It was approximately half an hour to two in the morning, but Jangmi didn’t feel drowsy in the slightest, which was weird because she usually slept early – she needed as much rest as she could have for her three part-time jobs that awaited her the next morning. After everything that had happened to her that day, sleep was the last thing she was concerned about.

Jangmi helplessly could only stare at Junmyeon’s back as he walked into the bedroom where Baekhyun was. She badly wanted to know what was actually happening – why she was there, who they were, and why they had to stay with her. But, she thought if she opened again, she would only make the situation worse. So, she kept quiet and waited patiently. Someone would definitely tell her everything later after everything’s sorted out. There’s also a chance that they were also as puzzled as her.

Let’s just wait, she repeated to herself.

“He’s a nice guy, you know,” Jongin said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Firstly, she thought Jongin was talking to Chanyeol. But, looking at how Chanyeol didn’t stop munching his burger to answer told her that it was directed to her.

“Huh?” Jangmi whipped her head towards Jongin.

Jongin jerked his head to the room where Junmyeon and Baekhyun were. “Baekhyun. I know he’s sometimes rude and I’ve never really talked to him, but actually he’s not that bad. It’s him who insisted us to help you.”

“I’m sorry,” was the only thing she said. She completely ignored his comment about Baekhyun. Now that she faced Jongin properly, she could see how wounded he was. And it was all because of her. The guilt finally came seeping in. “Can I do anything to help you?”

Jongin chuckled, grimacing as he touched his bleeding lip. “I’m totally fine, but if you don’t mind, there’s a first aid kit in the bathroom.”

Knowing that she could do something to help him, Jangmi was more than pleased to do it. She scurried off to the bathroom – inside an empty bedroom – and came back seconds later with the first aid kit. Chanyeol was now busy with his phone after finishing a burger, probably playing games or chatting with his friends. Jongin was taking off his bulletproof vest and examining his injuries.

Jangmi sat in her seat – between both of them – and started treating his wounds. There were no serious injuries, but there were quite a lot of light bruises and small cuts. When he took off his shirt, she was blushing like crazy, but she forced herself to focus on dressing his wounds. She had seen her younger brother undress so many times before and it was nothing compared to seeing another man’s bare top.

It was an impossible task indeed. Her eyes unconsciously went down to look at his toned abs. She had to shake her head a few times to concentrate. And she felt heat rushed to her cheeks again when he giggled after finding out that she stole glances at his body. Thankfully, he didn’t mention about it at all, saving her from further embarrassment.

“You’re brave,” Jongin commented as she disinfected the cuts on his face. Both of them were only inches apart and it was getting awkward, so she was thankful that he initiated a conversation. “Not many women can stand watching a murder without breaking down in tears.”

Jangmi couldn’t help but smile. The way he talked to her was so nice and friendly. “Not quite, but at least I can stop myself from trembling.”

He returned her smile. “And it’s a relief you can still smile after experiencing Chanyeol’s insane driving.”

“Hey!” Chanyeol protested only to be ignored by them.

“So, you also can’t stand his driving?” she asked, merely curious. She’d watched a lot of movies about street racing and she thought that these guys would drive just like that – just like Chanyeol. They looked capable enough to do many unbelievable things, though.

Jongin answered with a small laugh, “Of course. But if you’re late, he’ll be the best option for you.”

Bursting into laughter, she almost bumped her fist into Jongin’s face while putting on bandage. “He’s your emergency driver?”

“More or less?” Jongin shrugged, smirking in Chanyeol’s direction.

“I’m honored to be your personal chauffeur, Mr. Kim.” Chanyeol only shook his head, probably knowing that it’s useless to argue with him. He chose to give his phone his full attention.

Jongin and Jangmi giggled after teasing Chanyeol. Whatever tension in the room earlier was now long gone. And it was all thanks to Jongin. There was another silence while she was treating the rest of the wounds. But instead of awkward silence, it’s a comfortable one where she didn’t feel the need to start a conversation.

Jongin decided to break the silence when Jangmi’s putting the last bandage on his temple. They were once again so close to each other that she could feel his breath brushing her face.

“Maybe I didn’t recognize it before because it was so dark, but now that I can see your face clearly, you’re beautiful,” Jongin said, smiling as he looked at her in the eyes. Jangmi quickly broke eye contact between them, trying to calm down her heart which started to race uncontrollably.

“Yuck, Jongin. I’m here, too,” Chanyeol groaned.

Jongin grinned from ear to ear, amused. “No need to be so jealous, Chanyeol. I was just telling the truth.” He then wore his white button-down shirt again, ignoring Chanyeol who was shouting “I’m not!” and turning his attention back to Jangmi. “Thank you.”

“But your leg…” Jangmi trailed off, remembering Jongin’s grimace when he’d accidentally slapped his thigh. She didn’t even realize that she was speaking out loud until it’s too late.

“It’s fine. I’ll do it later myself.” He gave her a naughty smirk. “Or do you want to see me without pants?”

A pillow landed on Jongin’s face. “You’re gross.” Chanyeol made a face at him while Jangmi could only look down, hiding her red face.

Luckily for her, her embarrassing moment didn’t last long as Junmyeon and Baekhyun came out from the bedroom shortly after. Junmyeon was carrying a laptop in his hands and Baekhyun seemed calmer than before. Whatever they’d done in the bedroom had made him feel better and she was really relieved although she still didn’t understand what caused his earlier outburst.

“It’s her, Chief.” Junmyeon set the laptop down on the coffee table, facing Jangmi. Then, he and Baekhyun sat on their seats, opposite of her.

“It’s Kwon Jangmi, right?” the man on the screen asked. Apparently, it was a video call. He was dressed so formally that Jangmi who was wearing 7-Eleven uniform felt inappropriate.

She nodded once for the answer.

“Alright. First, I need you to promise that everything I’m about to say from now on will remain secret,” he continued. His voice was full of authority, as if telling her that he was not someone she wanted to mess with.

“I promise,” she answered almost immediately, intimidated with his tone.

“Good. Let me introduce myself. I’m Lee Sooman, Chief of South Korea Action Team, or SKAT for short. SKAT is a secret intelligence agency created by the president and its sole purpose is to carry on secret missions for the president. No one knows the existence of SKAT besides the president himself and the agency’s members.”

She felt her curiosity building inside her. She had predicted that these men were not people with simple job. But, she hadn’t expected it to be this extraordinary. “What kind of secret missions?”

“Anything the president wants us to do.” And he continued his explanation, “Right now, we’re on a secret mission and you’ve become an important witness for us.”

“Do you mean the murder committed by Assemblyman Kim?”

“Yes. As you know, Assemblyman Kim is a potential next president of South Korea. And President Park suspects the candidate is involved in a gang. So, our president instructed us to do background check on him. By us, I mean five of us. These four young men are members of Nation Emergency Squad or NES, a team of SKAT agents that I formed for this emergency mission.”

Following his explanation, the four young men officially introduced themselves one by one. Kim Junmyeon was an SKAT Funder, Byun Baekhyun was an SKAT Security Analyst, Park Chanyeol was an SKAT Interceptor, and Kim Jongin was an SKAT Security Guard Supervisor. She really didn’t understand what they actually did for SKAT even after they’d told her their designated positions in the agency. As if it wasn’t confusing enough, they said those were their secret occupations, which meant they had other occupations for their camouflage.

So Jangmi couldn’t care less about their positions and instead sh