insides of her being as her skin tingled unpleasantly wherever those assailants had touched her. Despite having consciously tried to keep her hands at bay, her nails still managed to end up on her skin subconsciously, scratching them over and over again in some desperate attempt to get rid of the itch. But it never went away. No matter how hard she scratched.

Five minutes later when the police showed up, Heiran was as good as day, an epitome of calmness as she explained what had happened to them in precise detail. As they scattered to go chase her assailants and investigate the matter, she sat back down on the floor of the flower shop, her pretend smile remaining fixed on her lips like a mask glued to her face. She was grateful for the owner of the flower shop who kept her company, asking her questions to make sure she was alright, constantly on the lookout for her to make sure that she won't be having another panic attack. Heiran understood the kind woman's concern; she'd barely managed to get her mind straight before the cops pulled outside of the shop. Only a few seconds before, Heiran felt as if she was either going to go insane. She thanked the lady for her help even if words of thanks felt way too inadequate for the huge favor she had done for her. The lady had accepted it with a polite smile but said nothing more. A while later, a familiar officer walked in through the doors of the flower shop. At his sight, she abruptly sprung up from the floor, smiling with a confident wave.

"Finally, we meet, Officer Kang! It's been a while. I was beginning to think that you were avoiding me."

Officer Kang had a hardened expression on his tan face, which was the usual look, nothing out of the ordinary. Kang Taemin was always not one for jokes. "I was of the impression that there had been a kidnapping attempt here. I didn't realize this was a late-night meeting with Prosecutor Ahn to discuss work."

"Yeah, that. Just a minor detail," Heiran dismissed, waving off her hand. Officer Kang raised a dubious eyebrow at her dismissal. However, her anxiety eventually won out and she blurted out the question."Do you have them?"

He hung his head with a resigned shake of his head. "Unfortunately, no. They made their escape long before we came."

So they are still out there, she thought to herself with a worried grimace. It meant there was still a chance they might come back to finish what they had started. Heiran hands shook and she clenched them into fists, trying to conceal the tremor.

"And the surveillance cameras of the street shops?"

"We checked them. So far we have the license plate number of the van but I don't have much faith that it's an actual plate. We will need to check all the CCTVs to follow their path to track them down. It will take a while." Kang Taemin's shrewd eyes scrutinized her. Heiran offered him a smile that she hoped looked casual and put together.

"This was no ordinary attempt, Officer. This was premeditated and it specifically targeted me. They obviously knew my whereabouts and had the whole thing planned out. I'm sure of it."

Kang Taemin contemplated her statement, his dark eyes narrowing deep in thought. "I'll take that into consideration. For now, let me ask you this. Do you have any enemies?"

Heiran paused for a moment at his question. Then she flashed him a patronizing smile. That was probably the dumbest question he could've asked a public prosecutor. Still, the expression on his face was sincere. With an internal laugh, she decided to humor him.