Dark Blue - 深蓝の魂 by 珊



Chapter 19


Wondering endlessly when her brother would return, Li Ann slouched down even further on the couch until she was sure her eyes were going to close on her.

She yawned and stretched, trying to stay awake. The television screen seemed to blur even more as she blinked her eyes continuously. She checked her watch, only to find that it wasn’t even at all dark out yet.

She yawned again and wondered what she had eaten earlier to feel so tired and sleepy. She wished there was a certain kind of sport there was that she would actually enjoy without procrastinating for once, but there wasn’t.

Without further due, she finally got up and stretched, arching her head back and her arms straight out. She suddenly felt the presence of somebody else around her.

“Mike?” she asked quietly.

“It’s me,” he replied. She turned around and looked at him wearily.

“Oh, hey,” she replied as she fell right back down onto the couch. He smiled as he sat down next to her.

“Are you that tired?” he asked. She sat back up straight and looked at him intensely.

“No?” she replied hoping that he would have something for her to do.

“Do you wanna go out?” he asked sounding a bit nervous.

“Out where?” Li Ann asked raising an eyebrow.

“To a club,” Mike shrugged. Li Ann cracked a little smile as she leaned back.

“Are you serious Mike? We can’t go to a club...” Li Ann laughed.

“I’m serious Li Ann. Why not?” he asked looking at her questioningly.

“Because...” she said unsure.

“Because?”

“Because I would look funny if I talked to you,” Li Ann rolled her eyes.

“No you wouldn’t. Come on, get up, get dressed and I’ll wait for you here,” Mike said as he tugged her arm upward. She slowly rose from her seating position but immediately felt lightheaded and collided back down, pushing Mike down with her.

“Whoa, are you okay?” Mike asked as he helped push her shoulder up. She grabbed her head and nodded.

“I don’t know, I’m just so tired today,” Li Ann said with a light yawn.

“Well, you don’t have to go if you don’t feel–...”

“No no no no no, I’m going too. I can’t stand being alone,” Li Ann said as she stubbornly got herself up. She paced herself upstairs as Mike sighed to himself, wondering if taking Li Ann would really be a good idea.

The door unlocked as Dongwan and Calida strolled in, both carrying a large load of laundry.

“Lili! I’m home,” Dongwan called out as he and Calida set down the laundry baskets.

“I thought I was Lili?” Calida asked with a bright smile.

“No, you’re Leeli, with a L-E-E,” Dongwan corrected as he brought his arms around her.

“Where’s Li Ann?” Calida asked getting out of his hug. She walked into the living room and sat down on the large warm couch. Mike leaned by the wall for support as he crossed one foot over the other and waited for Li Ann.

His arms were crossed and his head was busily tilted down, examining the floor for some odd reason.

“Li Ann?” Dongwan called out once more as he poked his head into the hallway. “Right here oppa!” Li Ann shouted back as she clipped on her silver hoop earrings.

She grabbed her Suede leather jacket and rushed out. Footsteps were heard coming from downstairs as Li Ann made her way down. Dongwan came out from the kitchen when Li Ann walked past him.

“Where are you going?” Dongwan asked raising both his brows up as he inspected what she was wearing. Dark denim jeans and a ruffled top black tank, under her creamy Suede jacket. Mike glanced up at Dongwan’s voice and saw Li Ann in a different way, one that he’d never seen before.

She was looking more beautiful and daring than ever. Li Ann smiled at her brother.

“I’m going out oppa,” she replied.

“Out where?” Dongwan asked raising his eyebrows even further up. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Do I always have to be treated like a five year old? I’m going out with Min– Lindsey,” Li Ann managed to cover up his name and lie about it, smiling after her sentence that she did.

“Lindsey?” Dongwan asked. She nodded quickly.

“Fine, have a good time,” Dongwan said with a wave of his hand. She walked over to hug him, then asked for the car keys.

Dongwan handed them to her as she headed out, motioning for Mike to follow. They stood outside the long line, waiting for their turn to enter the already packed in full Xtasy Club. Li Ann folded her hands neatly in front of her and waited like an excited little girl, while Mike guiltily followed behind her.

She turned around and noticed the attitude change when he wasn’t even looking the right way.

“Mike, is something wrong?” Li Ann asked. He looked up from out of his trance and shook his head, adding on a smile to cover it up. She smiled, then turned back to the line excitedly. Mike bit his lips as he forced himself to speak up.

“Li Ann...” Mike’s hoarse voice called out quietly. She wisped around with a questioning look. “Can you do me a favor tonight?” Mike asked nervously.

