“You are so dead when I see you again,” Krystal huffed into the phone as she descended the final steps of the hiking trail.

“Sorry, Soojung, but you needed the exercise!”

“Are you calling me fat?!”

“No!” Kai’s shouted, and she flinched away from the phone in surprise. “I mean, no, you’re not fat, you have a really nice body—wait, I mean… uh…”

She rolled her eyes but a smile was already on her face, “okay, so you’ve been checking my body out,”

“I, uh… No…”

“Sure you haven’t…” she grinned at his panicked voice.

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m not a ert or anything—”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you. Where are you anyway?”

“I’m a little… busy, right now… why don’t you go look around the neighbourhood and I’ll call you when I’m done?”

“Shouldn’t you have done the preparations for our date before we went on it?”

“You’re the one that wanted to go right now!”

“Oh, so you are preparing something for the date!” She had to resist the urge to giggle, and she could practically imagine his horrified expression.

“No, I’m not!”

“Uh-huh.”

“Stop messing with me, Soojung. I’ll call you soon. If you see anyone suspicious, call me immediately.”

She bit her lip to stop from smiling too widely. “I’m not really expecting anything amazingly grand, you know.”

“Bye, Soojung.”

“By the way, I really don’t mind that you’re checking my body out,” she told him, and with a sudden burst of courage, “you have a pretty nice yourself.”

She hung up the phone without hearing his reply, trying to mentally calm her inner screams. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I just said that!” she whispered to herself, walking in circles as she thought about what she said.

“...Krystal Jung?”

The sudden call of her name had her looking up questioningly, and her eyes widened in surprise at the figure she was greeted with. Her heart began to beat quicker and she swallowed in what must have been fear.

“Agent Lee…”

-

Chanyeol woke up with a yawn, stretching his body across the bed. Wait, bed? He sat up in surprise. His round eyes surveyed the room he was in. He was sure he’d never seen the room in his life, but it did seem oddly familiar. The walls were a soft purple and the furniture was a creamy white. The room was rather small as well, with sparse furniture. He noted that the room must belong to a child, since the lone chair and table in the room were plastic and small in size. He wondered which child this room belonged to.

To his shock, his body began to move on its own. He clamoured off the bed, grabbing the bear beside him and hugging it to his chest. As he began to walk towards the door, he noticed how oddly slim his hands and legs were. This was the body of a girl.

What a strange dream.

His body continued to move on its own, wobbling unsteadily as his (her?) tiny hand reached for the doorknob and opened the door. He walked to the door opposite the room he was in, again struggling to open the door. When the door swung open, he felt his own lips stretching into a smile despite the confusion in his mind.

On the other side of door, he was met with… himself?

It was a younger version of himself. He was a kid once more, no more than 5 years old, with big, chubby cheeks and his signature elfen ears.

“Oppa!”

This wasn’t a dream, he realised. This was the girl’s memory.

“Sunyoungie!” the younger version of himself grinned.

Sunyoung wobbled up to the younger Chanyeol, throwing her arms around him in a hug. “Good morning, oppa.”

“Morning! Did our Sunyoungie sleep well?”

“Yeah!” she giggled.

“Come on Sunyoung, let’s go get breakfast! I think mum made us pancakes today!”

Sunyoung cheered loudly, taking her brother’s hand and pulling him towards the door. “Let’s hurry! I want pancakes!”

They ran out towards the living room, and Chanyeol couldn’t help the uneasy feeling in his chest at the unsettling atmosphere. But he couldn’t do anything as he was only watching a memory, and he could feel the panic rise in his chest as Sunyoung pranced towards the kitchen while holding the hand of his younger self.

As they neared the kitchen, a man stepped out suddenly. He seemed surprised to see the two children. He moved his body to block the children's view, but Chanyeol’s fears had already been confirmed. There were two people lying unconscious on the floor. A man and a woman.

