June 16, 2012, 10:30AM

“Mom! I’m going to the mall with my friends. I’ll be back before 8:00PM!” screamed Hyojin.

“Okay, sweetie! Make sure you’re on time later! I’m making your favorite chicken for your birthday!” replied Hyojin’s mom, Park Minah. Hyojin quickly gave a peck on her mother’s cheek and your brother’s, Shin, who was twenty years old. “Eww, gross!” the boy said with disgust as he was wiping his cheek on his sleeve.

“Oh come on, Shin. I know you love your little sister.” She teased Shin as she pecked her father, Park Kyun, on the cheek as well. “See you guys later!”

“Drive safely Hyojin!” screamed her father as Hyojin walked to the door, she grabbed her keys before she jumping in her car. Hyojin was a happy newly turned sixteen-year-old. She was just like any other normal teenager and lived a perfectly normal life. At the age of sixteen. She was average i! academics and but excelled in sports. As for her looks, all of the boys ogled over her and all of the girls envied her. Her hair was just above her shoulders with side swept bangs to frame her face, her lips were naturally red, her eyes were doll-like and full of life. All of these features were contrasted by her mature figure. Hyojin was a bright, caring and positive girl. 

As Hyojin was driving on the way to meet her friend, she decided to call her to as where they were meeting up in the mall. She put her Bluetooth ear piece and clicked on the name, Hyorin. Hyorin and Hyojin were irrespirable. The school nicknamed them as 2Hyo because they did everything and anything as a pair since they were six years old. “Ya! Hyorin-ah!” exclaimed Hyojin in the phone.

“What the hell?! Why are you screaming into my ear Hyojin! And is that how you call me? I’m your unnie, you know.” Hyorin argued at Hyojin.

“Whatever, you’re old my unnie by two months. Anyways, I’m on my way now to the mall. Where are we meeting?” the girl asked.

“Finally. Meet me at the café near the shoe store. I’ve been sitting here at the café for thirty minutes already. I know it’s your birthday and everything, Hyojin, but it doesn’t mean that I’m gonna let this slide!”

“Aww, I love you to RinRin! I’ll be there in ten minute!” Hyojin cooed at the older girl. After ten minutes as promised, Hyojin and Hyorin finally met with each other. They went to their favorite restaurant for lunch to celebrate Hyojin’s birthday. “Happy 16th Birthday Hyo!!!” Hyorin screamed.

“Oh my god, stop it. You’re embarrassing me!”

“I am? Then that means I’m doing my job as your best friend.” as Hyorin was laughing Hyojin was hiding her face with her jacket. “Here. I’ll stop embarrassing you, so open up your present.”

In front of her face was a small box wrapped in gold wrapping paper. Hyojin became curious as to what her best friend gifted her. She began to rip off the wrapping paper and began to open the box carefully. “Ya, stop being like that. I didn’t give you something dangerous, so stop being so suspicious.” Hyorin said.

“I know, I’m just playing with you Hyorin.” Hyojin finally opened the small box only to find a silver braided ring. “Oh my god, Hyorin! What the hell?! It’s so pretty! I love it!” the birthday girl squealed in excitement. Hyojin put the ring on her middle finger, thankful that the gift fit her finger.

“It fits perfectly.”

“Yay! I’m glad that you like my present because I got the same one but in gold. See?” Hyorin held up her hand to show Hyojin the matching ring.

“You know, as a sign that our friendship will never break? It’s cheesy, but something that only the both of us can have.” “Thank you so much Hyorin!!!” After the two finished celebration at the restaurant, the two girls looked around the mall and did a little bit of window shopping.

The two had so much fun together that Hyojin didn’t even realize that it was already 7:30PM. Upon realizing that time had gone by so fast, the two girls quickly said bye and Hyojin was on her way back home. Hyojin finally got home just in time, 8:00PM. She turned the engine of the car off and locked the door. “I’m home!” Hyojin said as she walked in the house.

Strangely, Hyojin was met with nothing but silence. “Hmm, why is it so dark in here?” She went over to the light switches and tried to turn on the lights, but nothing happened. “What the hell? Why won’t the lights turn on?”