After a moment to think, Li Ann’s face grown serious as she replied, “We’re not here to have fun, are we?” It was like she had already known Mike’s proposition for having her here, and that made her sad to remember the fact that he was only using her to help him, but she didn’t mind.

She told herself she didn’t.

“Not exactly,” he replied feeling guilty for having to lie to her.

“It’s okay, I understand. What are we here for then?” she asked with a smile, making him feel more comfortable after a minute.

“We–...”

“Excuse me Miss, can I see an ID?” the bouncer interrupted Mike. Li Ann turned around surprised. She suddenly nodded as she pulled out her wallet and showed him an ID.

He waved his hand and let her in as Mike followed. Inside the loud booming club, Li Ann’s excitement rose as she remembered her first time going to a club. Of course that was in the States, so a club in Seoul would be slightly different– for one thing there were only Koreans.

She held onto the railing as they walked down to the bar. The club was highly stylish, with a water like theme to it. It was more like an aquarium.

On the walls where fish tanks carved into it, with gold fishes swimming in them, their scales glistening as the light shown upon them. The dance floor was in the middle of a fountain like structure, surrounded by a ring of water, and a bridge over to the bar.

Mike poked Li Ann’s arm, causing her to turn her attention towards him.

“You see that guy over there?” Mike said as he pointed a finger towards Junjin, who was sitting next to a young girl, talking and smiling like a devious player.

“Yeah,” Li Ann slightly nodded.

“That’s Junjin. He worked for me. He was a very loyal man to me, but I guess things have changed. He went to my office earlier today and stole the number,” Mike said, regretting the fact that he had trusted Junjin in the first place.

“And what do you want me to do?” Li Ann asked unsure of why Mike was telling her about Junjin.

“Not yet. Hwanhee’s the guy. Hwanhee has my nieces’ name and address. He’s coming here later to get the number from Junjin. Can you get it from Hwanhee?” Mike asked looking her in the eye.

She looked at him as if he was crazy, but as crazy as she was herself, she nodded with confidence. Across the room was Andy, sitting with his men, drinking and playing jokes with the waitresses that worked in that club.

Andy’s eye caught sight of Li Ann as she walked over to the railing. He smirked as he wondered why she was there alone. Mike turned and looked around the club to see if he would see any other familiar faces.

The moment was right on time when Hwanhee walked through the door, wearing the same jacket he had on earlier, with his one arm around Ji Yun’s waist. She was dressed in black leather pants and a red backless shirt.

Her makeup was utterly thick and her hair was curled into a style that Mike had never seen her in before. Hwanhee spotted Junjin in the spotlight and pointed a finger towards him. Ji Yun nodded as she kissed Hwanhee’s cheeks and walked off.

“Li Ann,” Mike said quickly turning to her. Li Ann turned her head around and smiled.

“There he is. Have you thought of how you’re going to get it?” Mike asked a bit worried for her safety.

“Um hm,” she nodded as she sipped her drink. Mike’s eyes widened with surprise as he didn’t recall seeing her get a drink.

“Where did you get that?” he asked a bit surprised.

“Oh, they were passing it around. Did you want one?” Li Ann asked, but immediately felt stupid, forgetting that Mike is a ghost.

Mike smiled and shook his head. He then turned his head back to find Hwanhee.

“He’s going to sit down over there. Do you think you can get the paper out of his pocket?” Mike asked.

“So you want me to seduce Hwanhee and try to get the piece of paper in his pocket out?” Li Ann asked jokingly.

“No! I didn’t say that,” Mike retorted. She started laughing as she pushed him slightly back with her palm.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it,” she said as she swallowed the rest of her drink down.

“Li Ann, do you get drunk easily?” he asked feeling a bit nervous once again. She shook her head stubbornly, then glared over to the dance floor.

“Mike yah,” she said in her husky voice.

“Take me to the sea. I want to go swim with the fishes,” she said as she suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the bridge.

“Li Ann? Are you okay?” Mike asked not knowing what she was going to do next. Li Ann somehow managed to make it over the bridge without falling down.

She pulled him into the center of the dance floor and started to move her body to the fast trance song. Mike stood there dumbfounded, not really sure of what she was trying to do. She moved in closer and pulled his arms around her.

“Move like this,” she said as she started dancing, swaying her body from side to side. Mike laughed out loud as he saw her wobble in her drunken state of mind.

She pouted and shoved him aside.

