My body felt paralysed and my eyes were heavy. There was a strange warm breeze on my face like someone was breathing on it. Shocked, my eyes shot open to see a black figure over me, but I couldn’t see who it was - my eyes were blinded by the intensity of the sudden light. I was too scared to move a single muscle and almost cried out in joy when Soohyun’s face materialised in front of me.

“Rise and shi-i-i-ne.” he sang. What is it with these guys? Are they trying to give me a heart attack? And why can’t they wait until I wake up without anyone standing over me? Angry, I pushed him of me causing him to collapse on the floor next to the bed.

“Ouch,” he whined, rubbing the back of his head. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, my body finally relaxing. “You just scared me.”

“No, it was me who didn’t think. I’m sorry. So what do you want for breakfast?” he asked getting up off the floor.

Thinking about it for a moment, my mind registered how sticky my body and hair felt. “Actually,” I said a little embarrassed, “Do you mind if I have a shower?”

“Oh my lord, we are such guys! I didn’t even think about that.” He gave me a sheepish smile. “Follow me. You can shower before eating.”

I smiled happily at him as he led me to the shared bathroom. Walking inside, he gave me a towel and showed me how to work the shower before leaving me to myself. I stripped quickly out of my clothes, stepped into the shower cabin and closed the glass door behind me. For a few seconds, I stood under the chilly water before it heated up and scorched my skin. Remembering how Soohyun said to use whatever I wanted, I looked at a few different shampoos and shower gels and picked one that looked more uni. After I was done lavering myself and my scalp felt clean, I stood for several more minutes just enjoying the heat.

Suddenly, I heard the door open.

“Hey, Soohyun…” I turned my head to see Minho walk in. We both froze in shock, my eyeballs falling out of their sockets. His mouth was open so wide that his jaw was almost touching the ground. Slowly, he straightened up, turned around and walked away slamming the door shut after him. I opened my mouth and let out a silent scream. Shutting off the water, I dried myself quickly with the towel. How could I be so stupid and forget to lock the door? But he could have at least knocked before barging in! And I mean it is quite steamy in the room so he probably didn’t even see anything, right? Oh God, how am I going to face him now? What if he has told Soohyun and that will make him look at me differently? Slumping to the floor, suddenly exhausted, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. A knock on the door made me jump in my skin.

“Yoona?” Oh, it’s Soohyun. “Are you almost done?”

I cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah.”

“Well I’ve got some clothes here for you. Can you open the door just a crack so I can pass them to you? Oh, and hand me yours, I’m doing the washing now. Leave your towel anywhere on the side.” Getting up and wrapping the towel around me, I opened the door and stuck my hand through with my jeans and a t-shirt. I felt him take them and hand me the new ones. I muttered a small ’Thank you’ and closed the door. Pulling on my underwear and then the jeans, I tightened them with a belt so they wouldn’t fall off. Then over my bra, I pulled on a light blue shirt. Definitely Soohyun’s. Not bothering to dry my hair, I walked out only to be met by the sight of Minho, sitting on the sofa in the living room. He saw me coming and quickly directed his eyes the other way.

“Hey, you’re out.” Soohyun said, walking out of the kitchen with two plates of pancakes and setting them on the coffee table. “Are the clothes ok?”

“They’re great, thanks.” I replied, trying to avoid looking in the direction of the fuming jerk sitting on the couch.

“Well, sit down. We are eating in here today. I’ll go get you some tea.” I could only nod in response. I trudged toward the sofa and sat opposite Minho, making sure to keep my head down. Not knowing what to do, I let my eyes wander around the room as if I was really fascinated by all of the little things in it. From the corner of my eye, I could see Minho taking deep breaths, his eyes downcast, while the rest of him sat absolutely still. Suddenly, he turned up his eyes and looked straight at me, his mouth slightly open as if he was about to say something. I gulped, impatient for what he has to say.

“What...” he started.

“Alright, here is the tea and coffee,” Soohyun chirped as he re-entered the room, walking towards the coffee table. Minho started coughing loudly, trying to mask the fact that he was about to say something. I winced at how embarrassing the situation was.

“You okay?” Soohyun asked him. Minho just nodded in response before returning to a silent state. Damn, I really wanted to find out what he wanted to say. Or maybe I didn’t and the interruption was a sign. I picked up a cup of tea to keep my hands busy.

“How about we turn on the TV?” Soohyun suggested. “It’s a little quiet in here.” he reached for the remote. I brought the cup to my mouth but before I could take a sip, my hand jerked and the boiling water splashed onto my hand and lap when the television screen came on. I gasped. My eyes widened in surprise and I willed my brain to focus on my scorched body parts, however, it only seemed to process what I was seeing on the screen.