Sunyoung looked up at the man curiously. “Uncle, who are you? Why are daddy and mummy sleeping on the floor?”

The younger Chanyeol seemed to realise something was wrong, as he stepped in front of Sunyoung, shielding her from the unfamiliar man.

“...Oppa?”

“Who are you?! What have you done to our parents?!” the young Chanyeol began to move backwards, pushing Sunyoung back with his body.

“Don’t worry, kids, I’m a friend of your parents’,” the man began to say, approaching them slowly. This only made the boy more wary, as he held a hand out to stop the man.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Chanyeol wanted to shout at his younger self, telling him to retract your arm, it’s the easiest way for the opponent to gain leverage—

Just as Chanyeol had expected, the man grabbed the young boy’s arm and pulled, easily overpowering him. Chanyeol could only watch from Sunyoung’s eyes, horrified, as the man produced a syringe of a familiar clear green liquid. He stabbed it into the younger Chanyeol’s neck, and the boy’s eyes widened for a fraction before his body completely slumped and he passed out.

Little Sunyoung was trembling in shock, and Chanyeol felt even more frustrated that he couldn’t do anything other than watch. The man gently placed Chanyeol’s body on the ground, and turned his attention Sunyoung. He had another syringe in his hand, this time with a transparent liquid instead.

The man was approaching. He grabbed Sunyoung easily, and her struggling was futile. The teddy bear she was holding slipped out off her hold and fell lifelessly onto the floor. “I’m sorry little girl, but you’re going to have to go to sleep, just like your parents over there. I’m only here for your brother, you see.”

The last thing Chanyeol remembered was the man’s sinister grin before there was a prick in Sunyoung’s neck and everything went black.

-

“Agent Lee! What are you doing here?” Krystal asked, schooling a expression into a tight smile.

She noticed the NIS agent was dressed in sporting attire, with a tank top, shorts, and sporting shoes. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail, and she looked infinitely more friendly than when she was in her suit.

Agent Lee raised a brow. “I frequent this place to exercise,” she replied. “What are you doing here? The last I heard, you were in America.”

“Wait, you’ve been keeping tabs on me?”

“For a while, after you were discharged from the hospital,” she shrugged. “But then you went back to America where your family was and we closed your case.”

Krystal’s face scrunched in displeasure. “Okay, let’s not talk about how much you know about me.”

The agent nodded, then gestured to Krystal’s outfit. “You don’t look like you’re here for a run.”

“Oh, uh, I was just… I was just here to watch the sunrise!” she said, a smile of relief coming onto her face. Technically, she wasn't lying.

Agent Lee narrowed her eyes, but said nothing in comment. “Let’s go grab a coffee, you can tell me about how America was,” she said instead.

“Oh, that’s—” Krystal opened to refuse, before she stopped suddenly. This is the perfect opportunity to find out how close they are to finding the boys, and to tell her about the Facility! “That’s great, let’s go!”

Agent Lee led her to a quaint little cafe not far away, and Krystal could only hope Kai didn’t call her anytime soon. Due to the early hour, there was no one else in the cafe except for the male barista. He had dirty blonde hair, fair skin and a bright eye smile as he greeted them, his warm expression reminding her of a puppy. It calmed her as she return his smile with a genuine one.

“I didn't know cafes opened this early,” Krystal remarked, the clock on the wall telling her it was just past 6a.m.

“Well, there are quite a few people that exercise in the mountains in the morning, so we open early to provide them with breakfast!” the barista explained.

After ordering and paying for their drinks, they sat down at a corner of the cafe. Taking a deep breath, Krystal forced herself to relax and not look suspicious.

“So, are you enjoying your normal life? It’s much better than life on the run, isn't it?” Agent Lee remarked.

Krystal gave a small smile. “Yeah.”

“I’m glad you’re doing well. You seem happier.”

Nodding, Krystal wrung her hands together in her lap. “Do… do you know where they are?”

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