“Fine, you don’t want to dance with me?” Li Ann said angrily crossing her arms as she felt a burp coming along. Mike ceased his laughter and glanced over to where Hwanhee was sitting. He didn’t seem to be going anywhere soon, so he turned back to Li Ann.

She had just swallowed down another glass of wine and gave the empty glass to the waiter, who took it away with a smile.

“Li Ann! What are you doing?” Mike asked shocked that out of nowhere she was drinking.

“Don’t worry. I’ve done this a million times before,” Li Ann said as she shoved him once more and stared dancing by herself. She turned around and started to feel the wine rush down her body into her blood.

It was intoxicating. She loved it. Alcohol was her enemy, but once with her, it becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, Mike didn’t know that. He walked up behind her and slowly started to dance with her. Li Ann turned around and smiled, half surprised that Mike was actually dancing with her. He wasn’t so bad of a dancer.

He just didn’t want to dance. She moved in and pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck as she moved along with him in a synchronized motion. Andy drank his wine from afar, looking at Li Ann. He chuckled to himself, seeing her dance by herself. Surely, he thought, after their “breakup,” she probably went crazy.

He leaned back and watched her as she danced, by herself. Hwanhee’s friend tugged his elbow. Hwanhee stopped talking to a nearby friend and turned to the guy who tugged his elbow. His friend pointed towards Li Ann and cracked a joke.

Hwanhee laughed along too, but when he turned to see Li Ann, he thought she wasn’t bad looking at all. It was kind of fun to see her dance by herself.

“What is she doing? Man, she’s crazy,” his friend said as he leaned back and laughed to himself. Hwanhee stopped laughing and looked at his friend.

“She’s not crazy. She looks hot, well, maybe a little crazy, but that makes it better right?” Hwanhee joked as he drank down his cold beer. Ji Yun walked up to Junjin, who was by the bar getting a drink. She leaned in casually on the counter of the bar and ordered a drink.

Junjin recognized her voice and turned to her.

“Ji Yun? Hey! What are you doing here?” Junjin asked sounding happy to see her.

“I’m here with a few friends,” she lied as she smiled at him through her fire red lipstick. Her eyes scanned him up and down, then taking her drink, she winked at him and walked away back to her seat. Junjin smiled to himself, then grabbing his drink, he followed.

He sat down after her, sitting across from her as he made himself comfortable. Ji Yun knew now that she had him trapped.

“So tell me Jin, what are you doing here?” she asked as she laid back and played with the tip of her wine glass.

“I’m just here to meet a friend,” Junjin said with a shrug as he set down his drink.

“Business meeting?” she asked with her seductive voice. Junjin swallowed as he shifted. Ji Yun scooted in closer to him.

“Yeah, um, sort of like that,” Junjin said nervously as he clasped his hands together.

“Really? How come you didn’t come visit me anymore?” she asked leaning in closely to him. Junjin gulped.

“I...well, I’ve been busy. Why are you here again?” Junjin said quickly as he reached over for his drink, trying to get away from her intoxicating smell of perfume. She smiled at his weakness.

“Oh, you know, after Mike’s tragic death, I’ve been very lonely...and I just thought that I’d come out here to see what I could get,” Ji Yun said as her voice grew sexier, pulling him deeper into her eyes as she leaned in closer to him again.

Junjin forgot to pick up his drink all of a sudden. She pulled his collar and got up.

“Follow me,” she whispered into his ear as she walked out of the sitting lounge and into a dark hallway.

“Where the #### is Junjin?” Andy asked frustrated as he checked his watch again. He wanted to go dance with Li Ann, but feared that Junjin would not see him if he did. He angrily glanced back towards the dance floor to see her, still dancing to herself, but something nearby her caught his attention.

There was another man approaching her. Li Ann danced easily with Mike to the R&B beat when suddenly Hwanhee cut in through Mike.

He smiled as he scooted in closer to Li Ann. Mike stood aside and waited as he tried to forget what he saw in her face when he had moved in closer to dance with her just a few minutes ago.

She was so beautiful, energetic, so full of life, something Mike now wished he had. Li Ann’s conscience suddenly kicked in as she remembered what she was supposed to do. She smiled playfully as she wrapped her arms around Hwanhee.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and started dancing with her.

“You look awfully lonely out here by yourself,” Hwanhee said into her ear.

“Oh, but I wasn’t alone,” she replied, winking at Mike with a grin.

He smiled back, but then suddenly made a scolding face for her to hurry up. She rolled her eyes at him. The music’s pace quickened as Li Ann pulled apart from Hwanhee to match the music scenery. He refused as he pulled her arms back to him.