“You idiot!” Minho scolded, rushing towards me and grabbing the cup from my hands. “, the water is hot. Why aren’t you reacting? Are you in shock?” He shook my shoulders. His voice raised a notch.  “What are you staring at?” He turned in the direction I was looking and froze.

“...Im Yoona, daughter of Im Sang Joong, the president of Strike Corporation, has been kidnapped once again. This time the situation appears to be more serious as it is predicted an entire group is involved in the act unlike the last time when only one person was connected. President Kim remains unavailable for any interviews or business deals until the kidnappers make contact. The only heir to the largest company in South Korea seems to be a profitable target as her father is willing to negotiate any price for her safe return...”

The reporter babbled on but no one was listening anymore. I gawked at my picture on the far left of the screen. This wasn’t part of the plan. It’s not supposed to go public. If anything goes wrong, the two guys’ lives would be threatened even further; and I would be responsible for that. Argh! Why does everything have to get complicated so much.

When the story finally changed and my face disappeared from the screen, Minho and Soohyun straightened up and looked at each other. To my complete surprise, the two guys smirked.

“I guess the plan will be set in motion faster after all.” Soohyun said, his mouth turning into a full on grin. Minho’s eyes just glinted mischievously in return.

*

“God, the news always make me look so weak,” Kim Sang Joong growled, turning of the TV and throwing the remote across the room. His assistant jerked to the side as the remote went flying inches away from her head. She straightened quickly, used to his constant outbursts of rage. “Do I give them a reason to think so?”

“No sir,” She replied almost immediately, trying to speak with confidence. The man hated mumbling and uncertainty.

“Well I must do, if anyone thinks they can go against me. These guys must be out of their minds to even think about it,” he snarled. “I will find them and personally bury them in the ground. How dare they make a fool of me. They must have real guts to take what is mine,” he rubbed a hand over his temple. “Have you traced the number that called last time?”

The assistant who was patiently waiting to be addressed, shook her head. “No sir. Even the best forces couldn’t manage it.” When he didn’t reply she continued. “A team of professionals must be involved in this...”

“Professionals my !” he shouted. “The guy on the phone was a total wuss, barely out of his diapers!” his voice took on a dangerous tone. “I don’t know how he did it but he definitely wasn’t alone. And I am going rip each and one of their throats out!” His assistant grew rigid. She had the guts and persistence to work close with him for so long, but even she wasn’t immune to his threats.

Suddenly the door burst open. A young man stormed to the desk in the middle of the huge room and slammed his fists down on it. “When did this happen? How come no one told me?” he exclaimed.

“Calm yourself. Your temper won’t make a difference.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said, settling himself down on the chair opposite the older man. “I just can’t believe we weren’t careful enough to let her get taken away again.”

“I can’t imagine how stupid she must have been to not take guards with her,” Sang Joong spit.

“Oh God, I just hope she’s alright. I won’t be able to live with myself if anything were to happen to her.”

“It won’t. I’ll make sure of it. And once she’s back, I am going to marry you two as quickly as possible. Maybe you’ll be able to protect her better.” As he spoke his last sentence, his voice had dropped into a whisper. 

“Well you know I will do everything in my power to help.” Seeing as Sang Joong wouldn’t answer, he turned towards the assistant. “Is there any more news apart from what is on the internet?”

“We are sure the kidnappers are going to contact us soon and we are just awaiting the call. A detective firm is coming to try and trace the call.”

“Good,” he sighed. “I hope this will be over quickly” and Yoona will finally be mine, he thought.

“Would you like something to drink while we wait, Hyun Joong-shi?” the assistant asked.

“No, thank you.” He slumped in his seat and smiled at her, watching as her cheeks flushed to a bright red. No woman could resist his charm, and he took pride in that. Yoona is the only one, however, who matters. Yet she is also the only one immune to him, but that’s what makes her special. It is probably because they grew up together and she is just used to it, but it will all change soon. He is planning to be there to save her from the crazy loons who took her and she will realise how much she loves him. He covered his mouth with his hand to hide a smile. This kidnapping is actually a great advantage, but he will never admit that to a living soul.

“Will we need to get money in cash?” he suddenly asked.

“That won’t be needed. No one is getting any money,” President Kim replied calmly.

“What?” Hyun Joong shouted, jumping from his chair. “How will we get her back then?”

“You just wait,” he said slyly. “Those criminals are in for a big surprise.”

Soooo sorry. I had this chapter done for a while but forgot to put it on. And... we finally meet some new characters!!!! And I know I changed the name 'Kim' to 'Im' just so the father and daughter have the same second name. Hope you like it! And I loooove to see your comments.

P.S. Also my first attempt at a banner so don't judge too harsh