Cling, clang!!!! “WOAH! What was that?” Hyojin followed the loud noise coming from the kitchen and there she saw a sight that will forever be engraved in her mind.

The kitchen was a mess: broken glass on the floor, food was everywhere, and the most disturbing part was the lifeless bodies of her father and brother on the kitchen table. A blood curdling scream came out of the sixteen-year-old girl as she came front to front of the horrific scene. Her dad and Shin’s necks were bother slashed and blood was seeping from their wounds, pooling around them.

“Hyojin-ah.” Someone whispered.

Hyojin stared in shock when she found her mother barely breathing on the floor. She rushed to her mother and began sobbing. She noticed that unlike her father and Shin, her mother had three stab wounds on her chest that obviously pierced her major organs.

“Mom! What happened here?!” the girl said messily.

“They came. They came.” The older woman said has she coughed up blood.

“Who’s ‘they’?! Who did this to you? I’m calling the police right now!”

“No! Call this number right away. Do it now. They’ll know what to do.” Handing over a piece of paper to Hyojin.

“I’m not calling them!”

“Sweetie, listen to me! I don’t have much time left, so please, listen for the last time. Trust me and call this number, okay?” Hoyjin just looked at her pale mother’s face and then replied unsteadily, “O-okay. I’ll call them.”

“That’s my girl.” Her mom chocked. Hyojin felt her mom’s cold bloody hands on her cheek as she was in her arms dying. Hyojin’s tears were unstoppable. After a few seconds her mom’s hands slowly slid away from her face and fell on the floor lifelessly. “Mom? Mom?! Mom, wake up! WAKE UP! Don’t leave me!” Hyojin didn’t even care anymore that she was covered in blood. She got her phone from her pocket and dialed the number that her mother gave her.

Suddenly men in black wearing military like outfits came flooding her kitchen and then a young woman with silver, blonde hair came out in an all-black get-up like the men. “Hello, Hyojin. I’m the boss of XEL, CL.”

Confused, Hyojin answered back, “What’s the head of the best modeling agency doing here and what’s with these guys? Who are they?”

“Oh, don’t worry you can trust us. I mean, you did call me, you know, with the number Park Minah gave you.”

“How do you know my mother’s name? Who are you people?!” Hyojin frustratingly screamed.

“Hmm, seems that your mother didn’t tell you anything. Whatever. Seeing that you don’t know anything about XEL and we really do, Minah never got the chance to tell you then. Anyways, besides being the best modeling agency in South Korea, XEL is also an undercover assassin agency. Your family: Park Kyun, Park Minah, and Park Shin, were a part of this assassin agency and your mother and father were the best. Of course, your brother was also the best in his group, Monsta X.”

“What the hell are you trying to say? My whole family were all undercover assassins without my knowledge?! That’s unbelievable!” Hyojin exclaimed.

“I know it’s hard to believe but it’s the truth. Your mother was planning on telling you the whole thing tonight but it seems that they go to them first.” CL replied calmly.

“And who are those people that murdered my family?” CL looked at the young girl fuming with rage. “They’re a group of highly trained killers that your family was assigned to take down. As of now we do not know their names, how many people are involved and what they want, but I do know that your family was planning on telling you tonight for your safety. They were planning on taking you to XEL for your protection.” Hyojin looked at CL and thought about what she just explained to her.

Everything was so surreal to her and everything seemed like it came straight out of an action movie. She couldn’t believe anything but she remembered that her mom told her to trust them. “Fine, I’ll believe you, only if you train me to be an assassin. I don’t want protection. What I want is to find those people who murdered my family. That’s my condition.”

Pondering the suggestion, CL thought it wasn’t a bad idea. “That won’t be a problem at all. Come with us.” CL said as she signaled her men to help Hyojin.

As one man held Hyojins arm, she quickly pushed the hand away. “I can walk by myself,” she hissed. Once she was out of her house, she took one last look at her home before getting into the black car. “I promise I’ll find those people and revenge you” as Hyojin vowed to herself, she set out to the world to fulfill her own mission, there was nothing but revenge and bloodlust in her doll-like eyes.

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