Hwanhee suddenly felt a tap on his shoulders. Turning around, he felt a hard punch to his nose.

“Ahh! What the–...”

“Get the #### away from my girlfriend!” Andy yelled.

“Sh!t,” Hwanhee muttered as he threw a punch back at Andy. Li Ann swallowed as she stood there shocked, not knowing what to do. Suddenly people were scattered all around, shouting

“Fight! Fight,” as Li Ann tried to see what was going on.

“Crap,” she mumbled as she stood over on Hwanhee’s side and reached into his pocket. Feeling a crumpled piece of paper, she had no time to see what was happening. Hwanhee was pushed down by Andy, causing Li Ann to fall onto his lap.

She laid there startled. “Mike?” she whispered as she looked around frantically for him.

“F###, son of a b**ch,” Hwanhee cursed as he stood up and jumped Andy. Both men were rolling on the floor taking turns at each other.

Fists and cheers were thrown up into the air by the people standing by with their screams filling up Li Ann’s ear as she searched desperately for a way out. Junjin rushed out of the hallway, followed by Ji Yun as he saw what was going on. He scanned the crowd quickly for the people who were fighting.

“Sh!t, it’s Andy,” Junjin said as he saw Andy’s men approaching the fight scene.

“What’s going on?” Ji Yun asked. She looked towards where Junjin was looking and gasped when she saw Hwanhee in the middle of the fight.

“Jin! What’s going on?” asked Junjin’s friend from behind.

“I’m out of here,” Junjin said as he made sure the number was still in his pocket. He and his friend started walking out of the club when Ji Yun stopped him.

“Where are you going?” she asked knowing that her task was not done.

“Sorry Ji Yun, I gotta run,”Junjin said as he shook his arm off her grab and headed out. She glared evilly back at him, but then turned to see if she would find Hwanhee.

“Mike?” Li Ann asked trying to remove the hair strands out of her face. Suddenly somebody grabbed her wrist and started pulling her out of the crowd. She closed her eyes, scared of somebody’s fist accidentally hitting her.

Mike ran with her across the bridge, passing by the security guards and over to the high platform where the railing was. Andy caught a glimpse of Li Ann as she exited out the front gate. His men held Hwanhee down as he got out of the crowd and ran over the bridge, trying to chase after her. Mike and Li Ann ran around the front entrance and turned the corner into a dark alleyway.

Li Ann was laughing with excitement and being overly hyper when Mike finally stopped running. He looked in both directions to see if they were safe, as he panted for breath.

“That was so cool!” Li Ann said as she laughed and tried to catch her breath at the same time.

“What? Are you okay?” Mike asked as he leaned his hand over her shoulder to support his body weight.

“I’m fine,” she replied as she leaned back on the cold brick wall. She still felt tingly inside as she tried to hide her laughter. “Did you get it?” Mike asked with a deep breath.

She giggled and nodded. He smiled with relief and let out a little chuckle along with her.

“Did you see Andy? What a loser,” Li Ann continued to laugh as she spoke of Andy.

“Yeah,” Mike breathed out as he smiled at her last comment. The moon was not showing that night, but the lamp post above her shone a light yellow light onto her glimmering skin. Her smile enlightened him as her eyes twinkled with a spark.

He didn’t realize what he was doing, but it was too late to return when he pressed her up on the wall and stared into her eyes. She suddenly forgot to laugh when he was so close to her, breathing into her face. Chills were sent up and down her spine, reaching her joints and neck as he leaned in.

She closed her eyes shut and waited for the moment of his lips being pressed upon hers. They were warm and soft, against her glossy lips that tasted like cherry. She deliberately kept her mouth shut as tightly as a locked door.His hand moved to her chin, then she felt pressure when he forced her mouth open for him.

As soon as she gave in to his silent request, he thrust his tongue inside her mouth, deeply, swiftly, completely. Li Ann was so startled she tried to move, but he wouldn’t let her. His mouth slanted over hers, sealing the whimper of her weak protest.

Li Ann’s last coherent thought was that Lee Mike certainly knew his way to kiss. She was beginning to kiss him back, feeling more loose and comfortable, when all of a sudden a enormous force out of nowhere shoved Mike out of her sight.

Right at that moment, she dropped to her knees, feeling ultimately weak and tired. Her vision immediately blurred as she felt her head spin.

She closed her eyes as she felt the sudden coldness that not even her jacket can protect her from.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Brian’s voice echoed throughout the dark alleyway.

[To be Cont]