What The Hell is Going On?

The next day, Angie woke up with a terrible headache. Some of the bruises on her body were starting to hurt. She quickly searched for her phone. She had not sent Rai a message last night. Her best friend must be worried.

Just as Angie was reaching for her phone, she suddenly remembered something. The clock on her phone read seven minutes past five. It was still quite early.

"Where's Maxime?"

Angie got up from Maxime's bed and went out of the room to look for him. But there was no sign of Maxime.

"Huh? Where's Maxime? Did he leave?"

Angie looked in the kitchen and even the bathroom, but Maxime was nowhere to be found.

"Max? Are you out there?"

Angie tried to call, but there was no answer. That meant it was true, Maxime was not home.

Angie snorted quietly. "How could he leave without telling me?"

Angie went into the kitchen to get some water and found a bowl of tomato soup and some slices of bread on the dining room table. A small piece of handwritten paper was tucked under the bowl of soup.

[Go away for a while. Eat your food and don't go anywhere.]

That was the message on the note.

Angie wondered where Maxime had gone. She sat down at the dining room table and finished her tomato soup with a few slices of bread. Then she washed the bowl and other utensils she had used.

Angie did not know what to do now. Maxime asked her not to go anywhere. The Wolf Gang men must still be looking for her because of the incident at the nightclub. The problem was that Angie did not feel comfortable staying here.

"What about Arok? Did he get home safely? What if his father gets mad?"

Angie ruffled her hair. When she was alone like this, she tended to think of things that made her head spin.

"Fuck, how can I just stay here?"

Angie picked up her jacket from Maxime's room. It was already wrinkled, but fortunately there were no blood stains. She'd left a note under Maxime's writing earlier, saying she was going for a walk to meet Rai.

Lies.

Angie just did not like to be alone. She hated being alone in an empty room. For a long time, she preferred to be with other people.

Before leaving Maxime's house earlier, Angie had sent a message to Rai, asking her best friend to meet her at the park near the police station where Rai worked, so Rai would most likely be waiting for Angie there.

Sure enough, Rai was waiting for Angie at the park. He looked very worried, and as soon as he saw Angie coming, Rai ran to hug her.

"Angie! Oh my God, I was so worried. How are you, your wound, where have you been? I stopped by your house after I took care of those bastards, but you weren't there."

Angie laughed softly as she patted Rai's shoulder. "Okay, relax. Don't panic like that."

Rai let go of the hug and looked at Angie intently. "What the hell? Why do you look so calm? I've been thinking and worrying about you all night."

"Okay, sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

"So?"

Angie scratched her neck. "Um, I'm actually staying at Maxime's."

Rai widened his eyes. He was obviously shocked. "Wait, what? Please say that again."

Angie pouted. "Oh, come on... you heard it already."

"You're crazy, huh?"

Angie knew this would be Rai's reaction. Since the first time Angie had shown interest in Maxime, Rai had clearly forbidden it. Angie wondered how Rai would react if he knew about Angie's arrangement with Maxime.

"Relax, Rai. He didn't do anything bad to me, he helped me."

Rai's face twisted in anger. "He must have an ulterior motive. Don't let him get to you."

Angie put an arm around Rai's shoulders. "You're like a possessive lover."

Rai immediately brushed Angie's arm off his shoulder. "You know I'm not interested in you."

Angie chuckled. "Well, neither am I."

"Fuck you!"

Angie laughed out loud.

"By the way, how was the nightclub after Maxime took me away? Were those Wolf Gang guys arrested?"

Rai nodded. "They're in the police station now. We're interrogating them, though I'm pretty sure they won't be able to give us any useful information."

"Huh?"

"They're just underlings, the lowest caste in the Wolf Gang, I think. Unless we get inside members, I don't think the police will know who the real Wolf Gang boss is."

Angie let out a long sigh at this explanation. "So it's really hard. The Wolf Gang boss has to be really good. The organization is known everywhere. There have been many inquiries about the Wolf Gang, but so far, only the low-level members have been caught."

"They are very powerful. It really frustrates me!" Rai tweaked his own hair.

Angie patted Rai's shoulder. "Relax, sooner or later you'll catch the Wolf Gang boss."

"Hm, yeah... I hope so. Angie, I heard that-ah, wait a minute."

Angie looked at Maxime, who had received the call. Judging by the topic of conversation, it was probably from his police colleague. Angie wanted to say goodbye, maybe Maxime had returned. The man would definitely be angry if he knew Angie was out of his house.

"Hey, Rai. I think I'll-"

"ANGIE!"

Angie was startled. "W-What?"

"Arok... Arok has..."

Angie wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "Why? What's wrong with Arok?"

"He died."

Angie widened her eyes. "He... what?"

"He died, Angie. I just got the report from the hospital. He... he..."

Angie immediately grabbed Rai by the collar of his jacket. "What happened to him? Tell me, Rai!"

"He was found dead with his chest slashed open and there were also numerous wounds from sharp objects."

Angie's fingers went limp. "W-What? Why did Arok get like this? Wasn't he at the hospital? How could the hospital security be so careless?"

Rai shook his head. "I don't know, Angie. I have to go to the hospital now to take care of this."

Angie grabbed Rai's hand before the man left. "Wait, I'll go with you!"

"What? No! You're a journalist, Angie. The police won't let you see Arok's body."

"But I'm Arok's friend! Come on, Rai. Make an exception for me. I was also involved with the Wolf Gang men in the nightclub, so make an excuse to the other police officers so I can see Arok's condition."

Rai sighed softly. "You promise not to take pictures of Arok's condition?"

Angie shook her head. "No, I promise. Please."

Rai finally said yes. They went to the hospital immediately. This was completely unexpected. How could Arok, who had been hospitalized under police protection, have been murdered so horribly?

Something felt wrong. Angie continued to think, then widened her eyes. "I wonder if..."

***